Great Interviews of the 20th Century

The Guardian newspaper has a section on their website called “Great Interviews of the 20^th Century” (http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/series/greatinterviews ). Here is a discussion of a selection of those interviews. The common thread is the struggle between interviewer and interviewee to gain control of the interview for their own advantage.

The article There’s nothing better in life then diamonds (The Guardian, 21^st September 2007), is a reprint of Charlotte Chandler’s 1979 interview with Mae West, a popular actress in the mid-20^th century known for her flirtatious behaviour. The interview gives the impression that Mae West is a person seeking attention and that appearances are important to her. This has given her the desire to control the interview. She has done many interviews before and knows how to change the direction of the conversation. For example, Mae West was happy to talk about men in general, but when it came to talking about finding the right man to spend the rest of her life with, she gave a brief answer then began to speak about her mother in detail. She also tried to unsettle the interviewer by giving advice and getting the interviewer Charlotte to unbutton her top. Despite her ability to guide the interview, she still was put off guard by Charlotte Chandler’s presence. Mae West was used to being interviewed by men and this created her interview style. This time she was being interviewed by a woman so did not know exactly how to deal with this new situation. This may have allowed a more open interview then was expected.

Another interview to achieve openness was Truman Capote’s interview with Marlon Brando in Japan in 1957. Marlon Brando was considered to be a private person who did not like interviews, not even the director of the film he was making knew much about him, but he was willing to speak to Truman Capote. Truman Capote has the ability to befriend the people he interviews so they will speak openly in ways they may have not done before. His ability is well portrayed in the movie Capote. He is able to make friends with people in order to gain their trust. He reveals a little of himself and then provides a listing hear. Charlotte Chandler also does this with Mae West who comments “Men must like you because you are a brilliant listener”.

While Truman Capote liked to make the interviewee think they were in control, the Sex Pistols seemed to be really in control when Bill Grundy interviewed them on the Today Show in 1976. In fact, he was suspended from his job because of it. The Sex Pistols were swearing throughout the interview, which was not very common on television at the time. The interviewer did not help the situation; he said “Say something outrageous”. He also had one member of the band repeat the swearword when it was not said loud enough. The Sex Pistols took full advantage of the interview. They increased their popularity and brought punk rock to the general public.