The Price of Privacy

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Continuing with my interest regarding celebrities, I recently read article focusing on musician Bob Dylan, the discover of his many personal journals and how these journals are in the process of being organized and published as an archival collection in Oklahoma. There’s much excitement surrounding the release of this collection. Princeton historian and author of “Bob Dylan in America”, Sean Wilentz, stated that “[the publication of these archives is] going to start anew the way people study Dylan” (NYTimes). As the article progresses, it is recognized that within the Bob Dylan Archive, a silence is present. In an instance involving a card from performer Barbra Streisand, expressing interest in a possible duo, there is reportedly “no evidence of a response” from Dylan (NYTimes). Although the finding of Dylan’s notebooks offers and explores new material on the artist, it is critical to consider the possibility of there being more unknown pieces of the Dylan collection.

Whilst reading the article, I realized that for Dylan, creating songs provided a therapeutic activity and outlet for his inner writer. With his song “Dignity”, the original draft had “more than [forty] pages of changes”, revealing how Dylan sincerely pours his soul into his music (NYTimes). In his other song “Tangled Up in Blue”, Dylan sings about “a wandered haunted by a broken relationship”. As the song continues, the lyrics began to get so “picaresque” that Dylan chose to omit a refrain from the official recording (NYTimes).

When I completed reading the article, I couldn’t help but think about how collecting the personal belongings of the famous has become an industry within itself. I particularly think of the late Marilyn Monroe and how her love letters, poems and private writings were compromised into a book and sold for the mass to consume. In a piece written by People magazine, it is further shown that in addition to Monroe’s letters, her clothing, jewelry, and even lingerie were brought at the high cost of $20,000 (People).

In addition to Monroe’s letter, the letters between painter Vincent van Gogh and his brother Theo van Gogh create a lot curiosity within spectators. The letters exchanged between the van Gogh brothers are seen as “a rich source of information about [Vincent’s] gripping life story and exceptional work” (Introduction). The letters allowed van Gogh to “unburden himself” to Theo, which he did frequently since he felt as if he didn’t have the approval and recognition form their family (Avoiceofhisown).  Although It is accessible knowledge that van Gogh attempted to take his own life on more than one occasion, the moments when van Gogh faced his demons and voiced his struggles to his brother should remain private. Typically, the times in which one is at his most vulnerable or is committing a sinful act is when one wishes for secrecy. For reasons not completely understood, it is also during these moments when the public has great desire to know what’s happening. While both Monroe and van Gogh have passed away, their private lives should remain just that: private. In the case of Dylan, he is alive and able to allow the public access to his journals. Even if the publication of the personal entries of Monroe and van Gogh are permitted, we should be somewhat respectable to them and let their inner, most exposing thoughts remain between them and those who they wish to share with.

http://vangoghletters.org/vg/letter_writer_1.html

http://vangoghletters.org/vg/letter_writer_2.html#intro.I.2.3

http://www.amazon.com/Letters-Vincent-Gogh-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140446745

https://www.amazon.ca/Fragments-Poems-Intimate-Notes Letters/dp/0374533784?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0

http://www.people.com/article/marilyn-monroe-joe-dimaggio-arthur-miller-letters-auction

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/06/arts/music/bob-dylans-secret-archive.html?_r=1#story-continues-3