Ava’s story map for “The Night Face-Up” VR Project!
Author: ava witonsky
Anti-Gone
My experience reading Anti-Gone was a positive one. I have read only 2 or 3 graphic novels before, so I suppose that I do not have too many expectations as far as conventions of storytelling in this medium. I know that many people in class were put off by the seemingly nonsensical nature of Anti-Gone. I think it’s interesting that we have been reading books and watching films that bend the boundaries of illusion and reality all year, but they all have more or less had a logical narrative to grasp onto. Now that Anti-Gone’s obscures these boundaries further and only provides vague indications of a plot, most of us have reacted with discomfort and dislike. I also struggle to understand many aspects of Anti-Gone, but as others have written, can we claim to ever fully understand an author’s true intent?
Reading graphic novels has felt, in a way, cinematic to me. The panels remind me of a film’s storyboard, of separate shots. I enjoyed Willumsen’s idiosyncratic “close-ups” of otherwise forgettable actions- a character throwing something in the trash or extending a hand over space. The play between the movie theater scene vs. the woman’s drugged fantasy was astonishing; I’ve never seen switches between scenes that cohesive on paper before. I am left with the impression that Anti-Gone is truly a work of freedom, curiosity, and passion for the strangeness of daily life.
End of A Handmaid’s Tale
Although we covered Contact High and the beginning of Anti-gone today, I want to focus on the end of A Handmaid’s Tale and my general experience with the book in this course.
The most heartbreaking point of this novel for me was chapter XIV, Salvaging. The dystopia of Gilead and its many perverse, repressive tenets horrified me, of course; but it wasn’t until this section that the novel truly made me feel sad. Offred’s reflection on this account of her life is more than another disturbing anecdote of her experience; it is the totality of her emotion once it has been told. What are we but brief players on the mortal stage? There is no guarantee that we will be remembered, and even less so for those living under totalitarian regimes. I can’t match exactly accurate words to the pain and despair that bleeds through Offred’s final words, particularly when she says: “I wish…it was less hesitant, less distracted by trivia” and “I’m sorry there is so much pain in this story.” The utter hopelessness, fear, and regret is almost tangible. I think this section sticks out to me because of how true to life it is. This might as well be an unknown account about a real oppressive state or genocide. This decision to play with the sense of realism is amplified in the Historical Notes and fully allows for the novel to hold a mirror to our societies. I will remember it for years to come.
feminism
Unlike many in the class, this is my first time reading The Handmaid’s Tale. I have always admired Margaret Atwood from the sidelines for her contribution to feminist academia, but have never read one of her novels. I appreciated today’s lesson on the historical context of feminism, but was dismayed to see one student selectively seem to tune out during this section. Of course, this person may happen to be a more dedicated feminist than I; and we are all busy with other coursework, but I just noticed that it wasn’t the most sensitive/respectful move.
Anyways, I found myself eagerly jotting down the feminist quotes of the ages and appreciating them for their candor and satire. I thought of Mary Wollstonecraft and her constant advocacy of women’s education, the attention directed towards her love affairs rather than her volumes of writing. I wondered what she would think of Malala Yousafzai and the millions of girls still denied an education today.
My third thought pertains to Margaret Atwood’s place in the current landscape of Western feminism. Recently, she gained criticism for defending a professor’s right to due process when rape charges were levied against him. In an essay for The Globe And Mail called “Am I a bad feminist?” Atwood addresses her position in this event and the wider scope of the #MeToo movement. Many shamed Atwood for seeming to defend a powerful friend against defame and likening the investigation as a “witch-hunt.” Not so, says Atwood: in both cases, she was criticizing the trial and its followers for wanting to guillotine the professor without proper evidence. A civilization cannot operate without a just legal system. And in the same vein, Atwood will not believe in #MeToo’s efficacy until reformation comes to the legal system that allowed for so many women to suffer abuse. I think that the public response to Atwood’s stance speaks to the global climate of reaction-based politics and violently divisive beliefs. Hopefully we’ll find our way out of this without a dystopian revolution.
Sandman pt. 2
My comment this week pertains more so to the class’ structure than its academic content. I am very comfortable with the pace at which we are reading Sandman. I am thankful to Professor Serrano for partially basing this decision on the fact that many of us are overwhelmed with coursework at this point in the year. The fact that she is tuned into our feelings of stress and overall priorities week by week is so considerate and lovely, and in light of this week’s Town Hall, an endeavor that I wish more professors valued.
That being said, I also think that Sandman deserves the time that we are giving it. As a first time reader of graphic novels, I am very interested in exploring the medium’s structure, history and idiosyncrasies. I believe that these stories are as worthy as any highfalutin canonical literature: the mastery of their storytelling extends beyond words alone and the collaboration that produces them imbues graphic novels with the voices and visions of many.
Thanks again to Prof. Serrano & looking forward to more discussion of Sandman.
Dream Country
Although I’ve been a long-time Twitter follower and distant admirer of Neil Gaiman’s for years, this is the first time that I have read any of his work–– or a graphic novel! Actually, I’ve skimmed through a little of Art Spiegelman’s Maus, but this was the first superhero-esque graphic novel I’ve really dived into. Anyway- both “firsts” were good ones, luckily. I read way past the 50th page of Dream Country last night, and had to convince myself to leave the end for next week. For anyone that has the glossy version of the book, can you find the page numbers??? I am lost. But maybe that’s part of the effect? Also, can anyone explain the differences between a graphic novel and comic book to me? It seems like a fine line of much contention that I’m too afraid and unfamiliar with to discern.
Like many people in class expressed (and as I would have if I wasn’t halfway in a dream country of my own this morning), I surprisingly found myself loving the stories and their formatting. I didn’t fully notice how much of the format evoked the theme and mood of the plot, such as the use of gutter spaces and jagged panel borders. I did pay attention, however, to the variety of women and female characters depicted in Sandman. The graphic abuse of Calliope was personally hard for me to endure, but I thought that the story made powerful insights into the facades and hypocrisy of male artists. The fearless mother/journeyer/prophet and preacher cat was truly an inspiring revolutionary figure. I found the kindness of Titiana (?) to Hamnet, Shakespeare’s neglected son, the most moving instance of honesty and humanity in that entire story. I am eager to see how the final fourth segment will add to this trifecta of women.
Morel
The concept of duality throughout The Invention of Morel fascinated me. The most central level of duality (as always) is life and death, and how the lines between those two realms might be obscured. The twin suns and moons, the two copies of the book, and the mirror’s reflection were some of the many details that contributed to the larger conflict of life and death. The protagonist’s very existence complicates this conflict. I cannot decide if Morel is a projection of the protagonist’s mind (not literally, as images are constructed by the machine) but truly a mental invention made to deal with his heartbreak and isolation on the island. This would parallel the modern conflict of making sense in a nonsensical world; also, the drawing of the island seems to resemble a human head to me.
The book’s discussion of life after death and the importance of preserving consciousness instead of “the whole body” prompted me to consider art’s role in immortality. Of course, the narrator discusses the imperfect and partial renderings of reality made by photographs, films, and records. Yet the loss of his soul seems to suggest that this endeavor should not be undertaken by any man or machine. The beauty, life, and longevity of a subject partially lies in the reader’s infinite interpretations of it.
Tinman’s Oil Can
Not sure if this is working but here’s the link just in case: https://sketchfab.com/models/68e4dac85ee24dfb939169ff366ea213#likes
Tech Week
This week in the Couper Library classroom has taught me a lot about the possibilities of virtual reality. I have always been a literature, music, theater person- your stereotypically unemployable liberal arts students – and I never considered myself interested or capable of computer science and technology -based projects. It always seemed like a highly specialized field that I could not break into, and more so, one that I was unable of connecting to my real life and interests.
Our time in these workshops however, has changed my stance slightly. The easy to follow and helpful instructions of Ben as well as the group setting made Virtual Reality programming accessible and comprehensible. The assignment on Tinkercad also built my confidence in terms of virtual based building. I hope that as I work on this final project and progress in the class, I have more educational and interesting experiences with VR and technology that I otherwise wouldn’t have pursued. 🙂
Oz
I really enjoyed the discussion today in class and our coverage of various dynamics at work in Oz.
The one that interests me most is the extent to which The Wonderful Wizard of Oz can be considered feminist. Because of his family’s noted relationship with activism, I researched Frank L. Baum’s personal stances on women’s rights. According to a New York Times article, an “Oz historian” and Baum biographer characterizes the author as ”a secure man who did not worry about asserting his masculine authority.” In a newspaper editorial, Baum wrote that men who did not consider themselves feminists were ”selfish, opinionated, conceited or unjust — and perhaps all four combined.” I am so pleasantly surprised to find a man in a powerful position – especially of the early 20th century- who took such an outspoken and steadfast stance towards feminism!
In class, I said that Dorothy was essentially a conduit for the plot; simply, a manipulatable figure who passively reacts to the events surrounding her. After giving her character and her function more consideration, I would like to amend this statement!! I think that Dorothy’s empathetic, compassionate, and relatively quiet personality represent rare, benevolent traits that are often diminished, ridiculed, and overlooked in women and female characters.
