Tuesday, January 27, 2004
Class Thirteen
Today we discussed the movie Trekkies and the short story Becoming Real. In discussing the movie I thought that the movie provided a very interesting concepts. There were very touching anecdotes woven into the story as well as very extreme cases like the man in the electric chair or the woman OBSESSED with Data. The short story I thought was quite interesting as well. The fact that there are invisble people in our society is very true. Think about how many homeless live beneath New York city and then you can get an idea about how many "invisble" people live in our society.
Today we discussed the movie Trekkies and the short story Becoming Real. In discussing the movie I thought that the movie provided a very interesting concepts. There were very touching anecdotes woven into the story as well as very extreme cases like the man in the electric chair or the woman OBSESSED with Data. The short story I thought was quite interesting as well. The fact that there are invisble people in our society is very true. Think about how many homeless live beneath New York city and then you can get an idea about how many "invisble" people live in our society.
Thursday, January 22, 2004
Class Twelve
Today we watched the mockumentarty Trekkies. I thought that the film was very well done and provided a good mix of humor and good heartfelt stories. There were many, many funny anecdotes like the guy who was sent a joint and a picture of an attractive young lady. There were also many helpful stories and interesting stories. The anecdote that Scotty told about the suicidal girl who did not kill herself and went on to get her masters in engineering. Also I thought the story about the woman who's Dad grew up in Poland under Nazi Germany and had his views changed by watching Star Trek.
Today we watched the mockumentarty Trekkies. I thought that the film was very well done and provided a good mix of humor and good heartfelt stories. There were many, many funny anecdotes like the guy who was sent a joint and a picture of an attractive young lady. There were also many helpful stories and interesting stories. The anecdote that Scotty told about the suicidal girl who did not kill herself and went on to get her masters in engineering. Also I thought the story about the woman who's Dad grew up in Poland under Nazi Germany and had his views changed by watching Star Trek.
Wednesday, January 21, 2004
Class Eleven
Today we discussed the ending to the Neuromancer. I personally thought the ending left too many loose ends and left the reader unsatisfied. The author gets you involved with the characters and then leaves you hanging in the end. You cannot tell that you did not want Molly and Case to get together in the end. After discussing the story I felt slightly better about it but still was not crazy about it.
Today we discussed the ending to the Neuromancer. I personally thought the ending left too many loose ends and left the reader unsatisfied. The author gets you involved with the characters and then leaves you hanging in the end. You cannot tell that you did not want Molly and Case to get together in the end. After discussing the story I felt slightly better about it but still was not crazy about it.
Tuesday, January 20, 2004
Class Ten
Today we turned in our first Neuromancer paper and discussed the book a little in class. Overall I am enjoying it and I liked watching the Matrix while reading it. It is interesting comparing the many similar themes in two of the great works of cyberpunk. The themes that I thought overlapped were the theme of reality vs. Matrix/cyberspace, the dystopian society with dark images, the fact that violence permeates these societies, and the blending of humans and technology.
Today we turned in our first Neuromancer paper and discussed the book a little in class. Overall I am enjoying it and I liked watching the Matrix while reading it. It is interesting comparing the many similar themes in two of the great works of cyberpunk. The themes that I thought overlapped were the theme of reality vs. Matrix/cyberspace, the dystopian society with dark images, the fact that violence permeates these societies, and the blending of humans and technology.
Friday, January 16, 2004
Class Nine
Today we began to work on our short stories. I was very happy with the group I was placed in and we almost immediately came up the topic of Michael Jackson. We came up with this while looking through the news headlines as the article last night suggested. We decided that we were going to cover the topic of alien abduction and Michael Jackson. Today's class has been very interesting there was nearly a fistfight before class over where people were sitting. The conflict reminded me of the social heirarchies of the story Boobs. It reminded me of the conflicts that the middle schoolers had in the story.
Today we began to work on our short stories. I was very happy with the group I was placed in and we almost immediately came up the topic of Michael Jackson. We came up with this while looking through the news headlines as the article last night suggested. We decided that we were going to cover the topic of alien abduction and Michael Jackson. Today's class has been very interesting there was nearly a fistfight before class over where people were sitting. The conflict reminded me of the social heirarchies of the story Boobs. It reminded me of the conflicts that the middle schoolers had in the story.
Thursday, January 15, 2004
Class Eight
Today we discussed one of the few stories I have not enjoyed Identifying The Object. This story lacked a clear plot and seemed to have almost no point until the end when the author told us why Brae and Johnny destroyed the aliens. They did not want to become slaves, or in the author's words nig**** or women. We also watched MIB which is one of my favorite SF films. The article we read last night mentioned how race was incorparated into the film but I dont agree with that. The only relevant point that I thought the author made was about how the aliens were treated just as immigrants to the US once were.
Today we discussed one of the few stories I have not enjoyed Identifying The Object. This story lacked a clear plot and seemed to have almost no point until the end when the author told us why Brae and Johnny destroyed the aliens. They did not want to become slaves, or in the author's words nig**** or women. We also watched MIB which is one of my favorite SF films. The article we read last night mentioned how race was incorparated into the film but I dont agree with that. The only relevant point that I thought the author made was about how the aliens were treated just as immigrants to the US once were.
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
Class Seven
In today's class we began the topic of gender in science fiction. We discussed the short story "Boobs", in which a young girl is harassed by her peers for developing too early. The only catch is that she is a werewolf and ends up eating her tormenters. We discussed how this story had to be written in the more recent history of science fiction because in their early writings women tended to focus more upon the typical male Sf topics such as technology, war, and violence. This story was vastly different from the others we have read so far because it focused much more upon the individual and not so much upon the problems in society. Although one could present an argument that the author is calling for a change in the way our children treat each other in our middle schools.
In today's class we began the topic of gender in science fiction. We discussed the short story "Boobs", in which a young girl is harassed by her peers for developing too early. The only catch is that she is a werewolf and ends up eating her tormenters. We discussed how this story had to be written in the more recent history of science fiction because in their early writings women tended to focus more upon the typical male Sf topics such as technology, war, and violence. This story was vastly different from the others we have read so far because it focused much more upon the individual and not so much upon the problems in society. Although one could present an argument that the author is calling for a change in the way our children treat each other in our middle schools.
