Let me just start off by saying that Philip K Dick makes me feel stupid, like I'm lacking in brain power - which I'm sure I am, at times. I'm not sure if he purposely left the ending shadowy or if its the I-Ching's fault. Strings are left untied - operation Dandelion is still alive and well, Frank Frink goes back to making jewellery, and Juliana just goes on with her life after informing Abendsen that he may be assasinated etc. We are still very much left in the dark as to how it ends. Dick himself has been quoted as saying in the book 'Philip K Dick, A life:1928-1962' that "When it came to the close-down of the novel, the I-Ching had no more to say, so there's no real ending on it, I like to regard it as an open ending." - Thanks alot Dick!
I won't deny that many of the storylines were tied together towards the latter part of the book, character arcs were established and met, and certain morals within different characters were put to the test, but...... I'm still a little confused. Maybe the plot emulates lifes happenings, whereas, nothing really comes to a sudden sense of resolution, its continuous. Dick is definitely on one of his 'what-is-reality' fixations, and he really poses the question - 'Is it all just a fiction?' Which, for me anyway, is hard to comprehend. I think the main thing I got out of it was that reality is subject to the perception of the individual.
Alternate histories inside of alternate histories, novels inside of novels, the layers certainly start stacking up. I will say that I was slightly disappointed to learn that every character in TMITHC was living a false reality. Then again, if we were to look at it from Dick's POV - 'What is reality? What is real? Which is true? Which is false?' - Certainly themes common in a number of his works. Dick illustrates these falsities in a very clever way - the counterfeit is portrayed as indistinguashable from the original (as with the Zippo lighter and its historicity), the true identity of Mr. Baynes poses as a mystery, Frink is actually Fink - a jew, and Mr. Yatabe is actually General Tedeke. The examples go on, but we havn't the time.
For something to be true or false there can only be two options. As far as I can see Dick presents us with three realities in the novel - 'The Man In The High Castle' reality (Germans & Japs winning WWII), the 'Grasshopper lies heavy' reality (Germans & Japs losing WWII), and the reality that Mr. Tagomi slips into upon meditating over his object containing 'Wu', which is hinted at to be our current world or reality, or at least the world in 1962 (when the book was published). Note: The world in 'Grasshopper lies heavy' cannot be 'our' world because a non-existent president named Tugwell was said to have been in charge of America. So the novel inside a novel is also a fiction. Hmmmm.....
So upon learning there are three realities, possibly more - who knows, none of the realites above can be seen as true or false, which is certainly perplexing.
It is interesting to note the way Dick uses the I-Ching in the novel as a way of organising plot and overall storyline. It is a fantastic literary device in which to interrelate things.
In one way or another the I-Ching serves as a way of connecting the main characters in the book to one another. Whether or not the characters meet face to face is besides the point. The I-Ching symbolises synchronicity - everything being connected with everything. Mountfort (2006, pg.5) states that "It is through the I-Ching that the characters decide how they should interpret events, what they should do next, and what the result will be."
Tao (the book of changes/I-Ching) advocates that "Tao is nature's way, the order and course of pattern of all things. Every person and thing is only what it is in relation to others. Everything grows and operates indepenently, on its own, but is in harmony with all." The Yin and the Yang - the balance. I'm probably getting of track here but it realates to my point.
For example: 1) Frink never meets Tagomi but they are connected through the 'squiggle' object that contains 'Wu'. The object that Frink has created brings on the 'hallucination' or 'parellel universe' in which Tagomi experiences. Also, Tagomi is the one that releases Frink from the custody of the Reich (unaware it is Frink), saving him from extermination. 2) Robert Childan has not formally met (bar the one time Frink comes into his store in disguise) Frank Frink, yet Frink is the one who has made and sold (through means of ed) the 'artifacts' to Childan to sell in his store. These artifacts then take on a a whole contemporary artistic meaning of their own - supposedly posessing 'Wu' - as mentioned previously. And it is important to note also that it is through the I-Ching that Frank is persuaded to start making these so-called artifacts, hence the way the I-Ching weaves itself through the story and takes effect. 3) Then there is Juliana who plays a very important role towards the end of the novel. She never interacts with any of the other main characters, but has alot in common with Mr. Tagomi. They both happen upon Germans in disguise, they both kill German/s to protect others, and they both receive, through the I-Ching, the hexagram 'inner truth' which changes their perception on reality and what is real.
My point is that all the characters are interconnected and organised through a web of synchronicity - similar to that of the Tao. So in this regard the I-Ching serves as an excellent organisational device. But it all still points to which reality is which, what is real? And is there really is a reality in the first place? These are very difficult questions to answer; perhaps that's why Dick was so plagued by this idea throughout his life.
Nevertheless, a magnificent book with brilliant ideas and a solid plot.
One last note that's prbably off toopic: I couldn't help but crack up when reading some of Mr. Tagomi's internal monologue.
(Pg. 220 - SF Masterworks edition) "What do I see? he asked himself. Due to long patient painstaking study. What is clue of truth that confronts me in this object? Yield, he told the silver triangle. Cough up arcane secret. Like frog pulled from depths, he thought. Clutched in fist, given command to declare what lies below in the watery abyss. But here the frog does not even mock; it strangles silently, becomes stone or clay or mineral. Inert. Passes back to rigid substance familiar in it's tomb world."
- Maybe its just me that finds this passage funny, I dont know, but it sure creates an image in my mind, and I think its the Japanese accent mentality aspect of it that gets me, which also really suits Dicks barrage style of writing. It Comes. In Quick. Sharp. Bursts..... An onslaught of words and dialogue. Like he was on drugs or something - ha. (which I believe he might have been, don't quote me on it though)
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Friday, October 5, 2012
Cult TV Characteristics
A TV show even though it is not recent, that I feel displays many of the characteristics of quality TV is the seminal drama series Twin Peaks. The show which premiered in 1990, helped to change the course of the drama narrative by adding elements of melodrama, sitcom and the supernatural. Its filmic conventions and lush production qualities helped to set a new level of sophistication in the drama serial. Here are the examples I found for each of the 9 qualities listed by Wilcox and Lavery (2002).
Pedigree- The show was created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. David Lynch by that point was an established director in Hollywood with both commercial and critical success. His 1985 film Blue Velvet is considered the inspiration for some of Twin Peak's themes and styling's, and the focus on the facade of small-town America.
Trouble finding an audience- At first the show was a phenomenon and was first broadcast as a seven-episode season. However audiences grew tired of the lack of answers that the show provided, especially in accordance to the murder of Laura Palmer. Part way through the second season the show was pulled and it was only by fan determination that the season eventually was able to screen. However poor ratings led to its eventual demise and the show ended its run after only two seasons.
Large Ensemble Cast- The show focused on many of the townspeople and this helped to create a large array of relationships. From the police department, to the local hotel owner's family, to the friends and family of the murder victim Laura Palmer the multitude of characters helped to weave the narrative and provide Twin Peaks its famed multi-arc structure.
Quality TV Has Memory- As a serial Twin Peak relies on characters and events being continuous and not in a series form. The best example from the show is the use of Agent Cooper's dream sequence. It appears early in the shows history and provides the template for the rest of the murder investigation. It is dissected and analysed and the characters try and gain a deeper meaning of it all instead of just erasing it from their heads.
Quality TV Mixes Genres- Twin Peaks was one of the first network dramas to implement the use of ancient Tibetan philosophy or explore the idea of meta-physical worlds. It used dream sequences in a very surrealistic way and often was branded as 'weird' or 'strange' by mainstream audiences. It also melded the crime drama so effortlessly with soap opera and sitcom, which added to the many level of intertextuality on which it operated on.
Literary and Writer Based- As I mentioned above David Lynch is a famed artist, but co-series creator Mark Frost already came from a distinguished background. He helped to helm episodes of the integral criminal series Hill Street Blues.
Quality TV 'self-conscious'- The show focused on a bevvy of younger teenage characters and I think they best represented insecurities and self-consciousness reflected in the show. Their were plenty of awkward confessions of love and confusion and this helped to bring an innocence to the television show.
Controversial subject matter- The show dealt with issues around drugs, sex, incest and abuse and was about balancing its more supernatural elements with issues that effected people in real life. The idea of a young beautiful popular girl being murdered and wrapped in plastic was also somewhat of a controversial and haunting image and helped to set the tone of the subject matter the show tackled.
Realism- The show wasn't overtly concerned with realism in terms of its visual presentation. The camera work was more melancholic and majestic rather than a more 'fly on the wall' style. But it truly did try to uncover the issues surrounding middle-class small town america and bring of a realistic focus on it.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Week Ten: Cult TV
Hills’ Defining Characteristics
Hills has split his definition into three parts, the text, the inter-text, and the audience. The text refers to the work itself, the inter-text refers to the media response, and the audience obviously refers to the audience. Despite Hills’ claim that these are three equal parts, I have selected sections from his lengthy definitions in order to attempt a summary of his chapter.
Hills has split his definition into three parts, the text, the inter-text, and the audience. The text refers to the work itself, the inter-text refers to the media response, and the audience obviously refers to the audience. Despite Hills’ claim that these are three equal parts, I have selected sections from his lengthy definitions in order to attempt a summary of his chapter.
Due to stark differences in aesthetic, thematic content, and
historical context, many examples of Cult TV can barely be related to each
other at all. Hills suggests that one defining textual characteristic is that
cult TV “constructs immensely detailed, often fantastic, narrative worlds which
we as viewers can never fully encounter, since much of this detail operates
like a set of clues or hints to a consistent narrative world which transcends
what we learn about onscreen.” Which, we have also seen as a characteristic of
science fiction, fantasy, comics and anime. This aspect is definitely one that
has underpinned the entire pop genres course.
Hills give us an inter-textual characteristic in the form of
specialist magazines, which deal with Cult TV in general, as well as some that
deal with specific titles or perhaps genres within the cult TV realm. In relation
to a news section of an issue of the Cult
Times, Hills has said “Rather than activating certain meanings in the primary
text, then, this emphasis on timely news activates, or rather seeks to activate,
a specific relationship between reader and primary text.” In my opinion, it is
this relationship which truly defines cult TV.
The relationship between the audience and text is what turns
a TV show into a cult TV show. There are a number of ways, but I want to focus
on the two most influential. Firstly, the fans organise themselves socially.
Hills uses the example of appreciation societies, however an official society
is not necessary to be a part of a larger group of fans. Facebook pages, websites,
message boards, conventions, real life groups of people, these all act in the
same way; it creates a distinctive community of fans, who identify themselves
as such. Secondly, a knowledge (often gained through multiple views of episodes
or seasons, out of love for the text) of the characters, continuity,
references, Easter eggs, and production. Some fans are inclined to take this
further by writing fan fiction, producing academic papers, episode guides and
various other related content. Obviously, these pieces of work by fans are then
distributed to others in their network, so the knowledge is shared and spread. Cult
fandom has taken off in a big way since the internet has become more
accessible. This allows fans to communicate with each other despite location,
and contributes to the larger sense of community for groups of fans.
Wilcox & Lavery’s 9 Characteristics
Wilcox and Lavery list nine characteristics of Cult TV. One
of the discussion topics asked if we could relate these to any other TV shows.
I can relate them to a show noone has discussed in all of the reading I’ve done
relating to Cult TV… Arrested Development.
Below are the characteristics, followed by my application of
them to Arrested Development.
1)“Quality TV usually
has a quality pedigree” – Arrested Development was created by Mitchell
Hurwitz (who worked on The Ellen Show, the Golden Girls, and the John Larroquette
Show). Ron Howard (well-known actor from Happy Days, as well as directing
Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, and Cocoon) executive produced as well as narrated
the series.
2) “Desirable demographics not-withstanding, quality shows must often undergo a noble struggle against profit-mongering networks and non-appreciative audiences” – Despite it’s critical acclaim, Arrested Development never got great ratings. The Fox network frequently shuffled its time slot and cut seasons short due to its poor performance.
3) ”Quality TV tends to have a large ensemble cast” - The series stars Jason Bateman, Portia De Rossi, Will Arnett, Michael Cera, David Cross, Jeffrey Tambor, and Jessica Walter as the Bluth family. Regular guest stars include Henry Winkler, Carl Weathers, Liza Minelli, Amy Poehler, and Scott Baio.
4) “Quality TV has a memory” – The entire series is constantly cross referencing itself. Not only does it reflect on past events, but also foreshadows future ones.
5) “Quality TV creates a new genre by mixing old ones” – Arrested Development follows a sitcom format, however rather than a fix-set studio audience setup, it was shot on location and uses multiple cameras, which is more of a documentary approach. It also used cutaway gags, which often utilised visual punch lines, drawing on family photos, security footage, archived film, and flashbacks. The narrator also frequently commented on the characters in a humorous manner.
6) “Quality TV tends to be literary and writer based” – The bulk of the writing was done by creator Hurwitz, however, several other staff writers and guest writers or collaborators were involved also, although all of their contributions would be in the style Hurwitz had created for the show. There is a heavy element of wordplay to a lot of the dialogue, notably, almost everything that comes out of the mouth of character Tobias Funke.
7) “Quality TV is self-conscious” – This can best be summarized by one of the final scenes in the series, where the character of Maeby Funke submits her family’s story to film-maker Ron Howard (that’s right, the executive producer of the show in real life) suggesting it would make a good movie. He replies “No, not a movie… TV show maybe?” Additionally, there are hundreds of pop culture references buried in the show.
8) “The subject matter of quality TV tends toward the controversial” – The show was loosely based around the events of Enron and Adelphia’s accounting scandals, the fictional Bluth Company is under heat for just that. As well as this, the fictional company also comes under fire for building houses in Iraq. There is a few episodes that revolve around two cousins having romantic feelings for each other. The entire series revolves around honesty and morality, or a lack thereof.
9) “Quality TV aspires towards ‘realism’” – Despite the family’s unreal actions, there is realism in the show which is anchored with central protagonist, Michael Bluth. The white sheep of the family, he is the only character in the show that has real feelings and real values. He is almost instantly relatable, despite sometimes not being likeable, yet is the only character who is honest and clear. I find him to be more relatable than any other sitcom character, because he acts like a real person not like a sitcom character – this is something many directors seem to have overlooked.
2) “Desirable demographics not-withstanding, quality shows must often undergo a noble struggle against profit-mongering networks and non-appreciative audiences” – Despite it’s critical acclaim, Arrested Development never got great ratings. The Fox network frequently shuffled its time slot and cut seasons short due to its poor performance.
3) ”Quality TV tends to have a large ensemble cast” - The series stars Jason Bateman, Portia De Rossi, Will Arnett, Michael Cera, David Cross, Jeffrey Tambor, and Jessica Walter as the Bluth family. Regular guest stars include Henry Winkler, Carl Weathers, Liza Minelli, Amy Poehler, and Scott Baio.
4) “Quality TV has a memory” – The entire series is constantly cross referencing itself. Not only does it reflect on past events, but also foreshadows future ones.
5) “Quality TV creates a new genre by mixing old ones” – Arrested Development follows a sitcom format, however rather than a fix-set studio audience setup, it was shot on location and uses multiple cameras, which is more of a documentary approach. It also used cutaway gags, which often utilised visual punch lines, drawing on family photos, security footage, archived film, and flashbacks. The narrator also frequently commented on the characters in a humorous manner.
6) “Quality TV tends to be literary and writer based” – The bulk of the writing was done by creator Hurwitz, however, several other staff writers and guest writers or collaborators were involved also, although all of their contributions would be in the style Hurwitz had created for the show. There is a heavy element of wordplay to a lot of the dialogue, notably, almost everything that comes out of the mouth of character Tobias Funke.
7) “Quality TV is self-conscious” – This can best be summarized by one of the final scenes in the series, where the character of Maeby Funke submits her family’s story to film-maker Ron Howard (that’s right, the executive producer of the show in real life) suggesting it would make a good movie. He replies “No, not a movie… TV show maybe?” Additionally, there are hundreds of pop culture references buried in the show.
8) “The subject matter of quality TV tends toward the controversial” – The show was loosely based around the events of Enron and Adelphia’s accounting scandals, the fictional Bluth Company is under heat for just that. As well as this, the fictional company also comes under fire for building houses in Iraq. There is a few episodes that revolve around two cousins having romantic feelings for each other. The entire series revolves around honesty and morality, or a lack thereof.
9) “Quality TV aspires towards ‘realism’” – Despite the family’s unreal actions, there is realism in the show which is anchored with central protagonist, Michael Bluth. The white sheep of the family, he is the only character in the show that has real feelings and real values. He is almost instantly relatable, despite sometimes not being likeable, yet is the only character who is honest and clear. I find him to be more relatable than any other sitcom character, because he acts like a real person not like a sitcom character – this is something many directors seem to have overlooked.
Hills, M. (2004). Defining Cult TV; Texts, Inter-texts and Fan Audiences, The Television Studies Reader, in R. C. Allen & A. Hill. London and New York: Routledge.
Wilcox, R. & Lavery, D. (2002). Introduction, in R. Wilcox & D. Lavery (eds) Fighting the forces: what’s at stake in Buffy the vampire slayer. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield.
Week 9/10: Cult TV and Popular Genres
Matt Hills (2004) seeks to define Cult TV in a more scholarly framework by
making use of three researched and informed definitions:
First, Cult TV can be analysed through textual analysis and the intertextual context from which it draws. He states that Cult TV is best thought of as a group of texts derived from the genres of science fiction, fantasy and horror. One can see the parallels this draws to Buffy where in 'Goodbye Iowa' and 'The I in Team' where the episodes draw on the likes of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. On a wider scale, Buffy is intertextual within what she is - a Vampire Slayer - where the myth, if you like, of vampires dates back hundreds of years and to Polidori's Vampyre (1819) as well as the likes of demons and underworlds in general. One could argue that the battle against demons and the underworld and good vs. evil can be drawn from a Biblical sense where demons are from the underworld of Hell.
Secondly, Cult TV is defined by the selected meaning that secondary texts portray of the primary text. This comes in the form of journalistic writing and other communication mediums. Mostly, Hills focuses on fan magazines (specifically UK Cult Times), noting that Cult TV becomes Cult TV as the secondary texts activate meanings and associated messages of the primary texts which can attract or deter audiences.
Lastly, Cult TV depends on fan practices and fan activities whereby the text being referred to reached across mediums to blogs, merchandise, appreciation societies and fan-fiction (which I loathe). In terms of Buffy it is easy to see why the series gathered such a following.
According to Whedon (cited in Wilcox & Lavery, 2002), 'quality TV creates a new genre by mixing old ones'. As aforementioned, Buffy draws on ancient myth and legend to create its world and characters; it draws on horror, teen drama, the supernatural and literary canon. Adding to this, it becomes Cult TV because despite the series fantastical elements, it holds real-life issues within its storyline - close-knit community, themes of love and hate, good and evil, and acceptance of unlikely characters (Buffy herself as the Slayer and as seen in 'The I in Team' Alyson's possible venture into lesbianism) all of which, in some way or another, are challenges that people have to face in reality. Hill (2004) encapsulates this in saying that 'Cult TV...works serially, by reiteration and accumulation of detail to make these fantastic worlds appear normal within a format and narrative structure'. He goes on to say that Cult TV becomes so because it creates a history that grows with its audience - when the characters remember, the audience remembers too - and so the characters themselves become almost tangible and identifiable in reality.
The idea of Cult TV being realistic is furthered through Appreciation Societies, journalistic writing where the directors, writers and cast are interviewed and 'Behind the Scenes' footage is aired so that the viewers are no longer 'viewing' but also engaging.
Through reading the secondary texts of Weeks 9 & 10, it becomes apparent as to why Twilight, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and most recently 50 Shades of Grey draw on such fan followings - granted that these are books turned into movies and therefore their narrative structures aren't serial but more linear. Twilight draws on the idea of Vampires and Werewolves, and Harry Potter brings to life wizards and witches and that of every fantastical creature under the sun while The Hunger Games unfolds in a dystopian world - forming parallels with Philip K. Dick (specifically, from what I can gather, Man in the High Castle) and lastly, 50 Shades of Grey which is more sexually fantastical than anything else but it is fantasy nonetheless. By looking at all these texts, Buffy and Wizards of Earthsea included, the most common element is that these are alternate, imagined universes whether they take place presently, in the future or a hundred years ago.
As soap operas offer escapism to the stereotypically bored housewife, Fantasy, Sci-Fi (and speculative fiction), Horror and Cult TV all offer a world that is far from our present realities. Each does this in their own way, through myths, legends, theories of metaphysics and perceptions of reality, dystopias or sexual escapism. Which is perhaps why they develop such a following: Like Juliana Frink became obsessed with the idea of a better world, it seems fans become obsessed with the idea of magic, and horror, vampires and slayers and will go to any extremes to make these a reality.
First, Cult TV can be analysed through textual analysis and the intertextual context from which it draws. He states that Cult TV is best thought of as a group of texts derived from the genres of science fiction, fantasy and horror. One can see the parallels this draws to Buffy where in 'Goodbye Iowa' and 'The I in Team' where the episodes draw on the likes of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. On a wider scale, Buffy is intertextual within what she is - a Vampire Slayer - where the myth, if you like, of vampires dates back hundreds of years and to Polidori's Vampyre (1819) as well as the likes of demons and underworlds in general. One could argue that the battle against demons and the underworld and good vs. evil can be drawn from a Biblical sense where demons are from the underworld of Hell.
Secondly, Cult TV is defined by the selected meaning that secondary texts portray of the primary text. This comes in the form of journalistic writing and other communication mediums. Mostly, Hills focuses on fan magazines (specifically UK Cult Times), noting that Cult TV becomes Cult TV as the secondary texts activate meanings and associated messages of the primary texts which can attract or deter audiences.
Lastly, Cult TV depends on fan practices and fan activities whereby the text being referred to reached across mediums to blogs, merchandise, appreciation societies and fan-fiction (which I loathe). In terms of Buffy it is easy to see why the series gathered such a following.
According to Whedon (cited in Wilcox & Lavery, 2002), 'quality TV creates a new genre by mixing old ones'. As aforementioned, Buffy draws on ancient myth and legend to create its world and characters; it draws on horror, teen drama, the supernatural and literary canon. Adding to this, it becomes Cult TV because despite the series fantastical elements, it holds real-life issues within its storyline - close-knit community, themes of love and hate, good and evil, and acceptance of unlikely characters (Buffy herself as the Slayer and as seen in 'The I in Team' Alyson's possible venture into lesbianism) all of which, in some way or another, are challenges that people have to face in reality. Hill (2004) encapsulates this in saying that 'Cult TV...works serially, by reiteration and accumulation of detail to make these fantastic worlds appear normal within a format and narrative structure'. He goes on to say that Cult TV becomes so because it creates a history that grows with its audience - when the characters remember, the audience remembers too - and so the characters themselves become almost tangible and identifiable in reality.
The idea of Cult TV being realistic is furthered through Appreciation Societies, journalistic writing where the directors, writers and cast are interviewed and 'Behind the Scenes' footage is aired so that the viewers are no longer 'viewing' but also engaging.
Through reading the secondary texts of Weeks 9 & 10, it becomes apparent as to why Twilight, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and most recently 50 Shades of Grey draw on such fan followings - granted that these are books turned into movies and therefore their narrative structures aren't serial but more linear. Twilight draws on the idea of Vampires and Werewolves, and Harry Potter brings to life wizards and witches and that of every fantastical creature under the sun while The Hunger Games unfolds in a dystopian world - forming parallels with Philip K. Dick (specifically, from what I can gather, Man in the High Castle) and lastly, 50 Shades of Grey which is more sexually fantastical than anything else but it is fantasy nonetheless. By looking at all these texts, Buffy and Wizards of Earthsea included, the most common element is that these are alternate, imagined universes whether they take place presently, in the future or a hundred years ago.
As soap operas offer escapism to the stereotypically bored housewife, Fantasy, Sci-Fi (and speculative fiction), Horror and Cult TV all offer a world that is far from our present realities. Each does this in their own way, through myths, legends, theories of metaphysics and perceptions of reality, dystopias or sexual escapism. Which is perhaps why they develop such a following: Like Juliana Frink became obsessed with the idea of a better world, it seems fans become obsessed with the idea of magic, and horror, vampires and slayers and will go to any extremes to make these a reality.
Week 7/8 Speculative Fiction vs. Science Fiction
According to Margaret Atwood (2010) science
fiction has ancestry with the likes of H.G Wells with his works of The Time Machine and War of the Worlds where plots are
written that are very unlikely or near impossible to happen. Speculative
fiction has been categorized into an area where the plot could be played out in
another time or had history not happened in the way that it did – whether the
worlds written about be utopian or dystopian. Speculative fiction came about
with the likes of Jules Verne where it the plot wasn’t about space invasions
and outer space but rather things that we could actually do.
It has been noted that a lot of utopias
were written about before WW1 however with the horror of war and disillusioned
generations the idea of a perfect world was nothing more than a distant
imagination. Atwood notes that when people attempted to create a Utopia (the
Soviet Union) far more people were sacrificed in the name of having a perfect
world than actually creating a perfect word – and so came about the writing of
many dystopias such as Man in the High
Castle.
Given the personality and beliefs of Philip
K. Dick himself it is easy to see how and why he managed to write so
convincingly about places that could exist one day – or could have existed had
history been different. Brown (1962) notes that Dick was an anti-establishment
intellectual who had an obsession with metaphysics and the nature of perceived
reality.
This interest of Dick emphasises the speculation
in speculative fiction of which is represented in Man in the High Castle but also A
Scanner Darkly (which focus more on the idea of parallel realities).
Ultimately, as Brown states, his art reflected his life.
Man in the High Castle, being speculative
fiction conforms to what Atwood (2010) defines where the plot occupies a reality that could have
existed and investigates the idea of interconnectedness using the I Ching (which he used himself) as a
vehicle to represent a Jungian synchronicity (Brown, 1962). But it seems Dick’s
main message of Man in the High Castle
is that better worlds might exist – an idea which one of the main characters,
Juliana Frink, becomes obsessed with. And again, the shattering of a perceived reality when Juliana learns how
Abdensen’s novel The Grasshopper Lies
Heavy came to be written –
emphasising Dick’s belief in parallel realities and metaphysics.
Friday, September 21, 2012
P.K Dick vs General SF
What does Brown (2001) identify as the central themes and concerns of the novel? What elements conform to the wider generic features of SF?
Browne explores how P.K Dick often drew from real-life events and focused on how they affected individual people. He still allowed readers to see how the world as a whole was shaped by certain events, but he was more interested in the individuals struggle and the interconnectivity between these struggles. More of the generic SF texts were often more concerned with “mad scientist and ravaging alien monsters” and generally discarded developing characters with emotional validity.
Browne also discusses Dick’s exploration of alternative worlds through text like the I Ching and The Grasshopper Lies Heavy. The I Ching acts as a sort of guide to creating a better universe, while the Grasshopper is an actual account of an alternative world which could have certainly become a reality. In more generic SF there is more effort put into creating another ‘physical’ world with different landscape, creatures etc. They try to instil a sense of intrigues through the distinctly ‘unfamiliar’, but PK Dick correctly assumed there is much more intrigue in exploring alternative/false realities within our own existence.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Week 5/6: Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke.
The anime film, written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, Princess Mononoke follows the protagonist Ashitaka and his plight set in the Muromachi period in Japan.
Ashitaka takes the form of the Hero archetype, a young, idealistic male, undertaking a rite of passage. At the beginning of act one we see Ashitaka in his normal world, riding his red elk, yakul. This is until he realises something is wrong, there is a demon possessed Boar attacking the Emishi village. This challenge to Ashitaka's world is his call to adventure.
Ashitaka must kill the Demon possessed Boar but becomes injured and receives a curse on his right arm. Although the curse grants Ashitaka superhuman strength, it will eventually kill him and he must find a cure as advised by the oracle. Along the way he meets Jigo who is the mentor character in the film.
At the end of the film, Ashitaka and San return the head of the forest spirit, when the do this, the forest spirit falls into the lake and heals both San and Ashitaka. Ashitaka decides to stay back and rebuild the town but promises San that he will visit her in the forest.
Ashitaka takes the form of the Hero archetype, a young, idealistic male, undertaking a rite of passage. At the beginning of act one we see Ashitaka in his normal world, riding his red elk, yakul. This is until he realises something is wrong, there is a demon possessed Boar attacking the Emishi village. This challenge to Ashitaka's world is his call to adventure.
Ashitaka must kill the Demon possessed Boar but becomes injured and receives a curse on his right arm. Although the curse grants Ashitaka superhuman strength, it will eventually kill him and he must find a cure as advised by the oracle. Along the way he meets Jigo who is the mentor character in the film.
At the end of the film, Ashitaka and San return the head of the forest spirit, when the do this, the forest spirit falls into the lake and heals both San and Ashitaka. Ashitaka decides to stay back and rebuild the town but promises San that he will visit her in the forest.
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