Future Reads

1. First and First - Santino Hassell 
2. Three Martini Lunch- Suzanne Rindell
3. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll,
4. Fahrenheit 451- Ray Bradbury
5. Every Heart A Doorway - Seanan McGuire 
6. Balloon Animals - Jonathan Dunne
7. Red Queen - Victoria Aveyard
8. The Hidden Oracle - Rick Riordan 
9. Cinder - Marissa Meyer
10. Scarlet - Marissa Meyer

Curate Yourself

I'm the type of persona that often only reads things that I feel a connection with. I don't necessarily read for fun. I read when I see something com up in the news that I feel I need to have an informed opinion on at any given time. That's why I've read works like Fifty Shades of Grey or Twilight or The Hunger Games. My suggestion for this class comes from Tumblr. For a while on my dash I would see quotes from some book called The Alchemist by some guy named Paulo Coelho. After googling, and reading more excerpts, I knew I needed to go and pick up an physical copy of the book and read it. There are so many inspirational messages between those pages, and words of wisdom that I believe could directly relate back to our lives as students. Being in school, I never really have much time out of class to read a full novel, however assigning this in class would have given a lovely opportunity to know and understand the content of this book.


https://vk.com/doc22630335_50640096?hash=b9f1d0e028165e0c61&dl=83427beabcd95422b7

Asterios Polyp a graphic novel by David Mazzuchelli

This was a very interesting read to me, largely because it is not family friendly as I would have assumed by the name and cover art. The main thing that was a definite surprise to me was when we open the story to Asterios Polyp watching porn while lying in bed fully clothed and preparing to smoke a cigarette. The illustrator chose to highlight the messiness of his room as if to show how much he simply stopped caring. It reminds me of what I say when I've been to busy to clean my house, "Please excuse my home it is a reflection of the rest of my life." The main difference is that when I say it it comes of as a joke, but for him its clear that it is a reality. I couldn't help but feel bad when his apartment caught on fire. It was interesting to see what the illustrator chose for him to grab on his way out, however. Once I found out it was also his birthday, I felt even worse.

The Medium is the Massage

Media defines the popular opinion. It is a platform to open discussion of any topic that is deemed worthy of discussion. When we speak about media in the news, my first question is why do I need to know this. Lately, stories are often put in place to distract consumers from learning about information that challenges the social constrictions currently being faced. Media in song often challenges this lack of information by unapologetically addressing current issues being overlooked by news outlet media. Digital media is allowing for anyone to join into a conversation and discuss, and allows those being overlooked by massmedia to have a platform where they can openly address any topic they feel passionate about.

Voice and Auteur

For this week I chose to watch multiple films by Maya Deren. Maya is actually one of my favorite cinematographers, and I am more than thankful for being exposed to her work. The biggest theme of Maya Deren's movies is curiocity. She asks the question of what is real and what is a dream. She uses the art of repetition to reveal new truths within a storyline. She often stars in her films herself yet beautifully constructs a narrative that goes outside of her centralized being. Maya was always willing to explore more techniques when it comes to editing, subject, and metaphor, which is reflected both within her film and her personality.

Sex, Lies and Videotape Adaptation

In my adaptation I would play the roll of costume designer. The film would be very modern to represent the status of the characters. For example, with John being a successful lawyer, he would be wearing beautifully tailored suits, and never the same one twice. Ann would be a poster child for Ann Taylor Loft or Saks or Nordstroms, always wearing her hair in a tight brunette bob. Graham being the film maker, would be more casual with fitted jeans, a nice button down, and a sports coat. Cynthia being the bartender and the other woman would be much more sexualized with more dramatic make up and shorter skirts.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline Scene

Slow dolly in we see a corner of a sleeping bag as we move deeper into the trailer's laundry room. as we get closer we turn to find Wade scrunched up, playing his video games.
As he types we hear this voice over: "I wasn’t welcome in my aunt’s room across the hall, which was fine by me. I preferred to crash in the laundry room anyway."
Cut to show laundry spinning
VO: It was warm, it afforded me a limited amount of privacy, and the wireless reception wasn’t too bad. 
Cut to the detergent on top of the machine vibrating.
And, as an added bonus, the room smelled like liquid detergent and fabric softener.
Cut to Wade shooing off a cat, follow the running cat until it reaches its trailer trash mother.
VO: The rest of the trailer reeked of cat piss and abject poverty.
I was curled up in an old sleeping bag in the corner of the trailer’s tiny laundry room, wedged into the gap between the wall and the dryer. I wasn’t welcome in my aunt’s room across the hall, which was fine by me. I preferred to crash in the laundry room anyway. It was warm, it afforded me a limited amount of privacy, and the wireless reception wasn’t too bad. And, as an added bonus, the room smelled like liquid detergent and fabric softener. The rest of the trailer reeked of cat piss and abject poverty.
Cut to him in his sleeping bag, restlessly flipping and flopping. Cold air visibly coming from his mouth.
VO: Most of the time I slept in my hideout. But the temperature had dropped below zero the past few nights, and as much as I hated staying at my aunt’s place, it still beat freezing to death.
Establishing shot: Pose the trailers residence for a group photo by families.
Cut to aunt.
VO: A total of fifteen people lived in my aunt’s trailer. It wasn’t as crowded as some other units in the stacks. It was a double-wide. Plenty of room for everybody.
Cut to the Depperts
VO: The Depperts
Cut to the Millers
VO: And the Millers, there were six of them, and they paid the largest share of the rent. 

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead:

"Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" is a play set around the themes of Shakespeare's Hamlet. As they wonder along on their journey they run into an acting troupe who offer them to participate in their show. This is where the real story begins as we are thrusted into this dreamlike state of the film.

Personally, I have no idea what this play is about on the surface level. It touches on so many different themes in my eyes that are even relevant today. The main theme I am aware us is the theme of chance and decision making. In the film they rely a lot on luck to make choices. They tossing of a coin signifies what is right and what is wrong. As a person who is relatively indecisive I follow this pattern a lot, although I understand how silly it can be to rely on luck for a lasting decision.

Another theme I find within the play is the inevitability of death. We all know that we're going to die at sometime, however we often don't know when, where, or how. The play reminds us of this, and that somewhere these details are already written into our story books, we're just waiting for that scene to come forth. 

The last thing I think of with this play is the blurred balance of being on a stage versus going about your daily life. Shakespeare himself is known for saying "All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant, Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms." This theme was all over the movie. It would go from logical angles and plots to quickly shift even by walking into a different room, when you couldn't tell what world they were in in that moment.

Newsweek

It's not super clear what the permanent symbols in the story are. It's arguable that a displacement of emotions could be categorized in such a way. It was expressed repeatedly that the boys were afraid, but didn't know how to let them out, or channel them. They all had clear variances with their reactions, though they primarily were centered around drugs, girls, and façades.

This story takes me back to thinking where I was on September 11, 2001. I was seven years old and in 2nd grade. I was still new to the school, so I didn't really know any of my peers well enough to have the same sense of camaraderie as the boys in the story. I remember that I was in math class, and the teacher put on the tv as we all watched. That same day President George W. Bush was at the neighboring elementary school, reading along with one of the classes there. It wasn't until years later that I realized how intense that day was, and the dangers surrounding his presence at the time. Actually, the most prominent memory, or conversation, stemming from that day is that the President was reading his book upside down.

To adapt this story into another medium, the first step is definitely to cut out some of the filler information. Animation is increasingly growing as a medium for storytelling. It is no longer purely to captivate the attention of children. Now it can be used to narrate a storyline without the need to hire multiple actors, and on a lower budget. By removing the descriptions of characters, places, or other imagery to be replaced with illustrations, the story can be simplified and shortened to appeal to a wider audience. People no longer feel like they have time to read a full story. The faster they can receive information, the more likely they will care.

Perhaps She Dreams (Stop and Stare assignment)

What lies behind the eyes of a painting
A face of burdened expression
As it shall remain for the rest of her days
A woman of faith you can tell by her jewels 
Wisdom has traded her brunette hairs for greys
Perhaps she dreams of a love long lost
A fair prince that has charmed his way into a grave
Is it a prayer she chants for her children?
Is it a curse to be placed on an enemy. 
Is she simmering in a green haze of jealousy 
Or is she drowning in the sea of dark blue that surrounds her. 
Is her dress stained red with the blood of revenge?
Will she ever choose to wear it again?

I Awaken (Dreamscape Exercise)

I awaken in a field of yellow flowers.
I scan the landscape,
Lost,
Confused,
Bewildered by the sense of familiarity.
Cautioned by the pungeant scent of danger.
The sky is washed in pink and golden guess.
The clouds mist over the blue mountains in the horizon.
Swaying from side to side I see her.
The mistress of my nightmares.
Butchered hair a muddy grey.
Face of  sloth,
And body of a wildebeest.
Chills creep down the nape of my neck,
Down the curvature of my spine,
Raising every hair in an uproar of heightened senses.
The louder I hear her song,
The faster I force myself to run.
Faster.
Faster.
Louder.
Louder.
We're now standing face to face.
I see you.
How do you see me.
I Awaken,
It starts all over again.

Hitting Budapest

What are the primary features of this world--spatial, cultural, biological, fantastic, cosmological? 

The primary features of this world stem around the importance of men. Men make babies. Men provide for the family. Men should come first even in life. That is the culture these children have been born into. They concern themselves only with survival, not with the inappropriate or negative effects of their home environment.
What is the world’s ethos (the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize the world)? 
They romanticize the idea of living in Budapest. They dream of moving away any place they deem to be less harsh of a reality. They believe that the only way to make it out is through cleaning up after others. They justify stealing because they are doing it for survival, not simply for the thrill.
What are the precise strategies that are used by its creator to convey the world to us and us to the world? 
The main strategy in this story comes from the use of description and colorful language. The author makes up visualize the neighborhood. She describes everything in detail from the shapes and sizes, and colors of guava fruits to the experience of passing waste through the childrens bowels. Nothing is off limits.
How are our characters connected to the world? 
The characters know that this is their reality. They may never make it out of the slums, but they dream of it. They want to live like those in Budapest. They want to move away to America and plan to study hard to achieve this goal. They want to do better for themselves, but the societies around them are toxic. They see a woman waste food while they starve and it angers them. They are angry with the world for not seeing their stuggle, and they want out.
And how are we the viewer or reader or player connected to the world?”
We are outsiders looking in. We are the people living in the beautiful houses. We see our neighbors struggle. We know that there are plenty of people in this would that would even be happy with our leftovers. Instead of truly trying to help, many of us run and hide in our comfort zones and pretend like theres no problem at all.

            

Even the Queen Lusts, for A Good Man is Hard to Find

Are there any female characters in the work that you identify with?
I probably most closely find a relative connection with the main character in Lust. Through out history, women have been told that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are. They were forced to remain "pure" or "untouched" in order to be considered desirable. Even if a woman was robbed of her virtue she was the one punished most harshly. Even today if a woman decides she loves her body and wants to wear something that she feels sexy society calls her a slut and tells her that if she wants respect she has to dress less provocatively. People forget that we were all born naked. To show off skin is normal. It should be celebrated that people have released enough insecurities to allow themselves to embrace their sexuality. She and I share the same idea that liking and having regular sex shouldn't result in a "He's the man" for one sex and a "What a total slut" for the other.How are relationships between men and women (or characters assuming male/female roles) portrayed in the story? 
In the story A Good Man is Hard To Find, the men are seen as the ones in total control. While driving down to Florida it is the father figure that is calling the shots on everything from the routes they take to the stops they make. When they meet The Misfit, the first thing he does is take away the head of control to show how chaotic the following events would be. He proved that this was his show and that there would be no competition at all. Both men commanded respect. Both men had to have their way.What are the power relationships between men and women in the text?
I think the best story that represents the power of relationships between men and women would be Even the Queen. Although there is only one male figure in the story, the women talk about the struggles they faced to manipulate their bodies. On one had you have the cyclists, who feel like the miracle period-stopping drug was put in place by men as away to take away a woman's femininity. They failed to realize that it was feminists who had to lobby and fight for the drug to be FDA approved.All of the women in the story were in positions of power. The grandmother was a treaty negotiator for the UN. The mother was a judge. The sister was a mother. All of them had strong roles that are of the utmost importance in society. The main male figure, the mother's secretary, was forced to listen in to get a male perspective, and as a male I could understand the discomfort he experienced while listening to the women speak about menstruating.

Westerns

Growing up I never cared much for westerns. To me they portrayed a terrible time in American history where the "heroes" often abused women and minorities. I was sure that the whole lot of them were rotten until I saw True Grit.

My favorite character in True Grit would have to be our protagonist, Mattie Ross. I feel like if I were in her situation I would do exactly the same as her. I wouldn't let two men that I hired tell me I couldn't tag along if I wanted to. I won't let a man give me a bad deal on a trade because he thought I wouldn't know any better. I would fight for what I believed in, and deal with the risks to get what I wanted in the end.

The American mythology imposed by Western films, glorified drinking, womanizing, and protecting your town. There was always a bad guy that would come into a city. They would begin causing trouble, robbing banks, raping women, being terrible people. Then comes in a man on a horse known for shooting bad guys. He always was a little rough around the edges, devilishly handsome, and faithful to the woman he loved.

Westerns told us that when things went bad, the only way to settle things was a shoot off. Everyone in the town would crowd around these two gunslingers and watch to see who had the fastest draw, because what else were they going to do? Other than shootouts the other crowd gathering celebrations involved hanging people, dancing, and bar fights.

Pride And Prejudice.

When we were told to read this book, I cannot say that I was excited. From what I thought I knew about the book, I had no interest in picking up a copy and devoting my time to it. I was wrong about what I thought. I thought the book was another one of those love stories where the female lead would be swooning over a womanizing man that didn't deserve her. What I found was that Elizabeth was actually a strong independent woman that didn't allow status to influence her life choices.

Elizabeth is a lot like the women of today. She wants an education. She wants to earn her place in the world. She understands the constraints imposed on her by society, but works to break them. She doesn't fall in love with Darcy's money. She doesn't fall in love with Darcy's social status. She doesn't fall in love with Darcy because of the joy it would bring her mother. She falls for Darcy out of the goodness of his heart, and that makes all of the difference.

Although there are some people even today that chase zeros and dollar signs, I like to believe that the general bulk of society is all for equal partnership and working to support each other in a relationship. Actually, that's one of the first questions asked on a first date, if not before. "Do you have a job?" Followed by "Where do you work." For those that chase zeros and dollar signs they may also throw in "How much do you make?"

Origins influence ideology.

Going to college in your hometown is a strange experience. Watching your friends move away, and slowly ceasing to return over long breaks. Attempting to balance the worlds of school and social lives. Explaining that you live alone rather than saving money by staying at home too feel a since of escape. To me Sarasota feels a bit like being in an unlocked cage with the door shut. Sure you can leave whenever you want, but it's really all you've known. My mother grew up here, my grandparents moved here when they were young, this is their paradise. The stories of how our family actually ended up here are a bit fuzzy to me, complicated by variations within the family tree. As best as I can place it my Grandmother's great grandmother moved here from India after being married to a white man. They then had a daughter that ran away to married a Native American, at somewhere around this time we have "The lost Daughters of Louisiana" as my grandmother calls them.

Today, My biggest influences are my Mother and Beyoncé. My mother is the strongest mother I know. She shows kindness to everyone around her. She may introduce me as her only child, however she is a mother to hundreds of children and young adults that she mentors in the greater sarasota community.
Beyoncé on the other hand, just always finds the words I'm looking for with her music. Any emotion I've ever felt, any message I've needed to hear. She is a constant reminder of why I need to love myself, and allow my love for myself to attract others to me.
Between my two influencers, I know that flaws and all I am greatness. I can do anything, be anyone, as long as I try and push myself to the extent of my capabilities. That is what I strive for, because at the end of the day, I only consider myself successful if I can reflect on events with more happiness than regrets.

I believe that people as a whole simply want to do and to be good. I believe in forgiving, but not forgetting. Remembering the pain caused by loved ones often makes you stronger, it can give you a push that cannot be equalled by unconditional love in a way. I believe that life is too short to regret and that time is too precious to waste. I believe that you should always treat others with kindness, even if they greet you with ugliness. I believe in dressing to express, not to impress, and in the art of fashion. Most importantly I believe in myself, and nothing, nor anyone will ever be able to change that.