Blog 12-Gattacarazay

Throughout human history, it's been in our nature to discriminate or to label a certain group of other humans as "less than".  If history was a top hat, I need only to reach in blindfolded and I could pull out an example easily.  From the Crusades to World War 2 and The Holocaust, human history is rife with people telling other people I'm better than you because I hate things about your life. Or the much more dignified, "This is how one should be, and if you don't want to be taught, then you must want to die".

While watching Gattaca, one can't help but be moved at how accurate they depict the actions of a society that finds itself essentially split down the middle.  Essentially, in the film, people are split into two groups: In-valids and valids; people who have genetically altered since conception to be "better" and those who are "natural births", or "god child" (the films term).  In Nazi Germany it was the Aryans and the Jews; in radical islam it is Muslims and the infidels; and even right here in America it's become Red vs. Blue.
 

All through out known history there has been cases of society after society segregating themselves, because of percieved flaws one side has over the other.  Certainly, it is no surprise the author George Annas said: "...If history is a guide, either the normal humans will view the ‘better’ humans as the other and seek to control or destroy them, or vice versa” (The Man on the Moon), when theorizing on what affect the appearance of genetically altered humans would have on society.

And this is the hidden beauty of the film Gattaca.  Simply browsing human history tells us that no doubt, should a world like the one depicted in the film ever become reality, what is portrayed is what would happen; George Annas would be right.   And too the film historians of the Future, Gattaca changes from a mere glimpse into what could be, to a movie ahead of it's time in prediction human events. 

Blog ten of the tenth to the power of ten, word.

I've always liked writing in some form since, well since I was little.   I wrote short stories in a little spiral notebook, or I did crappy little comics on lined paper.  This carried over into my adults years, but I can't say if the quality has improved; I'd like to think so.  I take this trip down memory lane because, I welcomed the idea of blogging in lieu of paper.  If there's one thing I enjoy more than anything is informal writing.

Through the years, as far as advice goes, there's always been one constant:  if you want to be a writer, then write write write.  So as far as I'm concerned, I find the entire concept of in-class blogging a sound one and, for the most part I look forward to just sitting by a keyboard and writing.  I feel no pressure because, even if it's something I have zero idea about, it doesn't mean I can't try to write about it and--hopefully--make it interesting along the way.

I feel that's one of my strengths when it comes to informal writing, that ability to make it so undeniably me; which, in turn, I hope makes what I write about interesting.  It's actually one of the main things I had trouble getting around when I first started academic writing.  I always tried to make it personable, and fun, and I was told "don't do that".  So thanks, teachers of my life, I've become an academic essay robot.

Anyway.  Not important.

To pick what I think is my best piece of the blog is actually pretty easy.  Blog 4.
It's well researched, a good length, and I had a blast writing it.  Seeing it also helps me point out what I feel my biggest issue with my blog work; lack of length and content for a lot of my work.  I'm just of the mind that I don't write just to write.  If I have nothing interesting to say, I just...stop.  I despise padding.  Blog 4, in retrospect, was easy for me.  Mainly because I've found that I'm fascinated by the aspect of mass illusions.  In fact, it's the most interesting aspect of the course we've explored so far.  All that other stuff, especially seeing philosophy and other works in The Matrix is just old hat and corny to me.  I went through that phase myself when the films came out, and hearing people talk about it ten years later as if it's still relevant drives me nuts.

It's so hack.  As far as I'm concerned, The Matrix is important because of the techniques it brought to film making, and for bringing Hong Kong style martial arts to the masses, not it's philosophical leanings.  yes, it's nice that it tried and, yes, it's smarter than your average sci fi action flick, but it's not what made the movie a cornerstone for cinema.

Another problem I have is that I don't end my posts well; as you're about to find out.

Blog 9 media paper draft aint happening.

Sorry but, I don't really want a peer review of my paper.  Rather keep my ideas to myself.  I have other reasons, reasons that I'm sure people would find mean so I'm going to keep them to myself.  Or maybe not; there's people here who I can't stand and whose opinion I wouldn't respect or take seriously.  It's not everyone, but I consider the odds I'd hear from one of them to be very low.

So I'd just rather not.

Attempting to write fiction...

Okay, so for the past year or so I've been trying to write a story, or at the very least a novel.  I've had bouts of writers block here and there, and months have gone by with little activity; but I do intend to finish it one day, come hell or high water.

Anyway, I thought I'd share it for the hell of it.  Just click the link at the bottom.  It's a work in progress, so any feedback is always welcomed.

Acid From The Ashes

Eight: The Oedipus Matrix

Here's where I fake it, because I know The Matrix like the back of my hand, but barely glanced past the "thee"s and "thou"s that populate Oedipus.  Hey, unless it's Marvel Comics' Thor, i don't like that type of writing.  it drives me nuts.  But I tried, I swear I did.

Anyway.  So I'm going to talk about how the two are similar, or different, right?  Sure, Oedipus appears to try and ask the reader, "Is ignorance bliss?".  And characters, although not quite actually saying it outloud (mostly), all try to live by that phrase.  Weather it's the main character itself running from his foretold future, or his wife/mother killing herself rather than deal with the consequences of the truth.  While The Matrix has a character, Cypher, say the phrase and believe in it; does this make them similar?  I'm not so sure.

However, as I write this I find myself connecting the dots between the two thematically.  The key thing that seems to run through them both is knowledge, and what it does to these characters.  Cypher  in the movie remarks what a "mind job" it must be to Neo to be told he is the savior of humanity.  On the other side of that, the Oracle does NOT tell him he is the one, because that is not what he needed to hear.  Because Cypher is right.

Similarly, what happens to all the characters in Oedipus who have incredible knowledge?  Knowledge of things they shouldn't, that they may have the power to change?  Tragedy.  Almost nothing but.  In a way it's almost like the flip side to the ideas presented in The Matrix.