In-Class: The Forrest

The Redwood trees here just might be poking holes in the clouds that would otherwise be drifting by, but instead are pinned down by spears of pines. These pines coat the floor of the forrest along with the paved pathway that once could be seen below it. The pavement winds casually between the trees, but some of the most aged trees lifted up enough root to let the pavement wind seemingly through the wood as it stands - exposing dozens upon hundreds of rings showing age. Massive and hauntingly vacant holes in the sides of these trees were once home to any imaginable woodland creature, but now they only have space to call their home.

The pavement that winds through the otherwise thick foliage appears to have been abused by millions of feet, wheels, tires, and raindrops. The path it takes seems too long and too far gone. The twists and turns it makes don't appear to have a clear end destination in mind. "Scenic Route" was the name it was given, demeaning its purpose to one of just wandering or crime.

When all that is organic is all that is on the ground, a shiny car key stands out more than it would in any other place. There wasn't a car here at this point in time, and the car probably isn't in any sort of reasonable radius to the key. This key wasn't here on purpose. This key was left behind. The only other man-made sign of life tto be found within yelling distance from this key was a decrepit plastic cup. This cup was the red kind, white inside, bumps all around to ease the grip. This was the kind of cup you don't just use with dinner. It was the kind of cup you find at a bad party and when you're done drinking, you play with it enough to break it, and then throw it away: a similar fate to the one this cup found.

There was one tree in particular that had finally served this forrest long enough. It gave up its reign in the San Francisco skyline, and laid itself down right across the pavement path it had bonded with the past few years. Perhaps it just wanted to give itself to the land, or maybe it was a warning to the next visitors to the path who left behind a new kind of home. Trees and cars don't seem to agree on much, especially when push comes to shove. The self-sacrificing tree had met its match with the last car to wind down the path, perhaps too quicky. The car came to a forceful stop at the same place where the tree had given up just hours before. The ones responsible for the car driving were gone, but the now foregone vehicle had become a new home for the wanderers of the forrest and the creatures surrounding it. What was once a trunk now plays shelter to a small group of birds who once called the tree home.

The edge of the forrest was bordered by a fence. This fence was new. Brand new. The tree that gave its life to this fence was freshly gone. This fence was apparently just for looks, because it wasn't high enough to keep out anything but the lowest 3 feet of wind through the forrest. Just over the fence extended a stretch of field that was being worked over by dozens of colossal machines, flattening, paving, excavating, and smoothing. A highway laid in the horizon line that abruptly ended right before the forrest began - or moreso where the forrest was about to end.

In-Class for 10/27

Talk aboout what went well with your paper and what didn't go as well. What writing exercises helped? What didn't?
I don't think this paper came along as easily as the last one for a few reasons. With the space assignment, there was a lot of room for imagination and argument because I was the only one who experienced that space in the wat that I did at the time that I did. With the movie paper, the sources of information were definitely more concrete and the arguments had a be a little more solid. Also, I had a harder time finding a film in the first place. I went with one I enjoyed from the get-go because it was a very happy-go-lucky-feel-good documentary. It was a little more mindless than I would like for it to have been - but I suppose this is all about learning experiences anyway, right? Either way, I really appreciated  the quoteburger exercise. It wasn't a super new concept for me, but at that point I was really struggling with overall length and content of my paper. I felt like I had a few solid ideas, developed them, and had like 4 pages. The more thorough introduction and analysis of the quotes gave me a lottle more direction to give the quotes some body.

quoteburger

Benjamin Franklin satirized British policies toward America by writing a letter that argued, "A great empire, like a great cake, is most easily diminished at the edges." While Franklin jokingly suggested that Britain should rid itself of its outermost provinces first, he directly targeted how Americans should feel toward the monarchy that disenfranchised them.

I'm a big quoteburger fan. We got beaten around with "blending quotations" in high school, and I think they did a pretty effective job. I have a hard time looking at a stand-alone quote without wanting to fix it now. I think it takes a lot of the work out of reviewing and analyzing works because all you have to have is a good eye for words. If someone can just pick out a string of words in a really pretty order, and then understand the intent of the phrasing the author has, quoting isn't too tough. Quoteburgers are all about context. I think tabloid writers and newspaper editors are professionals at liberal quoteburgering. They can take almost anything a celebrity/official said, throw it in some new quotes with an artistic set-up, and say something completely new and different. I hope to get a little QB-ing in with reference to the NETSationals. The dancers have awesome little snippets in their 60+ years of conversational experience - so their quotes are priceless.

where to go from here

This workshopping experience was very productive - I had a lot more complete than I did the last time around with the space analysis essay (The page requirement certainly helped.) A lot of the changes were oversights in a grammatical sense, where I couldn't quite figure out the wording I was looking for to get through my thought process. All of teh comments were really helpful, and I intend to use all of them. The direction the paper is taking is where I want it to go, and I hope to bring in a few more characters for the sake of specifica and a few more outside sources with credible reviews since this film was a Tribeca Film Festival release, not a first-run theatrical. Also, there were comments about doing some more work on common stereotypes of elderly people and how the characters in Gotta Dance defy those stereotypes.

where to now?

          I should probably get going on that here pretty soon. The prewriting is really productive - I feel like I have a lot more things to write about than I did writing the space analysis. With a work that so many people have seen and reacted to there's a lot more in the public domain to reference as far as arguments. I would like to study up a little more on the team themselves and poke my head around for some outside reviews to see where the points of controversy hit with people who actually make a living by reviewing film. I might also explore the possibility of checking out one other film I haven't seen in a while and see if I get immediately inspired to start this process over again on a new topic. We'll see. I need to get my thesis for this film to take more of a stand than introducing the general themes of the film and collect some quotes from the interviews that support all of my claims. It might be nice also go go back through my favorite scenes (since I watched it on Netfilx) and screen-shot the still images of the most poignant settings to see if I can do a little visal analysis on camera work.

real reality?

          I'm not sure there's a such thing as a real reality TV show. Television is inherently not a production of actual life. Between editing, sequencing, and camera angles - it's nothing like experiencing something first-hand. I can't think of a reality TV show I have ever seen that is even remotely comparable in situational accuracy to what it would be like off-camera. Once people can realize that the only qualification to become a reality show is to have amateur actors who might or might not be wiling participants. I don't think there's cheating in Reality TV - those that participate only have a false sense of control over their role on the show and longevity of participation. The producers of a Reality TV show have everything to do with the outcomes of a competition or what film makes the final production.
          That being said, I LOVE REALITY TV. I can't stand it. I'm not as much into the game shows and survivor-style competitions, but I can't pretend like I don't care who got kicked off the Bachelor. I do. A lot. I like a lot more scripted TV shows, and I think of reality TV as more of just a more poorly written script. I love the lifestyle-geared shows...it all started with Trading Spaces way back in the day. Now I can't help myself but watch hours of Toddlers and Tiaras and Dance Moms. Reality TV is like a really loud car wreck. You can't look away, you have to slow down and watch what happens next because you know its going to be interesting, if nothing else.

marie and juno

  I can see a lot of similarities between the two young women featured in the films themselves. Juno and Marie Antoinette were both just teenagers when they both had more dumped on them than they could handle at once. Whether it be a country in turmoil or an unplanned pregnancy, both films are pretty counter to the usual pop movie about teen girls. They're not all glamorous, even without costumes and pomp, the films expose an uglier side to ruling a country or trying to coordinate an open adoption. Between the two readings, we see the films evaluated as packaged products; and a tool to evaluate a cultural group. The hipster Juno image of I-don't-care-what-you-think contrasted with the high French criticism of Antoinette make a soemtimes unwanted social message more known. Both authors were pretty successful sending this message by putting out some more concrete examples of the reception of the films, direct quotes from the script, and some statement about the authors' intentionality in writing them.

iTunes got it right with so many options in sorting criteria. I like sorting songs by play count, it's a good dose of nostalgia. I'm a little obsessive when I find a song I really like or is particularly awesome to sing in the car. Here's some I stumbled upon when I did my latest sort (in no particular order other than what I want to talk about.)

Won't Stop by OneRepulbic
I can't remember if it was my freshman or sophomore year that OneRepublic came to campus, but I felt an urge to study up on the latest discography and I ran across this one. I don't usually get emotionally attached to songs, but this one just had good timing in my life.

Sunday Best by Augustana
Just goes all too well with Won't Stop. Practically made for each other. I think it must have been freshman year that I loved these, I remember listening to these on repeat on the long haul up 35 back from College Station for the short time the boyfriend was an Aggie.  Even if I wasn't in a bleh mood before leaving, these are hope-nobody-is-watching singing down the highway tearjerkers.

1901 by Phoenix
I love this one because it reminds me of the early high school days where I would dress in neons, go to little hipster shows with local bands, and pretend I was reeeeeeeally cool. Still wish I knew most of the words to this song and 90% of what I listened to back then.

The Distance by Cake
 As an endurance athlete, Cake has got the best song to start a race with, ever. The lyrics of this sing ("fuel burning fast on an empty tank" and "reluctantly crouched at the starting line/engines bumping and thumping in time") are the kind of lines that you can't help but think about when you're on the starting line or in transition. 

Up on Cripple Creek by The Band
If anyone finishes a TCU education without taking "From Rock to Bach" with Dr. Robert Garwell, they have really been disserviced by this institution. It is the best class ever. Rock to Back introduced me to The Band and "The Last Waltz" about their farewell tour. Cripple Creek was the first thing we listened to on the first day there, and it really just stuck for me. I love The Band.

Flashing Lights by Kanye WestThis song was made for running. The cadence is perfect, and it became a classic for me after I stopped running for TCU and started trotting the Trinity on my own. Listening to Flashing Lights during my sunrise runs, watching the downtown lights go off one by one made every morning start right.

I Will Possess Your Heart by Death Cab for CutieI was really excited for this album, and I randomly landed on this one first. It was a little confusing without a track listing because this sing is almost nine minutes long, but it makes for a good essay-writing or homework-starting when you just need a mental warm-up.

Desperado by The Eagles
I decided years ago that this would be song I would dance with my Dad at my wedding. It's perfect. I went to the same summer camp for 10 years, and this was THE slow dance song that we would all sing/yell along to every word. My Dad was a camper and counselor at my camp too.

Handlebars by Flowbots
I'm proud to know every word to this song as an avid cyclist. It's not a good group bike ride if this anthem doesn't get belted out once or twice.