Maus thesis ideas

The main Idea that's occured to me is to rely on my knowledge of World War Two. Really my thesis so far is
"Spegelmen’s use of animals is a reference to the treatment of animals during the war and the traits they 'stereotypically' symbolize."
That should be enough material to write on although as it stands I've got a lot of work to do.

Centers and the force

Today (11/29/09) there is/was a star wars marathon featuring the orginal trilogy and something that Obi-Wan said to Luke during episode six reminded me of what we've been studing. The line, “Many of the truths we cling to depend richly on our own point of view” reminded me of the "flaw" for lack a better term, with centers. Mind you these are the good guys we're talking about but the point still stands.

In the next life...

... I'm going to ask for more memory, or so goes the old tech joke. In a sense the article is right, if we follow actual knowledge of facts as inteligence then maybe google is unitentionally making us dumber by increase the occurences in which we just "google" something instead of relying on what we know. This is a side effect of psuedo-modernism, we are overwhelmed by the sheer amount of data in the world we withdraw. Look at some of the most sucessful works in recent years, most of them are escapist fantasy. For those into video games take the most recent teamfortress game, there is no reason for anything, no story, no canon(barring the bit about the RED spy being the BLU scout's father). Another example would be the predominance of shoot 'em up movies and while that alone is nothing new, the bloodless fight scene Transporter 2 where in the title character beats down eight pseudo kung-fu-ish masters by standing in one spot and letting eight of them charge him one by one. Yes, hollywood has been doing this for years but it has become quite prominant lately, though in all kung-fu or other martial arts movies the Conservation of Ninjutsu is in full effect, but it's only gotten worse.





Only you can prevent psuedo-modernism

Post-post-modernism

If we take Postmodernism to be what we have been studing, that is to say the lack of narratives, lack of a center, and a realization that knowledge is infinite and by that token we will never know everything, then we might be entering a post post modern age.
Post-post modernism by that token would either result in people retreating into various fantastical stories, their own center in a way, as the writer of the passage argues, and something I have noticed in my own experience. To some including myself depending on the work will decry books, tv shows, and other media as lacking in redeeming social value. however true to postmodern ideas it is all relative. As for all the facts being sent out it iswhat has always been going on, but we have reached a time where we have more than most if not all of the generations previous.

Cat's Cradle

I must begin with how much I've come to like this book, despite the short choppy chapters which are a side effect of postmodernism. Also like Dominguez brought up Dr. Hoenikker is probably a personification of pure science, although I don't think he is amoral in as much as he is constantly questioning his environment and his question about "what is sin?" is a legitimate question for another time. in addition to the disbelief in the indeals of the enlightenment and a main recursive narrative that would escape most first time readers, that is the story of a writer writing about the potential for the end of the world, "The Day the World Ended" as the end of the world is closing in around him, hence the recursive bit. On another note the possibility of ice nine is rather interesting a cooling agent so powerful that it freezes on contact and freezes it so that it only melts at 140 degrees is arguably more useful and potentially destructive than atomic warfare. and by useful if ice nine somehow or another had a decay limit where after that it retained part of its strength but lost it powers of cooling then it could be very valuable as a quick but temporary building material like concrete only cheaper and faster. In addition it would allow for the transportation of massive amounts of water. I do realize that is not what Kurt Vonnegut had in mind when he wrote the novel I merely thought I'd play devils advocate and point out the potential benefits of the stuff that causes the end of the world Spoiler alert: mouse over at your own risk.
In the first seven chapters alone there seems to be a subversion of the usual rules of genre construction, in classical literature particularly with Shakespeare there seems to be a binary scheme if you like between tragedy and comedy, and while there are moments in Shakespeare's tragedies that are comic (alas poor Mercutio) and vice versa they are still more or less opposites. In Cat's Cradle the situation is, with Vonnegut's dark humor, much more difficult to pin down what is meant to be funny as opposed to what is meant to be serious. an example, albeit tenuous, is the line in chapter one "When I was a young man two wives, 250,000 cigarettes ago, 3,000 quarts of booze ago..." this either a somewhat funny moment of nostalgia(which just ain't what it used to be) or a morose moment of regret.

Potential Thesis

In reality my thesis will end up being related to the prompt that is decided on in class, as obviously the unasked question cannot be answered. But I have a hunch that the essay will have some basis in either post-modernism and Brave New World, Progress and Brave New World, or point of view and... you get the idea. So then the only logical(Yay gratuitous hyperlinking) thing to do is to word three different ones and then pick based on the prompt. If it is the first topic then I'd probably go with a statement similar to one I made in the blog post concerning it, I.E. That Brave New World is only postmodern in that it is a critique of modernist thought on morality with a few elements of the postmodern I.E. the rapid shifts in points of view in the second chapter, the multiple plot lines. If it the second topic then I would argue that yes Brave New World has progressed more than our society but that does not necessarily make that society better. Finally if the prompt is based on the third option then I would write about the use of third person omniscient and how it creates a more horizontal, less plot driven story. And also how the story itself has two main plots that are surrounded by multiple subplots, a comment on the nature of the society it describes. To back all of these, quotes from the text are in a very real sense the least I could do.


Side Note: I'd love to do a cross media comparison between the matrix and brave new world, or 1984 and Brave New World would also be and interesting point.

Some thoughts about a good movie.

I am watching The Matrix as I write this and I am struck by the similarity between it and the books we have been reading all three are distoypias where a group, human or otherwise complete dominate humanity, in 1984 through the innate bloodlust, in Brave new World through satisfaction(unlike Mick Jagger), In The Matrix it is through a hyper-advanced simulation that turns the human mind into an AI program much like the basic AI programs that are the enemies in a video game. However you have but one life as the placebo effect damages you and as Morpheus puts it "the body cannot survive without the mind" although that does pose the question of what one who has achieved zen could do. probably what Neo pulls off at the end. Just throwing that out there and well...freeing your mind.

Brave New World, Postmodernism, and You

Brave New World is not, in my opinion, a direct criticism of postmodernism. It might be however an assault on a "perfectly rational" society that brave new world is and isn't. The era of reason is no longer a valid meta-narrative as humanity has proved too corruptible and all too willing to torture, murder, loot, destroy and jaywalk. Milligram's famous obedience experiment lends credence to the modernist ideas about the weaknesses of humanity. take for example the way the "savages" are treated like disobedient children with the line "They'll never learn." This shows how the modernist world view of the weaknesses of humanity can ultimately play out if a society follows that. If we are to define postmodernism in part as a "incredulity toward Meta Narratives " As Lyotard did then Brave New World is only following Modernist thought on the weakness of a previous meta-narrative, the idea of progress taken to an illogical extreme. Additionally there is an interesting criticism of Lyotard with his decentering creating a new center. it is similar to mathematics the graph for tangent has no maximum height so it has no amplitude or it could be said that the amplitude is infinitently large. That is something a post modernist would argue is both, a concept that is a paradox*. Something that is elaborated on later during the discussion on the AT&T building(pgs:88-90). Another interesting point is on Page 31,"We do what we do because that's the way we do it." in essence stating why science cannot justify itself. Although it reminds some of another quote, "We do what we must because we can" Finally there is the idea about the failure of the meta-narrative of progress. Progress itself still continues as does romanticism, realism and all other ideologies some of which should have been forgotten. And some have. However people are free to choose what meta-narrative, or combination of meta-narratives they believe in. Both of these are gone in Brave New World, as the people are conditioned to believe in stabilty above everything else. and with the Hypno-platitud that "science is everything" even when it isn't the society is now established.

Brave Old World

Despite the fact that brave new world was written in the 1930's it is still a relevant novel in how people can become more machine like. In the case of Brave New World people are machines that produce, consume, and then after 60 years die. This reminds me of cars or computers designed to break down just in time for you to buy the next model. The society has progressed, but progress itself is neither good nor bad, it is a tool, or a force. Both of those are morally neutral, and depend entirely on who uses them. This creates a horizontal society that rules itself. The point of view is equally scattered in chapter 3, after which it seems to "lock" onto Bernard Marx. All of these are relevant critques of our own society that at times seems to be in direct conflict with itself. A society that preached free love(an inherent contradiction in terms) and abstince. Too be fair our society is fragmented more in part to personal belief and congitive dissonace than any bio-engineering. Another interesting point that is brought up is the dislike of the lower castes (Deltas, Epsilons) by the upper castes (Alphas, Betas) classism anybody? another thing Why do we never see male betas or female alphas? to be honest that last point's a bit off topic...
But my opinion of this society is highly critical as it lacks humanity, something I would define based upon potential of all human beings to achieve greatness, and some do. By breeding everyone, they have set limits. This I strongly object to and will oppose, at the very least in spirt, until the end of the universe. On a side note, this does not mean that I am against social welfare, to the contrary I think it gives our society an improved probability of survival, by preserving at the very least the possiblity of advancement. We see this heavily in the first chapter with the predestination rooms and how the physically human but mentally machines are "made." In the first chapter we see and in a sense hear all of the students "scribbling notes" it is repeated in some form or another, four times additionally the phrase"from the horse's mouth to the notebook." These are not students, they're photocopiers. ignore that last statement it sorta worked its way out my ear

En Mi opinion

Personally I believe that history had an obejective existance that we must recognize as sun-tzu wrote in his book the Art of War that "The state cannot be brought back into existance, the dead cannot be brought back into life" (At that point he was advising generals as to why hasty ill planed revenge attacks was a trait of a bad general) but it is impossible impossible to say for certain if reality is subjective or objective and that is a debate for another time. However it is important that we teach a history that is as inclusive as possible, if nothing else solely for pragmatic reasons. While it is impossible to teach everything, as not everything is known, the primary focus of society should be to show how the past affects the present, and show examples of those who succeed as role models, this includes a vide variety of people from Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delanor Roosevelt, John Fitsgerald Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Thurgood Marshall, Ceasar Chavez, Etc. All of these examples are from the 20th century, a more comprehensive list would take pages to transcribe. However if any one group is removed from history it is detrimental to the students that identify themselves as members of that group. For example the study done that was instrumental in the ruling of Brown v. Board of Education showed that society and the segregated school system was detremental to African American students.
Sorry for the obvious retcon, but I wasn't quite finished, but I appreciate the praise none the less. Back to the topic, As stated above there is a pragmatic reason for creating an inclusive history that shows its impact on the present, just as in 1984 the "captialists" were shown in their lowest point the early 1800's in Britain in the U.S. it was the guilded age which took place later, in order to justify the extreme measures that the proles and party members live in. Think of how certain pundits argue over the traits of the founding fathers, ulitmately who cares how often, say Thomas Jefferson went to church? only someone who would like to use that as to justify the continuation of the "Defense of Marrage" Act. And for the proverbial record I doubt someone who would after his wife's death move onto her younger half sister who happened to be a family slave was a bible thumping fundamentalist.

First Post! Luz

I am the son of an English teacher and a published music critic and occasional lifestyle writer, I have learned many things from them, including how to view each field as having its own language or "Lingo." Education is no exception.
RSP
ESL
ELL
ELD
all of these are terms that educators use to describe those who are learning English as a second language or have difficulty processing information. Is it possible to teach people to speak in acronyms? If it is possible it is much to the chagrin of my mother who is an English Language arts teacher of the seventh and eighth grades. In addition her career in teaching is new enough to her for acronyms that are churned out like Model-T's to catch her off guard.
I as a player of various tabletop games am aware of the mean of the phrase "so-and-so's PC has such a dex score that he can crit without rolling a nat 20." This jargon is formed from longer phrases that have been whittled down over decades of tabletop gaming. My favorites of the litany of tabletop games are first the stereotypical dungeons and dragons (Ironically my campaign included neither, but did include some hilarious goblin impersonations from a friend) and a lesser know strategy game whose official name is Warhammer 40,000 but is often shorted to warhammer 40K or even just 40k. (Both Links are to the TVtropes page on each, they tend to have good and brief explanation). The above phrase tells a tabletop gamer that the player character (PC) of a person has a dexterity score that allows that character to score critical hits that are double or triple damage without rolling a 20 on a 20 sided dice. Additionally Warhammer 40k has alpha level psykers, Chaos Marines, Reasonable Marines, Commissars(Whom you should fear more than the enemy!), and Baneblade tanks. Many phrases from this discourse have transferred to the "Mainstream," the primary example is the word "Epic" to a savvy gamer it means a level 20 character who can no longer advance in that "class", which could be more accurately rendered as a trade. The reason it transferred is the success of role playing games of which World of Warcraft is arguably the most famous. Now the word epic has come to mean fantastic, wonderful, or brilliant. Additionally the process of shorting and making acronyms of phrases argueably orginated with tabletop and later video games as a few seconds in a game can be the difference between victory and defeat. Why everyone else is in such a hurry I have no clue.
In contrast to this, the way in which I write and speak very differently from the previous two, I assume a poise and vocabulary more in keeping with academia. This I have learned from my parents and from my teachers. This allows me to seem as though I am cultured and refined person able to feign maturity when in certain situations such as the above mentioned tabletop games my strategy is similar to Kingpin, but my joy reverts that of an immature goblin.
My final discourse of which I feel I have a full grasp of is TV tropes website and by extension film and television as mediums. I knew even before watching The Graduate all about the connotations of the phrase "Mrs. Robinson." If one has the fortune to be named David and attempts something that for whatever reason cannot be done expect to hear the quote, "I'm sorry Dave I can't let you do that" Or if one is making a quick trip somewhere, "I'll be back" said in the lowest octave possible is another example of how we quote movies and how movies influence language. With all of these literacies I am better prepared to work in those discourses for my betterment or in some cases my detriment.

Oh and another literacy some will roll their eyes at Doctor who, the longest runnig speculative fiction program on TV, yes it's an escapist fantasy. Still, I can't wait to see what Stephen Moffat is writing now