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.

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 are 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.

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!

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.

The Abstract and The Avalanche!

I apologize for the sloppy abstract but I have an upset tummy (too much lactose intake) and I just purchase HP and the Half Blood Prince on DVD so I'm a little distracted. Here is a brief idea of what my final paper will consist of starting with a fairly unpolished thesis and just a couple of my arguing points. Due to the uncomfortable topic I'm dealing with I will save the really juicy stuff for our dear professor eyes only. Sorry guys.

My main argument will focus on Ralph of The Mimic Men and Rochester in Wide Sargasso Sea and the alienation they feel. I am claiming that the negative affects of colonization and imperialism directly impacts their sexual relationships and behaviors.

In relation to the lust based sexual relationship between Rochester and Antoinette, his dialogue makes it very clear that he does not love her, he is just “thirsty” for her. He finds her alienating and renames her Bertha to prove his mastery over her. This renaming Kimmey states “renders explicit the imperialis impulses involved in the politics of naming. Similarly Spivak argues “that so intimate a thing as personal and human identity might be determined by the politics of imperialism. The character of Rochester remains unnamed and is never given a physical description. Instead, Rhys uses actions, such as his sexual exploitations of female servants and his disdain for his own wife, to show that he fit’s into Raiskin’s idea that there is a “displacement Jean Rhys’s characters experience under British cultural and political domination” and that “her work adds the crucial variable of gender to the relationship of colonialism, capitalism, etc.” The unnamed character proves his capitalist superiority by sexually manipulating women he has obvious distastes for.

Ralph, according to Hemenway, fits Naipauls writing style as one who “consistently laments the mental, physical, and economic destruction imposed on the Third World by colonialism.” He goes on to say that “In Naipauls world the sexual contract-the bond which symbolizes the social contract-brings no mutual benefit. There are no successful love affairs, no successful marriages in all his work. Women appear repulsive, and sex becomes either boring, violent, or abhorrent.” This can be seen in Ralphs sexual relationships with woman such as his wife and the prostitute he is unable to perform with. In The Mimic Men Ralph Singh says “Intimacy; the word holds the horror.”

In conclusion, both of these authors link political associations to sexual behaviors be it control, confusion or impotence. Sexual relations illustrate political positions.

Now for the fun stuff...and hopefully the extra credit points are still applicable. Amy, Heather, Stephanie and I (along with two of my dearest) tackled the nine lbs of chocolate brownie, cookies, ice cream and massive amounts of whipped cream, caramel syrup and peanuts. Pretty effing fabulous if you ask me.

I'm writing about Sex, can I get a "Hells Yay?!"

For all of you over-achievers in class that are pulling together insanely awesome project/paper ideas, thanks a lot. I was feeling beyond insecure regarding my topic already and couldn't come up with a polished argument and then I made the mistake of perusing some blogs to get some inspiration and I felt like I got punched in the face. Video projects, Nietzche, and Fried Chicken are seriously brilliant ideas and I really don't want to post this blog, hence the massive delay. But here goes:

I'm writing about Sex! Yay! It is a common theme throughout every text we've studied, except the required readings in Ha Jin which I have yet to finish. As a wise instructor once said "Sex sells." Perhaps this topic will be enough to hold my own with all of the brainiacs in class. We'll see.

I'm planning on arguing that the sexual relationships between some of the characters is a small scale representation/metaphor for the outcome of a post-colonial world and the negative effects it has on the sub-missives. I was going to concentrate with our Caribbean texts and discuss my thoughts regarding Rochester/Antoinette and Ralph/Chubby nameless prostitute.

And that's what I'm writing about.

My final works cited list is probably going to be a little ridiculous and much too long. As of now I have no books that link sex with post-colonialism (feel free to suggest anything) but for now I've found interesting literature regarding globalization and since my little brain is just getting to understand the whole concept I figured I could use all the supplemental publications that I could find to help support my argument.

Moisi, Domique. Geopolitics of Emotion: How Cultures of Fear, Humiliation, and Hope are Reshaping the World. New York. Doubleday, 2009
Moisi's argues that the emotional impact of globalization is just as important as geopolitics and that hope is the best response to the challenges we face in our world. Chapters 2-4 will be particularly helpful in my argument as they discuss the cultures of hope, humiliation, and fear.

Stiglitz, Joseph. Making Globalization Work. New York. Norton, 2006
Stiglitz states that in a continuing developing world we need to change the way we think. He examines the "change that has occurred" and "makes a compelling case that treating developing countries more fairly is not only morally right but is ultimately to the advantage of the developed world too." Several segments of this book will contribute to my conclusion.

Mailer, Norman & John Buffalo. The Big Empty: Dialogues on Politics, Sex, God, Boxing, Morality, Myth, Poker and Bad Conscience in America. New York. Nation Books, 2006
I admit that this book might be a little self-indulgent but I'm sure that the dialogues and "meditations on history, culture and politics" will definitely be pertinent to my topic. The segment on Courage, Morality, and Sexual Pleasure will be found as intriguing and helpful.

James is all alone and I need something happy to read.

With the first two short stories of Joyce I had a lot of trouble not just in relating to the characters of Joyce's "Araby" and "Eveline" but it was near impossible for me to comprehend what I was reading. I found the notes far from helpful and more distracting and interuptive to the stories. I still have no idea what I read and I'm pretty sure I read it while I was sober and awake. I could be wrong though.

When I started reading "A Painful Case" I decided to ignore the notes and just read the story and do my best to understand what was taking place. It must have made a huge difference because I finally began to somewhat enjoy Joyce's work. "The Dead" was interesting too but I mostly want to talk about Mr. James Duffy. This guy was so terribly alone and I found it heart breaking. For a seemingly financially stable man he really was one of the poorest creatures we've read about this semester. I say poor in the sense that he was a man of routine and nothing else. He had very little emotion and I'm pretty sure he kept himself alienated from even his family, unless there was a holiday or someone died. I was thrilled to see him develop a relationship with Emily, even if they had inappropriately gotten down he would have finally connected to someone. Let me make one thing clear, I am not an advocate for infidelity! But I do think if you have absolutely no emotion please by all means do something to make yourself more human.

Emily and James' connection reminded me of ScarJo and Bill Murray in Lost in Translation. They had a completely sexless affair and managed to connect in a foreign setting where the feeling of isolation was what essentially brought them together. I feel that Emily and James were also victims of isolation but they were strangers in their natural habitats. Joyce goes into great detail describing the setting and layout of James' home. I found it interesting that the first two pages of this story describes James' home and illustrating his reading habits then moves on to his facial descriptions and then in just one line states that "He had neither companions nor friends, church nor creed." Aaah, so depressing!

When Emily is introduced I didn't even care that she threw in the fact that she was married and obviously had children, I just wanted this lonely man to connect with something living. Of course they go about their new friendship in a sketchy manner by being secretive and hanging out in really bizarre places so that in itself foreshadowed the horribly "painful" death of Emily in the end. I was left feeling really distraught with the ending of this because when James realizes that he is alone and Emily is gone I feel that he too died and what little bit of humanity she brought to him was gone.

If anyone can recommend some ridiculously light and HAPPY reading for me to engulf myself in over Christmas please by all means send me some suggestions. Four literature classes and absolutely no happy books can certainly do some damage to a reader.

Lahiri the Interpreter

Lahiri writes in such a way that any reader with even the slightest human emotions can engulf themselves in her writing and relate in some way. Someone brought up the fact that Lahiri’s shorts stories are global scenarios. I responded to the short answer question in class in the same way. Feelings are universal. Certainly each environment and culture will differ with each scenario in their own way but it is easy to take out specifics such as background and location and apply them to our own lives. Love, heartache, loneliness and joy are felt throughout our world and Lahiri breaks through cultural confinements. Matt says in his blog that “The topics in the chapters are things that might actually happen in really life. A man struggling to identify with his wife, a woman unable to find love, all of these things most likely happen on a daily basis.” I concur.

Erin goes on to say “Lahiri has characters and situations that are relatable. “ I agree wholeheartedly. I have never lost a child, nor have I been married and desperate to learn who my husband is, and I certainly am not afflicted with Epilepsy but I am sympathetic to these characters that the author has created for us. As Heather was so kind to point out in class, I did have an opinion regarding Mrs. Croft in “The Third and Final Continent.” Perhaps she was senile and a little controlling but all it took was one awkward situation and one small giggle from Mala reacting to this bizarre, foreign woman and her husbands dynamic for our Narrator to realize that his wife was a “perfect lady!”

Marriage is a specific global event that all cultures seem to have adapted in some form over the centuries and this union is represented in all of the stories we have been discussing. Alex begins her blog by saying “I for one think it is very interesting that Lahiri's collection of short stories that we have read thus far all seem to revolve around the idea of marriage, the sanctity of marriage, the art of getting married, and, briefly, the consequences of not getting/being married.” Lahiri captures the intensity and the uniqueness of marriage. I especially felt the disconnection between Shoba and Shukumar in “A Temporary Matter.” It was interesting that when the lights were out only then could they really communicate. It’s easy to identify with that. We are a spoiled generation. We have a plethora of communication outlets; email, cellular phones and text messaging, facebook, twitter, the media, etc. are all important parts of our culture. Even with all of these benefits and the technology we are gifted with people still struggle to communicate. Maybe we should all take Lahiri’s advice and turn off the lights and just listen.

PS-Has anyone seen The Namesake? I only saw bits and pieces but I found it off-putting. Kumar belongs in White Castle, not in serious character roles created by an exceptional writer.

PPS-Professor Julie, did you happen to relate “A Temporary Matter” to the BtVS episode “Hush,” or was that just me and my massive Joss Whedon obsession?