It took every ounce of self-control I possessed to drag myself to class last night and I did it mainly because he said we'd be talking about the assignments. Once there, we talked about the epic failure of the books we selected and Martin was particularly amused by Cormac McCarthy's The Road. This did not go down well with one girl who clearly loved it, and so they spent about 80% of the class discussing it. I can't help but feel that this girl is missing the point a lot of the time. For example she flounced into class and scoffed disdainfully "Can someone tell me why we're reading about World War 2?" See, it's not about the actual content of our weekly readings, but rather the style in which the writers approach their subject - we're supposed to be doing meta-criticism, not focusing on the content of the article. So her making fun of the pointlessness of our subscribed reading only highlighted a failure to understand the fundamental basics of the class to me.
I know I sound bitchy, but seriously, someone is entitled to make fun of 'The Road' and you are entitled to like it. We don't have to get uber defensive about it and eat up half of class time.
My usual seat had been taken so I sat on the opposite side of the room and the vibe was so much nicer with the people there, we were all laughing and they'd let me discuss District 9 and Zombieland in the break. I'm sneakily trying to get one of those to be our film text, but Martin isn't going for it. A shame really, I think sci-fi often does a much better job addressing the problems and current concerns of a society than other genres, even if it is set in a world that isn't entirely real. It may not be factual reality, but it's truthful reality. Also, I think it's a bit unfair that there seems to be an idea that you cannot critique a television show the way you would a film or novel. Surely, a show that has completed its arc is open to interpretation and critique the same way the other mediums are. I'll prove it by writing a comparative critical essay of The Road and the television show Jericho. Even if this means I have to actually read 'The Road' - I don't want to, the film was depressing enough. After all, if I could write a comparative essay of Anna Karenina and Wuthering Heights, I can do this.
So that's one part of the assignment out of the way.
I submit my first assignment for narrative writing today, so I feel everything is going rather well now that the writer's block seems to have dissipated. I just have to clear the last few cobwebs from my mind, but overall I'm quite happy with the pieces. They're both quite creepy and sort of gothic which I've never submitted before for fear of being boxed as a genre writer, but it is what worked at the moment so *shrugs* And I must just give huge thanks to Abs for helping me get there in the end. Still, I feel quite confident in my pursuit of the elusive HD average.
Oh yeah, to my endless amusement, J has found an academic symposium on Torchwood that he suggested I write a paper for. And why not. Well, I have to submit the abstract first, but still. Hilarious. And a bit annoying. There was a total niche there for a doctorate.
Anyway, better go get my lunch/dinner sorted and head off. I'll leave you with these images to remind you we're hurtling through space - or it's hurtling around us - whatever:
From the 'Star trails' photo pool on Flickr
Music: Hate everyone - Say Anything
Mood: Busy
No comments:
Post a Comment