Film Analysis Isn't Just for Scholars: Catching Fire with Katniss

Catching Fire Edit.jpeg (Photo credit: 1:00 AM)

I still don't wanna work on my projects, but I got a few things done yesterday, which is good.  What's bad is that I keep coming across things that seem a lot more interesting, and they're distracting me (of course, if I were doing what needs to be done in the first place, I'd never know about them).  So, as part of my work-stalling routine, today I checked in at FlickeringMyth.com, and there was an article about The Hunger Games:  Catching Fire.  Not too surprising so far, but bear with me.  I was kind of stunned to realize that the author is doing the sort of thing I've spent the last ten weeks doing:  analyzing a film and arguing a point in a "scholarly" way.  He only quotes one outside source (Caroline Williams, who is presumably a feminist critic), so it's like a research paper without much secondary research, just the primary stuff, the film.  Dr. Toffee told us that people were writing this kind of thing and publishing it, but I don't think I believed her until now.  And it's really interesting. 

The point that the author, Paul Risker, is making is that the character of Katniss "is meticulously constructed to be an idealised role model," and he argues this with a lot of support from the text.  The "meticulous construction" is the thing that strikes me as the key to why The Hunger Games works as a whole, and here I've got to refer to the last big thing, the Twilight saga.  I never got into that, mainly because the heroine is so . . . well, boring doesn't begin to capture what she is.  She's self-absorbed and selfish, she uses people who care about her, and she's pretty much unlikeable, as far as I'm concerned.  My point here is that she is no kind of a role model for anybody who has anything resembling self-respect.  Now, I'm not looking for a role model myself, but I can see that Risker is right about what the films do with Katniss.  However, he also seems to feel that she's a bit too perfect, and I have to disagree on that score.  She's not flawless.

Anyway, I'm thankful (ahead of time) that he gave me something to write about so that I'm getting close to hitting my goal of 20 posts for the semester.  

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I Don't Wanna . . .

screeches and whines (Photo credit: Lettuce.)

I have the whole week off from school this week (but I still have to work -- especially on Friday.  I hate working retail), and, after a weekend where I accomplished exactly nothing, I'm facing facts.

Fact number 1 (just in the order it occurs to me, not ranked as to importance):  I have 5, yes, 5 projects to finish before the end of next week, and the thought of working on them makes my head hurt.

Fact number 2:  If I don't keep up with my coursework, I'll probably be stuck working retail forever.  (Hey, Dr. Toffee, you'll be pleased to know that I know that this is a slippery slope logical fallacy)

Fact number 3:  Somehow, I have managed to wind up having no money again, just when Christmas is coming and there's a lot of stuff I want to do (movies, parties, etc.) besides buying gifts.

Fact number 4:  Thanksgiving is coming at me like an out-of-control steamroller.  If I could have moved into my own place by now, I could just show up at Mom's on Thursday, eat my turkey, help with the dishes, and go home.  But because I live at Mom's, I'm responsible for a bunch of time-consuming chores that nobody will notice unless I don't do them.  Really, I guess that even though I want to help out, what I want more is not to have to help out.

Conclusion:  I am selfish, self-indulgent, and lazy.

However, as you can see, I am writing this post, so I am working on one of my projects, finally, which means that I have crawled out of my lair and started to face reality.  

But I still don't wanna. 

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Kinda/sorta off Topic: NBC's Dracula

Bram Stoker's (1847-1912) Notes on the
personal for his novel Dracula.
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My sister Rebbie used to be a semi-goth; she has pretty good taste in clothes, so she never went the full route on it, but she did wear a lot of black and brood a lot and so on. Anyway, she was watching the new Dracula series the other night, and I tried to watch it with her, but I just couldn't get into it. I don't understand why they have him pretending to be an American, for one thing. Yes, it looks gorgeous, but I'm just not that interested in it. When it was over, I asked her what she saw in it. She said, "I'm trying to make my mind up about it."
That made me feel better. What I'm thinking now is that it almost fits into the neo-mythology genre, except they aren't really telling a new story, at least not so far. The other thing I'm thinking is that the book Stoker wrote has been adapted in a bunch of different ways, but one thing that all of them (as far as I know, since I haven't seen them all, I'm sure) have in common is that there is never a clear hero (the van Helsing character comes closest, but he's usually advising younger men on how to deal with vampires rather than enacting a monomyth), which is the way the book is, too. So, not neo-mythology, but . . .
The difference with this Dracula is that the show follows him as much as it does the other characters, or even more. Maybe that's my problem with it. In a way, it kind of reminds me of The Count of Monte Cristo (the Jim Caviezel one), where the audience is in on his plans. I guess I don't want to know that much about Dracula himself -- I like following all the clues that the characters miss until van Helsing shows up to set them straight. But I can see where that would be a problem for anyone trying to make a series out of it, since it would have to end sooner rather than later, or turn into a soap opera (and maybe that's the vibe I'm getting from the show) where week after week they try and fail to stop him. I guess we'll see.

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What's in a Title?

Old bottles of wine aging by candle light
 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The mouse is dead!  A good thing, too, because I was starting to think that Rebbie needed her eyes (or maybe her mind) examined.  Anyway, I'm still revising my research paper, and I finally came up with a title that I like.  Dr. Toffee wants us to try to use what she calls a "double-barrelled" title, which just means a title with a subtitle, divided by a colon.  And, I guess she's right, because all of the articles I've looked at for my project have that kind of title. 

I was home for dinner last night, for once, and the 'rents were asking me about how my classes were going.  I never know how to answer that in a way that won't have them giving me advice or a lecture (you know what I mean!).  I didn't even mention geology, because that would have brought on the lecture for sure, but I talked about my PJ1 paper to distract them, since that seems to be going okay.  When I explained what it was about, they were both interested, and we talked about neo-mythology until we were done eating.  One of the things my dad said gave me an idea.  He said, "so, it's like new wine in old bottles, isn't it?"  I'd never heard that expression before, but in a way, he's right.  The filmmakers aren't using their old bottles (existing mythology/folklore) to trick the audience, but it is kind of a selling point just the same. 

And, that's why I've decided to call my paper "New Wine in Old Bottles:  Neo-Mythology and Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief."  I like it.    

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The Last Neo-Mythology Characteristics

English: This image outlines the basic path of the monomyth, or "Hero's Journey". (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I've been so busy (and grossed out over the mouse, which is still missing) that I almost forgot to finish my model explanation.  So, the third characteristic is that the story using existing mythology is new:  new plot, new hero(es).  This is sort of self-explanatory, isn't it?  Some films that fit into this category have more new aspects than others, but I'm not going to rule any out on this basis. 
The fourth requirement is that the setting must be at least partly in the current reality.  Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief  has Mt. Olympus at the top of the Empire State Building and the entrance to Hades via the Hollywood sign, both of which are instantly recognizable to most people on the planet, I would guess.  Of course, this definitely rules out Tolkein, but I think that's very reasonable.  Yes, it's a new (20th century) mythology, but as for genre, it's traditional fantasy.
And lastly, number 5 is that it must be a quest.  I'd almost have to say that this would rule out the Twilight movies, since I can't see anything like a hero's journey (I can't even see a hero!) in them, but I don't want to argue about it, so if anybody wants to take it on, they're getting a free pass from me.
And that's that.  

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The Case of the Missing Mouse

The Missing Mouse (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It may seem as though I've fallen behind again, but I haven't.  About a week ago, my sister Rebecca saw (or did she?) a mouse run under my desk, which is fortunately not in my bedroom, or I wouldn't have slept for days by now.  I can't stand mice.  It's not a question of being afraid of them; they are just so repulsive, so disgusting, that I feel like barfing when I see one.  Rebbie has been letting me use her laptop since then, and I managed to get my draft finished in time.  Now that it's been so long and none of the traps have been sprung, I figure it's safe to use my own computer, which has all of the stuff I need for this blog, so I'm back.

Just in case you were wondering.

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