Fandom

The biggest fandom experience I've had in my life revolves around the cultural phenomenon Harry Potter. I think a big reason for this is that content was being created during my childhood, and a mix of being a teenager, being a nerd, and being a mediocre artist sort of collided into one. Many aspects of the Potter fandom are similar to the Brony fandom we looked at in class. The Potter fandom makes music "Wizard Wrock", they plan events (Leakycon, Quidditch games, previously movie premieres). In many ways the fandoms are practically identical, and if it weren't for the stigma of My Little Pony being for children, they'd be exactly the same. My involvement in the community was fairly slim, but I always loved listening to the podcasts that were put out weekly by Mugglenet.com. This was before all the books were out, so the speculation is what always brought me back. Now that there is a new series of movies planned, as well as the new addition to the theme park, I'm hoping that part of the fandom will be revitalized. 

Youtube

My first use for youtube is for music. While spotify has most mainstream music that is played on the radio, youtube is the main source for remixed music by artists less known. A few of my favorite channels for music:

https://www.youtube.com/user/soundisstyle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqLPM1kVXls&list=PLDA0F1A37DA65A754&index=4
https://www.youtube.com/user/chillmasterschannel

My second use for youtube is for drumline related videos. I was in marching band in high school, and I always loved to show off. I used youtube as a source to find new tricks or ways to impress my friends. A few of my favorite drum videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrSyuYR3r-M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikq39EzgiPA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m0ofFZGZXU

My last use for youtube is video game based entertainment. Mainly this is found on the Yogscast channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/BlueXephos). Put British people and video games together, hilarity ensues.

In Class Short Story Writing

1. After my first read of the story I could not find any meaningful symbols, but on my second read I found an idea that stays relevant. I think that his secret lab is actually a symbol for their love in many ways, and this is most apparent in the last few sentences of the story.

"We've all had the dream where you find another room in your house you never knew about— if you found it, what would be in there? I thought hard about what that might be, and I've done my best to give it to you— something really cool, something scary and brilliant and mysterious all at the same time. Every single day."

I think that the idea of a "secret lab" or a secret is something that author feels is needed in a relationship. The author's love with his significant other survived on the idea of not knowing, or the idea of something more than just face value interactions. As he explains earlier in his piece "...I admit, a part of me worries that if I told you about it, the secret part of me would disappear."

2. I definitely think that when it comes to love that people need to have a passion outside of each other. Most of the time when I dated someone for long enough, some of the passion dripped away. When you make someone the center of your world, you forget who you are as a person. This is clearly illustrated in one of the earlier paragraphs.

"The moment we met I became two people: the one I decided could be with you, and the one left over, the person I am by myself. A person who I could never, ever let you meet, and who became the greatest criminal genius the world has ever seen. I used to marvel at that fact that you didn't have a hidden side, that you're the same all the way through. How can a person not have a secret and glorious part of themselves that the world absolutely must not see?"

I think for love to be successful each person must be okay with themselves alone, or okay with that "secret and glorious" part of themselves. Only after you accept yourself and who you are can you possibly love someone else.

3. I think that this could be adapted into a movie, but obviously much more content would need to be added. When I read this story I immediately thought "Megamind" which was a Dreamworks animated film produced a few years ago. The movie tells the story of a super villain that falls in love, and no longer really wises to be bad. This is much like the author's story in which a main character has 2 sides that he battles with on the inside. This story isn't particularly unique in concept, but the way it is told is.

Murakami / Franco

I liked reading Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Murakami that I read Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman as well. Now, after reading a couple of the Palo Alto stories I have come to the conclusion that although Murakami is a far superior writer, both collections of stories have certain qualities that give them a certain melancholy, reflective mood. I attribute most of this feeling to the 1st person narration as well as the "matter of fact" colloquial tone. Very rarely does Murakami use adjectives or flowery language, and in the same vein James Franco doesn't embellish any of his writing. 

I think that where the two collections differ is in how they give a sense of wonder to the reader — a sense of the unknown. Murakami does this through a bit of "magical realism" most evident in his stories Birthday Girl and Dabchick and Hunting Knife. The writing is very plain but the subject matter is not quite normal — maybe even surreal. This contrast between clear writing and a subject that is less in focus tripped me up and really got me thinking about Murakami's work.

Fraco on the other hand is the opposite. The subject matter is so clear and blunt that it goes above and beyond and creates an contrasting effect. Where the rules of Murakami's world are not always clear, the rules in Franco's world are thrown in your face consistently, because they are the rules we abide by in real life.  For example, the first few lines in "Emily",

"He was so cute. Younger, but I didn’t care. He was a change from the assholes in my grade like Adam and Roberto who just wanted to fuck and do it in the ass. Or come on my face like a porn, and tell their friends about it. And with them I was always the last call."

This isn't a story about swimming or a girl who works at a restaurant, this is just brutally high school. The overly realistic quality of it, where the clear writing unite with a very clear image is what got me thinking about Franco's work. 

The Emerald City

Upon entering the Emerald City it becomes incredibly obvious that there is a common trait uniting the city — the color green. Some of the citizens wear glasses (green-tinted of course) to shield themselves from the sheer glory of the pristine pillars and shining towers. The city is overgrown with life and serves as the capital of Oz. The streets are also filled with life, because money is no object, and everyone works and plays and equal amount. The shops that line the street display the finest goods with a green tint. There is green lemonade and green cakes, green hats and green pants!

I think that my view of Emerald City is greatly influenced by the city Rapture from the hit video game series Bioshock. Part of this is due to the original wizard of Oz and the music. Rapture has the 1950's retro feel, and the 1939 movie gives off the same mood. Part of the descriptions I found of the city are very similar to the way J.K. Rowling described Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter books as well. A retro english village colored green is my personal view of the city.

Divergent

Although we didn't have a blogpost due for the divergent week, I had a few thoughts on the book and the movie that I wanted to share. I think that as a generation, a lot of the kids born in the 90's and 00's are a tad bit into themselves. The "me" generation has had a lot different personalities, but in the end I think a common trait is the idea of customization and personalization. We live in a age where everything from the color of your phone to the color of your shoe laces is changeable — and so even while social media and the way we express ourselves through instagram and twitter become more homogeneous, we as a generation try to be unique. I think that a lot of the books we grew up on cater to that idea — mainly Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and now Divergent. Each of these books has a classification system that allows the reader to put themselves in the story. Are you a Hufflepuff? Or a District 7? Or maybe apart of Amity? This is just personal taste, but I find that the classification system in Divergent is the weakest. Although it is not the intent, I think it implies that anyone not in Candor is a liar, and if you are a liar can you really be considered selfless? I would think that most brave people would be honest, peaceful, and selfless as well. The idea is sound, but I think the actual divisions are off.