Dispatches O' Houlihan

amlit338Dispatches is an awesome read. I think this form of fictionalized journalism, in which Herr chooses to write, is possibly less fictional than the bland "unbiased" stocism of most journalists. His narration of his time on the ground, "in the shit," sews together a messy patchwork of scenes,sounds, tastes, etc. But together, the expereiences are stitched together in a manner which gives way to no particular meaning or definition. It is what it is, it was what it was.
Standard journalism seems to be concerned with bird's eye view facts, so that "the comfortable" can make vicarious judgement calls from the comfortability/misery or their sofas and wive/husbandss who don't want to fuck them anymore.
In my opinion(and yes, I'm well aware this has become a rant bigger than the story so ill try to sum it up in a bit) the narrative form of Herr's journalism gives us a grim/hilarious/insane/etc. look into the story beneath the story, and the one beneath that one, and the one nestled even deeper, within the jungles of Vietnam or the minds of the men/boys who experienced it firsthand, or a journalist who was slowly becoming something new.
In the end, fictionalized journalism allows its reader the same freedoms any other "unbiased" work would do; they allow them to draw their own conclusions, and to ascribe whatever meaning they choose to. One type of journalism isn't better than the other, in fact they appeal to different parts of us, but I think that in the same way mythology is an equally important part of our history and our present, as "factual" history is, so it is here.
Unbiased? fuck no. But equally as valid as obejective journalism is? I'd have to say "yeah, sure, why not."