Journalism, as an activity, showed itself as a mirror of society from the beginning. For a long time, it was considered a man’s job. The introduction of women in this environment only happened in the 19th century but with a limitation of only addressing themes unconcerned about the facts and daily demands – related subjects of fashion and beauty. That situation would last until the 1950’s.
As the scenario changed, a revolution – not only in women’s participation in the news universe but also in the entire journalistic context – happened because of a woman: Joan Didion. Known for creating a personal way of giving news, Didion gave life to characters representing society’s minorities.
With these captivating narratives, Joan consecrated herself as a pioneer in the New Journalism.Â
The woman behind the words
Born in Sacramento on December 5, 1934, the Californian girl moved to New York after graduating from the University of California, in Berkley. She made history by mixing art and news in a combination that would change the journalistic world.
Joan Didion’s career is one of the most notorious among the writers considering that she started working as a writing assistant by the age of 21, in Vogue Magazine. She also worked for the magazines The Saturday Evening Post, Time, and New Yorker.
Parallel to her professional development, Joan’s personal life was, for a very long time, full of joy and achievements by the side of her forty-year-old partner, John Gregory Dunne, and their adopted daughter, Quintana Roo Dunne.Â
Unfortunately, happiness is not forever and Didion faced the worst of pains by losing her husband to a heart attack, and her daughter at the age of 39. These losses were responsible for impacting her writing and changing her perspective while she lived, until December 23, 2021, when she died because of Parkinson’s disease.
Revolution in Journalism
The previous contact with magazines improved Didion’s writing ability. A restless soul like hers couldn’t stay stuck in the old journalism mode forever. With a concise, but also deep way to inform people, Joan ended with the plastered model of the lead by structuring her texts as essays and novels, as noted in the book that marked this journalistic transition, Slouching Towards Bethlehem (1968).
With the eyes and ears of a reporter, she used to sneak between people and facts, an attitude that was reflected in her writing while she mixed herself with the books’ characters. This way of giving news lets the author alternate between humor and denunciation, bringing her social themes and progressive thoughts closer to the public.Â
As observed in her works, criticism was one of the pillars of the narratives. This feature allowed the journalist to express her opinion on a scenario surrounded by injustices that excluded women from participating and questioning societal issues.
The Literary Journalism
Paradigm changes in journalism emerged with Joan Didion’s skill in transforming pure fact into a story that involved the readers, making them think about society from a different perspective.Â
The introduction of this reporting style started in her career – as said previously –, in 1968 with Slouching Towards Bethlehem’s release. The narrative was based on the criticism of American society, but also on the exaltation of the counterculture.Â
By making accomplishments to the hippie culture, Didion brings up information about the non-violent movement – which included recreational drug use – that fought for racial equality, women, and gays’ rights, without any prejudices, and the media sensationalism of that time.
Other contributions to the new journalism came through books like Salvador (1982), which is a report about the civil war in El Salvador that killed eighty thousand citizens. She also became famous for the book The White Album (1979), a work that investigated the actress Sharon Tate’s murder.Â
In these narratives, the readers can observe that the literature merges with facts. In other productions, the author also adds her feelings and personal experiences. This writing style appears in The Year of Magical Thinking, a book in which Joan Didion narrates the suffering of losing her husband John, to a heart attack, and her daughter Quintana, to pancreatitis. While the author tries to put grief into words, she alerts us to the importance of psychological treatment for facing these extreme and devastating situations.Â
Many Faces of an Author
Joan Didion’s career not only covered journalism and literature but also impacted the seventh art. Her vast repertory made contributions to the cinema with productions of scripts like Up Close & Personal (1996). The box office hits were A Star is Born (1976), a story about how artists are exposed and harmed by the use of drugs, and True Confessions (1981), a criminal movie about an officer who tries to solve a murder.
Another contribution to the cinematic universe came with the script of Joan Didion: The center will not hold. The documentary follows the journalist’s personal life and career. It was directed by her nephew, Griffin Dunne, and was released on October 27, 2017.
Recognition
The efforts never spared the production of her works, which made Joan Didion famous, but also helped her attain a high level of recognition that granted her many awards. Some of her prizes are:
1981: elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters;
2005: winner of National Book Award for Nonfiction;
2006: indicated to the Pulitzer Prize for The Year of Magical Thinking;
2007: winner of National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters;
2013: National Humanities Medal presented by the President Barack Obama.
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The article above was edited by Ludmila Costa.
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