PROFESSOR INCOGNITO APOLOGIZES in class assignment

1. Are there any prominent symbols in this story? What are they and how are they used?                There is a lot of reference to the classic superhero and super villain gimmick, with the            costumes, hero names, secret lans and identities. The concept of the main character            working with the Martian is also far fetch and sci-fi/ superhero universe related. Also,            the form of his "apology letter" and all the information given to the girlfriend is very                legal-like,professional, and well thought out 

2. What connections did you make with the story? Discuss the elements of the work with           you were able to connect?
        I really enjoyed the relationship dynamic between the two characters, and the way the           "note" (was it a note?) was written. If I was the girlfriend I would have a lot to think                 about after receiving all that information. I also really like this particular take on the                 whole "super heros/super villains" thing. I thought it was interesting that the narrator             took into account the stereotype of a villain and how he wasn't that at all. This was a             new point of view that I enjoyed, one of a socially adapt super villain who has a                     girlfriend who he loves. The story has me rooting for the bad guy.

3. What changes would you make to adapt this story into another media? What changes           would you make? What medium would you use? 
        I think this story would make an excellent animated movie or series. These type of                 superhero/super villain stories tend to make themselves malleable to a film or series,             because they follow an individual through a personal journey that is fantastic to                     the regular viewer. I think this element, along with the deep personal relationship                   between the two characters would make a relatable yet entertaining series. I for one             want to know more. I want to know what design the girlfriend makes, what the fate of             the world is. Will Professor Incognito be successful? Will he get to live the rest of his             life with the woman he loves? I want to see what his lab looks like, maybe                             a hardworking music montage of him building it over the years. 

Assignment 7: In Response to Junot Diaz's Opinion

          After watching his interview with Seth Myers and reading the article, I openly agree with Junot Diaz. He elegantly explained the importance of the works of people of color and their role in preventing this country and culture from becoming "white -washed". He talked about the crucial factor in writing that brings people together, helps people understand each other: mutual relatable feelings and situations, things we identify with and label "real". Often times other cultures can seem just like stories, or information that is just fed to us. While it might seem hard to go out and truly experience other culture from the comfort of your own couch, it really isn't if you start exploring the works of ethnic authors. After reading the short story "The Book of the Dead" from Dewbreakers, I was able to understand a little bit more about the role of family and religion in Haitian culture, along with the conflict of love for a family member versus moral compas.

Assignment 6: Describe a World You Know

PREFACE

          I will whole-heartedly admit I over thought this assignment, and I had such insane writers block I wanted to break my fingers as an excuse for my lack of material. I went back to an old piece for inspiration, one that I felt could help me make something that fit that prompt. What is my world? Its a constant stream of internal vocal consciousness to be honest. I'm always listening to my own voice in my head, constant, nonstop, questions, worrying, describing, dissecting, over thinking. Its not always a bad thing though, I've finally come to realize that. It's just who I am. Below is my response to this prompt, a littler tangent-y (I apologize). 

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I have discovered that I am a fast paced person.

I cannot hear the vents creak with the moldy air that fills a classroom. I cannot see the dust fall into delicate piles on a worn out projector. I cannot smell the layers of chalk that line the metal ledge of a blackboard. I cannot feel the sun slightly filtered through windex streaked windows. I only strive to be heard, to have the last word in an unending debate of mixed subjects. I can only try to say as much as I can in the sliver of time allotted to my focus.

“Take a deep breath”, I am always told. “Slow down honey, count to ten”.

Creaky metal tracks ignited sparks along the subway. The car swayed as it moved, snakelike, underneath Cambridge corners. I could smell the tracks of one thousand travelers, and I could feel the fingerprints of all those lonely hands. I could see myself sitting gently on the bench in between two friends. My hair was messy from the city winds, my head was lying on my boyfriend’s shoulder, my eyes were half open in sleepy observance. I kept staring into the window, swallowing the scene around me, savoring every detail. It was like I was watching myself in a movie. There was a quiet that was not dense and not chilling, but simply cool. A cool silence that washed over everyone to cleanse us of our busy days. It set the buzzing thoughts out of our beehive minds. A silence that allowed the fast paced people, in a fast paced world, to simply be still. This calm silence allowed me to stop, slow down, and sit.

I sat. I sat and stared. I stared at myself in the window. Outside was pitch black, my reflection stared back at me. It was only the three of us on that quiet ride and I did what is common to do when caught in silence, I let my mind wander a little too far.

I thought about myself and life. I thought about how life has always been a little bit of confusion and frustration. Most people spend their lives trying to capture some sort of correct answer for everything. Maybe it’s because I’m stubborn, and I don't like being uninformed or not knowing everything, but it always bothers me that I don’t really know who I am yet. Constantly contradicting myself, surprising myself, unlocking parts of me I didn’t even know had a door. This is frustrating because we are supposed to know who we are as individuals, but we keep contradicting and surprising ourselves.  

The way I see it, humanity is constantly searching, digging around for trends to follow, genres to sort, and adjectives to assign. We like to make things belong, give everything a concrete category, to understand what things are. So is it crazy for me to think that there is this feeling in the back of our skulls, that aches to define each and every one of us? I think about this every day, it drives me mad. The irony of this is that every time is think about it, I discover a new piece of myself. Everyday I grow a little more insane, and it brings me closer to figuring out who I really am.

The subway slowed; the silence was broken by a thud, a screech, a muffled announcement from the driver. Instantly, I was ripped from my sedation, back into reality. Everything moved at once, but sequentially still in slow motion: I was trying to grab hold of the peace I had with reality for that short train ride. I gathered myself and grabbed my boyfriend’s hand, dragging him into the parking lot back to my car. My voice echoed in the garage, reviewing our exciting day in loud, excited sentences. I was back the sporadic version of myself. Starting my car, the volume filled the lot. The radio blasted a thick slow bass, layered with an insane eclectic guitar solo.

Assignment 5: American Mythology

When the term "mythology" is referenced it means a collection of myths associated or having come from a certain group of people (ie. geographical, cultural, religious, etc.). Webster's Dictionary states that a myth is "a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events". America is not the first place the mind associates with “mythology”, usually one would remember the Greek and Roman gods, Norse and Egyptians as well. The creatures of Northern Europe, hybrids and monsters. Tales from times far from today. America’s history is new, young compared to the rest of the world. But we still have plenty of myths, Bloody Mary, Bigfoot, Native American Tales, Paul Bunyan’s big blue ox. Area 41 and ghosts however, are real. But what about the cowboys? What makes these iconic parts of American history culture “mythological”? Cowboys probably sit more on the “tale tale” side of things, because they lack that element of the supernatural. However the term is not ill-fitting, the tales of the Wild Wild West and the cowboys that resided in it were defiantely hyperboles that had a significant impact on American culture, usually amplifying happenings of events and certain people's’ personalities.

True Grit (2010) directed by the Coen Brothers and True Grit (1969) directed by Henry Hathaway both create a beautifully crafted window into the historical/mythical hybrid that was the wild west. Full of cowboys, harlots, injins, guns, booze, sex, dirt, poop, revenge, dirt, and my favorite all the horseys. The elements that keep the story “mythical” include things such as, revenge, heroism, and sacrifice. The main plot revolves around Mattie's plan to avenge her father's death to get revenge. One could argue that all of the main characters had heroic moments, but it quite obvious that Mattie is a tragic hero. Even though she gets her revenge, she loses her left arm. This annihilates any hope of living a normal life (given the time period). It could be said that she even sacrificed herself for her father.