Fate vs. Free Will
In this graphic novel, Steven is obviously fated by Huntinton's Chorea. Although he is unaware as to whether or not he will get it, he still feels fated. I believe that is where the fate stops. It is his choice to become a recluse and refuse to answer calls. It is his choice to tell Lisa that he does not want children. However he does so because he feels like there is nothing left for him to do. He is haunted by the words his father said "...because if we'd known about the goddamn disease we'd never have had David and Steven in the first place!" Steven lets this hit him close to home and when he tells Lisa he doesn't want children I think he is turning into his father a little bit. Steven is battling anger for what his father said and for feeling the same way. Much like Oedipus, Steven was born and after his father learned about Huntington's Chorea, he realized he should not have children. Much like when Oedipus' father learns about what his son is supposed to do, he tries to get rid of him.
Monday, October 28, 2013
It's a Bird Section 4
Will the Stephen Seagle Please Stand Up?
The beginning of section 4 starts with a large frame of Steven punching the writer Joe Allen in the face over a fight about super man. I think this frame in itself shows how even at this point in his life Steven is still haunted by that day at the hospital. I think that by jumping back to his childhood and that day at the hospital specifically we get a sense of how important it is to him. As a reader I notice the contrast between how innocent Steven is and how ignorant he is to the situation around him. As an adult, Steven knows a lot. He knows almost too much about Huntington's and I think that make's him ignorant in a different way. He is living in a world of his own, thinking about Huntington's and the affect it may have on his life. He is being very closed and rude to people around him.
The beginning of section 4 starts with a large frame of Steven punching the writer Joe Allen in the face over a fight about super man. I think this frame in itself shows how even at this point in his life Steven is still haunted by that day at the hospital. I think that by jumping back to his childhood and that day at the hospital specifically we get a sense of how important it is to him. As a reader I notice the contrast between how innocent Steven is and how ignorant he is to the situation around him. As an adult, Steven knows a lot. He knows almost too much about Huntington's and I think that make's him ignorant in a different way. He is living in a world of his own, thinking about Huntington's and the affect it may have on his life. He is being very closed and rude to people around him.
Sunday, October 27, 2013
It's a Bird Section 3
Words, words, words...
A couple of frames that stick out are on page 32 when Steven's boss mentions that everybody has secret identities. He tells Steven that everyone has secret identities and then asks "don't you" very casually as if he knows the answer. We then get a great shot of half of Steven's face. This is a point where we don't get any words just a picture. I think the pictur answers the question of "don't you" perfectley. By hiding half of his face we are meant to belive that Steven does have some secret identities that we don't yet know about. I think these secrets will be very important to his story and his superman.
A couple of frames that stick out are on page 32 when Steven's boss mentions that everybody has secret identities. He tells Steven that everyone has secret identities and then asks "don't you" very casually as if he knows the answer. We then get a great shot of half of Steven's face. This is a point where we don't get any words just a picture. I think the pictur answers the question of "don't you" perfectley. By hiding half of his face we are meant to belive that Steven does have some secret identities that we don't yet know about. I think these secrets will be very important to his story and his superman.
It's a Bird Section 2
Frames
In the second section of the graphic novel, I began to notice the frames were all similarly shaped when in present time. However, when he goes back in time to something he remembers, the frames get bigger, they lose their borders. I think this is meant to make the past occurences stick out more because they are obviously very important to the narrator. Another thing to notice is at the beginning of a scene or section, the frames tend to be bigger. However, once the scene has been established the frames all become the same size. When Steven first goes to his mother's house the frames are very big. Once they begin to have casual conversation the frames get smaller. I think this is meant to introduce the reader to the new scene and characters.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
"It's a Bird" Section 1
Images
The opening few pages of "It's a Bird" are what the narrator remembers of a visit to the hospital. In these opening sequences the only people shown in focus are the narrator and his brother (and occasionally his parents). Everything else is just simple representations of what one might see in a hospital. In the background we get to see a doctor pushing a hospital bed around and really not much else other than the waiting room. I think this is meant to focus on the narrator and the situation he is in. His family is not happy and he is not happy to be in the hospital. At the end of the hospital scene the only thing that really jumps at you is the Superman comic and the superman like S on a paper from the hospital. it is the only thing in color here. This as we learn later is a very important comic to him. It reminds him of this time in the hospital.
The opening few pages of "It's a Bird" are what the narrator remembers of a visit to the hospital. In these opening sequences the only people shown in focus are the narrator and his brother (and occasionally his parents). Everything else is just simple representations of what one might see in a hospital. In the background we get to see a doctor pushing a hospital bed around and really not much else other than the waiting room. I think this is meant to focus on the narrator and the situation he is in. His family is not happy and he is not happy to be in the hospital. At the end of the hospital scene the only thing that really jumps at you is the Superman comic and the superman like S on a paper from the hospital. it is the only thing in color here. This as we learn later is a very important comic to him. It reminds him of this time in the hospital.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Minority Report Photo Analysis
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-POxC3KQyj9w/TIb6v7tf91I/AAAAAAAAAJk/1GlIj6fYqz4/d/janus-shot.gif
The attached picture from Minority Report is a picture of John Anderton and Agatha in the lobby of the Hotel right before John is supposed to kill a man. Agatha is trying to tell Anderton that he has a choice and that he shouldn't confront the man and that he should leave. Anderton explains that he won't kill the man because he has never met him. This Picture is a two shot and is a Close Up shot. The shot is also not at an angle, it is level. It shows only the faces of Anderton and Agatha. In the photo you only see half of their faces and they are facing different ways. I belive this is meant to symbolize their differing oppinions. Agatha is trying to tell Anderton one thing but he is telling her another. There seems to be more light surrounding Agatha which I think is meant to symbolize that she is right that he should leave. Andertons face is darker and more shaded symbolizing that he is about to do something bad.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Summer Reading Responses
1. To what extent is Oedipus responsible for his own fate in the Play?
Oedipus is responsible for his fate firstly by not believing Tiresius who told him that he is responsible for Laius' death. Oedipus continues to get angrier and angrier but he cannot accept the fact that the man he killed was Laius. Towards the end of the book he also could have listened to Jocasta and not ever found out who his true parents are and he would have been hidden from the terrible reality that Jocasta is his mother.
2. How good of a king is Oedipus? In what ways does he excell? In what ways does he fall short? Oedipus is made out to be a very good king at the beginning of the book. He was the king every one wanted. He listened to his people and their every needs, and was willing to do anything he could to make thebes a better place. I think he becomes a much worse leader when he starts denying Tiresius' prophecy that he is the one who killed Lauis, he begins to get angry and begins to only think aboout himself.
3. What is Kind Oedipus' tragic mistake?
I believe his tragic mistake is insisting that he know who his true mother and father are. This brought the realization that his feared prophecy had come true. He now realized that everything he had devoted his life to avoiding he had accidentally done.
4. In what ways does Minority Report support or refute Oedipus' notion of destiny?
I believe that the movie both supports and refutes the notion that you cannot control your destiny. In the scene where John "kills" Mr. Crow it happened just like the procog's had said it would, even though John didn't actually pull the trigger. But at the end of the movie the Precogs predicted Lamar killing John and just when the police show up, Lamar kills himself. I think both of these scenes show that you have a predetermined destiny, but that it can be changed slightly.
5. In what ways are eyes used for?
1) Precogs: The precogs can see things that will happen in the future, mainly murders.
2)John Anderton: His eyes are mainly used so that people can determine who he is. They are used to get him into special places and later so the police can try and find him, which is why he gets new eyes.
3)The Culture of the world: The world's eyes are scanned all over so add's and computers can talk to them and sell them things, or just remember things about them.
6. In American culture today there are many things that we have that are similar to the movie, such as screens we can manipulate with our hands. iPhones seem very similar to the screen John uses however we just simply touch it with our hands. I think that in the next 44 years we are definitely headed for some major technological advances. Most likely not like in the movie where we can predict murders, however technology is moving at a fast pace. I think that in preparing for the future we don't necessarily lock us into one fate or another, I just think it will keep us pointed in a certain dirrection.
Oedipus is responsible for his fate firstly by not believing Tiresius who told him that he is responsible for Laius' death. Oedipus continues to get angrier and angrier but he cannot accept the fact that the man he killed was Laius. Towards the end of the book he also could have listened to Jocasta and not ever found out who his true parents are and he would have been hidden from the terrible reality that Jocasta is his mother.
2. How good of a king is Oedipus? In what ways does he excell? In what ways does he fall short? Oedipus is made out to be a very good king at the beginning of the book. He was the king every one wanted. He listened to his people and their every needs, and was willing to do anything he could to make thebes a better place. I think he becomes a much worse leader when he starts denying Tiresius' prophecy that he is the one who killed Lauis, he begins to get angry and begins to only think aboout himself.
3. What is Kind Oedipus' tragic mistake?
I believe his tragic mistake is insisting that he know who his true mother and father are. This brought the realization that his feared prophecy had come true. He now realized that everything he had devoted his life to avoiding he had accidentally done.
4. In what ways does Minority Report support or refute Oedipus' notion of destiny?
I believe that the movie both supports and refutes the notion that you cannot control your destiny. In the scene where John "kills" Mr. Crow it happened just like the procog's had said it would, even though John didn't actually pull the trigger. But at the end of the movie the Precogs predicted Lamar killing John and just when the police show up, Lamar kills himself. I think both of these scenes show that you have a predetermined destiny, but that it can be changed slightly.
5. In what ways are eyes used for?
1) Precogs: The precogs can see things that will happen in the future, mainly murders.
2)John Anderton: His eyes are mainly used so that people can determine who he is. They are used to get him into special places and later so the police can try and find him, which is why he gets new eyes.
3)The Culture of the world: The world's eyes are scanned all over so add's and computers can talk to them and sell them things, or just remember things about them.
6. In American culture today there are many things that we have that are similar to the movie, such as screens we can manipulate with our hands. iPhones seem very similar to the screen John uses however we just simply touch it with our hands. I think that in the next 44 years we are definitely headed for some major technological advances. Most likely not like in the movie where we can predict murders, however technology is moving at a fast pace. I think that in preparing for the future we don't necessarily lock us into one fate or another, I just think it will keep us pointed in a certain dirrection.
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