Image via WikipediaThis week we're supposed to "think about stasis theory" because our first essay assignment is to analyze a newspaper editorial by applying stasis theory. Basically, we just have to identify the argument being made. I think I've got this one nailed. The editorial I picked is about the debt ceiling crisis, and how "10 idiots held the entire country hostage on a whim." After answering the stasis questions, I'm pretty sure it's an argument of fact: the newspaper is pointing out all of the consequences of the refusal to vote to raise the ceiling, which certainly put that group -- and their constituents -- in a pretty bad light. They saw their actions as a victory, but the editorial makes it clear that they did harm on a global scale.
Now all I have to do is start a draft.
Image via WikipediaI thought some more about this last night. One thing that occurred to me is that two of the actors are what you might call iconic-- Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig (although he's a newbie at the screen icon game, compared to Ford). The characters that they are best known for are different kinds of "manly men." Indiana Jones, for example, is an adventurer, a problem-solver, and is sort of goofy when it comes to women. He's like Han Solo with a stronger character. Looking at James Bond, you can see more of an ideal man -- he defines the term "cool," he's another problem-solver (usually with extreme prejudice), and unlike the Ford characters, he has some weird kind of magnetism when he interacts with women. Bond has a lot in common with Jake Lonergan (sp?), while Ford's role in Cowboys & Aliens is not much like Indiana Jones or Han Solo, and when you think of it from that point of view, the differences are interesting. There is a lot of stuff about the father-son relationship here, all centering around him. I may go after that.
Cowboys and Aliens (Image via RottenTomatoes.com)
Note to readers: Rhonda's been through a rough time lately (which somewhat explains her failure to post last term), but she swears to me that she is going to be more conscientious this semester.
Dr. Toffee
So I'm supposed to be making my topic choices for my semester-long research project now (in the first week!). I have to decide on a film and a "critical approach." The list of films is pretty long, and I've seen a lot of them, but I haven't got a clue about the approach part of the assignment. We're going to get some guidance on that, I'm told, and I hope it's not too hard. Nothing is jumping out at me so far from the films. There's only six approaches on the assignment sheet: myth criticism, cultural studies, shame theory, disability studies, genre criticism, and gender studies (we can do that, or one of the subcategories of women's studies, men's studies, or queer theory, so I guess there's actually nine approaches). These all look sort of interesting, but I think I need to spend a bit more time thinking about this.
I saw Cowboys & Aliens over the summer with my boyfriend-- it's on the list under men's studies. That might work, and my brother has the DVD.
Image via WikipediaThis week we're supposed to "think about stasis theory" because our first essay assignment is to analyze a newspaper editorial by applying stasis theory. Basically, we just have to identify the argument being made. I think I've got this one nailed. The editorial I picked is about the debt ceiling crisis, and how "10 idiots held the entire country hostage on a whim." After answering the stasis questions, I'm pretty sure it's an argument of fact: the newspaper is pointing out all of the consequences of the refusal to vote to raise the ceiling, which certainly put that group -- and their constituents -- in a pretty bad light. They saw their actions as a victory, but the editorial makes it clear that they did harm on a global scale.
