Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Do autobiographies have to be dramatic?

Anyone can write (or dictate, or authorize a ghostwriter to write) an autobiography...the real question here seems to be if anyone will read someone's autobiography if they live a nondramatic life. I'd like to think that if someone lived a successful and fulfilling but not particularly dramatic life, people (aside from friends and family) would still want to read their autobiography but I'm doubtful. Most people seem to be naturally drawn to drama; it's not really about how worthy one is, just about the entertainment value (or possibly academic value, although that would result in a much smaller readership) of their autobiography. If Britney Spears wrote an autobiography it would probably be an instant bestseller. If my next door neighbor (either the ones at home or here...hi, Sean!) wrote one I don't think it would exactly fly off the shelves.

Come to think of it, one's existing fame probably matters more than anything else. If someone is already famous for something else there's likely to be a preexisting group of people who want to read their autobiographies. Maybe if someone lived a very dramatic life (e.g. Annie Frank) they'd be able to rise from anonymity into autobiographical success, but I doubt that's the norm. As for if I'd like to live a life worthy of an autobiography, I think it's very similar to the portrait question. The most important thing to me is to live a life that's meaningful to me and involves doing some good for humanity. I don't know yet if that will lead to a life "worthy" of an autobiography.

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