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.