"And the sad truth is that nobody wants me to write comedy. The Exorcist not only ended that career, it expunged all memory of its existence"
About this Quote
In this quote, William Peter Blatty reflects on the unintentional profession repercussions following the frustrating success of his unique "The Exorcist", which was later on adapted into a highly influential movie. Before this huge success, Blatty had actually attempted to make a name for himself in the realm of comedy writing. Nevertheless, "The Exorcist", with its dark and gripping narrative of demonic belongings, was so impactful that it overshadowed his earlier comedic ventures.
The expression "the sad truth" communicates a sense of remorse or disappointment. Blatty acknowledges that, regardless of his talents and previous aspirations in comedy, the marketplace and public understanding pigeonholed him into a various category. The huge shadow cast by "The Exorcist" meant that audiences and industry stakeholders primarily remembered him for this work, instead of his humorous works. The words "nobody wants me to compose funny" recommends that either there was an absence of demand for his comedic work, or that he faced challenges in establishing reliability in that category post-" The Exorcist."
When Blatty says, "it expunged all memory of its presence", he emphasizes how totally "The Exorcist" eclipsed his previous profession. The term "expunged" recommends an erasure or removal as if his previous operate in funny had actually been wiped from collective memory. This shows the effective impact a particular work can have on a writer's profession trajectory, pigeon-holing them into a specific niche based on previous success.
Moreover, the excerpt reveals a conflict in between artistic identity and external expectations. It underscores the dual nature of success: on one hand, bringing recognition and popularity however on the other, narrowing the opportunities or innovative freedom formerly taken pleasure in. In this lament, Blatty comments on the nature of typecasting within innovative industries, where an artist's skills in one realm can be overshadowed or confined by victories in another.
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