Week 3- Comics

Week 6 - Generational Voice- Harry Potter

I believe that the Harry Potter novels embody my generation’s voice.  It is predominantly about functioning inside a school environment, choosing the right friends, and the corruption of government.  The Harry Potter generation is still mostly inside of some kind of educational system, and so Rowling’s books have acted as a point of reference for us.  They have sort of become a parable for the ideals I think most of us pretend that we uphold everyday, in honor of Jo, our fairy godmother. 

The idea of being “chosen” or special is also an idea that has become apparent in our millennial generation.  Most of us feel that we are the One to change the world, and bare the imaginary burden that Harry himself bears as the CHOSEN ONE.   At least in the case of people that I know, we appear as the stars of our own films or series of adventures.  I don’t know if this creates negative actions, but it certainly creates a lot of stress on you if you are always thinking of how the fate of the world and the happiness of others depends upon you.

Kindness to the outcasts and social “freaks”  I also feel is something that our generation is reckoning with.  Being a geek or nerd about something has become a badge of  honor instead of a title to avoid at all costs.  Harry has to deal with standing up for the less socially advantaged in the books, such as Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood.  I think that this empathetic trait is apparent in our generation, but still struggling to grow and take root.

I would like to emphasize that what I think older generations find as faults in us are merely the faults of being youthful in an ever-changing world.  I do not think that my generation is broken or feels overly entitled; I think that we are growing up and it is wrong to point at our group and blame it on inherent evilness.   If we are so vastly different than the older generations in the work force, then once these people leave the work force and our generation comes into place, than we will remake the system to suit how we work.  And then WE will start complaining about the generations after us.  And then the cycle will continue on.

Week 5- Girl in Landscape

This was an interesting book.  The main character is more of an observer and the entire tone of the book is detached.  I could feel the writer thinking things through as the plot unfolded.  As a result I felt very detached from the book and the characters.  I almost felt like I was reading a social commentary about a small town instead of the maturing of the main character.  I feel that this was the author’s technique for aligning the reader with Pella.   Instead of a character examination of her, we were learning about “ourselves” through observing the others in the community.

I also noticed a conscious effort, on the author’s part, to add variety and depth to his female characters.  The doctor, the lesbian couple, and even Pella’s mother are not a successful attempt at this.  As this is Pella’s story they become cardboard cutouts that rarely if ever affect Pella, or receive any “screen time”. 

Week 2- The Great Gatsby

Classics, in my opinion are works of art that contain a truth and can be read or enjoyed repeatedly (maybe endlessly).  I think that the Great Gatsby qualifies as a classic because it accomplishes two things; first it is a peek into the mannerisms of a period of time in history and second it is brief and deep enough to encompass many levels of examination/discovery. 

Comedy of manners have proven to be popular with such famous examples coming from Shakespeare himself.  So if done right, there is obviously an audience for this with the Great Gatsby.  With such a wide readership spanning from a wealthy to poor, there will be different and multiple views on the work.  The wealthy don’t acknowledge Gatsby’s problems (some might even sympathize with him).    The average or lower class reader can see and identify Gatsby’s problems and find it easier to pass judgment on him.

For readers after the time of publication the work provides an interesting window into the life of the Jazz Age.  This plays interest to not only historians, but also the general curiosity inherent and tales of the past.  As a book is the most engaging way to walk in someone else’s shoes, it really is a way of time travelling.  The features of the Jazz Age (parties, excess of money and drinking, women socializing, short hair, and the power women suddenly have in relationships) are now looked at with a bit of humor; for these things are not as “scandalous” or in vogue as they might have been.

The brevity of the Great Gatsby is also a contributing factor to it status as a classic.  Because it is so short, it is accessible and less intimidating to a wider audience then compared to say a massive tome like Moby Dick.  This also leads to Fitzgerald’s skill as a writer for we are led to believe that this work will not be as complex and then are surprised by its depth.  Much like classic children’s books (Where the Wild Things Are, Charlotte’s Web, Harold and the Purple Crayon) there is more being said than meets the eye.   Gatsby is a very ambiguous character and it is challenging to label him as either “good” or “bad”.  Something mysterious like this is just one reason to lead people to read the novel and (perhaps more importantly) pass it on to someone else for their own opinion.

Week 1 -The Wizard of Oz

The Wizard of Oz series has always been a favorite of mine.  I have long been proud to call it the American fairytale, but looking back on it after some distance I am not so sure it fits this claim any longer.  Now I consider the American Tall Tales, such as Paul Bunyan and Pecose Bill, to be the purer representations of our tales.  They exhibit wild exaggerations, are linked closely to manifest destiny (an important part of our cultural heritage I feel). 

Other national fairytales such as England’s Alice In Wonderland, Denmark’s Hans Christian Andersen, and Italy’s Pinocchio, are constructed out of a lot of cultural imagery and terminology; England’s nonsensical play on words; Denmark’s tales of trolls and witchcraft; and Italy’s history of marionette performances.  While L. Frank Baum does pay homage to the visuals of American culture, such as midgets, showmen, hot air balloons, the wilderness, and the cultured central axis, I feel that he still relies heavily on imagery from the European tradition.  Witches play a vital role in the books, as well as enchanted objects, European castles, and the magic of the number three are all European conventions.

In his defense it could be said that Baum was still foraging into “unknown territory” as a writer of fairytales.  After all there were witch trials in our American history.

My knowledge of literary history after Baum is weak, but I would like to suggest that James Thurber’s The Thirteen Clocks, may be a stronger step forward in the tradition of American Fairytales.  Regardless I will be looking into this topic much further after discussing it in class.

Week 8- Film- Ghost World

Ghost World scene.  Megan Fisher and Garrett Bouslough.  With special thanks to Harrison Stagner.

Week 13- Remix

The Broadway musical Wicked is my choice as a remix because it is a musical adaptation of an adult remixed version of the Wizard of Oz (a remix of a remix).