In class we talked about violence, and how though we have become very desensitized to it on the whole, real life violence still has a large effect on us. Part of this effect is due to the way violence is portrayed in movies and TV. More movies than ever before are adopting the PG-13 rating, as it is the perfect way to boost sales by widening the target market. This rating allows for what is in theory realistic violence, but it doesn't allow the violence to be shown realistically. When somebody gets shot, they don't start bleeding profusely. When someone jumps through glass, they don't emerge with dozens of cuts. When someone is near an explosion, they aren't torn to pieces or filled with shrapnel. Movies in general, but particularly movies with the PG-13 rating are cleaning up violence to the point that it isn't even comparable to the real thing. As a result of showing violence without consequence, many of these movies are very light in tone. In the recent Avengers movie, the heroes are allowed to make jokes during fights because the hundreds of civilian deaths, some no doubt caused by the heroes themselves, are completely ignored. When we see real violence, we are surprised not just by how violent it really is (an example of this is how people just fall, instead of flailing around in The Things They Carried), but also by its effect. When violence occurs, innocent people can die, and it's scary to think that we aren't used to that idea. 

Allow me to play you out... 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X_gKRw0P86M

(A song where violence has consequences)

The second book of Maus depicts Jews burning  in the ovens of aushwitgz. Vladeck provides a horrifying narration of how this takes place, and the image itself does not hold back. This scene can be interpreted as representative of what the book is trying to do overall. Because the book is dealing in simplistic, cartoon drawings, it is able to show graphic and disturbing content in an objective way. If the book contained drawings of real people, it wouldn't be able to display the same horrific details. A book that illustrated people burning alive,as well as other horrific events would not be a very successful one. But with the simplistic drawings employed by Spiegelman, the reader can feel more detached, much as Spiegelman himself does. The story is being told by someone who wasn't actually there, so even though the events are very accurate, they feel less disturbing. Because the cartoons are easier to swallow, many people can read about horrifying events that would otherwise be nearly unreadable. The lack of detail in the panels removes subjectivity, and allows the book to show only the facts. We see only what actually happen, and Spiegelman doesn't attempt a guess at facial expressions or excess dialogue. Maus gets away with so much because of all that it chooses to leave out

Allow me to play you out...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wmKKr8ZzUQ0

(I don't have a lot of holocaust themed music so instead here's one of the happiest songs I know to balance out all the Maus discussion) 

Nacirema

"Body Ritual among the Nacirema" points out the absurdity of American culture. However, it is important to understand that the piece is only an exercise in perspective, not a more objective or more correct way of viewing our society. First off, the criticism is aimed only at Americans, yet our crimes occur across the entire world. This disdain for America seems to be a prevalent mindset. It's true that you can measure objectively good and bad things about our country, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the general sense that America is a bad place, which is completely subjective and cannot be proven with facts (or rather, it can be proven and disproved with such ease that neither has significance.) Just because "Body Ritual among the Nacirema" alters your perspective doesn't mean it gave you a more correct perspective. The goal isn't to tell you the truth, it's to teach you a lesson in subjectivity. 

So if you read about the Nacirema, and come away with the realization that Americans aren't as smart as you used to think, you're missing the point. The point is that whatever conclusion you come to about Americans, you reached it because of who you are and where you're at in your life, not because you are correct. Everyone's opinions vary, and nobody is special enough to be more correct than everyone else. Respect other peoples opinions, because your opinions are just as invalid as theirs are.

Allow me to play you out...

Book vs movie

I think the movie adaptation of Mrs. Dalloway didn't do as good of a job as the book did at creating a sense of realism. Because of this one of the central themes of the book, the importance and beauty of everyday life, was sacrificed. The book demonstrates this theme by taking ordinary events and people, and making them extraordinary through language. The natural extension of this is to take ordinary events and people, and use cinematography to make them extraordinary when adapting this theme for the screen. However this simply does not work as well. The movie changes the nature of the events in a way writing does not. Because of things like the intense soundtrack and the artful framing of shots, the movie feels less like a slice of life and more like a director's grand vision. The theme of everyday life's importance, while still present, is less clear and the impact of this idea is greatly diminished. I felt that the writing and acting contributed to this problem as well. The scenes felt intense and dramatic, whereas in the book interactions tended to be mundane on the surface level, yet full of hidden meaning.

Despite my complaints , I am not saying the movie should have been more like the book. This is a common argument, and it is almost never correct. Books and film are different mediums and the qualities that make a book great are not the same ones that are important for movies. I appreciate that in this case the movie strayed far from the book, as a straight adaption certainly wouldn't have worked well. My point is that because of the nature of film, and the nature of the complex themes in the book Mrs. Dalloway, perhaps the movie could never have been as strong.

Allow me to play you out...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LgCpkCczvM

(A song about jumping out a window)

Internal conflict

Throughout the book, most of the problems the characters face take place only in their heads. Clarissa struggles with the idea of growing old. Septimus is haunted by his PTSD. The book deals almost exclusively in internal conflict, and the ending of the book is a commentary on the nature of these internal conflicts. The power that time holds over characters is touched on several times. Clarissa feels that time is wearing away at her and she is constantly aware of the imminence of her own death. However this changes in the last few pages of the book. When Clarissa is glad to hear Septimus has died, she has finally become comfortable with the idea of death. Clarissa observes the poetic beauty of no longer "feeling the heat of the sun" (92.) The way this inner is conflict resolved says something unique about the nature of internal conflict. Charissa's struggle with death is solved suddenly, seemingly randomly, at the very end of the book. This shows that there was nothing holding her back but her own mindset. The resolution didn't need to be built up to or foreshadowed, because this type of problem can be solved in the blink of an eye. Internal conflicts are completely subjective, they exist only because we believe they exist and as soon as we change our thinking process they can vanish completely. It's true, the passing of time is slowly killing us all, but such a thing can only be true if you choose to believe it.

Allow me to play you out... 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ztccvaZ9_7k

Human Nature

"Once you fall, Septimus repeated to himself, human nature is on you." (page 98)

Septimus repeats this though several times in response two Rieza, Sir William, and Dr. Holmes. To Septimus these characters represent human nature. Both doctors fail to understand what Septimus is going through. The doctors don't experience the same visions and emotional reactions Septimus does, and as a result they are apathetic. Dr. Holmes believes nothing serious is wrong. Sir William is able to come closer to understanding Septimus's reality, but there's really no way he could understand completely given how different his circumstances are from Septimus. Riezza may not be completely apathetic, but she fails to understand Septimus just like everyone else. She feels as though she has lost her connection to him. Because of his relationship with these characters, Septimus arrives at broad conclusions about human nature. He understands, as Virinia Woolf does that all people have different versions of reality. After experiencing first hand the gap between his reality and the reality of others, he feels completely alienated. Septimus discovers that it is human nature to only comprehend one perspective. Additionally, it is human nature only feel emotions based on that one perspective. Human nature doesn't allow for the problems of others. Being self centered is built into the way we perceive our world

Allow me to play you out...

Assimilation

In "Fish Cheeks," Amy Tan suggests that immigrants need to remain true to themselves by being proud of their culture. The Asian narrator, because she wants to impress a white boy, is ashamed of the Chinese food that is being served to him. Looking back, she believes believes being proud of the food would have been more true to herself seeing as her mom "had chosen all of her favorite foods" (95.) Tan suggests that complete assimilation is bad, however what she doesn't address directly is the idea that assimilation is imminent for immigrant families. 

Asian's are stereotyped as being smart because their parents generally place more emphasis on education. The more generations an Asian American has been in America, the less likely this is to be true. As they become more American, the original culture slowly disappears. The narrator of "Fish Cheeks" learns to value the culture from her past. However it stands to reason that her children and grandchildren aren't likely to reach the same conclusion. Over generations, the family will blend into the great melting pot. In the context of the story, this feels like a defeat. However I would posit that there's nothing inherent about American Culture that makes it inferior to the Chinese culture of the narrator's parents. Chinese culture is still alive and vibrant in China, the fact that it can't exist for an extended period of time in America makes perfect sense.

Allow me to play you out...