As I’ve been reading The Filth I’ve noticed something that occurs more often than I have ever experienced in a story and/or book before. Characters are aware of their surroundings, not only within the story but in the physical parameters of the graphic novel. It is as if they are aware of the graphic novel world that they are living in, are aware of its advantages and also its limits. For example the use of the crack in the book as a wall and references to it as the story progresses such as on page 64 when Harley refers to it as the “page wall”. Also on the top of page 62, which contains one panel at the top Harley states “You have one panel Continuity freeze to join us here in cabaret, herr mercury”.
So I find myself asking, why break the 4th wall, the boundary between fiction and reality? There is a different type of relationship that occurs when characters break the 4th wall. This can open up into a wide range of scenarios. Instead of the reader being an outside observer and not being acknowledged by the characters in the story. Where some may say this eliminates any emmertion one might have in the narrative Characters within the story AND the readers are now aware of each other or at least aware of the outside world, which, i assume is the author's purpose. The reader cannot help but observe the actions and dialogue between the characters, realizing that these characters are even smaller than before, not only are they individuals living in a the large world found in the book but the are a piece of something even greater. As I stated it class I try to read new literature with and open mind, free from assumptions, and this has allowed me to discover and appreciate events and tools such as these that are made by the author. So what does it seem the characters are trying to show? I’m not completely sure yet other than what I stated before, that they are just smaller parts of even a bigger picture not confined by even the barriers that are drawn and written on the page.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Where can random thoughts get you?
Lately Ive been finding myself fascinated with plurk, for obvious reasons. Plurk, unlike anything else that I know of allows me to not only express my ideas but gain feedback and also get the thoughts and opinions of others in my class instantly.The reason why I decided to discuss this in particular is because of some thought provoking conversations I had on plurk recently, each starting on one topic and ending on another as many plurks do.
I had stated: “[kaskade ]
hadn't put too much thought into this "swine flu" thing."
....today I saw that Wallgreens was selling masks for protection against swine flu specifically."
"I don't think Ive seen a better example of a corporation trying to make a profit off of other ppl's fears."
Used as a root of discussion I soon received responses where people stated that they also had seen this and also they had seen people wearing masks as well. They also stated what they believe what the future is concerning what we have seen It is this kind of call-and-response that makes plurk so important, I am able to communicate my ideas, learn, and gain further insight. Its an ongoing process that grows as thoughts develop. Ive always been one to let my ideas expand and grow,to coexist with the thoughts and ideas of those around me and plurk provides a proper venue for such a thing. Whether or not I agree or disagree with others opinions I have still gained insight on what others are thinking.
One thing that was brought to my attention, which I have, in the past struggled with, arose in plurk, which is the separation and to coexistence of the body and soul.
I stated :
[kaskade] hopes the soul remains,even when the body does not. Does the soul need the body as it's vessel? I was instantly given other people’s opinions and thoughts such as one from cephalopod , who stated:
“according to physics, if souls exist then spirits, or souls outside of the body, are plausible because the death rate is higher than the….
…birth rate and souls would recycle themselves because there is only a set number of atoms in the universe that replenish themselves”
This was a take on the topic I had never considered before, the fact that souls take up space in the universe. This statement is one I’m still trying to dissect and completely understand. What is most fascinating to me is that this conversation stemmed from me stating: kaskade was "told if he doesn't think the show "Friends" is funny then he has no soul" As this plurk thread grows I hope to find even more questions and ideas that arise. Is our soul really who we are and can it exist without the mind and/or body? This is just an example of the questions I am now dealing with, but I have always loved questions more than answers.
I had stated: “[kaskade ]
hadn't put too much thought into this "swine flu" thing."
....today I saw that Wallgreens was selling masks for protection against swine flu specifically."
"I don't think Ive seen a better example of a corporation trying to make a profit off of other ppl's fears."
Used as a root of discussion I soon received responses where people stated that they also had seen this and also they had seen people wearing masks as well. They also stated what they believe what the future is concerning what we have seen It is this kind of call-and-response that makes plurk so important, I am able to communicate my ideas, learn, and gain further insight. Its an ongoing process that grows as thoughts develop. Ive always been one to let my ideas expand and grow,to coexist with the thoughts and ideas of those around me and plurk provides a proper venue for such a thing. Whether or not I agree or disagree with others opinions I have still gained insight on what others are thinking.
One thing that was brought to my attention, which I have, in the past struggled with, arose in plurk, which is the separation and to coexistence of the body and soul.
I stated :
[kaskade] hopes the soul remains,even when the body does not. Does the soul need the body as it's vessel? I was instantly given other people’s opinions and thoughts such as one from cephalopod , who stated:
“according to physics, if souls exist then spirits, or souls outside of the body, are plausible because the death rate is higher than the….
…birth rate and souls would recycle themselves because there is only a set number of atoms in the universe that replenish themselves”
This was a take on the topic I had never considered before, the fact that souls take up space in the universe. This statement is one I’m still trying to dissect and completely understand. What is most fascinating to me is that this conversation stemmed from me stating: kaskade was "told if he doesn't think the show "Friends" is funny then he has no soul" As this plurk thread grows I hope to find even more questions and ideas that arise. Is our soul really who we are and can it exist without the mind and/or body? This is just an example of the questions I am now dealing with, but I have always loved questions more than answers.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Culture and Politics become one
Today in class we discussed politics vs. culture, when thinking about this I began dealing with the concepts of how they coexists together and on what level, all issues brought up in class as well. What I started thinking about was how much apart of our culture is politics and vice versa.
The thing that I find interesting is that ones political stand can also be much a part of their culture. What comes to mind is the fact that most minorities, especially African-Americans vote Democrat, now my focus isn’t on what political party they choose to align themselves with but rather the social pressures that they have to vote a certain way because of their culture. Me, being an African American have never even thought about researching or really understanding any conservative views and I feel that it has a lot to do with the fact that I have been not taught or told but at least conditioned to believe that Republicans do not represent me and/or my best interests as an African-American. Because I have never even considered conservative views I do not feel cultural pressures to vote liberal but I know other African –Americans that do. Obviously one can fathom the social repercussions that may follow among the community if it is learned that some one who is African American has voted Republican. Also consider the fact that I’m sure that there are some communities made up of mostly white upper-middle class American who vote republican and would not feel any shame in telling anyone in that community that they did so. I doubt this is not true among communities of American-Americans of the same social class, because the general standpoint among the culture is that you vote Democrat. As I stated before I know that there is an actual reason as to why most minorities don’t vote Republican and I know it does have something to do with their priorities not being in line with issues minorities have to deal with but as far as I am concerned, where my interests are in politics at all I know I speak for many minorities when I say it really is a cultural thing.
The thing that I find interesting is that ones political stand can also be much a part of their culture. What comes to mind is the fact that most minorities, especially African-Americans vote Democrat, now my focus isn’t on what political party they choose to align themselves with but rather the social pressures that they have to vote a certain way because of their culture. Me, being an African American have never even thought about researching or really understanding any conservative views and I feel that it has a lot to do with the fact that I have been not taught or told but at least conditioned to believe that Republicans do not represent me and/or my best interests as an African-American. Because I have never even considered conservative views I do not feel cultural pressures to vote liberal but I know other African –Americans that do. Obviously one can fathom the social repercussions that may follow among the community if it is learned that some one who is African American has voted Republican. Also consider the fact that I’m sure that there are some communities made up of mostly white upper-middle class American who vote republican and would not feel any shame in telling anyone in that community that they did so. I doubt this is not true among communities of American-Americans of the same social class, because the general standpoint among the culture is that you vote Democrat. As I stated before I know that there is an actual reason as to why most minorities don’t vote Republican and I know it does have something to do with their priorities not being in line with issues minorities have to deal with but as far as I am concerned, where my interests are in politics at all I know I speak for many minorities when I say it really is a cultural thing.
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