First off, this is highly unimportant but I must mention it: Platoon came out in 1986 and Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984. I was wrong. Sorry guys.
Now for the assignment:
I'm going to begin with a beautiful quote...
“No man or woman is an island. To exist just for yourself is meaningless. You can achieve the most satisfaction when you feel related to some greater purpose in life, something greater than yourself.”Denis Waitley
This is what I thought of after reading Wordsworth's "Floating Island." I'm going to be honest, I typically stay away from poetry and for one specific reason. I'm terrified of feeling those pesky things called emotions. As one who refuses to hug or say "I love you" to even my own family I do my best to steer clear of things that might invoke vulnerabilities. Yeah, I'm pathetic I realize but seriously if I let my guard down I cry, and NO ONE is supposed to see that. Now on the other hand one thing I really appreciate about poetry is that the author's write in a way that leaves interpretation wide open. I'm sure they all had specific idea's of what their works were meant for but we as readers can read into them however we like. And again back to the quote mentioned previously, that is where my brain went after I finished "Floating Island" and I interpreted it as parallel to the quote.
Now to explain why my head went in that direction...
The very first Stanza tells me right away that nature is not a jumbled accident, it is "harmonious powers" that are the reason that nature exists. With the upbringing I have had I'm immediately one to assume that the author is referring to God, but I'm also aware that the idea of nature as it's own living breathing entity could also be considered a higher power as later in the piece nature is referred to as a "she." Regardless, the spirituality of nature is represented instantly and within the first stanza I feel clearly that whether "sunshine" or a "storm" is taking place, neither of these events is an accident and they are a part of a unified structure.
The next few stanza's introduce us to the island. The island is functioning on it's own as it is separated from the earth, yet it still obeys the wind as it glides on the lake. I'm still working on what this means but the poet tells us that there is life on the island. Flowers and insects make this island their home and while there are surviving beings it's only a matter of time before the island has "passed away" because she[nature] has ceased "to give."
"Perchance when you are wandering forth
Upon some vacant sunny day
Without an object, hope, or fear,
Thither your eyes may turn -- the Isle is passed away."
I like the possibility that perhaps what Wordsworth is referring to here is the idea that a person, or even all of humanity is the island. We, at least I, tend to get so detached from the beauty of nature and it's only a matter of time before we, or I, are punished for ignoring the "sublimity of nature." This brings me back to the above quote. No one can be an island. To exist completely self-absorbed would be a pitiful existence. So we must function along with nature, become a part of it, worship it and appreciate it or nature will give as a giant spanking and re-use our remains to make someone better.
BTW-I'm really disappointed with myself for not being prepared for class yesterday because The Giaour was truly epic and awesome and there really was a Vampire! It should be a movie.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Details are distracting...
Does anyone remember the movie The Cell with J Lo, Vince Vaughn and Vincent D'Onofrio? I hate to admit it because I loathe Jennifer Lopez but I found that movie interesting. The idea of someone getting to witness and even be a part of my dreams captivated me and perhaps Science will get us there someday. One thing in particular that got me thinking was how specific and detailed the crazy killer bad guy's dreams were. I don't know about everyone else but while I'm dreaming the minute details really don't exist in my subconscious. I might be able to recall certain colors, items, people and places that are involved in my nightly stream of consciousness but if it came down to painting an accurate portrait of all my surroundings there would be absolutely no way for me to do it. However, what does remain extremely vivid, whilst dreaming and even when I awake, is what took place and how these dreams made me feel. That's how I felt throughout the entirety of Edgar Huntly.
In class someone brought up the idea that they felt that it was "dark" throughout the whole text. I on the other hand never visualized anything. I vaguely recall thinking of trees, rivers and caves but what stood out to me more was the emotions that Edgar relates through his narrative, and even in repeating Clithero's narrative. Since this text involves not one, but two sleep walkers the dream-like writing style really worked for me. This allowed me to concentrate on what I felt like was really pertinent to C.B.B.'s novel. Even though we don't get a play by play of his fight with the Natives we know he fought and killed them while getting pretty bloodied himself. I kept thinking about how paralyzingly terrifying it would be to have to quietly sit in an unfamiliar environment while cautiously planning out some form of attack. Don't breath too loud, don't step there, stay low, etc all to avoid detection. When a bullet grazes Edgar's cheek it's easy to imagine the sensation of the stinging, the blood dripping and the sheer panic at being shot at but I was more concerned with him escaping.
Page 191 begins with Edgar having left the young captive girl with the group of beat up men, including her father and he sets out to find the remaining Native that he had not yet killed along with his companions.
"My eye was now caught by movements which appeared like those of a beast. In different circumstances, I should have instantly supposed it to be a wolf, or panther, or bear. Now my suspicions were alive on a different account, and my startled fancy figured to itself nothing but an human adversary.
A thicket was on either side of the road. That opposite to my station was discontinued at a small distance by the cultivated field. The road continued along this filed, bounded by the thicket on the one side, and the open space on the other. To this space the being who was now descried was cautiously approaching.
He moved upon all fours, and presently came near enough to be distinguished. His disfigured limbs, pendants from his ears and nose, and his shorn locks, were indubitable indications of a savage. Occasionally he reared himself above the bushes, and scanned, with suspicious vigilance, the cottage and the space surrounding it. Then he stooped, and crept alone as before."
I really like these three paragraphs for several reasons. One being that the nature surrounding Edgar creates a tunnel vision type feeling. Being surrounded by foliage on either side creates this feeling of claustrophobia which only enhances the fear of the danger that he is in. The brief mention of the field and the cottage left me as the reader disregarding them completely and concentrating on the animalistic qualities that Edgar uses to describe the dangerous human. In the first paragraph he even mentions that had he not already been aware of his assailant he would assume it would be some form of preying animal but since he is attuned to the existence of the "savage" he is prepared to deal with him. The way he describes the Indian's stooping, rearing and scanning creates this idea that his enemy is brutal and his animal-like characteristics give you a sense that Edgar is being stalked.
Rather than distract the reader with unnecessary details of what kind of shrubbery, what kind of fields, the exact floor plan of the cottage etc we know the necessities. Edgar could die and that would be bad.
Another much longer passage I would like to point out is pages 214-216ish. There is a very long excerpt regarding Edgar's relationship with water. He mentions that he "reached without difficulty the opposite bank" then thinks again about recrossing the water. Thinks maybe it would be a good idea to remove his clothing then decides he better not be running around the wilderness naked (for obvious safety reasons) and then comes to the conclusion that the river saves him from traveling by road. What I find really interesting in these pages is that this is a fairly beefy passage that shows us that although he struggles with exhaustion from swimming and he's uncomfortable, wet and most likely cold Edgar still embraces the advantages of utilizing the river. In his case he is saved by water while on the final page of the text (285) in one very brief sentence Clithero's fate is made known and his death was caused by forcing "himself beneath the surface, and was seen no more." To summarize water saved Edgar but water killed Clithero. This seems substantial as we've established that Clithero is Edgar's "alter-ego." If anyone has any thoughts on this matter send them my way.
Here's one of the dream scenes from The Cell. Enjoy!
In class someone brought up the idea that they felt that it was "dark" throughout the whole text. I on the other hand never visualized anything. I vaguely recall thinking of trees, rivers and caves but what stood out to me more was the emotions that Edgar relates through his narrative, and even in repeating Clithero's narrative. Since this text involves not one, but two sleep walkers the dream-like writing style really worked for me. This allowed me to concentrate on what I felt like was really pertinent to C.B.B.'s novel. Even though we don't get a play by play of his fight with the Natives we know he fought and killed them while getting pretty bloodied himself. I kept thinking about how paralyzingly terrifying it would be to have to quietly sit in an unfamiliar environment while cautiously planning out some form of attack. Don't breath too loud, don't step there, stay low, etc all to avoid detection. When a bullet grazes Edgar's cheek it's easy to imagine the sensation of the stinging, the blood dripping and the sheer panic at being shot at but I was more concerned with him escaping.
Page 191 begins with Edgar having left the young captive girl with the group of beat up men, including her father and he sets out to find the remaining Native that he had not yet killed along with his companions.
"My eye was now caught by movements which appeared like those of a beast. In different circumstances, I should have instantly supposed it to be a wolf, or panther, or bear. Now my suspicions were alive on a different account, and my startled fancy figured to itself nothing but an human adversary.
A thicket was on either side of the road. That opposite to my station was discontinued at a small distance by the cultivated field. The road continued along this filed, bounded by the thicket on the one side, and the open space on the other. To this space the being who was now descried was cautiously approaching.
He moved upon all fours, and presently came near enough to be distinguished. His disfigured limbs, pendants from his ears and nose, and his shorn locks, were indubitable indications of a savage. Occasionally he reared himself above the bushes, and scanned, with suspicious vigilance, the cottage and the space surrounding it. Then he stooped, and crept alone as before."
I really like these three paragraphs for several reasons. One being that the nature surrounding Edgar creates a tunnel vision type feeling. Being surrounded by foliage on either side creates this feeling of claustrophobia which only enhances the fear of the danger that he is in. The brief mention of the field and the cottage left me as the reader disregarding them completely and concentrating on the animalistic qualities that Edgar uses to describe the dangerous human. In the first paragraph he even mentions that had he not already been aware of his assailant he would assume it would be some form of preying animal but since he is attuned to the existence of the "savage" he is prepared to deal with him. The way he describes the Indian's stooping, rearing and scanning creates this idea that his enemy is brutal and his animal-like characteristics give you a sense that Edgar is being stalked.
Rather than distract the reader with unnecessary details of what kind of shrubbery, what kind of fields, the exact floor plan of the cottage etc we know the necessities. Edgar could die and that would be bad.
Another much longer passage I would like to point out is pages 214-216ish. There is a very long excerpt regarding Edgar's relationship with water. He mentions that he "reached without difficulty the opposite bank" then thinks again about recrossing the water. Thinks maybe it would be a good idea to remove his clothing then decides he better not be running around the wilderness naked (for obvious safety reasons) and then comes to the conclusion that the river saves him from traveling by road. What I find really interesting in these pages is that this is a fairly beefy passage that shows us that although he struggles with exhaustion from swimming and he's uncomfortable, wet and most likely cold Edgar still embraces the advantages of utilizing the river. In his case he is saved by water while on the final page of the text (285) in one very brief sentence Clithero's fate is made known and his death was caused by forcing "himself beneath the surface, and was seen no more." To summarize water saved Edgar but water killed Clithero. This seems substantial as we've established that Clithero is Edgar's "alter-ego." If anyone has any thoughts on this matter send them my way.
Here's one of the dream scenes from The Cell. Enjoy!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Practice and Retaliation
I'm just trying to figure out how to properly post videos and I wanted to clarify why "Freaks" is in fact terrifying. Can you imagine being attacked by all of these carnies?! I think it fits the bill:)
Thanks for the help on this one Tanner.
Thanks for the help on this one Tanner.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Terror v. Horror According to Me
Beginning with terror I am going to go into fuller detail regarding James' The Turn of the Screw. This book absolutely terrified me after reading it for the first time. As it was already discussed in class the governess comes to care for two children who's temperaments and physical attributes a
re constantly referred to as "angelic." The governess finds herself completely captivated by Miles and Flora. As she gets more comfortable in her unfamiliar settings by becoming better acquainted with the staff and the children she begins to see a strange man watching her and the young boy. These occurrences are then followed by a woman about her own age being present when the governess is with Flora. She asks the housekeeper, her only friend, about these strange guests and it is hinted that these two beings could be the ghosts of the former overseer of the house and the previous governess, Peter Quint and Miss Jessel. The governess continues to see these apparitions, if that is indeed what they are, but no one else seems to. The governess begins questioning the intentions of the children and wonders if they are possibly possessed by these two ghosts.
A couple other examples of terror, at least my idea of terror, are Tod Browning's 1932 film Freaks and Roman Polanski's 1968 film Rosemary's Baby. Neither of these I would consider scary but both have that suspenseful feeling of inevitable doom. While both films do display images that could be defined as horrible or shocking, it is the anxiety you feel while watching these movies that separates them from the more traditional horror genre. Also, The Innocents and The Others, both based off of TTOTS are worth watching. If you're a Lynch fan then The Innocents in particular may be some kind of wonderful.
According to the film, Satan comes out to play around 3:00 AM because that is supposed to be the opposite time that Christ died on the cross. Now normally I would consider this to be simply part of the movie and get over it but when I watched it I was very ill and very medicated and most likely more delusional than normal. I'm already an insomniac and when I have frightening images floating around my little brain it makes it that much harder for me to calm down. Well, around 2:58 AM I decided enough is enough, I need to chill out and perhaps getting some fresh air will do the trick. I decided to sit out on my patio with my dogs and try to relax. By the time I get appropriate outside attire on it is seconds away from 3:00 AM and Satan could get me at any time. (I can't really explain my floorplan so I apologize if this next part makes no sense). As I leave my room I see a light at the far end of my house on so I head in that direction. It is coming from my laundry room which includes a door to the garage. It happened to be that my asshole brother (whom I own a home with) had left the garage light on and the door wide open. I go to take care of these issues so I turn off the light and close the door and now I'm left alone in the dark. It is precisely at this moment that I hear my two dogs growling at something that is just outside of the laundry room where I am left all by myself. Obviously it was Satan that the dogs were growling at and I'm standing alone and terrified ready to give up and be assaulted by Lucifer himself. All at once, my two doggies change from growling to barking and I can hear that they are chasing the intruder towards me. Needless to say, it was not Satan in my house but in his place it was a lost kitty cat that had entered our house via the opened garage door and my dogs wanted to eat it. It still scared the shit out of me and I didn't sleep a wink that night. (Sorry for the long tangent.)
re constantly referred to as "angelic." The governess finds herself completely captivated by Miles and Flora. As she gets more comfortable in her unfamiliar settings by becoming better acquainted with the staff and the children she begins to see a strange man watching her and the young boy. These occurrences are then followed by a woman about her own age being present when the governess is with Flora. She asks the housekeeper, her only friend, about these strange guests and it is hinted that these two beings could be the ghosts of the former overseer of the house and the previous governess, Peter Quint and Miss Jessel. The governess continues to see these apparitions, if that is indeed what they are, but no one else seems to. The governess begins questioning the intentions of the children and wonders if they are possibly possessed by these two ghosts.I'm not going to go too much further into the plot because as Heather was kind enough to point out, I've written two papers on this text and I'm kind of over it. But I will explain why it terrorized me. The ambiguity of the text and the constant questioning of what the hell was going on really kept me on edge. At first I read it superficially and took it as a ghost tale and for some reason while I read it every single horrifying image I had ever seen came rushing back into my memory all at once. Try falling asleep to that when you're already someone who doesn't sleep. Now that I've reread James' TTOTS a few times I've come to the conclusion that the governess was completely insane for several reasons, bad home life, sexual repression (I can thoroughly back that up) and cabin fever (think Jack Nicholson). After psychoanalyzing her character my mind was put at ease but the initial reading of the text was definitely my idea of "terror."
A couple other examples of terror, at least my idea of terror, are Tod Browning's 1932 film Freaks and Roman Polanski's 1968 film Rosemary's Baby. Neither of these I would consider scary but both have that suspenseful feeling of inevitable doom. While both films do display images that could be defined as horrible or shocking, it is the anxiety you feel while watching these movies that separates them from the more traditional horror genre. Also, The Innocents and The Others, both based off of TTOTS are worth watching. If you're a Lynch fan then The Innocents in particular may be some kind of wonderful.
In the line of Horror, I'm not so much a fan. Blood and guts does nothing for me so my exposure is limited. I do find that the Jeff Lindsay 'Dexter' series is probably the only literature that I've chosen to both read and remember that fit within the horror genre. I find the books highly enjoyable and 
the television series might be one of my all time favorites and I would definitely make out with Michael C. Hall but both the literature and the television series are absolutely disgusting. The content really is beyond gory and entirely shocking. There is a plethora of blood and guts that normally I would avoid but because of the extreme wit and entertaining character that I've maintained an unhealthy sympathy for that Lindsay and Showtime have created I can't get enough of this serial killer. I'm not going to go into too much detail here but a woman rotting in a bathtub filled with her own blood (TV series example) and poor unfortunate former Special Ops tough guys having extremities removed and being turned into "yodeling potatoes" meets my idea of horror.
the television series might be one of my all time favorites and I would definitely make out with Michael C. Hall but both the literature and the television series are absolutely disgusting. The content really is beyond gory and entirely shocking. There is a plethora of blood and guts that normally I would avoid but because of the extreme wit and entertaining character that I've maintained an unhealthy sympathy for that Lindsay and Showtime have created I can't get enough of this serial killer. I'm not going to go into too much detail here but a woman rotting in a bathtub filled with her own blood (TV series example) and poor unfortunate former Special Ops tough guys having extremities removed and being turned into "yodeling potatoes" meets my idea of horror.Another film that horrified me was The Exorcism of Emily Rose. I know I am totally lame but there's a story behind this. First of all, Emily Rose becomes a contortionist while being possessed by Satan or one of his minions. A person's body should not move that way. Her body movements, creepy staring moments and that voice she talks in gave me goosebumps throughout the entire film. Now normally I would be a big girl and get over the initial fright and shock of seeing a movie like this but here's what happened following my viewing:
According to the film, Satan comes out to play around 3:00 AM because that is supposed to be the opposite time that Christ died on the cross. Now normally I would consider this to be simply part of the movie and get over it but when I watched it I was very ill and very medicated and most likely more delusional than normal. I'm already an insomniac and when I have frightening images floating around my little brain it makes it that much harder for me to calm down. Well, around 2:58 AM I decided enough is enough, I need to chill out and perhaps getting some fresh air will do the trick. I decided to sit out on my patio with my dogs and try to relax. By the time I get appropriate outside attire on it is seconds away from 3:00 AM and Satan could get me at any time. (I can't really explain my floorplan so I apologize if this next part makes no sense). As I leave my room I see a light at the far end of my house on so I head in that direction. It is coming from my laundry room which includes a door to the garage. It happened to be that my asshole brother (whom I own a home with) had left the garage light on and the door wide open. I go to take care of these issues so I turn off the light and close the door and now I'm left alone in the dark. It is precisely at this moment that I hear my two dogs growling at something that is just outside of the laundry room where I am left all by myself. Obviously it was Satan that the dogs were growling at and I'm standing alone and terrified ready to give up and be assaulted by Lucifer himself. All at once, my two doggies change from growling to barking and I can hear that they are chasing the intruder towards me. Needless to say, it was not Satan in my house but in his place it was a lost kitty cat that had entered our house via the opened garage door and my dogs wanted to eat it. It still scared the shit out of me and I didn't sleep a wink that night. (Sorry for the long tangent.)I'm going to end this blog post by sharing one more example of horror. How in the world is Leno justifying taking back the Tonight Show? WTF!!!! That guy is a douche and if someone wants to incapacitate him, I would fully support it. Team Conan!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Introductions
This is the second time I'll be utilizing this blog for academic purposes. Last semester was a lot of fun so I'm anticipating another enjoyable term with our dear capricornian professor. The reading material looks to be interesting and I'm excited to see some familiar faces, and to be honest, some absent ones too. I think Stephanie will be greatly missed though. If you see her convince her to drop econ or whatever it is that is taking up her valuable time.
So about me: I seldom talk in class. This is mostly because I tend to stick my foot, or entire leg, in my mouth and as I already stated, I would rather look dumb and stupid then actually say something dumb and stupid and remove all doubt. Outside of class I'm an avid reader, movie buff and karaoke-er. I relate every thing I read and experience to a Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode and am the proud owner of a lifesize cardboard cutout of Edward Cullen. I have a filthy mouth that tends to make me seem much too inappropriate but whatevs, sometimes strong language needs to be inserted into conversations. I play the piano and dress up my two dogs much more than they care for. (Pictures at the end of this post)
I'm also a terrible Seventh-Day Adventist who enjoys wine and after two suspensions was finally expelled from Upper Columbia Academy, a boarding school, my senior year of high school. I was re-enrolled second semester, suspended once more, then graduated with honors. Not too bad for the rowdy Adventist that I am. I come across as callous and aloof but I really do care. I'm just terrible at showing it. I am a realtor so if anyone needs housing advice, come see me.
I'm beyond thrilled to be taking more classes with Heather, I really hope that I can start to see the glass half full and believe that love does in fact "conquer all." We'll see.
PS-Halloween is my favorite holiday.
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