marcusgk

Week 10

How does Dick use the I Ching and how did his views on the oracle and its role in the novel shift over time?

The man in the high castle is an alternate history novel by Philip Dick that takes place 15 years after world war 2 where Nazi Germany and imperial Japan won with totalitarian rule. With Dicks use of the I Ching inspiring aspects of the narrative. based on Dicks archives and an acquaintance of his that the plot had only taken creative direction from the I Ching when the characters in the story consulted the book themselves in their journey (Mountfort, 2016). He states that he uses the I Ching in reality when ever they used it and flipped a coin to decide the lines that were chosen and how the book should proceed.(Mountfort, 2016) We can see here that he is using this to provide structure and plot and is too heavily focused on the answers the book provides. He states that he regarded the I Ching to have written High castle. by the end he had started reading the book more and more leading him to learn more about Taoism and stating “Well, the I Ching gives advice beyond the particular, advice that transcends the immediate situation. The answers have a universal quality. For instance: “The mighty are humbled and the humbled are raised.” If you use the I Ching long enough and continually enough, it will begin to change and shape you as a person.”(Mountfort, 2016)Which shows that over the course of writing his own novel he started to related the books teachings to his own life using it as a oracle for himself be became overly reliant on the book to provide for him which you can see when he talks of the I Ching failing him and not proving him with structure and plot. Having a falling out with the book only for him to come back to it to provide the answers later. We can see from here that over the course of his Journey he picked up the book with its rich history as a plot device but as he continued to read it as he was pulling plot devices and the story was progressing he became overly reliant on it to provide the answers that he was seeking and even let it spill over to his real life. I feel he would have been able to provide a better reading experience if he not so reliant on the book as the oracle but that is also what gives Man in the High Castle its charm.

Reference:

Mountfort, P. (2016). The I Ching and Philip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle. Science Fiction Studies, 43(2), 287. https://doi.org/10.5621/sciefictstud.43.2.0287

Week 12

Can reality tv still be thought of as a genre given the high level of hybridity that exists?

While the text talks states “divides reality TV into everyday dramas of
courage, talk about feelings and civic action” (Wood, 2004) they state the problem with the dividing of the genre is that it doesn’t distinguish with the hybridization among other television category’s. Hybridization is prevalent in many forms of television other than reality tv even given the high level of hybridization in reality tv it brings a unifying genre to the other wise divided category. “reality TV has proved difficult to define…many interpreters pose hybridity as if it were an
undifferentiated category”(Wood, 2004) It goes on to state that Hybridization as a hole has been treated as simple and not complex.

Hybridization has been on the rise it was lackluster in the 70s but has been on the rise ever since and has taken over fiction as of late i feel that Hybridity should become its own genre rather than take away reality tv, reality tv has its place as a genre that has plenty of room within its subgenres for hybriditity maybe the name should be changed from reality tv as reality tv “Kilborn (1994: 423) defines reality TV as ‘a hybrid mix of presenter talk, v´erit´e material, dramatic reconstruction and various forms of audience participation’.”(Wood, 2004) Which in my mind feels more like fiction than reality.

References:

Wood, B. (2004). A World in Retreat: The Reconfiguration of Hybridity in 20th-Century New Zealand Television. Media, Culture & Society, 26(1), 45–62. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443704039709

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Week 11

How real is Reality TV?

Reality TV as we know it today has been around since the 1940s and comes under the term factual television which is also shared with things like documentarys even though reality tv is so old it only hit its peak during the late 80s and into the 90s

in an effort to popularize the genre they hybridized it with successful genres such as soap operas and Gameshows with the start to this being the 2 different approaches the UK and US had take US taking the approach of ordinary people doing extra ordinary things while Brittan took the opposite approach Hill (2005) With the lifestyle shows they found that it wasn’t the action that mattered it was the reaction bouncing off this and adopting the formats for things such as Gameshows we got big brother and Survivor which focused on the physiological and emotional aspect while providing a prize. Reality tv is meant for us to be able to see the real life’s of people. But in reality we are only shown what provides the most reaction providing us scripted drama with sprinkles of truth. With Entertainment Weekly showing a statement from the producers of House Hunters Stating that “we go back and revisit some of the homes that the family has already seen and we capture their authentic reactions.”(Erin Strecker 2012) which shows that they aren’t really their authentic reactions and within the same article one participant claims that their story for why their moving was changed. Following suite with House Hunters E News (Piester, 2018) has a source that claims that one of the participants used their friends house as the one that they were supposedly buying. From these examples you can see that reality tv is more Entertainment value than reality, They will recast shots that were unfavorable which takes away from the authenticity of it and some are even just fabricated.”They blend fact and fiction in a way that is impossible for the viewer to decided how much is based on factual evidence”(Kilborn, 1994).

Refences:

Hill, A. (2005) The rise of
reality TV. In A. Hill, Reality
TV: Audiences and
Popular Factual Television.
(pp. 15 – 40). Oxon:
Routledge.

Erin Strecker Updated June 12, & Strecker, E. ‘House Hunters’ scandal: Is the show a fake? EW.com. https://ew.com/article/2012/06/12/house-hunters-fake-scandal-hgtv/.

Piester, L. (2018, November 10). Real or Fake? The Truth About Some Of Your Favorite Reality TV Shows. E! Online. https://www.eonline.com/news/985791/real-or-fake-the-truth-about-some-of-your-favorite-reality-tv-shows.

Kilborn, R. (1994). `How Real Can You Get?’: Recent Developments in `Reality’ Television. European Journal of Communication, 9(4), 421–439. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267323194009004003

Week 9

1. According to Mountfort et al. (2018), what are the three main genres of cosphotography, and how did they historically develop?

Cosphotography is Cosplay Photography if im going to be completely honest before these readings i didn’t even know that was even counted as a genre of photography and that is has a rich background leading back to at least 1939.

The following are the 3 cosphotography sub genres as defined in Moutainfort et al. (2018) are the hallway snapshot, staged competition shoot and the Studio portrait. The competition shoot was established from annual masquerades where there were formal costume competitions. The hallway snapshot originated from more informal convention settings where the term hallway costumes was coined Mountfort el al. (2018).The first one being more professional while the second being more casual both of these originated during the 1930s-40s.
Finally the 3rd the studio portrait which came around with polaroid’s and instant cameras of the 70s this consisted of staging shots that were performed in the informal locations of conventions and such instead of studios Mountfort el al. (2018).

Reference:

Mountfort, P. R., Geczy, A., & Peirson-Smith, A. (2018). Planet cosplay: costume play, identity and global fandom. Intellect.

Week 8

1. Referring to Mountfort et al. (2018), in what ways is cosplay analogous to citation

Cosplay is analogous to citation as “In the present context, it is the cosplayer’s costumed body that becomes the text or site that references another text that is, the specific source media that the cosplayer chooses to perform.” Mountfort et al (2018) It is showing off a text or media in its intended form and paying homage while gender bent and characterization versions of cosplay can be more referred to as fan-fiction and not direct reference. i feel that this is what i have interpreted from the given readings and while i understand what that is trying to convey i do not feel that cosplay doesnt need to be directly thought of as anything more as dressing up as your favorite characters or maybe even just characters that may look somewhat like you.

Reference:

Mountfort, P. R., Geczy, A., & Peirson-Smith, A. (2018). Planet cosplay: costume play, identity and global fandom. Intellect.

Week 7

1. King (2010) describes Horror as being defined through three basic elements. Explain, using references, what these three elements are. Think of a horror story you’ve read/watched/heard that makes use of all three of these elements and show how King’s definition is at play in that narrative.

The 3 main Elements of Horror as Defined by King (2010) are horror, terror and revulsion. He talks of terror using the example of HP Lovecrafts, Henry S , Robert Blog and Ray Bradbury’s work as terrifying collections. With Horror being more of the classics Frankenstein & Dracula. Without forgetting Revulsion which he includes with Freaks which is about carnival freaks which even though he has never been to a freak show he can understand.

I cannot personally think of anything that would encompass all three but things i can currently watched that encompass each would be Mist (2007) which isn’t Horror but is more Terror where the slow realization that help may not come as they tree to escape on their own only for in the end the main character feels the dread of having killed his son and the others in the vehicle only to be saved moments later. The Revulsion comes when in the Pharmacy scene they enter and talk to a Military Police member who had eggs hatched inside him only for them to start hatching and leaving his body while he was still alive. Horror may have been when they finally left the store and could not see in front of them the unknowing of what creatures were in the fog.

References:

King, S. (2010). Danse macabre. https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/bbcswebdav/pid-5320793-dt-content-rid-12699647_4/institution/Papers/ENGL602/Publish/Stephen%20King%20Danse%20Macabre%20reading%20%281%29.pdf.

Week 3

How are Hergé’s generally represented when they do appear?

the way i have interpreted this question is how does herge generally represent women when they appear? The way that Herge has represented women in the Tintin comics using the mans words himself ‘[w]omen have nothing to do in a world like Tintin’s. I like women far too much to caricature them. And, besides, pretty or not, young or not, women are rarely comic characters’(Mountfort 2020) from this we can show that they do not play a major role in his comics nor does he see any need for women in his comics with the only female character with any real substance is Bianca Castafiore. Characters before Castafiore were mainly seen as nuisances that would distract from the adventure or boys club that was Tintins adventures but changed when Castafiore was introduced with her getting her own Album in the series called Castafiores Emerald.

Castafiore started off much like any of Herges other representations when she was introduced in 1939 where she was just an Obnoxious Opera singer but her character was revised in the 1950s where she takes on echoes of the Greek soprano Maria Callas(Figaro_Culture, 2015).She is now one of the most recognisable characters from the Tintin series along side Captain Hadock and Tintin Himself.

Women in the Tintin Series are sparce where in the Albums Tintin in the land of the Soviets there were no talking females and Tintin in the Congo where the only talking females were an African women who reprimanded Tintin for bumping into her son,a Woman lamenting her husbands illness and one telling her son that he wont be like Tintin if hes not good(Mountfort 2020). This shows that women during his early years at least were nothing more than background characters and they would only come out in either nagging roles or to further Tintin.

References

Figaro_Culture. (2015, September 20). Non,la Castafiore ne chante pas faux, c’est la Callas en BD. Retrieved September 06, 2020, from https://www.lefigaro.fr/musique/2015/09/20/03006-20150920ARTFIG00013-nonla-castafiore-ne-chante-pas-faux-c-est-la-callas-en-bd.php

Mountfort, P. (2020). Tintin, gender and desire. Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics.

Week 6

What is the philosophy of cosmicism and how is it used to convey a sense of dread in both The Shadow Over Innsmouth and The Colour out of Space?

First what is cosmicism as stated by the Wiktionary cosmicism is “The literary philosophy developed by the American writer H P Lovecraft, stating that there is no recognizable divine presence, such as God, in the universe, and that humans are particularly insignificant in the larger scheme of intergalactic existence.”(cosmicism 2020) from this alone we can infer alot especially in the context of the texts of Shadow Over Innsmouth and the Colour out of Space during one scene of the colour out of space where the Hydrologist was staring into the eyes of the now mutated teenage girl he could see a world a world that was not our own maybe it was the future what was to become of earth maybe it was the home world of what ever had contaminated and mutated the residents of the forested area,One thing that was to be discerned was that there was no human presence nor of any life that wasn’t part of the one the giant worm creature that inhabited the planet in her eyes.After the area was annihilated as the creature had either returned home or traveled somewhere else and the surrounding area consumed by water of the newly built dam we hear the hydrologist talk about how this wasnt the end and something would be coming and we see the mutated pink praying mantis that was the first creature mutated flying across the screen showing that the thing was still here.

Shadow over Innsmouth the dread that is conveyed is through the near limitless number of the creatures that seemed to have been spawned by earth that were anthropomorphic in nature but with fish heads ‘blasphemous fish-frogs'(LOVECRAFT, 1936) as they were called in text being as they are near limitless in number with horrific visages you can see they they understand from the line “It was the end, for whatever remains to me of life on the surface of this earth”(LOVECRAFT, 1936) that they understood that life was over and that the creatures that had come about in never ending numbers would be taking over.

Cosmicism. (n.d.). Retrieved September 06, 2020, from https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cosmicism

LOVECRAFT, H. (1936). SHADOW OVER INNSMOUTH. Visionary Publishing Company.

Week 1

How has the academic reception of popular genres changes over time?
Popular Genres has been known as the not as serious form of literature and have often been excluded from the authorized literary cannon but as of late many places of learning have added it to their curriculum of study such as MetraNet and Central Queensland University
What might the value be of studying them?

Being able to extract why people enjoy them more than high literature is the essence of making literature more accessible, with popular culture being undefined by the conventions of realism we can explore facets that would be otherwise very difficult in high culture.where high culture is bound by the world we live in popular culture exist in imaginary worlds where things could be plausible or outright imaginary.

Referneces

Mountfort, P. (2020). Pop Gen Week 1 Intro [PPT]. Auckland: Auckland University of Technology.

Week 5

What is the ‘shōjo’ and how does it often function in anime?

Shojo is a genre of Anime or Manga that has a primary target audience of young girls with a focus on relationships romantic and personal, Shojo can also be taken in the literal meaning of girl or young girl.

The function of the ‘shojo’ in anime, one could say that they serve as a symbol of the changes that occur in modern society Naiper (2005) while depending on the genre of the anime they serve different purposes in context of the show or manga just like western comics writers such as Herge wrote the females in limited capacity in tin tin and used as nuisances with the only female character of real note being Madam Castafiore, The same could be said for anime Shojo and Josei anime and manga focus closely on females and they’re personal relationships while Ecchi anime using them more for erotic purposes where their main purpose is providing Fan Service. Ecchi can be found in most Shonen or Seinen anime as they have a primarly male audience.

Shojo anime normally traverses through a girls first love one that springs to mind is Maid Sama! a light hearted romantic comedy shojo anime that i have personally watched 2 or 3 times it is an anime where the FML(Female Lead) is the MC(Main Character) and she is the Student Council President at a recently co-ed male school and is trying to clean up the schools image to get more females to attend maintaining a strict attitude with the male students being coined as a demon while also on the contrary working part time as a maid waitress due to her families financial situation where the ML(Male Lead) then finds out while having a bad reputation at school and keeps it a secret to toy with her as they slowly fall in love. The purpose of Shojo is to provide a relatable but simplified version of a female that one could relate to while giving a back seat for the male characters which in some cases will not exist in any real capacity such as Madoka Magicka which explores a more Physiological side with an all female cast.

Napier, S. J. (2005). Anime from Akira to Howl’s moving castle: Experiencing contemporary Japanese animation. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.