In Class Questions

1.     I found this story to be an interesting narrative, based on the strange way it was splintered. While I did find it to be odd, I think my constant questions kept me glued to reading the story. Based on the first segment of the story presented, I was most surprised by the direction it wound up taking. I am still slightly confused about the ending, which seems to imply that our main character was afforded diplomatic immunity for his crimes, but I am still not 100% sure that this is what the story is telling us. While I enjoyed the splintered timeline of the story, I still struggled with trying to put some of the events in order, between his crime, his various jobs, and his addiction.

2.     I connected with the passage left under the husband’s pillow by his wife, in which she quotes the critic on his view of sympathy. I have found that it can be difficult to relate to certain specific tragedies, ones that can’t be imagined. Still, there is no doubt that in reading about these horrific events, you can’t help but naturally feel sympathy for those involved. Despite this natural response, there is still an emotional disconnect between you and people involved in disasters on the other side of the world. While it may be commonplace for everyone to comment on large tragedies publicly, even though they have no bearing on your life, it is still normal not to have anything else to add. There is a strange atmosphere online that you must either make a point to comment on tragedy or else it can be assumed you don’t care. Just as the critic pointed out, I am hesitant to try and publicly sympathize with those whose hardships I can’t even begin to imagine, as I will never truly be able to say that I understand.

3.     If I were to adapt this into another form of media, I would likely choose film, as I feel a lot of these passages would make for good Wes Anderson-esque voiceover narration. In order to do that properly, I would need to reorder some of the information presented so as to keep the narration paced out properly in relation to any purely action scenes. Still, I would try and keep the fractured narrative, and would try and convey the crime described throughout the story without actually showing it, as the story itself tends to do. I think the photographs being sent through instagram work as a successful way of viewing the crime through the wife’s eyes. In this way, we never really know the truth about her husband’s actions, whether it was really self-defense as he claimed, but we still have a pretty good idea. I would also make a point to soundtrack this movie using Bob Dylan songs almost exclusively, as it feels fitting.

Curated Media: Mystery Science Theater 3000

My choice of media that I feel would have a part in this class is the TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000. What brought me to this series, which I have always had a strong attachment to, was the debut of the reboot this past weekend (which, if you are interested, is very true to the original feel of the show).  What I feel is so important about MST3K is the way that it has influenced a specific style of humor since its original creation. As a child I grew up listening to my father’s jokes, which were definitely based on the riffing done for the show. This type of humor, in which you comment on something while watching it, has permeated into our culture, even influencing the internet culture of Let’s Plays. In today’s culture, MST3K is the perfect show to make a comeback. In the past few years, a large amount of humor has centered on ironic enjoyment. Millennials are watching terrible things for fun, making this the perfect environment for a show about watching terrible movies. What I find most interesting about the phenomenon of watching bad things for enjoyment is the fact that you don’t have to find media particularly good to get some enjoyment out of it. While the perception of “good” is entirely opinion, there are certain aspects of media that much of the public would consider universally bad. Still, since good and enjoyable aren’t mutually exclusive, there is a continuously growing amount of purposefully bad comedy, which could technically then be considered good comedy. MST3K as a series provides “good” comedy to go with bad movies, but the show truly works because the movies are bad enough to be funny in a good way.

Persepolis

When I saw the chance to read the graphic novel Persepolis, I was extremely excited, as I had seen a select few short clips from the film version in a high school class and had always wanted to read the original graphic novels. The stories presented within offer a very unique voice, in the face of a very serious subject. When it comes to learning about serious events such as revolutions or wars, it is extremely easy to believe in the "correct" side of history after the fact. By telling this story, not only from a firsthand perspective but also that of a child, Persepolis really demonstrates how difficult it is to know the "truth" in the face of terror and violence. Young Marji is faced with a series of conflicting narratives, from her parents, her school, and also literature that she happens to own. At her age it is easy to place your full conviction in whatever opinions are presented to you, which is not only present in her actions but those of her peers. On the one hand, Marji's youth makes her a biased narrator, but on the other, it gives her the ability to explore multiple opinions constantly, even grappling with religion at a very young age. While Persepolis contains a lot of thought provoking topics, the voice of the piece, coming from a child, creates a sense of whimsy at different points in the story. When we see Marji and her friends goofing off about torture or being martyrs, we understand the war as it appears to the children, who process and use information in the only ways they know how. This, I feel, keeps the story from being consumed by how dark these times truly are, as throughout the comic we see examples of death and oppression.

The visual voice throughout Persepolis also contributes to the unique feeling of a child's thoughts. The style allows for interesting designs, such as the portrayal of God throughout the comic, but it also adds a very real sense of darkness to the serious scenes, portrayed in a stark contrast. The use of harsh black and white shading works to make a very simple style of drawing (which in my opinion fits the imaginings of a child) fit the extremely heavy tones of the time the story takes place in. The unique voice of this graphic novel definitely makes it a captivating story to read.  

Goose Father

GOOSE FATHER SHORT FILM­­

VISUAL CUES PRIORITIES

1.     Introduction to Gilho being lonely in his apartment

a.      Establishing shot of apartment

b.     Camera focuses on family photos

c.      Gilho going about his lonely life.

d.     Advertises his need of an assistant.

2.     Wuesong is introduced with the goose in front of Gilho’s apartment.

a.      Cut to Wuesong making breakfast for Gilho.

b.     Scene dedicated to conversation between the two men

c.      Reveal Wuesong’s past and the reason as to why he has a goose.

3.     Gilho and Wuesong go out on a Kareoke night

a.      Show friendship between the two men.

b.     They both get tipsy with the alcohol intake.

c.      Gilho and Wuesong almost kiss, but Gilho slaps him.

d.     Wuesong runs away crying.

4.     Gilho returns to his sad apartment and skips work because of sad events

a.      Parallel editing between Gilho and Wuesong

b.     Gilho stares at the sunset outside his balcony

c.      Wuesong walks around the city with his goose with no destination in mind

d.     They both miss each other.

5.     Gilho goes out with friends at a Korean bar

a.      Show Gilho  having fun with friends, but clearly still has wuesong in his thoughts.

b.     Gilho returns to the apartment with one drunk friend (Taeyeong)

6.     Gilho and taeyeong surprisingly finds Wuesong inside the apartment cooking a meal.

a.      Taeyeong screws with the goose until the goose bites him

b.     Wuesong panics and patches him up.

c.      They decide to go to sleep.

7.     Wuesong wakes up in the middle of Daeboreum (full moon night)

a.      He finds his mother on the balcony

b.     Intimate moment between boy and mother.

c.      Gilho wakes up as well and is surprised to see the goose was really his mother all along.

d.     Gilho and Wuesong decide to kiss in this magical moment and the screen fades to black.

My Female Hero

If I were to write a female superhero for our modern era, I think I would focus on mostly her flaws as opposed to her strengths. Even now as media progresses, female characters are written in ways that leave them flat and uninteresting. While male characters are riddled with flaws and are still considered beloved, female characters hardly get the same treatment. I want to create a female superhero who fits the trope of a character who is aloof and judging, but who, at the end of the day, cares deeply about others and will do the right thing. While there may have been occasions where female characters fit this role, I can't call to mind any specific female protagonists who truly had this character type. What seems to be more popular to me is the existence of a female character who is cool and indifferent, who does a complete 180 and no longer acts that way, usually because of a man but not always. 

I would love to write the story of a hero facing a destiny she doesn't necessarily want at first, given the power over ice by a greater force, such as a powerful ancient god. I'd want to encapsulate the story of a woman rejecting parts of her she feels are inherently bad (her own power) and using them to do something good in the world. 

While I did initially focus on writing a character with flaws to make a point, as a complex character, this heroine would have a lot of redeeming qualities as well. As a prominent female character, I would want her to be tenacious, not backing down in the face of tough situations or frustrating scenarios. At the end of the day, despite her flaws, I would want this character to emulate determination, even in the face of the worlds strangest scenarios. 

True Grit

It was only after getting halfway through this book that I realized the familiarity that came with having already seen the 2010 movie (despite forgetting I had done so). I greatly enjoyed this book, as I generally tend to enjoy first person narration, as it added a dimension I didn't feel the movie had. My main takeaway from reading this book was the general coldness of the characters. While revenge is had and the major players survive the main conflict of the book, Cogburn never reaches out to Mattie, only in death does he see her again, despite her writings. Mattie is a young woman determined for revenge with unyielding determination to see her father's killer done in her way, by her hand. Her attitude throughout the book is far from warm and cuddly, and she ends up rich but unmarried at the end of the book. While everything seems a bit melancholic at the end, the story of True Grit isn't intrinsically sad. While it may not be the happy ending people would want, the story wraps up well, and the actions are befitting of the characters. The book didn't provide an ending that would make you feel warm and fuzzy inside, because solving problems is messy and it takes grit to do whatever it takes to get the job done. This story serves to show that problems aren't solved through doing the "right" thing or being the best person, but through doing the things that need to be done.