ENGL 251A [University of Mary Washington, Fall 2009]
well, having finished and submitted my paper, i thought i'd come on here and talk a little bit. i dont really have much to say, if anything, except that i really enjoyed the class. this was one of the more interesting classes i've taken at the university. i'm really looking forward to taking graphic novel next semester, there should be more courses offered on badass topics like comics and movies...
so, i was thinking about this course and i was thinking about how my blog entries have been on a downward slope since the beginning. not just in quality, which, admittedly has been declining very fast, but the frequency at which i wrote blog entries also declined very rapidly. I believe that these events reflect the narratology of real life. As a student, it is very easy to notice trends in academic behavior. This behavior can change and vary due to a lot of different factors. For example, a second semester senior does not do the same amount of work as a first semester freshman. In my case, it's probably a combination of stress and laziness. Whatever the cause may be, the frequency of blog entries reflects the emotional state of the student as well as their attitude about the subject. this tells the reader a lot about the particular student as well as how they live their life in terms of academics. the declining quality and frequency of blog entries can reflect stress of a given time period at school or work, turmoil in relationships with family and friends, or laziness. Read more . . .
for my final project i think i have decided i want to write about graffiti as a form of story telling. the art itself is steeped in culture which is shown through the paintings plastered over every possible surface. graffiti has been used for many things throughout its creation, from propaganda, to love messages, to acts of patriotism, to memorials for loved ones, and for self expression.
This being my first Choose Your Own Adventure book, I was very intrigued by the idea of being able to have an effect on the characters in the story as I saw fit. In Master of Tae Kwon Do by Richard Brightfield, you are a young child who is asked by the Central Intelligence Agency to go to South Korea in order to find a young girl who you made friends with the previous summer in China while learning Kung Fu. From this point of the story on, the reader leads the character, through a crazy journey in the life of a surrogate CIA agent, which is constantly being thrust, into danger. Read more . . .
never having had read any CYOA books in my youth, this section of the course has been very interesting to me. Throughout my youth my younger brother was really big into reading the CYOA Goosebumps books which always either ended in death or horror. These books have always been interesting to me because it allows the reader to experience the story in an entirely different way. CYOA books allow for the reader to be placed in the shoes of one of the main characters. The reader is also able to have major effect on the actions of that character as well as the results of those actions. Those actions vary depending on character and on reader. Much like in movies when people yell at the screen, CYOA books allow for the reader to take a more pro-active role in the reading of their favorite stories. this makes the story very interesting because the personality of the character and the reader both shine through and are reflected on the actions of the story. making it unique in it's own way.
For those of you who haven't seen "Rejected," let me take a moment to describe it to you. The animated short begins with a brief story of the films creator, Don Hertzfeldt as he is asked to do a series of advertisements for the Family Learning Channel. It is explained that every single cartoon that he drew was outright rejected by the Family Learning Channel for reasons which can be seen in the cartoon as you watch it. This hysterical short doesn't have any narrative structure, no antagonist or protagonist, and really no story of any kind, at all. The video proceeds as a series of short commericals for both the Family Learning Channel and later as advertisements for products that Hertzfeldt was asked to draw advertisements for. Read more . . .
this doesnt have anything to do with my last blog entry but here is a bit of annimation that was banned from MTV after it's release. This is the annimated music video for Korn's song entitled "Right Now." It was banned from MTV for it's graphic depiction of self mutilation, as you can probably guess after you watch the video. This music video was not intended for those with weak stomach's, just warning you!
One of the many aspects that i find extremely interesting about narraration via animation is the sheer fact that with annimation you can accomplish an absurd amount of seemingly impossible physical acts with inventiveness and artistic talent. Not only does annimation provide a unique way of telling a story, but it provides it in a way that is unique to the genre. Not only does annimation allow for the visualization of physical impossiblity, but it also creates new ways of depicting the same characters in order to portray different artistic styles or different aspects of that character. The various artistic styles used by different artists also provide the viewer with different representations of the same character, perhaps getting to know their favorite characters in a way that they couldn't know them before. Read more . . .
well, this really doesn't have too much to do with what we have been talking about in class but a friend and i stumbled across this the other day after we were shown that picture of the dancing girl in class. this is an audio illusion, pretty much the same concept, but way different. i hope you think it is as cool as we did.
In my opinion, there are several different kinds of Batman fans in the world. The first kind are the movie fans, people who have seen the Christian Bale Movies and perhaps one or two of the earlier ones starring Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, and George Clooney. The second kind of Batman fan are those who grew up watching the animated cartoon series on television. Finally, the third kind is someone who has immersed themselves in some of the comic books that make up the history of the greatest detective in history. In my opinion, no one can truly consider them self a Batman fan until they have read The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale.
The story follows the Caped Crusader through Gotham as Carmine "The Roman" Falcone and his vicious mob family hold a vice grip on the city. As a series of murders corresponding with major holidays, Batman seeks to stop the killer and the Falcone family from causing any more harm to Gotham city or it's inhabitants. Read more . . .
