THE END OR JUST THE BEGINNING !!!

Thank You, Dr. Steiling for a great semester.  I have learned so much from your class.  I have always liked Horror, Fantasy, and Sci-Fi and therefore I read books, watched many movies, but never realized the different genres that are involved with them.                                                                                           

I have learned that Science Fiction is part of Speculative Fiction which is made up of space travel, futuristic science, supernatural, technology, parallel universes, and time travel.  I never knew that Frankenstein by Mary Shelley was the very first horror novel until now.  I have two favorite genres.  The first is Space Opera & New Frontier which consists of such books as The Stars My Destiny & Star Wars Heir To The Empire and movies such as Star Trek and Guardians of the Galaxy.  My second favorite genre is Spiritual Education with books like Harry Potter and The Magicians.  Unfortunately, my least favorite is Diverse Position with the story Bloodchild.  I found this type of writing to be disturbing and it just wasn't to my liking.

I found the Parody & Satire section where I got to listen to actual radio broadcasts about views of the future as a satire of the present was very funny and unique.  The writers were real visionaries of the future.  Some of the things that they were talking about have already come true and others are still in the development stage.  During my free time, I am planning to listen to this again and I will continue to read and watch movies related to Fantasy and Science Fiction.  I now have a better appreciation for Sci-Fi and will continue to discover this fascinating world!!

THE FUTURE

I envision the future as an extension of life today, but with super technological ability and hopefully more humanitarianism.  In my lifetime, I believe that virtual reality experiences will become extremely popular as people will want to have this experience in the comfort of their homes, but it will never replace a REAL experience.  Along with this, computers will become more advanced and 3-D projection of images will become the norm for anywhere in the world.  It will become a Princess Leia and R2D2 world.

As far as travel is concerned and maybe not in my lifetime, there will be scheduled space trips for people to Mars, the Moon, and maybe even cruising the galaxy.  Robots will become popular for home use as people will want more and more leisure time.  On that note, I hope that robots won't take away too many jobs from the industry sector and I also hope that we do not loose our survival skills and depend on technology being our means of survival.  I believe that gasoline and using fossil fuels will vanish and cars will use hydrogen or solar energy and renewable energy will play a huge part in Earth's survival.  I also believe that new holistic approaches to diseases and our general health will become popular and diseases will be cured through natural methods instead of prescriptions and medications.  People will be living to 100 years old and beyond!

Sci-Fi will never disappear.  People will always like adventure stories, super heroes, stories involving space travel, time travel, and the supernatural.  Sci-Fi will also live on with the Sci-Fi Conventions and the attendees who dress up as their favorite characters.  I feel that novels such as Frankenstein, Dracula, and Legend of the Werewolf, just to name a few, will always remain popular.  Well, I really don't know for sure what the future holds, but hang on for the ride and I am positive that it will be an exciting one.

I THINK WE'RE ALL BOZOS ON THIS BUS / THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY / TIMER

                                                                PARODY & SATIRE


"I Think We're All Bozos On This Bus" is a comedy recording made by The Firesign Theatre which was very funny and interesting.  First of all, I thought the commentators sounded like martians or robots.  The idea of vegetable shaped holograms singing, technical stimulation, and virtual reality rides was really advanced for the 1970's.  I found it humorous when the computer misunderstood Clem and Barney's names.  The computer tried to interact with both these guys and failed because it was a bad substitute for a genuine human.  As the story goes on, Clem manages to confuse the computer so much that he causes it to crash.  He becomes the first computer "hacker" as we know it today.  The main point of this album was that even though computers serve a purpose, they are just machines and no substitute for humans.  The wit used to shut the computer down was cleaver.  This album is great!  I really enjoyed listening to it instead of having to read about it.  I am going to listen to it again when I have some free time.


The next selection that I listened to while in the labs was" The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy".  This radio show was amazing.  As I listened to it, I felt like I was actually with the characters as they traveled along on their adventure.  The sounds and effects gave me the feeling that I was on the spaceship.  This style of writing reminded me a lot of Jules Vern and his adventure novels.  It was great to listen to this type of science fiction which was funny and witty compared to the more serious science fiction that we had read this semester.

For the Earth to be unexpectedly demolished to make room for a new hyperspace bypass is wild!  A guy by the name of Arthur Dent is saved from this demolition by an alien named Ford Perfect who works for the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy which is actually a type of guide.  Mr. Perfect, the alien, took his first name from the Ford automobile because he thought that it was the most popular life form in the universe.  How funny!!!!  The story has a lot of humorous twists, turns, and details, but it also addresses serious issues such as the meaning to life, the universe, and other things in general.  I can't wait to find out how Arthur and Ford are doing in the next series.  This was a big thumbs up and great!!!

Movie:  Timer (2010)

The movie "Timer" reminds me of what is happening in the dating world today.  Today, instead of meeting someone either at school, through a friend or family, or work, a person just goes online, puts themselves out there, and gets a match to someone who is compatible for them.  They hope???  Then there is social media with Facebook, Twitter, etc. where nothing is private.  How can a relationship survive??  This movie is a Sci-Fi romantic comedy with a little different twist about meeting a soul mate.  The "Timer", a digital clock implanted on a person's wrist, tells a person how long it will be before he or she will meet the "one".  Some of the timers are blank, some show long lengths of time, and some show short periods of time.  This basically drives everyone crazy with worry.  It reminds them that their biological clock is ticking.  I feel the moral of the story is when you meet your soulmate, you will know it without a timer.  You will feel it inside.  Life is full of twists and turn, but do you live for the moment or wait for true love?  I'll go with what is meant to happen will happen.  I liked this movie because it was very comical, but I feel that it was more of a female type movie.

AQUATIC UNCLE / EXISTENZ

                                                     LITERARY SPECULATION

Are there any prominent symbols in the story?

If so, what are they and how are they used?

There are several prominent symbols in the "Aquatic Uncle" short story.  The first symbol was land and sea with the land representing modern life and evolution.  The sea symbolized tradition and simplicity.  Another symbol was the difference between generations.  The new generation believes that living on the land is a moving forward into the future, whereas the older generation regards the sea as a stable environment providing security and constancy.  Change for the older generation is sometimes difficult and they feel that it is better to stay with what they know.

What connections did you make with the story?

Discuss the elements of the work with which you were able to connect.

I connected with this story because I am very close to my family just like the characters were in the story.  I have always listened to my relative's experiences in life and found most of them to be informative and interesting.  I have always felt that it is important to respect my relatives opinions even if I did not agree with them.  The uncle in this story reminds me of one of my uncles.  My uncle speaks his mind, never takes "No" for an answer, and is always right, so he thinks.  Don't get me wrong.  He is a great guy, but sometimes ........!!  This story really expressed the view of what older relatives believe in and how they see life.


What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium?  What medium would you use?  What changes would you make?

I really liked this story.  It was well written and very descriptive.  I would change this story into a short computer-animated film.  A full length movie would be too long for this short story.  I feel that making this story into a short computer- animated film could give it enhanced images, along with texture and even special lighting/shading.  This would make the story really captivating to the audience.  The story was very unique and unusual.  I enjoyed reading it.

Movie:   Existenz (1999)

Existenz is an interesting movie.  It centers around Allegra who is the world's leading designer of virtual reality gaming, but it is her newest game that I find strange and frightening.  The reason for my fear is that a bio-port plugs directly into the lower spine and connects to the game's control pod via umbrycord .  Definitely not for me.  I like gaming, but this is just weird and the worst part is that you can't tell the actual game from reality.

I've watched The Matrix movie and it is somewhat similar with the idea of people who find themselves inside an universe created by virtual reality, but Existenz is much stranger.  As I see it, this movie creates a world where organic and inorganic are not opposite.  They sort of work together. The special effects are great.  I mean really great and I hope that the viewers of this movie have a strong stomach!  People tend to react and interact with new technologies that surround them.  The message that I got from this movie was that games can be very addictive and draw players away from real reality.

BLOODCHILD / MONSTERS

                                                               DIVERSE POSITION

This story is quite unique.  It has many symbols throughout it and definitely represents the perspectives of majoritarian culture.  First, I feel the Preserve represented a prison where the humans could roam freely, yet the Tlic were always watching.  The humans were governed by rules made by the majority, the Tlics.  At first it seemed like the humans tried to reject the Tlic's plans, but they eventually succumbed.  A dominant issue addressed in this story was human gender relationships.  The idea of females implanting eggs into males and men suffering the pain of childbearing was very scary to me because I am a male!  To think that something alien would be growing inside of me and once it was "born" I would have served my purpose and been disposed of is a horrible thought.  It is also disturbing for me to think that humans weren't allowed to make decisions for themselves and that their destiny had been decided by another life form who used the humans in order to survive.

A love theme is also present.  First T'Gatoi feels love toward her human family and wants them to be safe and happy, but on the other hand, she knows what she has to do in order to survive and nothing will get in her way.  A sensitive and deep relationship develops between Gan and T'Gatoi.  Even though the relationship started out as a brother/sister type, it grows into an emotional experience.  It is a love between two very different beings.

Lastly, this story seems to hint towards the issue of slavery where the Tlic insects are the masters in control and the humans are the so-called slaves.  The humans are forced to keep their hosts to survive.  The humans have no say in the matter and must endure sometimes extreme suffering and pain for the Tlics.  I feel that this story should be made into a Sci-Fi movie.  It would be really neat.  As I read the story, the author made it so graphic that I could actually envision the scenes.  I found some of the scenes to be very disturbing and disgusting, but it helped create the setting and the author got her points across well.

Movie:  MONSTERS (2010)

I watched this movie and found that it possessed several themes.  The first being and invasion of alien troops around the Mexico area.  The second, a political theme that saw the United States government building a wall to keep out the aliens.  Just to let you know, it doesn't work.  The treatment of the aliens symbolizes the way the government treats and responds to refugees, illegal immigrants, and the relations with Mexico.  The third was a relationship/romantic drama.  The majority of the film seemed to focus on the growing feelings that the two humans have for each other, while they are trying to get through an infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the U.S. borders.  Some areas in this film have a post-apocalyptic feel.  There isn't a lot of alien action in the film, but you know that they exist.

The one thing that I took away from this movie was that the the aliens were just trying to exist on the Earth just like us.  The scene that showed this was at the end of the movie when two aliens appeared seemingly to attack, but instead just communicated with each other peacefully and in a non-threatening way.  The movie for me was just O.K.  I have seen better.

SNOW CRASH / PAPRIKA

                                                    CYBERPUNK & STEAMPUNK

Neil Stephenson, the author of the novel, was certainly a visionary.  This book takes a look into the future and gives a glimpse of where our world is headed.  It was written in 1992 yet, it features some elements that we use today in the cyber world with some that we are just beginning to use.  The story envisions a hyper-capitalist future of America in which the central government has vanished and has broken into small city states each with their own laws and borders, but controlled by syndicates and corporations.  Wow, what a mess!  The genre of Cyberpunk and Steampunk is present along with computer science, culture, and philosophy.

I found this novel extremely interesting.  I was very familiar with Steampunk as far as the aesthetics of clocks, gears, and Victorian Style Clothing because I have seen this at Sci-Fi Conventions and Renaissance Festival Themed Weekends.  However, I had no knowledge of the literary genre of Steampunk.  The main characters are young and trendy individuals.  Hiro, the protagonist, is a sword slinging, freelance hacker who wears basic black clothing.  YT is a tough, street wise, extreme skateboarding girl.

The Metaverse is a place where people go to communicate.  They use audiovisual bodies, that they have created, to communicate with each other.  The Metaverse was like the interactive 3D experience that we use today.  A virus appears by the name of Snow Crash.  Hiro and YT attempt to investigate it.  The virus has been infecting members of the Metaverse and also infecting the user's mind in the real world.  Computer viruses and hackers are very common today and it is amazing that Stephenson could foresee this happening almost 25 years ago!  This book was really ahead of its time.  It featured interactive 3D experiences and virtual reality which is popular today.  It portrayed a government that became weak and fell apart.  I hope this doesn't happen.  Hacking was an ongoing item with professional and freelance hackers.  There is more and more computer hacking and fraud taking place everyday.

The one idea that really left me thinking was that someone could become greater than their real world self in a virtual environment through their hacking skills.  Also, information flowed freely between humans and computers to the point where you couldn't tell the difference between the two.  Scary!! Today's world depends on computers, but are we becoming too dependent, cold, and impersonal by this?

Movie:  PAPRIKA (2006)

I viewed the movie Paprika which is about a group of scientists developing a device which allows someone to interject their subconscious into and record another person's dream.  This is really wild and I'm not so sure that I would want to share my dreams with anybody.  This is actually what Paprika does and she is like a dream counselor.  Typically, a thief steals the technology and uses it to terrorize and control others.  I found the film confusing at times, but I just went with it and eventually I understood the plot.  This movie had great anime.  The theme that it seemed to express deals with contemporary and most likely to happen issues.  It reflects on the positive and negative aspects of science along with the idea that our actual identities are difficult to understand.

I felt that this movie also explores our dreams and how as we are dreaming. We can be who we want to be in the dream, but when we wake up, we are who we are.  It made me think about what would happen if dreams and reality merged.  Some would be good and the others well, let's not talk about how bad it would be!  I believe that this movie expressed the advantages of the internet is better in communicating, but also dehumanizing.  Great Anime & Great Theme.  I am definitely going to watch it again.

THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS

                THE FICTION OF IDEAS



As I began to read this book, I realized that it definitely was not a space adventure.  My first impression was that it featured a different way of thinking about sex, gender, and it featured male dominance.  The Gethenians, even though they are men/women, acted too much like men.  One of the mind experiments presented was a society with men or women who share the biological and emotional makeup of both sexes.  The idea of once a month a person could develop into a female or male with sexual characteristics was totally mind blowing to me.  The idea of one time being a male and the next time being a female is just weird.  I do think that the idea that both male and female should take part in the raising of children was good.  This idea became reality in today's world because the responsibility of raising children with both parents having jobs is now shared.  The burden is no longer left to one parent.  This mind experiment also presented the idea of same sex partners which is currently happening, even in marriages.

Secondly, the theme of religion was also prominent with two different types.  These forms of religion to me represented a form of Christianity (Yomeshta) and Taoism/Buddhism (Handdara).  Taoism seemed to follow a more spiritual rhythm of nature in the sense of adaption rather than conquering.  More of a sense of unity and peace.  Whereas, Yomesh Cult focused on enlightenment and darkness and the idea of absolute knowledge by one leader.  In my opinion, this created a cultural distinction between societies.  Even today, religion plays a huge role in some of the world's problems.

In conclusion, some of the ideas presented in this book reminded me of the song "Imagine" by John Lennon.  Imagine a society without war and without sexuality playing a factor in social relationships. Imagine a society where prominent people are really interested in different cultures and are motivated to preserve rather than conquer them.  A world where rape, guns, and seduction are absent from society.  A society based on loyalty and integrity without betrayal.  I feel society is straying further and further away from these ideas.  This book introduced me to a different way of thinking about society.

THE STARS MY DESTINATION / SERENITY

           
                                               SPACE OPERA AND THE NEW FRONTIER
                                                                                                                         
This book by Alfred Bester expresses the theme of the power of imagination and shows how inner beliefs and feelings can become reality. Gully, the main character in the book, reminds me of Bilbo Baggins in the Hobbit. Gully had very little ambition, no dreams, no imagination, and very little confidence. These characters were very similar to Bilbo. As the story progresses, Gully just like Bilbo, finds a purpose in life, strength, and courage.  Both characters are on a heroic journey with Bilbo and his quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom and Gully with his obsession to pursue the crew of a ship that left him to die and marooned in space.

Gully's quest turns into an adventure story through space. I see him as someone who went from being a hero to a villain. He transforms into a totally different character by being abandoned and betrayed. I believe Gully becomes a bad guy because he was wronged and motivated by revenge. He puts himself in the position of being the most wanted man in the galaxy. I see him as a person warped on revenge who eventually finds his way back and develops a conscience.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
                     
On the Spiritual Level, Gully continues to see a mysterious "Burning Man" image which flickers in and out of existence like a candle flame.  This image I believe represents him and his temper and desire for revenge.  The story also reveals a cult who tattooed Gully's face with a mask of a tiger.  At one point, a love story aspect with Gully emerges.  He falls in love with someone who he really can't have, Olivia, because she is the daughter of his arch nemisis.

This story seems to be a predecessor to the genre of Cyberpunk because the setting was in the future and it focused on high tech and the low life aspects of society.  It explored jaunting which was a personal teleportation across miles.  It also revealed a dark, unfriendly world.  This book had a little of several genres, Heroic Journey, Adventure Story, Spiritual Encounter, and Cyberpunk.  I liked this book very much.  It had a lot of action, suspense, and futuristic vision.  Space Opera is my favorite genre of Science Fiction.

Movie:  SERENITY (2005)

This movie focuses on the genre of action, and adventure, fantasy and space opera.  The movie time frame is set in the year 2517.  Serenity is a spaceship whose crew live their lives smuggling and cargo-running.  This group of renegades are on the run in outer space.  The action and adventure build in this movie as the crew faces a league of rebels, the Reavers who have violent behavior and the work they obtain from criminal activities like smuggling and stealing to offer transport to travelers.  The ship's captain, Mal, reminds me of Han Solo, but with a little less cynical attitude.

One of the parts of the movie that I found interesting was the list of passengers aboard the Serenity.  The professional companion was understandable, but the holy man and the teenage girl who has psychic powers seemed to conflict.  It becomes quite interesting when the Alliance forces become hot on the track of the Serenity in order to recapture the young psychic girl.  The characters in the movie act like cowboys from the old west and their fight against the bad guys.  This movie represents Space Opera because it was set far in the future, the adventure is mainly set in space, and involves conflict between opponents possessing powerful abilities.  Serenity, in my opinion, was a combination of Star Trek and Star Wars, but with a slightly renegade twist.  I enjoyed watching this movie.






                                                                
                                               

ANANSI BOYS / LADY IN THE WATER

                                                 CONTEMPORARY URBAN FANTASY


This book by Neil Gaiman contains dark predictions, mystical trickery, family dysfunction, and of course, killer birds.  The story deals with Animism and Witchcraft.  Animism is a type of religion that comes from Africa.  It consists of dealing with the real world and the world of the spirits filled with ghosts, demons, and magic.

The story describes two brothers, Charlie A/K/A Fat Charlie and Spider, who are completely opposite from each other and their dad who recently died.  Their dad wasn't a normal dad.  He was Anansi, the spider god of Africa.  He represented the archetype from which all tricksters were created.  Anansi was known as the spirit of rebellion who was very capable of creating turmoil/chaos and even confusing the devil.  This family was very dysfunctional.  Charlie never knew who his father really was or that he had a brother until his father died.  Charlie is mild mannered and Spider, his brother, steps into Charlie's life and takes over even to the point that he shows interest in Charlie's fiancee, Rosie.  Spider brings chaos into Fat Charlie's life.  This is an example of what happens when things in life are turned around.  Even though Spider causes problems for Charlie, he still cares for his brother.

Anansi represents a physical reality found everywhere in nature.  Another animistic apparition who appears is the Bird Woman.  She is an evil goddess who brings hordes of dead flamingos down from the sky as a curse on Charlie's brother, Spider.  These represent the myth and mythological figures in the story.  Lastly, this story shows how even gods can be as petty for revenge as humans and how mythology and modern times can impact life.

Movie:  LADY IN THE WATER (2006)

This movie begins with an apartment superintendent named Cleveland Heep who discovers a girl named Story swimming in the pool.  Story represents a Narf who is a character from a bedtime story that is being hunted by a creature called a Scrunt.  Story comes from the Blue World.  This story represents a real world situation combined with mythological characters.

Story's purpose for coming to the real world is to motivate a great writer to complete his work that will create a positive effect on the future.  The writer is Cleveland.  Scrunt is determined to stop her and prevent her from returning to her world and helping Cleveland.  The only one to stop him is the guardian.  The characters are all part of a bedtime story that is being played out.  At the end, an eagle appears and takes Story back to her Blue World.  Heep realizes that she has saved him from hiding himself away and continues to write.  Cleveland is able to overcome his sadness and sorrow from the death of his family with the help of the spiritual world.

In this movie, a suburb was inhabited by mythical creatures.  The message is that the creatures are desperate to communicate warnings to Man, but Man has forgotten how to listen.  The movie was about storytelling and it taught a good lesson at the end.

NIGHT CIRCUS / TIME BANDITS

                             
                                                  THE TAIL OF SPIRITUAL EDUCATION


Erin Morgenstein's novel is very imaginative, magical, and dark.  There were many themes about making choices and following dreams.  The Night Circus is unusual because it never begins its performances before sundown.  The circus seems magical, but serves a darker purpose.  It is the battle between two illusionists bound to each other in a life altering game.  The circus is the setting for a contest between two illusionists, Marco and Celia.

At first, neither character knows who their opponent will be or exactly what the challenge is going to be.  The extreme competition results in some sinister events.  As Marco and Celia get to know each other, a magical love  connection happens.  They feel conflicting responsibilities to themselves and the circus.  The consequences of the game becomes clearer with death.  Their spiritual and moral issues become challenged.  They must decide whether to pursue their love for each other without destroying themselves or the circus.

The circus represents the stage for the battle of imagination and will.  Celia and Marco are in love which seems to be a real love.  The game has to continue and play out with its fate.  Its is important for the game to continue until one of the participants is dead.  Tsakiko, a magician, agrees to help Marco and Celia stop the contest, and proclaim a winner.  Celia realizes the plan and rushes to save Marco.  By doing this, Celia sacrifices herself for love and they both become spirits bound to the circus.  The circus begins to fall apart after their deaths, but Celia and Marco spiritually are tied to the circus and bring back the spirit of the circus.  The couple are now ghosts who haunt the circus together forever.

Movie:  TIME BANDITS

This movie is a fantasy which addresses the theme of ordered society and how it functions.  Kevin is a young boy fascinated with history.  His parents are materialistic and too busy to pay attention to him.  This creates a sad situation.  The solution for escaping this situation for Kevin is through his imagination.  As his journey begins, he encounters a set of time bandits dwarves who have stolen a map belonging to the Supreme Being.  Their intention is to rob history from its greatest treasures.  Kevin experiences evil and danger as he meets legend through different periods of time.  The entire imagination journey is observed by the magical powers of a sorcerer who wanted to put the map to a test.  This is an example of how free will is the reason why evil still exists.  At the end of the movie, Kevin wakes up to find his house on fire and that he was rescued by a firefighter who looks like one of his history legends.  Kevin tries again to explain things to his parents and again they ignore him.  As he watches, his parents are blown up and he is left by himself to face life all alone.  This movie showed both factual and mythological aspects of history.      

THE HOBBIT / THE COLOR OF MAGIC

                                                                  HEROIC JOURNEY

The Hobbit is an epic that reflects elements of the classic hero journey.  It is a story filled with action, magic, and surprise.  Bilbo goes into the crazy world and discovers himself as he travels on his journey.  His journey becomes more difficult with risks and challenges.  Bilbo's daring rescue of the Dwarves teaches him that he does have a strength within himself.  He faces the worst of his fears, conquers them, and confronts deadly creatures.  Bilbo overcomes his fears and at that point, he transforms from who he was into who he was meant to be.  Bilbo faces many dangers such as the three hungry trolls, a group of goblins, Gollum, and a sly dragon named Smaug.

His heroic deeds throughout the story are all the more remarkable because they do not change him.  He discovers capabilities that he did not know he had, yet he never becomes arrogant or never changes his values.  Bilbo had an inner strength that needed to come out.  As his journey continued, he built confidence, became resourceful, and a true hero.  He returned to Bag End where the "new" Bilbo Baggins provided many benefits to others and himself.


Bilbo's personality at the beginning of the story is quiet, meek, and he is afraid of danger.  A classic hero starts out brave and strong right from the beginning.  Bilbo is not willing to participate in an adventure that might be dangerous.  It is only until later that he decides to join the quest.  A classic hero would have accepted the journey right away.  Bilbo longs for home when he is in danger or afraid.  He is not courageous or strong when a problem emerges at the beginning.  Bilbo does not have heroic qualities and always seems unsure of himself until he changes.  Bilbo Baggins likes being a quiet Hobbit, however Bilbo shares some features of the classic hero.  He has the drive to join the quest and his bravery gradually increases.  Bilbo is very intelligent which is a trait of a hero.  He thinks and reacts fast which helps him get out of situations.  Luck and chance are always protecting him.  At the end of the story, Bilbo is a true hero. This book is very good and I recommend reading it.

Movie:  THE COLOR OF MAGIC (2008)

The Color of Magic was fun to watch.  It contains fantasy and comedy that starts with a so-called planet made up from a great turtle with four elephants standing on the back and on their backs rest Discworld.  Discworld contains the greatest college of Wizardry.  At this point, we are introduced to Rincewind who has the reputation of being the worst wizard in the school and therefore he gets evicted.  He meets Twoflower who is rich and happens to be the first tourist in Discworld.  Rincewind becomes the guide and guardian of Twoflower.

As the movie continues, Rincewind and Twoflower begin a journey across the Disc.  The two of them face threats like dodging thieves, assassins, and the inhumanity of man.  They also become involved with trolls, enchanted swords, and dragons.  The two characters really want opposite lives.  Rincewind wants a quiet life and Twoflower wants all the thrills of a dangerous adventure without the risk of death or injury.  These two save the Discworld by their heroic actions.  This becomes a hero journey in a comical way.  This movie mixes an imagined world with great characters in a humorous style.  It is great to watch.                                                            

AUNT MARIA / SUSPIRIA

WITCHES AND WOMEN IN GENRE

Aunt Maria by Diana Wynne Jones is not a typical story about stereotype witches.  Aunt Maria is a sweet, helpless little old lady who likes to talk a lot or so you think as the story begins.  Within her sweetness on the outside, she is an evil witch on the inside.  She has the power of manipulation by appearing to be helpless in her old and crippled age while making everyone feel guilty so that they do as she wishes.  The town of Cranbury-on-Sea, where Aunt Maria lives, is ruled with an iron-hand by Aunt Maria.  She controls all the women, men, and children.  Aunt Maria's power borders more from phycology than direct magic or potions.  Although, she does have the power to cast spells.

Aunt Maria and the women of the town are the only residents with any will of their own.  Their husbands and sons are like zombies and all the children are locked away in an orphanage.  Mig, Chris, and Mom go to take care of poor old Aunt Maria and get pulled into Aunt Maria's emotional manipulation.  Mig is cautious with Aunt Maria, but when Chris rebels, he is changed into a wolf.  Aunt Maria proves that she is at the center of the magic.  A ghost haunts the downstairs bedroom at night and a cat stalks around outside which looks very much like a servant that had been employed by Aunt Maria.  Mig now realizes the situation and is determined to get her brother back and save the town from dear, sweet Aunt Maria.

In conclusion, this book examines the workings of families, family roles, obligations, and the relationship between sexes.  It combines eccentric characters, morals, magic, time traveling, the ability to portray human behavior and the bond between siblings.  Aunt Maria is one of the most hateful and hateable villains.  She is a witch in the archetypes sense.  Every witch in Cranbury-on-Sea had their own aims, views on the gender war and personality.  Aunt Maria talks until her ideas are implanted into someone's head making the victim think she's right.  Aunt Maria is a typical woman with power.  Our culture makes our strong women to be overpowering and domineering.  Aunt Maria fits this description.  One thing that I took away from this story is not to judge a book by its cover or what a person appears to be on the outside is not always what they are on the inside.

Movie:  SUSPIRIA (1977)

This week's movie, Suspiria by Dario Argento, really had me on the edge of my seat.  The movie starts with a young American dancer traveling to Europe to attend a famous ballet school.  This movie has many chilling and gory scenes which start with the taxicab ride.  A flash of lightning reveals a shadowy image of a knife reflected on a tree stump.  A superimposition screaming of a face is reflected on the cab's security divider and this is just the start.  Suzy arrives in Germany only to find that she has entered a witches' coven.

Suspiria is a film where intense colors, mental states, and discordant music blend together into a dream like horror film.  It is strange and unpredictable.  The idea of a palette rich with primary hues and deep blacks was inspired by the Technicolor of Walt Disney's Snow White.  Yet, an abstract daemonic presence haunts this film.  A coven of witches summon an entity beyond their power to control.  I found it strange that Suzy never seems horrified at what goes on around her.  She seems to take it all in visually, but her curiosity seems to come through much stronger than anxiety or fear.  In conclusion, this movie is a fairy-tale of the supernatural with a mixture of childlike wonder and very much adult horror.  If you have a weak stomach and scare easy, I do not suggest this movie. 

THREE MOMENTS OF AN EXPLOSION / FREAKS

                                                                   NEW WEIRD

Three Moments of an Explosion by China Mieville is a book which contains 28 short stories.  The New Weird fiction is different from horror or fantasy fiction.  It mixes the supernatural, mythical, and even scientific themes.  In this book, stories are created in an arrangement of different worlds and settings.  The stories psychologically create panic and demonstrate weirdness of the world.  They represent a world where mystical and dull coexist and feed on each other.  I found some of the stories to be confusing.

An example of weird fiction is presented in the short story Polynia, where the sky over London is taken over by floating icebergs.  It represented a ghostly haunting.  I believe the theme is the destruction of the earthly humans (global warming) by environmental mismanagement.  A second example is a story named Covenhithe, which starts out typically with a man and his daughter walking along a beach in England.  A destroyed oil rig comes to life and crawls out of the ocean.  This is symbolic of the ruins of industry.  Most of the stories use backdrops of surreal images and anti-real strategies.

I believe the future trend in genre of horror will deal more with technology.  The fear of the power of network effects such as computer hacking and the dangers of connectedness.  This will happen as privacy and information security concerns increase.  The need to always be connected by a phone or the internet and the need to check-in shows a fear of isolation or being stranded.  I also believe that issues such as terrorism, the economy, and global warming will generate themes aimed at post apocalypse fiction.

Movie:  FREAKS (1932)

This film by Tod Browning upset many people in 1932.  It is a horror film in which the characters were played by actual carnival sideshow performers that had real deformities.  Freaks provides an opposite view.  The physically deformed individuals "freaks" are really trusting and honorable members of society.  The real monsters are the two normal members of the circus who plan to murder one of the freaks to get his large inheritance.  At the end, they both get punished, one by death and the other becomes a freak herself by loosing her beauty and becoming a bird girl thanks to the sideshow performers.

Freaks tends to horrify the viewers rather than frightening.  In 1932, this film really puts disabilities and differences in people on the screen to the point of being a shocker.  It made people open their eyes and realize the "freaks" were real people and absolutely normal.  Today we do not see these people as being weird or freaks.  There are many birth defects and accidents that have created people with disabilities.  They are accepted and actually helped by many organizations.

A WILD SHEEP CHASE / AUDITION

                                         

J-HORROR

This book by Haruki Murakami is a Japanese narrative of the supernatural.  The author moves away from the serious style of Japanese writing and uses a more casual and humorous technique.  This story features fantasy, mystery, drama, mythology, and good versus evil.

Japanese horror focuses on psychological horror and suspense.  Ghosts and spirits are prevalent in these stories.  Eastern traditions focus on the nature of the world and the proper way of being in the world.  Symbolism is used in horror stories.  In this book, the spirit lives in the sheep which represents a symbol of reincarnation or life after death.  The spirit is capable of moving out of the sheep and possessing several characters in this book.  An example of this would be the "Boss", Sheep Professor, and the Ainu youth who were all possessed by the spirit.  It took possession of their minds to gain power.  Also, the girlfriend with the intriguing ears had special powers and could foresee future events.  The Asian culture has strong beliefs of tradition, honoring the dead and elderly.  They believe in karma, meditation and the acceptance that supernatural forces exist rather than intervene.

Western horror is very different.  It centers around characters who have external human experiences.  It usually features explicit gore, blood and splatter, torture, graphic violence and monsters.  Western horror is usually terrifying and the demons or monsters attack physically rather than psychologically. Supernatural is found to be strange, not natural and it only occurs in miracles or great shifting events.  In conclusion, Japanese horror is not as scary as Western horror.  Japanese horror makes a viewer think and draw their own conclusions to the story.  Western horror however, gives explicit visuals which most of the time are gory.

Movie:  AUDITION (1999)

I also viewed this movie by Dr. Takashi Miike.  I found this movie to be slow moving and creepy.  A young "good girl" dates a middle-age man.  It begins very innocently until the girl isn't who she appeared to be.  Deep inside her was a very disturbed person with homicidal tendencies and a fondness of metal garrote wires.  Weird!  The climactic scenes showed true darkness and were gruesome.

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE / ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE

VAMPIRES

 This book by Anne Rice describes many relationships and experiences that Louis, the vampire, had during his life.  To me, the book captures the themes of immortality, loyalty, love, and detachment.    The book has a good/evil theme with sexual tension surrounding the different relationships.  Most of the relationships consist of love and hate feelings.  The story contains heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, and pedophilia.  As the book begins, I found it interesting that Louis was giving an interview to a boy reporter.  I believe the intention was to expose the young boy to the positive and negative aspects of relationships along with immortality, love, and manipulations that can occur.

The relationship between Lestat and Louis starts out nurturing as Lestat teaches and guides Louis as he transforms into a vampire's life.  This seemed to me like a father/son relationship, but it turned into an immortal companionship.  Louis has conflict.  He is a vampire, but still has human feelings and clings to his human identity.  This causes an internal conflict (human morality) versus external conflict (vampire actions).  When Louis starts thinking about breaking up, Lestat turns a young girl, Claudia, into a vampire daughter in order to secure their relationship.  In my opinion, Lestat is very possessive and manipulative for his own purpose.  This works for awhile.  Louis acts as her father/protector.  Claudia matures mentally and intellectually, but not physically.  This maturity causes Louis to lust for her.  Louis falls in love with Claudia and an affair begins.  A lover's triangle is created which Claudia intends to end.  So, she kills Lestat to get him out of their lives.

Since Lestat is immortal, he survived.  Louis and Claudia visit Europe and meet another vampire named Armand.  Louis and Armand immediately form a strong, deep emotional connection which Claudia despises.  Again, a lover's triangle surfaces.  Since Claudia is insecure, she feels Louis will leave her.  She convinces Louis to create another vampire to serve as a replacement companion for her.  Madeleine is her new partner.  Lestat returns to seek revenge.  His accusations succeed in killing Claudia and Madeleine, but Louis is rescued by Armand.  

Louis never seems to fully recover from the loss of Claudia.  He was truly in love with her.  The emotional connection and partnership between himself and Armand quickly fades.  Louis returned to New Orleans.  Because of all his pain, sorrow, and bad experiences, he decides to be alone and never create another companion for himself.  Louis's decisions reflect the feelings of people who have experienced bad relationships and basically decide to live alone rather than to be hurt again in another relationship.

Movie:  ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE (2013)

The theme represented in this movie is very different from the Interview With The Vampire novel.  This film is a story about two vampires, Adam and Eve.  They have a strong monogamous relationship that has lasted for many centuries even though they have lived apart.  This vampire couple has class.  They dress well, love music and literature, and are very sophisticated.  Eve comes back to live with Adam when she recognizes that he has become despondent and depressed.  Together, they have a great life and relationship.  Eve's younger sister, Ava, comes to visit and causes a big disruption in their home.  Adam eventually kicks her out.

What makes Adam and Eve different throughout most of the movie was that they did not suck blood from victims.  They got their blood delivered through a supplier.  However at the end of the film, the supplier dies.  This is where the movie turns dark because in order to survive and with no choices left, Adam and Eve are now forced to get their own supply of blood.  They attack and suck blood from a pair of young lovers.  This film shows the human nature of survival and strong relationships.  

FRANKENSTEIN / GOTHIC

                                                                       THE GOTHIC
      
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is considered a Gothic Novel because it contains evil, mystery, dark settings, and the supernatural presence of horror and terror. Gothic refers to novels with morbid or depressed atmospheres that emphasize the unknown and inspire fear.  A prominent example of Gothic is described in the next paragraph.

In the story of Frankenstein, I found the supernatural presence of horror and terror to be prominent.  Frankenstein created a man-like monster in his dark and isolated laboratory in an unorthodox scientific experiment.  I have always associated dark and isolated places with fear and danger.  Most Gothic stories have a monster who has supernatural abilities such as this one.  Frankenstein created his monster's body from raw materials found in the dissecting room and slaughterhouse.  This is really gory and represents evil and horror.  Another Gothic horror genre is a frightening storm approaches which creates such powerful lightning that it can raise something that is dead to life.  Another motif of Gothic is the super strength and amazing superhuman speed that the monster possesses.

The monster shrieks horror and terror as a gigantic creature with a gruesome and ugly appearance.  Another scary feature is that the monster has intelligence and sensitivity.  It tries to become part of the human society and social patterns, but is shunned and rejected by society.  Revenge is a Gothic element which I have found to be present in the monster's feeling of hate towards Frankenstein. The monster succeeds in fulfilling this deep emotion by committing murder which avenges his own sorrow.

Movie:  GOTHIC (1986)

This movie by Ken Russell takes place during the 1800's.  It concerns Mary Shelley, her husband, and her husband's sister, Claire, who go to Lord Byron's mansion to read ghost stories and write spooky stories.  When they got together, they would take drugs, get crazy, hallucinate, and write masterpiece stories.  The movie does not follow a plot, instead it follows the path of surreal and strange.  The ideas of the film are expressed through images and music instead of dialog.  The film has a dark soundtrack which contributes to the feeling of horror and the point in time when candles were mostly used at night.

The horror element of Gothic is to disturb a viewer with images.  Everything happens one night during a bad thunderstorm.  The flash of lightning, sounds of thunder, and scene of heavy fog make it seem spookier.  This movie shows the darker side of human behavior by drug and alcohol abuse, excessive sex and no belief in God.  This horror film was very good, but be warned that it has some disturbing and quite unique imagery.