Susan Orlean hit this piece right on the nose. She picks the perfect boy to represent a "normal kid" and but it still able to show how unique he is in her writing. The story's lede is meant to take us back so we remember what it was like when we were growing up. Orlean does an awesome job with it. Everything from the OCSCU school to how he loves recycling to how he says "girls aren't very popular," cracks me up. These examples gives us a great idea of what he's like as a ten-year-old person.
This story is another great example of how narrative journalism can turn the mundane into the extraordinary. Orlean finds the most normal kid she can, yet is still able to write a captivating story about him. We're interested in these kinds of stories because they relate so well with some point in our own lives. It gets boring reading about famous/rich/"important" people all the time. Sometimes it's refreshing to read about something more familiar to your own life.
Orlean also does a great job weaving in facts with her introduction of Colin. At just the right times she'll include a paragraph about adolescent development or nintendo statistics. She's also ver good with her use of dialogue. When Japeth and Colin are talking to each other about Street Fighter it is exactly how I would expect two ten-year-old friends to talk.
The question I want to raise about this piece is: what is it about? Is there an underlying message? Or is it just a story about what consumes a kid's life?
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I also really enjoyed Orlean's piece. I loved how you heard the different voices come though.
What is this article about? I'd say it’s about boyhood in America. With an underlying message about American culture about video games and school. By showing the way this boy is raised in an "alternative" school and home, it brings out what our society views as normal. I think it's at least partially a commentary on boyhood in America.
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