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Journal #5

Well, the semester is almost over. The whirlwind of tackling the ‘other’, the dangers of science, and pitfalls of humanity amongst a pandemic and the second wave of the civil rights movement has definitely been an adrenaline rush. Although at time exhausting, I really enjoyed this class and it was really refreshing to have a professor who is so passionate about our subject matter and takes such a modern approach to teaching. The conversations in class have been strange, funny, and extremely eye opening. Being a very anti-technology person myself (mainly because I can barely work a computer) I was a bit apprehensive of the syllabus in the beginning of the class, but I have discovered a newfound appreciation for science and technology. I guess you really can marry STEM and humanities successfully.  

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Blog Post #5

My favorite screening this semester was definitely Young Frankenstein. Not only did I find the movie incredibly funny, but it also has a loveable cult-classic quality to it that makes it timeless. I adored the camp, exaggerated acting since I haven’t experienced many other popular movies that include that style and I thought the wardrobe choices were incredibly interesting (I've already started to plan my Halloween costume around the Bride of Frankenstein). Being able to tackle the story of Frankenstein from a queer perspective was very eye opening, since for years I have heard about the monster yet never truly understood how the Gothic served as an outlet for oppressed sexualities and minorities

My favorite reading this semester was “The Original Goth Girl” because I loved learning about the Romantics and all the insane things they did. Also, the story of Mary Shelley losing her virginity on top of her mother’s grave is just too bizarre not to enjoy, I found it very on brand for her. I loved learning about Mary Shelley because I think she is one of the most interesting and overlooked female writers of the Romantic era. Her fears of motherhood and the way she handled her subject matter truly goes against the female construct of the time. I guess you could say Mary really “isn’t like other girls.”  

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Journal #4

This week I have been really trying to piece together my essay, which has not been easy! I always start with about a million ideas and then I realize word count exists. I’ve been going back to my notes from the writing book in order to try and piece everything together and eliminate all the unnecessary information. Trying to focus on summer classes has been real rough considering the apocalyptic state of the world, but sometimes it does come as a nice distraction to just focus on something else and get off social media/news for a little (although both my english courses this semester focus on inequality in one way or another -- so there is not escape haha)  I really enjoyed the episodes we have been watching this week, they have also served as a nice distraction. But every time we all hop on zoom or discord I am just a little more skeptical of whether or not this is all even real to begin with.  

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Blog Post #4

Dr. Kasthuri worked his way up in explaining the Connectdome to people of different ages, one thing remained constant in his approach -- the use of questions. Using questions as an argumentative tactic, Dr. Kasthuri is able to gage his participant’s opinion on the topic in order to develop his approach to combating or agreeing with the response. Furthermore, he used body language and voice inflictions to signal interest in the conversation, thus allowing his guests to get involved in the discussion and trust Dr. Kasthuri. 

When talking to the 5 year-old, Dr. Kathuri focused on a basic explanation of how the cells in your brain communicate. Kathuri appeals to the child’s current knowledge, asking what he knows about a brain and cells and then developing on what the child already knows. 

When talking to the 13 year-old, Dr. Kathuri elevates the explanation of how the cells in your brain communicate and uses the bandwagon appeal when referencing his point, stating “most neuroscientists think” in order to give his argument more credibility. 

As you can expect, the depth of how Kathuri explains the Connectdome increases as he talks to the college student and grad student. In both arguments, he takes the guest’s reply and explains how they are wrong using science. The only place where Kathuri’s strategy differs is when he talks to the entrepreneur. Rather than asking him questions, Kathuri immediately goes in stating facts about the Connectdome and using jargon to establish his credibility. Kathuri creates an us vs. them stance when discussing how others view the Connectdome and its issues, compared to how they, educated people who understand the Connectdome fully, interpret its shortcomings.  Personally, I do not think that the Connectdome mapping a human brain and placing it in a computer is the same thing as consciousness. What separates these entities is the ability to act on these thoughts, the computer may be able to understand emotions but that is not the same as having them. There is a robot named Sophia in Saudi Arabia who explains the idea of emotions very well -- she says that she doesn’t exactly experience emotions, but rather it is like when we look at the moon and say that it is shining. We know the moon is not shining, it is simply reflecting the light of the sun, yet it appears to be giving off light. 

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Journal #3

This week, we were asked to watch Mad Monster Party and Young Frankenstein. I loooooved Young Frankenstein. I truly enjoyed the campy humor and I even got both my parents to sit down and watch it with me -- they enjoyed it a LOT more than Frankenstein (1931). I think the way Brooks changes how sexuality is approached in this movie (giving sexual agency to Elizabeth, the monster, Igna’s sexual innuendos) could be a great addition to my final essay. In class we discussed how the Gothic tries to allude to sexuality in a very allusive way and how Brooks just straight up hands it to us on a platter which I think could be great to use in discussing how changes in society help the development of queer and female sexuality in the Gothic (like the Hays Code no longer applying). 

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Blog Post #3

One of the most impactful argumentative powers of comedy is that it takes complicated, often taboo, subjects and makes them palatable. Young Frankenstein is a prime example of this, creating a campy, humorous atmosphere to discuss subjects such as sexuality and disability. Comedy and parody are powerful because they do more than present a narrative arc, they also present the social sphere through which we see these arcs. Scary Movie uses jokes and references specific to when it was released in the early 2000s, this allows modern viewers to see not only the parody of the classic movie Scream, but also acts as a snapshot for that year and the political, social, cultural situations occurring.  

Furthermore, the way comedy has manifested itself on our generation through memes is extremely powerful. Transcending Post-Modernism and entering a Neo-Dadaistic era, our Gen-Z was raised on disillusionment and desensitization. Meme culture parallels this in its virility, short life span, and ability to transform itself, mimicking the way news is constantly shoved down our throats as well as how trends in language, fashion, and social movements come and go. Comedy has become our generation’s coping mechanism as well as our universal language. The anti-capitalist approach to memes in creating comedy free for the public to enjoy, the lack of authorship behind viral memes, and the accessibility of memes to all social classes demonstrates our search for an egalitarian society. The boundaries we push with humor shows how we seek shock-value at a time of media saturation.  

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Journal #2

This week we read Frankenstein (among MANY other things), which genuinely surprised me as a novel. I found myself wanting to hug this poor creature who was so misunderstood and alone in the world. There is truly nothing worse than being that lonesome at such a core level.

I think I decided what I want to write my research paper on. It is going to center on the way sexuality has been viewed in writing throughout history. I was thinking of including the gothic trope of sexual repression seen in the ID, the way women were seen as “pure” in Frankenstein, and the idea of the Gothic heroine as a whole demonstrating how they controlled women’s sexuality. I think it would be a good idea to connect this to how sexual paraphilia is viewed today. Also, I have a feeling the Stepford Wives is going to help once we watch it as well.

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Blog Post #2

Boyd’s “Murder! (Rhetorically Speaking)” writing activity 

Who: Mark Smith

What: Murdered

Where: Parking garage

When: June 6, 2010; 10:37 p.m.

How: Multiple stab wounds

Detective  

I arrived at the scene of the crime at 11:40pm after a call was placed about a noise disturbance at a parking garage near 5th street -- usually a quiet area. Once at the scene, I found a middle-aged man lying face down with multiple stab wounds inflicted on the chest and arms. The deceased was later identified as Mark Smith, recent divorcee and real estate agent in the area. The multiple stab wounds on the body as well as the several cuts indicate a struggle, his attacker appears to have acted quickly with no prior experience in homicide. Due the angle of the wounds I would suspect the assailant to be shorter and probably smaller than him. Given his recent divorce, I suspect a crime of passion.

Coroner

The victim is a middle-aged man, 37 years old, 5’11, 175lbs. He received 6 stab wounds to the upper abdomen, 5 stab wounds to the chest, 3 to the left arm and 2 to the right arm, as well as multiple non-fatal scratches and cuts. The stab wounds were 2.3 inches long, indicating some sort of pocket-knife, probably one used to skin in hunting. It appears the victim died from blood loss as one of the stab wounds punctured a major arty in the chest, indicating foul play. I would estimate the time of death around 10:30 pm.  

(Really shocked as to how much my physical description matched the description offered in the reading, even the weight was exactly the same.)

Eulogy  

Let’s be honest, Mark was no saint. He lied, he cheated, he sinned like the rest of us, but he was also good. He was the kind of person you could call after years of not speaking and he would still greet you as if you had spoken earlier in the week. Mark fully invested himself in life, maybe sometimes even to a fault, living to the fullest extent with no regard for the consequences. Although it saddens me deeply that he was taken from us so soon, I am sure he lived without a single regret. Let us remember Mark fondly as a free soul and commemorate him by choosing to live each day of our lives as if it were our last. Join me in raising your glasses to Mark.  

Lawyer  

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I call forth anyone who has never made a mistake. Who can proudly state that they have lived their lives with no fault and do so with complete honesty? What we have heard here today is that Mark Smith was not perfect. But then again, neither are we. Therefore, do we deserve to die the same way Mark did? I would say not. No human being should possess the power to end someone’s life, that responsibility lies with God alone! I hope you may find it in your hearts to forgive Mark for his transgression, but do not forgive this woman for she has cheated God by playing her hands at fate and ending this poor man’s life so soon. 

1. Which of the exercises did you find easiest to write? Why?  

I found the lawyer prompt the easiest to write. While thinking about what angle to approach the story at I recalled a scene from one of my favorite movies, Chicago where the lawyer reveals that winning an appeal in the courtroom is nothing but performance – you have to give them the old “razzle dazzle.” Therefore, I decided to approach this court scene from a hysterical lawyer’s point of view as he squeezes every drop of pathos out of his argument in order to appeal to the audience’s emotion.  

2. Which of the exercises did you find hardest to write? Why?  

I found the coroner’s report the hardest to write because I recognized that it would require the most detail and jargon. If I detailed the measurements of the stab wound, I would have to identify what specific weapon was used; if I counted the lacerations, I would have to describe where they were inflicted, etc. There grew to be a cause and effect relationship between the description which made it harder to write in a stream of consciousness. 

3. What does the rhetorical situation of academic writing demand? Who is the audience? What tone is appropriate? What jargon might be needed?

Academic writing demands a clear message, professional writing, and supporting evidence. The audience is whoever reads the paper, be it your professor, colleagues, or those subscribed to an academic journal. The tone must be profession, making sure not to include any contractions, slang, spelling or grammatical mistakes. Depending on your field, jargon may be needed to concisely describe something that is well known in your field and would take too long to explain or outline for readers outside your scope of research.  

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Journal Entry #1

This week’s readings have been a bit tough (remind me never to take 2 upper division english classes in one summer semester ever again) but overall enjoyable. 

I was really excited getting to read Ozymandius again because I read it in high school and really liked it. I miss reading more poetry, it’s so fun. I feel pretty technologically inept having to set up a blog, I used to have a Tumblr in middle school and knew how to edit HMTLs left and right, but now I feel like my grandma when she got her first cellphone at the age of 72. 

I really enjoyed learning about Wolstonecraft’s life and how she was the prototype for feminist literature. It makes a lot of sense that Mary Shelley ended up being the way she was due to her mother’s life, and the idea that the scifi genre came from a woman is really exciting considering it is a male dominate genre now. 

Also, I saw The Lighthouse (stan Rober Pattinson) a couple of days before having the do the Prometheus readings and so I thought it was really cool being able to connect these two stories. Everything seems to be connecting like that recently, even the readings between my two classes are eerily related. We’re living the matrix. 

OH! Also I found the writing on how to write when you don’t know where to start super helpful. This whole idea of your writing never measuring up to where you think you should be in your ‘career’ REALLY resonated with me. I think you have to be nurturing to your writing, my words are my little babies and I have to stop being so harsh on them. 

Anyway, that’s all for this week. I’m still not quite really sure how to do these journal entries but I hope this was ok :) 

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Blog Post #1

I don't remember ever learning about the monster Frankenstein, it always seemed to me like one of those childhood fables you are born already knowing. When I was younger, I recall my friends dressing up as the infamous monster and yelling out "it's alive!" as we embarked on our Halloween rounds, green paint beginning to drip down their sweaty faces by the end of the night. It gets really hot in South Florida, even in October.

I do, however, remember when and how I first learned about Mary Shelley. It was in my literature class during my senior year of high school where we first began delving into Percy Shelley's poetry. We were asked to look into Shelley's biography where we learned about his polygamous love affair and how he eventually left his wife for the author of Frankenstein, Mary. I remember being shocked and even a bit elated when I found out that this child hood fable was written by a woman. For some reason, I had always associated the story with a male author and, at the time, had heard very little about famous female writers before the 20th century. Percy Shelley grew to be one of my favorite Romantic poets but I have always wanted to read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, so I am very excited to do so this semester.

Having a little sister, I've seen many animated movies where Frankenstein has made an appearance, always with the greenish gray makeup and bolts sticking out of his head (I have always been curious to see if this physical account stems from the book or if it was created later in the cinematic interpretation). The moral of the dangers of technological advancements has stood the test of time, and I would argue they can be considered even more relevant now than when Frankenstein was originally written. I think Graham's reading does a great job of explaining this aspect and the different theories on where the advancement of technology leaves us as humans. This ties into the prefix Franken- which, as discussed in class, we associate with things that are not entirely human or natural (for example frankenfoods). In this digital age, technology has become an extension of us humans, paving the way for a new era of cyberhumans. However, in the argument for the dangers of technology, I think it is important to remember that the ones making these machines are humans, begging the question -- if someone is shot, do we blame the gun or the person holding it?