South Park

I think that South Park is an absolute bust. Without the swearing and the obscene content that the writers only get away with because its a cable show, the show wouldnt last. Making fun of fat people, homosexuals, Jewish people, and racially diverse people can only be funny for so long. And a talking terd, i mean how juvenile can you get. This is why i stick to my shows like Law and Order SVU and 24 and Entourage. At least those shows actually depict things that are relevant and possible in todays society. You dont see too many people having conversations with talking pieces of shit or talking towels these days. And unlike shows containing talking robots or talking beverages, South park is not supposed to be a science fiction based comedy....or a parody of that genre. I just dont see the appeal of shows like this. At least in the simpsons, at least the older episodes, it took some writing savvy to get humor out of the show, instead of just parading every played out grotesque comic ideal across the screen with random profanity thrown in for good measure.

Thank You for NOT Smoking

ill be back with more of a blog tomorrow after class but i hate reading this book because all i can think about it how hard it is to stop smoking when im reading this book.

election

In class we talked about how the book was something like a childrens fiction novel, and i agree in some parts, but some parts i find to be quite well written and darkly comedic. I liked the parts where mr warren is compared to bill clinton because of his infidelity in marriage. im anxious to read on and find out what actually happens in the election but i like the way that the book has gone so far. The development of the characters could use a little help, but there is actually something in all of the characters that everyone can identify with. You have the popular jock, the bookworm, the nerd who is obsessed with political and social popularity (even though she is also the slut), sexually experimenting teens, etc. Everyone knows people like this either from their own high school or from stories they have heard from other peoples schools. the thing i dont like about alot of movies or books that use classic stereotypical high school students as model characters is the fact that the target audience is usally young impressionable minds of high school age kids. Movies like shes all that and mean girls stress the importance and desire to be "popular" and fit in no matter what. Ill be checking in with my next response after i finish the novel.

My Paper Topic

Im going to look at the way that politics is satirized in TV, Movies, and Lit. My thesis is basically going to be something along the lines of: While it is easy to satirize politics for entertainment value and to push certain agendas, it becomes problematic when these views are passed off as legitimate political views. Thats pretty much all i have so far so if anyone wants to give me some input i would love to hear it.

Slaughterhouse Five

I enjoyed this book because of the way it shows all sides of the issues of war and the ideas that people have about it. I think that the Tralfamadorian planet is included to show the way that war can change peoples lives for the worst. I think that they have some good ideas, especially the one of death on the planet. The idea that people die in the moment but are perfectly fine in other moments of time is something that I kind of believe in a sort of backwards way. I think that the ideas of time and death allow the grieving process to be easier than it seems to most people these days. You see people mourning for days and weeks at a time in our society, while on their planet life is constituted by a series of snapshots called life. The idea ties into the satirization of war by showing that peoples mind can be affected so heavily by the trials and tribulations of war. This book is one of the better written books ive read that use satire to talk about something as real and devastating as war and death. It gives the reader a chance to suspend his or her beliefs or disbeliefs on subjects like death and time and get lost in a world where these views are totally different than ours. We talked in class about how Tralfamador is real or fake, and i brought up the point that without the first hand experience, its impossible to say if its real or fake. Its real to him, and thats the point the author is trying to make. Reality is something that can change within people, depending on their personal experiences. His reality is also affected no doubt by the shock therapy he received.

Onion

My story that i read from the onion was about Alex Rodriguez and his decision to opt out of his contract with the yankees, trying to get more than 25 million dollars that he was scheduled to make in 2008. The story was a satire on the money hungry pro athletes in America and how many of the athletes only care about money, when other people would kill to do something they love for half of the money. The world series was going on and all anyone could talk about was how much money a-rod wanted and if he was going to stay a yankee or not. I like the way that the onion can take a real story and put a satirical spin on it. The "real"news now is so skewed that its nice to have a fresh look at things through a non serious eye. The comedy element in news, also seen in shows like the Colbert Report and The Daily Show, allows americans an escape from the everyday views of the media and the government which is forced upon us all. The problem with things like this are some people only get their information from these "fake"news stories, and that is a problem. If people only get their information from those sources, this can be problematic in the fact that people are misinformed on the real issues and the real problems going on in our world today.

The colored museum

I really enjoyed reading the colored museum. I thought wolfe did a great job of adding comedic elements throughout the play, while also keeping with a semi coherent story throughout the work. One of the negative sides of the story in my opinion is the use once again of over exaggerated social stereotypes, especially of the black women in the play. The repeated use of the theme of dance was something that i thought was very overplayed, and could be considered quite offensive to the black community. The other element of dark comedy i thought was pretty offensive and definately risky were the parts with Aunt Ethel cooking and Miss Pat and her "shackling" of the airline passengers. The reference to the slave trade and the shackling of slaves to the hulls of the boats is something that i was offended by, and i would think that many african americans would be as well. The fact that miss pat was a stewardess which is widely considered to be a white female occupation was something that i thought was clever to try and put in a commentary on the white people trying to still hold the black people down, but again there is a line that i dont know should be crossed here. Aunt Ethel with her big black pot full of many ingredients which ends up rearing boiled black children is not only disturbing, but also i think demonstrates a sort of political commentary on the morals of american society. All in all, i thought the book was cleverly done, but i feel like there are some subjects that have distinct lines which shouldnt be crossed, and i feel this book comes extremely close to doing that, if it doesnt cross them completely.

Paper Topic

I am thinking about doing something along the lines of the satirization of religion in both film and plays, along with some critiques and reviews of these works. My thesis is going to slant towards the way that most people who write religious satire and either non religious, or have gone away from a religion that they were brought up a part of. On the other hand, many of the critics of these works are often hard core religous groups or individual religous zealots and my thesis is going to try and find a way to attack both sides of the argument and come up with some sort of middle ground for commentary and satirization of religion, especially in present day america where a high number of people claim to be religious and particularly christian, but their lives dont necessarily follow that premise. I want to look at things like political elections as well, but i dont want my topic to be too broad or to jump around during the paper so i was hoping that maybe someone could help me out with a concentrated thesis that could somehow incorporate all of these things. I was thinking something along the lines of using a movie like bulworth or election and showing the political satirization aspects in films, and how religion seems to be an intrugal part of the election process nowadays. I have alot of ideas, but im just not sure how to focus in on them to create a cohesive thesis and a clear paper. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

clueless

Its been a while since i saw the entire movie of clueless, and its been a while since the movie was presented, but i think that the movie is an absolutely rediculous representation of pop culture in america. The typical blond spoiled barbie cher who leads her pack of fake girls around the school and runs people into their stereotypical cliques is a horribly overdramatized image in todays society. Recently, with movies like Mean Girls and others this idea has just been totally played out. The parts of clueless that i thought were funny were the parts where cher is learning to drive, and taking her road test. she is more worried about how cute she looks in the car rather than if she almost kills someone in the process of the road test. Another part i like is when they are making over the dorky girl to be a part of their little group. My favorite part is when they are in the car though and they sing Rolling with the Homies. I cant think of much else and i dont actually own the movie so i cant watch it but i will add some things to this blog if i can get a hold of a copy from someone in the next day or two.

Grotesque

The story of The Day of the Locust is chalk full of grotesque characters and images. While i agree with Kristian that Harry is a grotesque, as is Abe, I believe that the painting The Burning of Los Angeles is in itself a grotesque "character" or image and is probably the most important part of the story. Tod dreams up his painting of a complex piece of art which depicts many different, and often dark images. While the city itself is on fire and seems to be the key part of the work of art, there are many little depictions of dark images which are scattered throughout the entire piece. One of the important minor images in my mind within the painting is Faye running through the city naked with a pack of men and women chasing after her trying to rape her. This dark image is one of many including faye and the rape fantasies of tod. Tod is not as complex a character as the statement that West makes in the first chapter about him. He is a very simple character...while he does seem to unravel through the novel into an animalistic type of person, his character still is rather underdeveloped and simple.

Simpsons Blog

I have never been a fan of the simpsons at all, and i dont think that the new episodes are going to turn me on to the simpsons now. I have never liked cartoon comedy and i dont think i ever will. I might be one of the only kids my age who doesnt like south park, the simpsons, family guy, or any of the other popular cartoon comedies these days. I see them as dull, boring interpretations of sitcoms that have already been produced. We talked in class about how they all have the stereotypical episodes, and since i dont have a favorite episode, i guess i will talk about homer's phobia since its one of the only episodes i have ever seen.

I didnt like the way that the episode played on all the dry, overused stereotypes for gay culture. The writers take the easy way out in trying to talk about homosexuals and just play up all of the popular, and sometimes absolutely wrong, stereotypes of homosexuals. I also dont see why every family in these kind of cartoon comedies has to have a fat dad, one boy, one girl, a mom.....like the perfect family. People in america understand that the life portrayed in these shows is not everyone's life, and isnt even that ideal. Another thing i didnt like about this episode was the fact that the comedic parts of it were not done very well. The part where homer sits bart in front of the billboard for the cigarettes, coming back two hours later and finding out his son wants a cigarette (but a woman's brand) was too cliche and predictable. I also think that John Waters was greatly underdone in this episode. I would much rather watch a movie by him than see him weakly represented in a cartoon comedy.

Hey Everyone

Im not sure if we were supposed to post something yet or not but i just wanted to say this class should be fun and im looking forward to reading everyones thoughts