Week Fourteen: Science Fiction Parody and Satire

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

I didn't know that the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was originally a radio broadcast, I always thought they started as books. Douglas Adam's story has become quite the cult classic--I think everyone knew that the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything was the number 42 at my school by the time we were in our sophomore year of high school. That being said, not all of us knew exactly where that came from, although I had an idea.

Like seemingly everything from this semester, I wasn't very exposed to Hitchhiker's Guide. I never saw any of the film adaptations, although I do vaguely remember watching a trailer for the one starring Martin Freeman. Listening to the radio adaptation was pretty entertaining, although there were times that I got lost because I wasn't reading or watching anything.

I think that the humor, however, was best served in this audio format. I'm not big on podcasts or radio shows, although I did listen to the Welcome to Nightvale series for a short period of time. I like that, with this format, you're allowed to visualize what's happening yourself instead of relying on visual cues from film. The humor of the script was also well portrayed.

Idiocracy

I really enjoyed Idiocracy, especially as an Advertising Design major. The idea that a dystopian society is run by advertising, commercialism, and straight up stupidity is honestly not that far from a lot of the research and planning I do in class. There's a new method of media planning and buying that has been in the works for the past year known as "programmatic" media, which uses big data mining trends to define individuals based on their online shopping habits. From there, ads can be placed on a mass of sites that the individual is expected to frequent, making the consumerism more accessible than ever and the actual strategy and planning part of advertising slowly irrelevant when up against data mining.

There's always the long-running joke that every company is owned by another larger company, as seen in Idiocracy's "Brawndo" irrigating the crops and buying out the FDA, FCC, and USDA. The popular show Parks and Rec also makes fun of this in their final season which is set in 2017, looking at brands like Chipotle, Exxon, and Verizon merging into one giant company as well. But even here and now, that's happening everywhere. In advertising there are realistically 3 major "Umbrella Companies" that oversee major advertising agencies.

So maybe someday what we see as parody and satire will "devolve" into the dystopian society of Idiocracy. As this class comes to the end, all I can say is so long, and thanks for all the fish.

Week Thirteen: "The Aquatic Uncle" Question Responsese

1. Are there any prominent symbols in the story? If so, what are they and how are they used?
1. The Aquatic Uncle uses evolution as a prominent symbol throughout the story, particularly the stark comparison between "terrestrials" and "aquatic" inhabitants. From the narrator's point of view, anything that is wet or damp or fish-like in nature is used in a negative, almost derogatory way. 
2. What connections did you make with the story you read? Discuss the elements of the work which you were able to connect.
1. I related the the familial ties that the narrator had with his great uncle N'ba N'ga, having grown up with a large extended Italian-American family myself. The same way N'ba N'ga defends living an aquatic life where there are plenty of worms and crayfish, my own great-aunts and uncles have expressed their insistence that they don't need to be a part of the technological advances that we see today. Trying to get my grandmother on facebook is about as impossible as getting the aquatic uncle to live on land. Unlike the narrator, however, I do not relate to his obvious prejudice and familial self-consciousness/shame. Qwfwq is very embarrassed by his uncle. 
3. What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium? What medium would you use? What changes would you make?
1. I think the story has very strong elements of storytelling and narrative from the perspective of the narrator. If I were to adapt the story into another medium, I would choose a short animated film format. I'm not an animation student myself, but to illustrate the contrast between old and new, I could perhaps use the contrast between the elements of traditional animation for the more "aquatic" world compared to CGI for the terrestrial world. There is a lot of discussion about the evolution of animation and its shift to realistic CGI versus more stylized animation techniques. As far as storytelling changes, I don't know what I would change??

Week Twelve: Diverse Position Science Fiction

I Live with You

This week, I read the short story "I Live with You" by Carol Emshwiller. The story was, to put it simply, very strangely relatable. To me, it wasn't overtly "science fiction", but the main point of view of this shadow entity that shared the home of the woman was definitely not of this earth. Overall, the story really examined gender, and the way we control our day to day lives. 

In the story, the "You" referred to in the title can be any woman--anybody who spends more time alone or working than they do interacting with others. And then there is the extra occupant of the house, the one who sneaks away and goes unnoticed, taking the woman's favorite clothes and nibbling away at her food. As the story progresses, the entity becomes more aggressive, finding joy in it's control over this woman's life. This idea, I think, follows and criticizes the majoritarian culture of the power role women have in today's society. Even when living "alone", the woman starts losing her own freedoms and decisions. Instead of being proactive and doing something about it, she adds more locks to her own bedroom door in an attempt to protect herself. Because who would believe her, anyway?

At the end of the story, the woman pushes back against the entity and takes her life back, right as the entity is starting to REALLY take over her identity. This part was perhaps my favorite line in the short story:

"You'd not have done that before. You've changed. You'll take back your life. Everybody will make way for you now. You'll have an evil look. You'll frown. People will step off the sidewalk to let you go by."

 When I read that, it made me think of an empowered woman, someone whose in charge and confident. Something which is a rare twist to the societal norms and the entity that had been sharing the house with the woman.

Week Eleven: Cyberpunk and Steam Punk

This week, I read William Gibson's "Johnny Mneumonic", which was both confusing and enjoyable. When I looked up the story for a little more information, I was amused by the fact that there was a film adaptation starring Keanu Reeves. He probably knows he has a knack for playing these "super special", tech-based characters from the Matrix, and likes to stick to it. 

A recurring aspect of the sci-fi genres is they're willingness to dive straight into the immersive worlds the author has already created, without any hand holding. Right off the bat you can tell this world of cyberpunk deals with a very alternative reality. Looking "technical" versus "crude" doesn't bother to explain the difference, but the language behind the two and the tone of the styles is pretty clear without a lot of description. 

And then there's Molly Millions with her reflective glasses, professional assassin status and blades under her fingernails. It was kind of hard to wrap my mind around a character like Millions--while I picture Johnny as a sort of clunky, clumsy character trying to pull off a disguise to save his life, Millions is much more fluid and elusive. She embodies the "Cyberpunk Heroine" to a T, and I loved every minute of it. Not only is she in it for a cut of profits, but the character also agrees to help out for the challenge of being up against another professional assassin. 

In this alternative world, there's a clear difference between the classes and factions. As a reader I imagined the areas they were running around in as very grungy and dirty--the kind of place you'd expect to have a seedy assassin chasing after you. I got more confused at the Killing Floor, although perhaps this was the writer's intention. The description of the dancing and the Killing Floor didn't make sense to me, and as someone who tries visualizing the experiences described I'd say I was just as confused as Johnny was.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story and the way it portrayed the future society. It did get dated at times, particularly when Johnny was described as having "hundreds of megabytes" of information stored in his head, versus my travel 500 gigabyte portable harddrive. Still, the concept was really cool and the storytelling kept me interested the whole time.

Week Nine: Space Opera

Oh, space operas. I have such conflicting feelings about space operas--for the most part the space opera is exactly what I think about when thinking about "science fiction", and it's not exactly my cup of tea. At the same time...I can't stop. Space opera was such a huge part of pop culture and literature, using the principles of storytelling in the brave new world of the future. 

You can't ignore space operas, although I have been relatively successful in doing so. I haven't seen Star Wars, nor have I watched Star Trek, but I know the general plots of both, and cannot ignore how popular a fandom it has. Galaxy Quest is a hilarious tribute to the genre that I throughly enjoy regardless. There's something about the nostalgia of these tales, being able to examine them from the present-day and see what people in the past thought the future would hold. But the storytelling and narrative in these works transcend time, gripping most audiences with the humanity of it all. 

This week, I started watching Joss Whedon's Firefly TV series. I've been a fan of Joss Whedon for a while now, from Buffy to his latest Agents of Shield show. I'm a fan of the narrative form of television because it really lets the characters develop and grow, which works well with the space opera format. Look at the success and life of Star Trek, or even the BBC's wildly popular, 50-year long Doctor Who.

Week Seven: The Novel of Spiritual Education

For this week's class, I decided to read Phillip Pullman's The Golden Compass. I had seen the movie when it came out in theaters, although it was definitely a poor film adaptation in comparison to the source material. I really enjoyed how complex the alternate world was, and the relationship between the individuals and their "daemons". This partner has such an intimate bond with their counterparts, which is a major driving force of the plot, examining the relationship between religion versus science and how far boundaries can be pushed.

The Golden Compass looks at a great deal of themes to help young adults understand and better navigate the "real world" from the eyes of protagonist, Lyra. For example, throughout the book Lyra is literally a "liar", at first using her lying to trick others to her advantage in a negative light. As the story continues, however, we see she uses her sharp wit and lying to her advantage to help others, showing character growth and embedding an important lesson to the reader.

From the different factions--the Oxford Scholars, General Oblation Board, the witches, gypitans, Mrs. Coulter and even the bears-- there is a constant struggle for power and resources. The book prominently looks at the theme of power and how it affects all other parts of one's life. I would say that the spiritual challenges presented in the book were very strongly displayed through Pullman's criticism of religious institutions how much power they hold.  Mrs. Coulter shows the power of the Magisterium's power as one which is corrupt and abusive, and is often paralleled with religious organizations today such as the Roman Catholic Church. The absolute power and insistence of the Magisterium shows the faults and evils of

On the other hand, Pullman shows the benefits of working in moderation, seen in the rulers like the King of Bears and Queen of Witches. This, similar to Lyra's lying, shows the young readers how everything can be used for goodness.

Week Six: An Unexpected Journey

J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit is another book that I've read more than once, but it's one that I find myself reading there and back again. Strangely, I've never seen or read The Lord of The Rings trilogy, but at this point I'm quite knowledgeable about it's folklore and the rich backstory that Tolkien created for this universe. I've always found it interesting to look at the different interpretations of The Hobbit in particular, and how these interpretations differ.

When people think of the first version of The Hobbit to hit the screen, they usually think about the TV movie from 1977 done by Topcraft, the precursor to Studio Ghibli. But there was actually a short experimental film that came out before that in 1966 by director Gene Dietch, which was a very loose interpretation of the Hobbit with a higher focus on the Arcenstone and a fair share of strange decisions, such as changing Smaug's name to Slagg the dragon.



What keeps people coming back to Tolkien's universe is how in-depth all of the characters and their backgrounds really get. Just examining the lore behind the different races in Middle-Earth lends itself to an in-depth analysis and stories for each. For example, there are three types of hobbits which are already a subset of Middle Earth men. There are the Harfoots which most closely resemble the hobbits described in The Hobbit, are the most numerous of the races and found mainly in the Shire as well as Bree. There are also the Stoors who are more apt to be related to water, boats and swimming, while the Fallohides were more adventurous. It could be argued that the Baggins were from the Harfoot hobbits, but had Fallohide in their lineage from the Took side of the family. This sense of adventure fueled the story for Bilbo Baggins, and drove him to his hero's journey.

Week Five: Witches

“Aunt Maria” by Diana Wynne Jones was an interesting read. Told in the first person, through a series of journal entries by Mig, the main character, Jones weaves together a very interesting plot that delves into the supernatural world of ghosts and witches. The characters in this story are very dynamic to say the least; Aunt Maria is perhaps the greatest personality in the entire novel. She’s interesting to me I think, because in my mind we have all met or at least heard of people just like her. That elderly woman who lounges idly and passes judgment on those around her and somehow manipulates you into seeing to her every whim and worry. Aunt Maria is very much that character to the point that it’s almost terrifying and Jones writes in such a way that you find yourself feeling as though you too were securely under Aunt Maria’s thumb, so to speak. Every small victory over her domineering personality was like a triumphant conquest for the reader and the character that managed to attain that victory, that I think the book becomes that much better of a read, because the reader feels as though they are a part of the controversy. I think that’s why I found myself rooting for Chris’ character despite the fact that he was loud, and rude and brash. It’s that behavior I believe that most of us would resort to when pushed completely to the edge of utter annoyance. A noteworthy part of the story I think, is also how closely things would tie themselves to gender roles. The way Jones writes and deals with gender roles in the story seems to be a nod to how silly and ineffective these roles can be. In fact Jones seems to be saying, through this novel, that gender roles more inhibit rather than help alleviate situations and crises. Jones treats the separation of male and female in this novel as though they were separate species that could not and would not communicate with one another with women being the dominant species in the book, causing the male entities to be distrustful of Mig, the protagonist of the story. This novel reminded me of being a kid again because the plot line seemed like something straight out of a nineties movie, it was the right amount of supernatural antics mixed with terrible relatives and quirky, bizarre happenings like people being transformed into animals and a gathering of tea drinking witches and going out on holiday and finding an adventure. I mostly liked reading it because it lent itself to that notion of bizarre hi-jinks that sort themselves out in the end and make you a stronger person because of it.

Week Four: The New Weird

I find myself once again writing about Joss Whedon, this time about the 2012 film "The Cabin in the Woods". And I will say, if there is one thing about "weird" fiction that I can really appreciate, it's interpretations of the genre from Joss Whedon's perspective.

There's something about horror that I really don't like. Which is, quite frankly, the scary horror part of it. I'm a generally fidgety, squeamish person, so movies or books that are filled with suspense or shocking moments that are meant to leave you scared are definitely not my cup of tea. But the way "The Cabin in the Woods" does it makes it breaks down and makes fun of the formulaic nature of your every day scary movie while incorporating it's own set of rules and lore, as well as it's greater purpose within their universe.

I really liked the idea that the character tropes/archetypes seen in most horror films are exaggerated versions of otherwise normal, capable individuals. Having an underground power controlling and playing the game in an effort to stave off the apocalypse is definitely a different take on things. You think you know the story, but you don't know it. I thought the use of humor juxtaposed against the very harsh gory graphics was successful, although a little jarring for my personal taste. Since I'm familiar with Whedon's work with Buffy, it's interesting to see his take on what I would consider an adjacent universe to the Buffyverse.

Week Three: Kwaidan

This week I chose to read the short stories from Kwaidan from the assigned readings. I found them very entertaining and enjoyed the fact that they were a series of short stories as apposed to long novel forms--I've always fund media to be more digestible and to the point in shorter formats. These in particular kept me reading, the same way you could easily binge watch a tv series on Netflix but not necessarily watch 4 feature films back-to-back. I liked the way some of the stories had abrupt endings, reflective of how the real world situations of the tales would have a surprising end as well. 

Another thing I noticed was that, while they were written down by Lafcadio Hearn in 1907, the language is very simple to reflect the translations of the original stories. I wonder if some elements of the fiction were lost in translation, especially when considering the traditional embellished nature of Victorian English contrasted against the straightforward plain interpretations of the tales in Kwaidan.

One of the stories from the Kwaidan I read was The Story of Mimi-Nashi-Hoychi. It was more like stories I’m used to than others with a distinct beginning, middle, and end as well as being longer.  The creepy supernatural elements kept things interesting, I suspected that there was something going on that more than meets the eye. Well, mostly because Hoychi is blind, he couldn’t see if something was afoot. I definitely didn’t expect his ears to get ripped off though and him to keep completely still. 

Week Two: Understanding Vampires

I wouldn't say I'm necessarily a fan of vampire fiction, but I am a fan of many things that lie within the vampire genre. In this weeks class, we discussed the different classic elements of vampirism and the rules that are generally accepted in vampire fiction. As a big Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan (TV series only, I haven't had the chance to read the comics yet), I'm most familiar with the "Buffy Rules":

• Vampires are immortal unless killed by the following: Stake through the heart, Fire, Decapitation, Direct Sunlight
• Vampires do not have souls, they are demons that have taken over the souls/memories of the host body
• Their faces can turn bumpy
• Turning someone into a vampire requires the one being turned to drink the blood of the host vampire
• And many more rules

It was interesting to realize these "established rules" that I had etched in my mind were actually pretty different from the rules that are traditionally associated with vampires...such as turning into bats, or using their lustful gazes to entrance unsuspecting women. I started thinking about the way Buffy kick-started the post-modern take on vampires to add a romantic element. There are vampires, but they have souls and love the one person meant to kill vampires! (Spike and Angel) And with that, the lion fell in love with the lamb and the Twilight series became a hit (not a fan, if you couldn't tell.) 

With all of those elements in mind, I chose read  I am Legend by Richard Matheson, comparing the elements of vampirism and storytelling to the perceptions of vampires. I had seen the movie "I am Legend" starring Will Smith--although I will admit I was too scared and left the theater because there was a lot of loud startling noises, and I'm just really not a fan of "scary" movies. I liked the scientific take on the vampire notion in comparison to traditional vampire stories that incorporate more supernatural elements. In this story, the idea of an epidemic with a cure fuels the plot, which reminds me more of a "zombie" horror story. 

When we look at the "vampire" or monster in vampire fiction, we normally see them as the main antagonist to the very capable protagonist. Often the protagonist's journey is an involuntary one, but a duty nonetheless. Robert Neville had to deal with the pain and loss of his wife and daughter to this disease, losing the life he loved to fight vampires and survive in a new world. And in every generation, a Slayer is born...sometimes that slayer is a cheerleader who has to give up her life she loves to fight vampires and keep the world the same...

But Buffy Summers legacy as the Slayer is very different from Robert Neville's journey into becoming a "Legend". Whereas vampires are normally seen as a very black/white interpretation of good and evil, we realize Neville's story actually puts him on the evil side of a new society. Overall, I found I am Legend a novel take on an idea that's rehashed time and time again, and that's really what I like about vampire fiction.

Gothic Fiction depicted in The Black Cat (1934)

I have read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein many, many times at this point. I first read the novel when I was in the 7th grade in my advanced literacy class, where I was most impressed by the word "paroxysm" (I continue to use the word to this day). I then read it again in my senior year of high school in my AP English class, where I thought to myself "I wonder if I'll read this book again." Lo and behold, I did read it again! Although this time was probably my favorite reading of it, because I instead explored the structure of the book as a piece of Gothic Fiction, and elements from it that I thought were really reflective of the genre.

For this entry, I decided to take my understanding of a few key points in gothic fiction from my readings and relate it to another classic gothic piece, the 1934 film "The Black Cat" starring Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff, as well as contrast those elements to Frankenstein. The film, produced by Universal pictures and one of the biggest box office hits of that year, was part of the boom in horror film "talkie" pictures following the release of "Dracula" and "Frankenstein" in 1931.

1. The Sublime Setting
1. One major theme in gothic fiction is the idea of relevance in the context of the world, or the sublime setting. In Frankenstein, there are many grotesque horror elements combined with scientific findings that combine the emerging technology in the world with these 
2. This can also be seen in "The Black Cat", where Karloff's character Hjalmar Poelzig's very modern home is built on the ruins of the fort he commanded during the war, and surrounded by very old traditionally gothic elements.
2. Mortality/Death
1. There is a fascination in gothic literature about the preservation of mortality and the death that follows it, which is often displayed in grotesque ways.
2. Frankenstein examines this idea with Victor trying to keep his professor's mind immortalized by bringing his creature to life, hoping to find a way to take parts of people who were once deceased and bring them back for longer preservation. The results take a turn of the hideous, but the idea is nonetheless successful.
3. This ideal of preserving the beauty of things that were once living can also be seen in Poelzig's hidden dungeon: After being revealed as an antagonist through the film, we see Lugosi's character Dr. Vitus Werdegast finding his deceased wife as one of the beautiful women on display in the glass cases Poelzig has.
3. Descent into Madness
1. 
   

Elements of Horror depicted in Young Frankenstein

• Mortality/Death
• Hangings, shallow graves, grave diggers, etc.
• Bringing the dead back to life through science
• Brains on display
• Examined deterioration of heads
• Grotesque visuals, such as
• Igor's eyes/hump?
• Noises:
• Thunder & Lightning 
• Mystery of the unknown
• Dark/ Cobwebs/ Rats
• "IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT..."
• Castles lit by candlelight, Ruins
• Secret Passageways
• Breaking the limits of Mankind
• Isolation
• Descent into Madness

NOTES:

• Gothic: 18th century, one of the first genres.
• Not many novels, first novel Jon Quixote
• Novel: new form
• Chase through a multichambered environment
• Pursuit from someone who isn't appropriate for the other
• More developed gothic: pursued finds someone they can relate to
• Flows form different emotional standard, not beautiful classically. 
• Sublime: At the top of a rugged set of mountains, looking at the landscape... Recognition of how relevance in context of the world.
• Genre: Categories
• The Gothic Heroine: A response to the increase of female readers/audience
• Survival
• Variation of the Damsel in Distress Archetype, only she's taking care of herself. 
• Looking for someone who will serve as her suitor
• Awakening
• Recognition fo herself and her accomplishments
• North Anger Abby by Jane Austen, satire of gothic
• "The Woman who Kicks Ass"
• Frankenstein