One Red Paperclip: Sweet Story or Cynical Stunt?
Friday, August 24th, 2007
Have you ever done something just because you thought it would make a good story?
Have you ever done something just because you thought it would make a good story, and you were pretty sure you could turn said story into a winning book proposal?
And if so, is that OK?
That’s what Joyce Wadler asks in her yesterday’s piece in the New York Times, about Kyle MacDonald, aka ‘The Red Paper Clip Guy,’ a 27-year-old ’slacker’ who famously swapped—through a shrewd series of trades—a red paper clip for, most recently, a modest house in Kipling, Saskatchewan, Canada.
MacDonald’s book, “One Red Paperclip,” goes on sale this week. In the meantime, what do you think? Have you ever done something just because of the story potential involved? Does the idea of undertaking an adventure go against the code of storytelling honor?
Everything has story potential. Everything.
I never understood why this stunt was viewed as some kind of great social experiment. At it’s core was a story of a guy getting over, and people hopping on board to promote their own interests. The fact he ended up with a crappy house in a crappy town is sort of the fitting.
I wonder why it has to be one or the other, can’t it be both a stunt and a good story?
Does anyone think Mailer and Breslin’s 1969 run for the Mayorship of NYC based on a secession platform wasn’t a stunt?
It’s only cynical if MacDonald was trying to screw people for fun, this seems more like an Internet goof, and more power to him.
That being said, does it sound like a book worthy read….
The thing is he seems to be clearly trying to hide the fact the project was a premeditated publicity stunt, that’s what the Times reporter rightly picked up on and what makes it, at least to me, sort of tainted. He’s a huckster. More power to him. But I don’t give a fuck about his book.