#have some socio-cultural realism too

[draculasstrawhat]

I feel like both of these takes are sorta missing the point but are reaching for a similar place. Like, yes, there is no such thing as an “original” folktale, even though most fairytales we know have an original literary version which holds some canonical status.

More importantly, though, even when we’re talking about people like Hans Christian Andersen - who wrote entirely new fairy tales - there isn’t a *definitive* version. The story, as it exists in the public consciousness, is not defined by Perrault, or Grimm, or Anderson, but rather adaptations and retellings which are based on these versions. We have stories *from* Grimm, and Perrault, and Anderson that are often composite versions, variations on the theme of. It’s quite important, in its way, in maintaining the living tradition of fairytale.

As to sanitising, that’s a tendency that goes back to the very first literary fairytales. Perrault almost certainly sanitised. Even the Grimms sanitised later editions of their work when they realised they were being read to children. Disney *does* sanitise it’s source material, but not necessarily more or less than anyone else. In fact, the changes their adaptations make have as much to do with function as anything else - just as early literary fairytales weren’t necessarily for children, nor were early Disney films. They were *suitable* for children, sure, but so was most cinema made at that time. The culture of film viewing was wildly different to our modern one.

Cinderella, particularly, can be seen as a literary (cinematic) retelling - concerned with social and even satirical messages around virtue, beauty, aspiration, and reward. It’s focus is incredibly Hollywood, and as a piece it reminds me of nothing so much as Beaumont’s abridgement of Villeneuve’s Beauty and the Beast in framing and tone. It’s not a bad film *at all* for any of these reasons, but is instead participating in the long history of high status, literary retellings of fairytales. I’m not against that.

BUT.

BUT.

The problem with Disney is that is so entirely culturally pervasive, and in such a hegemonic way, that far, far too many people see Disney’s very time-and-place-and-morality specific versions of the fairytales as being the ‘real’ or ‘true’ versions. As a terminally online folklorist and submissions reader, I’ve seen far too many ‘retellings’ that take Disney films as the source text, as if these are ancient “tales as old as time” rather than versions. And, yes, because it’s Disney, they do miss the vast majority of the blood, vindictiveness, and socio-economic realism of the vast majority of fairytales. It’s less a sanitising, and more a hollowing out of our collective, cultural inheritance. They are putting stories that belong to all of us under the purview, moral oversight, and financial management of a massive, soulless corporation - and I think that’s unambiguously a bad thing.

When people complain about the bowdlerisation of the stories, I feel like that’s really what they’re getting at - not so much that the narrative heritage of Disney is illegitimate, rather that it has strangled out all possible imaginative competition in favour of something shiny, shallow, and above all - profitable.

I’m tired of hearing people say “Disney’s Cinderella is sanitized. In the original tale, the stepsisters cut off parts of their feet to make the slipper fit and get their eyes pecked out by birds in the end.”

I understand this mistake. I’m sure a lot of people buy copies of the complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales, see their tale of Aschenputtel translated as “Cinderella”, and assume what they’re reading is the “original” version of the tale. Or else they see Into the Woods and make the same assumption, because Sondheim and Lapine chose to base their Cinderella plot line on the Grimms’ Aschenputtel instead of on the more familiar version. It’s an understandable mistake. But I’m still tired of seeing it.

The Brothers Grimm didn’t originate the story of Cinderella. Their version, where there is no fairy godmother, the heroine gets her elegant clothes from a tree on her mother’s grave, and where yes, the stepsisters do cut off parts of their feet and get their eyes pecked out in the end, is not the “original.” Nor did Disney create the familiar version with the fairy godmother, the pumpkin coach, and the lack of any foot-cutting or eye-pecking.

If you really want the “original” version of the story, you’d have to go back to the 1st century Greco-Egyptian legend of Rhodopis. That tale is just this: “A Greek courtesan is bathing one day, when an eagle snatches up her sandal and carries it to the Pharaoh of Egypt. The Pharaoh searches for the owner of the sandal, finds her and makes her his queen.”

Or, if you want the first version of the entire plot, with a stepdaughter reduced to servitude by her stepmother, a special event that she’s forbidden to attend, fine clothes and shoes given to her by magic so she can attend, and her royal future husband finding her shoe after she loses it while running away, then it’s the Chinese tale of Ye Xian you’re looking for. In that version, she gets her clothes from the bones of a fish that was her only friend until her stepmother caught it and ate it.

But if you want the Cinderella story that Disney’s film was directly based on, then the version you want is the version by the French author Charles Perrault. His Cendrillon is the Cinderella story that became the best known in the Western world. His version features the fairy godmother, the pumpkin turned into a coach, mice into horses, etc, and no blood or grisly punishments for anyone. It was published in 1697. The Brothers Grimm’s Aschenputtel, with the tree on the grave, the foot-cutting, etc. was first published in 1812.

The Grimms’ grisly-edged version might feel older and more primitive while Perrault’s pretty version feels like a sanitized retelling, but such isn’t the case. They’re just two different countries’ variations on the tale, French and German, and Perrault’s is older. Nor is the Disney film sanitized. It’s based on Perrault.

[imanamjid]

As my project develops, I’m figuring out the emerging themes of it, like immersion and also escapism which is a huge part of that. I realised that it’s what I’m trying to achieve through my work. Personally I am always trying to find ways to escape, either through games, reading, or drawing, but most of the time it’s just through day dreaming. I enjoy exploring the escapes my mind comes up with, to get away from the heaviness life can bring. So this project is actually quite personal to me because it’s rooted in a technique I rely/use on a lot.

Basic Psychology of Escapism In my research I found there to be a big debate on whether indulging yourself in escapism is healthy or not. There’s a difference between when it’s productive, or when it’s too distracting. Usually, the escapes we choose are tranquil, and can be a complete fantasy, which is often the furthest thing from real life, but when you become addicted to it, it can leave you in denial and make you neglect the important things in life. However, when done in moderation, or ‘healthily’, it can promote feelings like happiness, and motivation, whilst also encouraging creativity. Which I know to be true for myself, most of my ideas come to me whilst I’m daydreaming, and I love bringing my escapes to life.

https://terraskills.com/the-psychology-of-escapism-a-coping-technique-or-a-sinking-ship/

What is the Point of Escapism? “Art would be useless if the world were perfect, as man wouldn’t look for harmony but would simply live in it. Art is born out of an ill-designed world.” - Andrei Tarkovsky At the beginning of my project, when I was still figuring out what my project was going to be, I watched Tarkovsky’s film, Stalker. There was a stillness to his work, and a certain kind of solace, each frame was beautiful, even without getting into the deeper meaning of the film or the script, you could feel the weight of life it was trying to escape. Whilst Stalker did have a lot of meaning behind it (as complex as it is to try uncover), escapism doesn’t need to be about addressing a certain socio-political problem, It can simply exist for the purpose of enjoyment or coping. It’s been used in art for centuries, and has created a conversation on whether it is even a practice of any consequence. It’s an often looked down upon practice, seen by some as simpleminded because it doesn’t need to openly confront the problems of the world, its not ‘serious’. The counter argument is why does it have to be? Isn’t what we’re trying to escape from enough of a point made? What about the people who just need fantasy filled escaped, who don’t want to be challenged in art as well as life? Can’t both realism and escapism have a positive influence? Maybe escapism is good, maybe it’s bad, but it certainly exists and has a huge presence in todays culture, iconic worlds - Marvel, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Dark Souls, Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, Conan, Warhammer, Alice in Wonderland, Camelot, Star Wars, Game of Thrones... The list goes on. We’re at a stage where escapism in the form of digital media surrounds us constantly. Either we just really like it or we really need it, who can really say.

For me, escapism is helpful, especially at a time where, through the internet, we can see too much. By too much, I mean all the shit things in the world, everything traumatic, and tragic. We feel helpless and stuck, I can find out all the ways I’m being systematically forced into being part of a globally destructive design. Its important to know what exists out there, but we couldn’t do that to the extent we can do now even 20 years ago, and it’s really heavy. With escapism, I find a way to cope and see past it all, like how many use religion, it gives hope of better to come, or at least a refuge within the mind. With surrealism, I appreciate how it educates me, but it takes it’s toll and isn’t something I want to base my work within, nor should I feel expected to (which I do) “It’s (surrealism’s) a dangerous tendency to identify individual entirely with their circumstances”. I want my work to be a fun outlet for the average person, who probably works every day, maintains their finances, cares for their friends and family; I want to unite people not through potentially stressful socio-political topics, but through the ways they choose to cope/escape/enjoy themselves, the worlds they’ve made up for themselves, and to find similarities in them from one another.

https://gizmodo.com/escapism-is-the-highest-form-of-art-5374149

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2010/mar/25/escapism-in-art

https://aciiid.com/the-art-of-escapism-in-the-modern-digital-world/

https://www.frieze.com/article/ben-eastham-escapism-2021

“

[megpie71]

Why I don’t ship Clerith

(Because what the hell, I may as well get this out here before the fun and games start next year, and I have to fight off Clerith shippers with a bat)

I think I've worked out the problem I have with Cloud/Aerith shipping, as far as I'm concerned.

[Clarification: this is why I have trouble with it, and won't write it.  I'm not saying other people can't, just that I do have issues with it, and therefore don't particularly like reading it, and I've sort of worked out why.]

Now, there are two predominant "schools" of people who ship Cloud with Aerith.  One of those is what I'd call OT3/OT4 fandom, where firstly, the relationship is happening prior to the Nibelheim event, and generally there's at least Zack mixed in to the bundle (sometimes with the addition of Sephiroth, to make the OT4), and it's generally a bisexual threesome at least.  And yeah, that one I find vaguely believable.

[Could all the anti-shippers who just leapt to their feet shrieking "paedophillia!" because Cloud is canonically somewhere between 14 and 16 in this 'ship, kindly sit the fuck back down again?  Cloud Strife may only be 14 years old, but he is a functional adult in his society, taking on an adult role (member of the army of the One World Government).  He would greatly resent any implication he is a "child", because he gave up being a "child" when he left Nibelheim to join the army.  Also, in the OT3 version, Aerith is about 15 - 17 years old, Zack is between 16 and 18 years old.  None of them are "adults" as we'd define it in Western Eurocentric cultures, but all of them are "adults" according to their own cultural system that they grew up in.  As such, they think of themselves as being adults, they consider themselves to be adults, and given they're performing adult roles for at least two years by the time the Nibelheim event comes along, they're not going to step back into childhood again, either.  If you're going to bitch about this, then start by bitching at the original writers working for Square Enix well before you start bitching at fanwriters, okay?

This is also leaving aside the cheerful fact that "adulthood" norms are generally socially and culturally determined.  So, for example, my maternal grandmother became a functional "adult" at the age of 14, when she came out on a boat from England to Australia in order to find work (accompanied by her 16 year old sister); my mother became a functional "adult" at the age of 16, when she finished her third year of high school and started working; and I became a functional "adult" at the age of 18, when I reached the legal age to vote and drink, even though I didn't have a full-time job and I was still living with my parents at the time.  My paternal grandfather joined the British army at the age of 12 (as a drummer boy, toward the end of World War 1).  What counts as "adult" is culturally and socially determined, and never a fixed point of reference.]

I can find it very believable that Cloud would get involved in a relationship with two people who are roughly around his own age, and that it would be a Good Thing in his life at the time.  He's going through puberty, he's behaving as an adult in his society, he would be doing adult things, including sex and possibly alcohol (although my head-canon is that Cloud is incredibly disappointed with Midgarian beer the first time he tries it, and refers to it as "sex in a canoe" ever after - fucking close to water.  He grew up drinking applejack and brandywine as antifreeze since shortly after he could first toddle).  

The other "school" of people who ship Cloud and Aerith tend to place the potential relationship during the canon time period of the original game, starting not long after Cloud rescues Aerith from the Turks in the church.  Now, I have a lot of problems with that one.

Firstly, I doubt Aerith would really be interested in a relationship.  It's made reasonably clear at the end of Crisis Core (and in "The Last Order" OVA) that Aerith knows when Zack was killed - she feels his spirit rejoin the Lifestream because she is who and what she is.  So her first serious boyfriend has died, she knows he's died, and you can't kid me she wouldn't be grieving as a result.  So I don't think Aerith is in the right emotional place to be starting a relationship.

As for Cloud... oh gods.  No.  Hell no.  So much no.  

Cloud is, at the point where he meets Aerith, a psychological mess beyond belief.  He has been incredibly traumatised, first by multiple years of experimentation, then by prolonged mako poisoning, and then finally, just as he's starting to come out of that, by seeing his best (only?) friend destroyed in front of him by pretty much the whole damn Shinra army.  Zack dies in his arms, and the best interpretation of what happens next is Cloud's mind, overwhelmed by the emotional and sensory overload of dealing with this (because he's not just waking up from mako poisoning, he's waking up from mako poisoning with Sephiroth-level SOLDIER enhancement, which means his sensory matrix has been boosted sight out of mind as well) basically shuts down completely on a conscious level, and wipes the memory, adding traumatic amnesia to the whole mix.  When he re-awakens, he re-patterns himself on a combination of Zack's memory, what he remembers of Sephiroth, and what he thinks a First Class SOLDIER should be like.

Now, mix in that Cloud Strife is carrying around the Buster Sword the first time Aerith meets him, in the plaza in sector eight, just after Reactor One has exploded.  Aerith knows what the Buster Sword is, she knows what it meant to Zack and she knew why it meant that.  So seeing it on someone else's back is probably a very nasty reminder to her that Zack isn't coming back.  She doesn't know why Cloud is wearing it, and I doubt in the shock of the moment (let's not forget: massive explosion about five to ten minutes previously, people running around the square like headless chickens the whole time, she's probably not really thinking all that clearly to begin with, and given Mako is also the Lifestream, she's probably felt a profound disturbance in the localised lifestream flows thanks to the destruction of the mako reactor, which may well have knocked her sideways as well!) she's really able to do much more than recognise it, feel the shock of the recognition, and move on to the next part of the interaction.

The second time Cloud and Aerith meet (and if you're familiar with Crisis Core canon, the second time someone drops through the roof of the Church down onto her flowerbed - if not, go look up who the first example was) she's a bit more capable of sustained thought past the shock.  So she sees it's the same guy with the Buster Sword, and this time, she's determined he isn't going to vanish on her, because there's something hinky going on here.  It gets even weirder for her when you consider Cloud is channelling a lot of Zack's mannerisms in order to be able to get through the encounter himself (I have a strong suspicion Cloud is dissociating continuously throughout at least the first five "days" of the game).  So she "hires" this strange guy as her "bodyguard", gets him away from the Turks who appear to have turned up to collect him (and really, it's much more likely at first approximation that the Turks and troopers are there to collect Cloud, given the ambush President Shinra staged at Reactor Four), takes him home with her, and deliberately makes sure she's able to keep an eye on him by following him back to Sector Seven.  Or at least, that's the plan.

I really don't think Cloud would be an attractive partner for Aerith at that point - not with her grief still fresh in her mind, and with his uncanny behavioural resemblance to Zack.  I think Cloud would be much more likely to creep her the fuck out, rather than turn her on sexually.  And as for Cloud, my head-canon for him is he probably isn't even masturbating at this point in his life - his mind is basically about fifty-seven different types of trauma all shaken up into a constant waking nightmare.  He might have a few wet dreams when the physical pressure gets too great, but he's not even thinking of himself as a sexual being at this point, and certainly not in a space where he'd be interested in an actual relationship.  The flirting is mechanical (and probably comes across as same, too) and I really don't think he would have been physically capable of following through, so to speak.  (Cloud, to my mind, won't be ready for a relationship until about two or three years down the line after the end of Advent Children, if then).

So no, I don't think it's possible for Cloud and Aerith to be involved in a relationship at that point.  Not even if they'd been involved in one prior to the Nibelheim event.  (Actually, in that particular case it would be even more traumatic for both of them - Aerith knows Cloud, but can't tell him because it would hurt him more than he can handle; he's constantly dissociating and suffering from traumatic amnesia, and he's only just got out of a state of complete catatonia - learning the truth in such a fashion would just knock him straight back there, and they need him upright and functioning.  Plus it's physically safer for him if he learns the truth of the matter slowly - if he went catatonic... well, that could very well dump him right back into Hojo's hands again, since it's a fair bet Shinra owns the majority of the medical facilities in the world).  

Then Sephiroth damn near manipulates Cloud into killing Aerith, and when that doesn't work, Sephiroth kills her himself, right in front of Cloud.  If you tell me that wouldn't be the cue for a massive attack of the guilts on Cloud's part, I'm going to ask what the merry hells you're on, because I need my doctor to prescribe me some of that.

[artjournalbyreg-blog]

Krista by Pablo Baen Santos

Pablo Baen Santos was born in the year 1943, in the Philippines and is considered to be one of the major figures of the Social Realist movement as one of the founders of the Social Realist Art Group ‘Kaisahan’, in 1976. His early years in the arts began during is training under the University of the Philippines, College of Fine Arts. During the Marcos Era, Santos worked as an illustrator for one of the leading Philippine newspapers called, ‘Manila Time’. In an interview with Pristine L. De Leon, Santos recalls how being an artist at that time was merely for the matter of surviving and not because the market had been oblivious to the work that they (social activists) did (Leon, 2018). To Santos, during his time, there was no such thing as what we would coin an “art market”, however because his works were directed towards the socio- political injustice the Philippine community was facing, as such those who were in power were always watching. It came to a point the artist states in the interview that living as an artist became dangerous as suddenly news of disappearances served to threatened artists who were very vocal about their socio- political standpoint, of which opposed the Marcos Regime. From this, we can foresee that his artworks would be intertwined with the state of the Filipino society. 

Experiencing the Marcos Regime first hand, socio-political climates are what primarily influences the works of Santos. In particular, having been at the forefront of the fight for democratic freedom in the Philippines, he exhibits a wide array of works that scream ‘social injustice’– he figuratively and literally paints such images to voice out to his audience such a strong emotional impact that aims to inspire them to stand up to such injustice. His works are recognized for its consistent theme that highlight the plight of the rural and urban poor that reflected the socio- political climate of that time. While his works at the get go convey a message of fighting for democratic freedom and standing up to social ills that plague the Filipino nation, Santos admits to also using his artworks as hints about his personal concerns on the negative perception drawn towards artists and art in society, in ways this could be reflected through his concept of ‘minority vs. the powerful majority’. 

Pablo Baen Santos’ Krista translated as ‘Female Christ’ was created in the year 1984 as an oil painting on canvas and was gifted to the Ateneo Art Gallery by the artist himself. It is a large-scale painting, done in portrait that depicts a woman with a crown of barbed wire tied around her mouth, seemingly gagging her, however with clenched fists. Surrounding her are what seems to be a sea of people in agony based on the expressions, some even seemed to be dead. On the upper half, it paints nationalistic feel, with the Philippine flag as well as two men with their fists up, in a fighting stance position. 

Deciphering the title, Krista, we immediately think of the Filipino word Kristo which is Christ in English, but then ending with ‘a’ give it a more feminine touch which fittingly would be equivalent to the translation of ‘Female Christ’. Santos wittingly uses word play to pay homage to both the idea of inang bayan or motherland (this argument is further strengthened by the flag in the background) and the strong influence of Catholicism in the Philippines. By doing so, he invites the audience to become more inquisitive, slowly connecting the different elements of the piece such as the barb wire which is most commonly associated with Christ’s crucifixion. This image of the woman then begins symbolize so much more than a woman gagged with barb wire, but projects the symbol of the Philippine nation and it’s intense suffering, similar to that of the crucifixion of Christ but hints the idea of strength through clenched fists (seen as a symbol of defiance) , caused by the abusive power of that era. In short, Santos aimed to create a symbol to show how the Philippine nation (Motherland) was being ‘crucified’. Behind the female subject, you can see people as mentioned before who were in agony similar to the main female subject. It gives you the sense of emotion seeing so many faces in agony, making you sympathize with the female who seems to be tortured. 

Studying the elements of the Krista, we are able to pinpoint that the main ones used were color, line, shape, form, and texture. The lines in Krista are mostly diagonal curvy but with some edges, it also plays with a lot of irregular more organic shapes used to form the images of the humans and the flag. The purpose was to use it to create a sense of feeling, in particular agony and as well as to play with movement. The combination of these lines constructs the more irregular organic shapes of the subject on the painting. Santos, uses colors that were relatively selective and simple, choosing them to be not too pale but also not too bright just enough to visualize the painting, however it is important to note his heavy use of shade using black. He uses brown and primarily warm neutral colors for the main subject as it is what is usually used to convey the idea of a living object. He uses a combination of light and dark browns to embody this sense of both a full yet dull look to the painting. It may be due to the idea Santos delivers of how the lady or the motherland as she symbolizes is alive shown by the fullness, yet is slowly dying due to the torture and pain it is experiencing hence, the dullness. Santos makes use also of some primary colors for the flag to paint the nationalistic. While also providing a contrast to the predominantly brown main subject. Among all the elements, Santos may have used texture most effectively, and I say this as it is what brings life and emotion, and creates this emotional connection with the audience. Due to his specific blending technique of the black color throughout the whole painting, it makes the painting appear very unrefined (natural) and firm (due to ridged blending strokes). This generates the feeling that Santos may have intended to convey which is essentially the embodiment of humans in pain. 

While many say that when the Marcos’ rule ended so did social realism, as such making works like these less relevant to society and its happenings, I believe otherwise. This work may have been created during the Marcos era and with the purpose of awakening the nation to standup against social injustice, Santos’s work may be viewed on a larger scale not merely in the context of just the Marcos era. Looking at the Krista, I was immediately drawn by the unique way Santos conveyed emotion through the elements of the piece. Furthermore, how witty he is in terms of intertwining the various rich cultural aspect of the Philippines along with the title and symbols thrown across the piece. And while Santos aimed to use this as a form of expression during the time of oppression of his time, I see this piece as something that may represent social unjust that destroys a nation in general. And in light of recent events, with corruption, abusive power, and Philippine politics in such a complicated state, this piece becomes a mirror of what had once happened in the past. This makes it so much more relevant in my opinion even to the future generations, so long as social injustice exists within the nation, the lady in the forefront of this piece will always represent the abused. In addition, while the traditional way of appreciating art would be through its elements and classical idea of the combination of elements, I see this work, despite not following this to be much more significant due to the impact it provides its audience, which will not disappear so long as someone in society remains to relate to the feeling of pain and agony. 

Title: Krista 

Artist: Pablo Baen Santos 

Year: 1984 

Type: Oil on Canvas 

Size: 90 cm x 121 cm

Source: Leon, P. (2018, February 25). Pablo Baen Santos, Antipas Delotavo, & Renato Habulan: On the aftermath of conflict. Retrieved July 14, 2020, from https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/arts-and-culture/2018/02/26/1791256/pablo-baen-santos-antipas-delotavo-renato-habulan-aftermath-conflict

[objectofdesire2020]

STORYBOARD - time to think about the structure of my podcast.

I am starting to think about the structure of my podcast and what I would like to say. I will use the storyboard method when I am happy with the content and structure of my podcast, however, here are my initial notes and intentions for my podcast. 

Firstly, I would like to start the first 2 minutes with a HOLISTIC DESCRIPTION of my object and my visit to the Oriental Museum.

Outline my aim in the opening sentence (refer back to my research proposal): I would like to give a holistic description of my album of prints by Chikanobu, commenting on its artistic and socio-historic context, the woodblock printing process, its subject matter and its genre. I would like to analyse whether my album denotes a more nostalgic or patriotic tone, and will use two other independent triptychs by Chikanobu for comparison and aid, and focus on its style and symbolism to determine this.

The provenance (or as much as I know anyway).

The size/dimension.

What my prints depict - all women. 

Introduce the other two comparative pieces and the sub-argument of nostalgia/patriotism.  

Whilst I am describing this I would like the prints to be on a loop and being shown as there are quite a few of them and to avoid losing time. 

Then, I would like to discuss the WOODBLOCK PRINTING PROCESS AND ITS HISTORY. 

Determine the GENRE of my album. 

Then, I would like to discuss the CONTEXT OF THE MEIJI PERIOD.

A brief history of the Meiji restoration. 

Briefly outline some of the changes from the Edo period, both artistically and socio-politically.

Outline the cross-culture references and artistic developments.  

Then, discuss WESTERN MIMESIS.

Discuss Western Mimetic aspects in my album:

History of inks and colours. 

Postures, pictorial realism and naturalism.

Introduce my themes of NOSTALGIA AND PATRIOTISM. 

How I will be determining this theme - predominantly through symbolism and style. 

SYMBOLISM:

I cannot go through all the symbolic values and associations of each motif so I will pick two or three for both themes. 

STYLE:

Introduce the styles of yoga and nihonga. 

Comment on two or three aspects in my prints in both of these styles. 

Determine which I believe is more prominent (ideologically my album is more in the nihonga style, but the formal characteristics share both).

Use the other independent triptychs for comparison. 

Things I have to be cautious of:

Make sure my podcast is not too long.

Make sure it is not too brief - go into depth in certain aspects (I have to remember the viewer will read all my research in my log!)

Refer back to my research proposal so I do not go off track. 

Take into consideration the aspects that I found difficult and understand its alright that some knowledge is not complete.  

Things/techniques I should include in my podcast:

Constant visual references. 

Ask questions. 

Have clear intonation and a calm speed.  

[kieranconveyma]

5.Marshall McLuhan Today: Notes

WHO IS MARSHALL MCLUHAN? 

The medium is the message

●McLuhan’s Three Ages

●Narcosis/ Amputation

● Hot and Cool Media

● Media Tetrads

Marshall McLuhan (1911-80)

The medium is the massage book

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=242&v=6SU6Ef30o4E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTSmbMm7MDg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghs-JgBm7oghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfUX9W5TJIQ

Founder of media studies? 

Prophet of the digital age?

‘Youth instinctively understands thepresent environment – the electricdrama. It lives mythically and in depth.This is the reason for the greatalienation between thegenerations.’ (McLuhan 1996 [1967]: 9) McLuhan, M. and Fiore, Q. (1996) [1967] The Medium is the Massage: An Inventory of Effects. San Francisco, CA: Hardwired.

The Medium is the Message Medium = an extension of mind/ body (e.g. radio, newspaper, etc., but also clothes, skin, houses, cars)Message = its effect/ impact, not content (‘media, or the extensions of man, are “make happen” agents, but not “make aware” agents’, McLuhan 1994 [1964]: 48)McLuhan, M. (1994) [1964] Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. London: The MIT Press

Media as a product of technology 

‘Media, by altering the environment, evoke in us unique ratios of sense perceptions. The extension of anyone sense alters the way we think and act – the way we perceive the world. When the ratios change, men change.’ (Medium is the Massage p.41.)

The media as an extension of the human sensorium

Different media appeal to the senses in different ways 

Humans and machines keep reinventing one another in an ongoing process

‘Physiologically, man in the normal use of technology(or his variously extended body) is perpetually modified by it and in turn finds ever new ways of modifying his technology. Man becomes, as it were, the sex organs of the machine world...’( Understanding Media , p. 46.)

We tend to think that the message is more important than the medium, but the medium is the actual message.

‘Our conventional response to all media, mainly that it is how they are used that counts, is the numb stance of the technological idiot. For the ‘content’ of a medium is like the juicy piece of meat carried by the burglar to distract the watchdog of the mind.’ (Understanding Media)

The socially significant act of going to see a film (regardless of genre, plot etc.)

What is the message ?

The purest mediums ?

McLuhans three ages

The Gutenberg Galaxy (1962)

The evolution of the mediated human

■Pre-Literate/Tribal Age

■Print Age

■Electric Age

The Pre-Literate/ Tribal/ Oral AgeThe absence of the written world results in an ‘acoustic space ’The human sensorium is balanced (all senses have equal importance) Invention of Writing Mesopotamia 4000 BC

The Print Age, or Mechanical Age

Key moment: Johannes Gutenberg’s “invention” of printing press (1450) Textuality results in movement in visual space Tendency towards individualism, rationality, linearity dominant medium = the book, dominant mode = realism

The electric age Rise of electronic media - cinema, radio, telegraph, television, telephone...Return to the acoustic space (360-degree awareness)Non-linearity, non-rationality Hybridity/Intertextuality

The Myth of Narcissus and Echo as a metaphor for the human/new media relationship

Zeus has an affair with the nymph Echo Zeus’s wife, Hera, is angry: curses Echo so that she cannot speak - can only repeat what others say around herEcho falls in love with young man, Narcissus - follows him into a forest but cannot call out to him...Narcissus stops to drink by a pool: falls in love with his own reflection: he says ‘I love you.’Echo returns his voice: ‘I love you.’ But Narcissus is too far gone: he stares at his own image until he dies of thirst, hunger, unrequited love...Echo fades to nothing, just a voice echoing ‘I love you.

Narcissus does not fall in love with himself - he becomes alienated from himself...Narcissus,  from narcosis - ‘numbness’ Narcissus  has become amputated from himself, or from the mediated version  of himself

Media Narcosis and Amputation Humans become transfixed and ‘numb’ to the reality of their relation to the new medium They fail to recognise that it is restructuring aspects of their sensorium - exaggerating some, amputating others (like Narcissus became ‘all eyes’).

Audiac - Sound that kills pain

Hot media

 High resolution

Clear information 

Requires little engagement

Cool media 

Low resolution

 Missing informationGaps

Audiences play an active role 

Hot media (low participation - high definition)

Print

Lecture

Cinema

Radio

Photograph

Cool media(high participation and completion by audience - low definition and low amount of information)

Speech

Tutorial

 Television

Telephone 

Cartoon

What about now? What about media convergence?

Tetrads

A law of media for every medium

Extension = medium as an extension of the human body/mind e.g. the car extends the legs 

Obsolescence = the extension makes something obsolete (i.e. no longer necessary) e.g. the car obsolesces the stage-coach

Retrieval = romantic/mythical notion that is brought back. E.g. the car retrieves the idea of the armoured knight

Reversal = the down-side. E.g. the car reverses into pollution

Tetrads as a playful model to think about socio-cultural effects of the media.

McLuhan, a visionary?

Providing us with ways of thinking...

[springsfordemocracy]

5 Oct 2020 Interview: Carlos Quijon Jr.

KD: Hi Carlos. Thanks for taking the time to meet with me. As we’ve discussed, Sooyoung and I are looking at the Gwangju Uprising of 1980 and the resonance of the historical event and the ways in which it is remember through the Gwangju Biennale, and how this in turn reverberates through contemporary art in the region (East and Southeast Asia). We’ve invited you to be part of our research process because we would really like to platform the work that you’ve been doing behind the scenes for the past couple years in relation to the affinities of Philippine and South Korean art histories of the 1970s, 1980s and into the 1990s. Could you start us off by telling us a little about the research that you’ve been doing in this vein?

CQ: Hi Kat. Thank you for having me. My research is mainly about the idea of the democratic in relation to the discourse of democracy’s return in the Philippines in 1986 via the EDSA uprising. EDSA was a middle-class led uprising that led to the deposition of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and the assumption of Corazon Aquino of the presidency. I look at how the motivation of becoming democratic shapes the transformations in art infrastructure, practices and discourse in the Philippines in the period post-EDSA. In relation to South Korea, I was a curatorial research resident at the MMCA in Seoul in 2017. This is where I conducted most of my research about the relationship between the art histories of South Korea and the Philippines. I considered comparable and congruent articulations of political art in relation to social realism in the Philippines and minjung art in South Korea. I looked at a number of tendencies that focus on realism and democracy, particularly for South Korea: hyonsil misul [“art of reality”] (developed by the collective Reality and Utterance active from 1979 and based in Seoul) and hyonjang misul [“art of the site”] (developed by the collective Gwangju Freedom Artists Association active in the 1980s and based in Gwangju). The art historian Sohl Lee has a book on the two tendencies. The main distinction between these two approaches is that hyonsil misul was conceptualized in relation to a more “academic” art history, in galleries and art publications based in Seoul and developed as a response against abstract art or the tansaekhwa (abstract monochrome painting) movement which flourished under the dictatorship in South Korea; while hyonjang misul thrived on the streets and the public squares in Gwangju as part of mass demonstrations against the dictatorship. I think about how these tendencies compare with articulations of social realism in the Philippines in the work of the collective Kaisahan [“Solidarity”] founded in 1976. This constitutes the universe of my research.

KD: That is fascinating. In Soo Young and my research, one of things that struck us was the relationship between Kim Dae Jung and Benigno Aquino, and later with Corazon Aquino. This obviously is also in the orbit of your research. In looking at this period and in which you see this transformation of political system and power and going specifically to the source material (the NY times article published on this website earlier this week), how would you describe the influence of the Aquinos upon modern and contemporary art history of the Philippines?

CQ: I think of 2 exceptional events in relation to the Aquinos and Philippine art history. The assassination of Benigno Aquino in 1983, and the EDSA uprising in 1986. Both events brought about a reconsideration of what it means to be democratic—the agency behind it, its conditions, motivations, aspirations, and the anxieties that burden these. 1983 became a flashpoint for political art in the Philippines, the Concerned Artists of the Philippines was formed and other cultural organizations took to the streets to protest against the abuses of the Marcos regime. In the period post-EDSA certain infrastructural reforms on the field of arts and culture were demanded, all in the name of democracy. The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) was opened up to practices that weren’t too welcome during the Marcos regime. Some remarkable events are the exhibition Piglas: Art at the Crossroads in 1986, which was an “uncurated” and “free-for-all-exhibition,” and also the exhibition Socio-Political Paintings Art in the Philippines, 1972-1986 in 1987, which showed works by artists affiliated with the social realist movement.  

The idea of the democratic oriented post-1986 artistic practice and discourse and certain discourses related to this gained currency. Art critic Alice Guillermo describes the tenor of this period in relation to how the tensions that informed artmaking and discourse during the Marcos era loosened and how artistic practices started to tackle issues and concerns that were eclipsed during the dictatorship, for example regionalism, how we imagine and support the artworlds outside Manila. In my research, however, I try to account for the development of discourses that gained currency post-EDSA in incipient moments in the period prior, like for regionalism, in projects like Los Baños Site Works organized by the artist Junyee with support from the CCP in 1981. The period post-EDSA also saw the proliferation of collectives such as the Kasibulan (Kababaihan sa Sining at Bagong Sibol na Kamalayan [Women in the Arts in an Emerging Consciousness]), a group of women artists from different disciplines founded in 1987. During this period, the political in art and what constitutes it expanded beyond the Manichean economy of what we deem as dictatorial and democratic in the Marcos era. Diverse questions were articulated in relation to artistic practice. One key question was that of the responsibility of the artist to speak to a political horizon, to speak against dictatorship as a fundamental artistic responsibility. Another question was that of working collectively to speak to a political horizon. Since the Marcos regime was already deposed, people began to question what would happen to their artistic practices, careers, how should they live as artists. This was the milieu of the 1990s, where collectives and independent art spaces flourished.

I’m not saying that the fate of the Aquinos was the only consideration in this period. I think it is better to think about the shifts in the milieu in terms of the idealization of democracy and the translation of this ideal into trajectories of practice. 1983 and 1986 forced the artists and the artworld in general to confront an encompassing imagination of how to be democratic, what it is to be democratic and what were the aspirations in wanting to be democratic and what shaped these aspirations to be democratic. If we look at the history of post-EDSA and the history of the Marcos-instituted museums, what happened to Museum of Philippine Art (MOPA) directed by the artist Arturo Luz was emblematic. When EDSA happened, a community of Philippine artists wanted to transform it into the Philippine National Art Gallery - to democratize it. Artists accused the Museum as being too elitist and too parochial. The visual arts community wanted to reclaim the institution and remake it into the Philippine National Art Gallery. Deliberations were done and a proposal even submitted to the newly installed government. This didn't pan out because eventually it was discovered that the land where the Museum stands was just on lease from the city government of Manila, made possible because at some point Imelda Marcos served as the city’s governor. Another reason was that there was not much funds pegged for culture post-EDSA. People didn't want to give money to the arts, because it was one of the major priorities of the dictatorship. The post-EDSA leaders didn't want art to be instrumentalized and if there were funds it was centralized in the President’s Office under the Presidential Commission for Culture and the Arts.

KD: I’m curious about the way you use region. Contemporary use of it calls to mind Southeast Asia but are we talking about this geopolitical and geographical imagination or are we instead talking about the region as something else altogether. Are political friendships that come out of affinities like with Kim Dae Jung and the Aquinos models for a rethinking of regions? So can we define regions through political affinities rather than geographic identification, through a shared project of seeking democracy in a world system where the ���chips are stacked against you’?

CQ: I think this can be a possible trajectory of region-formation definitely. What struck me about the source material that you sent me, is the moment wherein Kim Dae Jung says that he didn’t want South Korea to become the Philippines when the Philippines is already becoming Vietnam. I think that imagination is a powerful framework for imagining region-formation. It’s a shared anxiety for becoming this and that. In terms of the Philippines, people are not familiar with the relationship of or between Kim Dae Jung and Benigno Aquino. I think that is because there is something about dictatorships that force reactions to it to be national. Imagining the region is difficult when you are faced with violence on a national scale. I think that is why there is no study, no in-depth study on this relationship. Also, Benigno Aquino became an exceptional figure because his martyrdom, his assassination, appeals to the largely catholic imagination of the national population of the Philippines. Aquino in the historian Reynaldo Ileto’s work assumes correspondence to the mythos of Jesus Christ and even Rizal and this mythos informs Corazon Aquino’s campaign. There are popular imagery wherein Corazon Aquino is considered Mother Mary. I think these tropes can only appeal in the national scheme of things. So I think it is productive, the text that you sent is productive in that we can imagine the relay between these three nation states: South Korea, Philippines and Vietnam, in the imaginary of the Cold War. Kim Dae Jung’s statement definitely figures an anxiety, it is not really a region framed by political affinity. It is not easily a framing that is communitarian, in a sense. It is a framing of “I don’t want to become the Philippines. The Philippines is becoming Vietnam.” So it is also interesting for me to think about because it changes the idea of regionalism also.

KD: Thanks so much for taking the time to speak to us and for generously sharing your research and thoughts with us.

[thisdaynews]

Ganduje Tell FG to Ban Herdsmen who Traveling From North To South.

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/ganduje-tell-fg-to-ban-herdsmen-who-traveling-from-north-to-south/

Ganduje Tell FG to Ban Herdsmen who Traveling From North To South.

We have been saying that as a way of solving the problem of herdsmen/farmers clash, the federal government should ban the herdsmen trekking from the northern part of Nigeria to the south because along the way, you get so many problems. Unless if they are domiciled in one place, then the issue of having peace and stability remain questionable. Not only that, the herdsmen men in Nigeria need to improve because herdsmanship is no more a socio-cultural issue, it should be a socio-economic issue. But the way they are managing it is socio-cultural because they have not succeeded in fighting poverty and poverty had not succeeded in fighting them. You cannot call a herdsman a poor man because he is moving with cows that are worth millions of naira. But if he trek thousands of kilometres, you cannot distinguish him from a poor man. That is why I said that he has not succeeded in killing poverty and poverty has not succeeded in killing him. Resettling the Fulanis is the solution. Already, I have sponsored 75 of their children to Turkey to learn artificial insemination which they are practising all over now. Also, when they are settled, there is need to introduce new system of rearing cattle.

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You created new emirates in Kano State that have created controversy. What would you say are your reasons for doing that?

The new Emirates has attracted a lot of attention and I think it is important for me to talk about it. There are three basic reasons why we created the new Emirates. First, it is because of history and demand by the people in the new Emirates. Secondly, to widen and deepen the participation of the traditional system in governance so that the traditional institution is no more an institution of regalia, but an institution that is functional, work with the people and assist the government in the implementation of important programmes and projects. Thirdly, we want to create mini cities in the state so that some big towns can develop into cities while Kano mega city will continue to grow, while other towns are improved upon to become cities. By so doing, we believe it will improve the socio economic development of the rural areas. If we are talking of compulsory education, who will help you to ensure that all children goes to school? It is the Emir, the District head and the village and ward heads. It is the village heads that will help you in security system because the security agents alone cannot do it. It is also to improve the cultural activities. From the information we received, thousands things were bought during this sallah because of the decentralisation of the sallah celebration to major towns. The emirates have been created to involve them in governance which is very good.

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But, there are those who believe that you created the new emirates because of the role the emir played during the election by not supporting your re-election bid. What is your take on that?

The Emir of Kano has no problem with the creation of new Emirates in Kano. Of course, he had a problem with anti-corruption agency in the state and the committee did its own work and submitted a report to the state government. Many people have been appealing to allow peace and stability in the state. The state government has already said that we do not intend to remove the Emir of Kano. But at the same time, we are skeptical in controlling the anti-corruption agency because it is an independent body. But I believe there is peace and stability in the state. The role the Emir played during the election has to do with his own conviction. What is important is that we have won the election and we are not going to look back. So, the creation of Emirates has nothing to do with that misunderstanding. Afterall, Abubakar Rimi of blessed memory created Emirates. But, Rimi was a much younger and radical politician, but he was not as experienced as we are. That was why his own emirates could not survive. But this time, I want to assure you that even though it is in the court, it will survive. This shows experience in politics and governance.

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Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has said the party should abandon zoning for competence in 2023. What is your reaction?

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The way I looked at it is that it is an issue between idealism and realism. Idealism is a situation whereby things should be done in accordance with ideas. If things are done like that, then everybody should have equal treatment and everybody has equal chance to contest and then, what the people decide should be done. Now, the issue of realism. Nigeria is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious country with several geopolitical zones. In reality, people are yearning for participation of different political zones and not the politics of North and South. So, the reality of the situation is that people are crying of marginalisation in the leadership of the country. But, the idealism is that people should participate and be elected based on their capacity. So, it is not the governor of Kano state that should decide whether it is idealism or realism. It is the party that will determine which should be applied in Nigeria and you know that it is a political strategy. So, the political party should decide which option to follow.

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Some people have said the herdmen killing people across the country are not Nigerians. What is your take on this…

I believe that there are three type of herdsmen in Nigeria. The first is those who are coming with thousands of cattle from West African countries and you don’t expect them to carry the food for the cattle. Along the way, they have to cut trees and provide food for the cattle and that create some problem. They are attacked by farmers and along the line, they have learnt to attack farmers as well. They go about with their families on horses and donkeys and also carry arms and have graduated into being bandits. That is one category of herdsmen who are coming from West Africa. That is an ECOWAS problem which Nigeria should negotiate. The second is the herdsmen who are from the northern part of Nigeria. They trek through the north central zone to the south. They normally don’t have a lot of cattle like the ones coming from West Africa. Those ones too create problems because of trekking from one place to the other. The third one are those herdsmen who are born in places different from places of their socio-cultural and socio-religious origin. I am sure that in the south, you can get some Fulani herdsmen who are born there and are not trekking to come to the north, but are permanently there. They also have problems because when their young ones cannot go to school, they can also cause problems. This is my own classification and I am doing it because I am a Fulani man. So, I know what it feels to be a herdsman and business should not continue as usual. Herdsmanship should be a socio-economic venture and not a socio-cultural venture as it is right now.

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What is your take on the call for revolution by a section of Nigerian youths?

This is unconstitutional and it is the creation of the opposition to some extent and those tribalists, especially when you consider what happened to the former Deputy Senate President in Germany. So, it is in the imagination of all those who wants to destabilise Nigeria. It is also the hand work of those religious extremists like El-Zakzaky people. If you know what happened in Iraq, you will discover that it is all about revolution. But, in Nigeria, we have elected a government. We have a constitution. We have a legislature and if you want to change the government, you go through the constitution. That is the most agreed change of government in all countries of the world. So, the call for revolution should not be taken lightly. They should be taken to court and treated according to the rule of law.

Also, you spoke of the influx of almajiris to Kano state. Are you saying that these almajiris are brought to the state from other places?

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As I told you, we undertook a survey and found out that most ofthem are not from Kano. Some are from Niger, Chad, Katsina, Borno among other. The almajiri system is not flushing in the north east because of the effect of Boko haram. So, sometimes, you find a trailer load of almajiris being off loaded in Kano. That is how we had such large population of almajiris in Kano. There are a few of them who are from the rural areas of Kano.

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You party, the APC can best be described as a house of commotion. There are insinuations that some of the governors are not happy with the national chairman and they are plotting his removal. Are you aware of this?

What are your achievements as governor of Kano State in the last four years?

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During the last four years in Kano State, we witnessed alot of developments. But, I will just mention the very conspicuous ones because there are projects which you can see and programmes which you may not see. But, may hear about. We tried as much as we can to improve the outlook of Kano metropolis. Kano, being a mega city, transportation, issue of road network and security and water supply are very important. In other to improve the transportation system and road network, we had to introduce a number of new designs in form of road inter-change. We introduced flyovers, constructing a flyover of almost two kilometres to Sabon Gari and an under pass at Kofar Ruwa and another one at Madobi road and Zoo road. We also constructed hundreds of kilometres of roads across the various local government. In the area of youth employment, we embarked upon the training of our youths in different skills and give them employment. For instance, we under took a survey and found out that most of the motor mechanics in Kano are road side mechanics and in the present transportation system, vehicles are computerised. So we signed an agreement with Peugeot Automobile Nigeria to train at least 1000 auto mechanics engineers. We took 75 to them, they spent one years and graduated and were given certificates and empowerment. All of them are gainfully employed now. We took another 200made up of 150 boys and 50 girls who have graduated and so, women are now auto mechanics in Kano. We have taken another 250 made up of 200 boys and 50 girls who are expected to round up by November this year after which, we take another set. We also undertook another research to find out the skill that will give our youth automatic employment after training or become self employed. We identified 24 different skills and we employed a consultant to advice us on what to do with that.

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What are your plans for the future?

What is important now is how do we take Kano to the next level? We have declared primary and secondary education free and compulsory, including girls education across the state. In fact, we are holding stakeholders summit on education in Kano state on the 3rd of September and the Vice President is coming to declare the summit open. What we intend to do is to ensure that instead of our population becoming a liability, it will be an asset. I am sure that you are aware of the almajiri issue. It is a serious issue in Nigeria today and breeding a lot of security issues. We decided to discuss with those who are operating the almajiri system so that we integrate it with our educational system. They have agreed and will be part of the summit. We made it compulsory because any child of school age in Kano must go to school. But Kano, being a commercial centre, we have influx of almajiris from all over north, from Chad and Niger. So, we are submitting a memo to the Northern States Governors Forum so that we have common legislation on the movement of almajiris from one state to the other. Unless we do that, the problem is difficult to solve in isolation and I believe that the memo will get the blessing of the northern states.

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On agriculture, we are clustering our irrigation scheme and construct farm centres and irrigation facilities provided there. On the herdsmen/farmers clashes, we have succeeded in curtailing it in the state and has resolved the issue of cattle rustling and given amnesty to the fulanis who are involved in that. Now, we are going to construct farm settlements so that the herdsmen will no longer travel from one place to the other.

[oykusuba3]

History of Hungarian Animation

Context (1945-1991)

Fast and dirty timeline

Although not inside Soviet Union, it was largely aligned with Communism and Soviet rule after WW2, after Nazi forces were driven out of the country but the Soviet forces stayed.

Wanted to be more neutral and independent from communist regime in 1956 with student protests, but got bloodied by Soviet forces.

The 1956 revolution was pretty sudden and very gutty, as protesting the regime was punishable by death, no matter how peaceful.

Once Suez Occupation started, USSR came back and took back harshly. No country intervened, since they were busy with Suez.

Border opens with Austria 1989, which helped to lift the Iron Curtain.

Soviet forces leave on 1991, after the dissolve.

Art Industry: General Sovietisms

In 1932, Stalin declared all artists must conform to state’s ideologies. Otherwise, as Trevor Belmont said wisely in Season 2 of Castlevania (2019) - “Eat shit and die.”

“Writer’s are the engineers of the human soul.”

Propaganda-fuel.

The art produced must be showing the idealistic, positive side of the Soviet Revolution, in a easily digestable way.

Before, the main art movement was Avant-Garde, using geometric shapes to talk about Revolution and rising into a bright future together. Got discarded as it was too bougie and non-sensical. Soviet Realism became the new black.

If you didn’t comply with idealisms, Papa Censorship would woop yer arse.

Thus, some non-conformists took roundabouts and used highly-context-based symbolism in their work to bury their messages.

This non-conformism especially bloomed around ‘60s. “Unofficial artists”, showing their work outside of government-funded spaces, even though they still got raided time to time.

Art Industry: Hungary

Promote, Tolerate, Ban

Promote the regime. Tolerate the unofficial and ban who criticise.

Hungarian Animation

Film industry got nationalised in 1948.

Pannónia Filmstúdió was the sole animation studio for a very long time, since it was the only “official” one to make animated works.

Pannónia Filmstúdió

Founded in 1951. First animation studio in Hungary. Government-funded.

Gov-funded = was “official” but censorship was a big thing, even pre-production or even considering a film idea.

Ex: István Orosz, one of the directors in the studio, wanted to make a film about the wave of Hungarian migrants to the US following the 1956 Revolution but knew he couldn’t, so he didn’t even plan the film.

Also did live-action films, but the Animation branch got independent

Had people from all over the socio-political spectrum.

It was kind of the only way, since it was “official” and got away with some because it was “art”.

Collaborative auteurs, everyone works in rotations. Keeping story-piles to work on the next film.

In part with anti-Disney trends from ‘50s to ‘70s. 

Went about its business by dodging the expectations of dictatorial cultures by their own way.

Went bankrupt after private sector got bigger. Got discarded into different smaller private studios.

Extra Notes and Quotes:

    “The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.”

-  Milan Kundera, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting

   “Promoting the institutional critique as an integral part of the institutionalized exhibition strategies in former Yugoslavia indicates that the universally imposed Western art terminology needs to be reconsidered and readjusted when investigating associated phenomena from non-Western regions.”

- Ana Bogdanovic, quoting Zdenka Badovinac, Mythmaking Eastern Europe: Art in Response

   “Hungarians for 500 years, have not won a single revolution, a single fight. Yet, they’ve succeeded in (..) regaining their self-respect. Just as an individual needs that feeling that “I am able to look myself in the mirror”, nations also have to regain their self-respects periodically. You can’t be a slave forever.“

- Bela Liptak, Cry Hungary: A Revolution Remembered

Sources:

The Animated Esperanto: The Globalist Vision in the Films of Sándor Reisenbüchler by Paul Morton

Historical Dictionary of Animation and Cartoons by Nichola Dobson

Animation: A World History by Giannalberto Bendazzi

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/PannoniaFilmStudio

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1054642.stm

Contemporary Visual Art In Afghanistan: ‘An Art Of Laughter And Forgetting ...’ by Jemima Montagu

The Red Screen: Politics, Society, Art in Soviet Cinema by Anna Lawton

https://www.guggenheim.org/arts-curriculum/topic/art-and-ideology

https://daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/sites/daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/files/davis_center_art_in_context_module.pdf

From Russia With Bruno Gerussi

Socialist Realism - Soviet Art From the Avant-Garde to Stalin

https://www.chipublib.org/cultural-life-in-the-soviet-union/ 

Cry Hungary: A Revolution Remembered

https://hyperallergic.com/456570/art-and-culture-in-cold-war-hungary-wende-museum/

https://www.calvertjournal.com/features/show/5687/budapest-city-report-film-hungarian-cinema

Pannonia Film Studio

For Further Reading:

Hungarian folk art by Tamas Hofer

Performing Identity After Yugoslavia: Contemporary Art Beyond and Through the Ethno-National by Arielle M. Myers

Mythmaking Eastern Europe: Art in Response by Ana Bogdanovic

https://kafkadesk.org/2019/07/11/how-the-national-film-fund-revitalised-the-hungarian-film-industry/

[soc90210-blog]

Compensation Practices and Gift Giving in Ethnographic Research [Final Paper; Method 2 of 2]

Chicken Soup for the Ethnography-Using Soul: 101 Tips on How to Not be Awful Human Being and Actually Compensate Your Participants (For Without Them, Your Research Would Be Nonexistent!)

      In contemporary qualitative ethics research, the act of compensating research participants is strut down a runway of ethical, social, political and economic critiques. Given the lack of guidance provided by Tri-Council Board and Research Ethics Boards concerning issues of compensation, researchers instead fashion themselves as designers, stitching together their own literal statement pieces of pro-tips extracted from personal experience and guidelines disseminated to the scholarly canon. Prior to unpacking the politics of compensation, it is vital to understand why exactly research participants must be compensated to begin with. This act of providing a gift, or good in return for one’s participation stems out of a recognition of the value that lives in one surrendering their time, knowledge, culture, intimate narratives, and/or emotions that informs and gives rise to the research process.  Here, a participant is situated as a proverbial cup that runneth’ over with knowledge – a “gatekeeper of know-how” who is willing to surrender the priceless commodities that is their life energies, their experiences, and histories that is foundational contribution, service, and value-add” to research (effectively meriting compensation).       When asked about what they think about the act of compensating participants, many researchers strongly emphasized that it is a necessary way to acknowledge and credit the contributions participants make to local health and social research, finding image in the 96% of UofT researchers who disclosed on a survey that they always provide participants with recompenses. Such a recognition of the importance of compensating participants finds further substantiation in the statements of UofT researchers interviewed on the politics of compensation, respectively stating: “If we value the information the compensation should reflect that. If we don’t value the information, then why are we collecting it.” and “Always provide financial compensation to the research participants, otherwise it’ll be tantamount to exploitation. Those participating should be treated as knowledge keepers and compensated accordingly including all expenses…” Undergirding such quotations lies a recognition that, for participants surrendering time and energy, “research is work” – a statement that tracks its angry red roots to a participant habitually interviewed in sociologist Kellen Pratt’s article on Malawian women negotiating with AIDS. This participant’s anger, it must be noted, stems from the reality that she, along with the pool of other women who surrendered their personal struggles with AIDS to researchers over a period of 48 months, were compensated with soap by researchers. Here lied a cognitive dissonance, for there was the expectation that the women were to be compensated with something of greater value than soap given the amount of energy, emotions and parts of themselves they invested.              Such is a large concern regarding compensation – that of proportionality, cutting across and complicating the process of reimbursing participants for sharing parts of themselves. To better navigate this, four main models for offering payment to participants compiled by Dickert and Grady (2007) in the American Medical Association Journal of Ethics: the market model, the wage-payment model, the reimbursement model, and the post-trial appreciation model, each of which is home to its own merits and drawbacks.

In the market model, payment is adjusted according to the principle of supply and demand—if research is risky, incentives increase, whereas if participation is desirable or low-risk the incentives decrease. Whilst such a model does possess a “high potential for coercion” if high incentives are offered for risky research, there exists the (false-positive) expectation that ethics review boards will interject in research proposals presenting a serious harm or risk to participants.

2. In the wage-payment model, participants are compensated for work and paid a standardized wage similar to the regional unskilled labor wage, with the possibility of pay increases and additional stipends for should discomfort increase or individuals commit for longer than the agreed upon time. For Dickert and Grady (2007), such a model is criticized for the fact that it may overwhelmingly entice people from lower SES milieus as compensation may not be of adequate interest to those with more wealth.

3. In the reimbursement model, participants are either compensated for expenses incurred during research or for loss of earned wages. Whilst costly and difficult to implement due to the need to calculate the compensation for each unique participant across travel expenses and wages, this brand of compensation possesses the potential to attract those in higher incomes brackets.

4. Lastly, the post-trial appreciation model gives payment in recognition and appreciation of participation. This form of compensation is incredibly unstructured, relying not on any set numeric breakdown provided by pay stubs or minimum-wage regimes, but rather on the subjective experience of the researcher who must find a way to quantify (uniformly or uniquely) what will be allotted to their participants who may have had fluctuating levels of participation and/or intimacy surrendered.    

      Effectively, within discussions of compensation, a type of goldilocks dilemma inevitably emerges, as researchers must ensure that their rewards are not too low/cold (resulting in people opting not to participate), or too high/hot (resulting in a situation of “undue inducement” where the grand reward undermines the one’s ability to rationally engage in a cost-benefit analysis of participating). Further, another ethics concern threading through this act of reimbursing participants for their life energies occurs most notably in the post-trial appreciation model seeing compensation as being provided after the fact. Of concern, here, is whether a researcher will be providing standardized compensation to all participants who vary according to narratives, disclosure, emotional connection, temperament, and/or temporal engagement. In conjunction with this, there exists also the question of how compensation will be doled out in accordance with sample size, and whether researchers who are navigating large populaces are bound by the same expectations to provide rewards that are sentimental and seemingly proportionate. Should the cross-sectional investigator who rewards all twenty participants with handmade culturally-attentive bracelets serve as a benchmark to be mirrored by the longitudinal researcher working with a community of 150 individuals? Or will the $15 gift card to Apple Music suffice?

Connections to Class       As always, the graduate seminar facilitates the union of information learned in the clean cut, white-coat academia with the nitty gritty realism of the Sick Sad World – two fragmented worlds wedded in theoretical matrimony from 1:30-3:30pm Thursdays. Nestled in these conversations overseeing the pairing and sharing of personal interactions with compensation was an overwhelming zeroing-in on the compensatory form of reimbursement that is gift giving, and the politics that such an act is embowed with. Over the course of sixty-five minutes in this qualitative course, giving was herein deconstructed – reconceptualized from a seemingly benevolent act, to one that is shot through with cultural, political, ethical, and symbolic considerations influencing how a present is synchronously given and received.       Such found first image in the experiences of Vanessa, who, when entering into Indigenous reserves, discussed how she would bring the culturally-attentive gift of peyote so as to exercise gratitude and respect to the community from whom knowledge is extracted. Operating, here, were multiple levels of forms of socio-cultural dynamics/optics – an attempt to mitigate the colonial relations between researched and the researcher, as well as an effort to situate oneself within their own group. The importance of cultural mindfulness/attentiveness was later returned to by Vanessa herself when she spoke briefly to plurality of ways that cultural groups perform gift-giving and receiving, as for some it may be a socially customary to: deny gifts, to be offended by the offering of a gift, to be importantly located on the end of giving, or to return a gift with an ever greater present. To extrapolate Vanessa, this may be even more complicate in cultural climates where it is necessary to incessantly refuse a gift initially but slowly be convinced/worn down to accept it. All of this are things that researchers may not necessary learn in the confines of criminology course-packs and dense theoretical textbooks, but through conversation with others and meaningful engagement with the social milieus from which their participants emerge.       This discussion on the importance of being socio-culturally attentive transformed organically into a productive conversation on self-reflexivity, finding home in the story of care-packages made out of hotel toiletries shared by Professor Huey. Attentive to her position of financial privilege as a hotel-situated researcher with access to a pool of decorative soaps and washes that often go unused, Huey collected en masse the spare toiletries to make survival kits that could be disseminated to her Skid Row-located participants pushed often to the out-of-sight-out-of-mind margins of society. When speaking to this decision to provide these disenfranchised others imagined frequently as social junk, Huey rhetorically stated “You think I was going to give them a gift card?”       This off-handed mention of a gift card ignited one of the most generative discussions of the course. Nestled in jokes about Starbucks gift cards, and the impersonality present in this present was the moment of realization that there exists subtle ways in which we as researchers subtly exercise and preserve dominance over those we are researching. Such an epiphanic moment found its roots in Professor Huey dissection of how gift cards – the go-to reimbursement strategy for 65% of UofT researchers – are inherently disciplinary tools that are charged with implications of mistrust. Here, card-recipients are provided with money-within-constraints – limited to particular locations, for particular window of time (bound by expiry dates), often for only a particular type of good/service (i.e. food, books, drinks, facials). For Huey, this favourism toward gift cards – invoking a store’s-the-limit narrative – is Machiavellian, owing to a distrusting academic research culture characterized by a rhetoric of “covering-[one’s]-own-[behind]” and the compounding assumption that participants may engage in improper consumption practices should the free-for-all medium of money be provided.  Gift cards, limited in their capacity, represent a preventative panacea on the part of the researcher who can successfully avoid the alternative situation of a providing a participant with money and them using that money to harm themselves or someone else – a situation that can, at best, be simply an issue for those harmed, and at worst, trickle back into the life of the researcher, and influence their ability to navigate academia.

Applicability       The applicability of compensation to other research questions lies in the current research climate contouring all research projects involving the sharing/extraction of knowledge from participants, as there is a recognition of research and the process of being the object of research as a transaction – a form of work to be met with adequate pay. The pertinence of compensation practices in research find further and final substantiation in the statistically deviant fact that only 4% of UofT researchers did not provide any form of compensation to their participants, as well as in of Professor Huey stating “I always do my best to compensate those I’m researching; I constantly ask myself ‘What am I bringing or giving [to the field]?’”.  Essentially, due to the growing attempt in academia to remedy the research-researched power imbalances, this notion of compensation and the politics orbiting around it is one that must be considered and applied by all researchers drawing upon participants – finding substantiation not only in its increasingly normative existence within published methodology sections and its necessitation within grant applications, but also in the social stigma that attaches itself to researchers who poorly compensate or actively choose not to compensate participants.       Compensation is a concern that I continue to consider with respect to my own research on gentrification experienced by the Ottawa-based Somali populace. Whilst I do have the advantage of being Somali and thus am privy to the cultural artefacts that serve best as gifts, I struggle to find a gift that is not necessarily tied to the home or does not need to be enjoyed in the home (e.g. incense, carved wooden home décor, pillow cases for floor cushions) – a matter that may sensitive for those herein who have been evicted from their homes. With insight from my mother, I’m leaning in favour of sewing baatis (a female dress that can be worn both inside and outside the home, often in the evening when socializing) and macawiis (a male skirt worn both inside and outside the home, often in the evening when socializing). Both are inexpensive, with the fabric capable of being bought in bulk, and the sewing taking only a few minutes per garment.

[abitterlifethroughcinema]

                            WOKE! Film Reviews for Spring ’19

  We Shouldn’t’ve Left You Without Some Dope Films to Step To!

                                                    by

                                    Lucas Avram Cavazos

This first weekend of ‘Setmana Santa,’ as it is called in Catalonia, ushers in the fateful reality that we’ve all thankfully made it past a long, cold winter. It also welcomes with it the understanding that this year, Holy Week/ Easter Week/ Spring Break Week has come rather late, by well over a month, and since this is the first time in a month that I’m gracing the blogosphere with my critiques just before the week leading up to the 3rd Annual BCN-Sant Jordi Film Fest, it’s time to get woke. And that’s why this critic had to get all sorts of motivated and prepared as we dive into the real Movie Season 2019. Let’s get started with a few outings now, and I’ll return with a few outings more later on in the week. Without further ado…

Dolor y Gloria ####-1/2  This may be the best film that has been released so far this year. The fact that it has been so eloquently served up to us by Pedro Almodovar, my favourite Spanish director, may make things seem biased, to which I’d query… Have you seen the movie? This could easily be one of his strongest efforts, if not THE strongest, in years and the way that Almodovar has crafted it, using character actors he once worked with in his earlier heyday, has been expertly mapped out to weave a tapestry of torturous drama and comedic, sometimes drug-addled, delights. What is also apparent is that Pedro is very likely speaking about himself, as a creator, a director, a man.  Detailing the current and flashback-to-the-60s life story of Salvador Mallo (Antonio Banderas), a revered if almost-forgotten director and writer from the 80s and 90s, we also get a peek into the history and mentality of a Spain and a (Movida) movement put away onto a shelf for far too long. What we find about Mallo is that whatever life circumstances have been thrown at him, he has managed to take them on with a certain, sad aplomb. It is a testament to his waning bravado that Mallo then goes about trying to reconnect with those long-forgotten members of his film past, briefly dabbling in heroin whilst using it as a metaphor for his need to deal with past pain bodies. In its own way, I’m quite sure that Almodovar did exactly the same thing in processing his own mother’s passing a few years back, and it brings into question the very nature of how every human being varies in their handling of life’s issues. I dare say that this film is something bordering on a frighteningly sharp therapy session and frankly, the performances here, especially by Banderas (and to a smaller extent, Penelope Cruz as his mother via flashbacks) are something from a prized possession of actors’ genius. One can only hope that award nominations get thrown their way later on this year…Superb Spanish cinema!

Perhaps the title gives a slight hint but the basis of the film that is Us ###-1/2 goes a long way in reminding all of US that evil rarely just dies…case in point, Donald Trump. Not to digress, so this second outing in big screen film direction by comedian/writer Jordan Peele attempts to go a step further in modern-day, U.S.-American, social-class politics. After his impeccably-timed, incredibly-successful and Oscar-nominated Get Out roared a somewhat sleepy horror genre/audience back to life, we now get a continuation or ode on a similar theme. Showcasing upper middle-class protagonists on screen who are not white has thankfully become more common since the 80s and 90s, so when it’s still possible to inject a bit of realism, I applaud the creator. That said, there is so much going on in Peele’s latest socio-cultural opus that when the horror-action takes over, you almost find yourself relieved; which isn’t to say the film lacks in punches and pull, but you definitely start to feel the languid draw of boredom a few times throughout the nearly two hour film. After the film opens in 1986 with a real advert to a throwback charity campaign, we quickly follow young Adelaide through an anecdotal moment that seems to come reeling its frightening head when she’s an adult again. The star draw of Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o and Marvel wiz kid Winston Duke cannot be overstated, as they certainly bring some fan base and critical darlings with them, but the way they handle the mum and pop characters of Adelaide and Gabe Wilson is superb…plus the camaraderie between their cute as heck, and then bad-ass as heck, kids is adorable. When on a getaway at their lake home near Santa Cruz, CA, an unfortunate and sudden group of unsettling events is what finally jolts us, the viewers, wide awake when the sordid nightmare of a flashback-like attack commences and carries on for the rest of the fraught film. What creeps the whole thing out even more is that the attack comes from a psychotic group of almost familial doppelgängers. What struck me as odd is that Peele seemed to lose a sense of coherence just as the film started to pick up speed with the action, thematically and within a sense of the genre. The acting keeps the film bouncing along thankfully, but after the socio-cultural punch that was Get Out, I suppose we were all a bit wanton for more.

The Kindergarten Teacher ####  Another tandem Netflix-cinema house offering, this US-American take on an Israeli original is just as good…thankfully. With an ending that is as unexpected as it is deserved, this little indie feature will give you something to ruminate for days after. which in turn is why I gave it such a sufficiently high score. Let’s talk. The monotonous life of a primary education teacher can be one of serenity or hardships, and I can only surmise that it would mostly depend on one’s intestinal fortitude, though I sinerely doubt, I’d be cut out for it. Exquisite actress Maggie Gyllenhaal plays mid-40ish Lisa, pretty mom to two teens and loving wife, who encounters something extraordinary one day whilst teaching her sweet class of five and six year olds. An incredibly gifted five-year old chap named Jimmy (read:cutest little tyke on-screen EVER!) has the uncanny ability to tap into his inner recesses and pull out beautiful poetry that takes on meanings and lives of their own, painting a canvass of wonderment for our long-suffering Lisa. You see, what is easy to decipher as one watches is that Lady Lisa has slowly begun waging her own, tiny war on her mundane life by the commencement of living vicariously through this little man-poet. When she steps out of her bounds and finagles a way to take little Jimmy to a Bowery-based poetry slam, this very NYC borough tale takes a turn for the cringe-worthy as we slowly watch an empathetic woman lose herself in a self-delusional, self-pitying way. This complicated if completely relatable piece of celluloid will challenge anyone’s views on what young tykes are capable of feeling, doing and demonstrating. It will also leave you with the pertinent question of deciding what you think happens to the main characters as the film ends. Brutally honest and highly poignant.

[courtney-jadeneale-blog]

ESSAY: Feminist Journey

Introduction

 Feminism has been a prominent movement regarding the progression of women’s rights in western society. As social media and technology have progressed so has the circulation of political works of art. In turn, this has allowed the upcoming generations to join the conversation surrounding the treatment of minority groups.

This piece will further elaborate on feminist theory. This will be achieved primarily through the lens of illustrator Florence Given. Examined will be her approach to the 21st century feminist perceptions. For example, intersectionality and the newly disputed #MeToo movement popularised through avid social media campaigning from women’s movements. Through the evaluation of Florence Given’s illustrations, we are also able to discuss other feminist controversies such as the male gaze, and on a broader spectrum, social semiotics and the implications it has had on feminist evolution. 

Intersectionality

 Intersectionality is the social theory outlining the multiple risks of discrimination against an individual who’s identity overlaps with more than one minority group. This could be in health, race, ethnicity, gender or age. Minority groups intersectional experiences show that the odds are stacked against them. (Williams. S. (2017)) This proves that although the feminist movement is fighting for equality, some may be fighting for more rights than others; the movement is diverse and personal to each individual. Intersectionality has brought us movements like #MeToo. Me Too is a movement to raise awareness for “… the one in four girls and the one in six boys who are sexually abused every year …”. (The Telegraph. (2018)) The civil rights activist Tarana Burke founded the movement in 2006, this was due to her work with young women of colour and her constant reassurance to them; “you’re not alone. This happened to me too.”. Since then it has turned into a worldwide campaign, raising awareness about sexual harassment, abuse and assault within society. (Biography. (2018)) With the help of social media MeToo has attained global recognition after actress Alyssa Milano urged those who’d experienced a form of sexual harassment to share their stories with the #metoo, “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.” (Twitter. (2017))

                                                  (Instagram. (2018) 1.)                                  

 Florence Given work is Social Realism, this is a term used for work produced by creatives that highlights the real socio – political conditions of the working class, criticising power structures. (Neale.C (2019)) This is an example within Given’s work of sexual harassment, as the nude illustration combined with the text ‘Looking Good for My Goddamn Self’ is representation of the sexist thoughts of western society. These thoughts state that if you are a woman with flesh on show, whether that be, cleavage, leg or bum you are asking for it. The use of red within the background has connotations of anger, showing how enraged this makes Given and also women in western society feel. This however in my opinion goes against intersectionality as all women are fighting for the right to walk outside in whatever they want without the common perception that they are asking for it.

­

Gender theory

We become who we are because of social conditioning in things like are parents’ values, culture and ideologies. This almost makes our identity a performance and kind of storytelling, as how we choose to dress, to what we eat and how we act can construct our identities further. This relates to the saying Cogito Ergo Sum, ‘I think, therefore I am’ by Rene Descartes. (Duignan. B. (2019))

‘I think, therefore I am’ heavily relates to gender in modern day society as more people are starting to understand the difference between sex and gender. Sex is biological and decided based on our reproductive functions, Gender is the social conditioning of being male or female.

Judith Butler the American Academic, identifies gender as a performance. This is because she believes “There is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender; that identity is performatively constituted by the vert “expressions” that are said to be its results.”. This is something Florence Given is constantly questioning within her illustrative work. 

                                             (Instagram. (2019). 2)

The text in this illustration; ‘How much of my femininity is who I truly am. And how much of it is a product of patriarchal brainwashing to exist for male consumption?’ refers to the social conditioning of a woman’s role in western society. This is due to the habituate that we are expected to act, speak, dress and groom ourselves based on our biological sex, for example women are expected to be emotional, cook and clean, appear thin and short with long hair. Contradicted to the male expectations of acting aggressive, taking care of finances, work and appear tall and muscular, with short hair. These ‘stereotypes about gender can cause unequal and unfair treatment because of a person’s gender.’; sexism. (Planned Parenthood (2019)) The use of colour chosen for the background of this piece juxtaposed with a female figure as the centre piece represents that females are conditioned to like pink and also given this colour as a depiction of femininity. In doing this she has made the piece hyperfeminine, an exaggeration of stereotyped feminine behaviour.  

 The male gaze

The term ‘male gaze’ was originated by Laura Mulvey in an essay she wrote called ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’ The Male gaze proposes that a women’s identity is rejected, attributing them to the status of an object, thing a commodity to be marvelled at for physical appearance. This is characterized in films being that the female roles only exist to give the male character further importance and interest. Mulvey states that a female personality has only two functions within a narrative, first being a seductive object to be admired within the narrative, the second a seductive object to attract male viewer ship. (SlideShare. (2013)) This representation within social media has grown men to objectify women. Furthermore, teaching women to objectify other women, for what they do or don’t have based on physical appearance.

                                              (Instagram. (2018). 3)                      

Florence Given’s piece ‘There is enough room for all women to be whole without tearing each other down’ is a perfect depiction of this. The constant eradication of female egos and girl power prohibits the feminist movement from reaching its full potential. As women as a whole should be united as we are all fighting for equal rights to our societal ‘superior’, however when we are tear each other down based surface appearance we aren’t making room for us all to succeed only the select few deemed by society as ‘perfect’. Again, the red colour palette has connotations of anger representing the distress this causes Given and again women of western society. The red colour choice also adds a seductive feel to the illustration enhancing the expression and bold features of the women within the piece, this could be a subtle implication to the male gaze.

Another creative that looks at the social realism of the male gaze is photographer Cindy Sherman. Sherman is ‘best known for her conceptual portraits’. (TATE. (2019)) Sherman look at the seductive oppression of mass media identities mainly focusing on women. Sherman fixated on make up within her photographs, as she considers this the main tool to achieve what we see circulating our media, basing her work around sexual desire.  

                                                     Madonna (1977)

                                                  (Neale. C. (2019))

This image suggests a portrayal of The Male Gaze, As the overall plastic look to the image along with the makeup and blank expression gives it a doll like affect. The use of black and white within this photograph also gives it a lifeless feel as no pink pigment can be recognised in the skin, meaning life cannot be identified. This fits with the theory than men view women as objects to be admired rather than their equals. Looking at the overall image from a social stand point I would say this image is a depiction of the value of what women are to men.

 Conclusion

The Feminist movement has broadcast to a larger audience due to social media. Movements like #MeToo and social realistic works of art that visually showcase socio-political issues are the reason feminism is now gaining the global recognition that’s needed for change. Florence Given for me personally is a massive influence in 21st century feminism. Given’s aesthetically pleasing illustrations highlighting key points of modern western society and the feminist movement in a creative way. This appeals to a much larger audience as they are able to visually see the modern-day problems of society apposed to hearing them on the news or reading the issues in news articles. I feel the next step in feminism is to educate people on intersectionality. Often feminism is misconstrued to a one size fits all scenario, as people think it only applies to women fighting for the same issues; this is not the case, the fight is different for each individual; its personal. Feminism isn’t just the fight for women’s rights, it’s a fight for equal rights for minority groups; ethnicity, LGBTQ+, religion, disability and men!

[comicteaparty]

February 14th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on February 14th, 2019, from 5PM - 7PM PST.  The chat focused on Earth in a Pocket by Jabbage.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB START!

Good evening, everyone~! This week’s Thursday Book Club is officially beginning! Today we are discussing Earth in a Pocket by Jabbage~! (http://earthinapocket.spiderforest.com/)

Remember that Thursday discussions are completely freeform! However, every 30 minutes I will drop in OPTIONAL discussion questions in case you’d like a bit of a prompt. If you miss out on one of these prompts, you can find them pinned for the chat’s duration. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is fun and respectfully appreciating the comic. All that said, let’s begin!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

perhaps not a full scene, but im really fond of this page in general http://earthinapocket.spiderforest.com/comic/2019/01/22 where the socio economic development stuff is broken down. theres just something so elegantly simple about how its shown. not to mention i appreciate the injection of humor, because i think it makes everything really grounded.

Delphina

The badger page is perennially endearing (http://earthinapocket.spiderforest.com/comic/2018/08/11), but I also like the most recent one where Little One is encouraging Halisi to be proactive and set up some long-term solutions for herself: http://earthinapocket.spiderforest.com/comic/2019/02/05

RebelVampire

im really curious why she thought of badgers at all. unless she had the badgers badgers mushroom song stuck in her head. XD

Delphina

@Jabbage please make that canon

Jabbage

makes it so

(Hi! I'm going to be here for a little while! :D)

RebelVampire

thanks for coming, Jabbage!

Jabbage

I figure that if you're on a road trip with a small child who is prone to ask a billion questions, eventually you're going to end up talking about badgers

Delphina

I just really appreciate how even after all she's been through, Halisi still has so much love and passion for her studies, and it's what she reaches to when she's looking for ways to console Little One and solutions for herself.

Kabocha

Hmmm, my favorite scene probably was the Witch bottle explanation http://earthinapocket.spiderforest.com/comic/2018/08/15 It was a good bit of information I hadn't really been aware of :D I also just... enjoy her interactions with the little jellyfish - even though she's in a bad spot, she's still taking time to tell him stories.

RebelVampire

i like the element of logic there is to it too. like she's not panicking, but using what she loves to calm herself down in a way. and i think thats a really great showcase of her character without needing to be told shes like that.

its a characterization via the action versus the telling

mathtans

Here for now, the little one seems extra fussy tonight. Yes, I call my baby daughter the little one. So comic was a bit surreal.

RebelVampire

hi math!

at least your little one isnt old enough to ask yet "are we there yet?"

Kabocha

Right? I mean, she could have just given in, accepted that she might die here... But nah. And she's still kind, even though this entire situation is awful

mathtans

The Witch bottle thing reminds me, I liked the way the art moved through the centuries on that one page, but with people who looked kinda similar. I thought that was clever.

True. Little one could save us some time by specifying what her issues are though. ^.^

RebelVampire

ironically though another of my favorite scenes is the one where halisi sets up the signal and kind of ditches her new jellyfish child to just go despairingly collapse in front of it. i like this brief moment of her giving into despair cause theres something really raw about it. like at first she doesnt say anything even, and i think it makes it really powerful because the silence just adds this immense weight to the sorrow. you know shes super suffering for that moment and feeling the weight of everything finally hit her.

Delphina

Yeah, the comic does a good job of showing a lot of conflicting emotions(edited)

mathtans

Yeah, honestly the very opening was a heck of a kick in the pants. Like, I have no idea what I'd do in that sort of situation. It's very problematic.

RebelVampire

yeah theres def a lot of stressful situations. but i kind of appreciate the lighter moments. like her trying to start a fire but ultimately failing. i mean its kind of scary and sad for her survival, but the way its handled is still pretty funny

also that moment where shes trying to fix the machine at the beginning and it just flat out basically bursts into flames XD

Jabbage

I'm pleased to hear that! I'm always aware that it could be quite a bleak story, but I want it to ultimately feel hopeful and positive, so the silly moments are important for that!

kayotics

I also liked the badger scene, but I think the scene that had the most prominence for me is when she finds out that someone else landed on the planet 80 years ago

i think that scene really set in how dire her situation is

khkddn

the portrayal of emotions really is great. it's really interesting to see someone going through such a crisis and only surrounded by beings who can't relate at all

Delphina

Oh god yeah, and the aliens just going "Something happened to the human we don't know what cause death isn't a thing that happens here???" was scary.

kayotics

"it's hibernating!"

G (Title Unrelated)

I felt something in the scene right after where they tell her dad "we haven't heard from her yet"

Delphina

collective tentacle shrug

kayotics

yeah i really feel for her dad

this isn't a scene, but I appreciate that all of the characters are middle-aged or older

RebelVampire

agreed. but i appreciated the realism of the ppl on the other line being like "meh its probably fine my dude" to the dad. cause that really uses reader knowledge to an advantage to create sympathy for him. because we know its not fine, and that he is right to worry. and that makes it sad hes the only one worried in that moment.

G (Title Unrelated)

Yes I agree

kayotics

Also agreed. It's a good example of dramatic irony

RebelVampire

although i like the most recent page with the followup where hes basically enlisted an army of students to find her. abuse of power, probably. but makes him the sweetest dad? yes.

QUESTION 2. Much of the comic revolves around Halisi telling stories based on things in her pocket. Which of Halisi’s stories impacted you the most and/or taught you something new? What do you think is to be gained from Halisi telling these stories to an alien race with no real connection to humanity? How do you believe the stories and knowledge she has might help contextualize her current situation for her? What, to you, does it mean to have “Earth in a Pocket?” Further, if you were in Halisi’s position, what objects would you pick in 10 seconds to represent the sum of human existence? Lastly, what other cultural or past history aspects do you think Halisi might bring up? How might they be contextualized to add a new viewpoint to Halisi’s situation?

Delphina

I liked the Dancing Plague story a lot http://earthinapocket.spiderforest.com/comic/2018/08/06

RebelVampire

this is the point where i say the witch bottle scene. I think it was beautifully illustrated, and as a story it was not a cultural thing i was aware of. but i like how suitable and unsuitable it was for the situation. but overall it just made me think about humans are weird and can make fear out of nothing at all if the minds decide it to be so.

unless the plot twist is there really was a witch in that bottle

ive always found the dancing plague fascinating because again, humans be weird. minds play tricks.

khkddn

the witch bottle scene is kind of like a story about the power of storytelling, pretty fitting i think

the idea of a witch meant so much to people, like how halisi's stories mean so much to the jellies

G (Title Unrelated)

so she's got a single seed, too, which is also super symbolic

kayotics

I really like the agriculture story, because, like it was mentioned before, it was very concise, but also it shows a lot about Halsi's personality and what she thinks is important about understanding humans on a basic level

mathtans

Back. Know what you can't do when you have a little one? Have a life sometimes. >.<(edited)

G (Title Unrelated)

I wonder what kind of seed it is

RebelVampire

oh man what if the seed wasnt even food. like she winds up growing a rose bush or something XD

mathtans

I was going to say, one of my fave moments was actually comedy, when Halisi first goes off with the inhabitants, thinking about ditching them, and they're all "we can see the thoughts".

RebelVampire

i appreciate the jellyfish didnt just ditch her at that point. cause i would not be as forgiving as them XD

mathtans

And yeah, the hope and sudden crash of the human who was there before was powerful too.

Delphina

I hope it's like... a nice fruit tree. She seems like she could use a nice fruit tree.

mathtans

The framing of the witch bottle scene was cool too. With the whole "not helping me be less afraid" thing (and asking for that term).

kayotics

i just really like the little jellyfish aliens, because they're written in a way that's much less human-centric. I like aliens that are just kind of weird for being weird and don't follow human conventions.

mathtans

Though props for the "pot-reon" in the agriculture bit too.

RebelVampire

yeah im really appreciating the jellyfish for that reason. theyre a nice blend between humanistic traits while still being super alien. its always nice to see when theres kind of a basic gap of understanding where the way each species thinks is quite different

anyway, for me personally though, while she does literally have some of earth in her pocket, i think earth is more about the stories that have traveled with her. because oral traditions reach immensely far back and is the main platform by which we teach and learn about ourselves as a species. so imo they are more representative of humanity than the objects. thus how she can fit earth in a pocket, even though she doesnt need the pocket.(edited)

G (Title Unrelated)

Yeah, I think you nailed it!

mathtans

Also, random question/thought. Halisi didn't have to dig too deep to get "well" water (I liked that one too)... yet was able to bury a guy? The water must be specific to locations or something?

Agreed on the alien-ness people have been speaking about.

G (Title Unrelated)

I mean it's an alien planet

mathtans

Good point about the traditions, Rebel. She's her own pocket.

It helps that she mostly just has to think things rather than even speak them aloud too.

Jabbage

AHAHA yeah, I realised that after drawing it. It's on a list of things i might tweak one day, although I do also like the idea that it is just an alien planet and it's strange and unpredictable like that. So much of our own planet would seem strange and random if we didn't understand a little bit about it's geology, the water cycle etc.

kayotics

on that note i like the idea of halsi going around trying to find ground that doesn't immediately fill up with well water

"okay let's try this spot. Hm, nope, that filled up. can't bury him here"

G (Title Unrelated)

haha!

RebelVampire

yeah it didnt particularly stick out to me just cause i wrote it off as like a change in elevation or something like that. but basically alien planet does alien things XD

mathtans

Fair point.

Could just drag dirt over from another place too, though I guess it would be raised more then.

kayotics

I think if it needs to be tweaked in the future, Jabbage, you could always just change it to a mound rather than a hole. same concept but it avoids going below the dirt

mathtans

Fixes the w"hole" thing.

G (Title Unrelated)

also digging a hole IS hard work

Jabbage

Yeah, or using rocks

kayotics

digging is a lot of work

mathtans

Also whistling while you use rocks, to get rock music.

I'll stop.

kayotics

if she plants that seed she may have to make a mound for that too, it would probably get too waterlogged otherwise

mathtans

I wonder if the soil has the right nutrients.

RebelVampire

yeah i was thinking that too

that her next challenge is finding a not well spot for that seed

cause unless its a crop that specifically needs to be waterlogged, shes gonna have a bad time

mathtans

The jellyfish said the mushrooms could talk, right? Maybe they know a place.

Does rice have seeds?

G (Title Unrelated)

I think if the planet has breathable air it might have a similar balance of elements and whatnot to earth?

kayotics

i think most rice is planted from splitting an existing plant, but i'm sure there's a seed that starts it all

Delphina

What do the jelly aliens taste like

kayotics

DELPHIE NO

Delphina

MAYBE THEY GROW BACK OR SOMETHING

Jabbage

Whether or not the mushrooms can talk is a fun thing that's not really ever going to get expanded on, but which I had in mind for how the jellies work. I figure that they don't have many ways of getting external sensory information about the world - no eyes, ears, sense of smell etc. They are psychic though, they share thoughts and ideas and information about the world. I figure that the mushrooms have some kind of consciousness and run through the planet, and the jellies can draw from that somehow to orientate themselves and know what's going on

G (Title Unrelated)

that's what I kinda assumed!

I mean, that is basically how forests work on earth. XD

RebelVampire

so basically the mushrooms can function as gps

Jabbage

@Delphina ~ I mean I'm sure Big One has some spare limbs... ~(edited)

mathtans

Oh, wow. Cannibalism-like issue didn't occur to me.

Jabbage

Me neither honestly

mathtans

I think the jelly was a bit broken and said she'd regenerate over time...?

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. Story wise, the comic deals with Halisi crash landing on an alien planet and all but being stranded. Do you believe Halisi will learn to farm with the little she managed to salvage and find a way to survive? What obstacles might prevent such an excursion on the planet? How will Halisi deal with the obstacles? Further, how do you think Halisi will deal with managing her mysterious illness, and what is she sick with for that matter? How might her actions be hindered or helped by the native alien life? In what ways do you think her actions will change how the alien life lives their own lives? Finally, do you believe that Halisi will be rescued at some point? If so, how will this come about?

mathtans

I like the mushroom consciousness idea.

RebelVampire

i do think the jelly child said as such.

G (Title Unrelated)

Q3: These are... all questions I have, myself. XD

mathtans

That illness thing is probably the immediate concern. Withdrawal itself is an issue, whether the pills were life saving or not

G (Title Unrelated)

I was wondering if they were antidepressants or something

RebelVampire

yeah for all the optimism in this plan, the pills are gonna be problematic. but i did wonder if they were antidepressants

khkddn

the flashback scene after she takes her last pill makes it seem to me like she was waiting for medical test results

kayotics

it's also a future time, so it could be a pill that prevents a life threatening disease from spreading.

mathtans

That's a good thought. The whole not accomplishing anything in her life is pretty bleak. Maybe that's a symptom.

G (Title Unrelated)

oh I didn't realize that scene was about her somehow

kayotics

my hope is that she's rescued well before she even needs to worry about this single plant producing any viable food options, since even if the plant grows, it's not likely going to sustain her

G (Title Unrelated)

yeah exactly

RebelVampire

not to mention depending on what plant it is it could take forever to grow. plant growth really varies a lot from crop to crop

kayotics

as for the pills, it seems like her illness has a vague timeline. Like a degenerative disease or something cancerous.

G (Title Unrelated)

P.s., I want some rainbow space maize.

RebelVampire

yes i second this

rainbow space maize for everyone

mathtans

It's a maize-ing.

khkddn

a few pages after she takes the pill she wonders "why are red pills better stimulants" and the pill she took was red. but then again if it were antidepressants i would expect a flashback that looked more like a therapists office than a doctor with results

Jabbage

Oh gosh I don't want to interrupt all the amazing discussion about Halisi's mysterious malady but I was so pleased to find out that there's actually multicoloured corn like that

I thought I made it up for a gag but it's reaaaaaal

kayotics

i have the link, if you'd like it

khkddn

oh i love the corn page

kayotics

https://www.sciencealert.com/this-rainbow-corn-is-the-coolest-way-to-eat-your-veggies (rainbow corn)

mathtans

It wasn't too corny.

kayotics

Honestly? corn, rice, and wheat would all be things I'd say should be brought to an earth colony.

G (Title Unrelated)

yeassssst. XD

unless there's naturally occurring yeast.

Man, we don't even know what it would be like to visit another living planet

RebelVampire

if we have rainbow corn, clearly were meant to go into space right now.

thats a good catch with the red pill, @khkddn

i actually hadnt paid attention to the pill color

mathtans

As to the question of Halisi being rescued, I foresee two possible outcomes. First, that she's found still alive, and she's learned enough about the planet natives to further space research or something, or second, that she's found dead, but the natives were so taken by her stories that her name will live on forever in the history books of first contact.

G (Title Unrelated)

I didn't associate the pill color musing with her situation but maybe it IS related!

RebelVampire

though i leave it open shes on some sort of mental health related medicine, i do feel its more likely its a degenrative disease of some sort. cause it makes her wanting to go to space make more sense. cause i feel its one of those things where youd be more willing to do it if you knew that you had a shorter time than most to live

math no, that second one is too dark

XD

although not implausible

khkddn

if halisi is not reunited with her dad at some point i'll be so sad

or at least they speak to each other

Delphina

Yeah, I'm just gonna say I don't think Halisi's gonna make it back to Earth. I think we're probably looking at a "she finds peace and purpose with the remaining time she has" situation.

RebelVampire

im gonna believe in the rescue efforts cause her dad seems to be a determined dude. and tbf they probably know her flight path so unless she was super duper off course they can probably guess a reasonable area she might be.

mathtans

I don't know that it's necessarily dark... it's kind of a happy end, just not for Halisi.

Also, maybe the pills help her speak. But that's a thing she won't need with the jellys.

I do think that receiving a message from an 80 year old spacecraft is probably something worth investigating.

RebelVampire

thatd be mighty convenient. tho in some au shed get so used to the psychic stuff shed go back to live among humans and be like "oh shit thats right they cant just see my mind pictures"

mathtans

That's an interesting point, about readapating to civilization.

Crazy theory time: Eating the mushrooms constantly ends up turning her into a jelly-creature. When the humans arrive, they won't recognize her.

RebelVampire

i do think shell have some affect on the jellies though. cause i think at the very least shes gonna teach them the important of oral traditions and theyll start telling their own stories and collectively grow as a species. i think shes really setting the jellies on the path for this.

LOL

i was thinking earlier about what if the mushrooms are semi psychic cause thats what happens to the jellies when they die

they dont die and just come back as the mushrooms

mathtans

Ooooh, that'd be an interesting twist.

Like maybe Halisi gains some psychic powers too.

(Though we may have ended up back at cannibalism...)

G (Title Unrelated)

not to shoot down anyone's fun speculation, but it doesn't seem like that kind of story, tbh. XD

kayotics

haha

we don't even know if the jellies can die i mean, I'd think they would, since they apparently come into existence somehow

mathtans

Also they haven't overrun the world.

kayotics

maybe theyre very slow at growing

or they just become the water

G (Title Unrelated)

slow-growing seems very likely

mathtans

I figure before they die they just kind of stop transmitting. Maybe run off somewhere. So no one is aware.

(Maybe they're like lemmings?)

G (Title Unrelated)

(that is not how lemmings work, sorry. XD)

mathtans

(I would worry if lemmings could read my thoughts.)

G (Title Unrelated)

(the suicidal lemmings myth was created by disney)

mathtans

shakes fist at mouse

G (Title Unrelated)

(or did you mean something else lol)

mathtans

I free associate. I mean what you want me to mean.

RebelVampire

yeah ive been wondering if the jellies are immortal. although ya know what, we have immortal jellyfish on earth so thats not that ridiculous to imagine.

kayotics

man, jellyfish are messed up

mathtans

There can be only one! hands out swords

kayotics

i can only imagine that the Jellies in earth in a pocket feel the same too. I was able to touch the bell of a couple at an aquarium once and man, that was a weird feeling

G (Title Unrelated)

I've been watching PBS Eons on youtube, I wonder if they've done one about the origins of cnidarians yet...

RebelVampire

honestly im putting money on immortal just cause they didnt even know what death was. unless they do die and just dont understand the hibernating jellies are never coming back

QUESTION 4. One topic resounding throughout the comic is humanity connecting to the past while also embracing the future and expanding. In what ways do you think reconnecting with humanity’s origins have changed Halisi on a personal level? How might they continue to change her? Why do you think Halisi so strongly believes in bringing the past to humans as humanity expands into space? In what ways do you think she’ll think it will help humanity as a whole? How might Halisi’s experiences on this new alien planet change the way she thinks about humanity’s past? How might it change how she conveys humanity’s past to other humans? Overall, what do you believe the story has to show us in regards to balancing the past, the future, and why both are needed?

G (Title Unrelated)

immortal jellies make for a good contrast to Halisi's fears of her own mortality

mathtans

They can be injured though, like the one who had a thing fall on it. It'd suck to be immortal that way.

RebelVampire

that is true. and contrasts like that are good.

Jabbage

(imma point out, Little One also notes that they're going to get better one day, although Halisi is a bit incredulous about that)

mathtans

The connecting to the past thing makes me think of that society. Which didn't seem to have a lot of members. Also, it took them, what, ten years to decide on things? (I was amused by "say that to my face" because, um, I think that's what the person is doing.)

Delphina

Totally saying, if I had a bunch of tentacle arms that would grow back and my weird human buddy was dying, I'd let her eat a couple to survive.

G (Title Unrelated)

I assume their tentacles don't have stingers. XD

RebelVampire

for me itd depend on how fast theyd grow back. cause if i had to spend like 500 years waiting for tentacle arms to grow back, that doesnt sound pleasant

mathtans

If so, they must have turned the stingers off to crawl around on her.

RebelVampire

they probably wouldnt have stingers cause their planet seems peaceful. like none of the jellies are like "oh no predators who will destroy us" so theres no need for their evolutionary track to lead to stingers in so far as i can see

kayotics

in response to the question: There's a lot of parallels to humans expanding to other planets and our own planet's history of colonization. There's a lot of cultural pain that comes with leaving your home and leaving your country (whether by force or by choice), and reconnecting to that cultural heritage is something that decedents often go through to feel like they belong in the world. I can see that being a driving point for delivering some of these artifacts to other planets.

G (Title Unrelated)

IRL Jellies mostly use their stings for catching prey?(edited)

Delphina

Do we even know if they feel pain?

mathtans

Wait, do they eat?

khkddn

they seem to have difficulty understanding when a human is unhappy or feels pain

kayotics

they might not need to eat in the same way

they might just kind of absorb what they need

Jabbage

I'm not sure it's going to come up specifically, but I think they probably dont' feel pain like we feel it? Just because i don't think they have the same sensory capabilities. Little One is frustrated that they can't move around as fast as the others, but I don't think they're in pain as such

G (Title Unrelated)

yeah. I was thinking about the Question and I think... it's interesting how it's framed as this thing where they've decided the colonists NEED this, but like, they can't agree on what's actually important

mathtans

Maybe Halisi will make a tiny scooter for Little One.

G (Title Unrelated)

I think it's the stories, not the objects, that are important.

And like... All stories are important???

RebelVampire

i think that is true, that all stories are important. cause stories are subjective and whats personally important to one person isnt important to someone else

kayotics

i think a few cultural trinkets to go with the stories can help, like... like I remember being a kid and my family having a christmas wooden carousel from germany or something, which is where my family emigrated from, so it was like "oh that's my people" I think having something to connect to some of the stories is important.

RebelVampire

thus why its worth preserving them all and no agreeance is needed really. because any single story can have an affect on someone

Jabbage

@kayotics I really like your point about our history of colonization, and it's something that I've tried to be careful with and approach thoughtfully, because I think that IS a driving factor in Halisi wanting to share people's cultural heritage with them. One of the things that sparked this story is thinkign about how current issues with repatriating cultural objects and deciding who has control over them would translate into a world where we don't even all live on the same planet any more

Delphina

The beginning showed that humanity has VR technology to "experience Earth", but it's several very comfortable degrees apart. I like that normally, being so advanced would make the hardships of the very distant past feel less real (just vaguely amusing/educational) But having Halisi have to figure out how humans lived and survived kind of brings that back and grounds her in a way that establishing Cookie Cutter Terraform Colony Number 14792 wouldn't.(edited)

So in that sense, the physicality of it is important

RebelVampire

i do think @kayotics has a point. especially in this story because of that vr scene where they were touring the roman thing. cause its not like they dont already have stories and ways to view historical things. and the actual objects can really tie that together. but i also think the stories are just as important via the scene where theyre shown to be able to print 3d objects. in essence the object means nothing without the story, but the story is made more powerful by the object. its a symbiotic relationship in a way.

kayotics

I'm glad it's something you've thought about!

I can't help but think about how colonization has affected the planets that the humans have landed on, and how it'll effect the planet that Halisi has landed on as well, no matter how small.

G (Title Unrelated)

I was thinking about that, too!

mathtans

Maybe she'll want it purged from the records to preserve it. And since Dad was just using grad students, he can oblige.

Jabbage

I thought long and hard about what race to make my astronaut because when they were a random white academic, the whole thing had a very different feel. Landing on some planet and educating the rather silly native denizens. I also wanted someone who grew up around the earliest archaeology created by anatomically modern humans so it made sense to make her black and from South Africa anyway

but then I'm white and British and so... yeah, I've basically had a lot to think about and juggle on that one

mathtans

Jabbage: Well, damn. I hadn't considered that, but you make a good point.

At least she's not building churches and asking the jellys to worship.

Incidentally, speaking of growing up, I liked the flashback image with her and dad looking youthful.(edited)

RebelVampire

im interested in the idea of who has control over the cultural objects we deem important, especially in regards to technology. because the comic touched on it a bit with the 3d printing and it really starts getting into the ship of Theseus issues of identity for those objects

mathtans

"Fax me your statue. No, I'm not paying you for it, I'll display it on Planet X for the Xposure."

Jabbage

And is seeing a reproduction ever 'the same?;

Even if it's identical in every way?

mathtans

Probably not, which is why they haven't figured out teleporters.

kayotics

if it's identical in every way i feel like maybe it is the same

but... wait maybe not

mathtans

Just to sum, pretty grand scale for this one, and a powerful beginning. Here's to Halisi and the Jellies.

Sounds like a strange band name.

RebelVampire

see its a really interesting philosophical question to explore. is whether cultural significance relies on the exact object or if we can transfer that as humanity spreads into the stars

mathtans

(I wonder if we'll learn more about jelly civilization.)

G (Title Unrelated)

Also, what stories do we remember or forget...

kayotics

I feel like there's something to be said about the energy that we as humans put into things. Like there's something there in the reverence we give something. like when you see a giant statue that's been prayed to vs a huge statue to commemorate someone, those have different feelings.

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB END!

Sadly, this wraps up this week’s Thursday Book Club chat for now. Thank you so much to everyone for reading and joining us! We want to give a special thank you to Jabbage, as well, for making Earth in a Pocket. If you liked the comic, make sure to support Jabbage’s efforts however you’re able to~!

Read and Comment: http://earthinapocket.spiderforest.com/

Jabbage’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/Y8Y8HEYO

Jabbage’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jabbageart

[a-bittersweet-life]

Filmmaker’s Series: Dinner for Two

Filmmaker’s Series showcases the films of independent filmmakers while shedding light on their works and the art of cinema through an insightful interview with the filmmaker.

An original take on the love story and a memorable example of film’s golden rule “show, don’t tell,” Dinner for Two highlights the realities of courtship and social interaction by blending realism, comedy, and philosophy. Where some filmmakers are too obscure or too forward in their delivery of a message, Cansu Turan allows the viewer to experience its message: human connection is complex and the real world is not a bed of roses. With a unique and engaging work that puts human nature under a microscope, Turan proves that short films can be rich in layers and meaning. Discover more about the making of Dinner for Two and follow filmmaker Cansu Turan on Twitter and Vimeo.

It is always interesting to learn about the inspirations behind a film. What inspired the story of your first film and your choices as a director in presenting this story through a visual narrative--frames within frames, use of space, the interplay of reflections, there is a lot being visually communicated?

I am currently completing my masters degree in Film Drama in Istanbul and our professor challenged us to tell a compelling story without the use of dialogue. I initially set out to tell a simple story of different classes within our society and how the class system affects our perception of individuals within the system. However, feeling that this subject has been done thousands of times and not wanting to beat a dead horse, I decided to make the story more of a personal struggle of self reflection and facing the realities of life.

With the use of space and emptiness I wanted to convey a feeling of hopelessness and solitude which would eventually lead our main character down the path of trust for a stranger who shows the slightest sign of intimacy and compassion.

With regards to using frames within frames I aimed to make the audience feel as if they were watching a performance within a performance. As our main character is sucked in by the show put on by the stranger on the other side of the window I wanted the audience to be entertained by his actions but also empathize with our lead and her need for any interaction even one with barriers.

Wanting to show that life and the people we are surrounded by may not always lead to happiness and fulfillment of our emotional needs, I decided to throw a curve ball at the end of the film triggering a sense of reflection for our main character which is win in some respect but at the price of a broken sense of trust and ultimately leading to a pessimistic approach to all aspects of life in general.

Those emotional and psychological notes are definitely felt in your film, and it was eye-opening to see the unraveling of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's idea that people are forced to wear "public masks" due to social conventions and unequal social structures. Does the more philosophical significance of your story and film come before the writing or as you immerse yourself in the process?

I usually aim to hit some of those emotional and psychological notes while writing my stories but tend not to get too immersed in them from the get go. Generally I favor letting the characters I create dictate the philosophical significance. I find that this also helps with creating a more natural cohesion between my characters and the story I am trying to tell. In terms of touching on Jean-Jacque Rousseau's idea of the public mask, I believe it's only natural at this idea comes to mind when you decide to use characters from differing social classes in your film. However, despite having these two characters my intention was to break away from the socio-cultural struggle and delve deeper into the lead actors personal struggles, her sense of betrayal and ultimate feeling of emotional isolation.

What were some of the challenges in bringing your story into film production?

For me the biggest challenge was finding actors I felt comfortable working with. Being my first film I wanted to find actors who would make it easy for me communicate my thoughts and ease the process of directing them. Fortunately I was able to find two wonderful actors who were a pleasure to work with and helped every step of the way in making the film. Additionally, like every independent film maker budget and time restrictions played a big part in the final product, but I believe I was able to produce the best film I could with restriction I had.

What insight from your filmmaking experience can you share with others about to endeavor in their first films?

After finishing the film I realized that I made a huge mistake with not shooting more. The best advice I can give anyone looking to make their first film is to just do it. It won't be perfect, you likely will never make a perfect film but the more you film and the more you practice you craft, the closer to perfect you will get.

[jamikazedance-blog]

5 Benefits of Hip Hop Dancing for Kids

Dancing, as a means for playful learning, helping kids perform better at school or a recreational activity has always garnered positive attention from parents, caregivers, and the teaching community. However, not every dance form is as impactful. While some are recommended merely to help kids expand their horizon of curiosity, others are often just a trend that has gone viral. Very few types of dancing have been able to grab global attention, clearly emerging as a favourite among kids of all ages and highly recommended by educators. Hip Hop is one such exceptional, incredibly effective, very versatile and easy to incorporate across any learner’s level.

A Bit about Hip Hop before Digging Deeper

Hip Hop dance started in the early 70s in New York—reportedly the birthplace of this now international sub-culture. Inspired by several socio-economic communities, this unique dance form is about representing your own personality with moves that leave room enough for introducing free style. The dance form is rather relaxed, highly adoptable and provides plenty of room to experiment. It has four elements: Graffiti (art), MCs (rappers), Disc Jockeys (music) and Beat Boys & Girls. The swift footwork, amazing freezes and cool spins attracted masses to this dance form. It tests the ability to innovate on-the-spot, athleticism, and attitude. Skilled dancers use these steps to battle their opponents by ‘one-upping’ their moves. There are many moves that emerged in the Hip Hop scene during its initial days are now considered a standard. This includes the Snake, Harlem shake and Robot/Mannequin that are cool to watch and execute.

Hip Hop is about Energy!

Most educators who have closely observed the impact of music and dance on kids would describe Hip Hop as being free yet beautiful – it is liberating without getting destructive. It can be easily set-up in the gym class or classrooms that have some floor space. Witty lyrics visible on the global music scene today, from being rebellious to getting philosophical about life, now form the core of Hip Hop music. For teenagers and young adults, Hip Hop is also about finding a connection with realism that is hidden in multi-layered Hip Hop lyrics. Today, Hip Hop invariably means strong beats and corresponding high-spirited dance. It is about energy, it is about finding your rhythm without getting too predictable, without the necessity to follow too many rules. Rhymes found in rap genre lyrics with appealing use of slangs are highly expressive and synonymous with many sub-categories that exist within Hip Hop today – yes, not just dancing, this can also be about a lifestyle choice – how you carry yourself and being free-spirited!

There are five ways in which kids benefit from hip hop dancing:

1. Boost in Confidence: More Self-Esteem for Kids

From shy public speakers to those with stammering issues, from kids afraid of getting on the stage to those who avoid social interactions of any type, Hip Hop might just be the perfect remedy. How? For starters, it is about letting yourself go. Unlike some traditional forms of dance, Hip Hop dancing is not bound by rules. It is about finding your own interpretation of moving your body to the beats. Within a few minutes, energy in a Hip Hop dance class gets infectious. The byproduct of this environment invariably is breaking the shackles of self-doubt. This is not about mastering intricate steps that would do a gymnast proud but about effortlessly moving your body, surrounded by happy faces, enthusiastic groups that have caught the Hip Hop bug!

2. Improved Physical Health:Unmatched Cardio Benefits

Lifestyle diseases like obesity are a big school-level concern. Health providers cannot emphasize enough the importance of eating healthy during the growing years and physical exercise. However, school curriculums too have their limitations. Families can be very busy. Here too, Hip Hop provides an answer. Hip Hop dancing does not need extensive gear or big training facilities. Schools can easily schedule a Hip Hop class. Parents can practice the same with kids in the backyard with little or no preparation. Looking for Hip Hop inspirations?

Just switch on any musical channel on your mobile or the TV and you will find plenty of ideas. Hip Hop dancing, by nature, slowly builds up the complexity levels. This means an easy-to-start type of exercise that slowly infuses more mobility, definite calorie burning moves, and gradual muscle strengthening. Advanced Hip Hop dancing is associated with great core strength and body balancing, apart from working-out the arms and legs. High energy movements support aerobic workout, boosting energy that keeps kids energized through the day – the easiest way to lose extra pounds for overweight kids. High intensity movements enhance oxygen flow, promoting cardiovascular health.

3. Improved Cognitive Skills, Less Anxious Kids

For kids with attention deficit, for those stressed due to at-home environments and others struggling to cope-up with the pressure of performing well at school, high-energy dancing can be the perfect solution. For caregivers who believe in medicating kids to ensure better concentration levels, Hip Hop dancing provides a natural cure without any possible side-effects. Not just keeping the kid’s psyche upbeat, Hip Hop dancing is also about boosting potential of slow learners. The curiosity to try out and practice new dance steps, memorizing dance routines, showing-up for practice or synchronizing their daily schedule to fit-in dancing classes, all of these work together towards being a comprehensive therapy for kids. It helps them get more disciplined and overcome their anxieties. Hip Hop dancing can actually improve your kid’s cognitive skills. Studies show that practicing Hip Hop can improve certain reasoning and social skills.

4. Provides Healthy Outlet to Freedom of Expression

Teenagers often vent in unacceptable and inappropriate ways. Investing in Hip Hop dancing can create the perfect channel to provide a safe outlet without breaking the safe boundaries of school or home. High-energy dancing helps to focus scattered energy levels towards a goal. This dance form unlike sports does not feel like a routine. Curriculum-based education can be challenging in terms of providing self-expression platforms. Hip Hop, on the other hand, is highly creative and expressive. Hip Hop music is great for kids, especially for the overly energetic ones. The dance form channels their energy towards higher productivity. It a scientifically proven fact that music helps in decreasing depression and anxiety.

5. Developing More Social Skills

Learning Hip Hop is never an individual thing. The dance form, the culture, the musical forms of Hip Hop, all of these are focused on raising the energy levels of a group, with participants feeding-off each other’s energy, getting a bit crazy! This invariably means developing social skills, the ability to move with a group, and networking across your age-group or immediate classroom domain. For educators, getting involved in dancing with kids at the school can be about breaking barriers that prevent learning, for parents it can be about overcoming the inability to connect with kids and for children, this is about finding your feet in a socially diverse group, no matter how good or bad a dancer you are!

Hip Hop is a fast-paced, highly energetic form of dance. Very contemporary and global, it comes without social, ethnic or financial restrains. Providing a smooth outlet for creativity and self-expression, it is highly recommended to kids of any age group!

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AS READERS OF POETRY, we consistently commit the same act of self-deprivation — we associate literary quality with longevity. This emerges from a sort of reverse ageism, wherein the pillars of national canons are often authors who have remained prolific across several decades, the assumption being that great poets return to the anvil. Coupled with longevity is visibility, the extent to which a poet is seen to be successful. While the canonizing influence of visibility has always been present, it has been reinforced in an age of social media–enabled posturing. To be a great writer, then, it would seem one must be both productive and visible — a trend that suggests that we have forgotten how to listen when words might vouch for themselves, how to recognize literary greatness when it creeps up on us, quiet and unassuming.

Literary greatness, whatever that might be, should have more to do with language than anything else — great writers should speak for us as readers, they should articulate what we cannot. Some readers have the good fortune of growing up with voices that treat the very same generational contexts with which they struggle. I remember, while still in my teens, being first introduced to the work of a poet I greatly respect. I was sitting in a petrol station outside Killarney, when a magazine piece on her work caught my eye — the first thing I noted was that she too was a teenager, and so considering her success, was surely worth a read. I was not disappointed — her words were those I could never find, and I took comfort in the knowledge that she would find them for me. My assumption was that we would grow together as author and reader, that I would face the trials of adulthood in the same fashion as I faced those of my youth, with words, many of them hers, as catharsis. But this isn’t what happened, and her subsequent collections were alien to me.

It is a strange feeling when one becomes detached from one’s literary idols — while I have always possessed a critical appreciation of this particular poet’s mastery of form, I no longer feel her words in my gut. For me, a piece of poetry either punches me in the gut, or I have no use for it. I don’t know why this is, in that I will endure a drawn-out novel or film, I will listen to an entire album even though I favor specific tracks, but with poetry, I want intensity, pure and instant. When your idols fade, you fear that it will be hard to find a new source of gratification. And yet, greatness does creep, and readers who feel detached from the page can quickly find themselves back in the mire, steeped in the addictive reaction that good words can bring.

Ireland’s literary scene is thriving, but it is also changing, in that the new greats are emerging, or, better still, have already emerged. There is no point in being excited about the future greats — literary potential is a curious thing in that it is often founded on nothing more than a fortuitous comment thrown out at the right time in the right circles — particularly when we have fresh greatness in abundance. There is no old generation, new generation, and next generation; there are only dead poets and living poets, contemporaries and legacies. I say this because I do not want to fall into the trap of constructing the work of three young Irish poets as just that, the work of “young” poets — that they are young is inconsequential, and what they might go on to accomplish should not distract us from what they are doing right now. Repetition should not be a necessity when determining greatness. In Elaine Cosgrove, Roisin Kelly, and Annemarie Ní Churreáin — whose debut collections were released over the past 24 months — we find Ireland’s strongest contemporary voices. Not the strongest young voices, not the strongest potential voices — the strongest voices.

They have not yet achieved longevity, nor have they built their reputations on Twitter and Facebook — but they are great. And whether or not they will go on to have great careers, they are, at this present moment, the authors of three of the greatest collections of poetry that the Irish canon has to offer. They are not the future of Irish poetry, they are its present — their greatness is that they have penned the anthems of a forgotten generation — and what is greatness if not that?

Irish poet Vona Groarke, on the occasion of her recent induction to the Hennessy Hall of Fame, claimed that those seeking change should stand for election — poems, she argues, are not an inherent part of the political process. And there is something to that position, particularly if one considers the extent to which many writers now “rush into rhetoric,” as Groarke so aptly puts it. But if change is to happen, people need to be inspired. Only very recently did Ireland become a country in which women have access to safe, legal abortion, and the campaign which surrounded that referendum demonstrated that a deep conservatism persists throughout the island. This conservatism, and indeed, the rampant quietism that leads most people to shy away from growing socio-cultural disparity and marginalization, are precisely what literature must play a central role in shifting — what could be more political?

At this year’s annual Cork International Poetry Festival, organized by the Munster Literature Centre, I had the good fortune of hearing these three poets read: their words had weight, their words were political, and they all have something of that rock-star quality. The latter remark may seem reductive, but it is hugely important because there were teenagers in the audience, and teenagers listen to what rock stars have to say. These voices have made poetry that is inter-generationally appealing, and in doing so, have restored my faith in the social utility of words. Ní Churreáin, who is a particularly fierce presence when at a mic, had a young girl, no more than 15, on the edge of her seat — there is the politics in literature, and its significance should not be underestimated. Readers who grew up in literary households might think all this trivial, but a poet who can draw the attention of someone half their age is a powerful instrument. Without getting detained by Heideggerian and Eliotic notions on the utility of literature, if poetry is to serve any social function and help us to better understand ourselves and the world around us, people — particularly those who might not otherwise be drawn to the form — need to be compelled to listen.

The three collections in question — Rapture (Kelly), Bloodroot (Ní Churreáin), and Transmissions (Cosgrove) — suggest a revival of minimalist realism, with everyday experiences made new through literary interrogation. Examining the lived experiences of day-to-day life is one of literature’s oldest tricks, but the popular revival of avant-garde sentiments has skewed this process, privileging style over a utilitarian appeal to readers. This is not to say that these collections are artificially accessible, but that their authors demonstrate a deep understanding of the real value of language, balancing style and substance to craft collections that reject those templates — most notably, those rich in symbolism and fragmentation — developed by some of Ireland’s dominant literary movements. There is no mysticism in these pages. They are filled with songs sung from alleys, with poems one recites while watching the rain gather among the cobbles on Fort Street — they are like reflections in window panes, and they are beautiful because their words are known to us before we have read them.

The urban and the pastoral, the familial and nostalgic, the political and the private, complicated love and complicated sex — these all find a place, as one would expect of gritty contemporary poetry, in the work of Cosgrove, Kelly, and Ní Churreáin. But Ireland’s old literary foes — nation, language, and religion — are present, too, and treated with such fine craft that even on the most political and sensitive of topics, the critique never loses its power by descending into verbosity.

Ní Churreáin’s “Wall” is exemplary in this regard, a prose poem whose speaker details the many patriarchal barriers faced throughout her life. The speaker, joining her brothers in the building trade, is asked in the concluding line what she could possibly know about walls. The language, as replicated throughout Bloodroot, is intense and localized:

There are the wall boys who want in under your bra with their cold fingers […] There is the wall that goes up inside you the first time you’re called a slut […] There is the wall of grinning wet-lipped farmers that gathers around the teenage girls at the local beauty pageant show, as you, in a borrowed dress, are herded into the ring.

That Ní Churreáin can condense the prototypical life of a young Irish woman into half a page while sustaining the poem’s impact is testament to her ability as a storyteller, the vividness of her language, and the universality of the portraits she is painting. “Wall” is a poem in which the trans-generational frustrations of Irish women are condensed into a selection of rich, powerful lines. The form of the piece thoughtfully mirrors the subject: a wall of text on the page. I say “thoughtfully” in response to the revival of concrete techniques, so often rendered without much intention.

The language is equally as vivid in Kelly’s “October, Cork City,” where the author’s skill presses the mood so that it delivers the aforementioned punch to the gut — this is a poem about lingering, about wondering, maybe regret. Kelly’s language is suitably multi-sensory, drawing readers toward the familiar “smell of coffee” as it “mingles with rain.” Set in the city where Rapture is published, the poem drags grandeur down to the streets of Cork, juxtaposing Mars, Venus, and Orion with a local cafe containing stars of its own: “[A] candle burns on every little table.” Of the three collections, Kelly’s is undoubtedly the most thematically consistent, operating as something of a coming-of-age montage defined by a central relationship — it is, in many respects, a book of love poems. But that is a terribly superficial account of its deeply poignant execution — Rapture is hard to read, because we’ve been where this painful collection insists on taking us. Kelly, as great writers do, compels her readers to engage, and for readers of Rapture, that engagement is with the past. What is striking about Kelly’s writing is that she intentionally situates herself within Ireland’s literary tradition, frequently drawing on Yeatsian images like the rose. She is unswerving, however, in her desire to draw romance and realism together, and Kelly revives the symbols of old so that they might be re-spoken in a brazen, drunken voice: “I carried a single rose to your home. / When I arrived you were still at the pub / so your friends and I smoked in the kitchen […] We kept drinking. The rose fell out / of my hair. A girl tore at it with her teeth.” Kelly’s poetry is at once tender and savage, steeped in tradition yet brave in expression — she takes readers where they don’t want to go, a feat which most writers attempt, but few achieve.

Borrowing the words of Elaine Feeney, Cosgrove is also a “true apprentice of the vast tradition that has gone before.” As with Kelly, her respect for that tradition — and command of all that it offers — does not distract the voices she creates in Transmissions. Cosgrove’s collection is all about tone — this is a book you want set to some steel string guitar, phrases like “brush-drum rattle,” “frost-spiked grass, giggling,” and “shoes sole-slicking tanned bags” just a sample of the text’s rhythmic undercurrent. Cosgrove’s literary world is as gritty as those of her contemporaries, full of smoke and spirits. Transmissions resides at the juncture between Bloodroot and Rapture, containing everything from unrequited drunken text messages, as in “Cupid’s Text Arrow,” to “Motorway’s” complex examination of the self. Again, the author’s skill is in her ability to do so much with so little: “Using both eyes and thumbs to guide me, / ‘I think I like you,’” she writes, opening the floor beneath her readers’ feet. But Cosgrove’s true talent lies in her ability to encapsulate the urban space, which she does with a skill rivaled by few in Ireland at present. We find evidence of this in “Hush and Fall Asleep to Fantasy,” where the speaker braves Galway city on a race night: “I’m annoyed at our West for / mashing chips into the cobbled streets, / picking up littered hearts that shout somatic / are ya single, ya fookin’ ride?” Again, there is nothing verbose, only “chip shop vomit” and “Girls who wear assholes’ ties around their necks” — scenes we all know, set from experience. Readers typically encounter two Irelands in poetry: the idealized Eden, or the corrupted state. Cosgrove writes of places we actually go, of less lofty, but consequently more important, everyday things. Our canon needs more of that.

We often hear of authors who are “making Ireland new,” but new is nothing if it stands alone, beyond the utility of any real readership. Ireland is changing, at last, but we need writers who can represent that change in a way that goes beyond the superficiality demanded if one is to make their name within the literary community at present. Returning to the notion of greatness, if I were to compile a list of contemporary Irish poetry’s essential readings, these three collections would form a part of that list, not because they are doing what others are not, but because they are doing what everyone else is doing, but better. These are poems you want to read at a house party, poems you want to hear bellowed from a lectern — Irish literature has long needed some new pillars, so we are fortunate that Cosgrove, Kelly, and Ní Churreáin have emerged. Whatever the future paths and significance of these authors, their words as they exist right now have articulated contemporary concerns that have either been neglected or less skillfully expressed — they are, and I do not say this lightly, great poets who are speaking for a generation.

¤

James O’Sullivan (@jamescosullivan) lectures at University College Cork (National University of Ireland). His most recent collection of poetry is Courting Katie (Salmon, 2017).

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