Hunger games - Chris Spiers

The Hunger game tells the story of a dystopian society controlled by a powerful dictator. With wits and cunning social ideology he gracefully leads the social elite of the capital city in his every endeavor. By distracting the capitals citizens with frivolous desires he distracts them from the social injustices that produce their lavish lifestyles. Even in the gut turning “hunger games” capital citizens are so engulfed by new trends and being social elite they don’t see the horrible crimes committed in front of them.

         President Coriolanus Snow keeps the outer districts in line with very different techniques. Horror from past violence keeps outer districts in prison like control. Although brutality inflected from capital soldiers is not a common sight in outer districts the fear of brutality is always present. Step out of line and you may never be seen again. Snow controls these districts with the fear of force and is rarely questioned.  

Blog Post #5 - Chris Anderson

For the Research Report, I have chosen the film Minority Report. The basic plot centers around John Anderton of the Washington D.C. Precrime Division in the year 2054. Precrime has, at the point of the film, been around for 6 years and the main goal is to stop every single homicide. The way that this happens is with the use of "precognitives;" three people who are able to see the future. In the process of fighting this future crime, Chief Anderton is framed for a murder that hasn't happened yet. He flees and slowly uncovers a conspiracy involving the nature of precrime, precognition and the man who runs the division.

Minority Report can be categorized as a dystopia. The society of this film has found a way to stop murders before they happen; which may seem like a utopia in the making. However, the precrime system is deeply flawed and easily manipulated. In this technologically advanced world of eye scanners, autopilot cars, and holographic projectors, there remains the factor of human imperfection. Beneath a shining exterior, the seedy fallibility of man feeds and nurtures an ever inadequate society.

This film works well with the Reader-Response Criticism since the film can have many different interpretations and directions for understanding. Each person will interpret the theme or moral in a slightly different way and come to a slightly different conclusion. There are some aspects of the film that could tie to Marxism or even Feminism, but because the film seems to center around our perceptions of society and possible future, the viewer's P.O.V drastically changes their reception.

Resources are not hard to find and I'm sure there will be very interesting analyses of this film. I am excited to delve deeper into both the explicit and implicit messages of the film and apply them to my experiences, belief systems and my concept of society.

Blog 5- Andrea Abbott

For paper 3, I decided to analyze the novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood. According to Amazon.com it proposes a question: “In the world of the near future, who will control women's bodies?” The Protagonist, Offred is a Handmaid owned by the Commander and his wife. She’s may leave home only once a day to walk to food markets whose signs do not have words because women aren’t allowed to read. She prays that the Commander makers her pregnant each month because birth rates have recently deteriorated; so Handmaids are only valued if their ovaries are viable. Offred dwells on the days before, “when she lived and made love with her husband Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now....”

            I chose this novel based off of Professor Bolaski’s recommendation of a dystopian fiction that works well from a Feminist perspective. The poor, wicked treatment of women as well as the struggle for survival makes this piece ideal for a dystopian critique. I am still in the process of reading the book, but I look forward to analyzing everything when I’m through. (I cannot give any further analysis until I read the material).

Blogg #5: Amanda P.

There are many stories to choose from but the novel that really got my interest was the book, The Hunger Games, since I read all three I already have the characters figured out but I realized that I did not really analyze the setting of the book and I would like to do this on the paper. Also, being able to explain the author’s main points on why she wrote the book.  I am going to use Marxism to analyze the story and how dystopia fits in the story. The story provides good example on how politicians have the power to use media as a way of oppressing their citizens.

"The Running Man"-Marxist/Psychoanalytic-Brad Wires

I just selected my text for the research paper and I am about halfway through reading it. The text I have selected is "The Running Man" by Stephen King writing under the pen name Richard Bachman. I'm going to analyze the text through a marxist lens focusing on the severe oppression of the working class. I am also interested in a psychoanalysis of Stephen King and his pseudonym Richard Bachman. I still have to finish reading but so far the text is soaked with marxist theories and ideologies. The main character and protagonists, Ben Richards, is portrayed as an honest working class individual with a disgust for the middle class and their ideologies. He also has a severe disdain for authority figures. Ben's daughter has a dangerously high fever. He is unemployed and therefore unable to provide medicine for her. His wife turns tricks from time to time in order to make a few bucks. Ben decides to "try out" for a position on a game show network. He passes all the physical and mental test and is assigned to the game called The Running Man. The network gives Ben some money and a 12 hour head start. They throw him back into society where he will be hunted down by professional killers. For every hour he survives he, or his family, earns 100 new dollars. If he happens to survive 30 days he is awarded the grand prize of One billion dollars. I have not started searching for sources yet since I am not quite done reading. I am planning on searching for a couple of sources on the text and I would like to find a source or two on Stephen King, or better yet his pseudonym Richard Bachman. Together with a Marxist analysis of the text and a psychoanalytical analysis of the author I believe I will have a solid research paper.

Alex Aroyo Blog Post #4: Oleanna play write-up

To this day I hold no regrets in paying the amount I had to see the live production of Oleanna. There is a unique emotional connection to experience in a live performance that is lost with film.
The atmosphere had an intimate feel about it with the stage squared off by four sets of risers. The actors' expressions were easily distinguishable from the distance my girlfriend and I were sitting (yes, I tricked my girlfriend into going with me and thankfully she appreciated it).
The live performance had some clear differences from the film that I quickly picked up on. Many of the abstract and allusive ideas from the film seem more straight forward and apparent on stage. Carol's role seemed much more emotionally driven with less of a sheltered and innocent demeanor and more anger and instability. The professor also seemed comparatively more condescending and dismissive toward Carol. I noted in the last scene Carol would use certain phrases that seemed like they were meant to provoke the professor. The same could be said for the film, but on stage they seemed a bit more aggressive and added to a more understandable mounting frustration on the professor's part.
Stage productions leave no room for multiple takes or as much in depth detail as a film production, but given the material for the actors to work with, I would say the live performance excellently conveyed the thoughts of David Mamet.

Blog #5 The lottery; Brianna Engelhorn

The "Lottery" written by Shirley Jackson is a story of a little town that conducts a winning of a "lottery" each year. If you think about America and all the stories you have heard of "Jerry wins $10,000, lets see what he purchases with that chunk of money". Normally in our society winning the lottery is probably one of the best things to happen to a person. In this town an old black worn out box is brought out containing names of families and individuals in the families. The "lottery" is basically the person who is chosen it leads to their death. This dystopia is an obvious one because in our real world being picked to die isn't necessarily something to be excited about it reminds me a lot of the hunger games in the sense that you are "playing" to avoid being killed. I am doing more research on "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson for my research paper.

Josh Greenfield, Oleanna Film and Play Comparison

Intrepid Shakespeare Company recently ran a production of David Mamet’s highly controversial play Oleanna at San Dieguito college. Oleanna is considered controversial by critics due to its no-holds-bar approach to the topic of higher education and the power struggle between universities, professors, and students, as well as the shocking conclusion of the play itself. The differences between the play and the 1994 theatrical release starring William H. Macy and Debra Eisenstadt are notable not only because of the format, but also through the interpretation of the power struggle and how the film and the play both achieve that goal in their own creative ways.

Intrepid Shakespeare’s take on the play, directed by Christy Yael, brings the story to life in a theatre-in-the-round format. The stage is set in the center of the audience which allows the viewers to take a voyeuristic, over the shoulder view. This seating creates a very intimate feel, the audience is very close to the actors, Francis Gercke and Rachael VanWormer, which gives the audience more insight and establishes a closer personal connection between the characters. The audience is treated to a constant close-up, as if the four walls of John’s office have been removed and the viewers are on the outside looking in. In this way, the viewer is more invested in the characters John and Carol, because they can keenly perceive the actor’s facial expressions and are able to hear the subtleties and nuances of the dialogue, which is written in broken syntax and incomplete sentences which adds to the overall realism of the play. The entire play takes place in John’s office at the university, so there are no scene changes and nothing to distract the audience from the dialogue.

In the film version, John’s office is made to look like it’s a part of a well-established university with great detail, complete with bookshelves, a chalkboard, leather chairs and an adjacent conference room. This more clearly establishes John as a well-to-do professor that is used to a level of comfort and preferential treatment only ivy league professors obtain. Because of this, the audience learns very quickly that John is wealthy, respected, and successful as an educator. In comparison to the play, depending on the level of detail provided by the set, the audience may not immediately recognize John as being as well-off. Instead, the dialogue leads the listener to discover these details over time. John’s opening monologue informs the viewer that he is attempting to buy a new home for his family and is having complications. Over time we understand that John is facing “first world problems,” or problems that have little to do with basic human necessity and more to do with comfort and class establishment.

Another notable difference between the film and the play is the actor’s relatability in live performance in contrast to the separation of actor and audience in film. Oleanna is written in a way that incites frustration, confusion, misunderstanding and ultimately anger, all of which translates very well in film, but takes on a more intimate and personal tone in a live performance. On film, the camera dictates how every scene is viewed and leads the audience through the story in a linear way. On stage, and especially in round theatre, the audience is given more freedom to watch either character when they choose, thus allowing the viewer to study the reactions of the actors more closely. This ability to see and hear the actors converse live creates a deeper tension, as if we were watching these arguments occur in real life. The actors have more responsibility to be fully engaged in the dialogue and are forced to react to each other in a more believable way. On film, the camera has to cut back and forth between the characters to keep the story visually appealing, but not being able to examine both characters at the same time diminishes the effectiveness of the arguments.

In conclusion, the differences between the film and play are very subtle, but the true nature of the text and the heart of the story are best conveyed through live performance. The film relates the story in a very polished and predictable format which conveys the story extremely well, but the staged play gives the text a necessary tension and realism that is best experienced in person and performed by live actors.

#5 The Hunger Games

The book that I have decided to do is the Hunger Games. It is about a group of people who have to fight for their lives and to stay alive by the end of the game in order to win for their district. I have decided to use Marxism to analyse, and to also talk about how distopia plays a role throughout the book.

Thats all I have so far for my paper.

Joe Rota Blog #5 - The Book of Eli

This is a movie based off of the setting of Post-Apocolytic nuclear fall out. It deals with the challenges of the human race fending for themselves after religion was blamed for the nuclear war that happened 30 years prior to where the story starts. Eli is still a believer in god and is said to carry out the mission of bringing the last any only bible left from the east to west side of the united states to have more copied and preserved.

I am still trying to narrow down my analytical lens for this movie. researching this movie I found a lot of revieews, but nothing more as far a research goes. With that said I think there is a lot that can be done with this movie.

One source I did find helpful but not to positive was:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-remington/the-book-of-eli-an-okay-p_b_434500.html

Blog Post # 5 Paper #3 The Lottery, Lee Bowen

Societies develop on different systems, wether they are good or bad ways of living are determined by their own views. A utopia is a perfect way of sustaining a society. A dystopia is an imaginary place where everything is a bad as can be. Not only for the people but the way of life in general. The short story "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson is a story that represents a dystopia within this town. This town uses misery of others and fear to retain order with their people. It is a cut off society that isn't too fond of outsiders and considers any other way of life wrong. They have kept their traditions for many years and don't plan on changing any time soon. Not everyone in the town though agrees with this way of living and these traditions. The Lottery portrays a dystopia because of its ways of human misery, concealing secrets, and fear of living.
The biggest fearful symbol is the dreaded black box. Every year an even using this black box is feared by all. It resembles the most sense of dystopia in this society. Everyone in town has to participate by picking a piece of paper from the black box to see who is this years winner. Whoever ends up getting to black dot is the one who needs to fear the most. In our society winning the lottery is probably the best thing that could happen because it gives you something everyone wants more of; money. Except the only thing this lottery offers up is death.

Sanchez, Jennifer Blog #5 "The Island" Paper #3

The island is about an underground society in 2016 that makes clones. They are made in pods when they grow they are put into a sector where they are fed and given a daily routine.The clones are told they were found after a contamination and that everything outside them is dead with no living organisms but yet the owners/workers find "survivers" being the clones developing in pods in a different section of their utopian society. Everyone there is told about a raffle thing, whoever wins gets to go to an island.  The two main characters Jordan two delta and lincoln six echo. Lincoln starts to question everything that is around him. So everytimes he gets a chance he lies to his "boss" and obtains a key that goes into a room where all the gas tanks are and utilites equipment of the society. Lincoln decides to go to another sector where he sees a pregnant clones give birth, is killed, and later given to the real person out in the real world; which he does not see the baby given to someone else. Right after he sees a man that had one the lottery to go to the island all wired up and screaming "I want to live" he knew something was definetly not right. Jordan had won the lottery and goes after her to escape. They escape, look for a man that worked in the utility section of the utpotian society. The man helps them escape to find their "real person" to tell them they have "feelings" and tell them what actually goes on in that underground society.

I've started to watch the movie again and I have not done any research on it. I don't know if the movie will work for this research paper.

Brad Petz Blog #5 Dystopia Brave New World

I've chosen to use the novel Brave New World for the primary text of my research paper. This story has long been regarded as one of the main pieces to read if you want to study dystopian society. I read it in high school, and very much enjoyed it, but am looking forward to using my new found knowledge and literary criticism techniques to critique it in a different way. Brave New World is Huxley's representation of a dystopian society, in which he uses his amazing satire abilities to draw stark differences between today's society and where, collectively, we could be headed. Huxley's fascination with science and technology influenced him to write about a futuristic, extreme world in which a totalitarian government controlled society by the use of science and technology. This new world they live in is so overstimulating, most people don't know what it means to be naturally happy; only with the private use of a drug, Soma, do they experience pleasure. I feel with my new tools and abilities I will be able to more accurately and more thoroughly dissect this classic novel.

Alex Aroyo Blog Post #5: On The Beach

I've chosen to use the novel On The Beach by Nevil Shute as my primary text for the research paper. It's a post-apocalyptic account after World War III  of the remaining survivors off the southern coast of Australia awaiting certain death from an oncoming radioactive cloud. I'm still in the process of finishing the novel, but I'd like to take a psychoanalytic approach to writing this involving the remarkable civility the characters instill themselves with under the inevitable fate they face. From what I've gathered thus far my analysis will explore a unique variety of dystopian society and contrast certain Freudian normalities we tend to see in an average dystopia.

Blog Post #5 Jess Cantu "The Giver."

"The Giver," is about a society that is supposed to be perfect in every way. Everyone's job title is given to them at a young age so that they are able to start their job as soon as possible. Jonas is the main character and he gets assigned as the Receiver. He goes everyday to the Giver and gets information on the joys and pains of the past. He is the only one that will ever have this knowledge. No one else in the community knows about the history of the world. As he learns more about the world he wants to rebel since he doesn't think it's right but since he is the only one that knows about the past no one can relate to him so he is at a loss.

I may do a Marxist analysis of the book but I'm not sure about it yet.

Kayleen Grant Blog Post #5- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

I have chosen my primary text for the research paper as The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. I remember absolutely loving this book as a kid, and I thought it would be really interesting to take another look at it from a totally new perspective. This book tells the story of four young brothers and sisters who stumble upon a large wardrobe chest in the house they are living in. The youngest, Lucy, crawls into the wardrobe while playing hide and seek, and through this, enters the magical world of Narnia. The story follows the kids on their journey to save this land and the creatures that inhabit it. The features that make this text dystopic is the land of Narnia itself. Narnia is ruled by the White Witch, a totalitarian leader who turns the land's creatures into stone.
I am planning on doing an archetypal analysis with a little reader response thrown in. I haven't done a whole lot of research yet, as I am waiting for the lecture on the rest of the archetypes. I am also going to talk about how my perspective on the text has changed over the years.

Marenna Disbro Blog #5: Anthem, Ayn Rand

For the research paper, I have chosen the novel Anthem written by Ayn Rand as my primary text. Anthem was published in 1938 and serves as an outlet for Rand's unique Objectivist philosophy. One of my sources summarized objectivism by stating that it "focuses on self-interes and rising above one oppressors"(Colton Fordyce). Rand was born in communist Russia where her objectivist philosophy had reason to flourish. The novel heavily weighs on the issue of collectivism versus individualism.
Ayn Rand's novel features a dystopian society in which the members are unable to think as individuals. The people of this society don't question their way of life. There is one character, however, Equality 7-2521 who has always thought different from the others. The novel acts as his journal, as if he is writing about his own experiences after the fact. I'll go into more detail with the summary in my essay. I'll bring in aspects of Freudian criticism as well as a bit of Marxism. I'll also illustrate how Ayn Rand uses her literary canon to express her objectivist philosophy. I have found four sources so far and I'm still looking.

Kelsey Anderson Blog #5, 1071

For the Research Paper, I chose to use Fahrenheit 451 as my text. Written by Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian story set in the future where firemen are required to burn books, which have become illegal. The main character, Guy Montag, is a fireman who eventually grows curious as to why books have become illegal, which leads to rebellion as a member of the proletariat  becoming wanted by the bourgeoisie government. This is a dystopia because it is set in the future where life may seem perfect with a variety of useful and entertaining futuristic technology, but its tragic flaw is illegalized books & book burning, which leads to uprising and rebellion. Because of the clear relationship between the bourgeoisie government/firemen and proletariot scholars/rebels, as well as the event of uprising and rebellion, Fahrenheit 451 is a perfect candidate for Marxist analysis.

As for research, I am still reading the book, but I have gotten two anthologies of scholarly articles on Fahrenheit 451: Readings on Fahrenheit 451 and Harold Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations. There are at least 20 different literary essays in these books that I can choose from for my essay, so I am set!

Kelsey Anderson

Blog Post #5, Kristyn Gumienny, Dystopia

"The Pedestrian" by Ray Bradbury

    The Pedestrian is a short story written by Ray Bradbury, who is known for his works in science fiction, horror, and mystery. The story takes place in the year 2053, a society now dominated by television. People only go out during the day, but when night arrives every one goes back into their house, glued to the TV, not a single person outside when it becomes dark. It has become such a regular routine that the police force has declined sharply, where only one car patrols... in a city of 3 million. Leonard Mead, the main character of the story, does not own a television, instead he likes to take the time at night to walk around outside, often for many miles. In the story it is described that Leonard Mead whispers to the houses as he passes them by, king the houses questions like "What's up tonight on Channel 4? Channel 7?" From the very little information the reader knows about the character, one might imagine him as a lonely man, slightly insane man, only because nobody is "supposed" to come outside at night. He has probably lost touch with reality, or at least what is considered reality now, in 2053.

     This short story can be considered as a dystopia for several reasons. I've noticed that a lot of stories set in the future often have a totalitarian government--controlling everything anyone does, public or private. Even from reading the first couple sentences of the story, the setting is very clear. "To put your feet upon that buckling concrete walk, to step over grassy seams and make your way, hands in pockets, through the silences." The grass has not been cut in a long time, growing onto the sidewalk, and there has not been any magazines or books published in years. All source of information and entertainment is on the TV now.

     While on his night walk Leonard could imagine himself standing "in a plain, windless Arizona desert, with no house for a thousand miles." There is lots of visual imagery in this relatively short story. I can get a clear view of how Leonard feels, and what he sees, and imagines. He is approached the the single police car in the city for being suspicious, (even though he has been taking his daily walks for about 8 years). The police, with a "metallic" voice, is a robotic police car. He is questioned, then told to get into the back of the police car. He is going to be taken to the Psychiatric Center for Research on Regressive Tendencies. What once used to be normal for every body both day and night, (such as driving, walking) has now become a "crime" or controversy only because the government wants society to stay off the streets at night, and to watch television.

Blog #5- Cara Dacus

I have chosen Harrison Bergeron, by Kurt Vonnegut, as my primary text. Set in a futuristic society, Vonnegut describes a place that has taken the phrase from the Declaration of Independence,  "All men are created equal", to appalling, and tragically comical lengths. The story opens with: "The year was 2181, and everybody was finally equal. They weren't only equal before God and the law. They were equal in every which way". In this short story we are given a quick glimpse of a society in which everybody is equal. Those who are stronger or faster are burdened with weights. Those who are beautiful must wear ugly masks. Those who are smart must wear ear pieces that blast loud distracting noises at intervals, constantly breaking their train of thought. George and Hazel are a couple who's son, Harrison Bergeron, has just been taken away by the government for being too exceptional. Hazel is pretty average, and so does not have any government interventions. George has above average intelligence and so must wear an ear piece. He is also stronger than average and so must carry a weighted bag around his neck. Their son, Harrison, is extraordinary in every way. He is tall, genius, and beautiful. In comical and dramatic fashion George and Hazel watch as their son bursts onto the set of the ballet performance they are watching on television. He declares himself a god, rips off all his many handicaps and pronounces the most beautiful ballerina to be his empress. The two dance around the studio, more graceful and beautiful than is humanly possible, until the United States Handicapper General bursts in with shot gun. She guns the two of them down as they are dancing and kissing, suspended in the air. By creating this literal "equal utopia", Vonnegut shows the darkest side of egalitarianism, revealing it ironically (in not too subtle language) as a true dystopia.

According to readthinkwrite.org a dystopia is described as: "a futuristic, imagined universe in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through corporate, bureaucratic, technological, moral, or totalitarian control. Dystopias, through an exaggerated worst-case scenario, make a criticism about a current trend, societal norm, or political system". Harrison Bergeron is a true dystopia, fitting in perfectly to the illusioned perfect society maintained through bureaucratic/totalitarian control. Vonnegut is making the criticism that trying to make everybody equal would actually create a terrible existence for everybody, that by trying to make everything fair, then nothing will truly be fair.  Through a marxist lens, the bourgeoisie and proletariat are pretty clear. The government, specifically the Handicapper General, is in complete power/control over the citizens of the United States. Harrison Bergeron rebels against this power, fighting for freedom and power of his own, but is ultimately unsuccessful. His parents, witnessing his rapid rise and fall to power, are not even capable of expressing any emotion or thought about their son because of the oppressive constraints, either natural or government mandated, that they both must live with. In this case, the bourgeoisie has successfully restrained the proletariat.

I have not done any research yet. Any tips or advice would be appreciated!

Blog #3 Marissa Bentley-Byzak

What would it be like if we reached the point where humans are capable of playing God? What if science progressed to the point where humans are now capable of doing extraordinary things to our own species in order to prolong life? The answer to these questions, and the ethics debate that concerns them, is the topic of the story I am choosing to write about for my paper. Never Let Me Go is a novel about Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy. They are three students who reside in a boarding school called “Hailsham.” I have not finished the book yet but after reading the synopsis I am assuming I will soon enough realize that this is no ordinary boarding school. After finishing the book I will watch the movie and then figure out which one I will actually analyze in the final paper. I have already browsed through scholarly databases and found these two credible sources.  

-Griffin, Gabriele. "Science and the Cultural Imaginary: The Case of Kazuo Ish- iguro's Never Let Me Go." Textual Practice 23.4 (2009): 645-63.

-Ishiguro, Kazuo. "T'm Sorry I Can't Say More': An Interview with Kazuo Ish- iguro." Conducted by Sean Matthews. Matthews and Groes 114-25.

Alexis Reed: Blog Post #5

          The primary text I have selected is "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins. The story takes place in the ruins of North America officially known as Panem, or "The Capitol." Before there were 13 districts, but district 13 rebelled against The Capitol and therefore was eliminated. The Capitol, forces the 12 surrounding districts to send one boy and one girl from the ages 12-18, known as a reaping, to fight to the death while the world watches. These fights, known as "Hunger Games" is a way for The Capitol to take and maintain control of the 12 districts. Katniss Everdeen, a 16-year old, lives with her mother and younger sister. When her younger sister is called as one of the tributes, Katniss offers to take her sister's place instead.Along with Peeta Mellark, the boy tribute from District 12, Katniss is shipped off to the Capitol where she will fight to survive and make choices that put survival against humanity and life against love.
          The features that make this story a dystopia is the overwhelming amount of oppression, poverty and most distinguishing feature: misery. As Suzanne Collins describes what the districts look like, it is not hard for the reader to imagine just how desolate and sad each district looks like. The guards are vicious and brutal and are trained to punish any of the people from the districts who break the law. The Capitol uses the reaping as a way to watch the districts to make sure there are no more uprisings. Food is vary scarce and the only way to get more food is to get it through illegal means,or by putting your name in the bowl that is used to pick tributes. But throughout the first half of the novel, the tone and descriptions used convey the misery of the people living in the district.
          I think the theory that would work best with this novel is Marxist Criticism because there is a strong indication of class struggle between The Capitol and the 12 Districts. While researching I haven't found much. I've really only found a book review. Must of the information that I find is centered around the book, the director, and the author. I'm still going to find more information about the book that comes from a scholarly article.
     

BLOG #5 brittni Ladderbush
I chose to do my dystopia research paper on the second installment of Suzanne Collins The Hunger Games, catching Fire. This novel is heavily categorized in dystopia fiction. The setting of this novel is in a future society where a 'big brother' type government that controls the twelve districts beneath their capitol. In the sequal to the original book the protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, has just won the hunger games which is a twisted sacrifice of sorts where every family must enter their child into a tournament played to the death. One boy and one girl are chosen from each district with a total of 24 tributes for the hunger games.In catching fire Peeta and Katniss must enter the Hunger Games once again, making them relive their worst nightmares all over again.  The second book was my choice out of the three novels because it has so many different themes that I could construct a paper with and feel I could use both Marxism or psychoanalytical theory with this paper. I feel I will most likely lean towards psycho analytical because the constant struggle and emotional breakdown that each character struggles with in this story will apply better.

Keshav Sharma Blog Post #5

I have chosen to write my research paper on the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. This novel follows the story of Guy Montag, a man who lives in a dystopian society where books and related sources of knowledge are banned from public or private access. In this society, the government makes use of the firefighting force to rid its society of any sources of knowledge. Rather than serving its real purpose, the firefighting force actually instigates destruction by incinerating the homes of anyone caught with possession of books. Guy Montag, one of the most distinguished firefighters in the force and one of the most loyal to the government's cause, begins to question the need for destruction of knowledge after witnessing a traumatizing event in which a women caught with possession of books decides to light herself and her property on fire rather than turn over her collection of books to the firefighters. Eventually, Montag is forced to decide his allegiances when he and his firefighting crew, led by Captain Beatty, are dispatched to Montag's own house to incinerate his secret collection of books. Though Montag complies with Beatty's orders to incinerate his own house, he quickly turns against his crew by incinerating Beatty and knocking the rest of his crew unconscious. Montag becomes a fugitive and is forced to escape from the same society he worked so hard to protect before.  

The story and setting of this novel can be considered dystopic due to the nature of the government's actions. Compared to our own society where knowledge is cherished and protected, the society in the novel shuns knowledge and believes that books cause people to feel inferior to the authors of these books. It is also ironic that the government's own institutions suppress the public and put them in danger rather than protect it.

I will most likely analyze this novel through a Marxist lens seeing as the plot lends itself greatly to Marxist ideology. Although I haven't done any definitive research yet, I can likely find some reliable scholarly sources through the library databases.

Allison Geviss: Blog post #5

I have chosen to read the novel "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro. It is about children growing up and coming to learn that they are clones and have been made in order to be organ donors to their identical human. I have yet to read the whole story but as far as I can tell this story is a dystopia because for those clones there is a lack of hope in being anything but a clone. They find they do not want that fait for themselves yet struggle to change their destiny. I believe I will be doing a Marxist approach to this novel due to the fact that it is one class of people trying to control another and their lives. I have not done research on this novel yet but plan to do so before writing my essay. And honestly have no idea about where to get sources.

Rachel Greim Post #5: The Giver

Lois Lowry's The Giver is about a society in which your job, spouse, and children are chosen for you.  There is no weather and no color.  There is no money; everyone depends on everyone else to do their jobs to create a functioning community.  When the main character, Jonas, is twelve, he and the other "Twelves" are assigned their jobs.  Jonas is to be the Receiver.  Every day he goes to the Giver and receives knowledge about the world, including all the joy and pain felt throughout all of time.  He experiences snow, war, holidays, and many other things he has never heard of.  As he learns about the world, he begins to realize how strange and wrong his society is and wants to rebel, but no one else understands.

Many aspects of this community are communist.  Each person has a job he or she is fitted to, and everyone works together.  No one is more valuable than anyone else.  However, a closer look shows that the government has complete control over the people.  They choose your life for you, and no one questions them.  The government has tried very hard to create a utopia, but have gone too far and created a dystopia.  Once people reach a certain age, they are killed.  Jonas's father cares for babies before they go into their assigned families, but if a baby does not develop fast enough or has any difference from what is expected, it is killed.  There are women whose only job is to reproduce.  The citizens take pills every day to suppress their feelings and sexual urges.  The people have no control or choice in their lives, and even if they don't notice or care, this is still a clearly dystopian society.

I will most likely use a Marxist lens to analyze this novel.  I may bring in some psychoanalytical criticism as well.  I have not done very much research yet, but there are several blog-type pages that discuss The Giver in terms of Marxism.  I've looked for a scholarly source about this, and there are some about the novel but I haven't been able to find one using Marxism.

http://chikki16.wordpress.com/2009/03/25/the-giver-conflict-theory/
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+Utopian+function+of+memory+in+Lois+Lowry's+The+Giver.-a0204868852
   

HH93 Chronicles of Narnia

I am choosing to write paper 3 on The Chronicles of Narnia. This story is about the youngest of four siblings who after hiding in a wardrobe while playing hide and seek, finds herself stumbling out into a magical world called Narnia. The four children eventually find there way to Narnia and become young hero's as they set out with help from the other narnians to demolish the rule of the evil White Witch and bring narnia back to peace.I think this story kind of starts off as a dystopia but switches. I am doing a lot of research and have found some interesting articles but having a hard time finding scholarly ones. Excited to write about this being I have grown up with the books and even talked to Dougles Gresham, C.S Lewis grandson.

Blog #5 Laura Romero

I am going to do my paper on the novel A Brave New World by Aldos Huxley. This novel is set in London. It is about a new type of world ran by a dictatorship after a Nine Year War, that wipes out all of civilization. There is a Caste System, there are 10 controllers that have all the power and maintain peace by conditioning infant mind, and soothing adults', by giving them soma. In this new world, there is no such thing as marriage, and babies are not born naturally, they are manufactured in an embryo factory called Hatcheries. They have no reproductive or sexual rights. Two-thirds of the women are sterilized, they have their ovaries removed, while the others are required to be on contraceptives, and when new humans need to be produced they remove their ovaries as well. It is against  state rules to date one person longer than a certain amount of time, and two of the main characters, Lenine Crowne and Henry Foster, have been doing just that. This society is all against manogamy, and all about promiscuity. Nothing is intimate and the mother father relationship, is considered pornographic. Lenina and another main character Bernard go to New Mexico, were the Savage Reservation is. While they are there, they meet Linda and John, a mother and son that were exiled to the Reservation. Linda was once with on of the controller, and therefore John is the son of the controller. Bernard decides to bring Linda and John back with them to the New World. This causes a lot of distruction in London, not only for the people/ town, but for the controllers as well.
The dystopia in this novel is that the government is controlling everyones reproductive and sexual rights. They do not allow them to be monogomous, give birth to children, or even raise them as a family. The people of London have absolutely no say in anything that has to do with sexuality in their own life. The government watches everyone to make sure that they are not dating someone for too long and to ensure their promiscuity.
The lens i will be using is Feminism since it deals so much with reproduction. I might throw in some marxist and psychological things in there but I am for sure doing feminism.
I am still working on the sources.

Sabrina Maxwell - Blog # 5

The novel that I have chosen to use for my research paper is The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe written by C. S. Lewis. This novel was first written for children being the target audience, but many adults and children alike have grown to love this very interesting story of a mythical land with animals who talk and creatures that do not exist in the real world. Lucy, one of the younger children, and the first sibling to discover Narnia through the wardrobe, leads her brothers and sisters into this world of real peril and a heavily emphasized battle between good and evil. The dystopia in this novel lies with the white witch, or the totalitarianistic want-to-be ruler of the land which rightfully belongs to the Narnians. A dystopia basically describes a kind of battle of sorts among and within a governmental struggle for power. In this case, and in this novel, the good is represented by the Narnians, the bad is represented by the White Witch who considers herself the "queen of Narnia"; the Narnians are oppressed and rise up against the White Witch to take back their freedom and their land.
So far I have done some research and my findings are extremely interesting. I have been having a few problems in the search engine and finding scholarly sources but I think that I am getting the hang of it; it really does make a difference choosing what are the right words to search and how they are put into google or the college library source/site. So far so good.

Blog 5 "War of the Worlds" Alex Z

I have decided to write an essay of dystopia on the movie “War of the Worlds”.  “War of the Worlds” was made in 2005 by Steven Spielberg.  This movie is about an actor Tom Cruise trying to save his two kids from an attack on earth from a different life form.  I think this movie is considered a type of dystopia because, as the entire world is falling apart from all of the attacks by these aliens, Tom is still trying to find some sort of safety for his kids, and reunite with the x-wife.

I am still thinking on what theoretical lens I could use.

These are a couple of sources I may or will probably use,

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0407304/

http://movies.nytimes.com/2005/06/29/movies/29worl.html?_r=0

Fight to the Finish: Blog 5 Charles Schlecht

I chose to do the research paper on the novel Battle Royale as opposed to the movie (which I have not seen). Apparently this book inspired The Hunger Games or something (more stuff I haven't seen). It takes place in the Republic of Greater East Asia, a fictional place located just east of China. It is led by a Dictator, and has such rules as torture or death for any who speak ill of or oppose the government in any way. The government holds something called "The Program" in which a junior high class anywhere in the province is chosen randomly by computer, and placed in an island that was evacuated so they would be the only ones there. Automated collars are put on their necks to explode if they try to escape. They are each given day packs that have food, a map, a compass, and a completely random weapon (anything from guns to bow guns to blow darts to knives, one poor soul got stuck with a table fork). They are instructed to kill each other until only one survivor remains, or they will all be killed.

This is obviously a dystopia because the people are in fear of the government. If someone so much as speaks out, they are killed or worse. The students are taken against their and their parents' will, and forced to kill each other. I'm half way through the book, and so far they say it's for military research, but there seems to be no specific reason for the program. It isn't for a reality show, or for rich people's entertainment, just "military research".

As for the lens, since there is so much about the government and how the people can't protest or do anything about it, I'll do Marxism. I've done research, but with there being a movie out, it is proving really difficult to find scholarly sources, or even secondary sources that aren't movie reviews.

Blog Post #5 Sydney Thiessa

For the research paper, I chose the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind for my primary text. ESotSM is a science fiction/drama/romantic film, directed by Michel Gondry. The plot centers on an estranged couple, named Joel and Clementine, who decide to get their memories erased by a company called Lacuna Inc. The film becomes a dystopia through the idea that technology is advancing to the point that people can get their memories erased, but people have to deal with the consequences of that technology, such that Joel ends of regretting it and basically fighting and revolting during his process of memory erasure. I plan to use psychological criticism in my analysis to explain Joel and Clementine's psyche throughout the film, with a little Marxism to explain the nature of the revolt between the people and Lacuna Inc. I've done some research just to make sure that ESotSM is considered a dystopian film, though I haven't found a good, reliable source yet.

Blog #5: Kendall Butt

I have chose to write about the novel Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro for the research paper. I have yet to finish the novel though; I am about 2/3 of the way through it. As far as I have read the novel tells the tale of a dystopian society in which certain children are raised in secluded English boarding schools outside of the rest of society. They have no parents, instead they are cloned from someone who lives a "normal" life in soceity. The vast majority of what I have read has been memories of the protagonist (Kathy's) childhood. The plot has consisted of numerous detail anecdotes of Kathy's life at Hailsham--the boarding school she grew up in. The memories are very mysterious and thought evoking, as at the time Kathy was young and did not fully understand what her life was destined for. So far from these various memories I can infer that these children are a minority of the population who are raised with a purpose to benefit the greater of society. They are taught from a young age that they are all infertile, which is just one of the numerous ways that they differ from others. In addition to this, they are all raised with a vague understanding that they will one day grow up to become donors, or carers, as they call them. They will donate their organs to the rest of the population, but to the extent in which these donations occur it seems the children are not in the know. They are basically created and raised for a specific purpose, though through their adolescence they are only given bits of information about what their lives will specifically entail. Through understanding the basic plot of the novel it is easy to see why this is a dystopian fiction. It would be highly unlikable to live in a society not only where people are able to be cloned, but that these clones will be raised with no chance of surviving until they grow old--they will donate their organs until they cannot function any longer, most likely before the age of 35. These children are trapped in that they are still real humans whether they are clones or not, but their basic human rights are denied. I feel that psychoanalytical criticism, specially Freudian theory, will work best to analyze this novel. With so much emphasis on Kathy's memories, of what she represses/does not repress, that I am thinking this will be the only theoretical lens I will have to choose from. I have done a bit of basic research such as collecting various articles about the novel--the main reason I chose it is because I was able to easily find information on it. I have found many articles on EBSCO and plan to search the other databases in the MiraCosta Library.

http://web.ebscohost.com.prox.miracosta.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=87901f7b-e58c-4c45-906d-08b7bb81fc5e%40sessionmgr112&hid=127

http://web.ebscohost.com.prox.miracosta.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=87901f7b-e58c-4c45-906d-08b7bb81fc5e%40sessionmgr112&vid=5&hid=127

http://go.galegroup.com.prox.miracosta.edu/ps/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=RELEVANCE&inPS=true&prodId=LitRC&userGroupName=ocea63505&tabID=T001&searchId=R1&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=1&contentSet=GALE%7CA172905570&&docId=GALE|A172905570&docType=GALE&role=LitRC

Blog 5 Victor Bustos

For the final research paper I'm writing about the movie V for Vendetta. The movie is a dystopia because its set in a futuristic totalitarian England. We don't exactly know what lead to the totalitarian state but there are a couple of clues given through the movie.The government in this society controls everything, people live in fear and are oppressed. I was thinking about using a Marxists lens because of the control the government has on society and how V's actions lead to a revolution by the lower class. The movie is full of symbolism, V wears a mask and we never see his face. He dies as a martyr and his mask becomes a symbol. The terrorists acts that he commits are also used by him as a symbol of hope to the people. Another reason I'm using a Marxist lens is because there are various ways the government controls the people. They control the media, silence their critics, and they also use force.From V's terrorist acts to the government responses a revolution is born, that is one of the Marxists views. I have not done research about the movie yet. I have seen it a couple of times and when we talked about Marxism and an dystopian fiction it has reminded me of this movie.   

Blog #5 Blade Runner

So the primary text I have chosen for my research paper is the film Blade Runner: The Final Cut. Originally released in 1982 in theatres The Final Cut version of the film was released in 2007 and was introduced by the director himself, Ridley Scott, as his favorite and preferred version of the movie. It takes in 2019 in futuristic yet rundown looking Los Angeles and tells the story of Rick Deckard (played by Harrison Ford), a Blade Runner, whose job is to hunt down Replicants that make it onto Earth. Replicants are bio-engineered beings developed by the Tyrell Corporation, their motto being "more human than human", that are meant to look and act human and made for slave labor in outer space, however after an incident involving the death of humans Replicants were banned from setting foot on earth, thus the Blade Runners were established. In the movie Rick is called back onto the force by his old boss to hunt down four Nexus 6 model Replicants that have made it earth-side in an attempt to try and extend their lives, given their four year lifespan. The reason for the four year lifespan is due to the fact that the Nexus 6 models are almost so human they begin to develop their own emotions, so the limited lifespan acts as a fail-safe. I figured the best ways to study this movie would be through Feminism and Psychological criticism, given the way the movie looks at humanity and has some morally ambiguous plot points involving female characters. Not only that but the way the Replicants almost seem more in touch with their emotions than the actual humans, the overall state of the world, the god complex present in the idea of humans making beings in their own image that are better than them, morality issues, the questioning of humanity, the use of Replicants for slave labor and how poor the living conditions are and maybe other stuff that I might have missed or forgotten regarding similar topics. Another cool concept is the Voight-Kampff machine, an interrogation tool used to determine if someone is a Replicant. The test involves asking the subject emotionally provocative questions and measures the subjects reactions such as respiration, blush-response, heart rate, and eye movement. It's basically a very advanced version of a lie detector. These are just some of the ideas of come up with so far and I'm sure after I've watched the movie six or seven more times I'm bound  to develop more.

Christian Fry Blog 5

For my research essay I have chosen to look at the dystopian film Gattaca. Gattaca is a film based in a time period in the future. This futuristic society has placed a great deal of importance on genetics. In this future society parents pick and choose what traits and exactly what genes they want to pass on to their children. In this scenario, where genetic perfection is the standard, people slightly less than perfect are seen as virtually worthless. The story’s main character, Vincent Freeman was born without the use of these DNA programming methods, has a heart condition, and is given 30 years to live. His genetic makeup makes him the subject of genetic discrimination, even by his own younger brother. Vincent’s brother Anton was given the genetic makeup of a champion and he never lets Vincent forget. Vincent does show some signs of uniqueness when a swimming endurance contest between the brothers leave Vincent to save his brother and show his worth. Vincent gets a job as a janitor at an organization like NASA but constantly dreams of being an astronaut but knows that only the genetically valid are given these jobs. He decides that if he fakes his identity, he might have a shot at achieving his goal. He finds an identity donor and they proceed to fool society despite others’ suspicions and an actual investigation.

The features of this story that make it a dystopia is the fact that in this society people are given social class based on their genetic codes. People are given the title valid if they have desirable traits and those who don’t are stuck in a social pit of discrimination that is seemingly inescapable. This society also hunts down those who try to beat the system. This society is, on the surface, better because we can ensure that the most capable of our race have the most demanding jobs. This system is shown to be flawed by Vincent because genes don’t make up a person determination and that is what ultimately gives Vincent the edge over the genetically valid, even his own star athlete brother.

I think Marxism might be the lens through which I will be analyzing this film. There are a lot of examples in the text that talk about societal power structures. Also social class is highly discussed within and the jobs available to the different genetic social classes. The text shows that these classes and social structures can be manipulated or bypassed in a sense.  It also shows the doors that are opened to the genetically superior and those that are opened to the genetically inferior.

I have done some research and found some things but not specifically about Marxism and this text, just basic criticism of themes, motifs, ideas and so forth.           

Breecia Gray Blog #5 The Giver

I have chosen The Giver by Lois Lowry for my research paper. It is about a seemingly Utopian society where there is no fear, hunger or pain. It is also a place with no love, joy or color. Only one person in the society can truly understand deep emotions, The Receiver. Everyone in the community has a job. The Receivers job is to hold the memories of the past. It is told from the point of view of Jonas who is chosen to be the next Receiver and is given the memories. This story is a dystopia because the 'government' controls everything. They chose what your job is, who your family will be. They control the population, only allowing 2 children per family. All citizens are expected to abide all rules without question. Anyone who does not follow the rules. is 'released'.

I think both psychoanalytical or marxist will work with this story. I think I will use psychoanalytical. I have done some research and have found a lot of info on the themes of the story and some symbolism and character analysis. Spark Notes has been very useful!

Dystopia Blog, Chris Graves

I have decided to analyze the film The Matrix by the Wachowski brothers for my research paper. This film is an example of a dystopian society because in the film there is a place where humans percieve their society as the real world, "the matrix." In the matrix, the society of humans are controlled by computers. The humans live a dream their entire life in the matrix. In the actual world humans are grown in huge farms that are watched by the computers. The actual world has eroded and is surrounded by metal and destruction. You can see that the humans are controlled by a totalitarian government by keeping the truth from them.

The theory I felt that would apply to The Matrix is Marxist theory. I have yet to view the film, but with little research on the movie there are examples that lends the film to a Marxist interpretation. One example is that in the beginning of the film, Trinity, a female character, sets the tone for conflict by fighting the agents in black suits who represent the government force.

Asheli Rivera dystopia--Inception

I have chosen the film Inception by Christopher Nolan. This film is about a character played by Leonardo DiCapprio, who is capable of invading people's dreams. He then commits a corporate espionage to obtain information of a rival business. This movie is a dystopia because their society becomes very unrealistic and dream like, the movie becomes an entire dream where you cannot justify reality from dreams. I have not done any research yet but that film became very popular so I am sure I will find great sources.

Chris Williamson Blog #5

I have decided to select blade runner for my research assignment. The plot revolves around Rick Deckard a retired Los Angeles police officer who is forced to destroy 4 rogue bioengineered sentients known as replicants made to seem every part human. A fifth replicants is discovered when Deckard is investigating interrogation methods at the corporation where the other 4 were manufactured. Rachel is special in that it is unaware of itself as a replicant and so tries to prove its humanity. Deckard hunts down the first of the replicants and is soon informed that Rachel has gone missing adding her to the list of targets. When Deckard notices Rachel in a crowd he is attacked by another of the replicants on his list, but is saved by Rachel. This prompts Deckard to vow not to hunt Rachel. Deckard then confronts the last two targets, but is nearly defeated by his final foe. By chance Deckard is spared as the final replicant is defective and dies as a result. Soon after Deckard runs off with Rachel as she is still being hunted.

The idea of killing without sound reasoning of sentient and intelligent life is the main dystopian theme. Even though the replicants are not entirely human they are nearly indistinguishable, and portray convincing emotional responses as well as similar goals as ourselves and all life for that matter. The ability to generate such indistinguishable beings is another idea that firmly places this work as a dystopia. Potential theoretical lenses for this text could be psychological, and marxist. As for research I am still looking into sources that would fit my perception of the text to use with my paper.

Blog #5- Dystopia text selection Jovana Gama

The text/film Ive decided to chose for this assignment is the Hunger Games. I am still deciding whether or not I want to analyze the film version or the book version. I have seen the film version directed by Gary Ross. I may plan on doing my analysis on the book version written by Suzanne Collins.  I will be doing my paper based on the first book/film of the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is a dystopia because there are different districts that are living in poverty,  within these confined grounds that look similar to concentration camps. One boy and one girl are chosen from 12 different districts and are chosen to fight to the death on a reality show. There survival all depends on a certain skill they obtain and on "sponsors". All the people chosen for the "Hunger Games" can range in variety of age. This is undesirable because it is not often thought as fun to engage in murdering, especially all for a show that others are watching as entertainment. The characters have to literally fight and kill in order to stay alive. The characters are dehumanized and thought of as game players on this show, and not thought of as real people. Life within the districts are a dystopia and those that live within the inner city are wealthy and view the Hunger Games as entertainment although all these "players" are fighting for their life.
I have yet to conduct any research on my text. As far as any analytical lenses or theoretical lens, I am still up in the air on details.

Dystopian Blog Chris Bertrand

The primary text I think I'll be going with is Lord of the Flies. I think everyone is pretty familiar with this text from high school, but the material previously covered was about symbolism or something of that sort.. This text is a good representation of a dystopia because the story line develops a chaotic, unruly group of kids who decent into a very unorganized, lawless group of kids. I'm leaning more towards a Marxist theory paper, I think this lense "fits" best. No research done yet bu I'm pretty sure there will be an abundance of sources to cite.

Dystopia Blog Trevor Coopersmith 4/28/13

The primary dystopia text I selected is the movie Idiocracy. Mike Judge wrote and directed this sci-fi comedy which gives a new meaning to the expression "people are getting dumber all the time." In 2005, Joe Bowers  is a soldier who was chosen to take part in a secret military scientific experiment. The expirement consisted of which he will be put into hibernation for one year, along with a woman named Rita, another main character. Bowers and Rita are forgotten when the military base where the experiment took place is closed down, and when they wake up in the year 2505, Bowers finds himself living in a society where intelligence has taken such a downfall that he's now the smartest man in the world.The specific features that make Idiocracy a dystopia is that it is a critique of American society currently in multiple ways. A professional wrestler is president, plants are watered with gatorade, and starbucks sells prostitutes. Idiocracy attacks consumerism, immortality with women, and sensationalism in politics. Idiocracy is another world used to point out flaws and compare society to others. Idiocracy is exaggerating the fact that many Americans believe everything they are told. Potential theoretical approaches include Feminism due to the mocking of women sexuality rights in the film and a Marxist approach due to the constant economic downfall and roles of people in society. So far I found a review of the movie Idiocracy by Sheri Linden. "Idiocracy" is hardly flawless; much like "Office Space," it delivers a socko premise but can't quite sustain the edge, lapsing into formulaic storytelling that dulls the payoff." I will continue to look for more scholarly sources and watch the movie again before I write the paper.

BLOG #5: Text Selection/Initial Analysis for Research Assignment (Due by Thursday, 05/02)

This one's pretty simple.

Tell me about the primary text you've selected. You should provide basic identifying information as well as a summary. Then: which features make this text a dystopia? Which theory(ies) will work well as analytical lenses? Have you settled on a theoretical lens?

Have you done any research yet? What have you found? List/link anything you've identified as a possible source here. 

I will try to comment on all of these. The more ideas/possible analysis you have, the more I can give you. Will be looking forward to reading these. 

Jennifer Sanchez: Oleanna Play Write up

In the live performance of Oleanna the audience would laugh when John and Carol would say something that "seemed" funny.  The play is suppose to anger the audience.  Which this live performance it made the audience laugh. It didn't get me mad and the actors didn't show emotion. Throughout the play they talked in the same tone it did not change.  It was simply plain, words from act one were changed.
Carol's shyness was there through her acting. There wasn't a change of self-conscious to being confident. 
I was happy that John threw her to the ground but not as satisfied when I saw it in the movie. John most of the time was sitting down and I expected him to be walking around the stage.

Blog Post #4 Oleanna Lee Bowen

When we first started watching the play Oleanna I didn't quite understand what the overall deal was with this student teacher complex. Carol wanted to talk to her professor about receiving a better grade but all John could talk about was his house and that they come from two different social classes. At first it seemed like he used that as an excuse to why she didn't get the grade she wanted even though she knew she had struggled throughout the class. Then he starts comparing her to himself as they go deeper into why she could't understand his style of teaching. Carol uses the claim of sexual harassment to try and get what she wants while making John look like the one at fault for everything. J.K Curry stating "The work obscures the issue of sexual harassment by suggesting that sexual harassment is really a ploy of militant feminists to disempower and destroy white, middle-class, male academics." Carol uses her feminism ways to try to make the situation favor her over the professor. Using this against him as a tactic in order to obtain what she desires is ultra sad.

Chris Bertrand Blog #4/ Q #4

I feel compelled to agree with Scholar Richard Badenhausen (“The Modern Academy Raging in the Dark: Misreading Mamet's Political Incorrectness in Oleanna"), when he acknowledges that “In discussing the 1992 debut of David Mamet's Oleanna, audiences and critics tended to highlight two features of the play: its indictment of political correctness on college campuses in America and its treatment of sexual harassment..” Political correctness on college campuses was an important topic, since there’s this ‘fine line’ of political correctness that administrators can’t cross but the professor in Oleanna most certainly did. The treatment of sexual harassment being a very important topic that was brought up in Oleanna as well, where again there is a fine line you shouldn’t cross, and again John did.  “ characters polarized not only in their gender, but physically, generationally, and educationally.” I agree with Richard Badenhausen here as well, you couldn’t have a found a more demographically polarized cast, unless the student was also a minority.

 It  was important to make these contradicting traits and touch on such highly controversial issues or else it would not have been as easy to explore “the perils of inferior teaching and the subsequent misreadings that necessarily follow in a pedagogical environment that tacitly reinforces (instead of collapsing or bridging) hierarchical differences amongst its participants.” And you see this time and time again, with ample context amplifying the shortcomings of the system at hand with the constant interruptions, the crossings of the ‘political correctedness’ and ‘sexual harassment’ lines, and their overall miscommunication due to pedagogical jargon.

Brianna Engelhorn Blog #4

In the beggining Oleanna, it was very annoying to watch. The dialogue of the professor and student constantly cutting each other off was just very hard to follow and not get distracted. I started to become particularly interested and the characters way of interacting was a little easier to follow towards the middle of the play. It was hard to grasp what Carol's intentions were at first because in my opinion she was a typical hard working student looking to improve a grade she thought should be higher. When Carol claims that the Professor sexually harassed her it started to fall together. I like how J.K Curry described Oleanna as "not being primarily about sexual harassment, but about false or distorted allegations." Carol started to use her need in that class to get a good grade to turning it into targeting the professor into making the public think he was sexually harassing her. J.K Curry stating "The work obscures the issue of sexual harassment by suggesting that sexual harassment is really a ploy of militant feminists to disempower and destroy white, middle-class, male academics." Carol had an advantage and she knew she did because she claimed she came from a lower class than the professor causing it to look like she was less fortunate as well as seeming incredibly vulnerable  By the end I realized that I had sympathized with Carol at first only to at the end kind of have disgust in the way she used her feminism approach to target the professor. 

Extra Credit Question 5 Jess Cantu

At first watching the movie Oleanna was a struggle. Carol's voice got under my skin and she would keep interrupting the professor. I agree with J.K. Curry's statement, "The problem with Oleanna is that it is not really or not primarily, about sexual harassment at all, but rather about false allegations." When Carol went into his office the first time it was innocent. She wanted his help to understand the book he had written and possibly to gain his trust. The second meeting is a lot different from the first. She accuses him of things that he did not due just so that she could get him into trouble. He grabbed her wrist at one point to try and calm her down and talk to her and she turned it around on him and claimed that he raped her. The second part of what J.K. Curry said is true also, "Or, perhaps more accurately about exaggerated forms of harassment or distorted claims of harassment." She exaggerated being raped when all the professor did was try and calm her. And if she was being 'raped,' why would she continue to go to his office to talk to him. Maybe only to rub it in his face that she has the power to ruin his career, which she did. She became power hungry and would lie to get her way and to make she that the professor was fired. 

Extra Credit Blog Quetion #5 - Laura Romero

J.K. Curry explains in his article, "David Mamet's Oleanna as Commentary on Sexual Harassment in the Academy", that he believes the "problem" with Oleanna was not about sexual harassment,"but rather about false allegations...about exaggerated or distorted claims of harassment". I completely agree with what he is saying. Everything that Carol accuses John of is not false, but taken completely out of context, which make it sound a hundred times worse than it actually was. Carol made it seem to the tenure commity as if John was trying to seduce her or attempting to ask her for something inappropriate in exchange for her grade to be changed.
Her initial reason for going in to see him , without an appointment may I add, was to talk to him about her grade. When she got there, she just sat down because he was on the phone, but as soon as he got off the phone, the first question she asks him is "what is a term of art" that has nothing to do with her grade. If she went in to talk about her grade, and her grade was actually her only reason for stepping into his office, why was she using up her time and his, to talk about something that was in the end of no importance to her.
Curry states that "...suggesting that sexual harassment is really a ploy of militant feminists to disempower and destroy white, middle-class, male academics."  I agree with what Curry is saying here. Sexual harassment and rape arevery serious offenses, and from what I know about sexual harassment and rape as a whole and about the victims of these crimes, it is very traumatic and horrendous experience. Carol accuses John of sexual harassment and then of attempted rape, both extremely horrible things. If someone actually went through these crimes the odds are that they would be traumatized. Even looking at the person who harassed and/or raped them would be an extremely difficult and terrifying experience. So if John really sexually harassed Carol and attempted to rape her, why would she go back to meet him alone, in his office? An actual victim of either one of these crimes would never do this.
Victims of these crimes, can be scarred and traumatized for a very long time, possibly the rest of their lives. Something like this does not just go away. A victim of an offense of these magnitudes, does not easily "forgive and forget". Carol , the alleged victim of BOTH sexual harassment and rape, seems to be perfectly fine the next time she meets with John. She even offers him a deal to make her accusations go away. She tells him that her and her "group" would like certain books to be taken off the school list. John's book being one of the books on said list.
I agree completely with Curry. What Carol and her "group" are doing, was not about sexual harassment and getting justice for her agony, it was about taking someone down who held more power than themselves/. No real victim of these crimes, would offer something in exchange for them to recant their accusations. The only justice that some victims of those crimes get, is for the assailants to be put behind bars and locked away so that they are no longer able to hurt them or anyone else. Carol and her "group's" only objective, since the first time Carol set foot into John's office, was to take him down one way or another for their own satisfaction.

Blogg 4 Alex Z

Question #5

When we watched this film in class, I couldn’t help but get upset about it, not literally but figuratively speaking.  David Mamets movie Oleanna was a good movie, it made me think about various aspects of Feminism.  I agree with what J.K Curry said that “The problem with Oleanna is that it is not really or not primarily, about sexual harassment at all, but rather about false allegations”.  When I watched this film I thought of the movie in the same way.  When Carol the student first came into his office, to me it seemed as if she didn’t even need to get help from John the professor.  From the beginning Carols act looked staged, as if she knew she was going to do what she did.  As the film progressed Carol was getting a little more aggressive, and you could see that she was no longer in his office for help anymore, it almost looked as if she was in there to find what she could get John in trouble for.  Towards the middle of the movie she had put together some accusations to get John in trouble with the schools board.  But she showed an aggressive form of feminism to find the most harmless things that John did, like holding her by her arms to try to calm her down, and she took it and turned it around and said “You tried to rape Me”, “…under the statute.  I am told.  It was battery”.  In the view of most of the society it was not battery or rape, it was just a teacher trying to calm down a student that needed it.  But to Carol it was something she could use to get John in trouble with the school.  And this leads to what J.K. Curry said when he states “Or, perhaps more accurately about exaggerated or distorted claims of harassment”.  Carol does use exaggerated forms of harassment as when she uses the time when she was getting a little crazy when she was with john in his office, and John just tried to calm her down but she took it as battery and she wanted to file charges with that occurrence.  With filing charges Carol could have John fired from the university that he has worked so hard to get to.  In doing so Carol may feel some sort of power that she got a such accredited teacher fired from that school, and doing that it would be a achievement to her and her so called group.

Blog #4 Question #2 Cara Dacus, Eng. 201 1073

After watching Oleanna in class we were asked to have discussions amongst ourselves and talk about our initial reactions to the play. It seemed to me that overwhelmingly the class thought of the professor, John, as a victim. That he was "just trying to help" and that he "deserved" respect because he was the teacher, as opposed to her, the student. I definitely felt that John was portrayed as the protagonist, and Carol the antagonist. While I feel like her actions were coming from a morally questionable place, both of their actions were detrimental to each other.  Just because he was not aware, or conscious of misusing his power does not mean that he's innocent. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, or so I hear.
       I do agree with Showalter in that the characters were not equal and fair in their representations. True, they were both incredibly annoying but John was easier to relate to. His goals and ambitions (to rise up the social ladder by teaching at a university, to buy a nice home for his family) line up with typical American ideals. Carlos motives are never fully understood. It is clear that she wants to ruin John's career to make a statement, but her arguments are exaggerations of the truth, at best. Her character is largely unexplored, creating more questions than answers. By portraying the characters as such it seems clear to me that the audience would naturally sympathize with John. In reading how audiences react to this play, especially the end when John beats Carol, by cheering and applauding, it seems hard to argue that the there isn't a "right" or "wrong" side to take.
    Showalter was definitely harsh in her critique of David Mamet. While I do not think he succeeded in his goal of creating a balanced case for each character, the writers goal and what is created do not always have to match up to make a successful piece of art. I think the play was well written. Being able to draw out such strong emotions from an audience, who knows that they are watching a play, that it is not real, and yet they get so emotionally wrapped up in it is a very difficult task. If nothing else this play brings up questions and forces people to think about what they feel and why.

Blog 4: Question 5 -Andrea Abbott

       As the critique J.K Curry stated, the film Oleanna suggests “that sexual harassment is really a ploy of militant feminists to disempower and destroy white, middle-class, male academics” (“David Mamet’s Oleanna as Commentary on Sexual Harassment in the Academy”). Although I’m not completely sure about what Carol’s group’s intentions were, it’s clear that the student used her “innocent” position as a female student to get the professor fired, and did not actually feel sexually threatened. From the gecko Carol plans to take down John which becomes clear when she tries to “dictate a class content reading list, [violating] John's academic freedom and [abusing] [the] campus sexual harassment policy.” Through manipulation, the student’s offensive agenda towards the college’s strict no-tolerance policy allows her to succeed in the end. However, like the play, the film sets out for the audience to sympathize with the professor, so it almost feels acceptable when he begins to beat her (well, at first anyways). It’s because of the shady, dis-honest instances like when Carol yells, “Let me go.  Let me go.  Would somebody help me?  Would somebody help me please…?” (so the faculty members could clearly hear her)  and when she reads from her notes: “The twelfth: ‘Have a good day, dear.’ The fifteenth: ‘Now, don’t you look fetching…’ April seventeenth: ‘If you girls would come over here…’” While she confesses “For two semesters [she] sat there [watching the professor] exploit [their], as [he] thought, “paternal prerogative,” and what is that but rape;”… then adds, “I came here to instruct you,” that we take the teacher’s side. In my opinion, if this film did indeed try to make a Feminist/Marxism point, it got lost due to the overwhelming focus on sexual harassment. As a female, I wanted to like Carol and root for her dedication and commitment to gain power, however she did it in such dis-tasteful matters that I had to sympathize with John. If I (being a young woman) rooted against Carol, then what does that say about the Feminist influence in the production? I think the film was not created for the audience to find one answer or take sides, but pressures us to start thinking about multiple issues about power struggle, poor communication, sexism, and so on. It’s how you interpret it that matters.

Extra Credit blog #4 question #6

As we were watching the Oleanna class, we got to learn a lot about our characters Carol and John. John who is a professor at a university comes in contact with Carol who is one of his students. Carol comes into his office with a problem of failing his class and she is seeking for some guidance and understanding. As the film continues I began to dislike Carol due to the fact the he was rude to her professor the whole time while he was trying to explain to her and make her understand what was going on. He also had other proprieties with his family that he had to get to, but he decided to help her. Looking at Carols character, I do not see her as being a Feminist,or even being a role model. Although my views on Feminist are different, relating to the film, I see someone as a role model if they are setting a good example, and are strong willed. As Carol is a strong willed and determined person, the way she comes off to the professor is rude and arrogant and just trying to get what she wants, which is to pass his class. She is constantly asking "what" and "why" to everything the professor is saying and at times doesn't even let him finish his thought. By her expression, you can tell that Carol gets overwhelmed very easily and tends to come off as a pain and overall rude person.

Brad Wires-Question #1-Analysis of Oleanna

According to Marxist Theory, dominant ideologies are set by the bourgeoisie. The proletariat then adhere to these ideologies. Analyzing Oleanna with Reflection Theory reveals some of these dominant American ideologies. The pursuit of a higher education, for some in America, can be a tantalizing task. This is reflected in the film when Carol says "I have done everything you told me to do. I bought your book. I sit in class and take notes...everything you said" yet Carol still receives a failing grade and a passing grade seems unobtainable. A higher education is, in a sense, required in today's society. This ideology is also reflected when Carol exclaims "How do I...what do they say...get on in my life?" Carol believes a higher education is required to improve her socioeconomic status. This is a dominant ideology in America, go to college, earn good grades, and a good paying job will be waiting. In the film, John's ultimate goal is securing tenure and purchasing a new house for his family. I believe this is something all Americans want, job security. Sexual harassment has been a hot topic in the last few decades. There have been policies put in place to not only protect women from being sexually harassed but also to protect men from false allegations. The film reflects these policies in a realistic way, showing what can happen when false allegations are alleged. I believe sexual harassment ideologies in America are in a transitional grey area. Nothing is really black and white, and this grey area is represented well in the film. Another dominant American ideology is that America is the land of opportunity and anyone is capable of moving up through the social and economic classes, rags to riches, so to speak. Although this is inspiring, the reality is that it only happens on rare occasions. This reality is reflected in Oleanna. Carol says "I come from a different social...a different economic. You don't know what it cost me to come to this school." She has worked very hard and sacrificed to have the same opportunities as someone in a higher social/economic class. I think the author's worldview consists of questioning certain systems. Perhaps sexual harassment policies and the social and economic classes. The author portrays John as the protagonists and Carol as the antagonists. This suggests the author might view radical feminists as a growing concern, and that questioning sexual harassment policies is important.

Sanchez, Jennifer Oleanna Blog #4 (Extra Credit)

Question 5:

   In Oleanna, Carol is a student that goes in professor's John office to get help because she is failing the class. J.K. Curry says that is it a plot from feminist to destroy white men, middle-class, academic career. I agree with him because when John says something Carol immediately writes down, and then she intentionally and/or unintentionally misinterprets what he says. John in the first scene wanted to explain something to Carol, and she would not listen to him so he grabbed her by her harms. Carol screamed, "Let me go. Let me go. Would somebody help me? Would somebody help me please...?” heading toward the hallway. By her doing this it shows the audience that is on purpose is saying that John is trying to rape her who in reality he wanted to calm her down and to explain something she did not understand.
   So compared from the first scene she had changed in her appearance and her vocabulary enhanced. The thing John had said such as him liking her, giving her an A if she came to his office to start the class over, and by him having troubles with his wife have been turned around by one simple student that is in a "group" that is not mentioned throughout the play.
   She must have been known that by screaming those words her professor could be fired because of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 stating that sexual discrimination is illegal; the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1980 stating that verbal and psychical abuse toward students can determine an employment decisions toward a professor. As Carol perception was different than John's she destroyed his life.
   Slowly Carol starts to "button in" into John's conversations then trying to talk to him about buying a house and his wife. As the play started to end his wife called him and then John called her "babe", right before that he had kicked Carol out of his office. Carol then stands by the door waiting for something to happen. Soon that happens and she tells John not to call his wife babe basically trying to interfere, manipulate him by telling him what not to do. Even though she is trying to manipulate him she meets her goal and is beaten by John. John beating her was one of the things she needed in order to have proven so she can sew him. In a sense she wants to feel power as men have, but she takes it on to a different level such as accusing a professor that was trying to help a student without harming her.
   In the end, Carol wanted to feel power and destroy a man’s life. She purposely made false allegations about her professor and would be "nosey" in everything her professor would do during office hours. Her false allegations were John trying to commit sexual harassment, saying he liked Carol, and inviting her into his office in a more than a student relationship level according to her. Her actions make her feel more in power than a white "successful" man and her demand for fair treatment.