edwardtulane01

[edwardtulane01]

This is my final assignment before graduating on Sunday. I’ve had Professor Wexler four times in total and each time has been wonderfully insightful. He is one of the best professors I’ve ever had.

At this point, I’m used to the presentation portion of this class, especially compared to how I was as a sophomore/junior doing the same work. It really embodies the idea of the best way to learn is to teach. I had a great experience with my group mates and learned how to collaborate well.

My favorite assignment was the poetry essay. Its surprising how little two pages is. The poem i chose was “the red wheelbarrow” by William Carlos Williams, which is only a few lines long. However, with the knowledge from the poetry unit, I was able to delve deeper into the poetic devices used. It was also nice that it coincided with a poetry unit in another class.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this class, but I’m so happy its my last one ever.

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Neoliberalism advocates for a free market, individualism and deregulation. The neoliberalization of education erodes the democratic principles upon which public education is built. When applied to education, it prioritizes privatization AKA charter and private schools, meaning those with the privilege of wealth also gain access to the privilege of education. Those who can't afford to send their kids there are left with underfunded public schools. Students from marginalized backgrounds face disproportionate barriers to access quality education, perpetuating cycles of poverty and inequality.

[edwardtulane01]

Economic Globalization in Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite

Economic disparity is something seen everywhere in the world. Bong Joon Ho’s 2019 film, Parasite, is a realist film set in modern day South Korea that makes viewers ask the question, who is the real parasite? It shows the cultural hegemony and the global economic structure that forces the lower classes to compete for a chance to achieve social mobility, while the elite benefit from this and draw a line so that no one crosses into their bubble.  

Parasite reflects the global economic structure, showing the relationship between the wealthy and the marginalized. The Kims relationship with the Parks shows the inequality experienced by lower classes and the lengths they have to go to in order to survive, all while their wealthier counterparts live blissfully unaware. When there is a massive rainstorm, the Kim family’s home is flooded and they are forced to take shelter in an auditorium with everyone else who was affected by the storm. The Parks on the other hand are safe in their house on the hill. The morning after, the Kims are left scrambling, having lost all of their belongings. Mrs. Park, decides to have a impromptu birthday party for her son, summoning all of her employees for the day. While in the car with Mr. Kim, she speaks to someone on the phone, calling the rain a blessing, only noticing the blue skies that came afterward. The privileged family remains unaware of the pain caused by the storm  and exhibit  the entitlement they feel to other people’s time and labor.

Parasite also explores the commodification of labor. In  the beginning of the film, the Kim family has to sell their labor for extremely cheap prices, meaning they can barely afford to live. With their new jobs at the Park’s home, they are making more money than ever, but it is still not enough to lift them out of poverty. They are forced to comepete with other members of the lower class to get those jobs, and resort to deceit at others expense. All the Park’s prior employees are fired. At one point, Mr. Kim wonders whether the driver he replaced will be ok after losing his job, but.quickly reassures himself that because he is young, he will have no problem getting another job. However, he ignores that his son,  Ki-Woo is a similar age and he was unemployed in the beginning of the movie, disproving Mr. Kim’s belief. This shows the ruthless competition created and encouraged by a gig economy.

The set design contributes to the realist nature of this film, as well as a physical representation of cultural hegemony. The Parks live in a sleek, modern home high on a hill, completely fenced off from outsiders. The Kims live in a tiny, cluttered home semi-underground, infested with stinkbugs.To access WiFi, they have to leech off nearby networks. Their home is constantly invaded and disrespected by outsiders, such as the drunk man who urinates against their windows. As Bill Nichols states “Realism, by contrast, aligns itself with the rising middle class and its public and private struggles; it also turns a fresh light on the working class and issues of poverty, injustice, and crime” (Nichols 177). By contrasting the  two homes, we sympathize with the Kim family, and understand the desperation that comes when trying to escape poverty.

Parasite demonstrates the way our global economic structure keeps the elite rich at the expense of the poor. Through its realist portrayal, we see the effects of cultural hegemony and how it reinforces economic disparity.

Works Cited 

Nichols, Bill. “Three Fundamental Styles: Realism, Modernism, and Postmodernism.” Engaging Cinema: An Introduction To Film Studies, New York:Norton, 2010, pp.175-208.

Parasite. Directed by Bong Joon-Ho, CJ Entertainment, 2019.

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My group and I presented on AI generated images, which I found to be quite disturbing. I thought I had gotten pretty good at telling what images were A.I generated, but I took a quiz to try to decipher which images of people’s faces were real and which weren’t. I got around 30% right. I thoughtthat by focusing on small details I’d be able to tell, but all of them had imperfections, blurriness in suspicious places. It makes me fearful. 

I’ve had friends express to me their hesitance to post photos of themselves online now because of the way A.I has been used to create explicit content out of innocent photos. There are no laws surrounding these deepfakes and with how susceptible people are to these fake images, lives can be ruined. 

What good is AI generated imagery? I recently saw a movie called Late Night with the Devil, which had some controversy surrounding its use of AI generated images. These images were only used as transitions, taking up maybe 10 seconds. Some people argue that this allows independent filmmakers to achieve more with a smaller budget. Others argue that this is just the tip of the iceberg, and normalizes the use of AI, taking jobs from artists. Others argue that AI can be used by artists as a tool in their work, so this movie’s use of it is not an issue. As a non-artist, I don’t find AI art aesthetically appealing. The specific image in the film under fire looks like a ripoff of Steven Rhodes’s work. I understand that independent film has a limited budget, but I feel something else could have been done.

[edwardtulane01]

Video Games

Video games are never something I personally enjoyed, but I did enjoy reading about what makes a video game a unique form of media. 

The interactive aspect of video games makes for an abundance of personalized narrative choices. The ability to customize a character and then make decisions as you go through the game means that it is affected by the player’s own beliefs and preferences. The character you choose can reflect how you see yourself, or how you see other people. I’ve seen articles recommended to me on social media about design critiques for female characters specifically, coming from male video game players. Female characters are often hypersexualized and less well-developed than their male counterparts. Even “tough” characters, like Lara Croft, are simply given male personalities but with bodies and outfits that appeal to a male eye. Regardless, Lara Croft remains an icon as one of the first female heroes in video games.

Your choices affect how a game progresses and how it ends. 

I enjoyed reading this article about the butterfly effect in Until Dawn. It illuminates the complexities of video games. You can’t achieve this with any other form of media. We have choose-your-own-adventure games, although I can’t remember the last time I saw one of those, and Netflix has based some episodes of TV off this model, such as Bandersnatch and the finale of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, but this does not have quite the same effect.

In a game like Animal Crossing, there is no end. You perform basic activities, earn money, socialize, and shop. It’s the kind of game I think I would enjoy. Minecraft is similar, no end game. However, even with a less complex narrative than a game like Until Dawn, these kinds of games teach problem-solving skills, as well as promote interest in subjects like science and math. 

[edwardtulane01]

Out of the Blue

[edwardtulane01]

Popol Vuh

Both of my parents are K’iche’ but with very little cultural ties. They were both raised Christian, and brought up my siblings and I the same way. At some point, I wanted to learn a little more about their culture and I came across the Popol Vuh. What is seen in the chapter we read is a very, very brief part of it. 

There is so much destruction that leads to creation. Three versions of humans are killed before the gods settle on a version that can serve their desires. Then the Hero twins are wanted dead by their older brothers. The Hero twins in turn kill Seven Macaw and all his family.  There are a lot of elements that overlap with “Out of the Blue,” the myth I am presenting on. The twin motif stands out, although they serve different purposes. “Out of the Blue” uses them as an explanation for the good and bad in humanity. In the Popol Vuh one is the moon, and the other is the sun. This also reminds me of the twins Artemis and Apollo's roles in Greek mythology.

[edwardtulane01]

Myths are reflections of the societies they originate from. By reading these myths, we learn what they valued and what they feared. They also serve as tales of morality, differentiating between good and bad. Some myths explain how cultural traditions came to be or what they signify. The oral passing of the myths keeps traditions alive. 

Myths also served as explanations for natural phenomena. In Norse Mythology, the Northern Lights are caused by light reflecting off Valkyrie armor. In Phillipine mythology, night comes when the morning goddess descends into the underworld to visit her father, then emerges, bringing morning with her.

Myths often serve as the foundation of narratives today. One of the biggest film franchises around today, Marvel, features Thor as a main character, with many of his movies featuring elements from Norse mythology, placed in contemporary society. Something that otherwise would not have reached such a wide audience is now a household name.

[edwardtulane01]

Lonely Man: A Comparison of “Bartleby the Scrivener” and “A Clean Well-Lighted Place”

The plague of loneliness is unavoidable for many. When societal structures change, it can be difficult to keep up, instead resisting or falling behind. Whether it is post-war existentialism or rapid economic change, its effects on the human psyche are massive. Herman Melville's "Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street" and Ernest Hemingway's "A Clean Well-Lighted Place" explore reactions to a universal human experience: alienation and loneliness, but differ in some key ways. 

“Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street” takes place in a law office on Wall Street. It is a representation of structure and order and a reflection of the changing societal structures of the 19th century. Melville critiques this period of rapid industrialization by pointing out how it isolates people. Bartleby works in a corner facing a window that “commanded at present no view at all.” He is hidden behind a green folding screen, only removed from his isolation according to the lawyer’s will. His isolation is created to benefit his employer and the effects can be seen by how his work gradually decreases.“A Clean Well-Lighted Place” takes place in a cafe late at night in Spain in 1933, shortly after World War 1. It is, as described by the title, a clean and well-lit place which is contrasted by the dirty bar the older waiter finds himself at by the end. Light is a refuge in the lonely city, where people like the old man attempt to find compassion and evade the meaningless nature of life. The younger waiter does not see it the same way. For him, the cafe keeps him away from what brings meaning to his life, his wife. However, the old man has experienced this too and yet still tries to kill himself. Everything the young waiter has can be taken away, meaning anyone can become the old man with nothing but the lights and routine of the cafe.  

The ending of both these short stories end with different tones. In “Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street,” the titular character Bartleby is jailed and then dies after refusing to eat anything. He dies alone and ostracized, as a consequence to his inability to assimilate into this new work culture. The last paragraph provides some illumination on Bartleby’s past and ends with “Ah Bartleby! Ah humanity.”  In “A Clean Well-Lighted Place” the older waiter drinks alone,  and recites the Lord’s Prayer, but replaces most words with “nada.” This shows a disdain for religion, as it fails to create any meaning in his life.  He finishes and starts to go home, where he will be alone, struggling to sleep. “ After all, he said to himself, it's probably only insomnia. Many must have it.” Despite the lonely night, he still attempts to connect to other people somehow, even if it’s only through his negative attributes. His sympathy towards the old man shows his understanding and compassion because he is familiar with what he feels. Both of these final lines encapsulate the stories’ attitudes: one nihilistic, the other a bit hopeful.

The anxieties present in these stories reflect the changing landscapes of their times. Melville portrays the tumultuous environment of the late 19th century blossoming corporate environment. Hemingway illustrates the existential attitude present after World War 1. Herman Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street” and Ernest Hemingway’s “A Clean Well-Lighted Place” differ in many ways but share the same themes of loneliness and alienation, and its effect on individuals. 

Works Cited

Melville, Herman. “Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street.” Gutenberg, 09 March 2024, https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/11231/pg11231-images.html.

Hemingway, Ernest. “A Clean Well-Lighted Place.” HCC Learning Web, 09 March 2024,  https://learning.hccs.edu/faculty/samuel.huntington/engl1302/materials-for-the-8-week-cinco-ranch-section/additional-readings-and-handouts/a-clean-well-lighted-place-by-ernest-hemingway/view 

[edwardtulane01]

Ernest Hemingway's "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place"

I can't assign a definitive meaning to this short story, not the same way I could with "Bartleby the Scrivener," despite this being a bit more straightforward.

The word "nothing" is reoccurring, suggesting nihilism, but I don't believe it is a nihilistic story. I think it does imply the futility of religion in creating meaning in a person's life. The waiter knows the whole Hail Mary by heart, but replaces almost all the words with "nada." It means nothing to him.

One of the initial themes I noticed was loneliness, but it made me feel ok with the loneliness portrayed, almost comforted. Loneliness outnumbers in this story, with the older waiter being sympathetic towards the deaf man. Maybe finding meaning in life is incredibly rare, or only a lie believed by the young. The old man had a wife, just like the young waiter, and he still ends up seeking refuge in the cafe.

[edwardtulane01]

Unearthing Significance in "The Red Wheelbarrow"

Among all the great poems that have ever been written, one that makes me reevaluate my life every time I read it is “The Red Wheelbarrow.” Deceptively simple, yet it captures a universal human condition. We are surrounded by so many items in our everyday life that then become integral to our routines. We hardly notice when they are around and yet their absence would wreak havoc in our lives. Using brevity, enjambment, and vivid imagery, William Carlos Williams’s imagist poem “The Red Wheelbarrow” highlights the importance of the seemingly mundane, which often goes overlooked. 

Upon first impression, “The Red Wheelbarrow” is an incredibly short poem, made up of only four stanzas, with two lines each. The brevity of this poem means every single word is chosen with precise intention. In an article titled “William Carlos Williams: Imagery, Rhythm, Form,”  Frederick Morgan writes “In his successful images, the reader feels that Williams has selected the proper details, omitting irrelevancies; he also recognizes that these images are egocentric and fragmentary, referring only to themselves as they are observed at a particular moment in time (Morgan 676).” In this instance, it almost gives the effect of a slugline in a script, setting up a scene with no frills. Usually, this would be a  “blink and you’ll miss it” type of scene, the kind  that’s so easy to glance over, followed by the subject of actual importance. However, Williams subverts this, instead forcing the reader to focus on the “boring” wheelbarrow and chickens. 

Williams also utilizes enjambment in every single stanza, creating a sense of continuity and fluidity. Notably, he splits words that would usually be one singular word, such as “rain / water” (5-6) and “wheel / barrow” (3-4).  These abrupt line breaks build suspense in an otherwise   brief poem. There is also a lack of punctuation throughout the poem, meaning all the scenes are connected without any interruption. WIth this technique, Williams enhances the poem’s impact, drawing the reader’s attention to the casual scene, frozen in time and the mundane objects captured within. 

One of the characteristics of imagist poetry is the use of simple, clear language and Williams embodies this in “The Red Wheelbarrow.” In that order, we are presented with three distinct images, the red wheelbarrow, the rain on it and the white chickens. This indicates a rural setting, where agriculture contributes a great deal to the economy. In that case, the wheelbarrow is an essential instrument. The glaze of rain on it means it has stood undisturbed for some time, probably due to the rain itself, making harvesting difficult. Two colors are mentioned, red and white, which highly contrast. In a dissertation titled “Vibrant Environments: The Feel of Color from the White Whale to the Red Wheelbarrow,” Nicholas Gaskill writes “...the red and the white gain their peculiar power not from any cultural associations but through an immediacy imagined to reside in colors as such (Gaskill 5).” Red and white draw attention to these items and highlight their differences. Additionally, the focus of the poem is on the wheelbarrow, with everything being described in relation to it, and it being the title of the poem. This reinforces the original statement, that so much depends on the red wheelbarrow. 

William Carlos Williams proves the importance of the mundane objects often overlooked in our lives in his succinct poem “The Red Wheelbarrow.” He uses form, enjambment and imagery to capture a universal experience which reminds the reader to consider what surrounds them.

[edwardtulane01]

I Would Prefer Not To

"I should have been quite delighted with his application, had he been cheerfully industrious. But he wrote on silently, palely, mechanically."

While reading the first few paragraphs of Herman Melville's "Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street," I am reminded of all the bad bosses I've had since joining the workforce. I don't think a single one ever considered that they might be bad at their jobs. The lawyer continues this trend, indulging the eccentricities of his most ineffective workers, yet hyperfocusing on his most profitable employee's eccentricities. His self-righteous nature is so irritating.

I find it interesting that Bartleby stops working completely only after the lawyer tries to dig into his personal life, violating his privacy and learning that he lives in the office. To connect it to my own life, work demands attention to the point of bleeding into my life, keeping me away from things that matter to me. I wish i could say "I would prefer not to" and continue to have a job. I have to sacrifice my time and life in order to afford it. For many people, there is no alternative, lest we suffer the same fate as Bartleby. And we have to do with a smile on our face, and not a single complaint in order to placate those we work for.

Bartleby's passive resistance turning into noncompliance indicates the unnatural and futile nature of bureaucracy and capitalism, with Bartleby becoming a non functioning cog in the machine. Bartleby's labor can no longer be profited from, so the Lawyer attempts to get rid of him but is unsuccessful, sending his life and business into upheaval. The best way the "system" is disrupted is by refusing to take part in it. It brings to mind Henry David Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience," where he advocates for a refusal to participate in an institution like the government when they do not what is right.

[edwardtulane01]

Poetry Exercises

Alliteration

Bountiful baskets of baked bread by the bed

Ten trees tremble in the terrifying tornado

Rabbits run through the rumbling river

Ventriloquists vent about their vices

Jacked giants journey through Japan

Assonance

Weening myself off these fiendish dreams

A proud mouse drowns in doubts

A fawn yawns by the pond at dawn

Dining on pie and white wine

Bravely taking the train all the way to Spain

Metaphors

Falling in love is a maze/Falling in love is like being lost without a map

Learning to drive is torture/Learning to drive is like being thrown into a pool full of people who swear they can swim but then almost cause you to drown.

Trying to get a new job is a thorn in my side./ Trying to get a new job is like

Taking care of a child is a treasure chest/Taking care of a child is like taking care of a delicate flower.

Graduation is the light at the end of a tunnel/Graduation is like the carrot in front of the donkey.

Rhythm and Meter - Rewriting the chorus of "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails

I quit my job today

because they didn't give me the

raise that I deserve

Persona

As someone younger than me:

So stressed, I have a field trip tomorrow

Hope my mom gives me some money

so I can buy something from the gift shop

Yay, I got a pizza Lunchable

2. As someone much older than me

Time to go on my early morning walk

and read the daily newspaper

Call my daughter to tell her good morning

I hope she has the time to call me back too

[edwardtulane01]

Connotation - The implied meaning of a sound or word. An example I can think of is in Sylvia Plath’s “Metaphors,” where the connotation of the words implies pregnancy.

Sestet - A stanza made up of six lines. A poem that is made up of sestets is William Wordsworth’s “The Daffodils.”

Metaphor - Drawing a comparison between two dissimilar things. According to Deutsch, the difference between a good metaphor and a bad metaphor is the functionality of the text, rather than being solely decorative. An example of this is Emily Dickinson’s “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers” where hope is likened to a bird.

Ballad - A narrative poem traditionally set to music. One that comes to mind is Dudley Randall’s “Ballad of Birmingham,” which tells the story of the 1963 church bombing in Alabama.

Occasional poetry - Poetry written in remembrance or to commemorate a specific occasion. An example of this would be “On an Infant Dying as Soon as Born'' by Charles Lamb which commemorates the death of a child shortly after her birth.

[edwardtulane01]

Introduction

My name is Margo, I'm 22 and a Libra. My biggest goal right now is to get through my final semester of university. I'm still debating whether I should pursue a Master's Degree. When I first started college, that was my goal but after these past tumultuous years I feel incredibly burned out. If I do decide to go through with it, I'm definitely going to wait a few years. A silly short term goal I have is to learn how to make Benihana fried rice. I absolutely hate the restaurant but I can't stop thinking about that rice. There's a premade frozen version of it but it doesn't come close.

My favorite book is The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. I think this was one of the first chapter books I read, which I stole from my older brother. I don't think I even understood it the first time I read it, but I was so intrigued and have reread it countless times since then.