Alan Moore's 'Light of Thy Coutenance' is the definition of literature, it is simply presented in a different medium. The detailed descriptions of the conflicts of characters the 'TV' encompasses is poetic in its mystery. Identifying The narrator of the literary comic can take sometime for the reader. The panel by panel drawings with vibrant colors depicting the history of TV in motion, are clues to understanding the convoluted dialogue. The narrator, TV, knows that it is an omnipotent deity that is fast becoming worshiped by the masses.
Unlike '21 Steps,' a story that tries to use Google Earth to fill-in-the-blanks of the reader's imagination, 'Light of Thy Counteance' effectively uses a different medium to convey a literary work of art. If the comic-book medium were to remove and 'Light of Thy Counteance' were convey in a traditional format, it could be labeled as a confusing, mysterious and poetic story that could be interpreted in numerous different ways without a focused scope. The addition of detailed pictures and the panel by panel depictions of character actions, allows the reader to focus his imagination in order to correctly receive Moore's message.
The general idea that television is replacing everything from relationships to religion is conveyed by illustrated panels while important dialogue is interspersed between various images. The man carelessly pushing away his real partner in favor for the television counterpart is emphasized and detailed by the panel by panel. His slow approach towards the TV with the expression of lust is illustrated in such a manner to emphasize Moore's point. Also, the one page church scene underlines the overall narrative, that TV is fast becoming a deity that all of humanity worships.
The comic book medium that Alan Moore employs in an exclusive fashion, adds to the reader's understanding and appreciation of the plot. Without that medium, the words would become a disjointed mystery that could not be salvaged into a meaningful message. Alan Moore's literary work is the definition of literature, it is simply told in a manner which enhances the reading experience.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
M. Butterfly #1
Gallimard’s descriptions of Chinese society can be described as David Hwang’s critique of Western culture and its underlying belief in benevolence of Western ideas. Gallimard’s image of the perfect Orient can be manifested in the play ‘Madam Butterfly,’ a Western creation that idealizes Orient culture as being submissive to the West. This can be depicted by Gallimard’s absolute belief in the authenticity of the romantic relationship between Western male character (Pinkerton) and the Oriental female character (Butterfly) in the Western Play. The overall idea in ‘Madam Butterfly’ that Gallimard reveres, is that Oriental women loathe their ‘senile (18)’ culture by becoming falling in unrequited love with a Western male.
‘GALLIMARD: There is a vision of the Orient that I have. Of slender women in chong sams and kimonos who die for the love of unworthy foreign devils. Who are born and raised to be the perfect women. Who take whatever punishment we give them, and bounce back, strengthened by love, unconditionally. It is a vision that has become my life (91).’
Gallimard’s views do not only extend to the idea woman. He is so steeped in Western views of Oriental culture that he extends the ideas of ‘Madam Butterfly’ to generalizations about how Orientals value life.
‘GALLIMARD: And somehow the American war went wrong too. Four hundred thousand dollars were being spent for every Viet Cong killed; so General Westemoreland’s remark that the Oriental does not value life the way Americans do was oddly accurate. Why weren’t the Vietnamese people giving in? Why were they content instead to die and die and die again (68)?'
Gallimard’s intellectual process that he used to arrive at this statement can also be attributed to his romanticize notions of oriental women. He believes that women are undervalued in society and as a result need Western men like him to ‘protect’ and ‘pamper’ them until they ‘smiled (16).’ Gallimard’s leap from the idea that Oriental culture devalues women to the generalization that Orientals devalue life is the author’s illustration of the assumptions Western society holds about the mystique of the Orient.
Gallimard’s assumptions is not his own, its an example of the thought process of the West. The example of intellectual progression that lead to American involvement in Vietnam, the racist ‘Madam Butterfly’ play, and a French diplomat’s lust for an Oriental man masquerading as a woman. The reader can conclude that the author finds Western views of the Orient to be racist, dangerous and even comedic.
‘GALLIMARD: There is a vision of the Orient that I have. Of slender women in chong sams and kimonos who die for the love of unworthy foreign devils. Who are born and raised to be the perfect women. Who take whatever punishment we give them, and bounce back, strengthened by love, unconditionally. It is a vision that has become my life (91).’
Gallimard’s views do not only extend to the idea woman. He is so steeped in Western views of Oriental culture that he extends the ideas of ‘Madam Butterfly’ to generalizations about how Orientals value life.
‘GALLIMARD: And somehow the American war went wrong too. Four hundred thousand dollars were being spent for every Viet Cong killed; so General Westemoreland’s remark that the Oriental does not value life the way Americans do was oddly accurate. Why weren’t the Vietnamese people giving in? Why were they content instead to die and die and die again (68)?'
Gallimard’s intellectual process that he used to arrive at this statement can also be attributed to his romanticize notions of oriental women. He believes that women are undervalued in society and as a result need Western men like him to ‘protect’ and ‘pamper’ them until they ‘smiled (16).’ Gallimard’s leap from the idea that Oriental culture devalues women to the generalization that Orientals devalue life is the author’s illustration of the assumptions Western society holds about the mystique of the Orient.
Gallimard’s assumptions is not his own, its an example of the thought process of the West. The example of intellectual progression that lead to American involvement in Vietnam, the racist ‘Madam Butterfly’ play, and a French diplomat’s lust for an Oriental man masquerading as a woman. The reader can conclude that the author finds Western views of the Orient to be racist, dangerous and even comedic.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Blog post #1 redone
‘the drowned face always staring
toward the sun’
‘of our human air.’
‘and checked the edge of the knife-blade,’
‘the body-armor of black rubber’
‘I crawl like an insect down the ladder.’
‘to tell me when the ocean will begin.’
‘the sea is another story’
‘you breathe differently down here.’
‘and the treasures that prevail.’
‘And I am here, the mermaid whose dark hair
streams black, the merman in his armored body.’
‘whose drowned face sleeps with open eyes
whose breasts still bear the stress
whose silver, copper, vermeil cargo lies’
‘We are, I am, you are
by cowardice or courage’
‘carrying a knife, a camera
a book of myths
in which
our names do not appear.’
‘and the treasures that prevail.’
‘the evidence of damage
worn by salt and away into this threadbare beauty’
Adrienne Rich is portraying the wreck as an attraction that exists in another world. ‘The sea is another story’ portrays the ocean as an alien world that few wish to explore beyond the surface. The ocean is fundamentally different according to Rich, devoid of our ‘human air’ and other qualities of surface life. The author illustrates the ocean as the last unexplored frontier where ‘threadbare beauty’ can be found in the form of wrecks, coral reefs, and abundant sea life.
The fact that an adventurer must travel with ‘body-armor of black rubber’ and a ‘knife-blade,’ portrays the ocean as an openly hostile place that requires tools to protect the fragile human body. Rich’s imagery illustrates the ocean with dangerous obstacles that must be surmounted by a ‘merman in his armored body,’ an image that does not only bring up the necessity of the tools required but also the required personality to achieve success in the deep.
The few who do, must venture on their own as there will be no one ‘to tell [her] when the ocean will begin.’ The author labels the wayward adventurer as a person that needs character traits that are different from mainstream society. People that navigate the depths must be motivated by extreme emotion. The adventurers who find themselves along the ‘threadbare beauty’ can attribute their presence at the scene to ‘cowardice or courage.’ These are motivators that differentiate the sea adventurer from others. The author reminds us that exploring the sea requires humans to change from their environment that they are accustomed to. The reason she ‘crawl[s] like an insect down the ladder,’ is because she cannot enter the ocean with human behavior.
The author’s use of ‘mermaid’ and ‘merman’ to describe herself as she explores the ocean also underscores the author’s belief that the ocean is not meant for mainstream society. The author illustrates the image that an adventurer must become a creature of the sea in order to seek ‘the treasures that prevail.’
toward the sun’
‘of our human air.’
‘and checked the edge of the knife-blade,’
‘the body-armor of black rubber’
‘I crawl like an insect down the ladder.’
‘to tell me when the ocean will begin.’
‘the sea is another story’
‘you breathe differently down here.’
‘and the treasures that prevail.’
‘And I am here, the mermaid whose dark hair
streams black, the merman in his armored body.’
‘whose drowned face sleeps with open eyes
whose breasts still bear the stress
whose silver, copper, vermeil cargo lies’
‘We are, I am, you are
by cowardice or courage’
‘carrying a knife, a camera
a book of myths
in which
our names do not appear.’
‘and the treasures that prevail.’
‘the evidence of damage
worn by salt and away into this threadbare beauty’
Adrienne Rich is portraying the wreck as an attraction that exists in another world. ‘The sea is another story’ portrays the ocean as an alien world that few wish to explore beyond the surface. The ocean is fundamentally different according to Rich, devoid of our ‘human air’ and other qualities of surface life. The author illustrates the ocean as the last unexplored frontier where ‘threadbare beauty’ can be found in the form of wrecks, coral reefs, and abundant sea life.
The fact that an adventurer must travel with ‘body-armor of black rubber’ and a ‘knife-blade,’ portrays the ocean as an openly hostile place that requires tools to protect the fragile human body. Rich’s imagery illustrates the ocean with dangerous obstacles that must be surmounted by a ‘merman in his armored body,’ an image that does not only bring up the necessity of the tools required but also the required personality to achieve success in the deep.
The few who do, must venture on their own as there will be no one ‘to tell [her] when the ocean will begin.’ The author labels the wayward adventurer as a person that needs character traits that are different from mainstream society. People that navigate the depths must be motivated by extreme emotion. The adventurers who find themselves along the ‘threadbare beauty’ can attribute their presence at the scene to ‘cowardice or courage.’ These are motivators that differentiate the sea adventurer from others. The author reminds us that exploring the sea requires humans to change from their environment that they are accustomed to. The reason she ‘crawl[s] like an insect down the ladder,’ is because she cannot enter the ocean with human behavior.
The author’s use of ‘mermaid’ and ‘merman’ to describe herself as she explores the ocean also underscores the author’s belief that the ocean is not meant for mainstream society. The author illustrates the image that an adventurer must become a creature of the sea in order to seek ‘the treasures that prevail.’
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Globalization in 'Pattern Recognition'
The novel is essentially about nations in transition during the advent of the 21st century. The authors descriptive nature of Russia, Japan and England in a world becoming steadily unitary, is a commentary on the effects of Globalization in the wake of the Cold War. Cayce Pollard's commentary on the proliferation of American brands like Starbucks and Pepis in countries such as Russia, serves as William Gibson's critique of Globalization. Cayce's observations of the expansion of brands (essentially the expansion of America) into previously denied areas, tend to be peppered with negative language, for example, the phrase 'mirror world' that Cayce routinely employs when describing a product. William Gibson does decry the pitfalls of old world systems like communism, but he also offers an evenhanded review of the price of
Globalization.
The author uses Cayce Pollard as a witness to negatives and positives of Globalization while using her father's stories of the old world as a comparative perspective. When exploring East Berlin in the subsequent months after the fall of Berlin 'she'd come very close to weeping, appalled at the manifest cruelty, not to mention sheer boneheaded stupidity of what she'd seen, and had been moved to call Win in Tenessee (270).' Win's memories are William Gibson's conclusion of the end result of Soviet reign, but it contrasts heavily to the corruption that Cayce views in modern Russia. Cayce's rides in the Mercedes with blue flashing lights that allow the rich owner's to circumvent traffic laws for a price, is an example of corruption being a product of unchecked Capitalism.
William Gibson portrays countries as steadily becoming unitary in nature, but he also describes the subtle differences of 'mirror-world' from nation to nation. Cayce's observation of an upscale Russian coffee resturant showcases this:
'If there were visible logos on the clothes these people are wearing, she'd be in trouble. Lots of Prada, Gucci, but in a Moneyed Bohemian modality too off-the-shelf for London or New York. LA, she realizes: except for two goth girls in black brocade, and a boy gotten up in impeccable High Grunge, it's Rodeo Drive with an extra helping of cheekbones (284).'
Cayce is nauseated by the excess proliferation of high end clothing brands among the excessively wealthy Russian upper class. However, she acknowledges the Slavic flavor of 'extra helping of cheekbones' to th Prada and Gucci mix. The conclusion is that Russia may have a Rodeo Drive, but it is a Russian Rodeo drive.
Globalization.
The author uses Cayce Pollard as a witness to negatives and positives of Globalization while using her father's stories of the old world as a comparative perspective. When exploring East Berlin in the subsequent months after the fall of Berlin 'she'd come very close to weeping, appalled at the manifest cruelty, not to mention sheer boneheaded stupidity of what she'd seen, and had been moved to call Win in Tenessee (270).' Win's memories are William Gibson's conclusion of the end result of Soviet reign, but it contrasts heavily to the corruption that Cayce views in modern Russia. Cayce's rides in the Mercedes with blue flashing lights that allow the rich owner's to circumvent traffic laws for a price, is an example of corruption being a product of unchecked Capitalism.
William Gibson portrays countries as steadily becoming unitary in nature, but he also describes the subtle differences of 'mirror-world' from nation to nation. Cayce's observation of an upscale Russian coffee resturant showcases this:
'If there were visible logos on the clothes these people are wearing, she'd be in trouble. Lots of Prada, Gucci, but in a Moneyed Bohemian modality too off-the-shelf for London or New York. LA, she realizes: except for two goth girls in black brocade, and a boy gotten up in impeccable High Grunge, it's Rodeo Drive with an extra helping of cheekbones (284).'
Cayce is nauseated by the excess proliferation of high end clothing brands among the excessively wealthy Russian upper class. However, she acknowledges the Slavic flavor of 'extra helping of cheekbones' to th Prada and Gucci mix. The conclusion is that Russia may have a Rodeo Drive, but it is a Russian Rodeo drive.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Finding Patterns in 'Pattern Recognition'
Marketing and Commodification-
The author explores the advent of ' advertising' for products becoming the driving force of innovation. The ability to create a media campaign that can be consumed and marketed perfectly to the reviving audience, is the golden grail.
“Far more creativity today, goes into the marketing of products than into the products themselves, athletic shoes or feature films. That is why I founded Blue Ant: that one simple recognition.”
Bigend, Pg 67.
In essence, the product itself is no longer important. The 'how' of captivating interest and grabbing on to a 'hot trend' is more important than the product itself.
The author also explores the desire for marketing companies to be up to date with the current trends of the day. However, that time consuming endeavor has spiraled into the creation of the newest marketing ploy, the creation of trends by the marketing firms themselves.
'”Exactly,” Cayce says, “but that's why it works. They don't buy the product: they recycle the information. They use it to try to impress the next person they meet.”'
- Magda, Pg 85
I believe the author at this point, is trying to illustrate that products are no longer the driving force of capitalism. The ability to make a product 'cool' surpasses the desire to make a product superior. The character's quest to find out the creator of the 'footage' is an overt statement of this fact. Bigend has appealed to Cayce's desires to find the creator, in order to reproduce 'excellence' that can be controlled on the world stage. Therefore, 'marketing' is the new product that is being coveted in the 21st century.
Post-9/11 Social Commentary.
9/11 is a constant backdrop to the novel's plot, characters and theme. The constant paranoia exhibited by Cayce, can be an allusion to the general feelings of the US public in the wake of 9/11. The 'James Bond' like procedures Cayce undertakes to 'secure the perimeter' of Daimen's apartment can be an allusion to the threat of the post 9/11 Patriot Act.
More so, 9/11 is a constant motif that has effects the language and emotions of the characters. For example, Dorotea's query about the winter in New York.
“How was the winter then in New York?”
“Cold,” Cayce says.
“And Sad? It is still sad?”
-Dorotea, Pg 13
The post 9/11 world colors the mood of the story. The characters seemed to live in a bleak setting with no hope for a renaissance like existence.
The post 9/11 motif makes the idea of hoping for the future an exercise in futility.
“For us, of course things can change so abruptly, so violently, so profoundly, that futures like our grandparents' have insufficient 'now' to stand on. We have no future because our present is too volatile.”
-Bigend, Pg 57
The author in a sense, states that the idea of hope died with the events of 9/11. The sudden fall of the towers illustrates the character's belief that the present is chaotic that cannot be predicted.
This also might piggyback onto Bigend's desire to find the creator of the 'footage.' By extension, finding the creator would mean the discovery of the 'marketing' technique that allows the user to create trends. In essence, Bigend would be able to manage the chaos of the post 9/11 world by discovering the creator of the 'footage.'
The author explores the advent of ' advertising' for products becoming the driving force of innovation. The ability to create a media campaign that can be consumed and marketed perfectly to the reviving audience, is the golden grail.
“Far more creativity today, goes into the marketing of products than into the products themselves, athletic shoes or feature films. That is why I founded Blue Ant: that one simple recognition.”
Bigend, Pg 67.
In essence, the product itself is no longer important. The 'how' of captivating interest and grabbing on to a 'hot trend' is more important than the product itself.
The author also explores the desire for marketing companies to be up to date with the current trends of the day. However, that time consuming endeavor has spiraled into the creation of the newest marketing ploy, the creation of trends by the marketing firms themselves.
'”Exactly,” Cayce says, “but that's why it works. They don't buy the product: they recycle the information. They use it to try to impress the next person they meet.”'
- Magda, Pg 85
I believe the author at this point, is trying to illustrate that products are no longer the driving force of capitalism. The ability to make a product 'cool' surpasses the desire to make a product superior. The character's quest to find out the creator of the 'footage' is an overt statement of this fact. Bigend has appealed to Cayce's desires to find the creator, in order to reproduce 'excellence' that can be controlled on the world stage. Therefore, 'marketing' is the new product that is being coveted in the 21st century.
Post-9/11 Social Commentary.
9/11 is a constant backdrop to the novel's plot, characters and theme. The constant paranoia exhibited by Cayce, can be an allusion to the general feelings of the US public in the wake of 9/11. The 'James Bond' like procedures Cayce undertakes to 'secure the perimeter' of Daimen's apartment can be an allusion to the threat of the post 9/11 Patriot Act.
More so, 9/11 is a constant motif that has effects the language and emotions of the characters. For example, Dorotea's query about the winter in New York.
“How was the winter then in New York?”
“Cold,” Cayce says.
“And Sad? It is still sad?”
-Dorotea, Pg 13
The post 9/11 world colors the mood of the story. The characters seemed to live in a bleak setting with no hope for a renaissance like existence.
The post 9/11 motif makes the idea of hoping for the future an exercise in futility.
“For us, of course things can change so abruptly, so violently, so profoundly, that futures like our grandparents' have insufficient 'now' to stand on. We have no future because our present is too volatile.”
-Bigend, Pg 57
The author in a sense, states that the idea of hope died with the events of 9/11. The sudden fall of the towers illustrates the character's belief that the present is chaotic that cannot be predicted.
This also might piggyback onto Bigend's desire to find the creator of the 'footage.' By extension, finding the creator would mean the discovery of the 'marketing' technique that allows the user to create trends. In essence, Bigend would be able to manage the chaos of the post 9/11 world by discovering the creator of the 'footage.'
Thursday, October 21, 2010
From the View of Tobe
There would be notice changes in a 'Rose for Emily' if the story was entirely narrated by Tobe. I believe the original intent, theme, and suspense of the story would shift dramatically from William Faulkner's original piece. Since the story is narrated in the first-person plural perspective from the viewpoint of the town, ('we') the reader is allowed to be intrigued by the mysterious life of Emily Rose. The description of the Emily's house in disrepair shows that the people of the town have made specific judgments about Emily's character, mindset and class status within the town. The fact that they describe Emily Roses' house as 'an eyesore among eyesores' not only means that they disapprove of Emily's home, but also her as a person. This allows the reader to be intrigued by the Emily's eccentric behavior as described by the gossiping townspeople.
Tobe, her servant, would obviously have all the details about her Emily's personality, and the underlying motive to why she murdered Homer. If the viewpoint changed, the story would of gone from a creepy mystery short to a sympathetic portray of a lonely murderer. Tobe was Emily's tool, and it seemed he even carried out her wishes after she was deceased. This can be illustrated by Tobe's quick exit from Emily's house after he had let the townspeople in to bury her. Tobe had to be an accomplice of the plot to poison Homer with arsenic.
Therefore, the story narrated from Tobe's perspective would quickly become a horror story told from the colloquial view of not only Tobe's eyes, but Emily's as well. This conclusion is based on the fact that Tobe has carried out his master's desires wants. From buying arsenic on her behalf to refusing to offer a peep about Homer's murder, paint Tobe as Emily's accomplice.
Tobe, her servant, would obviously have all the details about her Emily's personality, and the underlying motive to why she murdered Homer. If the viewpoint changed, the story would of gone from a creepy mystery short to a sympathetic portray of a lonely murderer. Tobe was Emily's tool, and it seemed he even carried out her wishes after she was deceased. This can be illustrated by Tobe's quick exit from Emily's house after he had let the townspeople in to bury her. Tobe had to be an accomplice of the plot to poison Homer with arsenic.
Therefore, the story narrated from Tobe's perspective would quickly become a horror story told from the colloquial view of not only Tobe's eyes, but Emily's as well. This conclusion is based on the fact that Tobe has carried out his master's desires wants. From buying arsenic on her behalf to refusing to offer a peep about Homer's murder, paint Tobe as Emily's accomplice.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
#2
The poem makes allusions to environmental utopia. 'Clear skys' and 'pure water' are two things that the perfect environmental setting would require. The author also goes on and calls for the 'return' to the 'mammal' state of old. Basically the idea that the humans should return to the in-harmony state of humanity that could co-exist with nature in olden times. The phrase 'joined back to nature' exemplifies the authors belief that humanity should return to a state that should in-sync with nature. Therefore, there is a spurious belief that humanity a parasite that feeds on nature. Perhaps, the description of technology in an inert phase as if they were 'spinning blossoms,' is an allusion to the end of technology as we know it.
On the flip side, it is possible that the author wants to be universally pleasing. He recognizes that humanity has its needs like any other 'mammal' and it needs to reorganize its addiction in the context of nature. Therefore the author is calling for the use of technology to be more forgiving to the environmental utopia the author envisions. Humanity can frolic in technological bliss that adds to the beauty of nature. The state of 'mutually programming harmony' is needed to give way to the 'cybernetic meadow.' The author can only mean that technology can only add to the value of nature when coupled properly.
I believe the the first explanation is more accurate. The author sees technology as detrimental to the 'pure water' and 'clear skys' of nature. He therefore wishes that technology decays to the point where it is like 'spinning blossoms' that 'deer' can trample through. In essence, I believe the author hopes that 'nature' will exist unmolested in the ruins of technological society.
On the flip side, it is possible that the author wants to be universally pleasing. He recognizes that humanity has its needs like any other 'mammal' and it needs to reorganize its addiction in the context of nature. Therefore the author is calling for the use of technology to be more forgiving to the environmental utopia the author envisions. Humanity can frolic in technological bliss that adds to the beauty of nature. The state of 'mutually programming harmony' is needed to give way to the 'cybernetic meadow.' The author can only mean that technology can only add to the value of nature when coupled properly.
I believe the the first explanation is more accurate. The author sees technology as detrimental to the 'pure water' and 'clear skys' of nature. He therefore wishes that technology decays to the point where it is like 'spinning blossoms' that 'deer' can trample through. In essence, I believe the author hopes that 'nature' will exist unmolested in the ruins of technological society.
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