tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53380480462310308292024-03-12T18:45:08.712-07:00Fantasy, Horror, and Sci-FiUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338048046231030829.post-42108478535260305382014-11-28T09:08:00.001-08:002014-11-28T09:08:33.798-08:00Revised Post: Diverse Position Science Fiction
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 24.0pt;">Required Book: </span><br />
<br />
<img class="mainImage" height="640" src="http://hoodedutilitarian.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Dawn-2.jpg" style="background-color: white;" width="408" /><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 18.0pt;">In Diverse Position
Science Fiction, the characters are pushed to the limit in a world that is no
longer hospitable. Octavia E. Butler has done a marvelous job of creating a
world in which humans struggle to survive as well as keep their humanity. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 18.0pt;"><br />
The main character, Lilith Iyapo, wakes up in a cell. She has no contact with
the outside world, except for an inanimate voice that attempts to ask her
questions. It is discovered that the Earth has been made unlivable through
human warfare and that extraterrestrials have intervened. They have come to
trade in genetic makeup. The alien race, Onkali, survives by taking what they
see to be superior genes from other species. However, they also force their
trading partners to receive some of their alien genes in return, thereby
changing both species completely. This becomes the main conflict of the book,
the struggle to keep human beings <i>human</i>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 18.0pt;"><br />
Butler's <i>Dawn</i> is atypical of science fiction in that it does not center
around a mechanically advanced society, galactic war, or human greatness. On
the contrary, the Onkali are essentially biological. Their space ship is
"alive." They avoid the use of mechanics. There is no mention of huge
galactic empires fighting each other across galaxies. In fact, the Onkali talk
about their "trading" process as if it is accepted and met with
little conflict elsewhere in the universe. Human folly and weakness is
emphasized more than human greatness. A small group of powerful humans were
inconsiderate and callous enough to destroy the world. The Onkali actually
thought that the humans must have discussed and decided to perform mass suicide
of their species together, because any other reason for a species
self-inflicted destruction did not make sense to them.The humans in <i>Dawn</i>
are constantly portrayed as powerless against the Onkali and their
"seduction". The only strength a human obtains is through Onkali
genetic engineering and the creation of primitive weapons.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 18.0pt;">The novel is an
exploration of a world very separate from our own. The author relies on social
interaction between the Onkali and humans in order to describe the
difference between the alien and human worlds. For example, the Onkali believe
cancer has medicinal or curative properties and see it as a gift. The Onkali
have a third gender called Ooloi. The Ooloi mate with a male and female Onkali
and are instrumental to reproduction. This third distinction is extremely
important to Onkali existence, but is foreign from human understanding. Once
experienced, an encounter with an Ooloi can be dangerously strong. They can
provide a mental connection that simulates or is better than sex.
Interestingly, in a species that trades genetic codes for survival they do not
see differences as negative. The fact that humans are equally full of life and
death on a genetic level intrigues them and is seen as "beautiful
possibility," erasing racial tension. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 18.0pt;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 18.0pt;">This is a
niche book. Ignoring majority expectations, it creates its own momentum. <i>Dawn</i>
illustrates that Science Fiction is becoming increasingly more diverse. There
is a rise of authors similar to Octavia Butler, interested in world building
and challenging accepted culture. The first installment of the <i>Xenogenesis</i>
series leads the reader to wonder what the Onkali's human "trade"
will lead to.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 24.0pt;">Required Movie:</span><br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Monsters</span></i><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> (2010) director: Gareth Edwards </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><img class="mainImage" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVZHli_1oBqO_BUUwtjTUuo4Wd8sz5B5_DAQe2KfWEADUpO0bkXlZTk8-ZHtjOSCOHIRZf9c9FLiOq6d9JpgH-GRMDcbeTHOfT7l4j2ktr9YhVr6MBUMDTPNQtPbZfzRxeJoxn5JEzfi4O/s1600/monsters-poster.jpg" style="background-color: white;" /> </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 18.0pt;">Monsters</span></i><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 18.0pt;"> explores human nature. When the
food chain is threatened humans become aggressive. The aliens in the movie are
shown to be aggressive when they feel threatened, but seem otherwise
unconcerned with humans. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 18.0pt;">When humans are scared,
they become irrational. In order to survive, man must remain calm and observant
of his surroundings.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 18.0pt;"><br />
During crisis the gap between differing social classes becomes larger. Those
with means are insulated by their wealth. Those on the margins of society tend
to take risky, desperate actions.</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 18.0pt;">However, when humans are dependent on each other for
survival, they often become more compassionate.</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 18.0pt;">Impossible circumstances can push very unlikely
people together.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 18.0pt;">When people are afraid
they like to pretend they are invincible. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 18.0pt;">Catastrophe morbidly
draws people like flies and sells papers. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 18.0pt;">Being heartless is much
harder to do when actually faced with a grotesque situation or moral
compromise.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 18.0pt;">When constantly faced
with impending death, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>personal identity becomes
clearer.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 18.0pt;">No matter how hard you
try to push away your past it stays with you. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 18.0pt;">Temporary pleasure is
just that, temporary. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 18.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span><br />
<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338048046231030829.post-35831521425519572682014-11-23T13:14:00.004-08:002014-11-23T13:14:59.554-08:00Sci-Fi Parody and Satire<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Required Audio: </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><img class="mainImage" src="http://www.wired.com/geekmom/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/428997_336934243009216_320609644641676_932073_1667131893_n.jpg" style="height: 399px; width: 628px;" /></span></span><img class="mainImage" src="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/6d/f7/6a/6df76a0fd52d15fb47da1c1f7301e3b5.jpg" style="height: 338px; width: 490px;" /><br />
<br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy</i> was originally a 1978 radio show written by Douglas Adams, broadcast in the United Kingdom by BBC radio 4. It is about finding the answer to the question of life, the universe, and everything, as well as the demolition of earth for a hyperspace Bypass, and Arthur Dent, the supposed last surviving human of Earth's demolition, among many other interesting characters and events. Full of conscious robots, aliens, time travel, hyper evolution, infinite improbability drive, and dry humor </span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy </i>sounds like it would be a serious journey into science fiction. However its dry humor is more than just comic relief, it is satire and parody at its best. This radio series uses the science fiction genre as its vehicle to deliver several cultural assumptions that are not futuristic, but current. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">For example, The company that wants to demolish Arthur Dent's house to build a new bypass in its place parallels the Vogon constructor fleet coming to demolish Earth to build a </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">hyperspace Bypass. Both of these "companies" don't care about the "common man" they are about to destroy, they want to get on with their job and make money in the process. When they receive complaints they try to pin the situation on the complainer by throwing out a plethora of red-tape hoops to jump through. This is not a lofty idea of the future, but a remark on current society. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The show goes on the establish multiple times over that in the future there will not be any change from this viewpoint, because species superiority, greed, apathy, and unscrupulous behavior will always be a large part of any "higher thinking" society. Scams, social bias, social injustice, depression, popularity contests, and ridiculous consumerism still exist, but on a galactic scale.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In order to illustrate some of these points the event being described is exaggerated. For example, there is a planet full of birdlike creatures on which an entire sedimentary layer of <i>shoes</i> is found. Why would there be an entire sedimentary layer of shoes on a planet that is home to only birds? This is because of the <i>Shoe Event Horizon</i>. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A huge company, </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Dolmansaxlil Shoe Corporation, tried to make shoes the most important commodity by using the <i>fact</i> that depressed people look at the ground often and thus might want to buy a new pair of shoes to cheer themselves up. They sold shoes that were poorly made and sized to cause a higher demand for shoes, because they would have to be replaced more often. This would result in worse quality shoes and higher demand until the planet's society collapsed and the current lifeforms gave up on feet entirely, evolving into birdlike creatures that had no need of them.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">This has a direct correlation to current society in that people want what they don't have, but as soon as they do get it they move on to something else. Likewise, if they never get what they want they never stop trying to achieve it or achieve it <i>better</i>. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In this way Science Fiction is important to society in that it has a way of either pointing out current things that could be made better or predicting a near future, in which the current situation has evolved into a more aggravated state. </span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338048046231030829.post-44221672846738290992014-11-17T07:23:00.001-08:002014-11-17T07:23:46.494-08:00The Aquatic Uncle<img class="mainImage" src="http://ts3.mm.bing.net/th?id=HN.608018651937114696&pid=1.7" height="640" style="background-color: white;" width="366" /> <br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1) Are there any prominent symbols in the story~ what are they and how are they used?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The short story, <i>The Aquatic Uncle</i>, by Italo Calvino creates its own symbols that parallel "modern life". It could be said that the use of the Science behind the "Carboniferous period, abandoned aquatic life for terrestrial" is only a metaphor for a society moving forward in to modernity and leaving behind the old way of life. However, the use of "paws", "tadpoles", great-uncle N'ba N'ga and "edges" can be seen as symbols for other things. The "paws' of the story refer to the terrestrial creatures that have lived on land long enough to develop them and so are a symbol of the highest achievement adapted at this point. The narrator, Qfwfq, speaks of his terrestrial girlfriend's "paws" in a kind of reverence. He has put her on a pedestal as being greater than him because of it. "Tadpoles" symbolize not just an antiquated, undesirable beginning to new life, but immaturity, someone who does not understand the world. This would be found in Qfwfq's embarrassment at everything fish, instead of understanding that the two worlds should embrace each other. Great-uncle N'ba N'ga symbolizes the ages gone by and the idea that what is once considered old will one day become new again, a cycle of ideas and life. This is seen when Qfwfq's terrestrial girlfriend decides to join him and become a fish, because that is where she sees the future. Finally, "edges" symbolize a divide in society and how playing along the edge of an issue can result in falling to one side or the other.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">2) What connections did you make with the story? Discuss elements of the story with which you were able to connect?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I have always been fascinated by my older relatives, their story, life, and anything they have to tell me about "the way things were". I believe it is very important to be knowledgeable about the past in order to insure that bad events do not repeat and to be able to discern when an aspect of the past is needed in the present day society. Youth are often embarrassed by their parents or otherwise older relatives, like Qfwfq is by his great fish uncle. This embarrassment and denial of the past and the fact that they themselves will one day be the <i>past</i>, often blinds them to anything beneficial that they could take from the past to use in the present. For example, Qfwfq realizes too late that if he had made peace with his past and incorporated it into his life then he may not have lost his terrestrial love, Lll, who recognized the importance of the the past. However, Lll takes the other extreme. She does not incorporate the past into her current life either, she lets it <i>replace</i> her current life. There needs to be a give and take balance between the past, present, and future, because ultimately life has a way of repeating itself. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">3) What changes would you make to adapt this story to another medium? What medium would you use? What changes would you make? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">This story would be an interesting picture book, not for children, because they probably wouldn't like the way Lll leaves Qfwfq in the end, but then again picture books do not have to be for children at all. The story is so well written it would have to be followed rather precisely to have the same affect. I imagine illustrations created using woodcut prints or linoleum block prints. This would be very affective in capturing "age", since the story takes place in the Carboniferous period, it would be interesting to use an older form of image making. The prints would be black and white slowly gaining color as the story moves from the water to the land. The story has a humorous tone, so it would be appropriate to not change the characters into humans, but to keep them as fish and terrestrial beings in a human setting. I can already picture a car load of slightly terrestrial fish in a big van on their way to make their once a year visit to the lagoon their great-uncle N'ba N'ga lives in. In the end when Lll swims away with N'ba N'ga, she should be trailing her "color" behind her in a sea of grey to illustrate the meeting of two different worlds.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338048046231030829.post-89594382570926831062014-11-16T15:01:00.002-08:002014-11-16T15:01:49.865-08:00Literary Sepeculation<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Required Reading:</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><img class="mainImage" height="640" src="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/37/42/2d/37422d5b571d304083e0c2d83e3c6710.jpg" style="background-color: white;" width="439" /> </span></span></span><br />
<br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"The distance of the Moon", "At Daybreak", "A sign in space", and "Without color", are all short stories in Italo Calvino's collection, </span><em><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Cosmicomics. </span></em></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">These stories are built around scientific "facts" of the time the stories were written. </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The character, </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Qfwfq, narrates each tale in a witty, polite, fanciful tone</span></span>. <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Calvino describes events in the history of the universe that can only be guessed at </span>in such an imaginative, playful, and lyrical way, that his writing seems almost poetic. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><em><br /></em></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Italo Calvino's<i> </i></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Cosmicomics</i> collection seems to hold so much more than regular science fiction. It would be too limiting to label his work science fiction. This is because, no matter how witty and pretty Calvino's words roll off the tongue they also signify deeper aspects of human relationships. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For example, in </span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"The distance of the Moon" Calvino's illustrates three character's hopelessly lost in unrequited love for each other. The captain's wife, Mrs. Vhd Vhd, is in love with the Deaf One, cousin of the narrator </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Qfwfq, but </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Qfwfq is in love with Mrs. Vhd Vhd. Meanwhile the Deaf One is unaware of </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Mrs. Vhd Vhd's love for him as he is head over heals for the moon. Desperate actions occur and Ofwfq is stuck on the moon with Mrs. Vhd Vhd. This is where Calvino slips in human relationships in a sly twist. </span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Mrs. Vhd Vhd, although alone with </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Qfwfq on the moon for a month, is only thinking of the Deaf One and how if she were more like the moon he may then love her. The month ends and the Death One returns to push the moon further away from the earth. </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Qfwfq realizes this is his last chance to return to earth and leaves Mrs. Vhd Vhd behind without a second glance, understanding she is forever beyond his reach, now quite literally. It is revealed that the reasoning for </span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Mrs. Vhd Vhd's decision to stay behind on the moon is that she felt this was the only way to stay connected to the Deaf One. </span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"It was only at this moment that she proved her passion for the deaf man hadn't been a frivolous whim but an irrevocable vow. If what my cousin now loved was the distant Moon, then she too would remain distant, on the Moon."</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Calvino used elements of the science fiction genre only in that his work holds science and the spectacle of space inside it. Truly his work is evaluating different aspects of the human condition through relationships. His use of science is as a metaphor or symbol that the reader can then use to understand the underlying message. For example in </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">"Without color"</span>, the science is that </span><span style="font-size: large;">without atmosphere, ultraviolet light makes Earth a dull gray color. When the Earth's atmosphere changed so did the the gray color, which became what we know today. This parallels the story's conflict, in which </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Qfwfq falls in love with Ayl, a person or creature who can only abide the dull grey provided by ultraviolet light. In the end </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Qfwfq and Ayl are forever separated by this dilemma as </span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Qfwfq realizes,</span></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">"So false, so much in contrast with Ayl's person, with Ayl's world, with Ayl's idea of beauty, </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">that I realized her place could never have been out here." </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It could be argued that this story devoid of all science and fanciful flare is about a loving relationship that soured after something outside the two people in question was irrevocably changed, a relationship with a conclusion forced by external forces. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the case of Calvino's </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Cosmicomics </span></em><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">the distinction between writing in genre and writing that uses elements of genre but is literary is important. So much would be lost out of Calvino's work if it were read as a simple science fiction thrill.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><em><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></em></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Required Movie: </span></span></span><br />
<br /><em>Existenz (1999) </em>director: David Cronenberg<br />
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<img class="mainImage" src="http://laraandthereelboy.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/existenz_ver2_xlg.jpg" style="background-color: white; height: 399px; width: 538px;" /><br />
<img class="mainImage" src="http://nerdylittlesecret.com/main/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/existenz_controller.jpg" style="background-color: white; height: 399px; width: 600px;" /><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><img class="mainImage" src="http://jeffwerner.ca/images/journal/existenz-bio-port-003.jpg" style="height: 157px; width: 265px;" /> </span><img src="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?&id=HN.608024759384409867&w=300&h=300&c=0&pid=1.9&rs=0&p=0" style="height: 157px; opacity: 1; width: 265px;" /> </div>
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<img class="mainImage" src="http://mimg.ugo.com/201005/44678/existenz.jpg" style="height: 333px; width: 500px;" /> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It's hard to talk about eXistenZ without ruining its plot and its mind twisting effect, so I will be talking mostly about its message. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As can be seen in the above still shots of </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">eXistenZ, the future holds organic virtual reality gaming consoles or "game pods" that can be physically linked to the the gamers' neurological pathways creating a gaming experience like no other.</span></span> All of the senses can be accessed in the game making the game universe more realistic and if played in a group the group can decide what their character and plot will be based on a compilation of the groups desires. It is a gamers' dream come true. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">However, things that usually seem too good to be true often are and this new gaming device has one very controversial problem linked with it. It is so realistic that gamers often unplug and cannot tell whether the reality they are in is the real world or not. This question of reality verses a virtual world that mimics reality almost perfectly is the main point of conflict throughout the movie. When has the virtual world encroached too far into everyday life and how do you stop it when it does?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span> </span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338048046231030829.post-61239432067614951152014-11-09T16:22:00.002-08:002014-11-09T16:40:17.552-08:00Diverse Position Science Fiction<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;">Required Book: </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img class="mainImage" src="http://hoodedutilitarian.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Dawn-2.jpg" height="640" width="408" /> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In Diverse Position Science Fiction the characters are pushed to the limit in a world that is either no longer hospitable or unwelcoming to them. Octavia E. Butler has done a marvelous job of creating a world in which humans will have to struggle to survive as well as keep their humanity. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The main character, Lilith Iyapo, wakes up in a cell where she is taken care of but contained with no outside contact except for an inanimate voice that attempts to ask her questions. It is discovered that the Earth has been made unlivable through human warfare and that extraterrestrials have intervened to <i>trade</i>. This trade is not of goods, but of genetic makeup. The alien race, Onkali, survives by taking what they see to be superior genes from other species. However, they do not just take they also force their trading partners to receive some of their alien genes in return, thereby changing both species completely. This becomes the main conflict of the book, the struggle to keep human beings <i>human</i>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Butler's </span><i>Dawn</i> is not typical of science fiction in that it does not center around a mechanically advanced society, galactic war, or human greatness. On the contrary the Onkali are essentially biological, even their space ship is "alive" and they do not use mechanics of any sort unless they absolutely have to. There is no mention of huge galactic empires fighting each other across galaxies, in fact the Onkali talk about their "trading" process as if it is accepted and met with little conflict elsewhere in the universe. Human folly and weakness is emphasized more than human greatness ever is. This has to do with the fact that a small group of powerful humans were inconsiderate and callous enough to destroy the world. The Onkali actually thought that the humans must have discussed and decided to perform mass suicide of their species together, because any other reason for a species self inflicted destruction did not make sense to them.The humans in <i>Dawn</i> are constantly portrayed as powerless against the Onkali and their "seduction". The only strength a human obtains is through Onkali genetic engineering and the creation of primitive weapons.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The book is very much an exploration of a world very separate from our own. It relies on social interaction between the Onkali and humans through much of the book in order to describe just how different their alien world is. For example the Onkali believe cancer has medicinal or curative properties and see it as a gift. Also, the Onkali have a third gender or kind separate from female and male called Ooloi. The Ooloi mate with a male and female Onkali and are instrumental to reproduction. This third distinction is extremely important to Onkali existence, but is so foreign from human understanding that the connection to it, once experienced, can be dangerously strong. They can provide a mental connection that simulates or is better than sex. Interestingly, in a species that trades genetic codes for survival they do not see differences as negative, even the fact that humans are so equally full of life and death on a genetic level intrigues them and is seen as "beautiful possibility". This erases racial tension where they are concerned. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It would be right to say this is a niche book. It doesn't follow the majority vote for what science fiction tropes are expected to be, but it does a good job creating its own momentum. Science fiction has become increasingly more diverse. There is a rise of authors similar to Octavia Butler, interested in world building, testing way-of-life ideas alternative to any we have today. <i>Dawn</i> is part of the <i>Xenogenesis</i> series. The first book certainly leads the reader to wonder what the outcome will be from the Onkali, human "trade".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Required Movie:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Monsters</i> (2010) director: Gareth Edwards </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img class="mainImage" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVZHli_1oBqO_BUUwtjTUuo4Wd8sz5B5_DAQe2KfWEADUpO0bkXlZTk8-ZHtjOSCOHIRZf9c9FLiOq6d9JpgH-GRMDcbeTHOfT7l4j2ktr9YhVr6MBUMDTPNQtPbZfzRxeJoxn5JEzfi4O/s1600/monsters-poster.jpg" style="background-color: white;" /> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">This movie shows several interesting aspects of human nature. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">When our position on the food chain is threatened we get aggressive. The aliens in the movie are shown to be aggressive when they feel threatened, but seem otherwise not to care about humans. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">When humans are scared they have a hard time thinking rationally. Taking a deep breath and observing your surroundings can be a life saver.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">During crisis the gap between differing social classes becomes larger. Those with means are "protected" while those without have to make do.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">Desperate people do desperate things.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">When Humans are dependant on each other for survival compassion grows.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">Impossible circumstances can push very unlikely people together.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">When people are afraid they like to pretend they are invincible. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">Catastrophe morbidly draws people like flies and sells papers. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">Being heartless is much harder to do when actually faced with a grotesque situation or moral compromise.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">When constantly faced with impending death sense of self can become clearer.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">and </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">No matter how hard you try to push away your past it stays with you. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">Temporary pleasure is just that, temporary. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span> </span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338048046231030829.post-86481239901511841382014-11-02T13:08:00.000-08:002014-11-02T13:08:43.872-08:00Cyberpunk <b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Required Reading:</span></span></b><br />
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<i>Johnny Mnemonic</i> a short story by: William Gibson<br />
first seen in Omni Magazine's May 1981 issue<br />
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<img class="mainImage" src="http://omnireboot.jerrickventures.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/OMNI_1981_05-1-394x450.jpg" height="640" style="background-color: white;" width="560" /><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">William Gib-son's, <i>Johnny Mnemonic</i>, was visually stimulating story. It's in depth description of a futuristic world saturated by technology, the control of multinational corporations, and body enhancement gives a rather intimidating image. This world is one where your face and gender can change quite easily. Animal parts, like doberman teeth, can be surgically implanted or grown into your body. Even the "Low-Tech" community who do not believe in such a rampant use of technology alter themselves as well. It makes the reader wonder if anyone knows who they are in this futuristic landscape where "identity theft" means surgically stealing someone's face instead of stealing a credit card. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Gibson's reality is not very far from our own in terms of what people would do to themselves <i>if the could</i>. In the first reading of <i>Johnny Mnemonic</i> it may seem that the world as we know it could never get to that place, however if our society today is broken down it isn't too far from Gibson's vision in some aspects. Our present culture is very interested in outer physical appearance and superiority. Plastic surgery is used quite often by all kinds of people and "cyborgs", humans altered by mechanical elements built into the body, are also on the rise. For example, people with pace makers. Therefore a future where plastic surgery and physical enhancement through adding mechanical is seen as normal and desired is not hard to imagine. Fingernails with built in blades, like Molly Millions has or a couple that has used plastic surgery to have the same sex and look almost identical, such as the "dog sisters"may become more common in the future.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Other aspects of Gibson's reality include the further division of society into the "have" and "have not", those that have money, power, and technology and those that do not. The huge corporations, the literally bottom dwelling Low-Techs', and the powerful crime gangs are other groups that are given definition in his short story. Gibson's inclusion of these other groups gives depth to his world and makes it seem more real simply because his reality, like ours, is complicated.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The reality of the story rather forces the narrative. For example, there would be no story if Johnny did not have important information trapped in his brain that he can't get access to without help. Johnny is struggling to get his own memories and life back, but this information locked inside his head holds him back. Te ability to make memories and keep old memories is something we take for granted everyday without a second thought. The idea that one could remove memories like computer files to make room for force-fed information is interesting and foreboding to the reader. Much of what Gibson describes may actually occur one day in our own reality, therefor his story serves as a kind of testing ground. If the reader does not like or appreciate the state of Gibson's fictional reality then they should take a look at the direction the world is going in today, because, </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">in some fashion, </span>it is almost parallel . </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Movie: </span></span></b> <br />
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Robert Longo <i>Johnny Mnemonic</i> 1995<br />
<img class="mainImage" src="http://media.senscritique.com/media/000006364761/source_big/Johnny_Mnemonic.jpg" height="640" style="background-color: white;" width="469" /><br />
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<img class="mainImage" src="http://www.explore-science-fiction-movies.com/images/jones-cyborg.jpg" height="495" style="background-color: white;" width="640" /><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I found out that Johnny Mnemonic had been made into a film in 1995, so I watched it to see if it was able to capture Gibson's reality. It was very similar and yet so different from the short story, as many literary works adapted for the silver screen are. Most of the structure existed, such as huge corporations controlling the public through what they would and would not give them, Johnny's brain storage issue, the Low Tech's, and the Yakusa. However, the plot was extremely different. Molly Millions does not exist, she is now "Jane", a disease attacking people overly reliant on technology called N.A.S. is present, an international pharmaceutical company, Pharmakom, is trying to stop the cure to N.A.S. from getting to the public...so, it is different, but definitely still fits the cyberpunk genre. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Required Movie: </span></span></b><br />
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<i>Paprika</i> (2006) director Satoshi Kon<br />
<img alt="http://www.animationsfilme.ch/datenbank/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Paprika_poster.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" src="http://www.animationsfilme.ch/datenbank/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Paprika_poster.jpg" /> <br />
<img class="mainImage" src="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/36/7b/db/367bdb56bf59f588695b606933517a60.jpg" height="360" width="640" /> <br />
<img alt="http://dorkshelf.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/paprika-poster.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" src="http://dorkshelf.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/paprika-poster.jpg" height="640" width="433" /><br />
<img alt="http://basementrejects.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/paprika-2006-movie-toy-parade-dreams-review.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://basementrejects.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/paprika-2006-movie-toy-parade-dreams-review.jpg" /><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Paprika</i> is a feat of animation. Incredible. Just looking at the above images should give a taste of what the rest of the movie is like. </span> <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The movie revolves around the possibility of harnessing dreams. A device, the DC Mini, as been invented that allows a person access into other's dreams. Obviously, this was meant to be used for psychotherapy and there are those that would abuse it.</span> <span style="font-size: large;">As the movie proceeds the consequences of the illegal use of the DC Mini grow dire. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The most interesting Cyberpunk aspect of the movie is the fact that Dr. Chiba, the main character, has developed an alter ego in the dreamworld called Paprika. This aspect of the film is reminiscent of internet use today. People on the internet often have an alter ego that is more confident or rash, something they wish they could be in person, but only portray over the internet. Likewise, Paprika is "perfect", capable of doing so much more than Dr. Chiba. Paprika even mentions that dreams and the internet are similar. At some point in the film Paprika and Chiba become separate from each other as reality and the dreamworld converge, however they eventually become one. This also points to the future of our reality. When the internet becomes a solid aspect in every second of our day, even more so than now, possibly even connected to our brains, how will we know what is real and what is the dream or what is cyberspace and what is reality? </span><br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338048046231030829.post-16260008323517329552014-10-25T12:45:00.003-07:002014-10-25T12:56:58.652-07:00The Fiction of Ideas<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Required Reading:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>The Drowned Giant</i> by: J.G. Ballard, a short story</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><img class="mainImage" src="http://dustyloft.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/the_terminal_beach.jpg" height="640" style="background-color: white;" width="390" /></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><img class="mainImage" src="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/e5/05/c5/e505c589cd75ec02cd05172f9a34c46a.jpg" /> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><img class="mainImage" src="http://www.jgballard.ca/images/bestshortstories250.jpg" height="640" style="background-color: white;" width="424" /> </span></span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>The Drowned Giant</i> by J.G. Ballard presented several ideas that were chilling in their assumption and accuracy of human character. The story follows the discovery of a dead giant washed up on the beach of a small seaside town. It has been said of Ballard that his Science Fiction writing "Uses the fantastic to highlight the real". However, instead of jumping into the expected tale of invading giants climbing out of the sea to reclaim their dead brother or the repercussions of a giant alien crash-landing into Earth's ocean, Ballard allows his dead giant to be the one fantastical element in his story.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What would you do if the corpse of a giant the size of a sperm whale or bigger washed up on the shore of the city you lived in? Narrated by an unnamed scientist that describes the discovery and reaction to the drowned giant in clinical detail, </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>The Drowned Giant </i></span></span>has an unnerving tone from the beginning. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">At first no one wants to believe what they are seeing, then they approach the giant corpse curiously. This "approach" is probably the most shocking element in the entire short story, greater even than the end. Why? Because the curious bystanders begin to crawl, climb, and play on top of the dead body of the giant, which is essentially a huge human. You wouldn't disrespect a dead human by stomping all over them, but that is the point. The giant is not seen as human. He is seen as being </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">different, an alien form </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">trespassing into <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">our </span>world.</span> Again, this is all described in a cold, observational way. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">First, the idea that the corpse of the giant being approachable,</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"> makes sense. The Scientist narrating the events sees the giant as being "beautiful" and becomes aware that he and everyone else there are like "mere copies" of this colossal creature. This reminded me of a child pulling the wings off of a butterfly, marveling at the power they hold over the tiny creature. This story puts this concept in reverse. The giant is like a metaphor for the death that must catch everyone in the end. It is huge and looming. The people of the seaside city therefore find immense fascination with the giant corpse, almost as if they are "conquering" or "facing" death in the most grand way imaginable. At this stage the giant holds great wonder for the people.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">As the giant decomposes it becomes less admired and wondered at. It is "the approaching end of a magnificent illusion". The scientist narrating the story is one of the only people that continues to observe it's decent from a thing of beauty to a thing of grotesque. He describes it as, "This ceaseless metamorphosis, a macabre life-in-death" </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">As the giant decreases in importance or "wonder" the fertilizer company and the cattle food manufacturer begin to dismember the giant, taking away his hands and feet in service of their business. Eventually the giant is decapitated and the people take various pieces and parts of his body to decorate their seaside city with. Memory of the giant slowly fades, until most remember it as a sort of washed up whale instead of what it actually was. The giant becomes landscape. In the end the people could not conquer death and so they continued to surround themselves with it. The scientist remembers and records all.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">This story reflects life today. It does seem true that if people cannot physically touch or see something then they refute it as fiction. People often refuse to acknowledge death, because until they experience it for themselves, it is only a dream. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Required Book: </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Peter Watt: <i>Blindsight </i><a href="http://rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm#Rorschach"> (Read Online)</a></span><br />
<img class="mainImage" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/2f/Blindsight_%28book_cover%29.jpg/200px-Blindsight_%28book_cover%29.jpg" height="640" style="background-color: white;" width="426" /><br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="http://rifters.com/blindsight/covers/bs02.jpg" class="shrinkToFit decoded" src="http://rifters.com/blindsight/covers/bs02.jpg" height="287" width="640" /><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I read the prologue and about half of the <i>Theseus</i> section of <i>Blindsight</i>.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Peter Watts <i>Blindsight</i> begins at the end with this comment:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><i>It didn't start out here. Not with the scramblers or Rorschach,
not with Big Ben or Theseus or the vampires. Most people
would say it started with the Fireflies, but they'd be wrong. It
ended with all those things."</i> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">If this doesn't peek your interest to continue reading then the prologue presents another reason. The narrator Siri had epilepsy and with new scientific advances half of his brain had been taken out to get rid of his "flaw". This of course forced the remainder or his brain to create new neural pathways and ultimately resulted in most of his prior character being corroded. What he lacks in empathy he makes up for in strict observation of the most minute details. This is important because Watts has thought up all kinds of technological advances in need of a critical eye to explain them. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">One example of this is the artificial death. Involving a preservation system and a virtual "heaven" created by the artificially deceased, someone could potentially live in their dreamland of choice, waiting for another time and place to be reborn into. This of course causes social issues as it is seen as being close to suicide. The "dead" are essentially choosing to go to their personal "heaven" without their loved ones. This is something the main character has experienced with a family member.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">So, with only reading a small portion of the book it can be seen that Watts is not so much interested in the action packed drama of the Space Opera genre as he is with the progression of the human race into the future. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Technology has advanced so far in such a short amount of time things thought to be impossible are becoming reality. Watts has created a world that in some respects may not be too far away from our own. There are people working hard on some of the concepts presented in his book, such as a virtual world that can also be connected to the senses or uploading a person's consciousness into a computer.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338048046231030829.post-5057038689890705362014-10-19T18:18:00.002-07:002014-10-19T18:26:01.510-07:00Space Opera<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Reuired Book</span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="style21">Lois McMaster Bujold, <i>Shards of Honor </i></span><br />
<span class="style21"><i><img alt="http://simania.co.il/bookimages/covers83/836099.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://simania.co.il/bookimages/covers83/836099.jpg" height="640" width="441" /> </i></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="style21"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></i></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="style21"><i>Shards of Honor </i>by Lois McMaster Bujold, holds to some of the standard aspects of "Space Opera", but it also adds in a few literary characteristics. For example, there are many explosions, tough decisions, and long periods of one crisis after another. The characters are put through so much turmoil that it seems like they should have broken before the halfway mark. This is where McMaster's storytelling struck a chord with me. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="style21">Yes, there is drama, adventure, and Sci-Fi galore, but that is not the only appeal of the book. I've read Sci-Fi in the past that I could not get into, because the story was all shiny affects and no development of character and plot. However in <i>Shards of Honor</i>, the main character, Cordelia is not impervious to the strife she is put through. She develops several unhealthy conditions caused by her mental and physical strain. Some of these are Pounding Headaches, insomnia, left hand tremula, and a stutter. This immediately makes her character more engaging, because she is made realistic in her human weakness and inspiring in her strength to endure. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="style21">Outside of this her character strives for understanding and acceptance of a culture that is widely regarded as "barbaric, war-loving, and uncivilized" and it does <i>not</i> happen overnight. She has some very strong opinions, like most people, and must come to terms with them. Cordelia conquers a great deal of the stereotypical judgments taught to her by her own culture. However, even after she has come so far she still has moments where her gut reaction is negative. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="style21">The most surprising to me was when she witnessed the "birth" of a child and someone asked why it had to scream so loud. Her response to this question, in her own mind, was "Because she knows she's been born a Barrayar". This is the kind of subtle characterization that </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="style21"><span class="style21">McMaster uses throughout the book. She is letting us know that while Cordelia may accept and love her husband, who is a Barrayar, she does not view his society in the same light. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="style21"><span class="style21">Also, McMaster has chosen to write </span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><i>Shards of Honor </i></span>in a third person omniscient voice. Thereore Cordelia is not the only character we get an internal view of. I found this quite entertaining, but it must also be noted that this was a smart move on her part to emphasize the cultural struggle that existed in her world. The reader did not have to imagine what each side was thinking, they got a front row seat.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="style21"><span class="style21">The internal struggle of the characters to find and keep their honor is a big theme in the book, as the title </span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><i>Shards of Honor, </i>suggests. Some of them have to make tough decisions to keep their honor or choose to loose it in order to save someone important to them. There is also the impact of outer forces on a character's perceived honor. The media is shown to twist around the truth repeatedly turning some characters into heroes and others into villains when they are undeserving of these titles. </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21">As this is a <i>romance </i>space opera, there are also the complications of love and where it leads the characters. Sometimes they deny their true emotions in the face of their social complications and sometimes dramatic events keep them apart. This adds a sense of the realistic to the book as well. The characters are not drooling over each other for the entire book, which is much appreciated. They have lives outside of each other and it is through a balancing act that they form a healthy relationship and move forward. It takes time.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21">The "Aftermaths" section of the book must also be remarked upon. It took me by surprise. This </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21">"Aftermaths"comes after what I thought was the natural ending of the book, which is the description of </span></span></span>Cordelia's contentment and the hope for the future. The mood is decidedly positive. However, the </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21">"Aftermaths" drastically changes the mood to a somber one. It is not negative, but it does leave a lingering sense of foreboding. This foreboding could be taken as a hint at her future installments into the series, but it could also be seen as a warning to the audience. The warning is, you have the power <i>not</i> to see the differences all around you, but the similarities. See the good in people first, before the bad and hopefully you can stop your society from ever getting to the point of so much destruction. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21">The "Aftermaths" does </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>not involve the main characters at all, it follows a Medtech and a Pilot Officer assigned to recover the bodies of the fallen from one of the war zones. Designed to look into the devastation of war, it highlights that <i>death is a great equalizer</i>. No matter if the war was fought for a good reason or for the greed of powerful individuals, the cost of human life is high on both sides. The Medtech is a deeply compassionate woman who cares for the dead with dignity. The</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"> Pilot Officer is a character foil to her in that he does not understand why the collection of the dead matters, especially when it comes to the collecting of the <i>enemy's</i> dead. He gradually, with the reader, is taught how his attitude is not healthy. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21">The "Aftermaths" of </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><i>Shards of Honor </i></span></span></span>brings up many stirring emotions and ideas and is an interesting piece of literature to read for its own merits.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21">Overall <i>Shards of Honor </i>has<i> </i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="style21"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="style21"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="style21"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span class="style21"><span class="style21"><span class="style21">deeper character development, </span></span></span>commentary on social complication, exploration of what it means to have honor, action adventure, realistic romance, well thought out plot, and compelling world building. It has taken the Space Opera genre and given it a higher standard to meet. </span><i><br /></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338048046231030829.post-53537070995465057992014-10-12T11:27:00.001-07:002014-10-12T11:27:34.844-07:00Mythic Fiction and Contemporary Urban Fantasy<br /> <img class="mainImage" src="http://www.mythfolklore.net/3043mythfolklore/images/jamaica/anansi_mcdermottcover.jpg" style="background-color: white; height: 399px; width: 451px;" /><br />
<img class="mainImage" src="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/d5/bb/35/d5bb353f7cb7a9ded7f4fd3b82c4c36c.jpg" style="background-color: white; height: 399px; width: 390px;" /><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Anansi the spider is an animal trickster from West
African mythology. He is often seen as a god or at least someone that can contend with gods. He is a spider, but often appears and acts as a man. He can also, shape shift into other animals. He enjoys making life fun, but his mischief often causes others trouble. Anansi's cleverness is used to trick others so that he can get what he wants, but he isn't evil.</span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Required Book: </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Anasi Boys By: Niel Gaiman</span></span><br />
<img class="mainImage" height="640" src="http://ishallbeatoad.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/anansi-boys.jpg" style="background-color: white; height: 399px; width: 232px;" width="372" /><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In Anansi Boys,by Niel Gaimen, the myth of Anansi is reinvented.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Anansi is a God living as a man. This follows the original Anansi stories in which Anansi is said to live in "his house", instead of some otherworldly place set up for gods, like Mount Olympus in Greek mythology. Also, like the original stories Anansi is a trickster, but Gaimen has given him extraordinary sway over other people. For example, if Anansi gives a name to something everyone seems to call it by that name. This is why the main character can't get people to stop calling him "<i>Fat</i> Charlie", because his father, Anansi, gave him that name. Charlie describes his father as "the finest liar you'll ever meet." </span><span style="font-size: large;">What I liked most about Gaimen's version of Anansi is that he is so charismatic people gravitate toward him unaware that he enjoys mischief at others expense. Charlie's fiance, Rosie, listens to Charlie explain how embarassing his father is and then says she wants to invite him to their wedding, because he sounds like a "character". Likewise, Charlie's mother says Anansi is, "Not a bad man" but he is, "certainly not a good man." </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Charlie seems to be the only one who sees his father in a purely negative light. He is everything his father is not and just about anything his father does mortifies him. This is interesting since the story evolves around him and the brother he never knew he had, Spider. When his father dies Charlie thinks that he has gotten away from the embarrassment, at least a little bit, but then everything goes out the window when he drunkenly decides to follow Mrs. Higgler's advice to "tell a spider" that he wants to see his brother. His brother is exactly like him except he has all the qualities Charlie does not. Spider is charismatic, just like Anansi, and causes all kinds of trouble for Charlie, who must learn about his cultural roots in order to put Spider back in his place. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Gaimen has made the myth relevant to the world today by suggesting Anansi stole the "stories" from Tiger. Tiger's stories were all violent and bloody. Tiger solved problems by hitting, Anansi solved problems by thinking. Saying that Anansi tricked Tiger and stole all of the stories is another way of saying the world has changed. Problems should be solved through the mind, not the fist. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Required Movie:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Lady in the Water</i> (2006) director: M. Night Shyamalan</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><img alt="http://pics.filmaffinity.com/La_joven_del_agua-395802861-large.jpg" class="shrinkToFit decoded" height="621" src="http://pics.filmaffinity.com/La_joven_del_agua-395802861-large.jpg" width="420" /> </span></span></span><img alt="http://www-coochicoos-com.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/images/ladyinthewater.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://www-coochicoos-com.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/images/ladyinthewater.jpg" /><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;">This movie, like Gaimen's book builds on the known myth of mer-people. However, the rest of its mythology seems to have been created just for the movie and later a children's book. </span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;">A string of very "human" characters are explored, asking the question, <i>What would you do if you found out a certain mythology was real</i>? Gaimen's book asks a similar question of the main character, Charlie. But, in <i>Anansi Boys</i>, Charlie must solve his problem alone. In <i>Lady in the Water</i> all of the characters must learn to work together to save Story, the queen of the Narf's. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;">Both </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <i>Lady in the Water </i>and<i> </i></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Anansi Boys </i>sets a tale of myth in an urban setting. This immediately asks the audience to believe in something that they know can not be real, at least for the duration of the media being viewed. In this way, both of these works mix Mythic Fiction and Urban Fantasy.<i><br /></i></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338048046231030829.post-51565964692703533182014-10-05T17:31:00.000-07:002014-10-06T09:02:19.604-07:00Novel of Spiritual Education<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The "Novel of Spiritual Education" is usually
seen as a type of fantasy geared towards young adults. It is almost like
instructions on how best to navigate the world. Some of these books are
very opinionated and obvious in their design. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">C.S. Lewis's <i>The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe</i> is a good example of this. The book clearly spells out belief in God "Aslan" as being integral to happiness or success in life. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img class="mainImage" src="http://www.saltmanz.com/pictures/albums/Cover%20Scans/Book%20Covers/Lion,%20the%20Witch%20and%20the%20Wardrobe.jpg" style="background-color: white; height: 416px; width: 279px;" /><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-size: large;">But, just because </span><span style="font-size: large;">the "Novel of Spiritual Education" has the word "spiritual" in it does not mean that this sub genre can only tout one viewpoint. Philip Pullman's <i>His Dark Materials</i> book series conveys the opposite message through a humanist viewpoint. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><img class="mainImage" src="http://www.marshall.edu/library/bannedbooks/Images/goldencompass.jpg" style="background-color: white; height: 416px; width: 282px;" /> </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The </span><span style="font-size: large;">"Novel of Spiritual Education" may have its roots in Judeo-Christian beliefs, but it has evolved to encompass the author's personal values outside of a wider belief system.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The Harry Potter series promotes many "good" behaviors in its characters. It uses a pretty standard set of values that can cross many cultures. The battle is between good and evil, however the distinction of being <i>either</i> good or evil is grey for the characters. They are not perfect. While they may seem predominantly good or bad there are usually ulterior reasons behind why they choose to behave the way they do. This is true even for extremely dark or "evil" characters, like the Death Eaters. They make poor choices, sometimes purposefully to reach their goals. Usually, this results in negative consequences, but sometimes they get away with it. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Ultimately this is a realistic and appealing view of the world. Everyone gets to where they are through a combination of the choices they make and the circumstances they find themselves in, but everyone dose have control over where they end up.</span><br />
<img class="mainImage" src="http://www.hp-lexicon.org/images/covers/1-ps-covers/ss-front-710px.jpg" style="background-color: white; height: 416px; width: 292px;" /><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Required Book: </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>The Night Circus</i> by: Erin Morgenstern</span> </span></span><br />
<img class="mainImage" src="http://www.foreveryoungadult.com/wp-content/upload/2011/10/night_circus_cover.jpg" height="640" style="background-color: white;" width="421" /><img class="mainImage" src="http://erinmorgenstern.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/night-circus-paperback.jpg" /><img class="mainImage" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQwZJtdPIBBlbf4Ah6J2UtYu2u7J9olLxKA_4qLoFwZmWSIVtQJIUazd2mmIisoGudMW7mSPcLvc9G3pCSRkG1uNbG2PECXabc2n14i5EsdW6oHZvwPS2kvCvKIdfY3UpCp7fwR5pTlva6/s640/The+Night+Circus+white+edtion.jpg" height="640" style="background-color: white;" width="414" /><br />
<br />
<img class="mainImage" src="http://misprintedpages.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/night-circus-japanese.jpg?w=599" style="background-color: white;" /><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In <i>"The Night Circus"</i> by Erin Morgenstern the characters are faced with the decision to be selfish or risk their lives and their love to save all the people connected to the circus that were caught up in a "game" thrust upon them by two powerful men representing two schools of thought.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>"The Night Circus"</i></span> definitely teaches moral concepts and viewpoints, but it is not a book for children, which shows that the </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">"Novel of Spiritual Education" is not just for kids</span></span>. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Also, the way that it approaches these topics is more "sideways". It is not in your face and lets the reader slowly discover the issues at hand. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This book was probably the best book I've read in a long time. Its tangible sensory description, twisted plot, use of several points of view, and skewed sense of time, which makes complete sense if you read the book, are all enchanting. The circus and its characters seem very real in their internal and outward struggles. I did not want to put the book down and actually felt sad when it ended, because it is as the last line says, "You are no longer quite certain which side of the fence is the dream." </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">________________________ </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The two schools of thought are <i>chaos </i>and <i>control</i>. They are displayed in differing forms of magical ability. Chaos has more control over objects in the outside world and is extremely "hands on" when taught. Control is deft at influencing the mind of self and others and is learned through quiet study and practice. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The teachers of these two forms choose two students to be taught and then bind them to play a dangerous game of magical, mental, and emotional endurance, where only one can survive. This game has been played repeatedly with different pupils over time and seems perpetual. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In the book the Night Circus is the setting for the game. It is almost a force of nature the way it captures people's imagination and spirit.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Celia and Marco are the players. Each of them encounters the same complex moral issues and spiritual tests. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">They have been chosen and bound to play the game to the end before they could have a say in the matter, while not being told the dark truth of the game's solution. One of them must die. If the fact that they must kill each other or themselves to end the game is not complex enough, they fall in love before they know the truth. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">As the book progresses both characters come to the conclusion that they do not wish to play this "game" or war between their teachers. The situation forces them to act. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Unwilling to kill each other or live without each other they are then confronted with another pressing issue, their playing board, the circus, has become an integral part of many peoples lives. The people that work there and the people that live for it, would be deprived of the one thing that makes their "soul sing". The circus is that important, however at the end of the game it would inevitably fall apart. This presses the characters to attempt saving it. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Celia in particular is a huge support of the circus. Without her it would not exist. She attempts to secure the circus and the people connected to its future first, planning on killing herself afterward to end the game and save her love, Marco. But, she runs out of time. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Marco is then pressed with making the decision of ending the game himself, which means his death. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Both of these characters are met with the decision of "what would you die for?" They answer this question with, for each other and to save the palpable spiritual presence of the circus itself. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Morally the characters must decide whether or not to be selfish when there are so many people that would be affected by their decision. Spiritually, they must accept their fate before they can change it. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Ultimately they find a way to save each other and the circus, ending the game by combining the two schools of thought to create a new world in which they can find peace.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Required Movie:</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<i>Time Bandits</i> (1981) director: Terry Gilliam <br />
<img alt="http://egosciente.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/time-bandits-movie-poster-1020467291.jpg?w=580" class="shrinkToFit decoded" src="http://egosciente.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/time-bandits-movie-poster-1020467291.jpg?w=580" height="595" width="419" /><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Terry Gilliam's <i>Time Bandits</i>, represents the child, Kevin, as being more morally correct than the surrounding adults, whether it is his parents or the dwarves he meets. The movie preaches several key concepts. The first one seen right away is that the love of the newest household gadgets over personal relationships with people (Like your family) is wrong. Living to compare yourself to other people is also wrong. The message may even be that people have lost the value of personal relationships <i>because</i> of the distraction modern conveniences offer. Being selfish and stealing is wrong. You should treat your friends with respect. There are more important things than money. Sticking together is a sure way to succeed...The list goes on.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Basically, this entire movie is a teaching tool and evokes the same qualities as the </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">"Novel of Spiritual Education". It approaches these topics humorously. This means it can slyly slip in plenty of education, without the viewer getting tired of being "taught". Kevin, as a character who makes the best of his situations, is appealing and seems designed to draw younger viewers in. This completes the education by giving the young viewers someone to look up to, making the possibility of them applying what they learned from the movie higher.</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338048046231030829.post-12212190873832252912014-09-28T13:28:00.001-07:002014-09-28T13:30:26.962-07:00Heroic Journey<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Required Book:</span></b></span></span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> <i>The Hobbit</i> by: </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">J.R.R. Tolkien</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><img alt="http://www.tolkienbooks.net/images/main/hobbit-2003-annotated.gif" class="decoded" src="http://www.tolkienbooks.net/images/main/hobbit-2003-annotated.gif" /> </span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">As a genre fantasy brings the reader out of their reality and into a made up one in which they can go anywhere and do anything. They can be the hero. This is probably why it is such a popular genre today. Fantasy allows for the imagination to take the wheel and drive. In most societies and cultures allowing your imagination to be the ruling course of thought is not looked well upon. Logic and facts run the show. </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">When the fantasy genre was just getting started it was seen as an "escapists" pleasure. Today fantasy and the use of imagination is seen as a common fact of life. It is lucrative. In fact, imaginative people are often sought out to create more fantasy for the masses to consume. People want to see more of what they remember and understand. In part this is how the genre got built in the first place. For example, </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> <i>The Hobbit</i> by: </span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">J.R.R. Tolkien set up some of the archetypal themes, settings, and characters seen seen repeatedly in fantasy. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Tolkien uses a completely different world separate from our own. This gives him the ability to mold every aspect of the setting he created. Obviously influenced by folklore, he includes some recognizable characters, such as goblins, trolls, giants, elves, and dragons. Hobbits are entirely his creation. He then gives his characters a host of complications on their journey of high adventure. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Interestingly, one of my favorite parts about the book was the songs. I've heard many people complain about the songs taking away from the story and slowing everything down. I thought it was the opposite. The songs put the reader into the story and move the action forward. It is a song in the beginning that pushes Bilbo to desire adventure and it is the goblin song that makes the reader understand the fear of the characters when they are captured. Each song from a different species of character has a different background and gives insight into hat kind of character is being dealt with. The goblin song is strikingly staccato, abrupt, and means what it says, </span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />"Clash, crash! Crush, smash!", while the Hobbit songs are more lyrical and mysterious. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Also, in </span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Tolkien's story there is a journey for a prize and the path is dangerous. This is a theme seen in many works of fiction. It is a way to set the characters up for trials and growth. The hero is at first unwilling but is called to action by a mentor and so sets forth into a strange knew world to eventually become able to solve conflicts on their own ending the journey changed in some way. This theme of storytelling is often called <a href="http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/herosjourney/">The Hero's Journey</a>. (<span style="font-size: small;">This link is interactive. Interaction is not required. It can be used as a quick guide to understanding the Hero's Journey</span>)</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><img alt="http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/0d/89/e9/0d89e959cf224468cc6a83b5512c4859.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/0d/89/e9/0d89e959cf224468cc6a83b5512c4859.jpg" /> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">original source unknown</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><img alt="http://media.daykeeperjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/hero-journey.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://media.daykeeperjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/hero-journey.jpg" height="541" width="640" /> </span></span></span> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">It seems that "High Fantasy" has been dominated by this ideal of storytelling often following Tolkien's setting of another world. Usually "High Fantasy" includes, a world in which our world does not exist, a world reached through a portal in our world, or a distinct world within a world. </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Dsicworld</i> is a world in which </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">our world does not exist</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20070107074955/discworld/images/7/76/TCoM_cover.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" src="http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20070107074955/discworld/images/7/76/TCoM_cover.jpg" /> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The Chronicles of Narnia</i> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">a world reached through a portal in our world</span></span></span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="http://mural.uv.es/vertres/las_cronicas_de_narnia.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" src="http://mural.uv.es/vertres/las_cronicas_de_narnia.jpg" height="480" width="640" /> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Harry Potter</i> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">a distinct world within a world</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="http://www.hp-lexicon.org/images/covers/1-ps-covers/ss-front-710px.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" src="http://www.hp-lexicon.org/images/covers/1-ps-covers/ss-front-710px.jpg" /> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Hero's Journey has even leaked into other genres such as Sci-Fi.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="http://www.benzilla.com/uploads/2011/12/star-wars-poster.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" src="http://www.benzilla.com/uploads/2011/12/star-wars-poster.jpg" height="640" width="449" /> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<br />
<br />
<img alt="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uAXhgVT7sBA/UIzQiUvFctI/AAAAAAAAEoo/fZSvzoKOdRA/s1600/The_Matrix_-_Poster_6__1999_.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uAXhgVT7sBA/UIzQiUvFctI/AAAAAAAAEoo/fZSvzoKOdRA/s640/The_Matrix_-_Poster_6__1999_.jpg" height="640" width="426" /> <br />
<br />
<br />
<i><i> </i></i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Required Movie:</span></b></span></span><br />
<br />
<i><i>The Color of Magic</i> (two episodes made for television, 2008) </i><br />
<i><img alt="http://faceplantreview.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/color_of_magic_dvd.jpg#Color%20of%20Magic%201413x2000" class="decoded overflowing" src="http://faceplantreview.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/color_of_magic_dvd.jpg#Color%20of%20Magic%201413x2000" height="640" width="452" /> </i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This story also follows the Hero's Journey, but instead of having a serious mood it is humorous. It is based on the Comic Fantasy novel <i>The Colour of Magic</i> by: Terry Pratchett, the first book in his series <i>Discworld</i>. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Following Rincewind, a wizard who is not very good at magic and the first ever tourist to visit </span><span style="font-size: large;">Ankh-Morpork, Twoflower, the story follows these characters as they become entangled in a journey to save the entirety of Discworld from certain destruction. Hilarity ensues as Pratchett twists several common fantasy archetypes. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This can be seen in the extremely old Cohen the Barbarian, who is not a youthful hot-head. Bethan, the beautiful young Druid sacrifice, is also a good example as she </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">is <i>not</i> a damsel in distress</span> and falls in love with the much older Cohen instead of a young handsome man. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">These twisted archetypes were very fun to become acquainted with since they were unusual to </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">"High Fantasy"</span>. Authors and directors today have to be clever to come up with "High Fantasy" that does not seem <b><i>expected</i></b> to the viewer.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338048046231030829.post-53694883239549409732014-09-21T18:02:00.001-07:002014-10-05T05:35:58.789-07:00Witches<span style="font-size: x-large;">There is plenty to be said about witches and the evolving image of powerful women in our culture. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Required Book: </span><br />
<i>Aunt Maria</i> by: Diana Wynne Jones <br />
<img alt="http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/harperchildrensImages/isbn/large/1/9780062200761.jpg" class="shrinkToFit decoded" src="http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/harperchildrensImages/isbn/large/1/9780062200761.jpg" /><img alt="http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n2/n10159.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n2/n10159.jpg" height="400" width="268" /><img alt="http://cdn.buzznet.com/assets/users15/melishambles/default/favourite-book-world-black-maria--large-msg-117184975318.jpg" class="shrinkToFit decoded" src="http://cdn.buzznet.com/assets/users15/melishambles/default/favourite-book-world-black-maria--large-msg-117184975318.jpg" height="400" width="242" /><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Diana Wynne Jones was a prolific writer for young adults. One of her well known books would be <i>Howl's Moving Castle</i>. While her work may seem to be "simple", that assumption would be far from the truth. Her books are fun to read as a kid and eye opening to read as an adult. They are chock full of deeper meanings, the kind of content that might go over a child's head. Her book <i>Aunt Maria</i> is no different. It is social commentary on the "power" inside men and women, how it presents itself, and how it might change in the future as well as a coming of age fantasy story, <i>Aunt Maria </i>does not fail to make you think.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In the book a brother and sister are met with tragedy when their father dies in a car crash. This car crash results in Christian and Naomi </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Laker</span> (Mig for short) going to visit their elderly Aunt Maria in the village of Cranbury-on-Sea with their mother. What was supposed to be a visit over Easter Holiday turns into a nerve-testing experience. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Aunt Maria seems to be a sweet, cuddly old lady reminiscent of a "teddy bear". She seems overtly forbearing and demure. However, there is a tougher layer to her that can just barely be seen beneath all the practiced politeness. She wields manipulation as a powerful tool, using her old age and supposed meekness to get people to do what she wants. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">For example, she may say, "<i>You don't need to bother about the good china since you're a guest. I would do it myself, but these old bones don't work the way they used to. Regular cups will be fine</i>." </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">What she really means is, "<i>I expect the best china to be used</i>." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Aunt Maria is not the only part of Cranbury-on-Sea that is odd. Other factors add to the strangeness. <i>All </i>of the children are locked up in an orphanage </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"> institutionalized by the women that follow Aunt Maria</span>. The only two children not in the orphanage are Chris and Mig. Most of the men of the town, except for a select few, seem to be grey-suited zombies, devoid of any real ambitions of their own. The Mrs. Urs, the women that follow after Aunt Maria, all seem especially keen on her care and opinion, to an overkill level. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">As the book goes on it is discovered that most of the eccentricities about the town derive from the fact that there is a separation of "Power" between the men and women. This is where the book really begins to </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">make a point about society, the "Power" inside men and women and how it presents itself. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">The women have a Queen Bee. That is obviously, Aunt Maria. They flock to her, listen to her every whim, and perform any order she gives. This is because she has the majority of the women's power. Her followers have some specialized talents, such as Elaine, who it is implied enjoys seducing men, even though it makes her husband cry. Phyllis Forbes, is another example. She likes to "put a plastic bag over other peoples feelings" mainly the children she oversees at the orphanage, forcing them to conform. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Putting magic aside, this seems to be pointing to a truth about the world. Women do have a tendency to choose a leading lady to follow. Even little girls do this. Whether it is two little girls or six, one of them is the leader, the voice of the whole, the <i>mind</i> above the rest. In the real world the "Power" is the ability to attempt control over others than yourself, which is a lofty ambition considering it is very conceited to assume you know better than they do. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Aunt Maria certainly thought she had "done no wrong" and that all of her actions had been "correct". This is partially what made her so terrifying. Everyone followed <i>her</i> ethical code, assuming it was the right way. They never questioned the morals behind trapping an innocent man in the ground for years, turning her relatives into animals, faking her own son's death, or using guilt to force people to do her bidding.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">The men, on the other hand, had a non-human vessel, a box, in which they contained their combined strength. Only a select few men of superior "Power" could hold the box and use its contents. These men were born with Power already. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Breaking this idea down into the real world, Jones strikes another nugget of truth. Often men form groups in which they can achieve their goals. This also can be seen in children. Little boys will settle into a tight-knit group where one of them is usually at the head due to their strong charisma. The followers listen to their leader, however, unlike the girls, the boys have no problem challenging their king or speaking up for themselves. Their disagreements are open and sometimes violent. A shove and kick later it is as if there was no argument and they are back to achieving their goals.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">(Note: Where do these kids learn this behavior? Their parents. Media. <i>The culture around them</i>) </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">However, if the leader is taken away the rest of the group often becomes "lost" without their presence. This explains why, when the women remove the male leader of Cranbury-on-Sea, Antony Green, the men become like grey-suited zombies under the thumb of the women. That being said the women always have someone waiting quietly on the side for the Queen Bee to step down. There is no lack of replacements. The character of Elaine, the ever present rule enforcer of Aunt Maria, fills this spot. Another truth of the world. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Women often have internalized disagreements that turn into catty language, manipulation, and result in the followers choosing sides or ostracizing the one that dared to differ from the Queen Bee. Aunt Maria does this to Ms. Phelps, who thought men and women should be equal, by forcing her followers to ignore her, not help with her chores, and not push her in her wheelchair. She even tries, without success, to poison Chris and Mig against her by remarking on the news that Ms. Phelps had fallen down, </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">"<i>Poor thing! That will teach her to make rude remarks. Well, you won't be going </i>there <i>again.</i>" </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">One of the Mrs. Urs. follows this up by saying, "<i>Naomi, dear, Ms. Phelps isn't a nice person to know</i>." </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">They try to cover up a darkness within themselves with concern for Mig's well being. Ms. Phelps, an old lady, someone who used to be their friend, just<i> fell</i>. Their reaction is really quite mean.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">The only neutral character is Ms. Phelps, who truly seems to want a return of equality between men and women in Cranbury-on-Sea. She maintains that in the old days "power" was shared among men and women and that it was a gradual divide of <i>engineered </i>differences that started the war. This way of thinking is reinstated when Antony Green is rescued. He picks up the box that holds the men's combined power and releases it for everyone, men, women, and children to share, bringing back the simpler time, Ms. Pelps longed for.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Mig's character is not neutral in terms of being <i>for</i> both men and women. Rather she is simply against all the fighting. She is often confused and says repeatedly that she thinks everyone must be "Mad". She doesn't understand why the adult men and women are at war or why it matters so much. Eventually she becomes the hero by saving Antony Green, her motive being to put things back in balance, not to stop the women entirely. She shows the innocence of childhood, when kids don't care about the <i>differences</i> as long everyone gets along. Mig hates it when people try to "Manage" one another, no matter if it is the men or the women. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Jones seems to be commenting on the future of the struggle for power between men and women in the world. She is hoping and pushing for a world in which power is shared, which brings me to the question, what is the "Power" in the book? Is it really just magic?</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">The "Power", as Antony Green states near the end of the book, is of the MIND. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">He broke down the wall containing this "Power" inside the men's box and the women's Queen Bee, effectively releasing it to the whole of Cranbury-on-Sea. Suddenly, there was no longer a need for a leader of women and a leader of men, because everyone could think for themselves and find true happiness in coming to their own conclusions in how to lead their lives. Men and women were not equal in every detail, obviously, but their <i>talents</i> made them unique. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">If this message was not clear enough, Antony Green does not punish Aunt Maria, because a punishment is supposed to "show someone the error of their ways" and Aunt Maria thought that she had been right "all her life...Nothing is going to make her see she was wrong". So, instead he resigns her to a magical loop where she believes in her head that she is still and always will be Queen Bee. Then he shrinks her down to a tiny size and floats her off into the ocean. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is a beautiful use of symbolism by Diana Wynne Jones. Aunt Maria refused to accept that her world view was wrong. The world moved on without her and she didn't even realize it. She was completely isolated and alone. A tiny speck in the ocean. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">There are a great number of sheep in the world and very few leaders, not all of them "correct". Diana Wynne Jones has seen this play out in real life and translated it into a young adult novel format. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">There is more that could be gleaned from her book. I have a feeling that it is one of those novels where rereading will almost always offer up a previously missed detail. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Required Movie: </span><br />
<br />
<i>Suspiria</i> (1977) directed by Dario Argento<br />
<img alt="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRywWviIJnXRqk09YWsG6YvRfjI3CYOC2apLbvnHRqyhEcfbqYA2eco775SrrPXI_CwqH5NjM3PzT3dlgBOpp3_Cn_44Q9vsItbWK4nzX0Gl4TeJ0E5e29GDFxd5oyeNlJHz4XZt4UAgo/s1600/suspiria_poster_06.jpg" class="shrinkToFit decoded" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRywWviIJnXRqk09YWsG6YvRfjI3CYOC2apLbvnHRqyhEcfbqYA2eco775SrrPXI_CwqH5NjM3PzT3dlgBOpp3_Cn_44Q9vsItbWK4nzX0Gl4TeJ0E5e29GDFxd5oyeNlJHz4XZt4UAgo/s640/suspiria_poster_06.jpg" height="640" width="459" /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><br />
<img class="mainImage" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBRR1lV6cvWclpkYdcPtRlS-AO-xEDaRwTsQ2XtfB-qiEkx67boQQhLvkeIty3H7JBoL8H5_SDIe8n7jXWYwFUj7nW5xB9h6qg6TI55OkhA9dcoV50pn_h8CqGbr4OMWncX8vArYCi4WI/s1600/suspiria_poster_09.jpg" style="height: 416px; width: 292px;" /><br />
<br />
<img alt="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaAYMNDyPLB_Hj1ydkuwBHFM9MdsWbxKIlk6yYPzKe1TK7wP3DV96jU07a-LQNa0lhHcjJq0rSDqzpEKV3Mv5fvA6lueJ3fCJZ2xOp7jF4-0wulZkhsgvWe_JdeT11HzFfAm62UIVBsP4/s1600/Suspiria+3.jpg" class="decoded" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaAYMNDyPLB_Hj1ydkuwBHFM9MdsWbxKIlk6yYPzKe1TK7wP3DV96jU07a-LQNa0lhHcjJq0rSDqzpEKV3Mv5fvA6lueJ3fCJZ2xOp7jF4-0wulZkhsgvWe_JdeT11HzFfAm62UIVBsP4/s640/Suspiria+3.jpg" height="360" width="640" /><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><img alt="http://gorillafilmmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/suspiria.jpg" class="shrinkToFit decoded" src="http://gorillafilmmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/suspiria.jpg" height="360" width="640" /><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><img alt="http://dailygrindhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Suspiria-lighting.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://dailygrindhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Suspiria-lighting.jpg" /><br />
<img alt="http://film.thedigitalfix.com/protectedimage.php?image=MichaelMackenzie/suspcompit2.jpg_28102007" class="decoded" src="http://film.thedigitalfix.com/protectedimage.php?image=MichaelMackenzie/suspcompit2.jpg_28102007" /><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><img alt="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBJ0ISvhegV-TdloEPNjXEwejhFkezvkwWnVBNJ-l4EXwOKu30AP9qTCh5wdtZ4iQdpPwdAqYn8L6CSwBbd3KA1R9nElHt2VBcSObVPv6Ar6AFz_AqT1A-KQCqw9N5_GA3ovcQ8UKylWbQ/s400/suspiria-more-red.jpg" class="decoded" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBJ0ISvhegV-TdloEPNjXEwejhFkezvkwWnVBNJ-l4EXwOKu30AP9qTCh5wdtZ4iQdpPwdAqYn8L6CSwBbd3KA1R9nElHt2VBcSObVPv6Ar6AFz_AqT1A-KQCqw9N5_GA3ovcQ8UKylWbQ/s400/suspiria-more-red.jpg" /><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSUbCsl2_WKOqdwwHECV_pXbLC1ZB6WXsnd3-D-y8ECl-Ih3FZbXyEa9hdaHmxPRIAvi5Tp81n-JHuBU32rrn1yyG477b5w6f9xZXABR-NjV1ciu6EEgu89GgAu5eHN6RiaHZP-QQshBpA/s640/suspiria09.jpg" class="decoded" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSUbCsl2_WKOqdwwHECV_pXbLC1ZB6WXsnd3-D-y8ECl-Ih3FZbXyEa9hdaHmxPRIAvi5Tp81n-JHuBU32rrn1yyG477b5w6f9xZXABR-NjV1ciu6EEgu89GgAu5eHN6RiaHZP-QQshBpA/s640/suspiria09.jpg" /> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="http://tommygirard.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/suspiria21.jpg" class="shrinkToFit decoded" src="http://tommygirard.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/suspiria21.jpg" height="360" width="640" /> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Look at all the pretty colors...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This is a similar take on witches to <i>Aunt Maria</i>, in that there is a group of women, the coven, following their much more powerful </span><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Mater Suspiriorum</i>, or the <i>Mother of Sighs</i>, Helen Markos, in manipulation. However, it is much darker. Here the witches dealings result in multiple deaths and destruction, not just hurt feelings and control. Violence against the beautiful dancers ensues.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Suspiria</i> has an air of the Gothic. A young American woman, </span><span style="font-size: large;">Suzy, arrives in a strange new place, Munich, Germany, and stays in an isolated castle-like building, the dance academy. She begins to be suspicious of those in control of the academy and what has really happened to the missing dancers. Instead of leaving, she begins a journey of discovery that leads her deeper into danger.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Dario Argento's use of highly saturated, unrealistic colors, "creepy" music that combines a children's music box with persistent chanting, and violent imagery coupled with intense isolation makes for a nerve-frying ride. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The witches have the true magical power, but a man carries out their dirty work, leaving the academy to kill nosy dancers with a creative flare that can only be described as a grisly warning. Interestingly, the only male victim is killed through the witches doing. They posses a the blind man's dog, forcing it to rip out his throat. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Argento has been accused of being a misogonist. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">If you look at <i>Susperia</i> this way... </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The incredible violence toward women and the fear generated by a group of women signifies the fear and or hatred of women and their influence on society. There are also many phallic suggestions during the murder scenes and the idea that young, beautiful dancers are the victims is a strong suggestion of female sexuality. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Then it wouldn't seem very far fetched.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">However, I believe in offering both sides of the issue...</span> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This movie is predominately showing women being violent towards other women. Suzy's character is strong, curious, and no less feminine than any of the other women portrayed. And it can't be said that Argento is purposefully making his murder scenes more artistic than the rest of his movie, because his entire film follows the same design principles throughout. Some, like this female horror film blogger, even promote <a href="http://horror.wikia.com/wiki/Suspiria">Argento as a feminist</a>. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">You decide. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Overall this movie was meant to be shocking and was very successful at it.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Witches in our Culture:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><img alt="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwZ-Jb6eLt1g6JnDK3tv7gGKand_NzLCz805PyBz9Ql238a53g-GfK9IUTRtaVEI-5IpGVjXd0NeZL9rnGC5sHaRlYnFziLEnlJCGp3mfdnfZqd_OulK-86xswcnODXg3YHsMOkEstLtfu/s1600/Grimm's+Fairy+Tales.jpeg" class="shrinkToFit decoded" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwZ-Jb6eLt1g6JnDK3tv7gGKand_NzLCz805PyBz9Ql238a53g-GfK9IUTRtaVEI-5IpGVjXd0NeZL9rnGC5sHaRlYnFziLEnlJCGp3mfdnfZqd_OulK-86xswcnODXg3YHsMOkEstLtfu/s1600/Grimm's+Fairy+Tales.jpeg" height="622" width="435" /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><img alt="http://www.alephbet.com/pictures/13396_1.JPG" class="shrinkToFit decoded" src="http://www.alephbet.com/pictures/13396_1.JPG" height="622" width="454" /></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><img alt="http://www.vintagechildrensbooks.com/images/worldfairylangkay14.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://www.vintagechildrensbooks.com/images/worldfairylangkay14.jpg" /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><img alt="http://ts2.mm.bing.net/th?id=HN.607999303043582048&pid=1.7" class="decoded" src="http://ts2.mm.bing.net/th?id=HN.607999303043582048&pid=1.7" /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><img alt="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/6305118892.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/6305118892.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg" height="640" width="363" /></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="http://talesandarpeggios.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/snow-white-witch.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://talesandarpeggios.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/snow-white-witch.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span><img alt="http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/e6/01/97/e601977154a82690bc3038f65c0a3626.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/e6/01/97/e601977154a82690bc3038f65c0a3626.jpg" height="640" width="480" /><img alt="http://cdn.traileraddict.com/content/walt-disney-pictures/bedknobs-3.jpg" class="shrinkToFit decoded" src="http://cdn.traileraddict.com/content/walt-disney-pictures/bedknobs-3.jpg" height="622" width="446" /><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="http://www.andrewgarvey.com/wizard/characters/Images/The%20Wicked%20Witch%20of%20the%20West%201.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://www.andrewgarvey.com/wizard/characters/Images/The%20Wicked%20Witch%20of%20the%20West%201.jpg" height="484" width="640" /> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCiKJGNofjcwsiGRZhrMixMvrBqUhyEgHVtISs2ieF6E8wekZSCEHRvDlz3pAN19r-wWSg_5MW8TDQafIw2PYp7Ov_sGW721CSgOmCgVc_ibiZAjsteYJcpa_uOURCJ00z9x87Yd7cPKYJ/s1600/bewitched1.jpg" class="decoded" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCiKJGNofjcwsiGRZhrMixMvrBqUhyEgHVtISs2ieF6E8wekZSCEHRvDlz3pAN19r-wWSg_5MW8TDQafIw2PYp7Ov_sGW721CSgOmCgVc_ibiZAjsteYJcpa_uOURCJ00z9x87Yd7cPKYJ/s1600/bewitched1.jpg" /></span><img alt="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYnc5HFt-f-KX0Vrxu4zwProUOPxrnJnPmYxsjEXJIDKwoHuGnN3YTDFoV_Rv-BfEyiljUOHohV37EO-tNzCQGX4QQCEU7mjUIlTQYazWwoKp0Z13iha_XoPTxsrJ6bACm7_HMysGR0tKw/s1600/77092_1947_Petty_Witch_2_1000_122_26lo.jpg" class="shrinkToFit decoded" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYnc5HFt-f-KX0Vrxu4zwProUOPxrnJnPmYxsjEXJIDKwoHuGnN3YTDFoV_Rv-BfEyiljUOHohV37EO-tNzCQGX4QQCEU7mjUIlTQYazWwoKp0Z13iha_XoPTxsrJ6bACm7_HMysGR0tKw/s1600/77092_1947_Petty_Witch_2_1000_122_26lo.jpg" height="614" width="409" /><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><img alt="http://www.universal-heros.com/zen-cart/images/products/buffy-willow.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://www.universal-heros.com/zen-cart/images/products/buffy-willow.jpg" /><img alt="http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w342/d5gLpu8kqyPs27bh9IiCuwMDjDh.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w342/d5gLpu8kqyPs27bh9IiCuwMDjDh.jpg" /><br />
<img alt="http://en.academic.ru/pictures/enwiki/80/Practical_magicposter.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://en.academic.ru/pictures/enwiki/80/Practical_magicposter.jpg" /><img alt="http://static.cinemagia.ro/img/db/movie/00/96/18/hocus-pocus-914198l.jpg" class="decoded overflowing" src="http://static.cinemagia.ro/img/db/movie/00/96/18/hocus-pocus-914198l.jpg" height="640" width="454" /><img alt="http://www.viceland.com/blogs/en/files/2011/09/witches12.jpg" class="shrinkToFit decoded" src="http://www.viceland.com/blogs/en/files/2011/09/witches12.jpg" height="493" width="640" /><br />
<img alt="http://i1.cdnds.net/11/25/550w_movies_emma_watson_03.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://i1.cdnds.net/11/25/550w_movies_emma_watson_03.jpg" /><img alt="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggS4DoaQkNF8tDV1FFiBQIJHr81qdnEmxtLMSO0vR3o22jt17BSh9649ezQf3zR5zG1uc8Ty8vEdP7X_BMIQTJaviTbegrHNKLC3Fun6IbHoTd3VhHQsvV5He_x4sudphcCkJxZP2EQQ/s1600/goat_chariot.jpg" class="decoded" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggS4DoaQkNF8tDV1FFiBQIJHr81qdnEmxtLMSO0vR3o22jt17BSh9649ezQf3zR5zG1uc8Ty8vEdP7X_BMIQTJaviTbegrHNKLC3Fun6IbHoTd3VhHQsvV5He_x4sudphcCkJxZP2EQQ/s640/goat_chariot.jpg" height="640" width="551" /><br />
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<img alt="best-new-witches-movies-and-tv-series-2014-7-frozen4" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-300619" src="http://fast.swide.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/best-new-witches-movies-and-tv-series-2014-7-frozen4.jpg" height="375" width="640" /><br />
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<img alt="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo0UbG795kDk45UV_aGAXSGIIrJWiqFNNHZZWSd_ZJSbNI7mXJYOOYJ3xEBD_D3tQqpKGJxaVag3g6sz0Qk7l38nsm8nZumnOYrzLbemi1onotkmzXyxAlG00a5sPYXWSzGDhtFeAlg5o/s1600/The+Chronicles+of+Narnia+The+lion,+the+with+and+the+wardrobe.jpg" class="shrinkToFit decoded" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo0UbG795kDk45UV_aGAXSGIIrJWiqFNNHZZWSd_ZJSbNI7mXJYOOYJ3xEBD_D3tQqpKGJxaVag3g6sz0Qk7l38nsm8nZumnOYrzLbemi1onotkmzXyxAlG00a5sPYXWSzGDhtFeAlg5o/s1600/The+Chronicles+of+Narnia+The+lion,+the+with+and+the+wardrobe.jpg" height="622" width="428" /><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Witches started out as evil or at the very least, extremely dangerous. The pure evil variety can be seen in fairy tales, Shakespeare, <i>The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe</i>, <i>Witches</i> and <i>The Wizard of Oz</i>, as well as many other sources. They are terrifying women using their power for evil. The extremely dangerous witches have several categories. Some of them are dangerous (to men), because they are seductive and manipulative or as in <i>The Witches of Eastwick</i>, fast learners quick to use their power against the man that taught them to hone their skills. Others are not so bad unless you make them mad, like in in the TV show <i>Bewitched</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then there are the <i>perceived</i> witches as in <i>The Crucible</i>. In the play Abigail is not a witch at all. She is a woman to be feared, strong willed, sexually aware, and manipulative. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The misunderstood witch has also become a theme. <i>Practical Magic </i>shows this through the bullied and ostracized Owens sisters. They try to denounce their power, but soon give in to it to meet their desires, which causes conflict. The recent Disney movie, <i>Frozen</i>, also describes a misunderstood witch. Elsa tries to hide her power, then runs away and finds comfort in being herself. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The misunderstood witches lead to witches as heroines. They use their power to fight evil. Willow Rosenberg, a character in <i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i> TV show, is always trying to help defeat the darkness. These heroine witches also have a tendency to be extremely smart. Willow loves learning. Another famous witch would be Hermione Granger, "The brightest witch of her age", from the <i>Harry Potter </i>book series, is smart, spunky, and socially conscious. These witches serve as fanciful role models for women and children.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Kiki's Delivery Service is a great example of a different kind of witch. Kiki is a normal girl entering into womanhood. As a witch her magical powers have not developed yet. She worries about what she looks like, what other people think, she wants to be mature, but has to learn through experience what that means. Kiki stands for every girl confronted with the responsibility of growing up, her magical power is a symbol for the emergence of her true self. </span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As exciting as the modern witches can be, the evil witch is still around, steadily coming back into our media. One very good example would be found in Niel Gaiman's <i>Stardust</i>, Lamia is quite terrible. The movie <i>Maleficint</i> would be another option (until love melts her heart). This site has a pretty good list of the <a href="http://www.swide.com/art-culture/movies/best-new-witches-movies-and-tv-series-2014-including-salem-maleficent-and-into-the-woods/2013/10/24"> most recent witches</a>, though it only covers film and TV.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Witches in our culture have gone through many changes. In the beginning they were pure evil, but they have also been charming, manipulative, funny, misunderstood, seductive, and extremely smart. These changes have come over time and have alternated back and forth over the years. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">What does this say about our culture and how it models women with power? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In terms of the evil witch seen in many fairy tales the woman is selfish. This can be seen in the fairy tale collections of Grimm, Anderson, and Lang. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">In fairy tales, the witch is evil, but she is also out to support herself and occasionally her child. She is ambitious and willing to do anything to keep the position she fought for, no matter what it is. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">There is a reason for this, </span>A large part of Grimm's fairy tales were collected verbally from a family of French <i>women</i> that had immigrated to the Germanic State<i></i>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The evidence of this is seen when it is taken into consideration that marriage was a woman's only secure path to financial stability, however it was also a gamble with death. </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Married women were expected to bare children and the rate of death during childbirth was <i>very </i>high. </span>This meant that there were many <i>stepmothers</i> with limited family resources. The stepmother would often favor her legitimate children over her stepchildren. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Grimm tales serve as a warning to women of the time in particular to treat all of their children equally. Those that do not are considered evil stepmother's eventually vanquished by the very stepchild they ill treated. You sow what you reap.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Also, most Grimm fairy tales revolve around a smart, young woman who receives help out of her bad situation, first because of her virtues and second because of her beauty. For example, In Ashputtle, the young girl is kind, good, patient, and a hard worker. These qualities are what convince helpful spirits </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">in the form of birds </span>(her mother's soul in some versions) to help her. In this way the tales are instructions on good behavior, which will garner reward.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The great lack of male heroes is also blatant. If there is a male hero he is often not very smart, fails repeatedly at the task he set out to do, needs the help of a mentor or a <i>woman</i>, </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">doesn't listen to said mentor, and falls to his "desires" before the mentor, out of grace, helps him. One of the most obvious tales is </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span dir="auto"><i>The Golden Bird</i>. The hero does not follow the instructions of the fox helping him repeatedly. He looses everything more than once. In the end the fox saves his life. It is almost to the point where the hero doesn't seem to deserve anything he got, because it was not gained due to his own strengths. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was not until later that stories with a misogynistic outlook came out. The Little Mermaid, by Hans Christian Anderson is a good example. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the original version the little mermaid is old enough to go to the top of the ocean (old enough for marriage), but instead of just looking and then coming back down to her "proper place", the ocean, she falls in love with a human. This prompts her to allow an evil sea witch cut out her tongue as the price for human legs, thereby loosing any verbal intelligence. The only way she can attract the prince is through her physical charms, dancing, which makes her feet hurt like knives are piercing her. Also, if the prince marries another woman she will die without an immortal soul, so now her life after death is in jeopardy. In the end, her physical beauty does not help her win the prince when he mistakes another girl for his savior. The woman that left her proper place, gave away her "intelligence" for a man that did not return her love, made a spectacle of herself to no avail, and who is fated to die without a soul, is given one last option. Kill the prince and return to the sea. She refuses. However, Anderson saves his little mermaid at the last second, transforming her into a "lady of the air" who has to live doing good deeds for three hundred years before she can then have a soul and go to heaven. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Anderson's Evangelical Lutheran </span><span style="font-size: large;">point of view played a part in how he portrayed women in his stories. Women were held to a very high moral standard. They were expected to remain pure, marry, and then stay in their husband's house having and caring for their children. Also, they were to remain <i>seen and not heard</i>. This brings to mind the little mermaid having her tongue cut out to reach her own desires, which were outside of her dictated realm. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As women gained power in society the stories of witches evolved to include sexual awareness, humor, charm and brains. These witches are what <i>women</i> would consider "good role-models". However, these kinds of witches are far and few between. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Most witches or powerful women are portrayed as androgynous figures. They are not capable of being powerful <i>and</i> feminine or of showing love. They are seen as dangerous sex symbols. A common theme in film is for a powerful woman to be portrayed as an inhuman workaholic, incapable of having a healthy relationship. She is seen as abnormal and masculine. A woman in a man's world. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is in part largely because of our culture is dominated by a male perspective. Only a minority of authors and film makers portray powerful women in a positive light. The majority still see the powerful woman that our misogynistic culture has cultivated. It will take several generations of reeducation to remove the negative image of the powerful woman.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR-s07VndGA">This video</a> is a humorous example of a highly cliche female role in media.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The damsel in distress, women in video games: Retro <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6p5AZp7r_Q">Part 1</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Modern <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toa_vH6xGqs">Part 2</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This is a very revealing look into female <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zPKvQ30FZs">Hollywood archetypes </a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338048046231030829.post-33656642391417588842014-09-06T19:17:00.002-07:002014-09-14T17:06:05.281-07:00The Weird/Horror <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Required Movie:</span></b><br />
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<i>Director: Drew Goddard Cabin in the Woods</i> (2012)<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">The topic of discussion is "Weird", what is it and why does it continue to bring the audience back again and again.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">First off, I always thought "weird" just meant something out of the normal social standards expected in whatever society you were a part of, however, this is not entirely the case. If the word "weird" is looked up in the dictionary it is stated as being several other things I never considered in my day to day life. For example, "Weird" could be "involving or suggesting the supernatural" or "having the power to control fate." This makes the word "weird" out to be much more than a term carelessly thrown around in the modern world by teens to describe themselves when they want to be original or by adults when describing said hormonal teens. This definition of "weird" speaks of a time when there was a great belief in the supernatural and fate, when being "weird" was not something that was desired, but rather something to shy away from if you wanted stay within <i>positive</i> public opinion. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Drew Goddard, director of <i>The Cabin in the Woods</i>, definitely has this version of "Weird" on the brain. His 2012 horror flick poses a few interesting questions. What if the super natural really did exist? What would that look like today? How would people deal with it? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Goddard begins his movie with a cliche, five oblivious college students decide to spend the weekend alone in a cabin located in a remote forest somewhere. Not only that, but the five characters all fall under stereotypes seen quite often in many genre's, not just horror. These stereotypes form as the loose party girl, the jock, the nice, smart guy, the crazy guy, and the virgin. This being said the beginning of the movie would have been rather foreboding of cheap predictability had it not been for the peculiar scientists in the background apparently in control of what's happening. The scientists are Goddard's promise of something more going on than what he apparently has set up. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">What if the super natural or the "weird" really did exist? </span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The Cabin in the Woods </i></span></span>maintains that civilization, in order to remain civilized, allows it's government to perform the greatest cover-up the world has ever seen by hiding all of the supernatural beings under our very feet. This allows society to move forward, eventually pushing the supernatural into a box reserved for fiction. The word "weird" becomes something used so often as to have become cliche. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">But, there is a catch. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Yes, the monsters have all been contained, supposedly, but the real problem is "The Ancient Ones". So, </span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Goddard has established that monsters are real and now he answers the question, where did they come from? Where did "Weird" come from? The gods buried somewhere beneath the Earth's surface demanding human sacrifice every year to appease them before they can destroy everything in existence. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Cue the </span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">oblivious college students. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">What would the supernatural look like today?</span></span> Well, it looks like billions if not trillions of global currency being spent on scientists and top security subterranean structures with one goal in mind. Choose the human sacrifices, use all that science has to offer and at all costs make sure they die with as much struggle and gore as possible to please the bloodthirsty gods. This all being done, of course, without the common man ever knowing it exists. Ironically, the movie depicts the demise of every working person inside the science lab trying to make a sacrifice to the gods before time runs out, but their deaths apparently mean nothing, because they were not<i> the chosen</i> ones. "Weird" </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">How would people deal with the revelation that "weird" supernatural beings exist and have existed all along? The scientist's casual acceptance of all things strange is in sharp contrast to the hapless college student's terror and disbelief. Their reaction is probably how most people would react, outside of the spare few that have been waiting for undeniable proof of supernatural existence for all of their natural life. (Key word being <i>few</i>) It's a safe bet to think that most people would be entirely disconcerted with the sudden confrontation of a werewolf, vampire, or ghost. People like to have these creatures remain in fantasy land where they can imagine them as vegetarians that sparkle in the sun and likewise can't spontaneously bite their face off. However, if all things "Weird" <i>did</i> exist and the human race <i>did</i> survive long enough to adjust to their situation then I think the scientists casual acceptance would eventually become the normal mindset. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Certainly for the two characters that actually make it to the movie's conclusion bitter acceptance of the "weird" as their new reality has settled in...right before the displeased gods get antsy. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Required Book: </span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Feed </i><i>by:</i><i> </i>Mira Grant</span> 400 pages in length.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">In Mira Grant's Book <i>Feed</i> the idea of the "Weird" existing is not knowledge privy only to scientists in an underground government facility, hidden away from the eyes of the world, it is a way of life for everyone. The old, the young, the sick, the dying, the rich, the poor, and the political figures, no one is exempt from the idea of "weird", because practically overnight everyone had "weird" living in their bloodstreams. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">In <i>Feed</i> the supernatural nightmare called <i>zombies</i> is presented as a very real and deadly reality of the near future of 2040. Accidentally created when the two separate cures for the common cold and cancer mix together, the super virus called </span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Kellis-Amberlee is capable of turning any dead mammal over 40 pounds into a zombie. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Mira Grant's book presents a world where the unbelievable has become common place to the point where it affects every cultural aspect, even politics. The book describes this life with extremely well thought out and researched detail that makes easier for the reader to become immersed in the world being described. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">For example, the detailed description of required cleansing after coming home from an infected zone. Georgia, the main character, had to take a special shower among other things. The shower meant washing yourself with bleach to kill any residual "infection" from your body, then using an "acid-based lotion, usually formulated around some form of citrus" to help "repair the damage the bleaching does" like "professional swimmers did pre-Rising". The author even goes one step further adding that the acidic lotion gave a "standardized" smell to those that had been recently sterilized, suggesting that humans have to some extent reverted to using more of their senses on a daily basis in order to survive. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">I was very appreciative of the fact that Grant constantly added in details that made her fictional world seem like a plausible reality, although I would never wish it to actually exist. Mostly, I'm glad that her zombies were actually important to the books plot and not just white noise set up to trick people into buying the book. If you are going to use a "weird" element then it better be connected to the plot. In this case the use of zombies and fear by a crazed politician to force the people of America to "remember" what America stood for or force them to "go the right direction" was aptly used. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Grant used the existing world as the backbone for her imaginary one and supported her imaginary world with enough fact for it to be believable, however not all "Weird" authors write this way. </span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i></i></span></span><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Required Book 2:</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Railsea</i> by China Miéville</span></span><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><img class="mainImage" src="http://vincentchongart.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/railsea_design.jpg" style="background-color: white; height: 416px; width: 625px;" /> </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><img class="mainImage" src="http://escapepod.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/ea_railsea.jpg" style="height: 416px; width: 273px;" /></span></b><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><img class="mainImage" src="http://aidanmoher.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/railsea-by-china-mieville.jpeg" style="height: 416px; width: 274px;" /> </span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I chose to begin reading this book because it is so drastically different from Mira Grant's <i>Feed</i>. </span><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Railsea,</i> by China Miéville, is imaginative to the point that the suspension of reality has to be applied to most things brought up. From the Railsea, a seamingly endless system of train tracks crossing the dried up oceans, to the the "moldywarpes", <i>giant</i>, burrowing moles. Unlike Grant's book, </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Miéville has made his own world, which has been labeled "Weird Fiction".</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">"Weird Fiction" is not <i>new</i>, on the contrary, it comes before there were any genres to speak of. This is why it often mixes together supernatural, mythical, and sci-fi</span> elements that we would consider different <i>genres </i>today. </span><span style="font-size: large;">H.P. Lovecraft would be one example of Weird Fiction, with his many weird tales, <i>The Call Cthulh<b>u</b> </i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> and <i>At The Mountains of Madness</i> being some of his more recognizable titles.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Miéville explores creating his own myths like the "tooth" or "bone-colored" </span><span style="font-size: large;">moldywarpe that took Captain Abacat Naphi's arm (some don't believe it exists), the idea that the Railsea has no end and if it does it must lead to the end of the world, and a cautionary tale of "Angels", sacred engines from "some book of religious instruction". He also describes sci-fi creatures and machines, such as flying aliens in the poisoned upper-sky and working mechanical limbs. The world building gets especially "Weird" or some might say "creative" with it's made up language. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Miéville created all kinds of new words, like <i>erouchthonus</i>, which means <i>That which digs up from underneath and emerges</i>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In short </span><span style="font-size: large;">China Miéville's book is an extremely imaginative take on the "Weird", one which does not use the modern world as it's starting point, but is entirely successful in creating its' own niche that the reader can become immersed in. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Required Movie 2:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Freaks </i>(1932) director, Tod Browning</span> </span></span></span></span></span></span>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Tod Browning's movie is unique, because unlike the rest of the media I've discussed on this Blog so far it is in part <i>not</i> fictional. By that I mean the so called "Freaks" are actually real life circus performers of the time with deformities. The movie is based on true stories as remembered by these performers as well as a short story by Tod Robbins,"Spurs". <a href="http://www.olgabaclanova.com/spurs.htm">Read it Here</a> It is a story of family, love, prejudice, falsehood, and revenge. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Tod Browning does a wonderful job of showing how human the "Freaks" are. An example of this is when they congratulate the Bearded Lady's successful birth of her little girl. They all shared in their friend's happiness. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Rather than finding the deformed performers disturbing or <i>less human</i>, I found the antagonists, Cleopatra and Hercules, to be morbidly disgusting. Their heir of superiority and deception was appalling. Every time Cleopatra was sicky-sweet to Hans it made my nose wrinkle. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">That being said, Browning did not draw a definitive line between "Normals" and "Freaks". This can be seen in the charming "Normal" characters of Venus and Phroso, who stand up for their ill treated friends at every turn, even when it meant immediate danger to them. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Overall Browning's <i>Freaks</i> gives the viewer an inner look at what being physically "Weird" could be like. He reminds us that "You could be like them too". Obviously there is prejudice from most except for those that are similar to you. Browning supports a clear message against such behavior. It is shown over and over, that looking different does not change the fact that you are <i>human</i> and as Hans says, "I have the same feelings as they do."</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">This conveys the answer to the question, "what is weird?" </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Weird is what people perceive it to be.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></b><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338048046231030829.post-83369678497850831982014-08-31T12:25:00.002-07:002014-09-14T18:02:53.822-07:00Asian Horror<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Traditional Asian Horror Aspects:</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Modern times have changed the traditional Asian horror story. It seems that the ideals of good and evil being </span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">black and white </span></span>and, the standard Gothic heroine have slipped into much of today's Asian film. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">If you have seen an Asian horror film recently where an individual sets out alone to stop a monster that is incredibly violent, meets someone along the way that they have gratuitous sex with, discovers all the hidden facts about the monster, and ultimately vanquishes said monster by breaking some kind of rule that was set in place before they got there, then you have seen an "Asian" horror movie with a distinctly Western ideology. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Asian horror had its start in ghost stories inundated with Asian culture. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Some aspects of Asian horror that are not often seen in today's market are the importance of rules to society, the belief that the community is stronger than the individual, there is not <i>always</i> a hero, often more questions are raised than answered, there is no gratuitous sexual suggestions, the monsters are hungry for something, that something not usually being human flesh, and the supernatural is not always completely divided from the physical. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">In traditional Asian ghost stories there are often a set of rules that must be followed and if they are broken the character meets a terrible fate. It does not matter how small the infringement on the rule is. This stems from the culture of honor that prevails through most Asian culture. The following of a set of specific rules will lead to not only a happy life, but a "correct" life that prospers those around you. Community is extremely important. The individual striking out on their own can be dangerous to everyone else and is discouraged. This is entirely unlike the Western tales of daring heroes striking out alone to pay the ultimate sacrifice in order to protect the rest of the forlorn folks hiding at home.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Following this line of thinking, there is not always a <i>hero</i>. In Western ghost stories, as well as other literature, there is usually a hero that is good and a bad guy that is bad, there is very little to no "grey" area. In Asian ghost stories, however, the "grey" just keeps coming, to the point that it is hard to settle with either the ghost, who often has been wronged in some way, or the human, who doesn't understand. Along with the "grey" comes many questions, "Where did the spirit come from?" "What do they want?" "Why did they spare this person?" Even questions like, "Why can the ghost have children with a human and does that mean she isn't really a ghost?" are rarely answered. </span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">But, Asian horror often leaves many blanks for the reader to peruse over.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">In conclusion, traditional Asian horror is more concerned with psychology, whether it is of the ghost, the human, or the reader. It follows strict rules impressed upon it by the culture it came from and leaves a lasting impression of "<i>Creepy</i>". </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">The book </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things </b></i></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">by: Lafcadio Hearn, is a good place to start in beginning to understand traditional Asian ghost stories. The book is mostly translated from old Japanese texts.</span></span> </span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></b><img alt="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/77/f8/c0/77f8c090184ae71583f8506eba84242d.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/77/f8/c0/77f8c090184ae71583f8506eba84242d.jpg" height="640" width="409" /><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Required Book:</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Haruki Murakami's <i>A Wild Sheep Chase</i></span><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i> </i></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><img alt="http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs49/f/2009/190/1/6/A_Wild_Sheep_Chase_by_Devildevious.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs49/f/2009/190/1/6/A_Wild_Sheep_Chase_by_Devildevious.jpg" height="400" width="360" /> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In discussing Murakami's <i>A Wild Sheep Chase</i> I believe I will have to list some of the first things I noticed about the book as I read. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The main character is overtly passive and doesn't change much by the end, he is also disillusioned with life and the modern world in general. The "suspension of disbelief" happens frequently for out-of-the-blue reasons. The consumption of food and cigarettes is a constant detail. There seems to be a master plan at work in which our passive main character has become entangled.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The book is a ghost story. It follows traditional Japanese ghost stories in that the ghost is in a physical form, not a spirit. This is probably why I read through half the book not realizing who the ghost really was. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Another aspect of the </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Japanese ghost story used in the book would be the idea that the character is at odds with the modern world he's living in. This could be seen in how unhappy he is in his job and how he longs for the past and simpler times.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">It seemed that the book explored the very frightening idea of having your life controlled by someone else without even knowing it. The main character was enraged at being used like a pawn in someone's game. However, this was the only part of the book that could be potentially frightening. This is because the ghost or the strange "Sheepman" that the main character meets are not frightening as much as they are foreboding of some greater force. In the case of this book that greater force was the mystical, powerhungry sheep itself.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">While I read </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">A Wild Sheep Chase</span></span></i> the influence of western horror battled against my attempt to truly experiencing the book. I feel like I need to read the entire thing again from a different perspective. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">In Western horror there is emphasis on building a belief in the spirit or monster. The focus is often centered around the main character trying to survive the threat. In Japanese horror the belief is already there. People believed the sheep existed taking over control of special humans, the "sheeped", to obtain its' desires. They accepted that the girlfriend with magical ears and the secretary had the sixth sense straight off. The focus seems to be more about the slow build of information and eeriness until the terrifying conclusion. Also, in </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">A Wild Sheep Chase</span></span></i></span></span> the main character is being blackmailed, but other than that his life is not in danger because of a monster breathing down his neck.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">In Gothic literature the character is thrown into a dark and sinister unfamiliar world. In Japanese horror it could take place in someone's backyard. The difference here obviously is that it isn't realistic for the reader to find themselves in a dark castle infested with vampires, but they could certainly be walking home from the theater when a deranged person decides to attack. In some ways this makes Japanese horror more terrifying, because home may no longer be safe. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">These differences are linked to culture. In Japanese ghost stories the ghosts were often ancestors or some other person once alive, now dead and hungry for vengeance. The reason for their monstrosity is not always physical, but psychological. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">A great example of Japanese horror and how it differs from the majority of Western horror can be found in the movie <i>A Tale of Two Sisters</i>... </span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Required Movie:</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">(2003) director Kim Ji-woon's </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>A Tale of Two Sisters</i></span></span> </span></b><br />
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<img alt="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_-s1SzMGVXv568hpH-XhTd1oUx7VdwZluB3JVPpHG87FIy5pLbC_m_N_L59C4IwxIITlpKgQQDfJpKtwc_5VXy5cfc2VX-KzC__iPlUFMUoD0EBZ9q1sf0iGUFWb49dy5H8d-mrQR/s1600/a-tale-of-two-sisters-horror-movie-still.jpg" class="decoded" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_-s1SzMGVXv568hpH-XhTd1oUx7VdwZluB3JVPpHG87FIy5pLbC_m_N_L59C4IwxIITlpKgQQDfJpKtwc_5VXy5cfc2VX-KzC__iPlUFMUoD0EBZ9q1sf0iGUFWb49dy5H8d-mrQR/s1600/a-tale-of-two-sisters-horror-movie-still.jpg" /><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>A Tale of Two Sisters</i></span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i> </i></span></span></span></b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">builds up its' suspense all the way through to the big reveal of the family's dark secret, takes place in </span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;">the home of the main character, and does not involve spirits, but instead centers on the terrifying twists the human mind can take.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The movie was very good in keeping its secrets. I figured out that there had to be some kind of split personality theme going on, but was not entirely sure who was truly disturbed until close to the reveal. The suspense and drama built up to highly crazed events, until it was obvious reality had slipped and that one of the two character's was causing it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I personally thought the ending, after the big reveal of the mentally unstable character, was far more disturbing than the rest of the movie, because it was a flashback... </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The movie spends most of its time building thrills centered around the crazy events happening in the here and now. This is similar to Western Horror, in that the young girl is trying desperately to protect herself and her sister from her crazy stepmother. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The ending describes why the insanity began. The reason is a human evil more powerful than anything depicted at the movie's start. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is made all the more frightening due to the fact that all humans have these unsavory emotions inside them. Maybe not to the extent that the character in the movie does, but they are there. This means the fictional scenario could potentially happen on a very real level in your own home. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Required Movie 2:<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">(1999) director Takashi Miike's <i>Audition</i> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="http://www2.pjstar.com/images/uploads/audition_poster.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://www2.pjstar.com/images/uploads/audition_poster.jpg" height="640" width="467" /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="http://www.beyondhollywood.com/posterx/audition1.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://www.beyondhollywood.com/posterx/audition1.jpg" height="278" width="640" /> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Director Miike's movie, <i>Audition</i>, is another "right in your own backyard" thriller. Any "perfect" woman out there could be another Asami waiting to trap you when you don't meet her impossible expectation of "Promise to only love me." It is like the Venus fly trap scenario, not all pretty flowers offer sweet nectar inside.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The movie suggests that the most innocent appearance can be deadly. This is a different idea from most Western horror films as well, since the monster is usually not in plain view or looks hideous. I say "usually" because there are a handful of beautiful, deadly vampires or beautiful, deadly aliens out there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It seemed to me that the gore level was gratuitous. The torture scene was extremely affective with the <i>idea</i> of the needles and Asami's <i>gleeful</i> face. The piano cord sliding around </span><span style="font-size: large;">Aoyama's ankle was an effective visual alone. I'm pretty sure anyone would have been able to tell what was coming next and would have been fine with a little less detail, but this is just an opinion...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Also, Aoyama's dream sequence where he seemed to pass out from pain and have a flashback was very confusing to me. Information he did not know beforehand was inserted into his hallucinations, like the man in the bag, and words were added to previous conversations. I suppose it could have been his imagination constructing the rest of the story...still, it didn't make sense. It was helpful to finally get some background on Asami, but it felt like it should have been revealed in a different manner. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In conclusion, in </span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>A Tale of Two Sisters</i><i> </i>and <i>Audition </i>the eventuality of a similar scenario happening in real life is mighty slim. Interestingly, </span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>A Wild Sheep Chase </i>does not follow the "close to home" scenario, it actually throws the character out into a cold barren landscape similar to Gothic literature such as, Mary Shelley's <i>Frankenstien</i>. But, it should be noted that in all three examples the characters do not feel comfortable in their surroundings. They try to fix their undesirable situations and in most cases their attempt causes more conflict. Also, their dire conditions resulted out of very close relationships either held with family, friends, or significant others, while more often than not the Western villain is a stranger.</span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i> </i></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338048046231030829.post-77875973877244840022014-08-24T13:11:00.003-07:002014-09-21T18:06:46.847-07:00Vampires<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Required Book:</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><img alt="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Wa4NXqMnfsRHppUCG7hpSSfyLN9QXMMLuzLWSnXIcaoT236wsh94Cjkays_OW0lsi9escS553Pf-eqshQzfXXe9RXn6tvw7getKtfPvQ4BW-3LnUcVp9FDTgrUsgBj3soT6_OsfSTA/s1600/Vampire_cover.gif" class="decoded" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Wa4NXqMnfsRHppUCG7hpSSfyLN9QXMMLuzLWSnXIcaoT236wsh94Cjkays_OW0lsi9escS553Pf-eqshQzfXXe9RXn6tvw7getKtfPvQ4BW-3LnUcVp9FDTgrUsgBj3soT6_OsfSTA/s1600/Vampire_cover.gif" /><img alt="http://www.phawker.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/interview-with-the-vampire-movie-poster.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://www.phawker.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/interview-with-the-vampire-movie-poster.jpg" height="400" width="297" /><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Anne Rice's </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Interview with a Vampire</span></u><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> seems to hold true to what vampires were meant to be from the beginning of their creation. Monsters. This is why I found it so interesting that Louis, the newly "born" vampire tried to maintain "human" morals for as long as he could. This means he drank the blood of animals, <i>like rats</i>, as opposed to murdering humans. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Lestat, Louie's creator, gave a sharp contrast in that he seemed to revel in his monstrous ability. He saw himself as superior to humans in every way and therefore had no problem killing them or <i>playing with his food</i>. A striking example of this being his hunting style, which often used seduction. Lestat never does come to an understanding of why Louie thinks it is immoral to kill, because as far as he is concerned it is in their nature and therefore "correct". </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It would be remiss not to mention Claudia. Claudia is a five year old girl who Louie, after starving himself to avoid killing, cannot resist to drink from. Lestat is excited that Louie drank from her, because he thinks it is Louie becoming true to his nature and he changes Claudia into a vampire. So, now there is a chilling, <i>eternal</i> child that develops the mind of a woman but is trapped in a five year old body. Vampires are already abominations, but Claudia is a special issue, because she conflicts with the idea of <i>childhood</i> being an innocent state of being. This is largely because she takes to killing quite easily, often using her childlike appeal to lure her prey to death. Lestat is quite pleased with this outcome.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The idea of something being in your nature directly conflicts with learned morality in this book. For example, at first Claudia kills because she is hungry and </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">as a child her immediate needs are most important, but later, under Lestat's influence, her killing becomes more of an entertainment. Likewise, Louie never fully comes to terms with his vampire state though he does come to understand that he must drink blood or die and he would much rather not die. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It seems that Anne Rice prefers the idea that while free to like or dislike your true nature one can not avoid it. The vampire seems to represent this as they must again and again return to drinking blood and unavoidably killing some kind of life form to do it.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Are some things in human nature? Yes. It is in human nature to entertain, to problem solve, to eat, etc. Does that mean that it is unavoidable to at some point in life entertain yourself and solve problems. Pretty much, yes. Luckily for us the average person does not have to kill to survive and encounter the moral decisions that Louie does.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Another definition for vampire: <i>"</i></span></span></span></span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="oneClick-link">a</span> <span class="oneClick-link oneClick-available">person</span> <span class="oneClick-link">who</span> <span class="oneClick-link oneClick-available">preys</span> <span class="oneClick-link oneClick-available">ruthlessly</span> <span class="oneClick-link oneClick-available">upon</span> <span class="oneClick-link oneClick-available">others;</span> <span class="oneClick-link oneClick-available">extortionist" </span></span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="oneClick-link oneClick-available"> </span></span></span></i> <br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Hopefully, humanity will never get to the point where a vampire state of being is <b>necessary</b> for survival. As of right now, it definitely exists today in regard to the above definition. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">On another note entirely, Anne Rice's vampires are still different from the original version. When vampires first started to haunt human imagination they were reanimated corpses, sometimes "alive" through a demon, and always evil. They had no inner turmoil or desire outside of their drive to kill. Rice's vampires are distinctly human in that they have a great desire to belong to a group, make connections, develop, change, tell their story, wage war with their inner emotions, and feel human passions. This is what really makes them different and appealing.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Louie and Lestat are forever entwined, because, as Lestat says, he is the "creator" of Louie. Louie loves Claudia as a daughter, because she reminds him of what he has lost in becoming a vampire. Their love and hatred is in some cases as immortal as their undead bodies. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Required Movie: </b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>Only Lovers Left Alive </i>(2013) dir. Jim Jarmusch </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<img alt="http://www.liveforfilms.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Only-Lovers-Left-Alive-Quad-Poster.png" class="shrinkToFit decoded" src="http://www.liveforfilms.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Only-Lovers-Left-Alive-Quad-Poster.png" height="480" width="640" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">A realistic look at what vampires could be like in the modern world, this movie used color, sound, and imagery beautifully to describe ancient beings that time does not affect. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The color used around Eve was often a bright yellow ochre. This brought to mind an </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">antique sepia appropriate for her immense age and the </span></span></span>lightness of her personality. She is immortal and tries to love every minute of life she is given, even having a positive outlook on <i>skunks</i>. This also probably has some influence on why she lives in Tangier, a place to tantalize the senses. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Adam's music, antique collection of instruments, choice of deserted living area, and dark atmosphere speak of all he's seen and in his opinion endured. His surroundings compliment his negative mindset and are immediately lightened by Eve's presence. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Outside of color, the music, and long, slow moving shots allude to the ages these two beings have lived. It is as if the director </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Jarmusch is asking his audience to forget their busy lives and allow themselves to be sucked into a luxurious world where time does not matter.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The most interesting or <i>new</i> aspect of the movie to me was the mention of the need to stay away from "infected" blood. The idea that future may hold undesirable consequences, even for immortal creatures was quite thought provoking. Not only do you have to drink blood to survive, but doing what comes naturally to you as a vampire could potentially result in an abrupt end to your borrowed life. Their next <i>lowly humane meal </i>could be the death of them. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The strong love between Eve and Adam, the way they choose to see immortality as a gift that must be cherished (mostly Eve's viewpoint), and their attempt to not drink directly from humans are all elements that seduce the viewer into forgetting what exactly they are. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> It isn't until the very end of the movie, when the characters realize they will die if they do not drink blood that the viewer is reminded of the "nature" of vampires. They drink the blood of a couple and say they will change them into vampires, so that it is more romantic or humane. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The movie effectively represented vampires as intelligent, elegant, and loving beings, while at the same time reminding the viewer that it was a sugar coating for the price of their immortality, an immortality that they were now going to force on an unsuspecting couple, according to the last few seconds of the movie. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Required Movie 2: </b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>Let the Right One In </i>(2008<i>)</i> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">A look at </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>two disturbed children, only one of them is a vampire. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Oscar is a boy constantly bullied and in desperate need of human connection. He finds this connection in Eli, a vampire in the body of an adolescent. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">There is much going on in the movie outside of the character's relationship, but I am deciding to focus on relationship as it is the movie's backbone. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">What separates this movie from Anne Rice's book and from <u>Only Lover's Left Behind</u> is it's focus on <i>relationship development</i>. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>In Interview With a Vampire</i>, Louie's relationships are pretty much only concerning vampires except for the interviewer and his human victims. With this being said his negative opinion of Lestat is set early on. In </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Only Lover's Left Behind</u> the only <i>true</i> relationships are between vampires as well and are set before the movie even starts.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Let the Right One In</i> is interesting, because it watches the development of a relationship between Oscar and Eli. Eli encourages Oscar to stand up for himself against the bullies and shows an interest in Oscar when no one else does, not even his parents. Oscar gives Eli the benefit of his calm acceptance of all things strange. For example, Oscar only says "Oh" in regard to Eli saying, "Yes" to the question, "Are you a vampire?" There is no revulsion or fear from Oscar, because he already trusts Eli. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Obviously Eli is still dangerous. This can be seen in the scene where Oscar tries to do a blood pact with Eli, before it is revealed that Eli is a vampire. In order to avoid attacking Oscar, whose hand is dripping with blood, Eli laps up the blood that has spilled on the floor and tells Oscar to run.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The scene in which their relationship is sealed occurs when Oscar refuses to invite Eli into his house. It seemed Oscar did this out of doubt and the idea of a "dare" not spite. Eli steps inside and begins to bleed all over as if about to fall apart. Oscar quickly invite's Eli inside clearly terrified of the idea of loosing his one friend. After this Oscar accepts the reality of Eli being a vampire as a whole, even the fact that murder is required.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">After Eli saves Oscar's life from the sadistic bullies, they run away together.The lighting of this scene is warm and inviting unlike the rest of the movie.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Let the Right One In</span></span></span></u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span></span></span>'s icy setting complemented the character's loneliness and isolation~ Oscar because of his home and social situation, and Eli because being a vampire obviously makes it hard to have a normal life. The closeup, over the shoulder, and very wide shots are dominantly used in the film in a very dramatic way. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Unlike in <u>Interview With a Vampire</u>, where Louie decides he can only be an immortal vampire alone, </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oscar and Eli are determined to stay together. The viewer is inclined to be happy for them, but I also felt sad since it appears Oscar will inevitably become a willing provider for Eli's <i>hunger. </i>He may even stoop to the act of murder eventually.</span></span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338048046231030829.post-82586125768934241312014-08-18T14:30:00.002-07:002014-08-20T18:19:34.183-07:00Gothic Literature <br />
plan for Gothic architecture<br />
<img alt="http://37.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3976esbzA1qdcsdfo1_1280.jpg" class="shrinkToFit decoded" src="http://37.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3976esbzA1qdcsdfo1_1280.jpg" height="640" width="512" /><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Gothic Literature: What is it?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Combines fiction, horror, and Romanticism.
It entertains with horror. The setting is often gloomy, grotesque, and mysterious. Violent events and an atmosphere of decay can be expected. The themes of the supernatural, high emotions, inner turmoil, isolation, and Sublime nature are also a part of Gothic literature. The term <i>Gothic</i> refers to the architecture of the medieval buildings, which were often backdrops for the stories. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Classic Example: </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Marry Shelley's, <u>Frankenstein</u></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Response: </b></span><u><br /></u><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Before reading Marry Shelley's <u>Frankenstein</u> the only version of the story I had been exposed to was "Young Frankenstein". The hilarious movie, directed in 1974 by Mel Brookes, is a parody of the original story that shows history repeating itself when Frankenstein's grandson begins to follow in his grandfather's footsteps. The movie keeps to the Gothic atmosphere, but completely changes the story for comedy's sake.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the parody Frankenstein is curious and passionate. In the book he is arrogant, selfish, and irresponsible for his actions. Even when he finally does try to take responsibility it is too late, because his inaction ultimately caused the death of his loved ones. Marry Shelley's Doctor Frankenstein wants to be God, but can't face his creation. He is socially and emotionally isolated, as well as literally isolated when he goes to the icy North alone in search of his creation and revenge. His obsession for revenge, to wipe away his mistake that cost him everything, ends in his own demise.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Marry Shelley's novel was a very interesting read. The fact that the book itself is a confession of past wrongs given to a stranger, Walton, gave me the impression that Frankenstein was telling his story to me personally. This was quite entertaining and it made the book a page turner.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The most interesting aspect of reading Frankenstein for me was how I perceived the main characters, Victor and his monster. I felt compassion for the monster and not for Victor Frankenstein. This surprised me, because everything I have encountered about "the monster" before reading the actual book illustrates him as the bad-guy, except for the parody. I found a great disliking for Victor, because he essentially created a living being and then left it all alone in the world without any kind of education or morals. This I found to be really repulsive, because the death of innocent people could have been avoided if the monster had been "raised", which is supported by the fact that he taught himself how to speak and read eloquently on his own. Victor's abandonment of the monster forced the monster into isolation and a downward spiral of lamentation of his own "birth", which surfaces in revenge against Victor, his creator. The monster even calls itself an <i>abortion</i>. It's hard not to feel some compassion for it after that. Victor seems to be the picture of carelessness in human nature; maybe some knowledge is better left alone.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">On the other hand, the monster obviously, at some point, knows the difference between right and wrong. This means all of the murders he committed had to be made with a choice to do wrong even though he claims to be gentle and misunderstood. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u>Frankenstein</u> is Gothic in nature. Much of It's story takes place either in a desolate landscape or an icy wasteland. It explores suspense in the threat of the monster's actions. The supernatural idea of animating dead flesh becomes a possibility. Victor suffers inner turmoil over the result of his guilt at his arrogant ambition to hold the power of life like God. The strong emotions of loneliness, despair, guilt, and vengeance are dominate. Victor and his monster are both trapped by the affect they have on each other. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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Richard Rothwell's "Portrait of Marry Shelley" 1840<br />
<img alt="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/RothwellMaryShelley.jpg" class="shrinkToFit decoded" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/RothwellMaryShelley.jpg" height="640" width="520" /><br />
<img alt="http://www.comicbookbrain.com/_imagery/2013-03-18/wrightson-frankenstein-620.jpg" class="shrinkToFit decoded" src="http://www.comicbookbrain.com/_imagery/2013-03-18/wrightson-frankenstein-620.jpg" height="640" width="472" />The monster enraged by reading Frankenstein's papers and learning how Frankenstein came to create him.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Contemporary Example: </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Reading Marry Shelley's Frankenstein made me think of a movie that is contemporary Gothic.</span><br />
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<b>Tim Burton's <u>Corpse Bride</u> (2005)<u><br /></u></b><br />
<img alt="http://www.movieposter.com/posters/archive/main/44/MPW-22275" class="shrinkToFit decoded" src="http://www.movieposter.com/posters/archive/main/44/MPW-22275" height="640" width="420" /><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Response: </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This movie encompasses all of what it means for a media to be considered a part of the Gothic genre. (However, it's drama is lightened with a bit of humor, therefore its' also a bit of a parody commenting on the melodrama of classic Gothic Literature)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Centering around a man that is accidentally swept into literally marrying a "corpse" bride, the movie builds on the mystery behind the bride's death and the sinister motives of the characters surrounding the main character, who is just trying to find love. Destiny is a theme in the movie as well. The young man, Victor, is destined to marry a girl named Victoria through an arranged marriage. However, by the end of the movie it also appears he is destined to bring about justice for the murder of Emily, the corpse bride. As Victor gets to know Emily he encounters inner turmoil. He wants to get back to his living, breathing true love, Victoria, but doesn't know how to without betraying his corpse bride. Victor has to face his fear of the corpse bride to achieve an understanding with her, so that they can come to a conclusion where everyone wins and the corpse bride finds peace.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The story is purely fictional as it focuses on the supernatural dealings of the underworld. It combines the horror of the corpse bride with the romanticized ideal of high emotion as a source of aesthetic experience. The setting is largely the realm of the dead or an equally gloomy Victorian town. Many of the characters seen as antagonists are pictured as grotesque, in the form of the main character's parents and mysterious in the form of evil Lord Barkis. The violent events of the corpse bride's murder, the attempted murder of Victoria and the accidental death of Lord Barkis fuel the atmosphere of decay and suspense. The high emotions and inner turmoil experienced by the characters throughout the movie make the Gothic atmosphere complete. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Interestingly, the characters find happiness and the evil of the past, in the form of Lord Barkis, is destroyed, unlike in Frankenstein, where the price for past mistakes is death.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Required Movie:</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Ken Russell's </b></span><u>Gothic</u> (1986) </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The movie <u>Gothic</u> is based on the factual event of 18 year old Mary Godwin, the author of <u>Frankenstein</u>, visiting Lord Byron in Villa Diodati by Lake Geneva along with her half sister, Jane, her soon to be husband, Percy Shelley, and the physician John Polidari. During this visit a challenge was set to write a horror story. This challenge led to Mary Godwin penning <u>Frankenstein</u> and John Polidori writing <u>The</u> <u>Vampyre</u>. Also influential to Mary writing <u>Frankenstein</u> was a nightmare she had during the same visit, which involved a mad scientist believing he could be God and giving life to a monster.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ken Russel's <u>Gothic</u> only follows the facts briefly during the beginning of the movie, which then proceeds to turn literally into a nightmare come to life. His version on the events or reasons leading up to Mary Shelley's <u>Frankenstein</u> struck me as bizarre and shocking more than they are frightening. This is due to the horrors illustrated being extremely specific to the characters. For example, Percy Shelley is terrified of a vision he has had of a woman possessing eyeballs where her nipples should be. This imagery does not cause me to be afraid. Likewise, much of the imagery was, designed to be gross. The plate full of leeches for example is nasty, but not scream worthy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In regard to the film <u>Gothic</u> actually being Gothic, yes it was, very much so.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The film is set in a secluded castle, during a storm with no way out. The characters begin to play with the idea of creation and have a seance of sorts where they call up their deepest fears and unknowingly unleash a monster of their own imagination into the world. Lord Byron is the man which many monsters were based off of, one of which being a vampyre. He is controlling, imposing, selfish, and dangerous, as well as the reason why things went downhill so fast. The questions, <i>Should we create</i>? and <i>What do we do now that we have</i>? are repeatedly talked about. Questions about free love, religion and science call to mind the Age of Enlightenment or the Age of Reason, out of which much of "Gothic" was born. The monster is never really seen or fully understood, but Mary Shelley crushes the skull out of which it supposedly came, fulfilling the idea that the Gothic damsel must face her fear in the end. The viewer is left with Mary Shelley saying that the monster is not really dead and will haunt them for the rest of their lives "to the grave". <span style="font-size: small;">(Perhaps Ken Russel's nod to Frankenstein, since Doctor Frankenstein's monster does indeed chase him to the grave)</span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Henry Fuseli "The Nightmare" 1781 <b> (Look Familiar?) </b></span><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338048046231030829.post-48326429350254130272014-08-17T17:58:00.000-07:002014-08-20T18:02:40.679-07:00Why?<div id="above">
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