"The Fiction of Ideas" week 10- March 21, 2018

"The Fiction of Ideas"
Week 10
March 21, 2018



I read a few chapters into the book, "The Left Hand of Darkness", by Ursula K. Le Guin.  Upon reading i started to realize what kind of book this was, which is a feminism science fiction book, where the main character is a person named Genly Ai, a guy sent to Gethen to get the Gethenians to join the Ekumen.  On the land of Gethen, the people there are androgynous beings which means that they are neither male or female, which made this book a bit different from the typical things that I read. 

Upon reading the first chapter, it opens with a parade in Karhide, talking about colors, instruments, marching, and all of these beautiful things, but Genly Ai was not on the planet Gethen to take in the Macy's Day Works. King Agraven is not there at the parade just for show, but he is the one who puts the keystone in with his bare hands.  Estravem, the King's prime minister.  For Eukmans, a universe wide-nation government, shows their power subtly, while on this planet, it is a very show off kind of power that boasts about the power.

Understanding and navigating the Gethen social mores and politics are rather difficult for Ai to understand.  Ai later journeys on to Fastness of Karhide and meets a person named Faxe the fortune teller, when Ai asks if both Ekumen and Gethen will join together in the future and the guy with his magic 8 ball says yes, so now Ai feels like he has to redo his mission all over again to try to get a different result.
A character named Estraven has been paying attention to Ai because he has so many friends that are higher up in the government, because there is a war between Karhide and Orgoreyn.  Towards the end, Estraven was betrayed by a friend while escaping back into Ogoreyn and learns the truth about his friends sacrifice. 

I personally thought this book was interesting. Just a little too different for me. Meaning these species would change body heat which would change their sexual orientation, which means they are gender neutral, and they can mix things, like a utopian idea. I found it hard to stay a little focused on this book, i kind of just read it to read. it was not a, oh i want to finish this now, kind of book. I got lost quite a few times, but that may be because i wasnt so into it.  More of a if I have time, we will see kind of book.  Its one I can forget about.

"Space Opera"
March 14, 2018


When I first saw the title of space opera, I thought to myself, people singing in space.  Little did I know that it meant movies like Star Wars.  I was very off... But I am one of the few who has never seen a Star wars movie so I thought id give it a try since I did not have much time this week being in the hospital for a whole day.


I watched the first Star Wars movie for the first time ever and I actually really liked it. First off the bat, I started cracking up with some of the languages and accents the characters talk in made it very funny.  I loved all of the effects and the story line. I found it all very fascinating.  It felt opera esc when they played the dramatic orchestra music in the background that gave it a special vibe and feel.  I even got so into the movies that I watched chapters 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5!

"Mythic Fiction Contemporary Urban Fantasy", Week 8

"Mythic Fiction and Contemporary Urban Fantasy"
Week 8
February 28, 2018

This week, the topic is mythic fiction and contemporary urban fantasy and since I have not had much time this week, I watched the new 2017 Jumanji movie.  The question that we are asked today is, how was myth reinvented within the context of the movie?  And in what ways were the myth made relevant to the contemporary world? 

To start, Jumani is about a group of students whose lives dramatically change one day when they are all in detention together.  They start to play a video game that they found and one by one they get sucked into the game.  When arriving into the game, they realize they are not themselves.  They are in the bodies of the characters that they chose to play in the game.  Ruby Roundhouse, Dr. Smolder Bravestone, Professor Shelley Oberon, and Moose Finbar are the characters in the game that they take the roles of as well as the skills of.  They have to be careful and work together and try not to loose their lives and once they run out of lives, its game over for that person.  Their goal is to win the game and to return to the real world by lifting the curse by returning the jewel to the top of the jaguar statue.

To answer the first question, the myth is reinvented in the film by the characters being sucked into the game to save everyone in order to return home, as well as return the jewel to the jaguars eye.  In order to win the game, they need to return the jewel and lift the curse, return the jewel and call out Jumanji's name in order to return back to normal life.

To answer the second question, the myths that were made relevant to the contemporary world  would be through the video game that they play that ends up sucking them through the television into the world of Jumanji.

Overall, I personally really enjoyed the film. Compared to the old movie with Robin Williams,  id say they did  a pretty good job at creating the film and the illusions in which they are trying to show. 

"The Novel of Spiritual Education"
Week 7
February 22, 2018

This week, I read the fantasy novel "Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern, published in 2011.  Before even reading it. I took a look at the cover itself, and found myself very interested in the image on the front cover.  It is of a hand and its in black and white and red, which are my favorite colors so I was interested in getting into this book.

 This enchanting book was also very intriguing, atmospheric and dark.  It is about a circus that is only open at night that pops up in these random towns.  These people wake up one day to see the black and white tents outside their windows, showing up unannounced.  I personally enjoy the circus and what it has to offer. I am particularly a big fan of Cirq De Solel.  I have seen two of the performances and it is kind of similar to the experience of the book.

When the people enter the circus, they realize that it is a magical circus in another world, but there are several different tents which are all different worlds of their own.  One tent is the ice garden which was my personal favorite and there was the illusionist tent, where all of them are very vivid in their descriptions which makes you want to go there and fall in love.

The circus is also not just the circus, it is also a competition between these two magicians who are thrown into the competition without guidelines or any rules.  All they know is that they are there, and that they have to be a part of it and display their magical abilities and perform them to the audience to the best of their abilities.  I didnt get horribly far in it, but from what i got to, i was really enjoying the book. It was a good read that i would recommend. 

"A Rich Fantasy Life": Week 6, Feb 21,2018

"A Rich Fantasy Life"
Week 6
February 21, 2018

This week I read the novel "Warbreaker" by Brandon Sanderson which is a fantasy novel made June 9, 2009.  I personally kind of got into the novel in the first few chapters but the middle was laggy to me, but the end was not too horrible. Im more of a horror book, short stores and "Lord of the Rings" kind of person.  In this story, there are two sisters who are princesses while one has to marry someone called the God King and the other lesser God has a job that he does not like as well as an immortal that made a mistake years ago that he is now trying to solve and fix from what i can remember.  The people who die in glory return as gods to live with a pantheon in a place called Hallandren's Capital city.  In the middle of the book i became a little confused with what was going on but I can say that there are challenges that are resolved in the end.  One theme i noticed was "identity" issue.   Lightsong the God, Vivenna and Siri does not believe in their own deification. I can sense that the book lags in some parts through the middle  and took a while to get to the point and get things moving along.  Overall, i'd say that it is a good read if you want something to read when you are bored and have time.

"Witches" February 11, 2018

"Witches"

Week 5
February 11, 2018

This week i watched the movie "Bewitched" with Will Ferrel and Nicole Kidman, where a guy named Jack Wyatt goes through some difficulties and struggles in his life.  There is a popular 1960s sitcom "Bewitched" where he tries to make his comeback.  Jack meets Isabel and when shooting, he learns that she was actually a witch.  Isabel impresses the shows producers and writers and jack convinces Isabel to join the show, but she finds out about how they were going to make her go on without having any lines to say.  She decided either to "quit, get mad, or live with it."  Instead, Isabel cast a spell on Jack which makes him fall in love with her.  Jack chases after her and his affection for Isabel grows and grow and asks her on a date which makes Isabel completely forget about the hex.  But they end up fighting once again and Jack decides to throw a party to celebrate his divorce at his house which Nigel attends.  Jack makes a toast at the party stating that the truth will be revealed and he officially believes her when she begins to levitate off the ground and Isabel begins to fly off and away from everyone.  This witch is different in a couple of ways when I think of the stereotypical witch, i think of green skin, wart on the nose, black hair, black clothes, witches hat, a broom stick.  When they came out with "Bewitched" I think they wanted to do a twist on the modern day witch making her attractive compared to the one from the movie "The Wizard Of OZ".  Overall i was a fan of the movie because i enjoy Will Ferell and the way that they changed the way that we see witches.  

"The Old and the New" February 10,2018

"The Old and the New"

Week 4

February 10, 2018

This week i watched a rather strange film called John Dies At The End.  This film/ book is about this new drug called the "soy sauce" and it moves and changes and puts people into an out-of-body experience that leaves you coming bak completely changed and different.  I watched this thinking some guy named John is going to die at the end of this, but the twist is that he does not at the end... but something else saves him and the world from an otherworldly invasion.  

The two main characters, John and Dave are good friends.  John, while being questioned he i when he is under the "soy sauce", telepathically contacts Dave, and helps him to escape from the police station where he ended up. He helps him escape the ghost that appears as a cop, and brings him to a guy named Marley's house which is the guy who got him the "soy sauce" and the place catches on fire. All of these events are completely random but somehow all seem to go together. I believe this is what the idea of "the new and weird".  Because towards the end, all the events that have lead up to when the enter the new world, is beyond crazy. I noticed that paying attention to this movie is very important because if you miss something, it can become very confusing very quickly.  

At the end, John and Dave get saved by their dog who destroyed the evil Korrok who was going to take over their world. This part I have to say, threw me off. Not realizing it was the dogs destiny to do all of these things and bring these people together to defeat Korrok and the corrupt world that they live in.

Overall, I thought the movie was a success and it leaves me very intrigued to read the novel to see how that all plays out compared to the movie.