21st Century Literature class

Post (tofu) Turkey ramblings....

2008-12-01T10:12:00.000-08:00

Hey all:

Hope you all had a great gobble gobble day. We are at the finish line of our semester, so get your sneakers on and start your final sprint towards the finish line!

Once again, I want to remind you all of your presentation on Wednesday night. For those of you who have been keeping your blogs all semester, I am really looking forward to hearing your presentations--remember, you only have five minutes, so be prepared to wow in only a short amount of time. Keep in mind the requirements and suggestions I posted in my other blog posts, but above all: BE CREATIVE!!!!!For those of you who have not been keeping your blogs throughout the semester, I suggest you take my option and write a paper instead of doing the presentation; you will get more point if you do (it well).

THIS IS OUR LAST CLASS, let's make it a good one!

I will not have office hours on Wednesday (I am taking part in a Professional Grant Development Workshop) at CUNY but if anyone wants to talk about their presentations, I will be in my office after my classes on Tuesday (circa 4:30). Stop by and we can chat.

ONWARD!

Your (SOON TO BE FANTASTIC) presentations

2008-11-24T06:32:00.000-08:00

Hey all:

Okay, when I told you during midterms that you should think of it NOT as a test but rather as a "celebration of knowledge," I was afraid that some of you would have to see an eye doctor because you rolled your eyes so hard to the back of your head. But, and I am being serious here, I do not think that tests should be "gotcha's" as in, "You thought you were doing well in this class but "gotcha" you didn't know I would ask you this question (and then I would do a long evil laugh). Not my style. I really think that a Humanities class is about communal learning that allows you to take your own paths through the material helping you grow and mature as a critical thinker. Now I do expect you to do certain things--I expect you to read the material, to think through it and to come to class ready to talk through your ideas. In this class I also expected you to write three weekly blog posts that offered insights into the readings of that week but also some thoughts about your experiences and ideas about 21st century literature.

And many of you did a FANTASTIC job . Seriously. And so you should think about the presentation on Wednesday as a celebration, a coming out show that allows the rest of the class to see what you have been doing all semester.

Besides celebrating, there is an incentive to do a really good job. 10% of your final grade will be about this presentation. So take it seriously and do a good job. I want you all to do well in this class, so make sure you put forth your best effort here. There are TWO things you must do to do well on this presentation: 1)YOU MUST FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS EXACTLY and 2)YOU MUST BE AS CREATIVE AND ENERGETIC AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN.

Here's what you must do:

******Before coming into class. I want you to write a two page summary of your experiences writing a blog. This can take any form that you want but you must have the following ingredients: a)your feelings at the beginning of the semester about blogs in general b)your feelings about your blog at the end of the semester c)the usefulness of blogs in a 21st century literature class d)something you found surprising when writing your blog this semester and e)something that you would have done differently with your blog if you had to do it again.

This needs to be uploaded onto your blog by the day of the presentation AND you must bring in a printed out copy to class to hand to me.

******The night of your presentation. You need to have a printed out sheet that has the following details: 1)Your name. 2)The name of your Blog with it's link. 3)The exact number of posts that you have done all semester. 4)Anything that you want to tell me to look for specifically in your blog. 5)The Phrase "Comments." So it looks like this:

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

John Lennon

21st Century Literature Class http://21stcenturyliteratureclass.blogspot.com/

53 posts (as of November 24)

Dear Dr. Lennon: As you can see, while I did all of my posts the first three weeks of class and I think I did a really great job my last seven weeks of class, during three weeks at the end of September and the beginning of September I didn't do three posts every week. Things were crazy and, as I told you already, I was really sick with the flu. But as you can see, I made up for it the last few weeks posting five posts and responding to three other people.......

COMMENTS:

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

This all goes on a piece of paper and you hand this in BEFORE you begin your presentation.

For your presentation, then, you will have five minutes to show us your blog and impress upon us what you have discovered while doing this blog over the course of the semester. How you do this is up to you but be professional and creative. Here are somethings that you want to make sure you do in this presentation:

1)You want to creative a narrative for your blog. Give us insight of what you thought about blogs in the beginning of the semester and at the end (be honest--if you hated blogs in the beginning and hated them at the end, tell us. But make sure you explain WHY). Be clear in your thoughts and detailed.
---Show us specific blog posts that will hep us visualize this narrative.

2)What did you learn about yourself when writing these blogs? (If the answer is, "I hate doing blogs," think harder. Did you learn that by writing these blogs it forced you to think about the literature three times a week in a concrete way? Did you realize that you started reading other people's blogs because you found yourself confused when you were doing the reading? Did you find that you became a lot more personal in your blogs than you thought you would? Did you find that while at first all you were writing about was the reading, you started connecting it to your everyday life in ways that you never thought about before? Be creative and thoughtful here).

3)What was your blog personality? Was it sarcastic? Funny? Serious? Angry? Forthcoming? Did you feel loose when writing or restricted? Did you just talk about the material or did you talk more about your life outside of the classroom? Does your blog personality fit your personality or do you find that it is somewhat different (i.e you are fairly quiet but your blog was opinionated and loud)?

4)Was there a blog that you followed and that you learned from? The blog that you would visit every week to see what s/he was doing? Why? What was it about that blog that made you want to read it?

5) What was your best blog post? What did you do really well here? Did you have any cool links that you think were surprising/ interesting? What was your worst blog post? The one that after you sent it you wish you hadn't? The one that you have thought about erasing? (You don't have to do both but again, be imaginative and creative here).

6)Any closing remarks on 21st century literature and its relationship to your blog?
**********
Again, you have five minutes and you want this presentation to be snappy, exciting and informative. You do NOT want to just go down the list of six questions and answer them one by one. Be creative! If your blog was an image, what would that image be? If your blog was an animal, what type of animal would it be? Have your links and images ready. Do you want to have music? Do you want to have powerpoint? Do you want to have video? Do you want to have another person collaborating with your presentation? Do you want to sing a song? Do you want to have anarchist cheerleaders (ala Nirvana's Smells like Teen Spirit video)? Again, it is up to you.

I will be in my office Tuesday and Wednesday. If you want to stop by those days and talk about your presentations and work through some ideas with me, feel free. But, also, help each other.

I am very much looking forward to your presentations. Do a good job and good luck!
!!!!!!HAVE A GREAT THANKSGIVING!!!!!

If your blogs have left something to be desired......

2008-11-24T06:10:00.000-08:00

Hey all:

So I have been looking through your blogs again and I am really impressed by what many of you have been doing this semester. You have such good insight into the novels, you have built a community by commenting on each other blogs and you have infused your posts with your humor, personality and intelligence. Really superb and it has been a pleasure to read through them week in and week out. I hope that this large chunk of your work load this semester wasn't just "busy" work but that it helped you actively work out your thoughts in this class. I am very much looking forward to your presentations in class.

Some of you, however, really dropped the ball. I realize that you all have extremely busy lives and that work/kids/other classes/life issues/etc/etc all add to a week where time is limited. I get it (in fact I get it too well). But I made sure everyone in this class from the first day onward realized how much importance I was putting into your blogs. I talked about it every class, showed blogs in class, had time for you to work with other students in a class if you were having trouble with them, met with every single one of you to talk about your progress, etc..... So 30% of your final grade is your blog and you will have to just deal with this grade.

However, there is another 10% up for grabs in your presentation. And if you give a presentation in which you only have a handful of blogs and you don't really have anything to say about it, you will lose another 10%. And while you have been completely aware from day one that this was going to be the case, I want to give you another option so that you can redeem yourself and get a better grade. So instead of doing the presentation, I will give you an option of doing a paper instead.

In this paper, you need to take 4 texts that we have read so far in this class. Your job is to write a one page reaction to EACH one of these texts. In these reactions, you do not want to write whether you liked the text or not but rather you want to write, as specifically as you can, what the text was centrally about. After you have done this, I then want you to do a close reading of at least ONE section of the text and show how it is connected to this central idea. Each reaction MUST be at least a page and then upload the whole thing onto your blog AND bring in a hard copy to class on Wednesday (you must still come to our last class). This, then, will take the place of your presentation.

I would suggest if you did not put much effort into your blogs that you take this option.

House of Leaves Class Notes

2008-11-19T10:20:00.001-08:00

Hey all (this is an aid to our class discussions):

I am really looking forward to talking about our book tonight--although, unlike other classes, I am sort of confused about how to do so. The nature of the book resists a logical format and I think most conversations will be circular and dip into all of these strange weird and convoluted discussions. Bring it on, I say! I'm willing to go where the class wants to go--the only thing I will not allow is for people to stay on the sidelines. Open the door and let's see what's in the darkness (okay, okay, I'll try to refrain from any more metaphoric hallway talk).

In fact, it's fairly easy to describe what this book is about. You all decided that House of Leaves is about:

"A HOUSE IS ONLY A PLACE TO KEEP YOUR THINGS LIKE YOUR FAVORITE VHS TAPES AND YOUR DOLLS' MINIATURE SHOES OR MAYBE A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS OR MAYBE TO BURY YOURSELF IN A MAZE OF MATERIALISTIC, MULLETHEADED, COKE SNORTIN' WHORES WHO REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE TRUTH BECAUSE REALITY FREAKS THEM OUT MORE THAN THEY WOULD ADMIT, NOT TO MENTION THEY CANT"

Okay, why did I do this? While, as Thomas said, it might sound like a drinking game, it was an attempt to show how this book is built upon readers interpretations. 8,000 blog posts have been posted to this "fan" site about HOL (see how cool this book is, it is referred to by its initials) and all of these weird wonderful and ridiculous posts about HOL and the Simpsons ; the amazing 5 1/2 inch margins that is connected to the 5 1/2 feet hallway or the music that you should listen to when reading HOL (btw, did you know that Danielewski's sister is Poe who wrote an album called Haunted meant to accompany the book? And that readers think, like me that you should actually listen to Godspeed You Black Emperor instead? Ah, but I digress).

In other words, this book does not stay inside the leaves of this book but expands with every reading. Well, you counter, doesn't that happen with every book? Yes, but HOL is the first book that I have read where this idea is built into the book so completely. It forces us to think about reader's reactions and you need others in order to fill out the dark spots of your understanding. This is a communal book meant to be shared and disseminated among groups of people. It was first written on the web and this seems wholly appropriate--work is put up and then altered and talked about and commented on and brought into all of these nooks and crannies. I went to a conference talk this past weekend about the future of academic writing when I was in Nashville and, crazy enough, the speaker was talking about the web--instead of the academic book--as being the site where academics will write their scholarly works that will be shared and discussed by others. There will be a lack of an author and instead authors. Go here to see her ideas. But this death of an author that postmodernists like to throw around at cocktail parties actually fits really nice here. Mark Z. Danielewski is the "author" of the book but isn't Johnny Truant, Zampano and The Editors (who, yes, are fictional but don't they take on a life of their own here--look how many people in class thought they were real people). And then how we have added in our posts that could be linked to discussion posts on HOL? It is a text that keeps generating more text (hmmm...sort of like an expandable hallway, huh?)................

Loved It/Hated It

This might be a good place to discuss your reactions to the novel. You didn't hold back in your posts and I want you to talk about here in class...here are just a few:

Loved it/Hated it

Thomas
•"I loved this book. Which is surprising because with an opening sentence like "this is not for you" comes off, in my eyes, as melodramatic and pretentious, everything that follows, from content to format, is just refreshing. In retrospect, such an opening is almost redeemed as the reader moves on. It has been a while since a book has told me to "take a deep breath" and essentially scare the shit out of myself by pretending to be in Johnny's shoes (pg. 26-27). What did it for me was the line, "find those pockets without sound," which echoed a Zen saying I heard and have loved since I was young, "It's the silence between the notes that makes the music." In this case, it was the silence between the train rattling, the baby crying, the iPod blaring next to me, the conductor over the sound speaker, the silence between all of these, that managed to scare me, even if it was a slight bit. You see, because the night following, cold and filled with a new suspicion thanks to the novel, proceeded to make me both laugh and pause to think about the novel. That's an effect that most books don't have on me. Not only am I thinking of a line from a favorite book, but I'm experiencing the mood of the line. Does that make sense? Well, that's how I know I loved this book. "

Kevin •"I approached this book as a challenge to overcome. As such, I couldn't bring myself to either love it or hate it. It was a reminder of a class I took in my senior year of high school, during which a teacher subject myself and my fellow students to Ulysses. It was scarring, and I received several headaches from reading it. However, I came to have an amount of respect for the author, which later became reverence.However, I cannot see myself falling for this new work like I did with Joyce. There is simply too goddamn much in here. I'd have to agree with Jessica on this point: you could easily devote an entire semester or a lot of time on the Internet to deciphering this book. (Incidentally, a lot of people have chosen the latter.) If I have any complaint at all, it's that we didn't have enough time to give this book the attention it deserves. I still don't hate it; it's too intriguing to hate. Jarhead, on the other hand."

Rich •"This book was absolutely, I don't want to say horrible, but it was extremely tedious and difficult to read. Overall I will have to say that I did not enjoy this book. The read was ridiculous because it was half story and half textbook. There was way too much lecture going on in this book that on two separate occasions I fell asleep reading, yet while reading Truant's part of the book, I did at times find myself interested but then he too would go off and have a five page metaphor on how he was feeling at that point and time. I can't take it anymore. This should have been a movie not a book and I don't want to read the psychoanalyzation of the freaking thing while I'm actually reading and trying to understand some messed up author's head nightmare. I can't even begin to explain what the hell is happening in the book but I can tell you that it is frustrating that we did not have class and could not discuss because I am truly lost and I think that is the largest factor of me not enjoying this thing..."

Matt
•"hate this book, present tense. For a long time now I have known that my reading comprehension leaves much to be desired. This book does its best job to make me feel even worse about my lack of skill in that department. For most of the works we have read this semester I have heard people discuss things or reference something that sounded foreign to me. I was forced to either ask someone or keep quiet about it to avoid feeling dumb. In the case of House of Leaves, I feel like that about a lot of things, maybe too many things. I'll admit that I did not enter this book with an open mind. How could I; it's the size of a textbook. All I can say is, when the supply of paper begins to dwindle along with the rest of the economy, we know who to blame."

Barry
•"The hatred comes during long passages of scientific BS like echoes (even though my favorite line/moment might be the last line of p.73) made even more annoying when Truant then points out after you've read the section how horrible it is and that he didn't want to include it blah, blah, bastard. All the fake article titles were funny the first two times maybe, but the 205th just pisses me off, because I still feel like I'm going to miss something if I don't look at it. Same thing with all the appendix and exhibit references. The "editors" even give you the choice of wanting to know more about Johnny's mom or not in a footnote - of course I feel I have to read it - then 45 minutes later I'm asking myself "Do I really want to decode this letter from his mother with the first letter of every word?" Of course not, its 3am, but what If this jackass author has hidden the whole meaning of this book in there, and he kinda seems like the type of jerkoff that would do something like that. Why the hell did I read those blue boxes - worthless! I definitely did not read more than 10 of the names/buildings. Why does everything have to be in French or Latin first if you are just going to translate it anyway? And could you please stop footnoting your footnoted footnotes that appear 5 pages in the future. I get the point - we are getting lost in this book, just like the hallway, but to be honest if it weren't required reading I would have probably stopped caring somewhere around page 45."

Form of the novel

Another idea that I think we need to discuss is the actual form of the novel. Let's start with the footnotes themselves. What do footnotes imply? Proof. We in academia always need to prove ourselves--our ideas, original as we may think they are, must still be connected to something true and tested. And as we can see in one of your assignments last week, there are plenty of footnotes that are true. But what about the ones that aren't. Do you then discount everything? Is the reverse true as well--you might as well just believe everything? Funny how this connected me to the election and the way that the candidates would say things and the next day there would be all these FACT CHECKS. And I would check sometimes...but why should I believe this website--who is funding the site? Is there word true? See, it keeps going and going......

****And what about the fact that the word House is blue all the time? What does this mean. One thing that has been discussed is that this was an original web text and so the house then could link to other things.....but I like Rob's idea better.

****What about the quirky format of the text? The boxes were mentioned by a few people (although right now I can't find the blog posts) and I like how one person mentioned about the actual containing of the text in a box is very strange and limiting (although we don't have this same problem with the "box" of the page itself).

****And of course, what about the blank space on the page? What does that do for us to look? Does it makes us want to fill it in (again making this a text of participation) or leaving it empty is a relief--finally a page that we can turn easily?

****Any thoughts about the font? Does the changing of the front reveal things about the individual characters?

WHAT IS THE HOUSE?

Another question that I asked from you all was for a video or picture of what you thought the house looked like. You did a fabulous job many of you and I want to talk about a few of them in class. Thom, Terrence, Barry, Matt; Jamie; Rich......(some video) Danaya;Terrence; Matt; Shanoa; Jessica; Kevin; Jamie and so many others that we are going to get into........

Questions?

I do at the end of this class want to make sure that we answer some of the larger issues/questions that you have so we can talk it through.....

•If the footnotes, in fact, are falsified, is what we're reading even truth?
•Why didn't anyone take a sledge-hammer and bashed down the wall on the side of the door to make sure that was the only way to get in. (or real for that matter)

•Did anyone else notice the checkmark in the bottom left corner of page 97? Why is that there? Did I miss something?
•Why does the story involving Minotaur have to do with the main story line? In connection to that, what is the main story line?

There are more than several biblical allusions in the text. On page XX of the introduction, Truant states that Zampanó, "knew from the get go that what's real or isn't real doesn't matter"... 1) Does anyone else agree that FAITH plays a major role in the text, i.e. Zampanó's FAITH in his scribes, Navidson's FAITH in his friends who are summoned to the house to investigate, Karen's alleged unFAITHFULNESS, our FAITH in the author and the veracity of this work?

Why does Karen choose to stay in a life that she seems to be unhappy with? Is it for the kids? For companionship? Or does she really just not see how unhappy she really is?

WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?
I would like to do a character sketch of ecah one of these characters as I already asked you to do on your blogs. Who is Navidson, Johnny Truant, Zampano, Tom, Karen, Halloway, etc, etc.......

JUMPING IN
During the course of this class period, I would like us to go through this text randomly and just look at pages and try to figure out this novel non-linear. It worked for Burroughs, why not for us?

ODDS AND ENDS

Is this the picture of Delial here?

Listening to House of Leaves

http://markzdanielewski.info/media/5point5.HTML

The Idiot's Guide to The House of Leaves

Reading from HOL (Click on audio)

EXTRA CREDIT

Somehow, and I am not sure how, the semester has contracted and we no longer have many weeks. We have tonight and we have the week after Thanksgiving. That's all. And since our next class, I would like to spend the time having presentations about your semester long blogs, I want to give to you the opportunity to get extra credit for reading the rest of this novel. What you need to do for this extra credit (and the result will be that I will bump up your grade by a half or a whole--so if you were getting a c you would now get a C+ or a B-; if you were getting a B, you now get a B+ or an A-, etc, etc) is to a)Read the rest of the novel and B) write a long blog essay in which you talk about the transformation of a character. Here are the rules:

You need to talk about the character in the different stages of this book (If you were going to write about Johnny Truant then you need talk about him in the beginning, the middle and the end of the book. How has he changed? What has caused him to do the things that he has done? What are specific instances that he went through that are significant and why? But be imaginative--is the House a character?). You then need to have at least ten (10) relevant links that helps the reader understand the different stages that the character has gone through.

In order to do this well, I would think you would need to write the equivalent of 3-5 solid pages of strong text. This is due by December 8.

Nice job Read for next week 246-346

2008-11-14T09:10:00.000-08:00

Hey all:

So here I am in Tennessee and I find myself skipping presentations to read your blogs on House of Leaves. Let me first say that although this is an extremely tough book to read and one that I think is specifically based on a challenge--are you willing to strip away everything you know about literature and come follow the author down this long, dark hall to nowhere particular?--many of you stepped up and faced this challenge head on. I would start listing specific posts but they are just too numerous.

At the beginning of this class I asked all of us to be intellectuals in a very practical sense--to challenge your concepts about what you know about literature, your self and your world view by asking tough questions and I see this willingness to do so in your posts. So keep up the good work. I virtual thumbs up to you all.

However, there were some of you who have dropped off the face of this class? Hopefully you didn't open any doors to oblivion. This might lead ala Navidson to some very long tough days. It will also lead to a bad grade in this class.

I will keep going back to your posts but for next week I want you from 246-346. For those of you who are having trouble (which is all of us) keep pushing through--there are even a few long jokes that are, in my opinion, laugh out loud funny. But think about the posts that you and your classmates have written as you read through the next section. I will not promise you that things will become clearer but the ride is a good one.

ONWARD!!!!

Virtual Class

2008-11-12T09:32:00.001-08:00

[I wrote this message to you and sent it to your St Francis e-mail.)

So our virtual class is up and running.

Go to my blog--http://21stcenturyliteratureclass.blogspot.com/

and respond to my NINE (9) posts for this class. But be careful, follow the directions very carefully. Some ask you to respond to my post (you read the post and then press "comment" at the bottom and respond). Others ask you to go to your Web blog and respond there. Still others ask you to go to other people's blogs in the class and respond to their posts. Make sure you follow directions or you may lead yourself down hallways that never end.

Each post is an attempt to help you think about this book and in fact to do all of the things we were going to do in the traditional classroom setting. Our class normally lasts for three hours--and I expect that your work in these posts will take you a significant amount of time. While I doubt that it will take you three hours, if this only takes you 30 minutes, you are not doing the work you are being asked to do.

You have until 11:59 tonight to make your posts. Feel free to use St. Francis computers but you may also do these posts anywhere you would like.

IF YOU DO NOT SEE YOUR BLOG ON THE SIDE OF MY WEB PAGE, E-MAIL ME IMMEDIATELY WITH YOUR BLOG ADDRESS AND I WILL PUT IT UP.

GOOD LUCK!

questions

2008-11-12T08:59:00.000-08:00

House of Leaves is obviously a tough book to read. Please use this space to ask questions. At least three. Press "comment" at the the end of this post and ask your questions.

They can be plot driven, "Does anyone know Delial is?" or "Wait a second, if Zampano is blind, how did he write this book?" to more abstract, "Is Johnny Truant and Navy really the same person?" or "Are the cameras just a rip off of The Real World confessional?"

Then I and the rest of your classmates will respond if we think we know the answer.

Please try to respond to at least three questions from your classmates throughout the night.

Let's help each other out----I'll get the fishing line and you get the radios. And we will beat Mr. Monster.

[if you didn't get those references, then you need to do more reading.

hated it/ loved it

2008-11-12T08:52:00.000-08:00

this is not for you.

the first lines of this book. five words and plenty of space. A challenge. A pretentious gesture. a bad move by an author.

press comment to this blog post and i want to hear about what you thought about this book. loved it? hated it? found it boring. found it useful as a weapon to kill that fly that was buzzing around your ear? Let it all go. Get into your feelings. let it out.

at least two paragraphs. don't hold back.

but get at why you loved it, why you hated it. Try to be specific. If you found it boring, explain why you did (I don't like science). If you found it offensive, explain why (Did Truant have to write in such graphic details about his drug use?). If you loved it, explain as best as you can, why (because finally there was a book that made me actively engaged--all the other books in this class felt as if I didn't need to be there, the words were there dead on the page. But this book, i had to create it as I was reading...)

what does the house look like

2008-11-12T08:46:00.000-08:00

HOUSES

R

Just

H

only when they are not.

Your job: what does the H look like? On your own blog under the title "HOUSE" I want you to post a picture or link to a picture. Then write a paragraph where you explain why you chose that particular image (since this is about a house that expands and contracts in a way that defies rationale thought, you might want to be a bit creative here). I then want you to find a paragraph in the book (or a couple of lines) that you quote that gave you the inspiration for your image.

Please then comment on TWO (2) other people's blog pictures.

realness

2008-11-12T08:45:00.001-08:00

are any of the footnotes real?

find one footnote that is real and post it in the comment section of this blog post.

[here's the catch, you can NOT use any footnotes that your classmates have already found and posted here]

watching house(s)

2008-11-12T08:40:00.000-08:00

Images.

you do not read this book.

You w a t c h it.

On your own blog under the heading "VIDEO" post or link a video that is a visual of The House of Leaves. You can be literal and post a blog of Mark Danielewski reading from his book or you could be figurative and find a clip that relates to the book in some way.

After you post it or link to it, then I want you to write a paragraph where you explain why you chose your video.

You then need to COMMENT to three other posts from your classmates.

Who is Karen or Navy or Reston or Holloway or Tom

2008-11-12T08:36:00.001-08:00

who are these people that people the halls of this book?

If you last name starts with A-D you take Karen

If your last name starts with E-I you take Navy

If your last name starts with J-P you take Reston

If your last name starts with Q-U you take Holloway

If your last name starts V-Z you take Tom.

Find three passages from this book and give a character analysis of the person.

POST TO YOUR OWN BLOG POST UNDER THE HEADING "CHARACTER SKETCH"

5 words

2008-11-12T08:29:00.000-08:00

I will not tell you what this book is about.

[truth be told, i don't know].

i am trying to figure it out

but everytime I do, the house leaves.

[get it]

if truth is always

and we can

never

it down

then let's figure it out together, shall we.

We will find the meaning of this by writing sentences together through the comment section of this blog post.

Here's how we will do it. In my comment section to this blog, I will write five words but I will not end the sentence. The next person who reads this will then copy my five words and add five more. The person after that will copy the ten words and then write five more

and on

and on.

only five words at a time. building the hallway to get at _______________

When a House is not a House

2008-11-12T08:24:00.000-08:00

THE HOUSE

is not a house.

It is much more.

It is a metaphor.

FOR WHAT?

In three paragraphs, I want you to decide what the house could stand for. Think this through. Please post this response on your own blog.

[check out my comment to this post for possible ideas]

go ahead, skip it

2008-11-12T08:17:00.000-08:00

Johnny Truant writes, "The way I figure it, if there's something you find irksome--go ahead and skip it."

What is Mr. Truant implying about the book: If you only read the parts that you want and skip the parts that you don't care about, how will you get the whole story? Is he asking us to be lazy? Or does he know us better than we do and realize this is just what we were going to do anyway?

On your own blog under the title SKIP IT, write down the parts that you skipped when reading--and be honest. Did you read the first page and then just stop? did you read through the "main story" (whichever you think that is) and then just skip the rest? Did you switch back and forth.

write three-four paragraphs where you write down your experience reading this book. But do not write "I" or any first person. Have distance. Write about your self in the third person. Example: "After the second chapter, John Lennon could not read anymore of Johnny Truant's footnotes. They were so obviously sexist and boring and completely ridiculous. Mr. Lennon wanted to know about the hallways............"

VIRTUAL CLASS TOMORROW

2008-11-11T18:43:00.000-08:00

Please see your campus e-mail for a full account but tomorrow you will have a virtual class instead on a regular class. Details to follow but a)you need to do the reading for tomorrow b)you do NOT need to be in class tomorrow (or St. Francis) and c)you need to have internet access tomorrow (various assignments will be due by 11:59 pm).

I will update this site tomorrow by noonish and give you all the details of how you will "talk" about this book with me and your fellow classmates.

This is a wild book that pushes the limit on our reading practices. Tomorrow's class, I hope, will push the limit of the way that we experience class as well.

See you all tomorrow and happy reading.

BLUE(S) House

2008-11-11T13:29:00.000-08:00

Hey all:

KEEP PUSHING THROUGH IT! YOU may be wondering

WHY

things are all written funny.

AND
WHAT's
WITH
THE
FOOTNOTES?

WHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHY

Stick with it folks. Remember to remember how you are reading this book--not just what you are reading.

And that thing breathing on your neck is just the wind. only the wind.

House of Leaves

2008-11-10T11:56:00.000-08:00

Jessica titled her post on House of Leaves as "complicated houses" and I think she's absolutely right. What a strange trip this book is! I have read and taught this book a few times in the past but this weekend when I hopped on the G train, I once again missed my stop because I was so enveloped in the book (the second time this has happened this semester). Crazy! Disturbing! Confusing! Weird! Smart! All words (shouted at you due to my exclamation points) that I would use to describe this book. But probably the best one is "experience."

Reading House of Leaves is a reading experience. No two of us will have the same experience as we read it--which footnotes did you examine? Which parts did you skip? Did you read The Three Attic Whalestone Institute Letters (pretty frightening--you were instructed to read it in a footnote and it's worth it)? Did anybody youtube clips of The Navidson Record (here's a good one)? Did you find yourself skipping through Zapanos parts and focus more on Johnny Truant's sections?

Obviously, you will not be able to read every footnote or every digression. This book is forcing you to think a bout your own reading strategies and comprehension. Jessica wondered in her post if this book makes sense in our current fast paced world and I think it does--it mimics our ability to read three different texts while texting a friend, listening to an ipod and surfing the web (do people even use the expression "surfing the web anymore? I'm getting so obsolete). Tom, for example, not only reads this monstrous book (pun intended) but is also reading Dave Eggers' A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and talks about them both here. In fact, as I am writing this post, I am currently writing a talk I am giving in Tennessee, signing up to be a test subject for a research group (Focus Point gives out money to be test subjects to review products and tv shows) and clicking on Amazon to see if the New Guns N Roses album is out yet (okay, okay, I'm joking on that one). That's what I love about this book--it becomes about the reader experiencing this very weird and disturbing story about a hallway that begins to expand.

And let me tell you, for some reason, this is frightening to me. Try reading this book late at night in the glare of a flickering tv screen as everyone else in your apartment is asleep--creeks begin to to on a whole new meaning.

But I also admit that it is a long complicated one as Peter mentions a few times in his post. And I also don't make any apologies for this. It will take you awhile to read this book and I also realize that many of you also may not enjoy this book as much as some of the others. But stick with it. Keep pushing forward through it and keep reading; there is so much to talk about. But if you come to class NOt having read this book, if you think the house is red and not blue, if you don't know that Johnny Truant works in a tattoo parlor or that he is in love with a girl named Thumper, if you do not know that Zampano is blind, if you saw a footnote on page one and put the book down, then you are really not doing what a LITERATURE class demands you to do--to read and think about literature in all of its complicated ways.

So keep going! But always keep one eye behind you, you never know what is creeping up when you are not looking.

......not sure but I think we have to do something in our discussion that reflects the nature of this book....I'll think of something......

Class today--reading smiles, reading graffiti

2008-11-05T13:40:00.000-08:00

Hey all:

Okay let's get right into it: a smiling American woman standing over the dead body of Manadel al-Jamadi.

The photograph, taken by a man who would also appear with his thumb up, is damning evidence. Horrific evidence. These are the images that stick with me when I think of Abu Graib. The photos that rocked many of us sitting in our comfy seats in America and raised many questions that echoed questions raised during the My Lai massacre--how could American soldiers do this? In fact, if you read through my blog, I actually forgot that this article by Erol Morris was about Sabrina Harman and instead I thought it was about Lyndee England because she became the face of the scenes that unfolded in this prison. Amazing how the mind works like that.

But let';s get back to the photo--here is a woman giving the thumbs up sign over a dead body. The immediate response (and here I am paraphrasing the article) is e a to feel horrified by the image and to put the blame on the woman doing the smiling. How could someone do this? She must be a "bad apple"; a rogue soldier who probably has mental issues. The army needs to court martial her (which they tried to do) and get rid of her. Strip her of her rank and privileges. She is a black mark on the name of the army.

Hold on, says Errol Morris. Wait a second--did you look at the photo? The photo shows a smiling woman, yes, but what it actually shows is a murder as well (and here, I suspect, some of you may question Morris's assumptions)? The smile was perfunctory--she did not mean it and Morris then pulls out all the stops; let's look at the "evidence" and has intelligent men who spend their whole lives investigating smiles (how do you get that gig?) saying without a shadow of a doubt that Harman wasn't smiling out of enjoyment but was actually smiling because this was what you are supposed to do when taking a picture. In fact, Harman was not happy but was disgusted by the death of the prisoner as well as (and this is the way I read it) that she was lied to by her commanding officers. And so the photos, which broke the whole case open, is more about what happened to al-Jamadi before the photos were taken instead of the actual photos.

And so Morris, in what I think is a well documented case, tries to find out what happens. And as he sifts through all this material, he says the government is "guilty" of fuzzing it up; meaning, there is so much information that the truth is buried in the mounds of paperwork. There is no "answer"; no "truth" and so he returns back to what he can find out and that is the photograph. And he says that the reason why it is so disturbing is NOT the dead body per se but the fact that she is smiling is what makes it horrific--a combination of disgust and terror. When we see her smile, we also want to smile (it's automatic) but when we see the dead man we recoil in horror; and therefore put the blame on her instead of the people who killed him.

But all of this article which I hope we talk about in some detail today is connected to this issue of torture--which is of course what we talked about last week and what I feel is the undercurrent behind THE PILLOWMAN in the first place. But what is torture? Let's define this in class. And what does a storyteller have to do with the whole thing--how do stories, in fact, offer more resistance to a totalitarian government than the actual murders as well? Let's get into this as well.

Here are some film clips from Standard Operating Procedure, the documentary that Errol Morris did in connection with this Op-ed piece.

Megan Graner

U.S. Soldier

Sabrina Harman

Okay, after we talk about this article, I then want to move the discussion to the way that you read this piece. I want to hear your discussion of your reading practices. Did you click on the footnotes? Did you read some of the excerpts? Did you read where the clicks took you? This is important; I really want us to be more conscious of the way we read.

Then I would like to move to Graffiti. Time is running out before class so I want to just load some pictures up and then we can talk about in in class.....

Readings for the week

2008-11-04T10:42:00.000-08:00

Hey all:

Seeing the lack of activity out there in blogland, I think many of you, like me, are taking this day to catch up on work. Whew! This semester has been a tough one, no? I feel like it should be the end of the semester already....well, actually, we are not too far from it. Only a few more weeks, actually. So please keep the pedal to the medal and let's move forward in the last couple weeks of the course--keep up your excellent comments in class as well as your thoughtful reflections in your blogs. Keep going!!!!

I also would like to know what you thought of the readings for the week--I think the Errol Morris, while difficult, really adds to our discussion of reading people and their actions--how does a smile reflect the inner workings of an individual? Is a seemingly obvious facial reaction not so easy to read? And then, this is the interesting move, how does this relate to our class discussion of the word torture (And yes, we will need to define the word together tomorrow night)? Can we extract "truth" from individuals if we are having such a hard time trying to read what a smile is all about?

Then, this move to graffiti. Full disclosure--I'm interested in this subject and I have spent this past summer really thinking about what it means in the 21st century when technology is everywhere to take a marker and write your name on a building. What's the point? Is it vandalism? Is it resistance? Does it speak to some of the larger issues that we have brought up in this class. I was trying to come up with a reading that would give a basic introduction to it but, honestly, everything I have ever read is either too theoretical or too basic (or way too long--chapters of books, whole books, etc). So I thought I would give you something that I am currently writing (kind of a long Blog piece) that I hope does a good job at least getting you to know the basic history of graffiti in New York City and then also to get to know two graf writers and how they "mean" different things depending on how you read the names or works on the walls. This is far from a perfect piece and there are many issues in what I wrote that I am still working though--so please feel free to come with both guns blazing and disagree.

Finally, I did want to tell you that I have purposely left this class with no ending because I wanted to see the personality of the class and see what you all would be interetsed in and would be willing to do. I have been pleased with your willingness to go out on a limb and to take chances with your readings--so I have decided that the next two weeks we will read an absolutely AMAZING book entitled, House of Leaves. To say this is a weird novel is an understatement. But it is also a novel that perfectly incorporates many of the themes that we are speaking about--and also really deals with the way that literature is physically changing on the page. The story is somewhat simple: a normal looking house is expanding from the inside. Crazy, huh? Silly, maybe? But I will say this, it is a creepy book that will keep you reading and then thinking long past the time you put this book down.

I ordered the book and it will be in our bookstore by Thursday but you can also get it in any Barnes and Noble or Borders store (or used bookstores should have a copy as well).

Take care!

Happy Halloween!!!!!!

2008-10-31T18:44:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

(i stole these jokes)

Q. What do goblins and ghosts drink when they're hot and thirsty on Halloween? A. Ghoul-aid!!!
Q. What is a Mummie's favorite type of music? A. Wrap!!!!!
Q. What's a monster's favorite bean? A. A human bean.
Q. Where does a ghost go on Saturday night? A. Anywhere where he can boo-gie.
Q. What did the skeleton say to the vampire? A. You suck.
Q. Why did the ghost go into the bar? A. For the Boos.
Q. Why was the girl afraid of the vampire? A. He was all bite and no bark.
Q. Why did the game warden arrest the ghost? A. He didn't have a haunting license.
Q. Why didn't the skeleton dance at the party? A. He had no body to dance with.
Q. Where does Count Dracula usually eat his lunch? A. At the casketeria.

Graffiti clips to watch

2008-10-30T18:22:00.000-07:00

some clips used during my presentation in Chicago:

banksy

graf featuring Miss 17

NYC bombers

Bombing in New York City

Graffiti Brooklyn

bombin' NYC

Urban Green

Readings for next week

2008-10-29T14:34:00.000-07:00

Hey all:

Just a reminder that we will read and talk about The Pillowman next week and then move onto questions about stories created by and about graffiti.

Please see the External links page for the readings. The first reading will be an op-ed piece in the New York Times by Errol Morris who wrote (in my opinion) a fascinating analysis of a smile by Lynndie England who was part of the proceedings that happened in Abu Graib. In my opinion, The Pillowman raises many questions about the legality and the usefulness/uselessness of torture. Like everything else, it is a puzzle with no solution--we, the reader, need to figure out if the torture is (ever) justified. In the Morris piece, he does a wonderful reading of a smile and tries to understand if England is actually happy torturing these prisoners or if we cannot even trust our eyes in the photo. Please read/print it out and we will discuss it on Wednesday.

This will be our transition into our analysis of the story of graffiti. In the 21st century, writing is entering the virtual in leaps and bounds and technology is changing the way we write and read literature. But next week, we are going to analyze one of the oldest forms of writing known to mankind--graffiti. But this (illegal) practice has also been updated and the way we read graffiti is no longer just on the walls of our neighborhoods but virtually as well. So, for next week, I would like you to read an article that I am writing for an online journal entitled, “Bombing” Brooklyn: Graffiti, Language and Gentrification." It is a rough piece and still needs a lot of work but I think it is an introduction to graffiti (at least NYC graffiti) and also hits this idea about how graffiti is currently being transformed and used in ways that is very different from the way that it was intended. Please print this out and we will begin our conversations about this piece but hopefully we will get more into your ideas about writing and technology in the classroom.

I am flying tomorrow to Chicago for a conference and I will not be back until Monday. I will probably not have much access to the computer so I will not be updating my blog. But please continue to write and think through the meaning(s) of The Pillowman. Next week, I will also send you some graffiti clips that I want you to watch as well, so please keep looking at my blog for updates.

Good luck and take care!

Thoughts about The Pillowman (Part IV)

2008-10-29T06:59:00.000-07:00

Hey all:

Some more thoughts about Martin McDonagh play.......I have been excited by your reactions so far to this play--some say that this is the most enjoyable work that you have read so far in this class. Okay, so you like plays about child murderers. No judgement here.

Act Two Scene Two

"The Little Jesus" story is another horrific, somewhat (darkly) humorous play in which a little child believes that she is Jesus and desires to go through all of the torture that the historical Jesus went through. Why is this story here? How does this have to do anything with the play? Is it just, and sorry Rob who in your post seems to be a devoted follower of the series, just like Saw or Nightmare on Elm Street or any other typical slasher film--the story is just here to show how cool a gruesome murder is? And is McDonagh just raising the stakes a bit by having the main character to be a little girl (and therefore our sympathies are prodded)? Why does this story go right after Katurian kills his brother? Sure, it is part of the plot but why act it out?

Well, let's look at the story--in the end after all the suffering, the little girl still has belief that her torture will lead to something (a new world order which the rise of Christianity brought to the world)? And she is determined to suffer and go through it all (almost enjoying it to a certain extent). But the ending, with the scratching and clawing of the coffin shows that there is no resurrection, that the rising of the girl will not happen and the girl began to lose faith at the end and didn't trust that she was the actual Christ. Hmm....so is this a bleak story? (um, yeah, duh.) But is there any hope in this story at all? Well, yes, there is. The real girl, Maria, wasn't the little Jesus but was actually covered in green paint and allowed to play with piglets (I know, this is a strange play). So the one story that Katurain writes that doesn't end in murder is the final story that the brother acts out.

Why? I was happy reading this and to not see another child dead on the page (call me sentimental). But how does this fit into the greater question of the power of stories? Do bad stories in which there is death and destruction affect people to go out and act them out? In other words, do violent video games, for example, cause children to bring guns into schools and shoot people? Do nice stories cause people to do nice things?

Or is it all how you read them? The Pillowman story is actually a "nice" story to Tupolski because it allows him to get comfort when thinking about the death of his own child. It is a disturbing story to others, however, and would probably be banned from various media outlets as being dangerous. Does this play enter into a conversation, then, about the role of censorship in our society (or a totalitarian state). Do words kill? Should words be seen as dangerous as a person wielding a gun? Should we burn the stories that could lead people to harm others? Where do we draw the line?

I'm running now to get to one of the ten meetings I have today, so I have to go, but I really hope that we can sit around and talk about these large issues......see you later!

Thoughts about The Pillowman (Part III)

2008-10-27T11:33:00.000-07:00

some thoughts (continued).....

Act One Scene Two is a graphic and harrowing story about parent's setting up an evil experiment to see what type of literature a "loved" boy could produce while listening, for seven years, to the torture of another child in an adjacent room. Apparently, the result is that green pig stories get displaced by stories about razors in apples (if you read the play, you'll understand this last line).

And while in class, I do want to get into the story and hear your thoughts, I wish here to go back to my idea that I wrote previously about this play being a metaphor for a nation torturing its citizens (or enemy combatants) for the greater good of the nation as a whole. And I want to connect it to a question that you raised a few weeks ago--why so many stories about war and/or 9/11? Well, what type of stories are written by writers in the 21st century as smoke rises from the ashes of the world trade center or Larry King is talking about the U.S. military using water torture to extract information from suspected terrorists. What about us? When we overhear these conversations as we flip through the channels or watch SNL or John Stewart or read abstracts from newspaper articles--do these stories affect us as people? Does the fact that we know that people have been tortured or we see photos of American soldiers doing unspeakable acts in the name of our country affect the stories that we tell? Are we Katurain, living a nice life with luxuries (cell phones, new clothes, trips to the theater, dinner out) but we are still getting affected by it on another level?

Act Two Scene One The Pillowman Story

Okay, if truth be told, when reading this story I can't get the image of the the scene in ghostbusters where they fry the State Marshmallow Man. Anybody see ghostbuters? (on three, "who you goin' to call?"). But of course, in this play, the Pillowman is a lot more (deadly) serious. The Pillowman kills children before they begin leading horrible lives as adults. Again, it's this highly imaginative, in my opinion, fascinating story that gets me each time I read it. But as a metaphor, what does it mean? Is the Pillowman doing a tough but needed job--a person who can no longer live with the memories of molestation that happened to her when she was young, kills herself at 45 because her life has been awful and full of pain--well, here comes the Pilloman to save her before she becomes sad and abused. Objectively, is this a good thing (and this of course could lead to a three hour conversation). But if we table this discussion, could we maybe ask a question that I remember reading in a Stephen King book a long time ago that has stayed with me to this day--if you could go back in time and kill Hitler as a small child before he became the head of a state that killed millions of Jews, gypsies and homosexuals, would you do it? Would you be able to go back and kill a child? If we take this to a State level--what if we could find out who the eventual terrorists would be that would plant a dirty bomb in our streets? Would we be justified in arresting them now? Or, what if we believe that a state will attack us soon with nuclear or chemical weapons, would we be justified to order a pre-emptive strike? A country that has weapons that could eventually destroy us and blow us to smithereens is therefore always in the process of attacking us and therefore we are not actually attacking but defending ourselves when we invade another country?

These are of course really large questions here that I think the text, through the use of stories, is helping us think about and forcing us to question.

Good luck with the reading and I will write again........

Thoughts about The Pillowman (Part II)

2008-10-24T17:31:00.000-07:00

Hey all:

So I have your midterms next to me and I will begin grading them shortly. Before I do, though, I do want to say that I have been impressed by the conversations that we have been having in class so far. I realize that the material that we have had so far has not been easy--and I make no apologies for this. As I stated on my syllabus, I expect us all to be intellectuals and to work through material that we may not like, may find tough, and that may find confusing. The goal of the first part of the semester was to read material that will make us think and see our post war(s) world a little bit differently. I know that I have a new understanding after listening to your comments about these texts, after seeing Blackwatch on stage, after reading your posts (so thank you). And I hope you do as well.

The second part of the semester, I hope, will be just as challenging as well as rewarding. Keep up the good work and keep fighting through these texts and bring your energy and intelligence to your posts as well as our discussions.

But now onto THE PILLOWMAN. Reading through the comments on various listserves about the play, a few words keep popping up--"brilliant" and "frightening." Well, after leaving the exam on Wednesday and hopping onto the G train to head home, I completely missed my stop because I was so wrapped up in this play. So, yeah, I agree--I think it is brilliant and frightening at the same time. But, it is also a play in which "the meaning" is just out of reach and no matter how much I stretch, it stays a fingertip away. You might find the same thing when you read. So what I will try to do a few times before our class meeting is to mention some large themes/ideas that I see and hopefully raise some interesting questions that could help you think with this material.

THE WORLD OF STORIES
Martin McDonagh is a playwright who, first and foremost, is a storyteller. He's the type of guy that you would picture in a small outoftheway pub in Ireland, sitting before a half drunk glass of Guiness and a warm peat fire, who suddenly clears his throat and two hours later after telling a fantastical story that seemed to just dance off his tongue, clears his throat again and stares at his beer never to say another word. A guy who contains many histories inside him and, given the right moment, will tell you things that you don't want to know but can't ever imagine getting up and just walking away. STORIES. The Pillowman, first and foremost, is a play that contemplates the art and nature of stories.

What does a good story do? A story contains a self-contained world that envelopes the reader/listener in a way that while s/he may feel the chair underneath her/him, there is a disconnect with the ordinary world and s/he enters completely and wholeheartedly into the world that is being created. It happens occasionally. The theater is a good place--the lights go down and the actors are mimicking opening letters (ala Blackwatch) and you know they are just actors but suddenly that doesn't matter and you are brought into the world of the fighters in Iraq. Or, for me for example, when I watched Children of Men and I forgot completely that there was anyone in the theater. Or...you get my meaning.

But a good story is not just about what it does to you in the moment of the telling. This is entertainment. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but a story must reach beyond the world it created and enter into our world. And that is what I think McDonagh does so well. I agree with Tupolski that all the stories within The Pillowman are "pointers" (17) and that they are trying to tell us something. But what are they pointing to?

Let's take the first story, "The Three Gibbet Crossroads" (17-18) where a man wakes up in a gibbet, knows he did something wrong, but doesn't know what. His crime is on a placard above the cage and so he cannot see what he did wrong. People pass by and everyone who sees him is disgusted by him (two other prisoners--a rapist and a murderer are forgiven by the passerbys) and eventually one even kills the man. Before he dies, the man wants to know if he will go to hell but he is just laughed at as his life drains from him.

Katurain says that this story is a great story because it is a puzzle without a solution.

Okay, so what do we do with this? Well, one, we look at the story aesthetically and, yeah, it's a good story. It gave me a few chills and will probably keep me up tonight. But on another level, I do think it's pointing to something as well. But what? Well, why is this guy in prison in the first place---because he did something horrible and is punished for it. But do we know this for sure? We, the audience, don't know his crime--or if he did anything at all. And the people--the nuns, the highway man--are disgusted by what the sign says. But did they see him do the crime (whatever crime it is)? No. All we know is that there is some power that was able to arrest, try and convict the man without any say on his part. He had no power of attorney, he had no defense, hell, he doesn't even know what he did. But as his life is spilling from him, he is convinced that he did something wrong and wonders about his eternal soul.........this sounds to me as a metaphor for a prison system in a State where people have no rights. A prison system where people are arrested without formal charges and are not given a chance to defend themselves. They are outside the law and therefore are not even able to get sympathy from passerbys. They are convicted and therefore seen as ultimate danger to the State and its subjects and therefore they have to be locked up and sent away (in this case forever).

Does this sound like anything we know? Is this story, a puzzle with no solution, actually pointing to our current post 9/11 world where governments have places outside of the law where, for the safety of the State's subjects, they are outside of all normal laws and legal processes? A place like Guantanamo Bay perhaps?

Is this play really a frank and brutal story about a world where governments are sanctioned to torture in order to protect? A play about what happens when laws are pushed aside for "national security?"

Maybe, maybe not, but as you read this play, think about what all of these stories point to? Who are the defenseless children in these stories? What do the two brothers represent? How is torture used in this story?

Anyway, that's probably too much for one sitting. I'll stop here. But I'll try to get some more ideas out here on my blog tomorrow.......

Some initial thoughts about The Pillowman

2008-10-23T10:37:00.000-07:00

Hey all:

Okay, so we are moving away from memoirs and plays and graphic novels about war and instead we are moving to . . . a play about child murderers?!?!

Yes, The Pillowman is about two brothers who are being accused and interrogated by two policemen for the gruesome murders of two children and the disappearence of the third. It seems as if one brother is a writer and many of his stories deal with kids who get killed...in many of the same ways that actual kids get killed.

So part of the pleasure (and yes, I say pleasure) of reading this play is to try to figure out if the brothers did it or not. And the play (in my opinion) is so well written that there are moments where I just want to put the book down in horror but many others where I actually laugh at a really funny line or forget about the play entirely and just get lost in the actual story that one of the characters recite. Again, not an easy read at all but a very interesting one.

But, and maybe more than any other work that we have read before, this is NOT a play that you can just read for plot or the surface meaning. Katurain (one of the brothers) says, "the first duty of a storyteller is to tell a story" (7), and Martin McDonagh certainly has told a whopper of one. But Tupolski (a detective) wants to know what these stories represent.

And that is our job as readers. What are these stories about--yes, they are about child murders but what do they represent? How are the issues in the stories related to issues in our current political climate?

In the next few days, I'll keep posting some of my ideas that may or may not help you work through this text. BUT YOU NEED TO PUSH YOURSELF. Don't be content to just listen (horrified) by the stories that are told but rather, always take a step back and wonder what large issues are being brought up.

Good luck and I look forward to hearing your thoughts next class.

Take care.

Reading for next week; what to do if you didn't go to BLACK WATCH

2008-10-22T14:19:00.000-07:00

Hey all:

After much consideration, I feel it is important to read Martin McDonagh's brilliantly haunting play THE PILLOWMAN. I was going to wait a few weeks but after much consideration, I think it will work next week for a variety of reasons. First, we haven't met as a class for awhile. Tonight is the midterm, last week was the play and the week before that was a class on Black Watch which many of you skipped. That's the major problem for a night class--cohesiveness. So, I would like to spend next week with a meaty text that we will be able to sit down and dissect togteher as a class. (In our next classes, you will be finding many of your own texts and dissecting them in groups). The Pillowman is a harsh, weighty and suspenseful look at the art and consequences of creating stories in a world that has gone a little bit haywire. It's not a long play but please give yourself the time to read and think about it. It is not an easy play to digest so please get your thoughts about it on your blogs.

After this, we will then get into different types of texts (graffiti, new media, film etc) so let's all roll up our sleeves and get to work!

For those of you who did not attend the performance of Black Watch, I would like you to write a three page essay answering the following question:

Find a specific difference between the print version of Shooting War and the on-line version of the book found here. Your essay should identify this difference and then give a detailed analysis of why you think that the two versions are different in this area. You may bring in outside information or our other texts in this class to help back up your point.

!!!Midterm tonight!!!

2008-10-22T07:35:00.000-07:00

Ah, only a few hours away from your celebration of knowledge, also known as our midterm. Good luck and I hope you all do well.

You will have two hours to do the exam. Please bring in many sheets of paper because you will be doing a lot of writing.

Take care!

BLOGS FOR THE NEXT WEEK

2008-10-14T14:49:00.000-07:00

Hey All:

While you are more than welcome to write them, you are not required to write blogs for this week. There are no readings and therefore there is not anything that I specifically want you to discuss.

However, I do suggest that you use this space as a way to study for your exam next week. Post questions and ideas and I and your classmates will respond to them. If you write an essay, for example, I would be happy to give you advice on your essay and maybe point you in directions that could help you when it comes to actually write in in class. Classmates could suggest passages for you to read over. SO MAKE THIS YOU SPACE and use it to help yourselves.

Also, I would love to hear from those of you who go see BLACKWATCH. Please put up your ideas--especially compared to your reading of the play.

So again, writing this week is purely voluntary but I will be checking in periodically and would be happy to read your thoughts.

Take care.

Preparing for our midterm exam

2008-10-10T18:24:00.000-07:00

Hey all:

Okay, so you are all getting ready for our midterm exam. In this post let me give you some hints to prepare for the exam--the type of questions you will get and how you should answer them.

First of all, I want you to think of the midterm as (a-hem) a "celebration of knowledge." Okay, are you still with me? I'm serious--if you have done the reading, if you have been putting yourself in our class discussions, if you are taking the time to think through the readings in your posts then this exam is a way for you to stand tall and say, "Look what I know!"

Of course, no one really believes me when I say this (and I probably wouldn't either). But I do want you to think of this as a way to show me (and yourself) what you know...we have read challenging, tough (and depressing) texts--you have been making smart links in your posts and in classes--now do so in your exam!

OKAY, let's get to the exam itself:
IF YOU WANT TO DO WELL, YOU NEED TO KEEP ONE WORD IN MIND AT ALL TIMES--SPECIFICITY. You need to be specific at all times and all essay answers to questions, to receive credit, needs to be specific in their answers. No, "War is hell" or "It's tough to fight in war" or "these books are about how devastating war can be." These are cliches or general responses--always respond with a specific scene or specific issue that you can back up with textual analysis. Get it? Anyone can read the back of these books and get the gist of what they are about--your job is to actually have thought through these books and their issues and have some solid understanding of them.

Here's the exam format:
1st section--Short answers
I will have a bunch of words and phrases and you need to explain where this word or phrase comes from AND its meaning in the book. Here are a couple of ideas:

American Apparel
Sniper
Sand
Any GI letter

Your job is to identify the word from one of the novels/plays and then give a specific meaning of it. So if you chose "sand" for example you would want to write, "Sand is a common object in Anthony Swofford's Jarhead. Sand surrounds the soldiers and disturbs them; as Swofford says again and again it fills every crack and hole in his body. Sand represents the sameness and danger of the war--it is monotonous and the scenery never changes but it also has the possibility of containing death at any moment." You see how I answered that--1st sentence gives where the word comes from. Second sentence relates it to the book. Third sentence gives an analysis of the word.

2nd section: I like small essay questions about specific moments in the books or plays that we read. You will need a two solid paragraphs to answer these questions. So for example, I might ask:

While the Wall of Shame in Jarhead deals specifically with the sexual infidelity of loved ones back home, what else does this wall of shame represent?
I like this type of question because it allows you to answer the question in many different ways but you need to answer these questions with direct references to the text. If you want to say that the wall of shame represents the fear that soldiers feel about being forgotten in a place where they are changing very drastically, then I would connect it to Swofford writing letters to his Japanese girlfriend and explaining that he wishes he could pour himself in the letter and send himself, sand grain by sand grain, to a person who knew him before he was in the war--when he wasn't the trained killer that he became. See what I did? I answered the question with a statement and then mentioned a direct reference from the text.

Here's the thing: I want to give you the chance to develop your own thoughts and bring your ideas into these questions (yes, the celebration part again). But these questions also allow people who have not read or read carefully to take a stab in the dark and just write generally in hopes that they get close to the answer. The way I guard against this type of essay is to have you write directly about the text. If you don't know the text, you will not be able to answer these questions well. Taking a stab in the dark will not help--you either know these books or you don't.

3rd Part-Large essay
Finally, I will ask you one large essay question in which you will have to write about a specific idea that we discussed in class and connect it to the texts we have read so far. The topic will be large "Media" "Gender issues" "Fear of Obsolescence" etc; your job is to be able to answer these questions specifically and with textual analysis (I know I am repeating myself--I hope you are getting the point.

*******
So be prepared to be here for a good two hours taking this exam--you will be writing a lot of essays where you will be able to show how much you know. You will NOT be able to take the texts into class but you may take ONE 8 X11 sheet of paper (one side) where you can put any notes that you wish. I would suggest placing names down and many short descriptions of scenes that could help you with some of these essays.

********
Finally, for your posts for this week, this is what I suggest--you write possible exam questions and answer them. As I read through your posts, I might offer some suggestions in answering those questions and I might also pick up some ideas in the exam questions themselves (in other words, if it's a good word or question, I might use them). You will also be helping each other--offer suggestions about answers or comment on what a fellow student wrote--this discussion might help you come up with some good answers for these questions.

********
Oh, one more study idea--read through the posts that I and your fellow classmates have left--I have been reading them and I will use their ideas in the exam questions as well.

GOOD LUCK!!!!!

!!!!NO MORE WAR!!!

2008-10-08T13:23:00.001-07:00

Hey all:

Great to see, in the two hours before class, this avalanche of posts about Black Watch. (I wish they came sooner so I would have more time to digest them and bring them into class). But it seems as if some of you are tired of (reading) war. You are raising the red flag and saying NO MORE!!! You want something different to read and discuss.

Well this certainly is something we need to address and talk about. And yes, after the midterm, we will move away from war and talk more about new media and its relation to literature. But after 9/11/2001, the U.S. has been in a constant state of war (either preparing for it, fighting in one, or discussing it). Literature, if it is indeed a reflection of its culture, must deal with it and our class must deal with it as well.

But I get you. I do. I'm tired of war as well. Both reading about it in class (and in our newspapers). But bring in WHY you are tired of talking about war into class and hopefully we can have a discussion about the issues that are most disturbing you.

Onward!

Thoughts about Black Watch

2008-10-08T10:34:00.000-07:00

Hey all:

Chirp....Chirp.....that's the birds who have all the time in the world to sing their songs because, well, no one has really posted yet on BlackWatch. Not sure why but we are getting to the time in the semester where everyone (including me) are overworked, overtired, and just want a break.

Push through it.

We are almost to the halfway point of the semester and we all just have to keep pushing forward to get to the end. You can do it! I have been impressed by your comments in class and your thoughts on your blogs. Don't fall behind! You can do it! {Did I mention that you can do it?}

Another reason why you may not be writing that much about BlackWatch is because you are finding the language very difficult. Me too. I find myself reading and rereading lines outloud over and over again just to attempt to get at what a word means--and many times I still am not sure. (Um, anyone know what "yinced" means?). But what I do is try to get the gist of the word and the feel behind it. Plays are, after all, meant to be preformed and during a play you miss words sometimes but you can still get the meaning. In class, we will go over some sections and maybe together we can decipher some of the words (oh and get ready to act out some scenes again--you all did such a good job in THE MERCY SEAT). But I am certainly looking forward for us to see the play because I think it will help me get this material so much better.......

Anyway, for tonight's class, I would like to do two things. First, I want us to get into a good discussion about this play. And second, I want us to spend at least an hour going over some ideas for the Midterm that we will have in two weeks.

Let's talk a little history about Black Watch .

In 1725, The Highland Guard was formed from independent tribes or companies to "police" and "watch" the Highlands of Scotland (and thus their name, Black Watch). Who were they policing? The Scots themselves , many of whom were still loyal to the exiled Stuarts, and who were not friendly with the English King. The Commander-in-Chief at the time was General George Wade who decided to arm six Highland clans who were most loyal to the King (interestingly enough, the clans were Campbell, Grant, Fraser and Munroe) and they were their to keep order and peace.

They became known as "Am Freiceadan Dubh" or "The Black Watch" because of the dark tartan they wore. This was different from the "regular" army who wore bright red uniforms of the English. Their main job was to spy on other Highlanders (these clans were the only ones allowed to carry weapons and so they could arrest anyone they found with one).

In 1736 the French and Indian War broke out in North American and the Regiment was shipped to New York, where, because of their kilts, many of the Natives thought that they were distantly related to the men of the BlackWatch.

They were later sent to New York to drive Washington from Brooklyn and attacking troops in White Plains, N.Y--although they did not take any battle honors because they thought that they should not have been fighting against their "kith and kin." "Campaigns in Flanders and the Napoleonic Wars followed in the Regiment's history, and it was during this period that The Black Watch won the right to wear "The Red Hackle," a red vulture feather, in its bonnets, a right safeguarded by an Army Order which described the Hackle as "to be used exclusively by the 42nd Regiment" (the number of the regiment).

There was another episode of the sinking of the Birkenhead. The 42nd was in South Africa and their ship was struck and sinking. When told that their only hope of survival was to jump overboard and swim for the lifeboats they refused because this endanger the women and children already in the boats. The men stood firm in their ranks while the ship sank and 357 of them were drowned. The Black Watch then became fully entrenched in Britain's Wars fighting against Napoleon; fighting in the Peninsular War and at Waterloo; fighting in the Crimea where they took part in the Battles of The Alma, Balaclava and Sebastopol; fighting in the Indian Mutiny and in South Africa; fighting in the First World War, when a total of five Battalions were raised and in which 60 Battle Honours were gained (interesting sidenote: The fearsome reputation of these kilted soldiers led to their acquiring the nickname "Die Damen aus der Hölle" or "the Ladies from Hell" from the German troops that faced them in the trenches) ; fighting in the Second World War when the Regiment was represented in every major theater of war except Norway and Malaysa; and fighting in Korea, in 1952 along side their American and Canadian allies.

You get a feel for all of this history in the play on pages 30-33 under the title "FASHION."

But the play that you read is, of course, about the deployment of troops in Iraq. When doing some research on the subject, it was interesting to find how Gregory Burke (the writer) weaved in the current history into the play. In 2003, the Black Watch fought in the initial attack on Basara and suffered one single fatality in the whole fight. The following year, the Black Watch was again deployed to Iraq. AS discussed in the play, On August 12th a soldier was killed as a result of an IED. When the U.S. requested that the British forces take over positions that they originally had, it started a fierce battle in Parliament. Eventually The Black Watch did take over these positions. The soldiers were based in Camp Dogwood, located between Fallujah and Karbala, in an area later dubbed the "Triangle of Death." They were attacked often and were under repeated mortar and rocket attacks (compare this to JARHEAD). On November 4th three soldiers and an interpreter were killed by a car bomb--this is the story that is discussed in detail in the play.

About a month later, it was announced that the Black Watch would join five other Scottish regiments to form the ROYAL REGIMENT OF SCOTLAND and the measure was implemented on March 28, 2006. While the Black Watch will still keep its name, the move was a reflection of the problem of recruiting soldiers.

Here's a promotional video for the Black Watch.

Pipes and Drums Music.

Here is a video of the museum for the Blackwatch.

Black Watch youtube video of playing the drums.

The Black Watch marching into town.

Looking at this play, I want to go through each section so we can figure out the main point of each one.
Here we go:

1) Tattoo

What's the point of having this intro? How would you say the soldier's reaction to the audience is? Why is it called a tattoo?

2)Pub I
Why are the soldier's in the pub? What is their feeling toward the writer? What do they think that the soldier is going do to them (and for them)? What is the point to have the extract from the Today program brought into the soldier's discussion? What role does politics play in the day to day life of the men in the 42nd regiment?

3)Camp Incoming
What is the soldier's job? What are their reactions to the bombs? Can you relate some of these reactions to Swofford's reaction in Jarhead?

4)Officer E-mail 1 11)oFFICER eMAIL 2 13)Officer E-mail 3
What's the point of having this e-mail? How is the language and the tone different? Is this a letter of hope or one of discouragement? What is being expressed here that is not being expressed, say, in the pub scenes?

5)New Boys
This is a fairly long piece and there is a lot to be discussed. Is the paper incident there for comic relief only--or what larger issue is being brought up? How does the Sargent "sell" the war to the soldiers--and how is this different from the way that the wars were described in previous generations?

6)The Gallant Forty-TWA
Let's all go through this together and try to sound out the words that we are not sure of--we can help each other sing this song.

7)Pub 2 and 8) History
This section deals with the way that soldiers were brought into the war. How were they recruited? What sold them on joining? How is this different from the promotional material we heard (will hear) in class? The men place themselves in the "bird's" role--why? What role does history play in this regiments understanding of war and responsibility?

In the shorter history section, I'm interested in discussing how the "official" history plays out in the "practical" history that the soldiers discussed? Are they the same? Different?

9)Embeds and 10) Blueys
There is no way for me to talk about this section without bringing up the whole scene from Jarhead. Relate the two together and discuss how they are connected. Bluey's has no dialogue but I also think it relates a lot to Jarhead. Connect.

11)Allies
What are the soldiers understanding of Americans. Is their animosity? Why? How does that relate to the larger thought about America.

12)Pub 3
How is this different from the other scenes in the pub? Is it getting meaner? What more is being revealed? Why does this word "bullying" come up again and again?

14)On patrol
What is the scene about? Is it all setup? Or how can you relate this to Jarhead?

15)Pub 4
Again, this scene is getting a bit harsher and darker. More violent and eerie.

16)Suicide and 17)Casualties

18)The Future
Why is this called the future? The future of what? This also seems to be the most articulate scene in the whole play--what is being expressed? And how does this relate to the rest of the play?

Okay, as always, I will leave a lot of space for you to talk about the things in this play that you want to talk about. Some come into class with your ideas and things you wish to discuss. See you soon.

Preview of BlackWatch.

politics; reading Black Watch

2008-10-06T07:55:00.000-07:00

Hey all:

Reading through your blogs it seems as if SHOOTING WAR has made some of you think very intently about this upcoming election. A lot of good thoughts binging brought into our discussion and I like how the walls of our classroom are expanding to include many issues that were not originally on the syllabus. Great. And as a sidenote, if anyone is NOT registered to vote in this upcoming election, I think you still have time to do so--although time is running out. Go here to register. Or, if you like the Rock to Vote music when registering, go here.

What I have not been seeing is anyone really writing about BLACK WATCH. While it is not a long play, it is a tough play to read and you need to give yourself some time to do so. Matt did comment on his blog that he thought the play was filled with typos because the slang is tough to read and I certainly agree. The play is about the legendary Scottish regiment and the language uses Scottish slang and dialect. My suggestion is that you read the play out loud, it will help you get the feel of the play better and I think you might be able to understand it more easily. The play is profane, so if you read it out loud on the subway, you might get a few looks!

Let me hear what you think about the play in your blogs so I'll know how to organize our class discussion.

Onward!

Post war

2008-10-03T17:28:00.001-07:00

Hey all:

Just wanted to follow up on a few thoughts from class...I am still trying to figure out what I think about Shooting War. I reread the web comics and what I liked about that more than I did the book was that it was more raw. It was harder to read and the thoughts about American soldiers was very disturbing to me (part of me thinks, "how dare he? part of me is frightened by the connection to the Vietnam War and then to "events" like My Lai and wonder if Lappe is not offering a hard hitting cautionary tale).

But in the end, I just couldn't get past the slickness of the graphic novel. I think it just was "too cool for school" (no, he didn't just drop that archaic phrase, did he?) where it wanted to offer this hard hitting commentary but wanted to do it in a way that sexy and appealing. And that turned me off. Yes, throw in the Starbucks reference but then do something with it. Yes, show Jimmy as a macho guy but then either show him crushed or changed, but don't exalt him at the end (again in the web comic, it ends with him being crushed on the New Yorker cover). Yes, have a strong female character but then let her do more than just one single page headshot.

Maybe I'm being too hard on this book. I have been told that I don't like many things. That's not true, I just hate it when I see something having so much potential and then pulling a punch.

Anyway, we have Blackwatch this coming week. Make sure you go to our blackboard course and see the instructions. Have a great weekend!

Thoughts about SHOOTING WAR

2008-10-01T10:03:00.000-07:00

Hey all:

Yesterday, when I was ordering coffee in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, I met a friendly older Polish man who asked me in a mixture of English and hand signals, what I did for a living. I told him that I was an English professor. He stood up straight and with a large smile said, "ahh! You teach Shakespeare?" He was so happy and said that "kids learn, um, from the Master." His wife who was standing next to me then informed me that when they came over from Poland, they had to leave a lot of their stuff at home but they took Shakespeare's plays with them when they immigrated.

I didn't tell them that we were going to spend my literature class talking about a comic book. I think the older man might have thrown coffee in my face.

But after reading many of your posts, it seems like most of you will not be throwing coffee at me and, in fact, you enjoyed or were pleasantly disturbed by your reading. Great. And I will try to let the discussions run where they will in this class, so I am hoping that you will come in with plenty of ideas that you want to pas around.

But, of course, there are things that I think we need to do first to contextualize SHOOTING WAR and then there are certain subjects that I think we certainly need to discuss.

The GRAPHIC NOVEL (I read as much as I could about the graphic novel for this class including Stephen Weiner's The Rise of the Graphic Novel).

First, I think we should talk a bit about the rise of the graphic novel. Americans have been reading comics as long as there have been papers in circulation. But it was in 1895 when Richard Outcault's single panel cartoon, The Yellow Kid, that a comic became a popular culture icon. Newspapers realized that comics sold newspapers and so most then had a few strips in their pages.

It wasn't until the 1930s, though, that the first comic books were printed and sold. Two major publishing houses emerged--DC and Timely (which would become Marvel). It was around this time that the superheroes that still are found on our screens (and happy meals) were first born (or created by government scientists)--Superman, Batman, Wonderwoman, Captain America, Captain Marvel, and Plastic Man.

During the second World War, comic books featured patriotic heros. The major player was Captain America who, on the cover of his first issue, is knocking Hitler on his butt or in another issue almost takes the role of a Greek God. World War II was a golden age of comics because there were some "real" fighting to do and people loved to read these stories. But after the war, as America was enjoying "peace" and moving to the suburbs in droves, there didn't seem to be a need for superheroes anymore.

Then came EC Comics. EC first stood for Educational comics but in the fifties, the owner William Gianes, realizing that there were many young males (mostly) who would be interested in the dark side of 50s America, changed to Entertainment Comics and published Tales from the Crypt (not to be confused with the HBO series Tales from the Crypt or Creepshow or Tales from the Hood that were all spinoffs of the series). They also made Mad magazine (which has now been bought by DC comics). In the 1950s, though, as Mcarythism swirled, there was a fear that all this talk of zombies and flesh eating dead people (as well as the overt sexuality of the comics) was corrupting the youth of America and making them communists--so when psychiatrist Fredric Wertham published in 1954 Seduction of the Innocent that said that Comic books were too violent and sexual, publishers, fearing that they would be shut down, formed the Comic Magazine Association of America and toned down their comics.

What this did, of course, was open up spaces for smaller independent comic book writers and publishers to produce their own comics. Crude, rude and (mostly) roughly drawn, the most (in)famous of the writers was Robert Crumb who created Zap Comics (there is an interesting documentary about him entitled Crumb). These were certainly products of the sixties where there was a removal of societies taboos and a celebration of sex, drugs, masturbation, music (and of course, there was plenty of sexism and racism that went along with these comics as well).

But the major publishing houses did not disappear and in fact, they were also adapting their superheros to fit the times as well. Peter Parker was first bitten by a radioactive spider in Marvel's the Spectacular Spider Man. Here was a superhero who became one out of guilt and who always seemed to not get the girl (although in his spider suit, he was strong and brave and loved by mostly all).

But these were comic books--thought to be enjoyed only by adolescent boys and, for readers of alternative comics, perverts and burnouts. But in the 1970s, comics began to take themselves more seriously--and thus the birth of the graphic novel. One of the first graphic novels produced was Will Eisner's A CONTRACT WITH GOD AND OTHER TENEMENT STORIES. It's an interesting story about Jews living in the Bronx in the 1930s that did not shy away from issues dealing with religion as well as sex--inlcuding rape. These were not subjects found in the pages of Marvel or DC. Although this book was not that ground breaking in form, it did inspire many other writers who would take up the graphic novel form (including Art Spieglman who would pen Maus).

Jules Feiffer produced Tantrum, in 1979, bout a middle age man who is able to revert back to being a 4 year old in order to escape middle age responsibility. When his wife also learns this skill, they both become 4 years olds again so that they can escape their children and their responsibilities. While the subject matter was different from most, the drawing was also changing--it was quickly done with crudely drawn figures whose faces and bodies are exaggerated to fit a mood. Writers now were experimenting with both style and subjects and the graphic novel was a perfect form.

What the large publishing companies realized was that these books were not being read by gum chewing adolescent boys only but there was a varied group of consumers who wanted more complicated plots and more experimental drawings. Older heroes were revisited but were changed. Frank Miller's Daredevil (a blind lawyer whose senses were improved because of radiation) was previously a Spiderman knockoff, but with Miller at the helm, he made him into a warrior trained in martial arts who could understand the human condition. He also fell in love/lust with Elektra, a ninja assassin. What was apparent from this series was that the Comic Book code has loosened and comics were going to be telling stories that were a lot more seedier.

Frank Miller also created a novel in the mid 1980s-- a deeply dark and cynical Batman entitled Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.It was packaged for adult readers and the hero story was turned on its ear--Batman does save Gotham City but its a bleak world he saves. The government is useless at best and corrupt at worst and no one is going to save you because it's the right thing to do; they do it for the thrill. The colors were dark and the text disorienting--the world was dark and so were the graphic novel.

Around this time, Alan Moore also produced an important graphic novel that many in the class wrote about in their blogs--Watchmen. Much like Shooting War, it is a "what if..." book. In this fantasy world, Nixon has not been impeached, and all superheroes are outlawed. When the one superhero who the government still allows to work (because he is working on a nuclear experiment), is kidnapped, we find that most of the other superheroes who are still around are mortal, impotent and sometimes just plain crazy. DC comics held the rights to both Dark Knight and Watchmen and what these two books did was to bring the format to readers who normally wouldn't have been found in a comic book store. The form gained prestige.

In 1986, Art Spieglman broke from the super hero theme and produced MAUS: A Survivors Tale that told the enormously complicated story of his parents survival in Auschwitz as well as the authors own complicated relationship to his eccentric father. Millions read this book and while not everyone thought that the graphic form was a proper way to talk about the Holocaust, the second volume of the story earned Spegielman the Pulitzer Prize.

Since Maus to today, there are many well respected and well read graphic novels, including Ghost World, Palestine, Give it Up, The Death of Speedy, Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth, Adolf: The Tale of the Twentieth Century, etc. In the 90s and then in the 21st century, graphic novels became a marginalized part of the mainstream culture--check out the section in the Barnes and Noble on Court Street. Certainly not front and center of the store but it still does have a section that is filled with readers everytime I pass by. In 2002, for example, graphic novels sales grew by 23 percent--which is amazing when you look at how print media has declined in this century. Check out here for a list of current top graphic novel sellers.

Images of superheroes after 9/11. After 9/11, superheroes were once again battling "evil" but in this new world, many of the heroes didn't know exactly what/who to fight. Captain America, The Hulk are two examples.

Of course, one of the more recent examples of the graphic novel can be found in your hands right now: Shooting War. Images from the Book can be found here (with an interview by the author) and here.

Here are some ideas/thoughts that I want to bring up in class today.

The author's politics.

Is there any question about the author's politics? Anthony Lappe wrote a book entitled True Lies, which was pretty caustic response to the Iraq war and Dan Goldman (the illustrator) penned Everyman: Be the People, a satire of the presidency of George Bush. The politics about the war are pretty clearly seen in the video previewing the book. From the book their is this very upfront negative view of George Bush.

Do the overt political bias affect the way that you read this book? Does it just support your ideas that you had before reading? Go against them? Either way, did it add to your thoughts about the war or our current political situation in any way?

Is this book as "radical" as some of you suggested? Here's an expert from Mother Jones that I thought was interesting:
"For an audience who appreciates brisk pace, cool visuals, and entertainment-focused banter, I'd say they succeeded. But for a more critical, thoughtful analysis of the war and current American foreign policy, not so much. Shooting War is a wild, somewhat adolescent, ride through combat, imperialism, and capitalism that had me eagerly flipping pages, but ultimately craving more meaning beyond the crafty images and flippant dialog. But then again, Shooting War isn't The New York Times, and hard-hitting reporting and analysis was never the point of this project."

Portrayal of women in the book.

The "good" uploader

The Wicked reporter (1) The Wicked Reporter (2)

Sameera (serious)

Samera (sexy)

Fans of the Show

Newsreporter

Thoughts about global media

The Wicked Face

The sellout spiel

Not seen in the graphic novel

Fox News

CNN/The "Silver Fox"

Dan Rather

Terroists watching 24

The form of the graphic novel.

Comic blends into real life

Bedroom

Corporate Influence

KFC in Bagdad

The W in the Green Zone

Depictions of violence.
Shooting of soldiers

Cutting off the head of the "infidel"

Images of soldiers.

Praying

Drinking

Masks (1) Masks (2)

Shooting unarmed man (Vietnam reference?)

Trying to kill Jimmy

Newsreport

Media representation of the "hero" figure
Jimmy labeled a hero

Jimmy as egotistical hipster
The reformed Jimmy still cares about himself

Jimmy's End

Ice is civilization

Okay, that's just a few but hopefully you will bring up the images/ideas that you wnat to talk about.......

See you in class!

QUick response to your posts

2008-09-30T13:37:00.000-07:00

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......

2008-09-29T17:42:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-29T10:37:00.000-07:00

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"

2008-09-26T12:30:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-25T10:20:00.001-07:00

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

2008-09-24T11:11:00.001-07:00

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

2008-09-24T09:18:00.001-07:00

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

2008-09-22T16:35:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-21T13:56:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-09-18T13:20:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-17T08:31:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-15T16:56:00.001-07:00

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?

2008-09-14T18:02:00.001-07:00

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

2008-09-11T17:20:00.000-07:00

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!!!

2008-09-11T10:27:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-10T11:57:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-09T14:16:00.001-07:00

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?

2008-09-08T17:36:00.001-07:00

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

2008-09-05T18:52:00.001-07:00

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

2008-09-04T11:04:00.000-07:00

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.