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The author of Final Notice utilizes a creative medium to send important messages about a variety of issues, including the role of the NRA in society and the challenges facing senior citizens. Throughout history, art, in the forms of visual media, literature, film, and theater, has played major roles in inspiring cultural shifts. What potential, if any, for long-term impact do you see in a novel like this one? What did the author do well in attempting to inspire cultural change, and what could he have done better?

The things we feed our minds usually manifests in our behaviours. So over time with the right stimuli, people will start acting according to how they have been programmed. This book made an attempt to shift the way people think about guns etc., I am sure it will get people to start thinking a little differently.

What a fascinating question - I think creative work can contribute to cultural change, but I see it as a kind of cyclical process: certain works create a more favourable environment in which truly game-changing creative work can be written. But maybe, before anything can emerge, there has to be the right kind of climate in the first place. Sometimes, I think, books define a culture, and by doing so become really famous, but then the way they've defined the culture helps to bring change. I hope this book contributes in its own small way to a cultural change.

This book could end up having a huge impact. All it takes is the right person to read it and do something similar to draw even more attention. It ends up creating a domino effect. So in and of itself, one book may not cause a major change, but it could be the catalyst for the change.

I think Fleisher did a really good job of sharing his political views with the main goal being to benefit and care for all people. He has a very open-minded view about people and seems to abhor stereotypes. I walked away with a good deal of respect for him because of how apparent his love of all people is in his writing. I really enjoyed his inclusion of Qasim and Rasha. Such wonderful characters.

The one thing I'd say he did not do so well was he got a little boring in his dialogue between Trudi and Vince. Vince asked a lot of questions about owning a gun, buying a gun, using a gun and it just got a little too extensive. Those portions tended to drag on.

I think the author didn’t a very good job, the problem is that too low a percentage if Americans are willing to read more than a few paragraphs and this never invest the time and effort to carefully consider anything. Decisions and opinions are formed and defended based on knee-jerk reactions to sound bites and internet blurbs. This doesn’t really lead to positive and effective changes because so few are thinking things through and evaluating potential consequences, good and bad.

Intriguing question. One of the issues I have with the book is that it touches on very important issues but TOO many issues to concentrate on. For example, with what is going on right now there is the gun and NRA focus. But there is the whole concept of technology use going too far and the challenges facing seniors. But some of the challenges seniors face could be considered "new". Medicine exists so we live longer, financially people need to work more to survive, etc. So you have all these new challenges seniors face that might not have happened to those who were seniors in 1970.

However, the book takes a side rather then inspiring thought and that is where I feel it wouldn't have a cultural impact.

I believe the author did a wonderful job of opening the minds of readers to the senior citizen experience and psyche. The younger generation is too busy working their tails off to make ends meet or staring at their phones to really take notice of the plight of others. Between the author's wonderful skill of writing and my own experiences with elders, I was able to better understand the issues facing the elderly and how they feel about it. I do believe the author could have done a bit more to tell the NRA side of things as well as he did in all other aspects. He really nailed the background of business, science, and relationships, but he was lacking on the NRA background and perspective. -Unless I am wrong and they are just really that horrible...

VMCMILLEN88 wrote: ↑07 Mar 2018, 23:49 I believe the author did a wonderful job of opening the minds of readers to the senior citizen experience and psyche. The younger generation is too busy working their tails off to make ends meet or staring at their phones to really take notice of the plight of others. Between the author's wonderful skill of writing and my own experiences with elders, I was able to better understand the issues facing the elderly and how they feel about it. I do believe the author could have done a bit more to tell the NRA side of things as well as he did in all other aspects. He really nailed the background of business, science, and relationships, but he was lacking on the NRA background and perspective. -Unless I am wrong and they are just really that horrible...

I don’t think the NRA are really that horrible, at least not right now. There are many good people who are a part of it. It doesn’t seem too far out that they could run a senior discount though. The attitude presented by their leaders seemed a bit exaggerated to me, but I think that was for the purpose of the novel. I think the problem is the NRA doesn’t recognize that all situations are not the same, and what’s appropriate in one context, such as rural setting, is not necessarily appropriate in an urban apartment setting.

This is a great question. I hope that people will be open to hearing various sides of an argument or social issues. This might be a good starting place.

I agree that creative media can have a huge impact. However, I think that most people who need to read the book will not. If the book was adapted into a movie, it may be able to reach a larger audience as the time commitment is smaller than that of a book.

Media plays numerous roles in influencing and controlling how we as a society think, and act. Being that forms of media are surrounding us at all hours of the day, it is impossible to say that it does not affect us in one way or another. Books, TV shows, news articles, radio broadcasts, print ads, our phones and laptops, the list of influences goes on and on. Exposure to that many influences from different sources is of course going to adjust and modify our opinions and thoughts!

ericahs wrote: ↑08 Mar 2018, 11:08 This is a great question. I hope that people will be open to hearing various sides of an argument or social issues. This might be a good starting place.

Listening to both sides is critical in any serious discussion!

lavellan wrote: ↑09 Mar 2018, 14:59 I agree that creative media can have a huge impact. However, I think that most people who need to read the book will not. If the book was adapted into a movie, it may be able to reach a larger audience as the time commitment is smaller than that of a book.

The concept of the watch would make a great episode of Black Mirror. For those of you who haven't seen it, every episode is a short story about a type of futuristic technology. It follows characters who use it, and typically shows the pitfalls of that technology. It's very much a warning about being too dependent on technology. The rest of the issues presented in Final Notice are almost all hot topics right now anyway: gun control, responsibility of the NRA, and immigration.

Thanks for the creative question on creative media . I am not sure if the book will be a catalyst for change. Having the other side's POV would have added more to the dialogue on gun control. With only one side presented you may get some undecideds. I don't foresee many from the right rushing to get a copy of the book though.

Cultural change happens with critical mass. Rarely can one book, artwork, song, or article make an impact, but they can contribute to the shift in public sentiment that will result in change.