tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85188359479474331572024-03-13T05:21:26.173-07:00Writing (about) Time: Thoughts Concerning Temporal Play in Contemporary NarrativesMelissa Ameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13372494777317072570noreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518835947947433157.post-32628667046859296882016-04-12T04:18:00.000-07:002016-04-23T12:07:32.843-07:00Living in a World of Public Privacy<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Growing up in the digital age is by no means a problem in and of itself. Before social media, the internet was bustling with people and teeming with information. As the internet started to take hold in many homes, there was the always-looming idea of "you never know who somebody really is on the internet," the idea that over-sharing will lead to drastic or dire consequences. Internet handles, usernames, and avatars were commonplace across the world as a means to mask personal identity but give a voice on the internet. Message boards, forums, and even personal websites and journals were mainstays of the internet, all of them early or precursory forms of "social media" before social media. Everything was going well... until the social media nation attacked. Early social media such as Friendster and Classmates and SixDegrees started to spring up seemingly overnight at the turn of the century. Rather than solely adopting our online personas, hidden behind our (cringeworthy, adolescent) usernames, users now made profiles around their own personal information and linked their accounts or added friends. Connections were made, people rejoiced at this newfangled way to either get or keep in touch with others that may or have left our immediate lives (for better or worse).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> But as the essay "Accumulating Affect" makes a startlingly scary point in how we have developed as a worldwide culture in the digital age. The essay notes, "Sites such as Facebook would not exist if they did not reproduce sociability... Social Networks are virtual spaces driven by the active participation of users" (236-7). Now more than ever, everyone is sharing everything they think, see, or do in every way possible. From text posts on Facebook to pictures on Snapchat or Instagram or videos on Vine and Youtube, everything that everyone experiences in the digital age makes its way into the hands of nearly infinite amounts of shares, likes, retweets, etc. Author Jennifer Pybus notes that "when a user places something into the archive, he or she is uploading an object that has social, and hence affective, value. The object in question has the potential to affect as it moves between the user and the larger network of friends... Thus affect accumulates, sediments, and provides additional cultural significance to that which gets circulated" (240). As such, sharing is inherently a good thing in terms of sociability; the material or experience has the ability to connect the person sharing with any and all who receive or interact with the shared material in some way. In this way, the more we share our experiences, the more "sociable" we make ourselves seem. But seem is the operant word here; does sharing our experiences (or lack of sharing) really make us any more or less sociable in comparison to our worlds "offline"?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Just because a pleth</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ora of Facebook friends "like" that one picture of the burrito you took last weekend to show that you are such a #foodie doesn't necessarily make you any more inherently sociable, does it? Pybus notes that "people do not log in to social networks to live anonymous lives, but instead to live what Zhao and colleagues refer to as 'nonymous' or (semi)public lives" (243). We, as a culture, use social media as a tool or means to connect with one another in a way that doesn't necessitate having to have a close, personal relationship with one another. Simply just being friends with someone on Facebook is the modern equivalent of being an acquaintance with someone without necessarily having to invest time or energy into cultivating long-lasting friendships with said people. The term "Facebook friends" actually has this distinct meaning that has developed out of this symbiotic, affective relationship, a meaning that is widespread and well understood. Pybus notes that "each time we upload something about ourselves, an intention or desire motivates us to do so" (242). We want to express ourselves publicly, make ourselves a spectacle of affection or inspection. We want people to see us, see what we're doing, know what we're thinking, even if it isn't necessarily relevant to anyone but ourselves (really, Dave, nobody else cares if you're thinking of buying a new set of window curtains. Honestly).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Richard Pryll's "Lies" seems an interesting take on the boundry between private and public, truth and lies, fact and fiction. Each path one takes provides a different context for the information provided. In each version, Antoine and Gabriella are two different "people." When following just "Lies," one is told that Antoine and Gabriella are just journals, "meant for fantasizing about sex in our journals," and that writing in the journals is "cheating" on one another. Yet when one reads just the "Truth" path, one is set to believe that the two main characters are, in fact, cheating on one another but are choosing to come clean about it (and therein forgive one another for their infidelity). If one alternates between truth and lies, it muddles this story up a bit. One might learn early on that the "lover" is a journal, one might not; with or without this context, later information becomes much harder to decipher as "reality" or in the journal. Knowing that it is a journal, the information becomes easier to perceive as its "cheating," when in reality it isn't (and the reader would know this if they know about the journal). By using phrases and words with deceptive meaning, the author shows just how easy and simple it is to deceive the reader that might not have the proper context. The same lies in our perceptions of ourselves and others in the real world and on the internet. We often "adopt" a different persona, different set of personality traits when we're on the internet. We might be more or less inclined to share information, or even share different types of information, when we know that someone connected with you is reading or seeing it whereas we might be a little more lax when our anonymity cannot be questioned or lifted. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Just like in the main character's journals, we allow ourselves to be "ourselves," or more less like ourselves, when in the company of or in presentation toward others. This persona we develop may be more or less characteristic of who we truly are. An introvert may be more likely to "come out of their shell" when outside of the physical company of others, even if they're within the "digital" company of others. In reverse, an extrovert may feel themselves "confined" to a simple space such as a blog or social media, unable to fully or openly express themselves. A physical audience or presence is intimidating to many who aren't entirely introverted as well. By "limiting" that audience to a digital presence, one has the ability to reach millions upon millions of other people nearly instantaneously but isn't subjected to physical scrutiny or judgment. Anonymity and/or lack of physical presence allows for a broader range of characteristics to be displayed, acknowledged, or bolstered. Such is the reason that social media platforms such as Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram, etc. allow those who want to have a voice and audience to use it vastly, but those that want to remain "nonymous" and otherwise be a wallflower are able to do so just as well.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11104567587136980910noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518835947947433157.post-54121836710617239402016-04-11T21:40:00.003-07:002016-04-11T21:40:44.046-07:00Personality Pays<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“The digital archive can therefore illuminate how the
conflation of economic and social relations is not simply an alienated process
but always already engaged and active.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Jennifer Pybus’s chapter entitled “Accumulating Affect:
Social Networks and their Archives of Feelings” takes a more in-depth look at
how users of social media create an affect for themselves through these
platforms that engage user emotions. She asserts that archives not only
preserve knowledge but also the emotions of that particular moment something is
posted. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Because of this, we are able to reflect on our posts, seeing
where we were emotionally at a given point in time. Our previous engagements
with social media can even shape and transform the way we feel in the present. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Whether we like it or not, social media has transformed the
way we view the world, and, yes, it has changed the way the world views those
who participate online. As Pybus mentions in her work, it isn’t just private
citizens that are reaping the benefits of an online presence. Both small and
big companies as well as public figures, like musicians and politicians, have
recognized the potential that social media provides to market themselves. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I currently work in a tourism department for a city in
Illinois, and one of my jobs is to keep an updated record of all the businesses
within the city, and, trust me, it’s hard to market a business without an
online presence. I’ve always thought that if companies don’t have at least a
Facebook page, they probably either already have a decent customer base and don't care or
they’re just honestly missing out on <i>major </i>marketing opportunities. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">However, businesses and public figures aren’t the only ones
profiting from the economic value of social media digital archives. While it’s
true that social media platforms provide online spaces for individuals and
companies to record and reflect on memories and the feelings they evoke, some
have figured out another way to profit from social media. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After reading through Pybus’s work, I began to think more
about how individuals join in this “ongoing process of choice and curating the
self” through social media, creating the online affect that she focuses on in
the chapter. As a student with a concentration in composition and rhetoric, I
asked myself, who is the audience for all of this? What purpose does it serve?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It seems that as individuals, we create this affect mostly for ourselves
and those we know who are also on these sites. As Pybus suggests, we as
individuals engage in social media to archive moments, thoughts, and feelings
and to reflect on those later, continuously shaping our affects both on and
offline. In contrast, companies and businesses use social media to promote their
goods/services, reaching a wider (online) audience of potential paying
customers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">However, I do think there is a category of those using
social media, also for a solid purpose, that Pybus seems to overlook: what about
individuals that create an affect online for economic purposes? Sure, celebrities
create their affects on social media to promote whatever it is that they do to
make money—buy my album, go see my movie, come watch me perform stand-up
comedy. Yet, some individuals—NOT celebrities or well known prior to social media—have
capitalized on social media’s economic value by simply promoting themselves and their personalities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This came as a shock to me at first, but, yes, normal
individuals like you and me are making money because of the online affect they
have and continue to create. One of the prime examples of this phenomenon is
Jenna Mabry, better known as Jenna Marbles. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCxzaHC30Ec" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Click here to see how Jenna got to where she is in her career. </span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While some may have made a name for themselves with a
certain post or video (who else remembers the Chocolate Rain guy?), it seems these moments are often short-lived. Jenna, along
with many others following her lead, has transformed the online world, bridging the gap between individual and business purposes for doing so. Her
tweets and YouTube videos have gained her thousands of followers within the
past few years—and she’s making a living of off it!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The affect that she has accumulated online has pushed
her closer toward celebrity status, but unlike most other celebrities, she
isn’t trying to sell you anything but her personality. Her display of “highly
performative subjectivities” that Pybus discusses has attracted people across
the globe. The affect that she has created has proved extremely relatable and
popular, transforming her into an online superstar. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Gc1yTf9AKs&nohtml5=False" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Check out one of her videos here. </span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Other online personalities have also thrived and made their living
through their affects created via social media, but I have to admit, Jenna is
one of my personal favorites. It does seem a little discouraging that most
of us on social media won’t ever gain the online notoriety that is required to
make a living out of the deal, but it’s interesting to think that it's now an
option. Welcome to the 21st century, right?</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10919938517927575091noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518835947947433157.post-46232487254055541792016-04-11T21:38:00.001-07:002016-04-11T21:38:08.984-07:00Hypertextual Lies Shall Set You Free!
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Lies
</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">raises
as many questions as longer works due to its hypertextual format, which seduces
the reader (or maybe not) into several careful readings, a task that is less taxing
with this work as compared to traditional works of fiction. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VoN6ZZ_t-M4/Vwx6-OiOrFI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/uKay1f4RY1ACQuPYsnmr4f6kL5La7w2vgCLcB/s1600/hypertext1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VoN6ZZ_t-M4/Vwx6-OiOrFI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/uKay1f4RY1ACQuPYsnmr4f6kL5La7w2vgCLcB/s320/hypertext1.jpg" width="184" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">As a work of fiction, the structure of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lies</i> emphasizes the interconnected
relationship of fact and fiction. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nora_Ephron">Nora Ephron</a> once said that <a href="http://www.hbo.com/documentaries/everything-is-copy">“everything is copy”</a> and “writers are cannibals,” and I am gradually realizing how right she
was. Apart from our own perspectives, all that writers glean from the
experiences and perceptions of others becomes the raw material for fiction and
nonfiction alike. Beware of writers, for they will transform your words and
thoughts to suit their artistic needs, bending the “truth” to which we all
cling so desperately! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Fantasy is so much more interesting than the raw
reality of our day-to-day lives, and Pryll shows how lies emerge as a more interesting
version of honesty, as long as we are aware of the truth which our lies hide
and why we are compelled to fictionalize our experiences in the first place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">In my first run-through of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lies</i>, I, like McKenzie, chose “Truth” the whole way through, only
to finish with an anticlimactic ending that lacked substance. Choosing “Lies”
throughout my second reading revealed more depth, especially with the addition
of metaphorical interpretations of “summer lovers” and the notion and act of
infidelity: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt 1in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">There are other codes
too. "Summer lover" is actually the names we call our journals. It
started when she and I started writing letters to each other. When </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">[<i>we</i>]<i> were writing to each other, we were
spending time together. When we were writing in our journals, we were
"cheating" on each other. "Sleeping with" our summer lovers
meant fantasizing about sex in our journals. She was the first to give her
journal human characteristics.</i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">This false account is not only more interesting than
the truth, but it also has no conflict, which flies in the face of the
traditional requirement of a story needing strife to be considered a story; the
infidelities become symbolized both as acts of writing to oneself as opposed to
writing to a lover, coupled with the fantasy of one for the other—all desires
are fulfilled through artistic deception. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1r4XHSRtKQ8/Vwx6RgNucxI/AAAAAAAAAHI/6aVrxP_Viacw1kF6aLccQw00H4daDEzkgCLcB/s1600/pinnochio.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1r4XHSRtKQ8/Vwx6RgNucxI/AAAAAAAAAHI/6aVrxP_Viacw1kF6aLccQw00H4daDEzkgCLcB/s200/pinnochio.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Pryll’s narrative also explains that lying = dancing
and drinking rum and cokes = crying over the lies told to one another. These
codes make honesty easier by garnishing the truth with figurative language. But
these cyphers serve a superior purpose in the manner of writing, in that they
reveal the essence of fiction: to artistically expand upon our perceptions in
order to grapple with the nature of our world, our universe, ourselves, others,
and what we imagine may exist beyond what our myopic natures can comprehend. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Erratically navigating <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lies</i>—Truth, Lies, Lies, Truth, for ex.—reveals subtle diversions
and additional details in the story, making it more engaging. The Lies always
spice up the story in interesting ways, such as in the following passage—a lie
that draws attention to the necessity of imaginative deception in writing: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt 1in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">A<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">ctually, this never happened. I am a writer,
and I wrote a story about an artist colony where this woman, who's craft is
inspiration, guides all the painters, writers, sculptors and poets to different
places in the city. Her favorite places are the bus depot and the subway
tunnels at night. She helps to expand people's minds with her beauty and her
mystique.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">In the above passage, further
details</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">
of scenery mentioned in other combinative selections of Truth and Lies are
given, only they are revealed to be the product of the writer’s imagination.
Pryll breaks the fourth wall and places other clues in the story that directly
let the reader know he/she is being manipulated, his “diorama” constantly
shifting before our eyes in a manner that is either engaging and game-like,
frustratingly facile, or somewhere in between. <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Ben Cravenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05760265334674280878noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518835947947433157.post-2143709708676734112016-04-11T19:26:00.000-07:002016-04-11T19:26:41.866-07:00Social Media Isn't All Bad<div class="MsoNormal">
Jennifer
Pybus examines the benefits of social media in her article “Accumulating
Affect: Social Networks and Their Archives of Feelings.” She highlights the fact that “posting content
has become a necessary means by which to maintain intimacy with peers” for many
social media users (235). The archive of digital information is exponentially
expanding, even though privacy-protecting behaviors continue to increase,
especially among young people. Pybus analyzes the effects that the increasing
archive of digital information has on its users and the economy.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Pybus
begins by examining the social relationships found through social media. These
networks “allow users to: (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within
a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a
connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made
by others within the system” (Pybus 237). It’s interesting to note that Pybus
argues that “users don’t typically go to these sites to meet strangers, but to
maintain preexisting offline friendships” (237). That may depend on the type of
social media one looks at, because plenty of networks allow for anonymity and
to further the goal of creating new online friendships (think Tumblr).
Regardless of the anonymity of the user, social media does help people feel
comforted and built up when they are feeling insecure. This latter reason may
explain why so many details of a user’s life are fudged online. By posting only
positive or “airbrushed” experience to social media, users can feel more secure
due to the positive feedback they get from their friends list. Social media
promotes these interactions and, in doing so, becomes a successful example of
“stickness,” a term marketers use to refer to the “amount of time spend on a
website” (Pybus 237). The more time users spend on the network, the more
successful the network is.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>While many
scholars argue that social media is used to exploit users into providing data
for the “information economy,” Pybus argues that users can “nonetheless enjoy
the effects of networked sociality generated when the engage with their
divergent groups of friends” through an “archive of feelings” (238). An archive
is not a static construct of documents, but rather an ever-changing ”space of
interpretation and contestation that has the power to make meaning through its
ability to privilege certain discourses over others. Who and what gets
remembered and who gets to make these existential decisions, are issues with
important social, political, and economic ramifications” (Pybus 239). In an
“archive of feelings,” focus is placed on how the texts are constructed, rather
than the content themselves. The creation of the archive preserves emotions and
memories, and these preservations can often be more important to the users than
what is actually created.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Social
media promotes a different way for bodies to connect with each other. In this
connection, “each message, note, and photo that gets uploaded carries with it
the ability to affect not only a friend in the network but equally the
individual user, based on the way that this object is received by the members
of his or her respective community” (Pybus 240). A piece of information’s
effect on a person changes based on whether he or she chooses to upload it to
social media to share with friends. The user uploads this piece for a reason,
and it has the ability to maintain relationship and memories through the act of
being shared with friends. The act of sharing allows people to feel connected
with each other and, in the process, encourages more sharing of information
with each other. As Pybus notes, “The more we use sites such as Facebook, the
more we post, the more we are motivated to generate and share additional
content” (242). The fact that social media is almost purely user-generated in
fact allows its continuation.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Of course,
Pybus highlights a paradox within this system because what is shared is only a
representation. Social media can never fully recreate experiences, regardless
of users’ desires to “place everything in the archive” (Pybus 242). However,
Pybus argues that “Such an archive would not only be utopian and perhaps
somewhat perverse, it would have the effect of erasing memory all together”
(242). Social media works because users make their own choices about what to
upload into the digital archive and what kind of experiences they want to
create within the network.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Because
users can create their own selves within social media, many scholars, such as
Sherry Turkle, conceptualize identity as having separate selves within each
network. We have different identities based on who we are talking to and
sharing with. Others argue that the different selves come “together to produce
a more singular, albeit fractured, identity, driven not only by the architecture
of the technology but also by an active need for sociality (Pybus 243). Regardless
of the theory one might subscribe to, users have the ability to present
distinctly separate selves to different groups of people, and, as Pybus argues,
it is important “to think about [the] related power/knowledge questions that
emerge when we begin to examine the choices that determine what information
will come to represent us, affect others, and subsequently affect ourselves”
(243). <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Finally,
Pybus does attend to the fact that marketers are making increasingly
substantial use out of the data from social media. Why make a study of human
behavior and consumption when it is immediately available already on social
media? Concerns about how organizations are becoming “hungrier and hungrier” for
user data are not unjustified (Pybus 245). Pybus argues, however, that “To
focus only on how corporations extrapolate our data negates those very real
affective relations that propel the increased production and circulation of
data by users” (245). Social media users are still getting very important
benefits from the networks, regardless of how those ensuing relationships are
being analyzed.<o:p></o:p></div>
Kristina Kastlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580807881489622895noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518835947947433157.post-18082109704916028362016-04-11T17:19:00.001-07:002016-04-11T17:20:23.067-07:00Things are Confusing when Truth is Mixed in With Lies<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Richard L. Pryll has managed to capture the essence of what it means to lie and tell the truth within his HyperFiction </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lies. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I feel I can make this claim as someone who decided to be sporadic in the reading. On my first go, I continuously would choose what I felt was best to read based on what he wrote. I’d read what would come up on the screen, look at it and process it for a few moments, and then decide whether or not I would want a truth or a lie. By doing it this way, I felt that I was going to give myself the best story. In the end though, I found I had given myself a headache and a lot of questions.</span></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-26064976-07d5-bfd1-6b98-2f8189a1d5b9" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is why I feel he was able to completely capture the moment of lying or telling the truth. Within each click, the reader is choosing what they want to hear, regardless of whether or not it is something they truly wanted. I found that mixing lies in with the truth, I was constantly trying to remember which actions I chose to do and what led me to where I was at in the story. Which seems to be the case in how life really works. Every time someone makes a choice, whether it is to lie or tell the truth, the story of what they’re talking about moves forward. The narrative changes, and so does the speaker. In the end, the person is either caught in a former lie or ends up living their life with that lie. Same with the truth. In lying about some aspects and telling truth in the others, the person speaking will continuously have to try and remember what they said that was a lie or if they told the truth.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After this experience, I found myself going and back and just choosing truth for the entire story. Although this clear things up to an extent, I found myself rather bored with the story. With this way of telling and reading it, it made me question the extent of telling the truth again in real life. A lot of times, when someone tells a story, the truth may not always be important. When I speak about what I did with what my day, a lot of it will be mundane and boring. No one wants to hear about how I read this story over several times by myself in my room. They want something more exciting. It’s here where it should make the reader pause and wonder on the truth. How much of the truth do people need? How much truth are you fully getting when you speak to someone? This tends to be answered a bit by choosing all lies.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When choosing all lies, I found that many of the details of the truth story were not to be found. The main example I’m thinking of is how the writer of this piece had secret terms for things. Words such as “rum and cokes,” “dancing,” and “summer lovers” takes on a new perspective for the reader in the all lie section. However, I found myself questioning if these codes were true or not. Since if you choose the lie section all the way through, whose to say that any of what is being told is really true? A lie is fiction, made up, so who is to say that the narrator is not lying about these secret codes? If he was telling the truth within the lie section, then is the lie section really a lie? If he was lying about the secret codes, it makes things even more difficult for the reader. Just think about the fact that regardless of whether or not the secret codes he reveals are true, the perception changes if you go to read through the truth section again.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In regards to temporal play, it felt as though the story progressed in different ways. If the reader chooses to switch between lies and truths, than the narrative ends rather quickly. In the truth section, it slows down and time passes at a rational rate. With lies, it felt as though time was moving slower, and possibly that there were more things to read in the lie section. This could once again play to the reality of telling a truth, or a lie, or mixing it up. When I speak truthfully, everything tends to move at a normal rate, I’m not worried about judgement or being caught in a lie since what I’ve said is the truth. When I tell a lie, things move slower. I constantly try to make sure that I’m not caught in any of my fabrications. When mixing it up, I’m constantly worried about slipping up. Will one part of the story I lied about contradict with a truthful part I told? This play with truth and lies in a narrative help to move at the same pace as real life would.</span></span>Ty Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13015031664359186427noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518835947947433157.post-57793475574412548552016-04-11T16:45:00.001-07:002016-04-11T16:45:36.917-07:00Just Because You Can Create Hypertexts Doesn't Mean That You Should<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Do
I write based on truth or lies? What if I create my own code words that only I
understand and make you, the reader, guess which code words are actually code
words and which ones are fake code words? And what happens if I create the blog
using hyperlinks, but those links are dead, broken?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
could say that I really enjoyed Rick Pryll’s hypertext “Lies”; the opening
statement was proven by the story, that lies are really more interesting, and I
just couldn’t wait to see wait new and exciting events would pop up next. In
all honesty, I had high hopes for this hypertext. The “truths” version versus the
“lies” version was a clever gimmick. But it was written in 1992 and converted
for the web in 1994. I would have been very impressed with the hypertext
structure back then (yes, I had a computer and dial-up internet). But saying that
“I really enjoyed” it would be a lie. I found that the use of pronouns and
other ambiguities created more disjointedness between the hypertexts rather
than the fluidity that Pryll was striving for. <a href="http://public.wsu.edu/~amerstu/573/bonnema.html">Doug Bonnema’s analysis
of “Lies”</a> also points out that Pryll’s story “is somewhat sophomoric.”
Bonnema does praise “Lies” as “an ideal introduction for students to the new
and multi-layered possibilities attainable through hypertext fiction.” I think
that is an overstatement; “Lies” is a basic example, but one that is easy to
recognize and use.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ironically,
none of the links provided by Pryll on the “Lies” webpage to his interviews and
lists of other hypertexts work. So in an attempt to learn more, I started with
an equally basic Google search for “Rick Pryll Lies.” I found that <a href="http://ri3439.wix.com/rickpryll">Rick Pryll</a> has struggled to maintain
a social media presence; again, odd for someone who touts himself as “an
award-winning author and poet, best known for his hyperfiction short story
“LIES” [. . .]. First published to the web in 1994, “LIES” has garnered praise
from the Wall Street Journal, SHIFT magazine, and several other publications in
print and online. It is cited in more than seven books, has been translated
into Spanish and Chinese, and continues to be featured on the curriculae at
several institutions of higher learning.” Pryll has two blog pages, neither of which
has been updated since 2014: <a href="http://pub-hack.blogspot.com/2014_03_23_archive.html">Foolishness: the
life and times of Indie Author Rick Pryll</a> and <a href="http://rplies.blogspot.com/">Rick Pryll’s LIES, the blog</a>. His twitter
account @rickpryll is up-to-date, but Pryll retweets more than he posts
original comments. His biography on Twitter states that he is currently writing
and editing a middle grade novel, but no internet search resulted in any
additional information. I know that maintaining a social presence, a deliberate
maintaining, requires extra time and effort. I did my best to live tweet the
English Studies Conference last week #EIUESC16, but I was concerned that I
appeared rude during presentations when I was on my phone in a professional capacity.
I am always gleeful when someone outside my circle retweets or likes a tweet
because I know that my efforts have been successful. However, it seems that a person
who was an early user of a creative means for writing using programming/the
internet would recognize the impact of a social presence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">So
I wanted to experience more hyperfiction and preferably more creative
hyperfiction. One of the top results from my Google search was the webpage for
Kirkwood (Iowa) Community College faculty member <a href="http://faculty.kirkwood.edu/site/index.php?p=27702">Sue Kuennen’s New
Media Literature course</a>. Again, a webpage in which the links are not all
up-to-date, but many were. I was intrigued by <a href="http://www.sunshine69.com/Drive_69.html">“Sunshine ’69” by Bobby Rabyd</a>;
this hyperfiction allowed the reader to travel via multiple hypertexts—a calendar,
road map, suitcase, radio, and a bird. Some pages suffered from some poor
choices in graphic and text placement; I could not read the text that was
printed across the Summer ’69 banner. And even after downloading RealAudio
Player, I received an error message for every one of the “8-tack tapes.” Maybe
it was copyright issues, but if that was the problem, why not simply revamp the
site and make that statement? The problem that I had with this text was that I
could not find a solid plotline. I stumbled into a set of dialogue between two
male characters discussing how one was leaving for basic training followed by
Vietnam and how the other was planning to burn his draft card and go to prison
(yes, I felt like I was reading the script for <i>Hair</i>), but that conflict was not throughout the links. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">While
I thought “Lies” was too simplistic, I found both “Sunshine ‘69” and <a href="http://macmom.com/cliff/">“Cliff College: An Interactive Mystery”</a> too
confusing because of their overwhelming number of links and overcomplicated
paths to travel through the links. I spent less time on “Cliff College” because
I was becoming frustrated; I wanted to solve the murder, but in all my clicking
and reading, I never found a murder to solve!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
also wonder if writers/programmers/designers (I don’t know what to call the people
who created these works) lost interest years ago because the graphics are very
dated. Both “Sunshine ‘69” and “Cliff College” look like one generation past
the Oregon Trail computer game:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_dpD-hlV4xE/Vww2z3O_TKI/AAAAAAAAAC8/YhjRedwrAVUusyt4FV1-E8L-nsvtC7E-wCLcB/s1600/2016-04-11.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_dpD-hlV4xE/Vww2z3O_TKI/AAAAAAAAAC8/YhjRedwrAVUusyt4FV1-E8L-nsvtC7E-wCLcB/s320/2016-04-11.png" width="320" /></a></b></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
could not end my exploration without finding a hypertext that I could truthfully
say that I enjoyed, and I found it in <a href="http://www.e-merl.com/henry.htm">Daniel
Merlin Goodbrey’s “Henry”</a>. This hypertext appealed to me because it
combined a simplicity with more recent graphics, although the repetition of the
graphics and music does become annoying. Sue Kuennen suggests that Henry could
be categorized hyperpoetry, which might be why I was willing to accept the simplicity.
Like “Lies” the repetition of lines starts quickly, so by providing a limited
number of options the author does not complicate the text. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Truth—I
found the puzzle (or puzzles) with <i>S.</i>
more interesting and more enjoyable than the hypertexts. I can see the allure
of writing in such a way, but I don’t think any of these creators have found a viable
combination of text and hyperlinks/internet/programming to produce a work that
withstands literary scrutiny. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17140944873258565457noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518835947947433157.post-5898749861088158422016-04-11T14:40:00.002-07:002016-04-11T14:41:40.735-07:00Manipulating Digital Spaces in House of Cards S.4<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://typeset-beta.imgix.net/2016/3/5/Conway-and-Frank.png?w=1200&h=630&auto=format&q=70&fit=crop&crop=faces" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://typeset-beta.imgix.net/2016/3/5/Conway-and-Frank.png?w=1200&h=630&auto=format&q=70&fit=crop&crop=faces" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">In
Jennifer Pybus’s article, “Accumulating Affect: Social Networks and Their
Archives of Feelings,” the role of social media in society is questioned. Pybus divides those who are actively engaged
in social media into two camps. The
first being digital natives, or those who see “new technologies…as the primary
mediators of human-to-human connections” (235).
These are the younger users who have only ever experienced a world in
which digital media exists. For these
users, posting content is a necessary means by which to communicate with
peers. In this group, those who do not
actively participate are at risk of social isolation. The secondary group, or digital immigrants,
are those people who have slowly moved into the digital realm. This group’s demographic is made up of older
users who are more concerned about the visibility of their personal information
than the digital natives. In order to
remain relevant, digital natives must remain visible and current within their
network of friends and continually circulate user generated content. This
system creates a culture of disclosure “predicated on a distinct set of
beliefs, norms, and affective practices that legitimate the constant uploading
of personal materials” (236). Our
relationship with digital media and the data that we produce has caused a
fundamental shift in the ways we express ourselves socially and have had a
significant impact on the ways in which advertisers market themselves to
us. This shift has trickled further on
into American politics and has affected how politicians reach out to different
voting populations, a shift that has been featured in Netflix hit series, <i>House of Cards</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://lovelace-media.imgix.net/uploads/367/71bb1550-ccc6-0133-a271-0e55e2be01e5.jpeg?w=670&fit=max&auto=format&q=70" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lovelace-media.imgix.net/uploads/367/71bb1550-ccc6-0133-a271-0e55e2be01e5.jpeg?w=670&fit=max&auto=format&q=70" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">The
most recent season of <i>House of Cards,</i>
pits Frank Underwood against Will Conway, a young republican who has perfected
the art of self-marketing through the use of webcam broadcasts, Instagram,
search engine manipulation, and eventually, public access to his personal
phone. Although his age would put him in
the category of digital immigrant, his political campaign fits more in line
with the digital natives, or those who are younger and therefore live lives
that incorporate digital media to a further extent. Pybus says of the digital natives, “this
younger demographic is not as concerned about the visibility of their personal
information. Instead, they are more
apprehensive about their ability to control what they have chosen to circulate
online” (235). Conway expresses this by
making his personal life available for those who are interested in
watching. He posts video blogs of
himself and his family constantly, and when rumors begin to circulate about
him, he addresses the rumors directly to the public through the use of personal
videos. Conway relies heavily on his
media presence because he knows that voters respond well to it and that they
find him to be more honest and open. Of
course, this is not the case, as far as backdoor politics go, Conway is
incredibly skilled. He is right up there
with Frank Underwood as far as scheming and manipulation, and one could argue
that Conway is manipulative on a grander scale than Underwood because Conway
misrepresents himself to more people on a daily basis due to his expanded media
presence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Conway
takes advantage of the general assumption made by Zhao in regards to the term
‘nonymous’. The claim is that “people do
not go to these spaces [digital media] to completely reinvent themselves but,
typically, to upload more truth than fiction” (243). Under this assumption, one would expect
Conway’s constant media presence to be truthful in nature rather than
manipulative; Conway’s online persona would be more in line with the truth
rather than a fabrication. Of course,
viewers of the show know this to be an absolute lie, his video archive and
seemingly open desire to be seen is a fabrication that allows Conway to pick
and choose the points at the forefront of his political campaign. Sunden says, “we write ourselves into being,”
but I would argue that we write our personas into being like Conway manages to
in <i>House of Cards</i>. Conway conceptualizes his digital profile as
an archive that allows him to spread disinformation. Pybus states that conceptualizing digital
profiles as an archive allows us to “determine what information will come to
represent us, affect others, and subsequently affect ourselves” (243). Conway’s tactical advantage stems from the
way he controls his personal information to propagate the lie that has essentially
turned into his public identity.
Although he wants people to believe that his public identity and his
personal identity are one in the same, nothing could be farther from the truth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Frank
Underwood is less influential in terms of his digital archive and so he must
find other means in which to manipulate voters.
Like the advertisers, Frank must find a way to mine data from the social
media in order to stay ahead of his competitor Conway. Pybus states, “users are always creating
important opportunities for marketer, who intuitively understand that new
economic possibilities now reside in the generating of passionate interests, as
people increasingly come to express their intimacies publicly” (243). By mining this public expression and
manipulating media through the use of buzz words, Frank manages to stay ahead
of Conway. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<a href="http://lovelace-media.imgix.net/uploads/367/c7f682f0-c636-0133-8247-0ed2e059c4cf.png?w=670&fit=max&auto=format&q=70" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lovelace-media.imgix.net/uploads/367/c7f682f0-c636-0133-8247-0ed2e059c4cf.png?w=670&fit=max&auto=format&q=70" height="157" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Frank
has an advantage over Conway too in terms of assessing the public sphere, he
has full access to the NSA and therefore has the best monitoring capabilities
in the world. From his data he decides
to attack the public utilizing “sentiment analysis” or “opinion mining.” By staying on top of public opinion, Frank is
able to navigate his public persona in a way that showcases what the voters
want. Or more specifically, it allows
Frank to readjust the value placed on Claire, his wife. Because her public persona is held in such
high esteem, Frank attaches himself to her and together they become quite the
adversary for Conway. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">House of Cards </span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">season
4 depicts how social media has not only changed the ways in which people relate
to one another, but also the ways in which politicians can take advantage of us
by creating falsified personas that people take for true representations. Although this essay focused on <i>House of Cards</i>, the truth of the matter
is that politicians are constantly catering their messages and online personas
in a way that is meant to manipulate.
From hashtag campaigns, public photo ops that emphasize our candidate’s
personable qualities, to twitter messages, candidates are now fully utilizing
everything social media has to offer.<o:p></o:p></span><img src="http://cdn1.tnwcdn.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/03/011-house-of-cards-theredlist.jpg" height="240" width="640" /></div>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518835947947433157.post-22978376970049585702016-04-09T10:31:00.003-07:002016-04-09T10:32:32.153-07:00The Narrative Truth of Digital Hyperfiction: "Lies" and "Alter Ego"I spent quite a bit of time navigating through Rick Pryll’s
“Lies” this week. From the first click, I was charmed—the simple formatting,
the brief narrative glimpses, even the two-fold “Truth” and “Lies” buttons
staring through the screen—these were all aspects of Pryll’s hyperfiction short
story meant to draw readers in.<br />
<br />
<o:p> </o:p>I could not settle for a single read-through, but the first
time, I did continuously click “Truth” until the end. I want to believe that my
selection reveals something about my character, but I just think a natural
reaction is to want the truth, especially from a work of literature. The
narrative surprised me, though, as I was awfully confused and didn’t quite
understand what the purpose was. Despite this reaction, I immediately went back
to the beginning and started over, this time selecting “Lies.”<br />
<br />
<o:p> </o:p>What I found most fascinating is how the narrative was set
up in a way that required the reader to react. The information received for the
“Truth” was much different in certain areas than what was revealed for the
“Lies,” and the “Lies” sections seemed to provide the information that was
needed to make sense of the “Truth” sections. Knowing that the “summer lovers”
was actually just a code for the journals, and that the journals had these
personas, completely transformed the way that I was reading the story.<br />
<br />
<o:p> </o:p>In regard to temporality, I think Pryll’s choice to create
this story in such a way is effective because it gives the reader the power of
progression. I could read and reread the story in several different ways. I
even alternated between the two choices, starting once with “Truth” first and
once with “Lies” first. Although these choices didn’t necessarily change <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">how </i>the narrative progressed
(considering it ends the same every time, or at least it did for the decisions
I made throughout the story), I still felt like my conscious decision to click
either button might effect the next page.<br />
<br />
<o:p> </o:p>Pryll’s “Lies” reminded me of Dr. Peter J. Favaro’s game
“Alter Ego,” which reads very much like a story. Unlike Pryll’s “Lies,”
however, it takes the reader from infancy to death, providing a variety of
choices for the user to select in order to progress the narrative.<br />
<br />
<o:p> </o:p>These two stories are not similar just because of the plain
interface and reader-text interaction capabilities, but more so because every
choice results in a change in the narrative. In “Lies,” the next few sentences
of the text are formulated based on the reader’s decision. In “Alter Ego,”
readers are faced with the same kind of decisions, although the outcomes are
much more broad, and the choices the reader/user makes are carried throughout
the entire narrative from infancy until death, whenever that may be.<br />
<br />
<o:p> </o:p>For example, as a baby, the reader peers into the mirror,
and by choosing to recognize him or herself as a “beautiful baby,” self-esteem
and awareness is then increased. Those same qualities decline if the reader
chooses to disidentify with the baby in the mirror. Ultimately, the reader must
piece together this puzzle of life by using their own decision-making skills to
progress the story.<br />
<br />
<o:p> </o:p>What is most interesting, however, is how both of the texts
use these decision-making features to give the reader full control of time.
With a book, readers are able to jump around and pick and choose what they want
to read. Even in a novel, readers might be tempted to head to the end of the
book to see what happens, or even skip over paragraphs or chapters if they are
bored.<br />
<br />
<o:p> </o:p>With interactive texts like these, there is much more at
stake. The reader is no longer given the freedom to bounce around the narrative,
but instead must carefully read each selection of text if they want to make an
informed decision and move themselves forward. In “Lies,” one could easily
click through the slides at a quick rate, but the entire story is then at
stake. The user sees these decisions being made (irrationally, perhaps?) and
when they arrive at the end, nothing is left but a tiny bit of text. They
cannot flip back a couple of pages. They must start all over again.<br />
<br />
<o:p> </o:p>The same interaction works with “Alter Ego.” Whenever I used
to play the game in high school, I remember being upset with certain decisions
I had made, so I would try and refresh the page or click the backward arrow,
which would do nothing but mess up the game. There was no way to change those
decisions unless I started over, which, for the most part, was not only
inconvenient, but also defeated the purpose of the game—I needed to follow
through to find out what the point was.<br />
<br />
<o:p> </o:p>By controlling the rate in which the narrative develops,
readers have the chance to feel like the story is more intertwined with them as
opposed to a standard book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These
stories also layer the narrative in ways that defy the standards of a literary
text—every action has a reaction—and the reader, with all their power and
glory, finally gets to be in charge of those actions.<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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McKenziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11183103205359229576noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518835947947433157.post-42774635751360765562016-03-29T10:49:00.001-07:002016-04-07T05:21:24.759-07:00When Timelines Catch-Up<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 200%;">
<a href="http://hbogameofthronesseason6.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Game-of-Thrones-Season-6-Teaser-Poster-1024x576.jpg?757519" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://hbogameofthronesseason6.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Game-of-Thrones-Season-6-Teaser-Poster-1024x576.jpg?757519" height="225" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> In the article, “Lost in Time: Lost Fan Engagement with Temporal Play,” by Lucy Bennet, she discusses the impact of disrupting narrative progression. Specifically, she studies how fans of the show <i>Lost</i> cope with the temporal play imbedded in the story. She concludes that viewers of the show break up into three different coping groups. There are viewers who engage in forensic fandom, viewers who put trust in the writers of the show, and those who evaluate and question the narrative structure. The age of <i>Lost </i>has unfortunately ended, and one of the new reigning champions of television, <i>Game of Thrones</i>, is at the forefront of a new dilemma, a dilemma that serious fans of the series are certainly feeling going into the next season. The show has finally surpassed the timeline of the novels and fans everywhere are going to have to decide how connected the two stories really are.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Like <i>Lord of the Rings</i>, <i>Game of Thrones </i>is a narrative that is rich with lore. Lore that is only ever hinted at in the books but fully fleshed out in online sources. As Jason Mittell and Will Brooker argue, “this mode of storytelling promotes a “forensic fandom” from viewers of the show that involves research, collaboration, analysis and interpretation” (qtd. in Bennet 299). The website A Wiki of Ice and Fire is a fan-created website that holds over 7,000 articles on the book and includes more lore than the novels themselves. The website provides a platform for many users to postulate possible endings for the novel and also to answer some of the bigger questions of the show. Like the fans of <i>Lost</i>, who “used their forensic detection skills” to answer questions of the show, <i>Game of Thrones </i>fans have been analyzing scenes to postulate on answers that are never explicitly answered within the show. One example is of who poisoned Joffrey Baratheon at the Purple Wedding. By analyzing scenes frame by frame, fans have speculated that the killer is Olenna Tyrell. Fans have gone so far as to highlight the areas in which Olenna Tyrell’s hands move at the wedding. This forensic fandom exists in a different state to readers of the series who do not have the luxury of frame by frame analysis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Readers of the novel have also proved their forensic abilities by carefully studying the text itself. An ongoing theory out there is that the Hound is still alive. The last time we see him in the show he is left to die by Arya stark. Since then, he hasn’t been seen of or heard of. But readers of the novel point to a scene at an Abby that occurs in the fourth book when Brienne of Tarth is on the search for Sansa Stark. A looming character in the background coupled with the Hounds horse appearing at the abby have led some readers to assume the Hound is still alive. The wiki page for the Hound now has a small section devoted to this theory. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> A question that should come up in analyzing <i>Game of Thrones</i> is whether or not the television series exists in the same reality as the novel. Fans have been trying to tackle that question for a long time now. The common consensus is that the two are different. Both the show and the novel have different wiki sites with a different range of information. The events of the show have diverged significantly from the novel, in some cases surpassing the timeline of the novel. The writers of the show have purposefully changed their story from the novel in order to keep readers of the novel entertained. Another show that does this is <i>The Walking Dead</i>, originally a comic book, the show and the comic appear to be pretty different and both have separate wikis. In a way, this allows readers to be just as excited while watching the television show. But formatting a series in this way is a quick way to make fans angry. Myself included.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> I stopped watching <i>The Walking Dead </i>after watching the flat first season and abysmal second season. It’s not a popular opinion to hate on the <i>Walking Dead</i>. I’ve been shamed in practically every one of my work environments. The issue I had with the show was that it changed too much from the comic book. I was an avid reader of the comic book when it first came out up until a couple years ago. The writers successfully made the show new, but in a way I was not expecting and in a way that changed the essence of the comic book for me in a bad way. Eventually, <i>The Walking Dead </i>television show may surpass the timeline of the comic books. I’m guessing they’re going to take notes from whatever it is the <i>Game of Thrones</i> writers do in season 6.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Season 6 has been a looming presence in the minds of readers all year. We’ve all wanted George RR. Martin to finish the next book <i>The Winds of Winter</i> before the series, and now that he hasn’t we will have to make a difficult decision when the time finally comes. Will we watch the show and possibly have the books spoiled? Or will we patiently wait until the book finally comes out and then watch the show, praying no one ruins the surprise for us in the interim. What will the writers do? Will they stick to the story outlined by George RR. Martin or change it completely so the book seems new when it comes out. What about Martin himself? Will he now have to change the structure of his story away from the television series? The role between the producers of the television show and Martin have completely shifted and now everyone is waiting to see what they do about it. </span><br />
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518835947947433157.post-19455398384286729222016-03-29T10:05:00.005-07:002016-03-29T10:06:39.838-07:00Intentional Misconceptions, or Misleading the Reader<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s8Z_xHHhW1c/VvqxzO0BGfI/AAAAAAAAADc/CcEGI4BJe9sN8CYIQM4bhmgLyHWloT-ww/s1600/A1TzcxY6iBL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s8Z_xHHhW1c/VvqxzO0BGfI/AAAAAAAAADc/CcEGI4BJe9sN8CYIQM4bhmgLyHWloT-ww/s320/A1TzcxY6iBL.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> In J. J. Abrams and Doug Dorst's <i>S., </i>the authors' metafictional, experimental novel, the authors provide a narrative that is intentionally deceptive and misleading. But upon first glance, the reader may not think so. The only problem is, the authors (through the use of Jen and Eric's notes back and forth) all but tell the reader (of the novel <i>S.</i>, not the novel <i>Ship of Theseus</i>) that there's tricks afoot and that they should be careful about what they read and how they read it (while referring to the meta-novel). As those of us studying literature, it makes this experiment doubly curious but doubly dangerous to study in that we have to attempt, as best we can, to decipher what is and what isn't relevant to the novel and the meta-novel. Firstly, the title of the meta-novel is a clue to the reader that the authors are trying to hide something right in front of our, the reader's, eyes. The "ship of theseus" is a well-known thought experiment in philosophy in which the philosopher (most notably Plutarch) posits a question: if a ship (the ship of theseus) is gradually restored piece by piece (as each piece wears out or breaks), at what point does the ship not persist as the same ship (if it becomes a different ship at all). Another example of this that is more recently used is the idea of an axe being restored; if one restores each piece of the axe at a different time as it breaks (the handle, the head, etc.), is it the same axe or does it become a different axe altogether?</span><br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8hPru6g_h-A/Vvqx0KAtF5I/AAAAAAAAADg/b7OY0gn0HvkWVu9iKXAv-E5VxVI854G5g/s1600/shakespeare_2699766k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8hPru6g_h-A/Vvqx0KAtF5I/AAAAAAAAADg/b7OY0gn0HvkWVu9iKXAv-E5VxVI854G5g/s320/shakespeare_2699766k.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> The concept applies to the novel as well, as the name implies. We must, as readers and analysts, discover for ourselves what to believe about the interactions between Jen and Eric, not only as characters but also as fellow literary critics. Do we allow ourselves to trust their interactions between one another, or do we question the nature of their comments between one another (as they often do themselves). We must also, as readers, try to follow Jen and Eric's path(s) through the novel as they try to uncover meaning behind the novel as well as the identities of V. M. Straka and "FXC" in the meta-novel. We have to also decipher and understand the identities of Jen and Eric in the novel, outside of the meta-novel. But what seems apparent, however, is that in its use of the meta-novel, the novel is attempting to break the typical understanding of literature and literary study, specifically referring to the understanding of authorial intent. Jen and Eric even discuss this, with Eric chiding Jen in her habit of it. Jen notes, "I totally read this as Straka talking about himself—waiting for someone (in a romantic way)" to which Eric replies "Careful re: linking everything in a book to the author personally. Sometimes fiction's just fiction" (17). The two begin to banter, with Jen noting, Maybe I'm reading it that way b/c <u>I'm</u> just sitting around, cluelessly waiting for somebody" (17). The novel begins to meta itself with the use of the meta-novel, with the reader needing to question Jen and Eric's motives, but Jen provides her motive, believable or not, for the reader and for Eric, thus forcing the reader to now question Jen's own admission. Jen and Eric even discuss the namesake theory of the meta-novel, with Jen positing her different theories of the meta-novel's authorship, arguing between whether or not the meta-novel is written by Straka, FXC, a combination of both, or even the existence of a third (or ghost) writer, which brings up the much-argued challenges to other author's own authorship (Shakespeare being the primary contender in this argument). As the meta-novel begins, Jen even asks the question to Eric, "But re FXC overstepping: where do you draw the line? At what point does the book stop being Straka's alone + become <u>theirs</u>?" (3), blatantly asking the question in reference to the novel's namesake philosophy. Eric makes a great point early in the novel when Jen begins to assume things, "Note: <u>said</u> vs. <u>hinted</u>. Not same thing" (6).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Her question is an important one as the meta-novel begins: when using translators or ghost writers, at what point does the novel stop being the original novel and become a different person's (or different novel) altogether? One example that comes to mind is the novel <i>Don Quixote.</i> The novel is, coincidentally, another example of a meta-novel not unlike <i>S.</i> and <i>Ship of Theseus</i>. The novel of <i>Don Quixote</i> is written by Cervantes in Spanish, but has subsequently been translated (many times) to English with varying degrees of success. In translation, many things may be lost, but other things may be added (for clarification or lack of ability to directly translate certain words, phrases, idioms, etc). Does this make the novel any less a work of Cervantes and any more a work of the translator? At what point in translation does the translator get credit for the work they're doing (especially when a work is readily available in the language it's being translated to, such as English, where there are many variations available and widely accepted)? The novel also questions authorship in-depth not only as an argument between the novel and meta-novel (through Jen and Eric's comments on Straka and FXC) but as an understanding of the footnotes (often cited and analyzed by Jen and Eric) as well as the notes between Jen and Eric themselves, the latter of which is most important through re-reading the novel. The reader (of the novel) is meant to believe that Jen and Eric are two individual characters, each with their own unique stories and attitudes and, notably, writing styles. Throughout the novel, the two are writing notes in different colors (beginning with Eric's original pencil and alternating between the two in a rainbow of colors). Each pair of different colors represents a different session of re-reading and commenting between the two (black and blue, green and orange, red and purple), often commenting on not only things they missed but also one one another's (or their own) comments from previous readings.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> However, this goes back to the question of authorship in the novel: are Jen and Eric really two different people? Are they one of the two? Are they a third person altogether, creating the two out of nowhere? In particular, the change of ink color toward the end is one aspect that makes questioning authorship important. Toward the novel's conclusion, the alternating black and blue (between Eric and Jen respectively) disappears, and Jen begins writing in black ink, matching that of Eric's. This coincides, however, with their "meeting" one another and becoming much more personally attached to one another. This also, chronologically, seems to happen as the last "read" of the novel (judging by reference to previous comments in a colored ink, ex. on page 449). However, they continue to question one another, including about points of the novel or discussion much earlier in the meta-novel as well as questioning the novel (in metafiction fashion). For example, Jen asks late in the novel about the appearance of the <i>S</i> early in the meta-novel to which Eric replies "Maybe someone - I don't know, some freshman who's never even heard of Straka - stumbled across the books in the stacks + decided to mess with it / us?... It was a while ago, anyway. No one's gotten ahold of the book since then," to which Jen simply replies "Although we can't know for sure..." (448).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Lastly, authorial intent and authorship leads us to question the entire novel altogether, including the meta-novel, as well as many other seemingly open-ended question. What was Abrams and Dorst's purpose in writing the novel? Are the novel (the commentary between Jen and Eric) and meta-novel designed to be read as separate entities, independent from one another, or are they meant to be read together as one fluid entity? Further on this last aspect allows me to interpose <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWaAZCaQXdo">the original book trailer </a>by Bad Robot Productions (J. J. Abrams's production company) which narrates the book "He arrived knowing nothing of himself. Who is he? Soon he will know. Because what begins at the water shall end there, and what ends there shall once more begin. This is what happens. Men become lost. Men vanish. Men are erased... and reborn." Does this trailer then emphasize the importance of the intertextuality connection between the novel and meta-novel (as well as the trailer)? And lastly does the novel officially end with the meta-novel's ending or the last comment by Jen on the final, otherwise blank page? What is the importance of the novel's ending, stating "the ship is one of theirs, and as for the identities of the two people at the wheel, well, both Sola and he will let their imaginations fill in their features" (456). Is this Abrams and Dorst's way of telling us the reader of the novel that Jen and Eric don't even exist in the novel but are instead the same (or a third) person? Or perhaps this is reenforcing the argument against authorial intent (posed multiple times throughout the novel and their commentary). And <i>just how exciting and eerie and anxious and meta</i> is Jen's last comment on the final, blank page when she asks "Hey, put the book down. Come in here + stay," especially with Eric's "ok" being scribbled out and, judging by the color of the ink, is the last and final comment of the entire novel to be written.</span><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11104567587136980910noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518835947947433157.post-83663655806661890482016-03-28T23:49:00.000-07:002016-03-28T23:49:28.219-07:00Forensic Fandom in Abram’s “S” and “Harry Potter”<div class="MsoNormal">
I love
books, movies, or shows that get me involved, that make me feel like I’m an
important part of the narrative, even though, logically, I’m not. Being able to
continue the story outside the text can often result in a more meaningful and
strong connection and experience with the book itself. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the
most clever when it comes to solving mysteries in anything (I tend to read “in
the moment”), so when I <i>do</i> figure
something out on my own or with only partial help from others, I feel pretty
accomplished. In <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Time-Television-Narrative-Temporality-Twenty-First-Century/dp/161703293X">“Lost in Time? <i>Lost</i> Fan Engagement with Temporal Play,”</a> Lucy Bennett discusses how the creators of
the hit television show <i><a href="http://abc.go.com/shows/lost/about-the-show">Lost</a></i> inspire
this time of involvement in their audience through what she calls “forensic fandom”. </div>
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<i>Lost</i> is not the only show
to encourage its viewers to look closely and find clues to solve different
mysteries. Many shows, movies, and books ask their audiences to do the same
thing. With the rise of social media and
Internet forums, readers and viewers can connect even better with each other
and help each other uncover new and exciting facts that otherwise would have
been missed. J.J. Abrams’ novel <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/S-J-Abrams/dp/0316201642">S</a></i>
takes this idea of forensic fandom to new levels, giving the readers literal
tools to use to solve the mysteries. In a smaller way, so does J.K. Rowling
throughout the <i><a href="http://harrypotter.scholastic.com/">Harry Potter</a></i> series.</div>
Of course, <br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Fans love
to get involved in what they love, and they especially love when creators
encourage that involvement. I recently contributed to a Kickstarter campaign to
fund the YouTube group Team Starkid so they can create a new show this summer
called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Firebringer </i>(fund <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/starkid/firebringer-starkids-new-stone-age-musical">here</a>). While I do enjoy
that I will get rewards for donating, I also love that I get to be involved in
the creation process, albeit in a mainly monetary way. We were also given the
chance to raise money in certain time frames in order to unlock special rewards
for everyone, and again, I felt like part of a group working together to
accomplish a common goal. Even though this time of involvement is not what
Bennett is discussing, it is related because creators are giving the audience
(or potential audience) a role to play in the creation/production/literary
process. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Team Starkid involved people at
the beginning. The creators for Lost involved its viewers after production. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As for the type of participation that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lost</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">S </i>employ, Bennett
describes forensic fandom as a “mode of storytelling…that involves ‘research,
collaboration, analysis, and interpretation’” (299). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Viewers must work together to collect as much
information as they can and make connections to each others’ findings and
actually go investigate outside sources in order to understand the clues. Then
they must analyze and interpret these clues and evidence into one cohesive
explanation that fits with the original text.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In fact, Bennett compares this type of engagement to the participation
found in video games, quoting Jones, who argues, “The writers seem to have
based the formal structure and narrative possibilities of the show itself on
video game conventions . . . in order to better create the kind of networked
community or fanbase usually associated with games–a potential audience ready
not just to watch but also ‘play’ <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lost</i>”
(Bennett 300). Video games naturally require active participation. Gamers must
use knowledge collected throughout the game to understand and decide where to
go next and how to solve the next level, platform, world, et cetera. Even
though readers are limited in how they can decide the story should progress or
how they get there (or the fact that they get there at all, which for me is
often quite the accomplishment), unless it’s a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book, readers
can still actively look for clues, make connections to outside sources, and
feel as if they have a stronger connection to what they are reading.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s not surprising that the same
individual, J.J. Abrams, created<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Lost and
S</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Abrams deeply recognizes how to
use narrative to make his audience think and explore. He understands what tricks
to use, what hints to leave that make his audience excited when they figure out
his clues, even if they discover them after the fact. Bennett writes, “This
forensic inspection of the show is therefore encouraged by the narrative
structure and form of the program, which is often littered with clues left by
the writers to puzzle and engage these detective-like fans” (229). Abrams is
very adept at leaving these clues for his audience:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
However, as part of the learnt
familiarity for many rested in engagement with the program as a puzzle or game,
some fans used their forensic detection skills to work out the flashforward
before the revelation in the final scene, solving clues left by the writers.
For example, the make and model of the mobile phone used by Jack in the episode
was immediately discovered by a number of fans as dating from 2006, therefore
indicating that the episode was set in the future or present and not the past.
(Bennett 300)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Following that example from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lost, S</i> is definitely also littered with
clues, written clues from two different narrators in the form of marginal
notes. Through these writings paired with the “actual” text itself, readers are
encouraged to use the “outside resources” that Abrams actually gives the reader
in the form of loose inserts between the pages of the book. He also gives the
readers literal physical tools to accomplish their sleuthing. In the very back
of the book is a wheel that the reader can use to try to find out coordinates
of various places and unravel other mysteries. I admit that I was completely
horrible at this “mission.” I could not figure out how to use the wheel on my
own. Reading the marginal notes allows the readers to feel as if we stumbled
upon this book on our own and are doing our own type of research to find out
what happens/happened to the two note-writers. The added inserts make us feel
more like detectives on a mission that we feel confident we will eventually
solve.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Rowling also sends her readers on
detective missions, although not as specifically and literally as Abrams does
in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lost</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">S</i>. It seems as if every week, fans are coming up with new theories
and explanations supported by hard evidence from the text and from outside
research. To name a few: Trelawney, a (usually) hack divination professor, had
a great-grandmother named Cassandra. As many of us English majors know,
Cassandra was a seer during the Trojan War cursed with the ability to tell true
predictions that no one will believe…which ultimately happens with Trelawney,
as many of her predictions came true in ways no one really expected or noticed
until years after the books were published. Many people guessed before the last
book came out who R.A.B. was and what happened to the locket, due to their own
sleuthing through past books. Readers even investigated small details that didn’t
affect the plot in anyway but made for interesting discoveries, such as how a
few readers researched past full moons and found out that Remus Lupin’s last
Christmas at Hogwarts took place on a full moon, which meant he was a werewolf
for his last happy Christmas. Sirius Black, instead of getting ready to celebrate
his birthday (which we recently found out last year), instead was carted off to
Azkaban (wizard jail) for a crime he did not commit (we are really good at
finding the super depressing facts, apparently). Fans take it on themselves to
see the million genius little secrets Rowling added in that foreshadowed future
events or added to the narrative in small, almost unnoticeable ways. She would
put some small detail in the first book and carry it through so that it would
be revealed as important in the last book, and the investigative work that
provides for her fans is incredibly fulfilling, even if we are not necessarily
solving a puzzle in the conventional sense or how Bennett describes. No matter
what kind of investigation is set forth for us as readers or viewers, we enjoy
the opportunity to wrestle with the text and create our own connections.<o:p></o:p></div>
Kristina Kastlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580807881489622895noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518835947947433157.post-85383446186274865582016-03-28T23:09:00.000-07:002016-03-28T23:09:15.784-07:00When Keeping it Real Goes Wrong
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rzTTS0vd8gk/VvoUp433kjI/AAAAAAAAAGg/TWXy6OuV68oXKBfo299ezBRS4eU_zHIew/s1600/south-park-200-201-L-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rzTTS0vd8gk/VvoUp433kjI/AAAAAAAAAGg/TWXy6OuV68oXKBfo299ezBRS4eU_zHIew/s320/south-park-200-201-L-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">One major advantage that a show like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">South Park </i>has over all other animated programs
is each show’s hurried process of completion, taking only a week to finalize
drawings, voice-overs, and animation. This haste makes it possible for the show
to stay abreast of current issues that can be parodied in a timely manner—that
is, while the events are relevant to contemporary American society. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">In his essay “Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow,”
Jason Buel analyzes the temporal aspects used by the writers of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">South Park </i>to challenge the expectations
of sit-coms by defying episodic restrictions. After leaving the identity of
Cartman’s father a mystery at the close of Season 1 (in the episode, “Cartman’s
Mom is a Dirty Slut”), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">South Park </i>co-creators
Trey Parker and Matt Stone jokingly decided to ignore the previous dilemma in
favor of an episode featuring Terrence and Phillip, the boys’ favorite cartoon
duo. The outrage of fans at Parker and Stone’s non-sequitur prank proves that
it is not zany humor alone that attracts the fans of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">South Park</i>, but also plot resolution.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">One major reason Parker and Stone were able to
solidify such a faithful fan base is their humorous allusions addressed
to frequent viewers: the decision to reference the anger of fans caused by their
previous prank, which they do by showing the South Park boys’ anger at an
unresolved cliffhanger of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Terrance and
Phillip</i>, and in “Professor Chaos,” when “a voice-over narration introduces
three questions and strongly implies that the episode will be a cliffhanger,”
only to quickly answer the questions at the end of the episode, abruptly ending
it (290). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Because no one escapes the razor-sharp wit of Parker
and Stone (Mormons, Scientologists, politicians, gentle woodland creatures,
written as satanic fiends for a Christmas special, and the list goes on and on),
viewers have become somewhat accustomed to the would-be shocking shenanigans of
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">South Park</i>. But what happens when <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SMWJ9yj9cY">“keepin’it real goes wrong,”</a> when humor is viewed as finally crossing a serious
boundary that entails more than just a lawsuit?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Both the 200 and 201st episode of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">South Park</i> center on the demand to depict the character of Muhammad—who,
according to Islam, is not to be illustrated under any circumstances—censored
by a bear costume, and later, by a giant black censor. Comedy Central later cut
several references to Muhammad and even censored his name after a group called
Revolution Muslim<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/23/arts/television/23park.html"> criticized</a> the use of their prophet and made a prediction
that Parker and Stone would end up dead if they aired the episode. Ironically,
the main themes of the episodes were a stand against fearful censorship and a rally behind free speech—in fact, in the 201<sup>st</sup> episode, Tom Cruise
attempts to harvest Muhammad’s immunity from satire.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yOgbUqbVWkQ/VvoWbqOcUEI/AAAAAAAAAGs/aJxCS02G-vYt9DSzFEK7SkpQMHGQfv6Wg/s1600/South-Park-Episode-201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yOgbUqbVWkQ/VvoWbqOcUEI/AAAAAAAAAGs/aJxCS02G-vYt9DSzFEK7SkpQMHGQfv6Wg/s400/South-Park-Episode-201.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Buel states that fans cared more about the true
identity of Cartman’s father than the Muhammad controversy, which is
unsurprising, though the <a href="http:///en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jyllands-Posten_Muhammad_cartoons_controversy">riots</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lars_Vilks_Muhammad_drawings_controversy">Europe</a> and the global protests and death
threats that took place in 2005 following the publications of cartoons of
Muhammad in European newspapers prove the seriousness of what is a very dire
issue to orthodox Muslims. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">South
Park’s </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">popularity does not simply stem from its freedom of
genre restrictions, temporal shifts, or clever use of allusions, but from the
fact that nothing is off limits and not one person, group, ideology,
organization, etc. is excluded from the raw ridicule of its writers. While a
number of episodes seem to be witlessly offensive to the point of eliciting
grotesque unease, a large percentage of featured content places a mirror where
we as a society/world do not wish it to be placed—at the heart of our fear-based,
contradictory logic pertaining to race, immigration, arrogance, fame, etc.
In short, we take ourselves much too seriously and need raw humor, whether SP is your cup o' tea or not, to show us
how collectively ridiculous we truly are. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Op74gYiwLhs/VvoW8nHpvTI/AAAAAAAAAGw/tbDVRt6Op2s9fD90AloqUWqhsoNEVxXLA/s1600/nxx1hfalgfm4hk6sg2ht.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Op74gYiwLhs/VvoW8nHpvTI/AAAAAAAAAGw/tbDVRt6Op2s9fD90AloqUWqhsoNEVxXLA/s320/nxx1hfalgfm4hk6sg2ht.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Ben Cravenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05760265334674280878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518835947947433157.post-25470524522839235012016-03-28T22:23:00.001-07:002016-03-28T22:23:37.911-07:00Temporality and New Media Changing the Television Game<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When preparing for my final this semester, a big thought that came to mind was how exactly shows were using time. The shows that I’ve chosen so far are all on the CW and include </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Flash, Arrow, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now if you can’t guess, it is a focus on the superhero genre and how time seems to be a great way for these shows to fix plot holes and further narrative, along with dealing with trauma that other characters may face as well. With this in mind though, other shows must be looked at as an example for how time is used.</span></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-dfaf07e5-c0d2-bb17-4da7-0d989fee2328" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I first looked at </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a chapter written by Jason Buel that discussed the narrative points surrounding </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">South Park</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and how they deal with time. One of the first things I found myself doing is comparing the time in which my shows are shot and filmed in contrast to what he had to say about his show. One of the more interesting things that I found is that South Park is finished the day that it’s suppose to air. This is important because it allows for the crew to be able to change the show at the last minute to fit into culturally relevant situations. With all of mine, none of that happens. I didn’t necessarily look up when they film, but I do follow most of the actors on the show on twitter. The one thing I find at the beginning of the season is that they begin shooting months before the show starts to air. What’s interesting though is with each show, they only shoot so many episodes and then take a break. As the show begins to air they begin to shoot more. It is in this manner that I believe that these shows may be taking a play from South Park’s book.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I believe a big difference that is happening between the two shows and the time it takes them to have a finished project isn’t so much about current events. With South Park, the need to be relevant puts them on a last minute schedule. With CW’s lineup however, there shows don’t play into our modern culture. They all exist within the DC universe, which allows them to stick to ideas and plays from the comics. Instead, I believe the filming and releasing of so many episodes is so that the writers have a chance to address fan issues. One of the common things I have found in the start of my research is that fans love to pick apart the series for flaws, especially temporal ones. There was a couple times within the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Flash </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Arrow, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">where their timelines were supposed to match up and run together perfectly. However, there are critics and fans alike that have picked apart where these shows don’t run together perfectly. The solution, which occurred several episodes later was simple. The writers had The Flash run back in time to change a single event. By doing so, he also alters the entire timeline of the universe. I believe that the writers are intentionally putting a delay on fully using their script and having it filmed until they know there is no way to poke holes into the plot.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In this same regard, it seems as though the internet is changing the way things are being done with television shows. In Lucy Bennet’s article “Lost in Time” she discusses how the narrative of Lost is one big time labyrinth, one that is made for fans to interact with and act even as detectives to solve the shows mysteries. This interactive experience has led to many writers of television shows to focus on how they write and create their shows. Again, the same can be found in the shows I’m studying. With Lost, there was a forum created and even a wiki for fans to interact with to watch the show. As far as I know, there is no element of interaction made for the CW’s lineup, but much can be found on blogging sites and even Facebook. The writers of the show </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Supernatural</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> have a tumblr. They follow what their fans say and write and even take into account some of the fan fiction they create. One of the big things that fans have done is turned two of the main characters, Castiel and Dean, into a love item. Since the birth of what fans call “Destiel” the writers have poked fun at this “love affair” of the two. They’ve had meta episodes where the two characters seem as though they could be falling for each other, only for everything to become a farce at the end of the episode. The internet has begun to change how shows are watched and created.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With both the article on South Park and Lost, it felt as though the writers were targeting the fact that these showrunners want to be able to engage their audience. With social media now being the biggest way to do so, they have no problems reaching them. Many of the actors even do social media chats and live tweeting during the episodes to interact with fans. One actor, Stephen Amell of </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Arrow, </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">has even gone so far as to give hints to what people can expect on the show. He plays with the idea of a cliffhanger, which was again brought up in both articles, to enhance the viewing for the reader during his facebook video sessions. </span></span>Ty Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13015031664359186427noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518835947947433157.post-61916407791465626502016-03-28T21:28:00.002-07:002016-03-28T21:38:03.065-07:00Time Always Makes for an Interesting Narrative<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I have to admit—I am a <u>huge</u> fan of <i>Lost</i>. However, my
experience viewing the television series was quite different than that of fans
watching as new episodes were still being aired. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The fans of the show that Lucy Bennett describes in her
article, “Lost in Time,” were watching the show as new episodes were delivered weekly to an eager audience. However, because of the use of time incorporated within
the show, I feel that watching the series as I did—after all episodes had been
aired on Netflix—helped me to form a better understanding of the show itself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Because of the way I was watching the series, I was able to
pause, rewind, and rewatch parts that I may have misunderstood or were "lost" on
me altogether, just as readers can do with written texts. Fans watching the series while it was still on television did
not get this chance to go back and reconsider some parts like I did. Yet, as
Bennett mentions, they did get the chance to participate in a more
collaborative narrative experience online. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Perhaps the reason the show was so successful was because of
the opportunities it provided for people to come together and discuss its
narrative. <i>Lost</i> truly was (and still is, for those of you who have not watched it yet) a “puzzle to be solved,” which intrigues viewers in
wholly unexpected ways. Instead of passively watching the series, viewers are
forced to question and struggle with the concepts and complications presented
by temporal play. Viewers are not allowed to just accept the story being told
but forced to use “cognitive energy” in order to come to some kind of understanding of
the narrative timeline. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It is this exact use of cognitive energy that I believe
makes any narrative worth consuming, whether through written text, television,
or any other narrative form. Time itself provides a unique tool to do just
that. We expect good writers to keep us engaged with their narrative from
beginning to end, and the temporal play within this particular series allows
for this kind of deeper engagement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When I say we expect certain things from good writers, it also applies to the writers of television series. As readers, we place faith in
authors to deliver a narrative that interests us and brings us endings in
creative and unexpected ways. Bennett also mentions this kind of faith that
viewers were placing in the screenwriters of<i> Lost </i>while it aired; while viewers may have felt
confused by or frustrated with the story, they still continued to expect these exact
aspects that confused them in the first place, placing complete trust in the
writers to continue to deliver interesting and engaging stories with a meaningful ending. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2Nb5Hoq_VQ4/VvoD2s7sehI/AAAAAAAAAHg/Rw1_cXHhH9gxR1J2HYIusE1YNdcXRzNrA/s1600/lostpic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2Nb5Hoq_VQ4/VvoD2s7sehI/AAAAAAAAAHg/Rw1_cXHhH9gxR1J2HYIusE1YNdcXRzNrA/s320/lostpic.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">One interesting aspect of the show that Bennett also
mentions is the use of props. Viewers applied this same kind of faith to not
only the temporal play of the narrative but also the visual elements that
appear in the show. Like in successful written texts, <i>Lost</i> seems to use
every element of its medium to convey some kind of meaning. Just as readers expect
every word in a text to be written for a purpose, so too do
viewers expect that same kind of meaning from this particular show using all of the tools of its medium. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The idea that everything in the show means something adds another
layer to the concept that the show is a puzzle that can be solved. Even the
visual props are “clues” to solve the puzzle that time presents. Bennett
provides a great example of this concept when she discusses the name of the
funeral home on an episode in season three. The name of the funeral parlor is
Hoffs/Drawlar, which, as one very engaged fan points out, is an anagram for flash forward.
This visual clue, while extremely subtle and easy to miss, is an excellent
example of the kinds of techniques that the show uses to create such a strong
fan engagement that very much requires this cognitive energy Bennett addresses. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The temporal play within <i>Lost</i> is the foundation for this
kind of viewer engagement. While reading Bennett’s article, I found myself
frustrated with the fact that some viewers became frustrated with this
particular flash forward, as mentioned of the episode in the preceding
paragraph. I feel that any narrative enthusiast that enjoys cognitive
engagement would have to strongly disagree with the viewers that believed the
flash forward “solved the mystery” of the series.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Any intriguing narrative has the ability to provide several
concepts and issues that can be discussed and “solved” rather than just one focus (getting off the island, in this case, as some viewers believed). While several
novels have successfully provoked thoughts and beliefs about temporal play,
<i>Lost</i> is a series that provides these same aspects successfully in a totally new
medium. Any <i>tour de force</i> in narrative will disrupt learned conventions, as
Bennett also mentions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">However, I think the real joy for viewers of this show
in particular is the pleasure we receive “from asking more questions” rather
than seeking any solid solution. Time is a concept that allows viewers to do just
that. <i>Lost</i> fans, and fans of all decent narrative for that matter, in my oh-so-humble opinion, seek to
engage in this type of complex discussion and questioning, and the show seems to
encourage this same type of behavior for all narratives—yes, even those on
television. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">NEWS FLASH: Television doesn’t have to rot your brain!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10919938517927575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518835947947433157.post-32019758452706023102016-03-27T20:02:00.000-07:002016-03-27T20:02:41.457-07:00How Does an Author Construct a Layered Narrative to Make it Appear Innate?<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Texts
that utilize temporal play are my preference to read for both enjoyment and
analysis; fiction and nonfiction texts that include multiple timelines,
multiple points of view, juxtaposition of texts, and intertextuality will
always move to the top of my to-be-read pile. I will even read a young adult
novel that mentions any of those devices in its blurb. So while experiencing J.
J. Abrams and Doug Dorst’s <i>S.</i>,
because “reading the text” does not adequately describe what I had to do, I
wondered, “How does an author create this? How does he or she keep everything
straight but also realistic?” I thought about some of my favorite layered
narratives from this course and from my past reading, and I searched for
interviews with the authors. I expected to find a similar thread of method,
but, instead, I found many vague answers with little commonality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> The most straightforward multiple narrative
text that I own is <i>The Diary of Anne
Frank: The Critical Edition</i> prepared by the Netherlands State Institute for
War Documentation; I’ll be honest in that I own it because my collection of
books by and about Anne Frank would not be complete without it, but I have not
read it because the format is not comfortable for reading. This critical
edition is a compilation of the three versions of the diary: 1) Anne’s original
diary that is honest reflection of the life in hiding of an adolescent Jewish girl
in the 1940s; 2) Anne’s edited and rewritten version of her original diary onto
loose leaf paper; and 3) Otto Frank’s edited version for public consumption
after World War II. Anne documented that the group in hiding had listened to a
radio address by “Gerrit Bolkenstein, Minister of Education, Art, and Science
in the Dutch Government” delivered in
London in which he stated, “If our descendants are to understand fully what we
as a nation have had to endure and overcome during these years, then what we
really need are ordinary documents—a diary, letters from a worker in Germany, a
collection of sermons given by a parson or a priest” (Netherlands 59). Anne
rewrote her diary with a future audience in mind and “drew up a list of name
changes: ‘Anne [Frank]’ became ‘Anne Robin,’ ‘v. Pels’ became ‘v. Daan,’ ‘Pfeffer’
became ‘Dussel’” and so on (Netherlands 61-62). However, when Anne’s father
Otto read his daughter’s diaries, he had “[h]ighly personal motives” to make
additional changes before publication: “his strong attachment to his dead
daughter; his awareness that with publication he would be putting into effect
Anne’s dearest wish—to become a famous writer one day; and his feelings of
respect, first and foremost towards his dead wife, but also towards those
others about whom Anne had made less than pleasant remarks” (Netherlands 166).
Gerrold van der Stroom suggests that a reader of the critical edition could “follow
only what Anne Frank wrote in her first draft, he should read version <b>a</b> and ignore versions <b>b</b> and <b>c</b>. He will then be reading the book horizontally” (Netherlands
169). However, the layout of the three versions—one on top of the other to be
read in a 1/3 of a page horizontal—does not feel natural.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> The text that immediately came to
mind when I heard the description of <i>S.</i>
was the Griffin and Sabine series by Nick Bantock. The series began as a
trilogy but ended as a series of seven books; I have read and own the first
five (I didn’t know that numbers six and seven existed until I searched to
verify the number; interestingly, number seven was <a href="http://www.npr.org/2016/03/27/471343987/reading-between-worlds-with-griffin-and-sabine">released
this past week on March 22<sup>nd</sup></a>). Unlike <i>S.</i>, this series does not include an original text; rather, the
narrative is told through correspondence, letters and postcards. Like <i>S.</i> each author has a distinct
handwriting. Each text is very visual with the fronts of the envelopes and
postcards drawn on the pages; the backs of the postcards are also drawn so that
they cannot be handled. But the letters are physically inside envelopes
attached to the page so that the reader must remove each letter to read it. While
a linearity exists within the texts, the texts play with the temporality
especially in consideration of setting and reality. In an interview with
IndieBound, <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/author-interviews/bantocknick">Bantock
describes his process</a>: “I work in a circle. If I don't know what comes
next, then I simply move on to something else. I tend to work from the middle
outwards. An image will give me an idea for the text, and the text will give me
an idea for an image, and I build up from the center outwards.” He admits that
his method “sounds like new-age tripe, but I start where the book wants to
start. Images and ideas are always floating through my head. It's a constant
process. I'll do a little drawing, put it on the wall, and little by little
things start to belong and have a place. Then it's moving them around until
they have a place, like a jigsaw.” Bantock concludes that his books are “a
cross between a jigsaw puzzle and a collage that you just keep moving and
moving and moving. There's a point where there's some kind of internal click.”
Not exactly a process that can be duplicated, but one that makes sense; once
the text feels natural, the “click” occurs. Natural is not a construct but
rather a feeling.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> A text that I both enjoy and have
analyzed in Bel Kaufman’s <i>Up the Down
Staircase</i>. I read the book because my junior high had put on the play; as
an education major, the conflicts faced by English teacher Sylvia Barrett and
her colleagues resonated with me. When I had to choose a text for my master’s
thesis, I chose <i>Up the Down Staircase</i>
as my case study text, in part because it had almost no secondary analysis and
in part because it was created as the juxtaposition of texts. Again, a
linearity exists within the narrative; the plot moves from the first day of the
fall term to the first day of the spring term. However, the narrative is a
compilation of letters, memos, overheard dialogue, information written on
chalkboards, and student work. All texts created by Bel Kaufman but ones that
feel natural. The novel was based on a previously published short story “From a
Teacher’s Wastebasket”; <a href="http://camerainthesun.com/?p=21861">Kaufman
described her process</a> as “I had jotted down some scraps of paper, which
juxtaposed together showed a picture of waste, of lack of communication, of
discipline problems, of loneliness.” She had taught in the New York City
schools, so Kaufman had first-hand experience in the texts that she created;
the feeling of authenticity was corroborated the teachers from across the country
who would write to say, “‘How did you know? You described my class, my
students, my problem.’ And I treasure all the letters that they sent me.” While
her texts don’t have the look and literal feel of the real texts, the reader
cannot remove them from the book and, for example, the student work is not
printed on lined paper nor is it handwritten, the emotions summoned by those
teachers vouch for the naturalness of the texts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Another series that I have enjoyed
reading is Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series that begins with <i>The Eyre Affair</i>. Fforde plays with texts
that he assumes his readers will know, such as <i>Jane Eyre</i>, but he has created a different 1985 and a parallel universe
that is inhabited by the literary characters. Think of it as a living library
in which the characters rest outside their texts when they are not on pages being
read, and in which the characters can travel between texts and actually change
the texts. Intrigued? Then I strongly encourage you to pick up <i>The Eyre Affair</i>. This fantasy element is
realistic as long as the reader brings in the requisite suspension-of-disbelief.
To create the multiple timelines, time travel, and parallel universes, <a href="http://www.writerswrite.com/journal/feb02/a-conversation-with-jasper-fforde-2022">Fforde
was inspired by</a> “[b]ooks, radio shows, newspaper reports, 70s sitcoms,
films, plays. <i>The Eyre Affair</i> has
tons of ideas compressed into it; if something amuses or grabs my attention
then I try to attach it leech-like to the story and then let it grow” such as, “the
Charge of the Light Brigade, Jane Eyre, the biggest corporation ever, an
explanation of spontaneous human combustion, the notion of catching a meteorite
with a baseball mitt, arguing about who wrote Shakespeare's plays, driving
through a time warp and a police department that deals with werewolves.” Fforde
describes his process as a “continuous linking of disparate strands [. . .]
that [he] find[s] very enjoyable and quite challenging.” He admits that the “[c]ross-genre
feel of the book put a huge amount of publishers off (76 rejections) and the
précis itself condemned the manuscript to be unread by everyone I approached --
until my agent, hungry for material, read the whole thing, loved it and sold it
to Penguin seven weeks later.” So someone had to give the narrative a chance in
its entirety to be able to appreciate the innateness that results from Fforde’s
construction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> The novel that I am analyzing for my
Pecha Kucha is <i>Violent Ends</i> edited by
Shaun David Hutchison. This young adult novel caught my attention after I
received an advanced reader copy at the ILA conference in July 2015. The plot
about a school shooting, one of my worst fears, did not draw me in; rather, it
was the blurb describing a story told through seventeen points of view written
by seventeen young adult authors. I was hooked. The novel is amazing; I believe
that it only received one starred review because the topic is not the usual
bubbly young adult fare. The idea belongs to Hutchison; <a href="http://violentendsanthology.com/letter-from-the-editor/">he explains on
the <i>Violent Ends</i> website</a> that “I
had this crazy idea to write a story about a young man (Kirby Matheson) who
brought a gun to school and shot his classmates. I didn’t want to tell the
story of the shooting itself, but rather the story of the shooter as told by
the people who knew him” and to do so “I wrote out a list of authors I could
only dream of working with. Authors who works I loved and whom I respected immensely.
I was certain they would laugh at my crazy idea. I wasn’t proposing an
anthology, but a single story written by seventeen different authors.” When the
authors agreed to Hutchison’s proposal, they worked “in a shared world with
shared characters and shared histories. Each story would stand alone but would
also be connected to all the others in both major and minor ways. [. . .] We worked together online, trading
inspiration, feeding off each other’s ideas, and hammering out the details of
the school layout and what kind of car Kirby Matheson drove.” Because of this
collaboration, with multiple writers paying attention to the numerous details,
this disjointed narrative told from multiple points of view and over multiple
settings (time and place) creates a realistic account of a school shooting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> So, what about some of the novels we
have read? <a href="http://www.slicemagazine.org/slice-and-dice/2013/08/an-interview-with-julia-alvarez/#.VvhyDr4rKUl">Julia
Alvarez explains</a> that “it’s never as easy or clear a process when you are
inside a mess and trying to make it a novel,” but years later she realized that
the structure of <i>How the Garcia Girls
Lost Their Accents </i>“should recreate the way that I want the reader to
experience the story. And that’s when I thought, I want my reader to be
thinking ‘like an immigrant,’ always ‘going back to where we came from’;
instead of progress toward a climax, a return to a homeland.” Alvarez’s
construction came from her desire to make the experience natural. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In an interview with Robert Alford, Jennifer
Egan explains that she was influenced by both Marcel Proust’s <i>In Search of Lost Time</i> and HBO’s <i>The Sopranos</i> in constructing her
narrative. Proust influenced her choice to write a novel that spans years: “I
especially loved Proust’s ability to capture the transformations and reversals
that happen over time, the way that outcomes are so often unexpected and in
fact almost the opposite of what you would expect. The biggest question for me was how to
capture the sweep and scope of those transformations and reversals without
taking thousands of pages to do it.” To answer the question of “How?” was
answered by narrative created for <i>The
Sopranos</i>: “I was also watching The Sopranos, which also unfolded at a
leisurely, kind of real time pace, through which the children in the series
grew up, and all of the characters visibly aged,” which is accomplished through
“this lateral approach in [. . .] in which a minor character suddenly becomes a
major character for a while and then goes out of focus again, and the
overarching story is almost invisible at times in the face of subplots and
complications that are so engrossing that one almost would forget what the
story, capital S, of the season was.” According to Egan, a narrative that draws
in the reader or watcher with such intensity that one will not notice when
characters appear or disappear creates an innate experience.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Finally, <i>S.</i> by J. J. Abrams and Doug Dorst. <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-story-of-s-talking-with-j-j-abrams-and-doug-dorst">Abrams
is honest about his role</a> as conceiver; he was intrigued by a novel he found
in an airport that had a message written on the inside cover: “To whomever
finds this book—please read it, take it somewhere, and leave it for someone
else to find it.” He thought, “[W]hat if there were a very cool book that was
completely annotated—just covered in marginalia and notes between two people?
And—what if a conversation, or a relationship, began inside a book?” When
pitched the idea years later, Dorst was excited by “the challenge of telling a
story in this really restricted form” and added his own twist, “[W]hat if there
were a mystery about its author? It seemed like it would be really, really fun
to make up an entire bibliography and history about this writer. From there, it
was a small step to deciding that the people who are reading the book should be
book geeks themselves.” Dorst describes constructing both <i>Ship of Theseus</i> and <i>S.</i>: “I
would’ve been well-served if I’d had a whiteboard, but I’m a fundamentally
disorganized person, and I had nothing resembling an organizational system! I wrote
<i>Ship of Theseus</i> first, all the way
through—everyone agreed that it really had to be able to stand on its own—and
then I layered in the marginal notes. A lot of it was trial and error.”
Throughout the process, Dorst shared his work with Abrams and Abrams’s Bad
Robot colleague Lindsey Weber; Abrams compared the process to writing a screenplay:
“There were outlines and pitches at the beginning, then early chapters. Lindsey
would often work with Doug, and then show me stuff.” Interviewer Joshua Rothman
attests to the authenticity of the marginalia: “And the language in which the
handwritten letters and notes are written feels very natural in its cadences.
You feel like you’re snooping on something intimate,” and Abram confirms their
desire to construct an innate experience: “It’s intended to be a celebration of
the analog, of the physical object. In this moment of e-mails, and texting, and
everything moving into the cloud, in an intangible way, it’s intentionally
tangible. We wanted to include things you can actually hold in your hand:
postcards, Xeroxes, legal-pad pages, pages from the school newspaper, a map on
a napkin.” Like Garcia, Abrams and Dorst had a desire to construct an innate
text.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Although some of the authors purport to
focus on construction, those authors all implied that they know they are finished
when the text feels complete, which is not much different from the authors who
start with the desire to create an authentic experience for the reader. They,
too, know that they are finished when the text feels complete. The common
thread seems to be a willingness to be open to all possibilities combined with
a willingness to revise until the jigsaw is complete. Not a definitive answer,
but at least it’s not a formulaic one either.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Abrams,
J.J. and Doug Dorst. <i>S.</i> London:
Mulholland Books, 2013. Print.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Netherlands
State Institute for War Documentation. <i>The
Diary of Anne Frank: The Critical <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Edition</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">. Ed. David
Barnouw and Gerrold van der Stroom. Trans. Arnold J. Pomerans and <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> B. M. Mooyaart-Doubleday. New York:
Doubleday, 1989. Print.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17140944873258565457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518835947947433157.post-37410152506563072692016-03-22T23:49:00.002-07:002016-03-22T23:49:57.382-07:00Trauma and Doctor Who<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
In “Temporality and Trauma in
American Sci-Fi Television,” Aris Mousoutzanis discusses how recent science
fiction television shows display and discuss trauma. So is it to anyone’s surprise
at all that I will be using this blog post to talk about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Doctor Who</i>? I mean, how many references to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Doctor Who</i> have I already made this semester on posts that actually
have nothing to do with the show? I’ve been waiting for this moment all
semester, and it seems my time has finally come.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Doctor
Who</i> is all about exploring the human condition (even if that exploration is
through a two-hearted, virtually immortal alien that travels through time and
space). It analyzes our relationship to time and space, but more importantly,
to each other and how we relate to the events in our lives. The Doctor’s
relationships with his companions highlight many different human interactions,
from friendship, to romantic love, and everything in between. Conflicts often arise,
especially when the Doctor’s companions take matters into their own hands and
don’t listen to the Doctor’s directions (aka every decision Donna Noble makes).
Unfortunately for the Doctor, every one of these relationships ends in
heartbreak for all involved (except, again, Donna, but that fact is
exceptionally heartbreaking for everyone else, audience included). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
While these relationships can cause
quite a bit of trauma for everyone involved (I will never be over Rose and the
Tenth Doctor’s separation), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Doctor Who</i>
also examines trauma through the events in the show and through technology
itself. Mousoutzanis argues “that trauma sci-fi television should be seen as a
very self-conscious, ‘metatextual’ television genre that reflects on certain
aspects of the nature, function, and history of the medium of television itself.
The fact that often the major event within these programs involves a
technological accident or breakdown only highlights further such an approach”
(97). Trauma science fiction provides a new vehicle for the discussion and
analysis of trauma and how it situates itself in our lives.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In recent years, science fiction has evolved to focus on
different ideas that our society finds relevant. His discussion on this
transition and evolution of science fiction relates to post 9/11 studies of
literature. Mousoutzanis writes:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-indent: -1.0in;">
The recent
shift of focus in the genre of media events is further indicative of this
dialectic between television and trauma. Whereas, in 1992, Daniel Dayan and Elihu
Katz were classifying media events in terms of ceremonies, contests, and
conquests, by 2007 Katz and Tamar Liebes were arguing that the focus has now
shifted to disaster, terror, and war, not necessarily because there has been an
increase in the occurrence of these events, but because the proliferation of
media technologies make these events more visible at a global scale. (105) <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After about five years after September 11, 2001, television
and literature in general began to be much more critical of war and the government.
While the events of September 11 definitely spurred this transition,
Mousoutzanis notes that updating technology itself also fueled the increase in
the visibility of war, terror, and disaster. Every time there is a shooting
(and the fact that I have to say “every time” because shootings have become
almost commonplace is quite telling), the shooter(s)’ and victims’ faces are
plastered all over the news, and hundreds of news outlets and social media
sites provide nonstop coverage of the unfolding events and aftermath. Yesterday,
terrorists attacked Brussels, Belgium, and you can bet that the news will
attempt to give the public every piece of information possible. This is not
always a bad thing, because victims of the attacks need our support, but many
different biased news outlets and celebrities and politicians use the immediacy
of technology to hijack these tragedies for their own gain. The instantaneity of
new technology allows for more discussion of these events, and naturally, that
discussion transfers over into other new media, such as television shows.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Doctor Who</i> was created in the 1960s and
“ended” in 1989. Throughout what is now called “Classic Who,” the villains are
almost solely aliens from distant planets, like the Daleks from the planet Skaro.
Classic Who does sometimes venture into painting “government officials” in a
negative light, such as the superior Time Lords back on Gallifrey, but again,
they were still aliens and distant from the human characters. When <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Doctor Who</i> rebooted in 2005, the viewer
finds out that, sometime during the hiatus, the Doctor’s home planet of
Gallifrey was destroyed in the Time War between the Time Lords and the Daleks.
As Mousoutzanis writes, the “focus has now shifted to disaster, terror, and
war” (105). The new iteration of the show starts immediately with a focus on
the aftermath of war and the Doctor’s ability or inability to cope with being
the last of his kind. I will note that the response and eventual storyline relating to the destruction of Gallifrey is extremely interesting, as SPOILER FOR END OF SEASON 7 AND ON, the writers eventually bring Gallifrey back at the end of the 7th season. They are able to explain and then reverse or reroute what happened in those hiatus years for the Doctor. Even though we as a society are very interested in trauma and the exploration of war, terror, and disaster, we still want that happy ending. We want a resolution, and this newest revelation that Gallifrey still exists and is suspended in a moment in time allows us to both experience the trauma while still getting that happier resolution and wish fulfullment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
END OF SPOILER.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Interestingly enough, when the
villains hailed from closer to home, in both the classic and new show, they
usually do so through some use of technology, like the Cybermen. Mousoutzanis
argues,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-indent: -1.0in;">
It may be seen
as quite ironic that, even if they have relied on any possible resource
provided by new technologies for the production and consumption of their narrative,
many of these shows are quite technophobic, and not only for the compulsive
restaging of plane crashes and car accidents mentioned above. Abduction
narratives like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The X-Files</i> often
provide fantasies of technological breakdown: abductions are marked by
electrical failures in the car, power surges in televisions, clocks stopping. (136)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Technology, while still extremely useful for the Doctor in
his travels and adventures (after all, he would not be able to go anywhere
without his TARDIS, and his sonic screwdriver is quite useful), technology has
a way of messing everything up. It creates the Cybermen. Alien technology is
used against Earth. Every time something goes wrong for the Doctor, it is
almost always due to a technology failure, be it his sonic screwdriver’s
inability to work on wood, electrical outages, and so on. The bigger and more powerful
the technology, the more devastating the consequences, as Wolfgang Schivelbusch
notes (Mousoutzanis (136). Time Lord technology (creating spaces that are
bigger on the inside) is ultimately used against the Doctor in the episode “Doomsday,”
and leads to one of the saddest and most traumatic moments in the show for many
fans. While <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Doctor Who</i> may not be as
trauma-focused as other shows Mousoutzanis mentions, such as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lost</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">24</i>, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The X-Files</i>, it
still effectively displays the correlation between trauma and technology
through the medium of television.<o:p></o:p></div>
Kristina Kastlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580807881489622895noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518835947947433157.post-65335397030745221812016-03-22T15:46:00.002-07:002016-03-22T15:46:47.972-07:00Defying and Redefining Structure
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Jennifer Egan, author of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Visit from the Goon Squad</i>, has further
complicated the concept of genre! Although the book is marketed as a novel, <a href="http://www.salon.com/2010/06/13/jennifer_egan_interview_ext2010/">Egan</a> has stated that she neither
considers her book a novel nor a collection of short stories. The structural
genius of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Goon Squad</i> lies in Egan’s
ability to synthesize two literary forms: the short story and the novel. Each
chapter of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Goon Squad </i>can stand alone
as an individual work of fiction, though the stories work much better when read
together as a complete work of intricate character development. Largely inspired
by an eclectic combination of themes from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Sopranos</i> and Marcel Proust’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">In
Search of Lost Time</i>, Egan masterfully brings secondary characters to the
forefront of the action (similar to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Sopranos</i>), allowing the reader to delve into the intimate thoughts and
feelings of characters that would ordinarily be easily forgotten. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Go6ftqL86oU/VvHKjlL8X_I/AAAAAAAAAGM/mfgXJ-byjlk7ujPI4V5chiygDbRfQbbTg/s1600/863596.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Go6ftqL86oU/VvHKjlL8X_I/AAAAAAAAAGM/mfgXJ-byjlk7ujPI4V5chiygDbRfQbbTg/s200/863596.jpg" width="130" /></a><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BZvcLhmwyyM/VvHKBFR7zdI/AAAAAAAAAGE/l0M_o5QVBN8osoeE2bUYQv49r4ls3yzZQ/s1600/the-sopranos-2_7524.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BZvcLhmwyyM/VvHKBFR7zdI/AAAAAAAAAGE/l0M_o5QVBN8osoeE2bUYQv49r4ls3yzZQ/s320/the-sopranos-2_7524.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Egan spotlights and extrapolates the
significance of the narrative structure of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Goon
Squad</i> in a particularly effective way via Mindy’s (Lou’s girlfriend during
the family trip to Kenya) doctoral research of structural relationships and
emotional responses dictated by said relationships. Mindy cites <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_L%C3%A9vi-Strauss">Claude Levi Strauss</a>, who applied <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_L%C3%A9vi-Strauss">Saussure’s </a>work of structural linguistics to anthropology,
setting the stage for structural anthropology. Strauss essentially sought to
unearth the underlying logic of cultural adaptation from “primitive” to modern,
thus unlocking the universal truths behind socio-cultural systems (of all times)
spanning the globe. Mindy worries that her research may simply be a
regurgitation of Strauss’ theory—“a refinement; a contemporary application”
(64).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Mindy interprets the tumultuous family
dynamics of Lou’s family and her place therein through the lens of her studies:
structural resentment, structural affection, structural incompatibility,
structural desire, and structural dissatisfaction. Egan significantly chooses
the name, Chronos for the bassist in one of Lou’s bands, The Mad Hatters. In
the spirit of reckless competition—Structural Fixation, according to Mindy—Chronos
exits the safari vehicle and is viciously attacked by a lioness. In Greek
mythology, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronos">Chronos</a>--the etymological root of chronology, asynchronous, anachronistic, etc.--a personification of eternal time, is the Titan king who
devours the Olympian gods—the past cannibalizing the future in order to
supplant the future generation. Hence Egan has designated a highly symbolic
meaning to a third-rate character, which serves to elaborate the motif of
nostalgically clinging to the glories of the past: Lou’s downfall.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Several chapters later, in “Pure Language,”
Egan subtly juxtaposes Mindy’s structuralist approach with that of Lulu’s
(another minor character) aversion to metaphorical uncertainty. Mindy advocates
a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Say. The. Thing.</i> approach, which
praises truncated language in the form of text messages, a pure language with “no
philosophy, no metaphors, no judgments” (321). Rather than seeking an
underlying system of classification, as the goal of structuralism dictates,
Lulu bypasses moral certitude and disingenuous metaphors (DM) in favor of
ambitious conviction, freed from “atavistic purism,” which looks to the past
for an “ethically perfect state, which not only doesn’t exist and never
existed, but it’s usually used to shore up the prejudices of whoever’s making
the judgments” (319). As every moral issue can be seen as judgment-based, Lulu’s
mentality harkens back to Social Darwinism, wherein the strong overcome the
weak in the rat race of corporate idealism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Lulu’s embrace of capitalistic efficiency—freed
from the bonds of the moral degradation of the poor by the dominance of the
wealthy—significantly occurs in the near future of the novel, circa 2022. Alex’s
wife, Rebecca also has an interest in language and social structures, as her
research probes “the phenomenon of word casings,” which asks perplexing questions:
“how had ‘American’ become an ironic term?” How had democracy come to be used
in an arc, mocking way?” (324).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Egan refrains from simply producing yet
another trendy postmodern work of fiction that frustratingly laments the loss
of identity. Rather, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Goon Squad</i>, with
the polyphonic aura of several conflicting viewpoints on the nature of
redemption, reflection, and acceptance, prompts the reader to focus upon the
pauses in the soundtrack of life, where we may consider our place in time,
knowing that it one day must end, but not yet… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Ben Cravenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05760265334674280878noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518835947947433157.post-68880101965547071442016-03-21T23:02:00.000-07:002016-03-21T23:02:46.977-07:00A Focus on Time and Trauma in Sci-Fi Television<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> In his essay "Temporality and Trauma in American Sci-Fi Television<i>," </i>Aris Mousoutzanis notes that the use of temporality and trauma in television functions in a threefold way to emphasize not only the work that is using the temporal play/motif but also American television in general. His first point is that "structural equivalences between trauma and new media, whose ability to challenge conventional perceptions of time and space has been seen as similar to the structure of traumatic temporality" (97). In other words, Mousoutzanis is stating that like traumatic events' effects on the human mind, temporal play and trauma affect our understanding and the wavering, somewhat scattered events and structure within contemporary american television. I feel out of all three points he makes, this one is the most rigid and understandable, one that stands out and is scientifically accurate (and studied as such) in the understanding of trauma and the role it plays in the mind of any person. Dr. Robert Stolorow says it well in his post on Psychology Today: "Time does not heal the wounds of trauma... trauma devastatingly disrupts the ordinary linearity and unity of our experience of time, our sense of stretching-along from the past to an open future" ("Trauma and the Hourglass of Time"). In particular, our understanding of time, especially time in relation to our own lives, is often a long, "ordinary linearity" of "same stuff, different day" routines from birth to death. This linearity, however, is broken up and marred by those out of the ordinary, unique events that change our lives in dramatic ways (trauma). The major traumas in our lives often stick out sorely among the linearity of our lives, not unlike the nature of time and temporality in television. </span><br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xyMxsBEEzRo/VvBt0gOTUSI/AAAAAAAAAC8/bacPIp_VsRctSJ_E9UmbP2w4FqTLbAiMA/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xyMxsBEEzRo/VvBt0gOTUSI/AAAAAAAAAC8/bacPIp_VsRctSJ_E9UmbP2w4FqTLbAiMA/s400/maxresdefault.jpg" width="400" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> One such example of this is the television show <i>24</i>, which Mousoutzanis notes. In the first season, Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) becomes caught up in a plot to assassinate the fictional senator David Palmer, with each episode representing 1-hour segments of the same day in linear order following this main plot. However, throughout the main plot, multiple subplots begin appearing, including a mole in the agency, personal conflicts among Jack's family as well as David's marriage, professional conflicts (often arising from personal conflict) with Jack and the other members of his agency, and the kidnapping of Jack's wife and daughter. Although all of these subplots revolve around the main plot, each represents some form of trauma or dramatic shift in the narrative as a whole, all of which are culminating the final twist of the first season--the biggest trauma of them all. As the season concludes, (SPOILER ALERT) Jack is searching for his wife (who was kidnapped and held captive for over half the season), only to finally find her in a locked room, passed away from a gunshot wound.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> One thing that is so important and striking about this is the use of trauma in the narrative, both for the story and for the viewer. Most television series, even dramas focused on crime, death, and trauma, keep the characters that were introduced in the first season for longer than the first season at the very minimum (although [MORE SPOILERS] <i>House of Cards</i> makes a close call with this). Not only that, but oftentimes even minor characters (at least the good guys) aren't killed off in the first season, either (I've noticed them more often to be replaced rather than killed, such as in CSI or Criminal Minds). The writers' choice to kill Teri Bauer was impressive, from a television standpoint, but is also questioned by the fact there is an alternate ending in which she survives (albeit never aired that way originally). Going further, it is also important as a point in episodic narrative and trauma. The show, having Bauer searching for his wife for hours and hours (episode by episode, week by week for the viewers watching the original airing), concludes its season finale only to have Jack (and the audience) find Teri does not survive. The finale ends with the clock striking midnight, the start of a new day (and end of the old), with Jack holding Teri in his arms and the screen fades to black. For the audience, narratively, this is a major turning point as they are building their anticipations and anxiety up, hoping Jack will find a way to save the day. When the screen fades to black and seeing his failure on screen, the viewer is left with the trauma of what just happened with no way to express their discomfort, their hate, or their guilt with how they've felt about the show. Because social media wasn't booming yet (the show originally began in 2001, before Myspace in 2003, Facebook in 2004, and Twitter in 2006), viewers had no recourse for that trauma other than those who also viewed the show and were just as invested in the characters as they were. Although it was a "shared trauma" among viewers, there was little way to express it yet, so viewers were left to absorbing the traumatic event not unlike the events that happen(ed) in their own lives. And lastly, this goes directly with what Stolorow notes, that "trauma devastatingly disrupts the ordinary linearity and unity of our experience of time." The viewer has seen Jack Bauer routinely come to the rescue and find and fight his way out of every situation, but is struck down when he cannot save his wife. Stolorow continue, "Experiences of emotional trauma become freeze-framed into an eternal present in which we remain forever trapped." Much like what happens on an episode of a television show, the trauma the viewer experiences with characters they feel emotionally attached or invested in remains with the viewer long after the episode (or show) has ended, often associating itself with a period in one's own life where trauma of their own has occurred. Like the finale, the moment is now freeze-framed in the viewer's life in a way that cannot be removed or otherwise fixed or "made better;" the characters, episode, and show cannot change to reduce grief, much like trauma in our own life cannot be changed once it occurs.</span><br />
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7MCCjNayWN0/VvDcwqN9zJI/AAAAAAAAADM/2xuwam8VRfwRRAcCPtkZP5A2RTVj45bZQ/s1600/fringe-wallpaper-fringe-12767678-1356-768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7MCCjNayWN0/VvDcwqN9zJI/AAAAAAAAADM/2xuwam8VRfwRRAcCPtkZP5A2RTVj45bZQ/s320/fringe-wallpaper-fringe-12767678-1356-768.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Further in the essay, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mousoutzanis</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> likens the use of temporality and trauma to that of Freud's essay <i>Beyond the Pleasure Principal, </i>noting specifically that </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">it "[invokes] a metaphor of the human psyche as an amoeba-like organism coated with a 'protective shielding' that is pierced by an overwhelming incident" (104). He also quotes Žižek in reference to narratives that invoke a response not unlike post-9/11 trauma, stating, "We wanted to see it again and again; the same shots were repeated <i>ad nauseam</i>" (105). This idea, adapted to trauma in television programs, is not unlike Freud's idea of repetition compulsion. Freud describes our understanding and way of dealing with trauma in terms of repetitive exposure to trauma. Although the trauma continues to hurt or otherwise pierce our "linearity," as described previously, we continue to expose ourselves to repeated trauma in an attempt to overcome or otherwise facilitate our understanding of the trauma. This is not unlike the trauma that is involved and incorporated heavily into American television series year after year. Particularly in reference to post-9/11 narratives, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mousoutzanis</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> notes television shows that either begin with or incorporate major traumas of plane crashes or terrorism (of varying types and degrees) such as <i>Lost</i> (which revolves entirely around a plane crash stranding people on an island) or the pilot to <i>Fringe (</i>both noted in his essay). Although not a terrorist incident, <i>Lost</i> particularly invokes the repetition of trauma of 9/11, having premiered in 2004, just three years after the attack (and merely 11 days after the anniversary that year). The pilot to <i>Fringe</i> begins with a plane flying through an electrical storm. The plane lands safely, albeit invoking memories of the attacks when all the passengers begin to spread a lethal contagion while in flight (reminiscent of bioterrorism). And <i>Fringe</i> isn't alone in its genre; other dramas, particularly crime dramas, focus heavily on the use and reuse of traumatic events throughout, drawing the viewer in with devastating or gripping scenarios of good and evil, life and death. Shows like <i>CSI</i>, <i>Criminal Minds, NCIS, </i>and other similar series (notice a pattern?) routinely use realistic depictions of crime in an attempt to impact the viewer with that same trauma. The viewer knows the show is real but still allows themselves to be sucked into the dangers the characters are put in and the events that occur within the shows. The events that occur are typically irrelevant between episodes but serve as that break from the linearity of the characters' storylines and development throughout. Oftentimes, the effects of trauma on the viewer may mirror the effects of trauma that happens to the characters within the show; but rather than being overwhelmed by the trauma they are watching, the viewer delves deeper and deeper, watching episode by episode week by week (or hour by hour, in the case of Netflix binging). They may be affected by the trauma, but they continue watching regardless. We tell ourselves that the show is fun or interesting, but Freud may tell us instead that we're doing so as a means to relive, understand, or overcome our trauma.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11104567587136980910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518835947947433157.post-20582320072213823972016-03-21T16:54:00.001-07:002016-03-21T16:54:39.932-07:00Generational Visits from The Goon Squad<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7pe5ijDEQe0/VvCJQ_RIqOI/AAAAAAAAAl4/oGmDYYrqKqwO8XFWrmNEfSvBdhFlmX70Q/s1600/goon%2Bsquad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7pe5ijDEQe0/VvCJQ_RIqOI/AAAAAAAAAl4/oGmDYYrqKqwO8XFWrmNEfSvBdhFlmX70Q/s320/goon%2Bsquad.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Visit-Goon-Squad-Jennifer-Egan/dp/0307477479">A Visit From the Goon Squad</a> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by <a href="http://jenniferegan.com/">Jennifer Egan</a> plays out to be a visit not from particular people, but more from several generations at once. Within her novel, the reader gets to see different characters in different areas of their lives. Never once does the reader get the same narrative perspective from the same character, each one tells a different story from different times in their lives. Where the connection comes into play isn’t with a chronological order but rather how different lives are touched by different people. These people’s stories come and go at different times, we see different characters at different moments in their lives, and Egan does a great job of giving the reader a way to reflect on their own lives.</span></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-c3c3cc7d-9b94-75e1-99b8-9dc9b3157637" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">One of the characters that comes into play, and seems to be the centerfold of this narrative is Bennie Salazar. Bennie’s life is seen from different moments in time and he tends to tether all of the characters back to him in some way, shape, or form, no matter where the narrative may be at. Take for example the story of Lou. When we finally get to a point in time with just Lou, a safari in Africa, there are still tethers back to Bennie. Lou is introduced to the novel through his young girlfriend Jocelyn. Jocelyn is connected to Bennie as one of the punk rock kids of the 70’s and 80’s. The novel works as a web, with the center of it being Bennie’s life. No matter where a character is at in their storyline, in some way or form they have a connection to Bennie. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-syRkO1hRmDg/VvCJYEZf-WI/AAAAAAAAAl8/E8tmfEFJ6u8AyAch_MA7ZaPJVrhiah9OA/s1600/goon-map-UPDATED-May13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-syRkO1hRmDg/VvCJYEZf-WI/AAAAAAAAAl8/E8tmfEFJ6u8AyAch_MA7ZaPJVrhiah9OA/s320/goon-map-UPDATED-May13.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">With this idea in mind, the phrase “time's a goon” could be a direct reference to Bennie himself, after all, if the reader sees the original group of friends connected to Bennie in the beginning as the “Goon Squad” referenced in the title, then it’s Bennie’s squad that it is referring to. Again, Bennie seems to be around, even if it’s just in spirit, for every narrative. When Lou’s story is told of his time on safari in Africa, the reader knows the age and what’s going on with Bennie. In an earlier chapter, the reader gets a view into Lou’s apartment. In there, the girl’s see a photo from the safari and given a time when it takes place. From there, the reader can figure out just when and where the rest of the crew is at. The same goes for other characters moving through the novel. When looking at Dolly’s story, she references when things went downhill for her, in particular her party. She gives a specific time and date, and also makes references to where the actress Kitty is at in her life. Both these instances have a direct tie back to Bennie. Bennie’s wife use to work for Dolly and his brother-in-law was the one that sexually assaulted Kitty. Both these instances in time allow for the reader to figure out where in time Bennie is again. Even if it wasn’t meant intentionally, Bennie is the central figure of the novel, the clock that the reader can use to put time in a chronological order for themselves.</span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Within this novel as well, Egan allows for the reader to see several generations at once and even makes a prediction of what is to come of future generations. We see the punk rock era and how young kids acted during the time. As the novel periodically moves forward, the reader gets glimpses of other generations. The character of Sasha, Drew, and Rob all show what the generation after them was like. They’re the younger group that follows after Bennie and his squad. By having them going through time in their important areas, Egan allows for the reader to see the effects of the older generation on the young. Again this is apparent with the character of LuLu. With her generation, and an eventual prediction of another baby boom in the future, things once again have changed. Unlike Bennie and his group, who were all about music, drugs, and hard living, LuLu’s group has significantly changed. This group, commentated on by Alex, doesn’t swear. They group up with the futuristic technology affecting their lives and have learned to live with it. In every sense, their generation has rejected the style of living that was seen by them growing up. Finally, we also get a look at the generation to come through Alex’s daughter Cara-Ann. With her generation, and many young other kids, growing up in a technology filled world, they seem to have the most control over what is popular and what happens. The tablets everyone carries is often used by children. They help influence what music is bought, what shows up on screen, and even the type of language that is going to be used in the future. Egan seems to even hint at the dumbing down of society based on way messaging works on these systems.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One other time related theme that was noticed is how the destruction of the past leads to a destruction of the future. In the beginning and through most of the novel, it feels as though destructive life tendencies play a major role not only on characters but the world itself. There seems to be a blatant disregard for the planet and people that would be considered “good” or “bad”. Take for example the story that Dolly is a part of. For her, she has lost everything is on the edge of being broke. Due to this, she takes a public relations job trying to make a dictator running a genocide to look good in public light. Despite the fact that she knows this is the wrong thing to do, it isn’t until Kitty is taken captive by the general that she finally decides it’s the wrong course of action. Again the commentary can be seen in Scotty’s chapter, when he is fishing in the river. He talks about how bad it’s polluted but doesn’t care. He goes and fishes everyday and even eats the fish, saying that the river isn’t as polluted as people believe. The blatant disregard that he has, and the others, leaves a strong comment on our current world. Finally, towards the end of the novel, we see where the world is at in regards to the destruction and pollution taking place. We have Sasha’s daughter talking about the desert she lives in. She goes on a walk with her father and thinks about how the golf courses were now all dried up and how lawns were gone. In their place is plenty of solar panels, be she notes, quite cleverly, that they really don’t make a difference and things are too far gone. Again we see this commentary with Alex. He makes subtle hints at the destruction of the world. How him and his family, among many others, go to a wall to peer at the sunset before it disappears. He also talks about how it’s winter in New York and the concert Scotty is playing is outdoors. He mentions how it’s a beautiful day, eighty-nine degrees, and also how the sun is setting earlier and earlier. Egan uses her play on time to show the damage that past generations have done on the future of other generations.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>Ty Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13015031664359186427noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518835947947433157.post-82480048491185331722016-03-21T16:40:00.000-07:002016-03-21T16:40:23.307-07:00Pick Your Poison: Past, Present, or Future<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">
<i style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> A Visit from the Goon Squad</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">, by Jennifer
Egan, deals with our experience of time and more importantly the passing of
time. The story features a long list of
characters struggling to find out the exact moment that changed their lives, or
rather, where their life’s trajectory suddenly shifted. In this quest, the characters come to
symbolize different aspects of time, and in so doing, end up depicting the
struggle inherent with choosing to focus on the past, present, or future. The prevailing message of the book seems to
suggest that the future is the only reasonable point in time to focus on; the
past is suicidal; and the present can be destructive. Egan best demonstrates this through her
characters Sasha, Bennie, and Lou. Sasha
represents a forward outlook on time; Bennie represents the past; and Lou
represents the present. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Sasha is the
first character presented in the book, and although not entirely obvious in the
first chapter, Sasha represents the future.
When we first meet her, she is between two points in time; the past,
which involves Alex; and the present, which involves her psychiatrist,
Coz. She is a kleptomaniac who steals to
fill a hole left in her heart from an event prior to the first chapter. The hole is obviously imaginary, but it
represents the kind of mark the past might leave on a person. She could focus on the past and fall into
that hole, or she can continue looking forward to what is next. What is interesting about Sasha is her resilience
to the past, a quality that mitigates the damage and allows her to continue
looking forward. While she is in the
room with her psychiatrist, she has the desire to please Coz: “She wanted badly
to please him, to say something like <i>It
was a turning point; everything feels different now, </i>or <i>I called Lizzie and we made up finally, </i>or
<i>I’ve picked up the harp again, </i>or
just <i> I’m changing I’m changing: I’ve changed!</i>
Redemption, transformation—God how she wanted these things. Every day, every minute. Didn’t everyone?” (Egan 16). In this same chapter, she steals a note that
says ‘I BELIEVE IN YOU’ from Alex’s wallet.
This shows that Sasha has faith that things will get better, that she
can overcome the obstacles that come with times passing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">She further
exhibits this future-focused quality in the chapter, “Out of Body.” After her friend Rob tries to commit suicide,
she tells him about her time in Naples.
She says, “there were kids who were just lost. You knew they were never going to get back to
what they’d been, or have a normal life.
And then there were the other ones who you thought, maybe they will”
(Egan 200). This passage does a lot to
explain the many characters in the book.
There are those who are never able to make it, like Rob, who isn’t able
to live a normal life after his suicide attempt. Sasha goes on to tell Rob, “What I’m saying
is, We’re the survivors” (Egan 200).
Sasha was correct in describing herself as a survivor, in one of the
last chapters of the book, she has a family and is able to leave the past where
it belongs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bennie is a
character who represents the past. In
chapter 2, we see him with a long list of regretful moments in his life. A list that he continually adds to. He also eats gold flakes in an attempt to re-acquire
his long lost sexual compulsions. There
is a heavy emphasis on times passage in this chapter. When he visits a former band that he signed
ten years prior, he reflects how old the sisters have gotten. Looking down at his collection of gold flakes
he thinks: “Gold didn’t tarnish, that
was the thing. The flakes would look the
same in five years as they did right now” (Egan 34). When he drops his son off at his ex-wife’s
house he has trouble figuring out what to call the house. “they were approaching his former house, as
he thought of it. He couldn’t say “old
house,” but he also couldn’t say house anymore, although he’d certainly paid
for it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bennie also shows
his inability to leave the past in the past when he and his wife move to
California in Chapter 7. At the Crandale
Country Club, Bennie feels as if he doesn’t not fit in. During one encounter with a patron, Bennie
becomes so inflamed that he refuses to back to the country club, going so far
as to get angry at his wife for going to the club without him. Luckily for Bennie, he eventually matures and
is able to become a survivor like Sasha.
In the last chapter of the book, Bennie seems to be taking in a protégé,
like Lou who took Bennie in. In a
conversation with the potential protégé, Alex from the first chapter, Bennie
says that he knows Alex will do a project for him. Alex asks Bennie why he thinks that. “A feeling,” Bennie said, rousing himself
slightly from his deep recline. “That we
have some history together that hasn’t happened yet” (Egan 311). This quote shows that Bennie is looking
towards the future now and not the past.
He continues: “The problem is,” Bennie went on, “it’s not about sound
anymore. It’s not about <i>music</i>.
It’s about reach. That’s the
bitter fucking pill I had to swallow” (Egan 312). Again, this quote shows that Bennie has finally
put the past behind him. Good news
because most of the characters who get caught lingering in the past die, such
as Rob and Lou’s son Rolph.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Lou is a
character who comes to represent the present.
When we first meet Lou, he is an older gentleman hanging out with young
girls. When Rhea mentions his age in
relation to herself and her friend Jocelyn, Lou says, “I <i>am </i>your age” (Egan 56). He concludes
the conversation by saying “I’ll never get old” (Egan 57). As we find out in a later chapter, he lied,
he does get old and eventually dies. Lou
shows us what can happen when a person focuses only on the present. His past is left in a destructive wake
because he neither plans for the future nor learns from the past. He has several broken marriages and six
children in all. His daughter Charlie
will join a cult and contract salmonella from eating raw eggs, and have to get
surgery on her nose from a bad coke habit.
His son Rolph will commit suicide at the age of twenty-eight. When Lou is dying himself, Rhea and Jocelyn
go to visit. Both their lives have been
affected by Lou in a negative way.
Jocelyn especially has trouble in the wake of Lou. The prevailing message of Lou is that
constantly living in the present is a destructive habit for everyone involved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <i>A
Visit from the Goon Squad</i> essentially boils down to the random moments that
change our lives forever. However,
through Egan’s use of character, we see how focusing on anything besides the
future can be a dangerous thing</span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518835947947433157.post-33656095347640233772016-03-20T15:26:00.001-07:002016-03-20T15:26:06.116-07:00Time is a Goon<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">According
to the <i>Oxford Dictionaries </i></span><a href="http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/goon"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">goon</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> means 1)
informal “A silly, foolish, or eccentric person”; 2) North American “A bully or
thug, especially one hired to terrorize or do away with opposition.” According
to Bennie Salazar, “Time’s a goon” (332). And although in that context, Bennie
is referring to the bully/thug definition when he asks Scotty, “You gonna let
that goon push you around?” (332), in the novel <i>A Visit from the Goon Squad</i>, it is more the </span><a href="http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/eccentric#eccentric__2"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">eccentric</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> nature of time
that is central to the plot, as well as to the reader’s understanding of the
structure of the novel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">To
best analyze the novel, one should probably create a series of linear timelines
for the characters who are the center of more than one chapter: Bennie, Scotty,
Sasha, Rhea, Lulu, and Alex (although the reader wouldn’t know to create one
for Alex until the last chapter). Even then the linear timelines would require
branches to account for the non-central characters, such as Stephanie, Lou,
Dolly, and Jules, so that the timelines would begin to look like family trees
without the blood relations or like diagrammed sentences, the diagrammed lives
of the goon squad. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CSfg8MXU0TM/Vu8hy9qqhbI/AAAAAAAAACc/6OZ-o4a9IwkxBSZL60eEtUb_SyU8FqdRw/s1600/Diagrammed%2Bsentence.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CSfg8MXU0TM/Vu8hy9qqhbI/AAAAAAAAACc/6OZ-o4a9IwkxBSZL60eEtUb_SyU8FqdRw/s320/Diagrammed%2Bsentence.gif" width="314" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">(The
</span><a href="http://www.german-latin-english.com/diagramamend6.htm" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">diagramming of
Article 6 of the U. S. Constitution</a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> seemed apt in reference to the various
illegalities committed by the goon squad, as well as being a particularly
multi-layered sentence as I imagine the intersecting timelines of the various
characters.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">However,
as this novel was assigned over the spring break and my plans included multiple
airplane rides, days at the beach, and drives to the ballpark, I chose to push
back against the goon of time and just enjoy the nonlinearity of the novel. The
only time that I felt bullied was the reference to 2008 being thirty-five years
in the future (61) during chapter four, “Safari,” about Lou and his children. I
was caught off guard because I hadn’t processed that the falling back through
time of “Part A” had fallen so far to 1973. It wasn’t until I read that fact
that I seriously reflected on the passage of time in the novel; I had been
enjoying the eccentricity of the reverse timeline and the changing focus on
characters, especially the <a href="http://barokas.com/2014/11/10-reasons-give-thanks-pr/">six-degrees-of-separation</a>
aspect to the choice of which character to focus on with each new chapter. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FuX4Urugdl4/Vu8h3uBpXSI/AAAAAAAAACo/utOla6PlM4gBND7NG9c2dASeDDVJYt-Hg/s1600/KevinBacon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FuX4Urugdl4/Vu8h3uBpXSI/AAAAAAAAACo/utOla6PlM4gBND7NG9c2dASeDDVJYt-Hg/s320/KevinBacon.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">In
fact I was more bothered by the lack of a Kevin Bacon character at the center
of the novel than I was first by the regression of time in “Part A” and then
the bouncing around in time of “Part B.” Having now finished the novel and
reflecting on it, I would place Bennie Salazar at the center of the degrees of
separation. (And, yes, I just spent an hour trying to create an accurate six
degrees of separation for most of the goon squad.)</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0psKAZaMIVg/Vu8iO_OpRoI/AAAAAAAAACk/0J6gCmRRAkcMqAw8WX_6lWZuMBeqqojIg/s1600/Bennie%2BSalazar.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0psKAZaMIVg/Vu8iO_OpRoI/AAAAAAAAACk/0J6gCmRRAkcMqAw8WX_6lWZuMBeqqojIg/s320/Bennie%2BSalazar.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">And
yet, I don’t feel that the novel is about Bennie. As much as I wanted the novel
to be about Sasha, and she probably has the most chapters about her, as well as
the most mentions in other chapters, </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">it is not about Sasha.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
novel is about time, and the passage of time. Ted attributes his wife’s spontaneity
and desire to “make sure it’s always like this” to her feeling “the passage of
time” (231). The novel serves as a wake up call to every reader; events are
happening that you will never be involved in, connections are being made
because of or in spite of you, and you will wake up solidified in a place much
like Sasha in the opening chapter feeling both “mired in it and lucky to have
it” (14). For most of us the jarring moment isn’t like Sasha’s when she “think[s]
of herself as a glint in the memories Alex would struggle to organize a year or
two from now: <i>Where was that place with
the bathtub? Who was that girl?</i>” (14). Our jarring moments are more
personal along the lines of “How did I get to this age?” or “When did my
children/parents get old?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Without
being maudlin, you cannot prepare for those jarring moments. And they occur at
random times, much like the events and memories in the novel occur in nonlinearity.
My sons graduating high school did not jar; over the years, I have taken great
pride in those moments that they adult (yes, I used it as a verb). In fact I am
relieved when they prove that they can adult. The jarring moment this year with
my older son when was he left from winter break, and I realized that he will
never really return home again. This house may be his childhood home for the
majority of his life, but he will most likely never live here full time ever
again. I should be rejoicing that I could transform his bedroom into an
office/library, but I have just chosen to close the door and leave it intact,
almost shrine-like. I’m not ready to move forward. At least I’m not pilfering
items like Sasha, right?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">And
then I encourage all of you (classmates, professor, any random reader) to spend
a significant period of time, including overnights, with your parents as they
age. In fact I suggest traveling with them. This spring break my parents
traveled with my husband and me to Florida for spring training baseball games.
My husband, our sons, and I have made this our routine spring break trip, but
my parents, especially my baseball-loving mother, have only accompanied us once
on the requisite Disney World trip. Which was thirteen years ago. When my
parents were in their early 60s. I’ve noticed changes in their activities over
the years; I have been well aware of most of their health issues. And I’ve made
mental notes of little changes that no one has bothered to mention. But I
usually see them for a few hours in their home or in mine, not in a location
1,021 miles from either of our homes for twenty-four hours per day. I was
jarred all week. When had these changes taken place? And how did I not know?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Maybe
time is a goon, a bully. It doesn’t terrorize us on a daily basis; rather, it’s
the culmination of time that appears out of nowhere. It smacks us in the face
to take away our opposition to growing older. And it is at that point that we
reflect; we look back at our own good squads to see how we got here. To see if
it’s been good or bad, or at least to see when it’s been good and when it’s
been bad. But ultimately, we should learn from the novel that it’s more important
to find a good squad that you fit in with, that makes you content. We should
all be so lucky to end up with second chances like Bennie with Lupa and Ava or
like Sasha with Drew and her children far away from New York City. But I hope
for everyone reading this that you end up content like Alex with Rebecca and
Cara Ann on the first go around. Find your goons and relish them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Egan, Jennifer. <i>A Visit from the Goon Squad</i>. New York: Anchor Books, 2010. Print.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17140944873258565457noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518835947947433157.post-34449209448046126452016-03-18T07:27:00.001-07:002016-03-18T07:27:19.362-07:00Losing Gaps<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">In
Todd M. Sodano’s chapter, “Television’s Paradigm (Time)Shift: Production and
Consumption Practices in the Post-Network Era,” he discusses how the different
methods and modes of media consumption have transformed the ways in which
society watches and responds to television broadcasting. Sodano focuses on
several various key methods or modes that have defined this shift in television,
including flow, technology, binge/marathon viewing, gaps with and across
seasons, paratexts, and water cooler conversations/spoilers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Before
Sodano discusses how flow has contributed to television’s time shift, he
describes what flow is, what it means to television, and how it has previously
existed on the small screen. I find it particularly fascinating that he remarks
on how the “traditional linear broadcast flow [of] the network era” (77) has
been “challenged and subverted” by more popular forms of media—cable, online
streaming, DVDs, and others. To speak of a “challenged” linear flow must mean
that at one point and time, broadcasting once existed linearly without
interruption.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sodano
also refers to Raymond Williams definition of “flow,” which is described as
“the uninterrupted nature of television within, between, and across programs”
(28). He discusses how initially, the relationship between viewers (or readers)
and a media or text was considered discrete. An audience would travel to a
movie theater, watch a film, and then return home. There were no interruptions.
This discrete mode of media consumption remained unchanged until advertising
was introduced to the scene.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Within the chapter, I am especially
interested in how “flow” can be further described with what Sodano calls
“convenience technologies.” Although he focuses on describing the effects DVD
and DVR technologies have had on the consumption of network programming, I
think there is another argument regarding mobile devices, including tablets.
Viewers are no longer restricted to television screen programming, which is
where the majority of DVD and DVR technologies are utilized. Our smaller-screen
technologies also give us the opportunity to stream video content wherever we
might be. Some satellite service providers, such as Dish Network, now give
consumers the option of live streaming television content straight to their
phones. For example, if someone needs to leave their home for a prior
engagement, the technology exists for them to transfer the remaining show onto
their phones and continue watching as they travel to their next destination.
The flow cycle never ends—it just adapts to the accessible technology to ensure
that consumers are never left out of the loop.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sodano
also discusses binge and marathon watching, but his chapter was published the
year before Netflix began producing and publishing original content, so his
argument does not necessarily delve into the streaming phenomenon that has
accompanied full-season premiere releases. In 2013, Netflix debuted season one
of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">House of Cards</i>, but rather than
providing a weekly timeslot in which viewers could hop online and stream each
episode, the company released the entire first season at once. With this
method, the speed of consumption is determined entirely by the individual
viewer. The circular pattern of flow still exists, but consumers are given choice
as to when and where they watch the programming. With <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Alpha House </i>(2013), Amazon tried to use the broadcasting method of
release. The first three episodes were available to Prime users, and then each
week, an additional episode was released. Former <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">People </i>magazine TV editor Jason Lynch argues that Amazon chose this
method because unlike Netflix, they have other motives for getting people to
use their website. He writes, “For Netflix, the subscribers <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">are </i>the income, and by that measure it
easily has the upper hand” (Lynch, emphasis in original). Despite his claim,
Amazon’s 2014 release of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Transparent </i>trailed
Netflix, as the company decided to release the entire season at once.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The way in which these companies are producing
content easily reckons back to Sodano’s discussion of how binge and marathon
watching has transformed our relationship with television broadcasting;
however, he also argues that these methods of consumption “remove viewers from…
paratextual conversations that take place across episodes and the gaps between
them” (32). His examples include the discussion surrounding the same-sex <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Modern Family </i>kiss at its time of
production, as well as Grady Hendrix’s claim that the box set is a form of
“ritualistic abuse [that] we inflict on one another” (32). Viewers are
considered removed from the text because, unlike broadcast television, content
is being purchased, streamed, downloaded, and watched at rates that are
incredibly varied and individualized based on each consumer’s viewing patterns.
In recent years, I believe that there has been a push for a reconnection of
sorts regarding this removal. Through social platforms like Twitter and
Periscope, users are now able to connect with each other in live time, which
was never previously an option for broadcast programming. Rather than
discussing the big moments of television after the individual episode aired,
viewers can now be in constant conversation within the first few seconds of the
episode’s release. Despite the individual consumption rates of online media
services, streaming responses function similarly to that of broadcast
television. There are now applications that block spoilers by accessing user
feeds and editing any posts or articles that might mention the user’s favorite
shows. The convenience technologies have increased, but so have the methods in
which we preserve our nostalgia for broadcast programming. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The one mode or method that could be
considered lost, however, are the gaps that have been created between the
airing of episodes. For users who continue to stream available content at a
considerable pace, there is still time for interpretation—what to Sean
O’Sullivan refers to in Sodona’s chapter as “speculating about plot
developments or resolutions, wondering about characters and their choices,
luxuriating in the details of the story’s construction” (34); however, in
connection to the cycle of flow and the increased methods of binge and marathon
watching, a user who consumes a season over a rapidly short period of time
might not experience these moments of introspection. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">I
think it is particularly interesting to think about the challenges or
implications that accompany this loss. When online viewers miss out on that
opportunity to brood and interpret the text, is the viewing process altered?
Sodano’s discussion often harkens back to advertising and how broadcasting
companies use television programming as a supplement to the advertising as
opposed to the other way around. If this is true, then online ad-free viewing,
in a way, destroys the expectations set forth by traditional television
broadcasting. With sources such as Netflix, viewers are not obligated to watch
commercials or promotional spots. The “flow” exists purely within the television
show itself—the narrative arc from episode-to-episode, as well as from the
beginning of the show to the end of the show—controls the temporality across
the programming. Even with Netflix’s original content, they are limited to the
brief promos that play on the top of the page when a user logs in. If
advertising is so important to television programming and broadcasting, how
might Netflix be changing this? I’m patiently waiting for Netflix commercials
on regular TV…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
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McKenziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11183103205359229576noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518835947947433157.post-71712977454801787832016-03-08T23:30:00.000-08:002016-03-08T23:30:20.229-08:00Confronting Death When Faced with the Fountain of Eternal Youth<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Timelines intertwine in Darren
Aronofsky’s third film <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fountain-Blu-ray-Hugh-Jackman/dp/B000O7667K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1457508545&sr=8-2&keywords=the+fountain">The Fountain</a></i>
(2006), starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz. The story consists of three
separate timelines–during the time of the Spanish conquistadors, the present
day, and hundreds of years in the future. Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz play
the main characters in each of the separate timelines, lending ambiguity as to
how symbolic the audience is supposed to take the events. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Fountain</i> is ultimately about the desire to live forever, but,
more importantly, it centers around the natural human fear of death and what
lies beyond it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/owh8GFVPcEo/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/owh8GFVPcEo?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Fountain</i> aptly <o:p></o:p></div>
begins with Genesis 3:24: “Therefore, the Lord God banished Adam
and Eve from the Garden of Eden and placed a flaming sword to protect the tree
of life.” The story then moves into one of the ends–the end of the conquistador
timeline. Tomas (Jackman), a conquistador under the service of Queen Isabella
(Weisz), finds the pyramid said to hold the fabled Fountain of Eternal Youth.
As he reaches the summit, he is greeted by a Mayan priest. Tomas rushes at the
priest, but the priest is too quick, and he stabs Tomas and beats him over the
head with a torch.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Five minutes in, and we already
have a quest for eternal life <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and</i> a
death! This is shaping up to be an adventure.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://49.media.tumblr.com/7c25c7bec548f686c280749e5f4d313d/tumblr_npjmu5ztJp1reqjk7o1_500.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://49.media.tumblr.com/7c25c7bec548f686c280749e5f4d313d/tumblr_npjmu5ztJp1reqjk7o1_500.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The story changes, and we see Tom
(Jackman), a man who we find out is five centuries in the future, taking care
of a tree and eating its bark. He seems troubled and keeps seeing visions of a
girl. The girl turns out to be Izzi (Weisz), who is the wife of Tommy
(Jackman), a scientist in the present who experiments on rhesus monkeys in
order to find a cute for cancer. His primary goal is to find a cure for his
wife because Izzi has cancer and has been steadily getting worse and worse. In
a desperate attempt to find results, Tommy injects a monkey with a cancerous
tumor with a compound created from a tree in Guatemala. Amazingly, the compound
actually manages to reverse the monkey’s aging, although it seems to have no
effect on the tumor. Emboldened and yet disheartened by these results, Tommy
continues to use the compound to figure out a way to reduce tumors, much to the
dismay of his research team, who want to instead focus on the reverse-aging
effects of the compound.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Back at home, Tommy and Izzi sit
outside on the roof and stargaze as Izzi points out a golden nebula and
explains the myth of Xibalba, the Mayan underworld, formed from the head of the
First Father at the beginning of the world. She remarks how it is amazing that,
out of all the stars in the sky, the Mayans chose a dying nebula for their
underworld. Izzi also lets Tommy look at her fictional book about the
conquistadors, titled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Fountain</i>
(oh so meta). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It turns out that Izzi is
writing a story about a conquistador named Tomas who is chosen by Queen
Isabella to find the Fountain of Eternal Youth. Tommy falls asleep reading
Izzi’s book, and when we wakes, he finds Izzi has gone. He manages to find her
at the museum, where she looks at a Mayan exhibit and explains the Mayan
creation myth. In the beginning, the First Father was cut up into small pieces.
His body helped create the world, but his head became Xibalba, the Mayan
underworld where all go to die.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
As Izzi and Tommy talk about the
exhibit, Izzi suddenly looks up to the sky and faints due to a seizure. Tommy
rushes her to the hospital, almost inconsolable at the thought of losing her.
In the hospital, Izzi finally wakes up, and she and Tommy discuss death. Izzi
reveals that, when she fainted, she was not afraid. She is no longer afraid of
death. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.femail.com.au/graphics/the_fountain1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.femail.com.au/graphics/the_fountain1.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Of course, that makes Tommy all the more scared, and so, again, he
returns to his lab to double up on his experiments, trying to race the clock to
find a cure for Izzi. One day in the hospital, Tommy visits and Izzi goes into
cardiac arrest. The doctors force Tommy out of the room, and he meets his
associate Dr. Guzetti in the hall. She explains that the monkeys have seen
improvement. The tumors are shrinking. Tommy races back to Izzi’s room to find
out if she is okay and tell her the good news. But it is too late.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Izzie is dead.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
At Izzi’s funeral, Tommy vows to
find a cure to death, and put an end to dying forever.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Woven throughout the present day
narrative is 16<sup>th</sup> century Spain, which may or may not be a part of
Izzi’s novel. The Grand Inquisitor learns that Queen Isabella plans to search
for the Tree of Life/Fountain of Eternal Youth. Enraged by this quest, he
vilifies the Queen as labels her a heretic. This opposition only fuels Queen
Isabella on, as she believes that finding the Fountain will restore Spain to
its glory. She chooses Tomas to accompany a Franciscan priest, who has recently
found a map on a Mayan dagger, to New Spain in order to find the Fountain.
Queen Isabella promises Tomas that, should he find the Fountain, they shall
live forever, and she shall be his Eve. She gives him a ring as a sign of her
promise.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The quest drags on in the New
World, and Tomas’ men start to give up and end up mutinying. Tomas ends the
mutiny, but only ends up with two men left. The Franciscan priest is mortally
wounded in the fight, but he manages to tell Tomas that they have finally found
the pyramid. Reassured by this news, Tomas and his two men set off to the
pyramid. At this point, we join back up with where the movie began, and we see
Tomas slain again by the priest.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Flash forward to the future
narrative, still intertwining throughout the other two timelines, where an
astronaut named Tom is drifting toward the golden nebula that Izzi once pointed
out as Xibalba. He travels in a large bubble with a tree that, when the bark is
ingested, keeps Tom from aging. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://knightnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/fountain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://knightnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/fountain.jpg" height="197" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
As Tom and the Tree of Life travel toward
Xibalba, Tom is haunted by visions of Izzi, implying that Tom is Tommy from the
present day, and he has found the secret to eternal life. As Tom tries to deal
with these visions, the tree is slowly dying. Eventually, despite Tom’s best
efforts, the tree dies, and Tom is finally left completely alone, except for
the visions of Izzi. She compels him to finally finish her book, which, in the
present day, she had stopped with one chapter left for Tommy to finish. As Izzi
did long ago, Tommy finally accepts death, and finishes the story.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l4tiq28nc11qcq661o1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l4tiq28nc11qcq661o1_500.jpg" height="320" width="282" /></a></div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Instead of the priest killing
Tomas, Tom changes the ending so the priest believes Tomas is the First Father,
and offers himself up for Tomas to kill, which Tomas does with little
hesitation. Tomas then steps past into a garden and, finally, comes across the
Tree of Life.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i1.wp.com/bitcast-a-sm.bitgravity.com/slashfilm/wp/wp-content/images/fountain-tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1.wp.com/bitcast-a-sm.bitgravity.com/slashfilm/wp/wp-content/images/fountain-tree.jpg" height="237" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
He uses the sap from the tree to heal his wound, and then drinks
the sap himself. For a brief moment, all seems well. Then flowers start
blooming from Tomas’ stomach, where he used the sap to heal himself. The
flowers grow until they completely cover the now dead Tomas. Creation has
sprung from death.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Back in the future, Tom passes
through the nebula itself, and imagines Queen Isabella there with him. Suddenly
he is wearing the ring Isabella gave to Tomas. Finally at peace, Tomas enters
Xibalba, which explodes, sending Tomas raining over the tree. His remains
revive the tree. Creation has sprung from death.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Our final time jump takes us to the
present time, where Tommy is visiting Izzi’s grave. He plants a tree over her
grave in an attempt to accept her death. Creation has sprung from death.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Fountain</i> is meant to make us think about our relationship with death.
Tommy/Tom/Tomas represent our need to prolong our lives. It’s not so much that
we want to live forever. We mostly fear death and what lies beyond. Throughout <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Fountain</i>, the characters rarely
discuss what happens after they would find the cure for cancer/the Fountain of
Eternal Youth. Instead, they focus on the act of staving off death itself. The
terror of the unknown is universal and woven throughout time, as Aronofsky
succeeds in showing in this film. He creates several significant moments and
objects that reappear throughout each of the timelines. Bright light
consistently surrounds of Weisz’ characters, showering her with a radiant glow,
and seemingly promising life and happiness. The ring the Queen gives Tomas as a
sign of her promise also reappears in the present as Tommy’s wedding ring and
as a tattoo on Tom’s wedding ring finger, to permanently symbolize the promise
of eternal life and the eternal bond between the couple throughout all of time
and space. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Finally, the most important symbol
of all is the Tree of Life. The film closely ties Izzi to the Tree, symbolizing
Tommy’s/Tom’s purpose for life. He does his best to keep Izzi/the Tree alive,
but ultimately fails. In his quest for eternal life for his love, he only prolongs
his suffering, until he too must accept death, just as Izzi had long ago.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Fountain</i> is a story about love, life, spirituality, but most importantly,
death. It is about our obsession with death itself (as I have noted in my post
on the Apocalypse) and our dread of what comes next. The Mayans chose a dying
nebula for their underworld. For them, they would experience what happens after
what happens after death. They live again after death, but perhaps they must
face death again. Perhaps death is something that must be continually faced.
For, as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Fountain</i> proves, there
can be no creation without there first being death.<o:p></o:p></div>
Kristina Kastlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580807881489622895noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518835947947433157.post-21308409822685138632016-03-08T16:44:00.000-08:002016-03-08T16:53:02.611-08:00Temporal Play and Trauma in As I Lay Dying<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(CAUTION: If you haven't read this book, sorry. Spoilers included.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Most of us have probably at least heard of William
Faulkner’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_I_Lay_Dying" target="_blank">As I Lay Dying</a>, </i>but
perhaps less well known is James Franco’s 2013 cinematic remake of the novel.
The movie very closely follows the plot of the novel, translating the journey
the Bundren family makes to bury their mother’s body onto the big screen. (See the trailer below. Please ignore the other commentary; for some reason, it won't let me put the better trailer on here.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Franco incorporates the temporal play of the novel by using
split-screens that portray both synchronous and asynchronous temporality, slow
motion, interrupting monologues, and flashbacks. This temporal play on the
screen uses repetition and memories within and of each character to portray how
each of the six living Bundrens (Anse, Cash, Darl, Jewel, Dewey Dell, and Vardaman) deal with the traumatic death of their mother
as well as the consequences that it means for them all, as Addie says, “each with
his or her own selfish thoughts.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Perhaps the most prominent feature of temporal play in this
film is the a/synchronous split screens. When the two screens are synchronous, they will show the same moment in time, only from different
perspectives; sometimes these perspectives are drastically different, and
sometimes they only are slightly misaligned. As we can see in the picture
below, sometimes the scenes are the direct perspectives of people looking at or
conversing with each other. Showing these different perspectives allows viewers
to obtain a fuller understanding of the scene and what all is happening in it
and to perhaps empathize with the characters that are doing the viewing within the story as
well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N6kv9S4AekA/Vt9uJc95sII/AAAAAAAAAHA/-e_8kMiNzGg/s1600/As-I-Lay-Dying-film-images-3154f65b-dbc9-4a08-89fb-6b2fab8244b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N6kv9S4AekA/Vt9uJc95sII/AAAAAAAAAHA/-e_8kMiNzGg/s320/As-I-Lay-Dying-film-images-3154f65b-dbc9-4a08-89fb-6b2fab8244b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This can also be seen when things are happening at the same
time but in different locations. For example, on the left side of the screen,
viewers see Darl and Jewel riding to town while discussing their mother’s
impending death, and on the right side of the screen, we see their mother,
Addie, lose her life. The use of the split screen helps viewers to take in
multiple plots at once, something that could not be done with just the written
word. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The split screens are also at times asynchronous. One side
of the screen may be lagging a second or two behind the other, or they may feel
like they are minutes apart, at least according to the plot line, but perhaps
not “real” time for viewers. This aspect of temporal play may allude to the
kind of disconnect the characters feel about the traumatic situation they are facing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Franco also uses slow motion in this film as a way to
emphasize some of the most important moments in the story, particularly the
most traumatic for each of the characters or at least scenes that cause later
trauma. The first slow motion scene is solely of Darl, perhaps showing his
first thoughts about taking drastic measures to make sure his mother is buried
as soon as possible, which does cause trauma later on when he burns down someone's barn. Another slow motion
scene includes Vardaman finding a fish (who he now, as a young child not fully
understanding the situation, believes is his mother).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TcJK4aBHXQE/Vt9uO-M2eeI/AAAAAAAAAHE/7OfGiYXj8sE/s1600/vardamanfish.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TcJK4aBHXQE/Vt9uO-M2eeI/AAAAAAAAAHE/7OfGiYXj8sE/s320/vardamanfish.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Other slow motions scenes include flashbacks, like the
relationship between Anse and Addie while they were having children in the first years of their marriage. The
moments when the Bundren gang almost loses their mother’s coffin, as in the
river and in the burning barn, and the moments of her final burial are all in
slow motion as well. All of these traumatic events and the events that lead to
tragedy are slowed perhaps as a way to see the way the characters may feel—that
time is slowed at these moments when it is hard to come to an understanding of
it all, hard to piece together their memories with their present situations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Some of these slow motion scenes are initiated or followed
by interrupting monologues in which characters talk directly to the camera.
This jarring and straightforward interjection of monologues within the film is
reflective of the same type of interjection within the novel. These monologues
directly show what each character is thinking about their situation and how
they are dealing with the trauma individually and often internally and alone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">These kinds of temporal play within the film are able to
reflect, while slightly differently, the temporal play of the novel. These
aspects of the movie allow viewers to feel closer to each character by being
directly addressed through monologues, shown flashbacks of their memories, and able to see both the characters and their perspectives at the same time
with the use of split screens. The temporal play within the film allows viewers
to feel the same kind of confusion and efforts that the Bundrens experience and make in order
to come to terms with their trauma, each in his or her own way and with his or
her own reasons for doing so. Viewers are able to see “each with his or her own
selfish thoughts.” The difficulty each of the Bundrens has with coping is perhaps
best explained by Darl as in his last monologue of the film: “We use each
other with words like spiders hanging by their mouths from the rafters—swinging
and twisting and never touching.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">P.S., <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For those of you with a Netflix account that are interested
in watching the film, it’s on there! </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10919938517927575091noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518835947947433157.post-62290532193918656982016-03-08T01:27:00.000-08:002016-03-08T01:33:40.062-08:00Time Travel, Causality, and Comedy in an Adventure Most Excellent<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
To begin, we close our eyes. We are told to imagine a science fiction-esque film about a phone booth that is really a time machine from a distant future. Now imagine that time machine is used to hop through time on a whim, interfering with history in some way, and making sure the future remains the future and the past the past, all through the use of this time machine. Now imagine all these important historical figureheads show up and jaunt through time with the main character and his companion. Except the phone booth isn't bigger on the inside; in fact, it's kind of small-ish. Wait, we're talking about Doctor Who, right? No, we're talking about what Doctor Who might be if Pauly Shore and Adam Sandler wrote it-- the 1989 classic <i>Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure</i>, one of the first breakout film roles for Keanu Reeves (and who doesn't love a young Neo?).</div>
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<br /><iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sFy17auuK08/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sFy17auuK08?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KAp1rvXeKeY/Vt6GOa2WXwI/AAAAAAAAAB8/Wpbkkg2eS5o/s1600/eamovieposter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KAp1rvXeKeY/Vt6GOa2WXwI/AAAAAAAAAB8/Wpbkkg2eS5o/s200/eamovieposter.jpg" width="126" /></a>Although the premise is similar to Back to the Future (except without the creepy Oedipus story going on) in which a couple of guys start messing with the timeline to insure the future remains intact, <i>Bill and Ted</i> takes it to a whole new level: pure comedy. The entire movie is a depiction of what would happen if two "rockstar" teenagers somehow become the key to the future as we will know it (according to George Carlin. It is a comedy, after all). Just looking at the poster to begin, one is allowed a glimpse into the "reality" that the film presents, including both references to history and the importance of time throughout the film. The taglines for the film read "History is about to be rewritten by two guys who can't spell," a jab at the characters' intelligence as well as foreshadowing their importance, as well as "Time flies when you're having fun." The main characters are sitting atop a phone booth (completely relevant to the film, but not having the relevance given away by the poster) in which historical figures are seen crammed shoulder to shoulder. This isn't to ignore the fact that the entire setting of the poster shows the group floating in outer space. </div>
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The entire film and the use of time travel in the narrative itself rests on the basis of causality and piggybacking from paradox to paradox, opening and closing time loops and oftentimes leaving questions "unanswered" simply due to having them answered earlier in the film (due to the nature of the time travel). The story begins with a monologue by Rufus (George Carlin) that poses and answers many questions without the viewer even realizing:</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yfqPZmqZi8k/Vt6MEhSp1QI/AAAAAAAAACQ/pmdB5glph4c/s1600/200_s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="136" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yfqPZmqZi8k/Vt6MEhSp1QI/AAAAAAAAACQ/pmdB5glph4c/s320/200_s.jpg" width="320" /></a>"Hi. Welcome to the future, San Dimas, California, 2688, and I'm telling you it's great here. The air is clean. The water's clean. Even the dirt... is clean. Bowling scores are way up. Mini-golf scores are way down. And we have more excellent water slides than any other planet we communicate with. I'm telling you this place is great. But it almost wasn't. 700 years ago, the two Great Ones ran into a few problems. So now I have to travel back in time to help them out. If I should fail to keep these two on the correct path, the basis of our society will be in danger. Don't worry, it will all make sense. I'm a professional."</div>
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Now right away, the viewer is both confused and informed (if they are a first time viewer). The character Rufus lets the viewer know the timeline (2688, 700 years in the future compared to 1988) as well as the fact time travel is a thing, why Rufus is using time travel, and that other planets presumably have life (as he describes it, but not what kind of life). But he brings up a few questions to be intentionally confusing. He notes, "So now I have to travel back in time to help them out," meaning he hasn't done it yet. But he notes that "...this place is great. But it almost wasn't," as in history has <i>already been fixed. </i>But how has it been fixed if he hasn't gone back in time to fix it (assuming he was the one that originally set history straight)? He continues, "If I should fail... the basis of our society will be in danger," thereby confirming that the "saving" hasn't been done yet but also that there's a possibility he might fail, thus causing a different future that is, in fact, in danger, but he would only know that if informed of the danger from the future, but then if he fixed it, how would that future happen. And why is George Carlin not swearing in this movie? But alas, he confirms it will all make sense.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0TAsZkqceGU/Vt6PKRx_LcI/AAAAAAAAACc/S5e7jPy7SN4/s1600/eagrab50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0TAsZkqceGU/Vt6PKRx_LcI/AAAAAAAAACc/S5e7jPy7SN4/s320/eagrab50.jpg" width="320" /></a>Throughout the entire film, the use of time travel causes for slapstick type moments of comedy or moments the viewer will say "Ohhhh, okay. I get it now," without even realizing that they were supposed to have noticed something important earlier in the film. There are a few primary examples that will unfortunately be spoilers for anyone who hasn't seen the movie (sorry, but it's nearly 30 years old, deal with it), but I will only note the first and arguably the most important. Early on in the film, Ted's dad has lost his keys and suspects that Ted has done something with them and/or lost them. When asked about having done something with them, Ted replies, "No sir." But this is foreshadowing of "Chekhov's gun" proportions (<a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ChekhovsGun">Thanks, TV Tropes!</a>) that will come up at least twice nearly at the end of the film (in chronological scenes). When Bill and Ted have to break the historical figures out of jail for causing a ruckus in the local mall, they realize they need Ted's dad's keys to do so (as he is on the police force), but realize they "don't have time" to steal them. They then come up with the idea to steal them <i>after</i> the presentation and leave them for themselves <i>before</i> the presentation--behind a sign they are conveniently standing next to. After creating a ruse to lure Ted's dad away from the cells, the pair begin to break the historical figures out of jail, only to be caught by Ted's dad. Using the same comedic method of time travel, Ted closes his eyes and tells himself, "Trash can. Remember.. a trash can," only to have a trashcan adorned with "Wyld Stallyns Rule!" land on his head out of nowhere. As the scene ends, Ted states, "Oh, by the way, I found your keys!" and lays them visibly on the jail cell bars, thus closing the paradox they created by stealing the keys (from before Ted is asked about them at the beginning).</div>
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The film conveniently and creatively pokes fun itself in many ways, especially when referring to its own paradoxical nature, as well as provides the viewer a foundation for which the understanding of the film will rely. At the beginning of the film, Bill and Ted are arguing about creating their music video for their band Wyld Stallyns, after causing their poorly functioning equipment to start smoking during their shoot:</div>
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Bill: "Ted, while I agree that <i>in time</i> our band will be most triumphant, the truth is Wyld Stallyns will never be a super band until we have Eddie Van Halen on guitar."</div>
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Ted: "Yes, Bill, but I do not believe we will <i>get </i>Eddie Van Halen until we have a triumphant video.</div>
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Bill: "Ted, it's pointless to have a triumphant video before we even have decent instruments.</div>
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Ted: "Well how can we have decent instruments if we don't really even know how to play</div>
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Bill: "That is why we need Eddie Van Halen."</div>
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Ted: "And that is why we need a triumphant video!"</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fmUPUvDnADM/Vt6ZCPvjjII/AAAAAAAAACs/8VG5xfeyUWU/s1600/History-lesson---Bill-and-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fmUPUvDnADM/Vt6ZCPvjjII/AAAAAAAAACs/8VG5xfeyUWU/s400/History-lesson---Bill-and-001.jpg" width="400" /></a>The entire discussion wraps itself in its own argument, using one point to answer the other, leading to a paradoxical form of causality, which is the <i>entire premise of the film </i>as well as all the events that occur. The future can't exist as it is without Bill and Ted passing their history report and staying together to form Wyld Stallyns (the greatest rockband in history). Bill and Ted can't pass history without going back in time to get historical figures for their report, but they can't accomplish that without the help of the other historical figures they're gathering. The historical figures can't be rescued without Bill and Ted going back in time to get keys to rescue them, and none of the figures can be brought to the future without bringing them back to the past first. And lastly none of this can happen in the first place unless Bill and Ted almost fail their History class (and causing the future to be in peril, which creates a crazy time paradox wrapped in more paradox). But all of this can only happen in the matter of a single day, the time allotted to the pair, because as Rufus notes early in the film, "Gentlemen, you can do anything you want, as long as you remember this: no matter what happens, you must get to that report... Now, most important, no matter what you do, no matter where you go, that clock, the clock in San Dimas, is always running."</div>
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Overall, <i>Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure</i> provides a classic and, most importantly, humorous take on what time travel can be used for in film. By using concepts of causality, paradox, and time loops, Bill and Ted (the characters) are able to overcome a great many obstacles (both in time and place) in an effort to pass their history report. Many of the elements and use of time travel are explained throughout the film, leaving few questions unanswered. Paradoxes and time loops are created and closed and the reason for their use becomes a part of the narrative itself, often done humorously. The entire movie is otherwise nonsensical and meant only for the sake of humor. Rather than being an entirely social critique, the film instead uses many pop culture references and in-jokes for comedic purpose. However one critique most excellent is presented by the narrative. Rather than using the time machine for nefarious purposes (as it seems they're trying to do), they use it for actual educational value, not only traveling back in time to gather the historical figures they are going to use for their report but also experiencing the world and culture of those they're using. The film shows that even though the duo attempted to take the "easy way out" to pass their class, they ended up in a much more difficult (albeit hilarious) situation that resulted in them learning the same material they should have been learning all along. This commentary shows that many paths may lead to the same outcome (studying and doing the work vs. using a time travelling phone booth to take people out of history and nearly dying multiple times), but the effort toward that same reward or outcome is often disproportional (with some paths being much higher risk for the same reward).</div>
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