The Road: Human Interaction.

The Road pg. 60-150

So now the story has finally led to what the first quarter or so was foreshadowing. Our protagonists have finally encountered other humans on their journey, and they are very very dangerous. The first human we see them encounter is a man wandering down the road horribly injured after being struck by lightning. The boy wants to help him but his father knows they can do nothing, they pass the man, never quite looking at him. Soon later, a much more dangerous encounter occurs and picks up the novels pace tremendously. The father and son see what I will refer to as "wanderers" since the book gives them no specific title. They are driving a truck on diesel and have guns, we have no idea why. They wear paint masks and have tattered clothes. We ultimately know nothing about them but Cormac McCarthy describes them in such detail that they seem terrifying. When they encounter one of the wanderers close up, they begin a scuffle that ends with the father shooting the wanderer and covering his son in brain matter. These few pages were very intense and may actually convince me this book could work as a film.

Besides the encounter with the wanderers there is another notable thing about this portion of the book. The first being that the dialog between the father and son increases and we find that their relationship isn't as great as it could be, especially in terms of his son wanting to die.

Games as Art Debate Research Part 3

Game: Grand Theft Auto IV
Link #6
The criticism this article brings to light in interesting because it does not address the violence of the Grand Theft Auto series and more of what people see in the story. He rants about how the story is nothing special and "Sub-Tarantino" but also admits that he never gets very far in the games at all. This is a common pattern against people who criticize the value of gaming, they rarely ever put a lot of effort into finishing the game or never play the game at all. In this case the writer is criticizing those who are impressed with GTA IV's story, even though he has no idea what it is.

Game: Metal Gear Solid Series
Link #7
The Metal Gear Solid series has been a big component of the "games as art" debate. With it's sprawling story of political espionage along with the brilliant writing and directing it is often considered the absolute best you can get out of a game. Director of Metal Gear Solid, Hideo Kojima, often thinks differently. He is notorious for being very critical and negative about his own work even though it is almost universally praised. It is a shocking blow for the man behind some of the greatest games of all time to declare that he does not think games are art. It is his belief that artists try to appeal to one specific group, while game creators try to appeal to a broad group. Once again his opinion is subjective, but nonetheless it is shocking to hear this coming from the creator of a critically hailed game series.

Link #8
This article addresses how in America specifically, games are being given limits that do not allow them to become art. The ratings system is broken, the creativity is too far and between, and no one seems to be arguing against it. If a game receives an AO (Adults Only) rating, no store will carry it, the developers censor their game to avoid the rating. How can the art form grow if someones creative vision is automatically limited by the ESRB?

The Road 1-60

The Road by Cormac McCarthy is a story about a father and son. Some implied tragedy has burned across America, leaving nothing but ash in it's wake. So far we do not know their names or much about them at all except that they are heading south to get warm. The first 60 pages focus mainly on their journey and introducing their characteristics. We find out that the son is easily scared and that the father, while comforting to his son, is more scared of their possible death than he lets on. "If we get wet, we'll die" he says. It is interesting how Cormac McCarthy describes nothingness. All around the father and son is a baren wasteland but he finds a way to describe the ash flowing through the air and the glassy ground.

The novel appears to be building up to something. There is frequently very short moments of suspense that so far have led to nothing. The father hears drums in the distance, the boy suspects someone of being in his fathers old house. I am excited to see what happens when they finally encounter another human, I have a feeling it is not going to be a peaceful situation. There is a brief flashback of the father remembering going to a concerty with his wife. This part is interesting because we find out that whatever happened surely happened recently. Although it appears that the son only knows this post-apocalyptic America, this is most apparent in a scene where he does not recognize what a Coca-Cola is.

I am intrigued by The Road, but I can definitley feel it building up to something much bigger.

Slutlamp - A bottle of oil with a cloth wick.(From: Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage)

Games as Art Debate Research Part 2

Game: Shadow of the Colossus
Link #4:
Controls as an exercise in art
This is interesting because we see a new side to how games can be labeled as art. Sure the visuals of the game are astounding but the controls which are arguably the most important part of any game are sparsely discussed in the games as art debate. This article takes Shadow of the Colossus and shows us how through subtle tweaks in how the game handles, it becomes a work of art.

Game: Okami
Link #5
The Game of Art
Okami is one of the most discussed games in this debate because of it's revolutionary paint brush gameplay mechanic. What this Wired article asks is if the game feels like art or if the art feels like a game. Attempting to answer the question appears to be futile, since everyone will have something different to say.

Game: Bioshock
Link #6:
Objectivism in Bioshock
This article approaches different literary and philosophical connections within Bioshock. Approaching the story of a game is where most "games as art" debates lead to, but there are so few games that really try to have a good story like Bioshock. This game singlehandedly raised the stakes for stories in games and it's effect will be long lasting.

Games as Art Debate Research Part 1

Link #1
Games vs. Art: Ebert vs. Barker
by Roger Ebert

This is Roger Ebert's response to Clive Barker after Clive commented on Ebert's "video games are not art" stance. Roger easily wins this argument as Clive is clearly not suited to be the one defending artistic video games. Clive's argument is weak and full of holes making it easy for Ebert to pick it apart. On the other hand Ebert also seems ignorant in how he talks about games(something he clearly has little knowledge of) and is obviously categorizing them all into more mindless fodder. In all honesty while Ebert's argument is stronger, both sides go about the issue the wrong way.

Link #2
The Arty Party
by Jim Preston

This piece by EA producer Jim Preston does not so much address the "games as art" debate as much as it addresses controversy over what art is in general. The article makes the question "what is art?" and ultimately comes to the conclusion that art in America is so many different things to different people due to our rich cultural landscape. We cannot define one thing as art and another thing as not, because everything is art to somebody. A urinal becomes art when it is placed in a museum, but as Jim Preston says, you can find Pac-Man in the Smithsonian.

Link #3
Once Upon A Time, Will Video Games Ever Have Their "Moby Dick" or "Citizen Kane"?
by William Vitka

This piece focuses more on the story aspect of video games and how it needs to be improved if it wants to be considered art. Story in most video games comes in as an afterthought to the game design, this is of course a large problem. Games have come very close to art but as long as the story sits behind concept and design, we will never get our "gaming classic". The article also addresses player control and actually argues that it provides a stronger narrative, not the other way around.

Review: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Directed: Julian Schnabel

Written: Ronald Harwood and Jean-Dominique Bauby(novel)

Starring: Mathieu Amalric

For the majority of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly we see through the eyes of Jean-Dominique Bauby editor of Elle magazine. When we aren't seeing things through his eyes we are seeing things he remembers or imagines. "Other than my eye, two things aren't paralyzed, my imagination and my memory. " Bauby says as he lays in a hospital bed, completely paralyzed except for his left eye. How did he get in this position? Jean-Dominique Bauby had a stroke at the age of 43 and ended up with the very rare "locked in" syndrome, a syndrome in which the patient retains almost all memory and recognition but remains paralyzed. Through a system developed for those with locked in syndrome, Bauby can communicate by blinking. At first they use the simple system of "One blink means yes." and "Two blinks mean no." Eventually a system is worked out where a person works with Bauby by reading out an alphabet in order of how commonly a letter is used. Bauby blinks when they read the letter he wants and they can eventually form whole words and sentences. It was this system that allowed Bauby to make his memoir "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly". This provided an insiders view of "locked in" syndrome and when the memoirs were adapted into film the "insiders view" is absolutely retained. When I say "see through the eyes" of Jean-Dominique Bauby I mean it in a very literal way. As in, we see every time he blinks, we see his eyelids being sewn shut, and we hear his inner monologue desperate to speak out. It is these portions of the movie with their cinematography that make the film literally one of the most involving movies I have ever seen.

Not only do we get to see Bauby's time in the hospital, we also see flashbacks of his life as the rockstar-like womanizing editor of Elle magazine and of his life as a loving father to his children. I felt a deep feeling of sadness after seeing a flashback of Bauby so vibrant and full of life, and then cut back to him after the stroke with a lifeless expression on his face. Bauby's inner monologue serves as the films narration as we see him visit his kids, see his friends, make friends with his stenographer, and even see his condition improve. We see all these moments of his life and they are countered with the voice telling us how he longs to play with his children or make love to a woman. This provided a much more emotionally effective experience than I anticipated and could even leave more sensitive viewers shaken by how intense the emotion can become. Mathieu Amalric does a good job as Jean-Dominique Bauby but in all honesty there is not a lot that he does that isn't a testament to the excellent writing. Do not take this the wrong way, he was better than decent, but the writing and narration are the real stars of the movie and I don't see a lot that Mathieu adds to those things since he spends the majority of the film off screen.

Julian Schnabel shows off some very impressive direction in Diving Bell. The style of the movie being pulled off this well overall is not something that is common in even some of the artsiest corners of cinema. The film essentially became his baby and he has taken very good care of it. Interestingly enough the screenplay adapted from Bauby's memoirs by Ronald Harwood was written completely in English, it was not until Schnabel came aboard that the decision to film the movie in Bauby's native tongue of French was even put on the table. It is such a sad sight to see Bauby's condition improve in the later half of the film only to see him quickly be taken away by pneumonia. Thank God he could finish his memoirs and that they could be adapted into this magnificent film. Lots of movies like to take a long hard look at the human psyche and give their take on it. The difference between those films and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is that in this film, the human psyche is taking a long hard look at us from the inside, and for the first time we get to see through his eyes.

9.7/10

Metaphor in Mark Doty’s "Difference"

In Mark Doty's poem "Difference" there is a very interesting statement about jellyfish. The first half of the poem focuses on several metaphors for jellyfish such as "this one a breathing heart, this a pulsing flower. This one a rolled condom, or a plastic purse swallowing itself,that one a Tiffany shade" (17-21). These metaphors are obvious and provide some easily imagined imagery, each one is relatable to the look and/or shape of a jellyfish. It is not until around the halfway point of the poem that the speaker uses the metaphors to his advantage when he says "sheer ectoplasm recognizable only as the stuff of metaphor." (31-33) It is at this point that the reader can begin to understand how the speaker looks at jellyfish.

Imagine a young child at an aquarium. He is looking into a tank full of jellyfish with big eyes full of wonder. Imagine what is going through his mind. He is not thinking "Look at the beauty of marine life." he is thinking "Wow, those look like floating glowing grocery bags!" Most poems are entirely dependent upon the use of metaphor and there is no shortage of school assignments begging students to "Find the metaphor!" Metaphors, after all, are the basis for all education. We learn how one thing works by pointing out its similarities to something we already know. You could say there is an often childhood-like feeling accompanying metaphor even when using metaphors for very adult things like war or death. "Difference" follows the basic rules of using metaphors, but is different for how it dissects what metaphors mean. The speaker is using jellyfish as something that automatically applies itself to metaphor. It is almost impossible to look at a jellyfish for a period of more than a few seconds and not think of what else it looks like besides a jellyfish. By using such an easy metaphor and comparing it to things like condoms and opera, the speaker is representing the imagination of the world itself.

"Hear how the mouth, so full of longing for the world, changes its shape?" (58-60). We see all these things in jellyfish, because our imaginations want to see it. Is that not what fuels our imagination, the longing to see what is not there? Jellyfish as a metaphor for metaphors? All I see is a floating grocery bag.