Linda Brant's Lecture on Grievability of Animals' Deaths

Linda Brant talked about memorializing the deaths of animals that we normally don’t grieve over and what it could mean to humans by introducing the word “grievability” .The grievabilitiy of an animal’s death depends on the context of the animal (whether it’s a predator or prey). The more innocent an animal is, the more reason there is for their death to be something to grieve over. Listening to her lecture made me think, and although she made some good points about the grievability of animals, I had a different take on the idea. Personally for me, it doesn’t matter what the context of the animal is, but more about what you personally feel for that particular animal. A stranger’s death doesn’t make one grieve. Although its sad, its only sad because the concept of death is a sad one in itself. People die everywhere all the time, but people only truly grieve over the deaths of loved ones. Pet cemeteries are so popular, not because of the animals’ deaths’ grievability, but because of the personal connection one felt for that pet. Rats are typically not grieved over, and most people have a negative connotation of rats. But rats are also very popular rats, and when a pet rat dies, someone may hold a small ritual for the death of their pet rat and grieve. The reason why the connotation of the animal and its innocence plays a factor in the grievability of its death is because it is easier to imagine ourselves having a relationship with an animal that is perceived as innocent than it is with an animal with sharp teeth that can eat a person in a couple bites. Seeing a cute squirrel on the side of a road and thinking, “I could have that squirrel as a pet” is what causes us to empathize with that animal and grieve when we see one dying a few days later.

Considering Narrative Voice in Documentary Film

1.     Considering the articles you’ve read for class today, which documentary mode does the film borrow from? Please explain specific elements from the film to support your observations.

The film borrows from expository. It is educating and explaining events to the audience, and felt objective with the material it was presenting. The film was also poetic, with it nonlinear story telling.

2.     Why do you think the filmmaker chose to automate the voice of the narrator? What does it add or detract from the film?

It takes away emotion from the film and adds a sense of detachment, which was done to be more objective. The narrator seemed almost non human, which also added to the fact that there weren’t many people throughout the film besides one exception. If done with a human voice, it would have felt more like a story being told rather than information.

3.     What were some of the more experimental aspects of the film in terms of image and storytelling?

Some of the more experimental aspects of the film was the montage of older footage that was included at the beginning, the quick slideshow of images that seemed almost like a flipbook, the drive-by shots, and the combination of many different aesthetics of film. The film also used a lot of sudden cuts between images.

4.     Does the film come across as a work of fact or fiction? Why?

The film comes across as a work of fact because of the expository storytelling, the robotic, unemotional voice, and just the fact it is a documentary all added together gives the impression that its just stating facts.

Blood for Oil & Texas Chainsaw Massacre

1)       "Blood for Oil" is film studies scholarship that supports its argument by thinking through metonymy.  What is metonymy and why is it important for analysis and creative practice?

Metonymy is a figure of speech or in some sorts a kind of nickname that a concept or thing is associated with. It is important for analysis and creative practice because it gives a clue to the connotation of the original concept and what kind of representation it has to everyday situations.

2)      "Blood for Oil" studies scholarship that is new historicist in its framework.  What is new historicism and why does it matter?

New historicism is the study of sub-literary texts and its contexts. It studies the history of when an idea was created as well its non-literary contexts to analyze. This is important because it gives a different perspective from the modern way of thinking and allows us to understand the circumstances that the idea arose in.

3)      The article begins with an analysis of the written and aural components of the film’s opening.  Why?  (This analysis carries through to the analysis of Franklin, the generator, and the chain saw itself.)

The article begins with an analysis of the written and aural components of the film's opening in order to give the reader some context about film as well as understand the origin of the writer's train of thought.

4)      Corporate signage figures heavily in the argument.  Why does genre matter to how we think about corporate signifiers?

Corporate signage and branding is an everyday occurrence that everyone can connect to, so it can be used to create a link between the world the artist is trying to convey to the viewers' reality.  

Blood for Oil & Texas Chainsaw Massacre

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Romeo and Juliet & Prince of Cats

Opening Sequence:
1. The film's introduction is highly stylized. How does this compare to the beginning pages of Prince of Cats? Do you notice any similarities or differences? What are they?
They are both very stylized. Prince of Cats has a distinct drawing style as well as a very specific color palette, while the film has very stylized editing, sound editing and soundtrack.

2. What effect does the scene's rapid fire editing and speeded-up action have on the tone of the film? How does it set the stage for what might come next?
It gives it a very comic book feel and cheesy, but also dramatic and epic. With each cut there is some sense of repetition or pattern, so it creates anticipation for the next cut.

3. What can you infer about the setting and culture of Lurhmann's film as opposed to Shakespeare's original play?
The setting and culture is modern and American, but the lines are the same as the original play, so it seems somewhat out of place and ruins the flow of the quick editing and fast pace of the film.

Costume Party:
1. What are the narrative similarities between Lurhmann's party scene and the costume party that takes place in Prince of Cats? How are these similarities visually represented in each work and to what effect?
Both parties were modern parties that a young adult audience could connect to. The parties were both represented with large crowds, flashy costumes, and dancing. Both parties were also visually very colorful and bright despite occurring at night. Both used the contrast of the dark sky and the parties' bright colors to make the subjects pop out.
The costumes worn in Prince of Cats were more modern (Joker, Wonderwoman) in comparison to the costumes in Romeo and Juliet (knight, angel).

Father Lawrence v. The Apothecary
2. What is your interpretation of presence of drugs in the play, film, and graphic novel? Do you believe the element of drugs could hold any symbolic meaning in the narrative of Romeo and Juliet?
The drugs in the play were used to progress the plot and cause the death of the main characters, while the drugs in the graphic novel and film were also used for recreational purposes.

Prince of Cats

Prince of Cats by Ron Wimberly is a graphic novel "reboot" of the classic tale Romeo and Juliet. It is a modern twist of the classic tale set in Brooklyn in the year 1983, and the story is told with Tybalt Capulet, who was the main antagonist of the original Romeo and Juliet, being the center of the story. The different setting and culture does change the delivery of the story, but the moral of the story would remain the same. In the Prince of Cats, the main aspect that truly differentiates itself from Romeo and Juliet was the change of perspective. Because it is still the same story, the events that unfold that are related to Romeo and Juliet are still the same. However, since it introduced the story through a new lens, it became an entirely new experience for the reader. Its like if Star Wars happened on Earth in 2005. It would still be about a rebellion against a corrupt government, with "knights" and some kind of replacement for the Sith. People would still be experiencing the same story, just with different variables. But if you were to change the perspective of the story from Luke Skywalker to a stormtrooper or Lord Sidious, the story becomes a new one. The events that unfold may be the same, but the motivations and lessons learned would be different. And that is why Prince of Cats was so successful at rebooting the story of Romeo and Juliet. It wasn't just another story about how Romeo and Juliet overcame the obstacles standing in the way of their love, but a story revolving around Tybalt and the events that unfolded more around him.
Besides the point of creating an entirely new interpretation of the established story, some aspects that culture and setting successfully influenced in Prince of Cats was in the visuals. Due to the fact that Prince of Cats relied heavily on its images in addition to dialogue to tell its story, the visuals played a major role. When you change the setting to a modern urban one with characters of a different ethnicity from the original story wielding samurai swords, you basically have entirely different story. But with the similar dialogue from Romeo and Juliet, it still would've been hard to grasp the concept of the new setting especially if you were accustomed to the original story. With the illustrations aiding the storytelling process, it helped secure the concept of characters of African American descent running around the streets of Brooklyn with swords without the constant reemergence of the image that Shakespeare had envisioned for his tale that we are all so used to.

Audio Stories in Contemporary Culture

With the advancement of technology and its ever-increasing usage, podcasts and audiobooks have been becoming more and more popular. What possible reason could there be for the booming growth of these audio stories in today’s visual age? While everyone is raving over the graphics of the upcoming triple A video games and CGI in Hollywood’s blockbuster films, why are audio stories so successful? As someone who does see the appeal in these podcasts and audiobooks but never personally became a fan, the only situation I could see myself deliberately listening to them would be during a commute or while doing chores around the house. After doing some research, I found out the success of audiobooks was derived from the popularity of podcasts, and the reason for podcasts’ popularity was the same as the radio many years ago. The difference that makes podcasts more appealing than the radio is that while the radio became commercialized and pandered to demographic markets to increase their audience, podcasts did almost the opposite and let the audience find them based on their interests. Instead of having several radio stations playing music they thought would get them the most viewers and fighting with each other, podcasts just did them and let viewers who were interested in their topics find them. For every interest, there would be a podcast talking about it. An example for this is Storycorps 455: My Lobotomy. While the topic of lobotomy might not be something one would expect the average person to be interested in, the fact is there are always people who are interested in the topic and tune into these podcasts to hear about it. In a town of, lets say 1,000 people, there could be hundreds of radio stations playing popular music competing for viewers. Maybe about 700 people listening to the radio would be split up among these hundreds of stations. In an equal world, that would be about 7 people per station. But how many of these stations talk about lobotomies? Not many, and in the town of 1,000, all 100 people who are interested in lobotomies would be listening to this podcast.

Narrative Design: Illustration + Storytelling

One of the ways the graphic novel Asterios Polyp uses illustration to demonstrate storytelling is in its use of variation. A lot of subjects in the graphic novel seem so different from each other to the point that the fact they are all in the same story is surprising. Not only in the behavior of the characters, but the design and style of drawing with some of the objects as well as characters have so much contrast that it paints the story in a more realistic outlook that provides several angles. It shows that many of these characters view life in such a different perspective from each other that it almost seems they are from different dimensions, and yet they all learn to live with each other and try to share their point of views amongst themselves and with the reader. Another method Asterios Polyp uses illustration to demonstrate storytelling is its use of color to emphasize the focal point or focus of the image. Often times each scene is colored in a way that one subject will stand out far more than the environment or its fellow subjects, and in each of these cases, that subject is the centerpiece of that image. Although it would be easy enough for the reader to tell for themselves what the focus of each image is, by having the visual cues, it makes the images pop out more.

In game art, story telling is extremely vital. Designing a good narrative for a likeable character in a believable world is exemplary of good storytelling in a visual sense, which is the whole purpose of a game. In a game, the player can even be in control of the direction that the story goes in, with the extent of the influence the players’ decisions have over the progression of the story depending on whether the game has a linear or non-linear story. Without a good story, even the most beautiful games with the best gameplay and mechanics can be unsatisfying.