User:SummerPhD/Obvious

Often, editors on Wikipedia will explain what a book, song, movie or other work is about, based on their own understanding of the work. While it is sometimes possible to write a brief, neutral description of a plot that is encyclopedic, going beyond the literal interpretation is problematic.

"Obvious" interpretations are often wrong

Ray Bradbury's classic Fahrenheit 451 was long presented as a take on book burning and/or censorship. With future firemen racing around burning every book they could find, the interpretation was obvious. It was also wrong.

Bradbury has now explained that he intended the book as a discussion of the negative effects of the popularity of television and other mass media.[1]

A related issue is the title. Many a student "knows" that paper burns at 451 degrees Fahrenheit, though the actual temperature varies considerably.

Autobiographical?

Particularly with songs, editors are prone to assuming that a work is autobiographical. Often, with limited material on the artist in reliable sources, an editor will extract seemingly relevant material from a song (or other work) to fill in missing details.

Given that there is no way of knowing the artist's intent, however, and the use of poetic license, this can often go awry. Bryan Adams' song Summer of '69 is a clear example. The song, co-written by Adams, seemingly covers the a nostalgic view of adolescense and a summer romance. And it might do just that. However, mining the song for details, we find that the singer had the romatic relationship described and bought his first guitar (which he played in his first band) that summer. One of the members of that band, we're told, got married that year. In 1969, Adams was 9.

Was James Blunt really hanging out with "Simona" in a club in 1973? Only if Simona was his mother -- Blunt was born in 1974.