QUick response to your posts

Reading through your posts I see that a)many of you really like/ are shocked by this graphic novel and b)many of you want to talk about it.



Come to class knowing what you want to say. The floor will be open. Make sure we get to talk about the ideas that you want to bring up.



If you read this early in the week, make sure you go through this book quickly before you come to class so you familiarize yourself with the graphics.



Great, I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say.



Take care.

Quick thought......

Hey all:

Quick thought: Do the images from *Shooting War* stay with you longer than the images that you formed yourself from Jarhead?

I'm not sure myself, although I think the answer is counter-intuitive.

Onward!

Weekend Posts

Hey all:

Glad to see that many of you have been responding to SHOOTING WAR over the weekend as well as the presidential debates (and if you read the graphic novel, you know the connection).

Again, one of the things that I want you to focus on when reading is not whether or not you agree with the politics of the book (although this is important) but the way that you read this novel. Did you take the substance of this book as seriously as JARHEAD? THE MERCY SEAT? Did you read the text or did you spend more time with the visuals? What about the sexual and gender politics of the book? Were they disturbing? Annoying?

I'm glad so many of you are getting into this book; I look forward to hearing what you have to say about it.

Take care!

Reading "Shooting War"

Hey all:

I'll make this quick but I did want to give you a head's up and suggestions on SHOOTING WAR.
Since this is a graphic novel, some of you may feel that it will be a quick and fun read. It's not. The premise is a dark and disturbing one and while there are certainly humorous moments, the images and situations that are brought up may be hard for some of us to stomach. At the very least, it certainly places tonight's presidential debate in a new light for me!

But two important things when reading:
1)Be conscious of how you read this graphic novel. Be aware of your own reading process--how does this connection between the written word and visual work differently (or the same) as reading a play or reading a memoir? Does it limit you or make the experience more enjoyable?

2)Read everything. Part of reading a graphic novel is to be more (hyper)aware of what you are reading. There is the plot of the story but in the corners of the panels there are in-jokes, political commentary, and satire. Read this book carefully--and not just the text.

3)Besides many other things, this is a satire about media and technology. Be conscious of all the different mediums that "news" is broadcasted and the way that technology is being used by all groups (including Dan Rather!!!!!).

Take care!

Another play about Iraq; graphic novel

Hey all:

Just read a positive review about a play that is being preformed off-Broadway right now entitled "In Conflict." Seems like a very similar play to Black Watch and worth a trip to see it. I would be happy to offer any extra credit to anyone who goes to see this play and writes up a summary about their experiences watching it. Talk to me if you want more details.

Also in The New York Times, there is a review of a graphic memoir entitled American Widow. It is about a a woman dealing with the loss of her husband who died in the attacks of 9/11. Some of you might be interested in checking this out.

Take care.

Jarhead--thoughts before class

Hey all:

So tonight we will talk about the second half of Jarhead. Last week I thought the conversation went really well and I want to leave space for you to bring up your own ideas and thoughts about this memoir. It's interesting reading through your blogs--some of you who hated this book before tonight now seem to be enjoying it and others who liked this book seem to like it a lot less.

I would like to try something a bit new today in class. I would like to look at this memoir through the lens of film/doc/home movies of marines, filmed by marines (or with the marine's permission). While the videos are about many things, here are some of the large issues: Basic Training. Rules and regulations. Thoughts about killing. Thoughts about cursing. Training for Gas and chemical warfare. Being bored in Iraq. Soldiers thoughts about being in Iraq.

Now before we watch these films, let me give you my rationale for doing so: I do not have an agenda, nor am I trying to show the marines or the marine corp in any particular light. This being a 21st century lit class, I would like you to get a visual of some of the issues that are brought up by Swofford in his memoir. Then, after we see the clip, you will have to find a passage that relates to what you just watched. I anticipate that this might cause some good opinionated discussion while also doing close textual analysis (and as alwas you need to couch your comments within the text).

To do well or to offer good suggestions, you will need to have read the text. As a side note, I also think that this might be a good way to ask a few exam questions. I show you a clip (maybe from this list, maybe from others) and you need to specifically connect it to a passage from Jarhead.

Many of these clips are from a documentary called
Ears, Open. Eyeballs, Click. Rob suggested it and when reading his post, I remember watching it a few years ago and really liking it. Others I found on a search of Youtube videos.

1) "Going to the Head"

Get off my bus

Cursing in the Marines

Weak People

Dropping Bombs in Iraq

Getting Gassed

2)Bored Marines (dancing)

3)Bored Marines (wrestling)

4)Turkey Hunting in Iraq

5)Metal Detectors

6)Steak Sauce

7)"I need"

8)Buying a porn magazine

9) "Funny" Soldiers

10) Bomb Iraq

11)One Soldier's relationship to kids


************
In Jarhead, there was a lot of discussion about the oil fires that were prevalent. Retreating Iraqi
soldiers "set fire to more than 600 oil wells and pools of spilled oil in Kuwait." When hearing about this at the time and also reading about it in Jarhead, I thought I was able to understand what that would look and feel like. I was wrong. I want to show to you all a good section of Werner Herzog's Lessons Of Darkness. If you like Herzog, it's certainly a film you should rent. It has received good press although many were upset that Herzog seemed to leave the politics out of the documentary. I agree. He did. But anyone who knows Herzog realizes, he's not interested in politics but interested in base questions about human nature; he's also obsessed with images that bring out beauty to horrific moments (see Aguirre if you want to know what I mean).

So in class, I want to show you these clips and then I want you to connect the scenes from the film to scenes in the book.

*****************
Another thing that I want to do in class today is to look at some large essay questions. The reason is two fold: a)I think this will get us talking about some of the larger issues that the
book discusses and b)I want you to get ready for the type of essay questions that I will ask in your midterm and final.

Here are a few starters:
1)This memoir seems to be obsessed about Manhood and Death. How does Swofford relate these two large issues together? Using a specific passage that connects these two ideas, discuss this relationship in concrete terms.

2)Swofford's ideas about killing Iraqi soldier's change throughout this memoir. Why does he first wish he killed someone (give page number) and then why is he relieved that he didn't (give page #). Explain these ideas.

3)What is Swofford's reaction to Tom Fowler? Using a character sketch of Swofford, why does he not do what Fowler does? [or, you could argue that he does, but in a different way]

4)Swofford is part of the highly trained STA unit. Read what the sniper's do as a metaphor for what Swofford does as an author of this memoir.

5)Read pages 253-254 carefully. Why does Swofford write this memoir?

I then want to leave some space in class for you to come up with your own essay questions that we can ask each other.

*********

If we have time, I would also like us to read some sections together from Tim O'Brien's THE THINGS THEY CARRIED. It's such an amazing book and I think this will also help us shed light on our readings for today.

***********
Finally, I want to let you all know how you are doing on your blogs. I was surprised to see so many of you split from class last week without asking for help (and then consequently many of you did not post this week). Blogs are a significant part of your grade so I will meet with each of you individually for 3-5 minutes in the last 1/2 hour of class and I will give you a quick assessment (thumbs up, check or thumbs down) so you can see how you can improve as well as ask me specific questions.

Okay, that's a lot to do and due to a nasty cold, I don't have much of a voice, so we'll see how much we can get through!

Let's go!

People who put down a deposit for Blackwatch

People who gave me a deposit and will be attending BlackWatch.


1)Amin, Ismail
2)Adams, Robert
4)Caufield, Terence
5)Garner, Melissa
6)Gowens, Shanoa
7)Houston, Candace
8)Korber, Kevin
9)Liota, Peter
10)Megerdichian, Matthew
11)Mikos, Thomas
12)Pollard, Danaya
13)Rivera, Margo
14)Sampson, Ann-Marie
15)Sims, Barry
16)Sofokleous, Panayiotis
17)Jamie, Squeri
18)Velez, Rudy
19)Weinstein, Ariella
20)Powers, Kevin

We will talk about this in class but I will either have to hand you the ticket before the show (you need to be there at least 20 minutes ahead of time) or you will be able to go to the ticket window and pick up the ticket under your name.

I was there on Friday and it really is a nice walk to get there (it's about a twenty minute walk from school). There is also a train station near (I think it's High Street) but just go to the website to find out that information.

The press that I have been reading about this play has been really great. There might also be opportunities for people to go to a couple of readings/events that St. Anne's Warehouse it conducting along with the show. Details to follow!

why Miss 17; thoughts of one of your classmates

Hey all:

After our conversation about language and gender, this afternoon when responding to some of your blogs, I suddenly realized that my "name" in this blog is "searching for miss 17." Since this might seem a little strange and disturbing to some of you (and rightfully so), please let me explain. Miss 17 is a prolific graffiti writer and this summer I wrote two articles that dealt with her and the gentrification of Brooklyn. One of the articles is for a web based journal and I uploaded many photos that I took of her work on another blog. This was my first blog and so when I organized our class blog, it automatically used my name of my first blog "searching for miss 17").

So if you had any concerns about me because of my name, I hope they have been calmed.

Speaking of misunderstandings, I want to bring your attention to one of your classmates journal posts. In it, Kindergarten Cop questions my reasoning to include images of the world trade center attack in our class. K.C. considered it a cheap shot and I feel bad that she does. I do not feel bad about showing the images (I would do that again) but that I didn't ground the images in more discussion. But then again, maybe I wouldn't because I didn't want to ground our conversation down to our own personal feelings--I wanted us to each remember them and think about them, but I wanted us to use that angst and emotion in a disucssion of THE MERCY SEAT. I responded to the post (please read my comments to the post on K.C.'s site) and I tried to offer some of my pedagogical reasoning for doing what I did.

I spend a lot of time thinking through how to run and organize my classes and I attempt to both allow you to have your own voice in class but also to guide discussions into areas that I feel are important. That's why I included those horrific and disturbing scenes of the wtc attack. But if you do have issues with the class or with my methods, please do speak up about them in class or on these posts. I should be able to give you a rationale to why I do/did some things. Again, you might disagree with them but you should know why I do them--and quite posisbly you could change my mind or help me think through my own teaching methods in a practical manner. So thanks to K.C. for bringing up the issue.

Onward!

activity

Hey all:

Not a lot of activity out there.

I realize you are all celebrating the fact that the Giants are 3-0 this season, but drop a few lines about last week's class or this week's readings or some ideas that you have as it pertains to this semester........keep going!

Thoughts about last night; quiz grades; keep going!

Hey all:

I thought people raised some really interesting points last night and I liked the intensity of your thoughts and your expressions. You are doing some good work--keep it up!

I have posted your quiz grades online under blackboard. What this tells me is that some people are reading very carefully and doing a great job. Some other grades tell me that you did not even pick up the book. Okay, that's pretty easy. If you did well because you read carefully, keep doing what your doing. If you did poorly because you didn't read, well, start reading (simple, right?). But for those of you who did read and still did poorly, part of the problem might be the way you are reading. You can talk to me about reading strategies but here are a couple key things: My quiz questions deal with significant people (I think Yukimo is important in finding out about Swofford, for example). If you see a name or a chapter dedicated to someone (like Troy), there's a good guess that there will be a question about her/him. I also like significant moments in the text. This is what becomes grey area because how are you supposed to know? Well, if there is technology, I will probably want you to know about it. If there is a question about gender relations, you should know about it (the wall of shame, etc).

So when you read, read with a pen in your hands. Find themes (as I did on the board yesterday) and make connections between moments in the book. It's not easy but it is worth it.

So as you read through the second half of this book, keep struggling through it (for those of you who are having issues with the book) or keep enjoying the ride. But, more importantly, pick up the large issues that we started talking about in class and make your own connections as you read further.

Onward!

Thoughts before class

Hey all:

So I am looking forward to hearing from you all in class today. I have been reading through your blogs and I am impressed by many. We will spend sometime at the end of class today going through your blogs and we will leave at least twenty minutes so that for those of you who have difficulty with the technical aspects of blogs, experts from the class will be able to help. So come in with your questions.

I hope you are spending a few minutes looking at other people's blogs--especially the one's about Jarhead. I use these blogs to help steer me to our classroom discussions. Tom wonders why so many writers write about war. It's true--especially in the first half of the century (think Hemmingway, think Dos Passos)--and I often wonder about that myself. War is all about love and death (I think here of the Vietnam War writer Tim O'Brien writing in The Things They Carried, "It's not a War Story, It's a love story" 85) and so it is perfect fodder for the novel and especially the memoir.

Speaking of memoir, I am interested that so many people wrote in their blogs that Jarhead is a novel. It's an easy slip but there are very big differences between the two in terms of reactions from people. If this was a "novel" would it be any good? Matt is frustrated that this book is not in a chronological format and memoirs usually are in order. Why do you think that Swofford writes the book in such a disjunctive way?

But maybe Matt is like Jessica who just doesn't like the book at all because it is too filled with machismo and military language. Kevin is even more blunt about how this book offends him. Maybe Jessica and Kevin are onto something--is this memoir just too macho? Stag doesn't think so; he thinks that Swofford is just a regular American guy and the raunchiness is something that he liked. MissRN liked the book so much that she wants to be a Marine!

Finally, like many of us, Complete BS doesn't really know what to think about Jarhead. He questions the authenticity of the book and wonders about a lot of the factual stuff--if you are that drunk all the time, how do you remember what exactly happens?

And even more finally, we have Jose who has been doing a few things on his blog that I think everyone should read. I'm not sure what he is talking about, but I like it.

[There are many more blogs that I could mention but I am running out of time. My office hours are filled so I need to prepare for our class before them]

***********************************
I was thinking about how to structure this class and while last week we discussed the Play in chronological order, since Jarhead is all over the place I think it might be more interesting to think about this play in terms of large themes. While I certainly want to hear from you what you specifically want to discuss, there are a few that I think we should definitely do. Below are a list and some beginning thoughts on a few of these themes. NOTE BENE: One thing that is important to remember is that we need to not just talk from our opinions or even just from our life experiences--rather, we are analyzing this memoir and so textual analysis will be very important to do. Being able to refer to the text to make a case is a skill to learn--and not an easy one at that. Tonight, though, let's all work on it.

1) Novel vs Memoir
I think I first want to start out our discussion about what these two terms mean. Are they the same? What is a crucial difference. Quite possibly it is all about the idea of Truth. Novels are fictional but memoirs are all about Truth. Or are they? Look at what Swofford says on Page 2.
If this is not exactly what happens, does it matter? I think here of James Frey and the fallout after his memoir was revealed to have fictional scenes. Why is it so important that truth equals what exactly happened?

2)Ezra Pound's Quote
Swofford begins this memoir with a quote from Ezra Pound's Canto. Why? Why Pound and not, say, Mettalica (who has many of the same dark ideas)? Find something in the book that helps
support your ideas and helps explicate the lines from the poem.

3)Media and the War
As a big film buff, I was fascinated by Swofford's thoughts that films about wars--especially Vietnam films--no matter how "anti-war" they are supposed to be, are actually porn to soldiers (again, Swofford generalizes about Jarheads and say that they are all alike--except, of course, for him who seems to think he is different from typical marines in a few ways). Thinking about films that most of us have seen, I began to rethink some of these scenes and maybe Swofford is onto something: Apocalypse Now's famous "I love the smell of napalm in the morning" or the music while they burn bridges. Or Platoon (1:30 into the clip). Or the Full Metal Jacket scene that Swofford writes about (page 6, 64).

4)Drill Instructor Burke and Seik
It seems as if every war film has a scene with the Drill Instructor. Jarhead is not different. What are his characteristics. What is Swofford's immediate reaction, as well as his later one? What about his thoughts on Seik? (88) Of course, we have to go to Full Metal Jacket where there is the classic Drill Sergeant scene.

5)Language
There seems to be another "jarhead" language in this book. Identify a few scenes where this is the case and then explain why you think this other language is included.

6)Yukimo
While we will talk about Swofford's relationship with the opposite sex, I do want to spend sometime with his relationship with Yumiko (33-37) that, in a weird way, was a lot more positive that with his girlfriend Kristina. Why? And how does the fact that she is Japanese affect the wya we think about this relationship?

7)The Brotherhood
Homosocial relationships is the basis of Jarhead. He describes the Core as a dysfunctional family (110) and spends many pages writing about the deep relationships that he has with other men in the Core. While it might seem obvious why, I really want to get at is what is the basis of the relationships. Is it the Marine logic? Is it the fear of death? Is it just what happens when you get a group of guys together. Here. I want us to find textual references that will help us break down the brotherhood that forms. (examples 50-51, 75-81)

8)Father-Son relationships
While the father appears more specifically in the second half of this memoir, there are a few scenes with Swofford and his Dad (39-41, 49, 59 specifically but there are others). What is the relationship like? Is it a solid one? One built on authority? Is the marines a way that Swofford learns to be a man (128-129) when he can't get the training from his dad?

9)The Politics
One thing that always interests me when I read and think about the politics of the current war is what do soldiers think about it? Where is politics mentioned in Jarhead? What do you think he thinks about why he is fighting. Does his personal political beliefs matter? Also, interesting is Swofford's comments to the German women about war (114).

10)Swofford's thoughts of suicide
This scene (70) always seems to come out of nowhere and after a few pages I had to reread it because I am confused. Do you think he was going to pull the trigger? Why does Troy think he is thinking about suicide? Does this make you think of him any differently as a warrior/ a man? a writer? What about his almost counter-intuitive logic about suicide (74)?

11)Swofford's realtionship to women
I'm expecting this to be a pretty volatile conversation and I am interested in what you all have to say about this. But I do not want this to be all of us falling back on gender stereotypes and the simplistic "well men are like that and women are like this" argument. Stick to actual passages. Find where he writes about what women mean to him (women in general or specific women). Break down his words and reveal the complexities of his statements. [Do not use the three scenes listed below--I want to speak about these in detail]

12)The "Field-Fuck"
This scene is one that is mentioned in the book. There seems to be a lot different version in the film. Go through this scene and examine why Swofford writes that they did it. While they were performing the act on each other, who were they also doing it to? See 21.

13)The Wall of Shame
This is a scene (91-94) that I'm not sure how to read. I feel sympathy for Swofford and then also disgusted by the act. What is the wall? What does he write underneath the picture? Why does he need this public validation?

14)The Home porno film
A very strange scene. While the answer may seem obvious, why do the men want to see the film? Is it just for the sex? Or is it something else? Is it because they got one over on the Army? Or is it a type of self flagellation--they can laugh at the poor cuckolded grunt but they are also knowing or thinking that this is happening to them as well.

15)Swofford and Dettman
When Swofford puts the gun in the ear of Dettman and thinks about pulling the trigger (103), has he suddenly become a good marine?

16)The dream of Sex and Death
Throughout the book, sex and death are linked very concretely. Never so clear as on page 124-125. What is this relationship and why is it so connected? Is this just Swofford's issue or is it something more relevant to all of us?

17)The STA
Why did Swofford join the snipers? How does he feel about them (and consequently other marines not in the STA). What's the value of him being a sniper in a war that relies so heavily on advanced technology?

************

Okay, so these are some of the general themes and passages that I want to talk about tonight. It's a lot, so we all better bring our 'A" game!

Onward!

jarhead (part deux); I need your twenty dollars; talk to each other

hey all:

i am sitting in a very loud dunkin' donuts tonight and i can't take the really bad dance music playing (why not some monk or wilco; why "dangerous" thirty times in an hour) so i will keep this brief (oh wait, I am now at the part where he uses synthesizers and then brings in the quick speaking rapper--wow, that is so original. seriously. how cutting edge. oh wait, the singer now said "dangerous" for the 119th time. i get it. the girl is dangerous. wow, that's really wild.).

anyway, i was wondering how you are getting into this memoir. Some of you might be turned off by the graphic language and rampant machismo that literally drips off the page. And some of you might actually get pumped by it. Whether you are in either point, I want you to examine your feelings and don't go for the easy answer: War is hell. Swofford walks the thin line between a person who follows others and one who tries to lead his own way: in other words, he is forever running through his own actions in his head and thinking about it. Sometimes he is disgusted by his actions, sometimes he is disgusted by us (the civilians safe from war and are armchair warriors).

Good luck reading. Post your ideas on your blog. Struggle with this. Don't give up and keep pushing.

*********
For all of you who are planning on attending the play BLACK WATCH I will need a twenty dollar refundable deposit on Wednesday (if you show up for the play, you get your twenty dollars back). Once again, thanks to Dean Houlihan for having St. Francis College to buy the tickets). If you do not have the twenty dollars (preferably by check but I will take bills). After Wednesday, I will not be able to hold a seat for you anymore.

**********
If you have a friend in class and you do not see her/his blog on my page--get in touch with her/him immediately and tell her/him to get the blog address to me quickly.....

NOW I AM LISTENING TO A FEMALE SINGER SING DAMAGE 145 times in a three minute song. Are you kidding me? Is this the best that z100 plays these days. I have to get out of here....

Anyone read Jarhead yet?

Hey all:

You ever get that feeling that something just isn't right and then WHAM! soon after you are slamming on your breaks because someone blew a stop sign? Well, after reading your blogs and NOT seeing anything written on Jarhead yet, I have this feeling that everyone is going to come into class knowing lines from the film very well but not the book. There's this feeling in the pit of my stomach that when I ask you on the quiz who the main character of the book  is, you are going to say  Jake Gyllenhal. 

If that's the case, you are going to be missing a lot. The book is a tough, brutal and somewhat tender look at being in the Marines and it is certainly important to read.

*******

I've noticed that my posts have been getting longer and longer, so I will keep this one short. I just read read the first half of the book today and these are (some) questions that I am thinking about:

1)why did Swofford join the Marines? He seemed to hate it as soon as he signed up. Or does he?

2)What is Swofford's relationship with his Dad? He seems to not get along with him although the father seems to care for him (is it because they are both alike)?

3)The relationship between sex and death is throughout the book. Why are these two connected so intimately?

4)Why is there a need to degrade women so much? Is this just "boys will be boys" macho stuff or is there a deep rooted hatred of the female body?

5) If there is no such thing as a war film that promotes peace, what is this book promote?

6)Why does Swofford want to drink away from other marines?

7)What are Swofford's thoughts about why he is fighting this war?

*************

Okay, all, these are just a few thoughts. I hope you start asking your own. I want to hear what you have to say in class and I am looking forward to an interesting and though-provoking discussion.

Take care! 

9/11, last thoughts about THE MERCY SEAT, and thinking about JARHEAD

Hey all:

While we spent sometime last night talking about the events of 9/11/2001, we also didn't speak about our own personal connections to this day. That was on purpose because I really don't know how to talk about that day without, as Ben in The Mercy Seat says, sounding fake. To paraphrase Tom from his blog, I'm also glad that this play dealt with 9/11 as the back story instead of up front and center.

But on this day, for those of you who lost friends or loved ones, or for those of you who were affected in a personal way, I hope you find comfort.

Maybe that's all any of us can ask for.



***********************************
I appreciated the energy in the class yesterday. I realize that it's 6:00pm and after a long day of work or classes or practice, to sit in a room and talk about ideas can be tough. But as we talked in the first class, let's not waste time. Use three hours to think through the material, to push your ideas and think through some tough material.

On that note, Peter asked me an interesting question at the end of class. He asked me about the "answer" to the play. And I could see what he was getting at: we spent three hours reading sections outloud and talking about possibilities of who Abby or Ben are or what "mercy" means or if Ben is a sexist jerk, etc, etc. We talked about a lot, but we didn't come up with an definitive answers. I can see why this is frustrating. Or how it could lead some to think, "Well, then anything is right!"

In a word, no. While class is very loose and I want to hear all of your ideas, one thing I want to work on more is referring directly to the text. This is not just an opinion class where you just say what you think; rather, it is a class where we think through our ideas and try to convince ourselves (and others) through referring directly to the text. You know, be intellectuals, as I wrote about in the syllabus.

In other words, if you come in class with a set view and you have not had your ideas challenged or questioned or, better yet, if you haven't discovered something in the text in a new light, well, you just weren't listening.

I know you all helped me see things very clearly about what "mercy" means--and it is very different from what I originally thought it was. This course, like all your courses in the Humanities, should stretch you and help you see the world in just a little bit different way. I'm not talking about radical changes, but, like when you see the morning light hit an object that you have seen 1,000 times but suddenly it seems completely new, that's what listening to each other can do--you can see the text you read and think you know, all of a sudden new and more relevant and alive.

Okay, that's enough for "phliosophizin'"tonight.

You are now reading JARHEAD. There will be a temptation for some of you to just rent the film. Don't. The book and the film are completely different. It's a decent film, yes, but the book is much more complicated.

So the first 130 pages are due for next week. Bring your energy into class again, keep up with your blogs and I'll see you all soon.

Onward!

FREE TICKETS FOR BLACK WATCH!!!

Hey all:

Wonderful news!! Dean Houlihan, who heard that we were going to see Black Watch, has just informed me that St. Francis College will pick up the tab for all the students in the class. What was going to cost you $45 dollars will now be free. I realize that the price tag for the show was high and it was going to prevent many of you from seeing the play, so this is great news for all of us.

Everyone, now, is expected to go to the play on October 14th. There might be reasons why you cannot make it (child care issues, you are taking another class, etc). If you are unable to attend, please let me know within the next two days and we'll work out some alternative assignment for you.

What will be required from everyone is a twenty-dollar deposit due in class on Wednesday (although feel free to give it to me earlier). This deposit will be given back to you when you show up for the play. If you do not show up, you lose the twenty and the money goes to St. Francis.

Onward!

p.s. Richard and Margo--I will give you back the money you gave to me for the tickets on Wednesday but feel free to stop by my office earlier to get it.

Mercy Me

Hey all:

Okay, so in a few hours we will all be in class, on the eve of 9/11/2008, talking about The Mercy Seat. I really have no idea how it will go. It's a difficult play, I think, to discuss: how do we deal with selfishness on a day when all those lives were completely destroyed? It seems as if the characters don't really think about the events that are happening outside their window at all but rather are so self-absorbed that their "problems" out weigh the situation? Or is there more? Check out here for a review of the play when it was preformed in 2002.

I look forward to our conversation tonight and here are some thoughts that I hope we can talk about in class.

The obvious way to start our discussion will be with the title of the play itself. The Mercy Seat is biblical (Labute was a member of the Church of Latterer Day Saints until they excommunicated him for his play bash) and it was the cover for the arc of the covenant. So obvious questions come to me right away: what the heck does it have to do with Abby and Ben? I think it makes more sense if you look at the epigraph at the beginning of the play and the lyrics from the Nick Cave song, The Mercy Seat. You can find the lyrics here. Focus on the words, "measuring of truth." Where is the truth in this play? Do all of the lies that Abby and Ben tell/live lead to any sort of truth at the end?

In tonight's class, I also want to talk about the Preface because I think it clearly states what the author thinks this play is about: it's the "ground zero" of our lives; the "gaping hole" that is in us when we are with someone we no longer love but can't bring ourselves to tell them. Notice I wrote "us" because Labute says Abby and Ben are us. Is that true? Are we like Abby and Ben too afraid to "measure the truth" and instead we put on our "nike's" and run away?

Labute also states that this play is about personal selfishness on a day of national selflessness. Something pricks me a bit about that statement. Isn't it hyperbolic to say that the nation was selfless that day? Was it? I think about what a student in the class said about being chased in high school and attacked because he is Arab American--where is the national selflessness for that? Or does the sum of the parts equal greater than the individual acts?

This is a very short play, so arbitrarily, I want to break the play into seven sections and then have seven groups read through the ten pages and preform a few pages of the material to the class. Why? I think it will be important for us to hear the play. Terrence writes in his blog, he was annoyed by all of the "/" breaks in the dialogue. It might help then if we hear it so we can get a better understanding of how these two characters interrupt and push each other. Another reason is that this is a play and plays are meant to be performed, not read. The way that an individual reads a particular line will have an effect on the meaning of that line. So I want to discuss how your individual performances changed the meaning of the words (and possibly the meaning of the characters themselves). I realize that reading a play that is sexually explicit might be tough for some of us to read (and hear). But if we are creating a safe intellectually driven space in our classroom, we should all feel confident that our readings will lead us to uncover deeper meanings.

Pages 1-10

The first thing we hear is a cell phone. Buzzing and Buzzing. Dust covers the inside of the apartment and the characters. The clouds that we all have seen on video of the Towers falling have made its way inside the apartment of these two lovers. And what are they talking about: the phone. Or, they use the term, "The call." Ben was supposed to call his wife to both tell her that he was alive AND to tell her that he is leaving her. But none of that is mentioned, just the euphemism. Round about discussions as if they don't really want to talk about it straight on. At least Ben doesn't. Abby seems to and her anger at Ben is clear. Her elbows are out and she going after him?
Who is Abby? I kept trying to figure her out in these pages. She seems as if she is in control and her anger is there (and justifiable). And yet, she's buying cheese for Ben and we find out that she also calls for Ben's laundry to see if it was done a few days before. Is she Ben's boss, his lover and his domestic? She also questions if he is "human" or not (8). Knowing Labute's tendency for sexism (just watch IN THE COMPANY OF MEN if you are wondering) I just wonder if he's setting up a character who is a "controlling female boss" in the business world who, of course, is really upset that she doesn't have a man at home or any kids to fulfill herself. Labute isn't blatant with his stereotypes, but it something to watch out for.

PAGES 11-20
Here is where things begin to get revealed. Abby is pushing Ben. But for what? What does she want? For Ben, we find out that the towers falling means that there is "unlimited potential" for them. That the death of all those people represented a "meal ticket." And while the specifics get talked about later on in the play, it is not really discussed here, which bothers me. I keep thinking about how they are going to just disappear? Do they have a plan?

But Abby is not concerned about this--it seems. And really, maybe she was never going to run away with Ben in the first place. Maybe she was just trying to get him to make the call to his wife. But what she is doing in these ten pages is trying to figure out what type of person her really is. She says on page 10, "I don't know where you are." It's as if he IS among the lost of 9/11 and she is sifting through the dust to find him--the real him. And she is trying to get him to talk about his feelings about the chaos outside but he just can't. And his reasoning is that he feels "shitty" but any word that you use to describe it (like "tragedy" or "biblical") doesn't do the event justice. (This I agree with; every time I go to a funeral I never know what to say: "I'm sorry for your loss" as if "loss" covers the pain of seeing a loved one in a casket). But Ben has other reasons--he knows that this is not biblical; there will be a Yankee game soon and people will put this behind them. "The American Way" is discussed and it is so trite that Ben just becomes so weak in my eyes. If Abby is pushing to see who Ben is, he doesn't come across very good in my eyes.

Couple of things.
1)There is mention of friends of the victims putting up posters. I still remember walking by all those posters and just looking at them for hours on end.

2)I never heard of the Amazing Kreskin but apparently he was/ is famous. Check out his website.

3)Audie Murphy was also mentioned and brought up the discussion of heroes. Check out a memorial website to him here.

Pages 21-30.
More back and forth between Abby and Ben and the zingers back and forth are getting more heated and barbed. But a couple of things really stand out for me: We find out that Ben works for Abby and that he is very insecure about the whole thing. And Abby doesn't seem to have a problem slapping Ben in the face with this fact. And when Ben says to Abby that "You belittle me. You make me feel small." and Abby continues to make fun of him, I wonder why they are together in the first place (not the first or last time I thought this). But we find out that Abby wants Ben to be a hero. We need to discuss this in class, for sure. What/who is a hero? Do all the people who died in the Towers become heroes in their death? Is the word hero used because we just don't like using the word "victim?" Not sure but we find out that Ben can become a hero, or thinks he can, by just becoming one of the lost. So a guy who is hiding out in his lover's apartment while his daughter's are crying thinking that their father is dead, becomes a hero because he was supposed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time (but for him it was the right place at the right time).

Pages 31-40
Some major things are revealed in these ten pages. Ben says that he is "faking" it in life and his life (including what he was doing with Abby) is a mess. He's a mess. So the "mealticket" allows him to erase his past. Notice, he doesn't want to deal with it, he only wants to erase. Make it disappear.

But we also find out about Abby as well and that she feels awful that she is sleeping with her employee. It is sexual harassment and, if found out, she could lose her job. And for what? She says that on occasion she thinks of Ben as a "piece of ass" which Ben is okay with being thought of as. What do we do with this? Again, I go back to the same question--who is Abby? Ben is getting more and more rounded out here (and I really don't like him) but Abby is still hiding from view a bit.

Pages 41-50
This is the most frank discussion of sex so far in the play. Why is it here? Is the description of sexual positions important? Or is it here just to shock the reader/audience? I'll be interested in what you have to say. But one of the things that is revealed is that Abby does feel guilty (one of the reasons she thinks about Ben's wife when they have sex) and says that hell is "All the wrongful shit played out there in front of you while you're being pumped from behind by someone you've hurt" (45). So when she is having sex with Ben, she feels like she is in Hell.

We then get into more of a discussion of the "hero" when Abby asks Ben what would be on his gravestone. When Ben says, "He was okay" (47), and this is what leads Abby to be nicer to him--I just didn't believe it. It all sounds a bit too perfect for me..

Pages 51-60
Here we finally get a view of the plan that Ben has to run away. And it all sound so childish, doesn't it? How far must Ben be gone to actually believe his story and that Abby will leave everything and start anew? But after hearing his story, I have a new respect for Abby--she never was going to leave. She just wanted him to talk it out so he would make the phone call and tell his wife.

What really brought this play to a standstill was the doorbell ringing and the woman who may or may not have a husband anymore asks for milk from Abby. It just grounds the play so well and puts into perspective the conversation that is going on between Abby and Ben. Their "problem" just sounds so simple compared to the what that woman and her children are going through.

61-70
I'm wondering how surprised everyone was at the end of the play--did you know he was going to call Abby the whole time? I'll admit it, I didn't (but I never get anything. The sixth sense still surprises me even though I've seen it three times). But there is this discussion of Mercy again. Abby says that she will show him Mercy; something that Ben hasn't given her. So much to talk about this ending but since it's almost class time, I'll just leave it here.

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Whew! I didn't think I would write so much but I wanted to get some of my ideas down before we head into class. Take these ideas for what they are--just some quick thoughts--but I hope you all bring your energetic "A" game to class.

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I want us to discuss some of these links in class. Tough to watch.

Plane hitting

South Tower--cbs news

Onward!

9/11

Hey all:

As 9/11 rolls around, there are many articles talking about "the event" and its aftermath. I just happened to read this in TheNew York Times that some people might want to read. I think we'll take a look at in class.

If you have things that you want to discuss in class that would help us understand of contextualize THE MERCY SEAT, please post it to your blogs or bring it to class and if we have time, we'll talk about it.

I just re-read the play again and I am looking forward to our discussion--your blogs indicated some very different attitudes about the play which is great. And obviously the play is very graphic and we will not shy away from that in class--let's just be adults and intellectuals about it.

Also, do not forget to bring in the 30 dollars (check or cash) for the ticket to go see BLACK WATCH in October. We are getting a very good deal but I need to give the money to the boxoffice this week to secure our space. Also, if you have friends or anyone else who wants to go--feel free to invite them, they are more than welcome.

Take care and see you tomorrow.

p.s.DON"T FORGET TO HAVE A LINK IN YOUR POSTS!!!!!

What is this play about?

Hey all:

So I have been reading your blogs and I also have had the opportunity to speak with a few of you in the halls...looks like there is a good reaction to THE MERCY SEAT. But there also seems to be a bit of, "well, what exactly is this play about?" Good question. I'm not sure, either. Check out what Labute says in the intro of the play. Knocks the idea that this is a 9/11 play down a bit, huh? Thomas, though, feels a relief that the play isn't about 9/11 solely because, like Ben, how do you talk about the event without sounding ridiculous?

Jaime has an interesting take on the play, "This play is very much about doing the right thing, and what's more, choosing to do the right thing even if it's the hardest thing you've ever had to do." Hmm...I like Jaime's moral certainty here but one thing I know about Labute always questions all types of certainty. I'll be interested if you all think that Ben did the right thing at the end? Or was it even more selfish? Or, with people posting pictures of dead loved ones--who cares?

Jose mentions that (among many of the things that he listed) "The Female lead is a strong character but is easily bothered or offended by remarks that underscore her "deviant" gender related behavior." But is Abby a strong figure? What the heck is she doing with Ben who seems like such a little boy at times? Is Labute showing a complicated female role or is he just writing a stereotypical character? Jessica also seems to have some reservations about Abby.

Okay, some really good thoughts. Also, I see a lot of you are getting comfortable with the blog form itself. Keep notes on how you feel as you write these blogs. Some of you are revealing a lot about yourselves, some are staying specifically on the subject of the class. Regardless, I want you to think about the form of the blog and your "creation" process.

Okay, folks, ONWARD!

p.s. Remember, try to make the blog part of your normal life--don't think of it as a forced assignment (if you can) but rather as something thta you turn to when you have ideas, comments, thoughts....

Central Station

I want you all to think of this space as a central station. It's a place where you come to get information and then to head to the place where you really go. I will place a few thoughts about class here or suggestions for reading of the following week or even a couple of ideas that I have about subjects that have been passed around in class. But mostly I want you to use this space as a way to connect to your classmates blogs.

I meant it in class when I said that we are a community and it is important for us to help each other push ourselves in our own ideas and comments. Read each other's blogs. Write comments and offer suggestions. Be good readers and strong writers. Help each other figure out what literature in the 21st century is all about.

If a member of your group does not have a blog listed here, then do her/him a favor and send them a text or e-mail and tell them to get me the address asap.

Okay, folks, onward!

Working out the kinks

Hey all:

Remember, by the end of the day, I want everyone in the class to update their blog urls so I can upload them on my site. What I am hoping--as soon as I work out the kinks--is that you can just come to this site to read through your classmates blogs. I'm having some difficulty figuring out how to do this but I'll get it done.

Okay, good luck and onward to our journey reading/writing 21st century literature.