Friday, February 26, 2016

Week 7: Magic

This week's theme is magic, and the main texts being Harry Potter and Night Circus. I personally loved Night Circus because of its originality. I've seen and heard of many circus stories and none like this one. I really enjoyed watching the storyline unfold and the introduction of the main characters. I also found it very interesting the way the story kept switching between past and present. Many times I would read a book with a similar style and it wouldn't be pulled off as well as in Night Circus. As for Harry Potter, I think I can speak for many of us when I say we basically grew up on that, and watched all the characters grow. What I found pretty cool was the fact that just because Harry and all of them were in a magical school, didn't mean that they didn't go through many of the things we "muggles" go through. Sports, mean kids, awful teachers, and those who actually believe in you and want to see you succeed. I believe that making a character connect with the audience in some way is very important because it creates a tie.

Week 6: Hero's Journy

This week we discussed the hero's journey, and a cycle that seems to be never broken. This week's reading was The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien. Bilbo Baggins sets out on a journey from the shire to the kingdom of Erebor through treacherous lands to then end the story right where he began, and sets up for The Lord of the Rings trilogy; leaving the story to begin all over again. This technique in heroic narrative is used often, and although heroic journeys must end where they all began, it doesn't necessarily fit sometimes. Harry Potter is a great example because at the end of the series, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all stand at platform 9 3/4 and wave goodbyes to their children who are off to start their journey at Hogwarts. This moment, although very beautiful, also gave me a feeling of nostalgia. It made me think back to when all of them started their first year, and now their kids are going through that. It gave a feeling of a never ending cycle. It made me feel like things won't be any better for their kids, as if there will be other Dark Lords and evil to fight. And instead of changing the future, it'll be stuck in the past forced to repeat tragedies with lots of suffering and death. Cycles like this are vital for heroic narratives and they should in no way ever be taken out, but sometimes change must occur in order to remind us all that it does get better, and although there will always be challenges and suffering, there will be light and happy times to come.

Monday, February 22, 2016

Week Five: Witches

This week I read "The Tough Guide to Fantasyland" by Diana Wynne Jones. I very much enjoyed this book because of all the detail and funny/cute definitions. This was basically a tourists guide, but for fantasyland. Diana include almost all classic tropes in this guide and majority of them I was able to recognize right away. Another reason I was able to read this with ease and understand every definition was because I recently finished watching Once Upon A Time, which is a TV series based on Disney's characters and their stories. You can pick this book up and read it in the traditional way, front to back, or you can choose any random page and still be just as entertained. This book really got me laughing especially because all the fantastical tropes are very much put out there and in many ways ridiculed for the repetitive and overused cliches that they are.

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Week 4: The New Weird

This week I read "The Art of Dying" by K.D Bishop. While reading this short story, I was conflicted because of the lack of information I was given because it was a short story. The author drops you down where ever they want and give you the information that they think is enough for you to figure out the rest. Death and suspense was definitely present in the story because it took place at not only a graveyard, but dark settings that added to the main characters personalities. The three main characters, Mona, Vali, and Gwynn, are famous but it wasn't clear to me for what. Apparently they were portrayed as hero's to the people with dolls made to look like them, and children looking up to them. However, later in the story a reporter follows them to the graveyard and ends up getting shot and killed by Gywnn. This made me question whether or not they were hero's. Overall,  I was confused by what was really going on, especially with Mona. Was the monster within herself or her thoughts? Or was she really sick and thought death was her best option? At the end of it she ends up taking her meds and gets better. It made me think that maybe their job caused them to act and see the world like they do.

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Week 3: J-Horror

In J- horror, I realized, and even discussed in class, that the rules of good vs. evil do not really apply. They are not like regular horror stories where there is a monster running loose killing innocent people, and the good guy steps in to kill it in order to restore peace and happiness. There is no "finale"; its more of something is our of balance and must be restored. A lot of the movies and books we discussed in class focus more on a problem in society or even in personal lives of people that must be addressed, and the ghosts, monsters, etc. are representational of that. In "A While Sheep Chase", the main character was lost and could not find his meaning of life. He was looking for something he already had and chose to embark on a journey to find adventure and meaning. He left a woman behind who loved him unconditionally, and is now left with an empty existence, when in reality he should have appreciated the path he was given. The fact that he has no name throughout the story symbolized his own emptiness and lack of emotion.