Monday, June 23, 2014
Choices, choices, choices...
For this installment I would love for you to read the short story from your packet entitled "The Story of an Hour". It's quick and, if you lost it, it's all over the internet. Read it and, without looking up sources to see what others think, give your impression of the protagonist in no less than 150 well chosen, gem-like words.
Here's a trailer or two relating to the subject at hand
Oops, one is actually the full film.
Monday, June 9, 2014
Stereotypes in Pop Culture
When we discuss pop culture, we are discussing art that was created to be consumed by the masses. This means e are discussing music, film, television, comics, novels and other texts. It is a powerful tool, but it can also be used to demean and belittle people. Sometimes this happens unintentionally. For instance in the 1984 film Sixteen Candles, women, save for the protagonist, are almost all portrayed as self-involved, substance abusers. Many of the female characters are almost psychotically materialistic. This is an attitude that was echoed in many of the famous films and series of the 1980s seemed to popularize this image of women. Most significantly a number of male comedians based large pieces of their acts on misogynistic depictions of women. Eddie Murphy rather famously presented a rage filled screed against women in his hugely popular concert film RAW.
What hurtful stereotypes have been perpetuated by pop culture in your opinion? Give an example for each gender and explain it using a piece of pop culture. How does this image adversely affect people in real life?
Monday, June 2, 2014
Since a portion of your assignment is the investigation of film, this first call and response post will be relatively easy. I want each of you to tell me what your favorite film is and why exactly you think it's a worthwhile piece of art. I also want you to apply the Bechdel Test to it. Explain why it does or does not pass the test.
Word.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
"The Cask of Amontillado"
Though the stories and authors are divided by many years and two very different sensibilities. The truth is that the protagonists of both "A Cask of Amontillado" and "A & P" are similar in many ways. How many? Well, let me count the ways, young waverer.
Both Sammy and Montresor have inflated senses of their value to the world at large. Fortunato is a class apart from Montresor and only the promise of a rare vintage lures him into his vault. "Queenie" is oblivious to the attentions of Sammy. Sammy for his part is delusional as he quits his job and ruins vanilla ice cream forever. (He may improve it. Your mileage may vary.) Montresor also fails because Fortunato is never aware of why he is being killed. The fact is that Fortunato takes up space, rent-free, in Montresor's head and lives there for at least half a century.
These two figures are archetypical poseurs. They are late to the party of whatever their aim is. Sammy could be chivalrous, but his view of women as objects and "types" marks him as a misogynistic loser. Montresor is a pale imitation of nobility. In fact, he puts one in mind of the protagonist of Rowan Atkinson's Blackadder. That character always sought respect and plotted the deaths of his betters all for naught. he was a rightful laughingstock, just like Montresor.
Attack with impunity, indeed.
PEACE!
Both Sammy and Montresor have inflated senses of their value to the world at large. Fortunato is a class apart from Montresor and only the promise of a rare vintage lures him into his vault. "Queenie" is oblivious to the attentions of Sammy. Sammy for his part is delusional as he quits his job and ruins vanilla ice cream forever. (He may improve it. Your mileage may vary.) Montresor also fails because Fortunato is never aware of why he is being killed. The fact is that Fortunato takes up space, rent-free, in Montresor's head and lives there for at least half a century.
These two figures are archetypical poseurs. They are late to the party of whatever their aim is. Sammy could be chivalrous, but his view of women as objects and "types" marks him as a misogynistic loser. Montresor is a pale imitation of nobility. In fact, he puts one in mind of the protagonist of Rowan Atkinson's Blackadder. That character always sought respect and plotted the deaths of his betters all for naught. he was a rightful laughingstock, just like Montresor.
Attack with impunity, indeed.
PEACE!
Monday, January 20, 2014
"A & P"
This is an interesting story by Updike in that it takes a very mundane, banal event and transforms it into a sort of heroic quest. Sammy is a bozo. That's a technical term, I know; however, I feel it is an earned title.
He objectifies women throughout the story. He doesn't even save that for the women he is attracted to in the course of the story. If a reader focuses on the language used to describe and to name women, it is clear that, while Sammy is the protagonist, he is not a "good guy".
His "heroic" act is motivated by a mixture of lust and petulance. He is no more chivalrous than the young knight in "The Wife of Bath's Tale". He just happens to wear an apron and bow tie instead of mail and a helmet.
He objectifies women throughout the story. He doesn't even save that for the women he is attracted to in the course of the story. If a reader focuses on the language used to describe and to name women, it is clear that, while Sammy is the protagonist, he is not a "good guy".
His "heroic" act is motivated by a mixture of lust and petulance. He is no more chivalrous than the young knight in "The Wife of Bath's Tale". He just happens to wear an apron and bow tie instead of mail and a helmet.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
A few of my favorite films
My Name is Nobody
Everybody's Fine
The Grapes of Wrath
Apocalypse Now
American Graffitti
Shanghai Triad
Do the Right Thing
American Teacher
Repo Man
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