I have only watched a few episodes of the show “Parks and Recreation.” But what young adult in the 21st Century is not familiar with the character of “Leslie Knope” played by Amy Poehler? Besides her role in Parks & Rec, I have seen a few of her old skits from SNL, like the one she and Tina Fey did together impersonating Sarah Palin and Hilary Clinton. She is really funny.
I did not expect her to be such a good writer, however. And was really surprised by her creativity as a writer too. I love how she used footnotes to incorporate the thoughts of her friend, Mike, one of the co-writers of Parks and Rec. This was an ingenious tactic, in my opinion, and something I had never seen before. I know, I need to read more.
This is my favorite example of her literary tactic. Poehler says, “I watched the Red Sox win the World Series with Mike and Seth Meyers and other Boston writers” (Poehler 246). However, a footnote at the end of that sentence points the reader to the side margins of the page which reads, “Note from Mike: We didn’t technically watch together – you were in New York and I was in L.A. – but you did call me after every game and scream things like “ORTIIIIIZ!” into my voice mail.” (Poehler 246). This note gives a voice to another side of the story, which we don’t hear from Poehler. In other words, by adding Mike’s commentary to the margins of the essay, Poehler extends upon the own story in which she is telling.
What I love most about this though, is the format in which she does it. Poehler is the main star and she is the author of the book, so she is who the reader wants to read. Not to say that people are not interested in Mike, a co-writer of many famous tv shows, but he is just not Amy Poehler. So, instead of writing a simple dialogue to describe their relationship in this chapter, she uses footnotes which highlight her writing in about twice the font size of his small size end notes. Plus, one has to take the time to glance over to the side of the page and it disrupts the rhythm of reading. It reads as if the older and more captivating sibling is telling a story, while the younger sibling is in the background adding details and correcting the narrative here and there. The footnote format adds so much humor to the book.
This is definitely a writing tactic I will try to employ sometime in my own writing.
I also never thought of writing using this tactic of footnotes. You are right that it adds to the story and takes her to the next level as a writer.
ReplyDeleteI like how you mention how blown away you were by Poehler’s writing talent. I was also pleasantly surprised at how great she is at writing. Her writing was moving and funny and insightful all at once. The use of footnotes was a quirky and interesting way of adding depth to her story without adding length to the actual story itself. I have seen many writers and/or editors make use of footnotes, but not in the creative way in which Poehler uses them. They are usually seen as an explication of complicated terms in a book or of outdated phrases in order to make readers understand the context. I hope to see some of your writing in which you make use of footnotes in the way which Poehler has in her book. Keep me posted!
ReplyDeleteI too was surprised with Poehler's writing skills! I was also somewhat unfamiliar with all of her work, so it definitely was a pleasant surprise to find that she was such an excellent writer as well as comedian and actress. I also think her footnotes were a great piece to her writing and that it really makes it unique towards her text!
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