Setting is inherent in every story regardless of how
detailed it is. In the case of “Bears Discover Fire,” by Terry Bisson, it
serves a number of significant functions to accomplish the work of the text. The
first important aspect of setting in this story is the physical location. The
main physical location of “Bears Discover Fire” is in western Kentucky. The
second important aspect of setting is the time, which is in October in the
early 1990’s. The third most important aspect of setting in this story is the
psychological state of the characters. The narrator describes himself as
“old-fashioned, while his brother, Wallace, is “new-fashioned.” All of these
aspects contribute to the story as a whole. First of all, western-Kentucky is
more rural than other states. Generally speaking, rural areas tend to be more
conservative, or “old-fashioned” in the way they do things, live their lives,
etc. than their urban counterparts. The time being in October is significant
because that is about the time when bears go into hibernation. The narrator and
Wallace’s psychological states are important because each of them represent the
“old” and “new” ways of life in America. In other words, the narrator
represents a time in the past when people had to build and fix their every day
items, products, and goods, while Wallace represents the modern way of doing
things: buying corporate made-products. The bears represent this conundrum in
that, like people thousands of years ago, they discovered something to make
their life easier, a convenience. However, bears are still at a point when they
are still able to appreciate the little things in life like the burning of a
fire, each other’s company etc. Humans, on the other hand, have gotten to the
point where they are so individualized that they have little consideration for
each other, let alone the environment and the organisms (such as bears) living
in it. In other words, the corporatizing of everything is only increasing our
sense of individualism, which will lead to greater selfishness. Thus, we are
taking a dangerous route that requires a greater amount of responsibility and
consideration on our part then ever before.
MLC Blog
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
"Nature/Environment"
The Axe Effect - Women - Billions
This Axe commercial relates to our discussion on both
“environment” and “nature.” In class we decided that an “environment” can be
any type of surrounding in general, whether natural or man-made, while “nature”
encompasses anything that isn’t man-made. In the case of this commercial, Axe
attempts to establish a link between “nature” and their body spray product by
advertising it as this sort of sex pheromone that will attract women. This
notion is summed up in the tag line at the end of the commercial: “Spray More,
Get More: The Axe Effect.” In other words, by having women in lingerie travel
hundreds of miles through various natural environments (such as forests,
mountains, beaches and oceans), and fighting each other along the way for the
man who’s happily spraying himself with two cans of Axe, Axe is essentially
saying that women’s affinity for perfume-like products is as “natural” as sex.
Therefore, if men use products that help them smell good, such as Axe body
spray, then women will “naturally” want to have sex with them.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9tWZB7OUSU
Friday, March 23, 2012
The Novum: Dead Space for the Unexpected
The main character of “Dead Space for the Unexpected” is a
man named Jonathan who works as a business manager. The novum in this story is
a computer that is able to calculate how well individual business team members
execute their jobs. More specifically, the device is able to calculate things
such as appropriate eye contact, posture, tone, facial expressions, and even
the amount of sweat released. This information is then compared to what is
deemed appropriate for a given business situation (such as when Jonathan is
forced to fire Simon). This comparison, in turn, yields a numeric score between
1-10, which determines how well the individual handled the situation. Each
person’s score is available for every other team member to see. Through
Jonathan, the reader witness how this ‘system’ results in a huge amount of
stress on a person who only perceives his value by the numbers he produces. In
today’s corporate world, if one doesn’t produce the numbers a company expects,
then that person is fired. It’s as simple as that. Such a method compels people
to work, thereby stimulating competition, resulting in progress. This is the
capitalistic way. It is why countries like the United States are light years
ahead of other nations in terms of standards of living. For me personally, my
concern with this system isn’t the general ‘unhappiness’ it causes amongst some
individuals in these developed nations. My primary concern is rooted in people
overseas getting paid a few dollars a week to make products that result in
billions of dollars in profit, of which company CEO’s pocket millions,
sometimes billions. The people making these products are starving, while a few
other people are getting million dollar bonuses in addition to their million
dollar salaries? No.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Close Reading: Nekropolis
“It looks human male... Can
something not human blaspheme” (McHugh 387-88)? On a personal level these
passages reveal that sex is the main reason why men have subjugated women
throughout history. Instead of using an actual human man in this scene, the
author uses a robot named AI, thus relating the notion that men’s quest to
sustain their sexual appetites is biologically ingrained much like that of a
robot’s programming. Therefore, it can be interpreted that men’s domineering
behavior towards women is primitive behavior at best. This notion of
primitiveness can be seen in the line, “It flirts, looking at me sideways out
of black, vulnerable gazelle eyes” (McHugh 387). By using a gazelle as a
reference, it can be interpreted that McHugh is associating men’s behavior
towards women with that of simple animal behavior. However, as human beings,
men are able to drive towards their primitive urges in a manipulative manner:
“Smiling at me with a smile which is not in the slightest bit vulnerable”
(McHugh 388).
The dialogue by AI that immediately
followers this line is interesting because it forces me to envision how the
first dialogues between men and women may have played out: “’Come on, Diyet,’
it says, ‘we work together. We should be friends. We’re both young, we can help
each other in our work’” (McHugh 388). In other words, when the first human males
and females came together it wasn’t just to help each other with the workload;
it was to reproduce. It is apparent in the next paragraph, however, that this
second goal seems to be the primary one for men: “It smiles wickedly… ‘I think
you are too pure. A Holy Sister” (McHugh 388). It is in this paragraph that the
author introduces to her readers the basis of what she appears to believe to be
the primary conflict between men and women in general, and therefore in her
story as well: sex. For men, she refers to their stronger drive for it as a
“biological construct” (McHugh 388). I believe the reason for this is because
men do not have to worry about the responsibility of carrying and giving birth
to children. Thus, in response to AI telling her she is too pure, Diyet
responds, “Don’t sound foolish” (McHugh 388). McHugh essentially appears to be
saying that it is foolish for men to push their primitive sexual appetites on
women when they are not the ones who have to deal with the most problematic
(and painful) aspect/s of producing a child.
“The Mashahana says that
just as a jessed hawk is tamed, not tied, so shall the servant be bound by
affection and duty, not chains” (McHugh 388) Diyet says this in response to
AI’s inquiring about why she appears to look so solemn. By having her say this,
McHugh is relating women’s relationship to men with that of servitude. Despite
the results of this servitude, which have come in a variety of forms in
different cultures throughout history, women have always put up with it out of
a sense of “duty” to their families, communities, and therefore themselves. Their
“affection” for their male spouses, which stems from the fact that emotional
attachment, not the primitiveness behind a blind desire for sex, is also a
cause for their subjugation throughout history. Monday, March 5, 2012
Reader-Respons: "Something to Hitch Meat To"
I think this story has to do with dealing with and accepting peoples’
differences. The first part of the story that caught my attention was the part
when one of the little children at the beginning said, “the purpose of the
skeleton is something to hitch meat to” (Hopkinson 839). Since this line
essentially contains the title, I kept it in mind as I read the story.
Immediately after this part, one of the nannies leading the aforementioned
children remarks to her coworker, “God Latino me are jus so hot, don’t you
think” (Hopkinson 839). After saying this, both women giggled. I don’t know if
this comment was supposed to be sarcastic or not, and to be honest, I wasn’t
sure of what to make of it. I then took note of when Artho was observing the
woman on the bus, how he temporarily “made her into something it wasn’t” in his
mind (Hopkinson 840). Hopkinson’s intentions for this line seemed clearer to me
while Artho was in the store near his apartment to buy avocados. Though he was
a regular customer, the clerk assumed that Artho’s $50 bill was a counterfeit,
despite making change for bills that large for elderly women and business men.
I think the clerk was thinking, “What the hell is a black man doing with this
much money? There’s no way; no way this bill can be real. Either that or he
stole it. Black men do that shit all the time.” After Hopkinson presented this stereotypical
relationship between ‘black men’ and ‘stealing’ I found it interesting that she
then moved to the other stereotypical relationship of ‘black men’ and drugs
with Aziman’s story of his encounter with the white guy. What caught my attention
were Aziman’s own stereotypes (the ones made by the white guy were obvious).
During the story, Aziman referred to the white guy as a “cornfed kid” with a
“polo shit on” and then says he’s “probably an MBA” (Hopkinson 841) I thought
to myself, “I didn’t know all white guy’s in polo shirts had MBA’s?” I like
this part because Hopkinson illustrates how our societies stereotypes and
assumptions are cyclical. One side will say or assume something about the other
side that pisses that other side offer, causing them to return the favor. At
this point, I completely understood what the title of the story meant. We’re
all the same. We all have skeleton’s that essentially look the same, but our
appearances are nothing more than superficial differences that are as
insignificant was a lump of meat.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Gender Through "Bloodchild"
In “Bloodchild,” Octavia Butler explores societal gender roles in a
number of ways by placing ‘man’ in ‘woman’s’ position. Gan is a young male
terran (human) who is destined to carry the children of T’Gatoi, a female
centipede-like alien whose species is known as the Tlic. As such, Gan assumes
the role of ‘woman’ in society, while T’Gatoi does so for ‘man.’ By doing this,
Butler is able to force men and women to see though the eyes of the opposite
sex in regards to the gender roles they assume. Just like women are
biologically destined to bear children for the survival of the human race,
Terrans, who are physically and politically weaker than the Tlics, are destined
to carry the latter’s eggs. Tlics need hosts in order to survive. From here,
Butler explores the intangibles associated with this relationship; specifically
ones that outline the unequal status women have in our society, a status that
in this case reflects them as ‘hosts.’ Until recently, women were literally
viewed as men’s property. As ‘property’ their primary roles in society were to
cook, clean, bear and raise children. Laws even allowed men to legally beat and
rape their wives. Today, at least in our culture, things have obviously
changed. However, as Bulter reveals, there are still remnants/similarities
between the way women were treated then and the way they are now. For example,
childbirth is very dangerous. Until recently in human history (and still today
in certain underdeveloped parts of the world), it was very ommon for both a
woman and her child to die during childbirth. Despite modern medical advances,
such a procedure is still dangerous. Furthermore, even if everything goes well,
a woman still has to deal with severe mental and emotional changes, not to
mention the pain associated with carrying and delivering a child. Society
however doesn’t focus on those things. Instead, it focuses on the ‘beauty’ of
childbirth; the joy of buying baby clothes, furniture, and other accessories;
the happiness tied with adding another member to the family; etc. Though
society acknowledges the risks associated with childbirth, it does not focus on
them nearly to the same extent as the benefits. Considering our society is
still predominately paternalistic, I do not think this a coincidence. The
result is that most women grow up believing it is their duty to society (to
some extent, again depending on where you live), their families, and themselves
to bear children, as opposed to being provided with ‘other’ information that
could help them make more of an informed decision. I guess the question is
then, “If the risks of childbirth are presented just as the benefits, would
less women in our society choose to bear children?”
Friday, February 10, 2012
Reflection OR Style
The first images that came to mind when I used to think of
Sci-Fi were those from Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate SG1 and Battlestar
Gallactica. Until this class I always associated Sci-Fi with that type outer
space unrealism that characterizes the settings, plots, and conflicts of those
shows. However, “Liar,” “Frankenstein,” “The Algorithms for Love,” “Second
Variety,” Take Your Choice,” “Flowers of Algernon,” and “Burning Chrome”
changed my perspective. With that said, my former perspective certainly wasn’t
limited to the “Star Wars/Star Trek” notion, but it also wasn’t as expansive as
it is now. By “expansive” I mean the realism of the stories we’ve read so far.
For example, all of the stories we’ve read, except for one, (“Second Variety”)
didn’t contain any violent battles for survival like the shows and films of
above. On the contrary, they dealt with realistic emotional issues in realistic
sort of ways. In “Liar” readers are introduced to four primary characters, one
of them being a robot. The story focuses on the emotional/mental conflicts of
the three human characters. The robot, though important, is secondary to these
conflicts. Furthermore, the conflicts themselves are realistic in that they
involve love, jealousy, and fear.
“Frankenstein”
was probably the last story (of the ones we’ve read) that I would associate
with Sci-Fi. I think I would attribute this to the time period it was written
in. My thoughts, notions, and preconceptions of the 18th century are
anything but “scientific.” In other words, they are the complete opposite of
the preconceived notions of Sci-Fi I had before this class. However, I now see
“Frankenstein” as incredibly scientific for its time, so I guess I now see it
as a “Sci-Fi/Horror” genre, as opposed to just horror.
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