Support Independent Arts Journalism As an independent publication, we rely on readers like you to fund our journalism and keep our reporting and criticism free and accessible to all. If you value our coverage and want to support more of it, consider becoming a member today. Joan Didion famously declared, “We tell ourselves stories in order to survive.
” As euphonious as that statement is, it may not reflect either the purpose or the function of story-making. Closer to the truth is the idea propounded in Revising Reality: How Sequels, Remakes, Retcons and Rejects Explain the World — we cannot help but apprehend the world in narrative form, and we are equally incapable of leaving those stories alone. It’s how our perceptual apparatus works.
As time passes, the discovery of new facts and changing of attitudes necessitate revision of those stories. Sign up for our free newsletters to get the latest art news, reviews, and opinions from Hyperallergic. Daily The latest stories every weekday morning Weekly Editors' picks of the best stories each week Opportunities Monthly list of opportunities for artists, and art workers View our full list of free newsletters .
Chris Gavaler, professor of English and an authority on comics, and Nat Goldberg, professor of philosophy, both at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, previously co-authored Superhero Thought Experiments and Revising Fiction, Fact, and Faith . Their new book now covers vast territory in their account of the var.