Perhaps the most quoted line from Kenneth Burke is that Literature is “Equipment for Living” (Counter Statement), so I decided I needed to dedicate some space to what that means as part of my series on 8 Burkean Concepts that are Better than the Pentad. Present post included, we also have: Dramatism, Terministic Screens, Perspective by Incongruity, Cluster-Agon, his Definition of Man [sic], Identification and Consubstantiality, and finally, the Representative Anecdote and Cult of the Kill.
For Burke, literature as “Equipment for Living,” means that we look to popular culture for stories on how to live our lives. If we’ve never seen a black person or a gay person before, but we’ve watched them on television, we may still feel comfortable around this new person because they aren’t completely foreign to us–we think we know who they might be (for better or worse). We also watch shows and see how people work through difficult situations, and if we find ourselves in a similar situation, we might act the same way. It’s the entire reasoning behind the After School Special. The same can be true of situations we encounter when watching sitcoms and stand-up, but more usually, we learn “What not to do.”
The point is that books, plays, movies, television shows and yes, stand up comedy specials are important–perhaps more important than the formal speeches of Great Orators–because they may influence people’s daily lives. We should, therefore, be studying popular culture to see what messages are being conveyed.
Questions? Comments? Thoughts? Important stuff I missed?
Sources:
Burke, Kenneth. Counter Statement. Berkeley: University of California, 1968.
