In the modern “fake news” era, “facts” are increasingly flexible rather than tangible, provable, stable things. People increasingly accept opinions and gut feelings as more valid than expert knowledge and documented fact. Communicators working in this context require an understanding of how audiences revise reality to agree better with prior beliefs.
In Revising Reality: How Sequels, Remakes, Retcons, and Rejects Explain the World, Chris Gavaler and Nat Goldberg introduce four main ways we establish our reality: sequels that build on previous history, remakes that create new versions of that history, retcons (retroactive continuity) that reinterpret history (not always based on new facts), and rejects that deny that history.
All four revision types influence how audiences respond to communication: if we challenge their self-image as intelligent and informed, they’re likely to resist our message. To communicators, the precise definitions of the four revision strategies are less important than their implications: audiences respond to messages by revising their worldview. Audiences often oppose revision because repeatedly updating one’s understanding of the world is stressful. Revising Reality demonstrates how wording that seems clear and precise is reinterpreted, particularly after years pass and assumptions change.
I’m not sure that the term “retconning” offers advantages over “reinterpreting,” and one flaw in the book’s approach lies in separating retcons from sequels when both may be simultaneously true. For example, Einstein’s relativity is a sequel to Isaac Newton’s laws of motion, which remain broadly valid, but retcons Newton by clarifying how Newton simplified a more complex reality.
Revising Reality is a rigorous but non-academic book, so it’s highly readable, though the authors sometimes use pop culture terms such as “fanfic” and “canon” you might need to Google, and commit unnecessary abbreviations such as OT (“original trilogy”). The authors exploit their impressive knowledge of pop culture (superheroes, Sherlock Holmes) to explain the four methods, then provide historical, legal, and scientific examples of how history is reinterpreted and re-expressed. For example, did the United States originate in 1776, with the Declaration of Independence, or in 1619, with the first African slave’s arrival? In the United States Constitution, does “all men” refer to humanity as a whole, or only property-owning white men? The answers depend on one’s perspective. Using examples from diverse perspectives, the authors show different ways to understand how we revise reality. A metaphor’s power lies in how well it helps us understand. Revising Reality clearly, if metaphorically, describes how history and human memory work. Unfortunately, the authors don’t tell us how that understanding would improve communication. However, they do make it clear that if we want to change minds, sequels may be more effective than remakes, which in turn are more persuasive than retcons.
Revising Reality: How Sequels, Remakes, Retcons, and Rejects Explain the World Chris Gavaler and Nat Goldberg. 2024. Bloomsbury Academic. [ISBN 978-1-350439-64-1. 314 pages, including index. US$24.95 (softcover).]
