The F in Fabulous

In response to Allie’s post on connecting M. Butterfly to the media:

The idea of reversed gender roles plays a role in the Swedish film, My Life as a Dog (1987). The protagonist, a boy named Ingemar, and his friend Saga play on the local children’s soccer team. The only problem is that, because of the team’s gender restrictions, Saga has to pretend she is a boy. Upon first meeting Saga, Ingemar actually mistakes her for a boy; later on in the movie, he helps her disguise her gender.

            While in M. Butterfly, Gallimard is in denial of that Song is actually a man because he is so in love with the fantasy of the submissive woman, Ingemar in My Life as a Dog tends to ignore the fact that Saga is a girl out of determination to not have a crush on her. Furthermore, it is the state of denial in these male protagonists that makes each unintentionally compliant to his “female” counterpart; in the end, Song has total control over Gallimard, and so does Saga prevail over Ingemar…

In any case, My Life as a Dog is a terrific movie, and I really recommend that you watch it!

The pictures (from top to bottom)

1. Saga in her “boy” disguise during a boxing match (she is on the left)

2. Saga accidentally revealing that she is actually a girl during a soccer game

_Mikhaila

“Inside every girl there’s a boy. That came out wrong but you know what I mean”

So besides the fact that She’s the Man is my favorite movie of all time, I want to share the trailer because I feel like it connects to M Butterfly. Both Viola and Song disguise themselves as the opposite gender, and though they go about these missions in different ways, they do so for their personal gain—Viola wants to pursue the soccer team, and Song wants to steal information from Gallimard. Both the play and the movie use elements of humor to add a little comic relief to the twisted plots, and both investigate gender stereotypes. What other connections can you make between M Butterfly and something in the media?

ALLIE

I have loved this song since I was little, but only now do I realize the connection to the book Things Fall Apart. The title of the album is called Things Fall Apart, named after the  same book we are reading; in the song “You Got Me” the lyrics even say “we knew from the start that things fall apart”. I thought the song connects very well because Okonkwo’s life starts to fall apart in chapter eight and the man in the video’s life is falling apart as well. After Okonkwo kills his adopted son, he, “…did not taste any food for two days…” and “He felt like a drunken giant walking with the limbs of a mosquito…” (63). Okonkwo is losing his sense of control over his heavy handed lifestyle. Because he turns to alcohol to deal with his emotions, he starts to act like his father, Unoka, who was an alcoholic and a source of embarassment for his son. Okonkwo’s lifestyle is controlled by his fear of not becoming like his father and because he starts drinking like his father, Okonkwo becomes more similar to his father then realizes. I connected this video to the book because the man walking around in the video is dazed and distressed after losing someone important. I imagine Okonkwo being as confused and upset as the man in the video.

-Amanda

This is the trailer for the movie, The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland and directed by Victor Fleming. This movie is so relevant to Heart of Darkness because the protagonist, Dorothy, travels further and further into a new world in order to find the Wizard of Oz. In Heart of Darkness, Marlow travels deeper and deeper on the Congo river in order to find Kurtz. Kurtz promises endless ivory because of his sucess with the natives and the Wizard promises something for each of Dorothy’s companions. The Wizard is supposed to be an all-powerful being who can control their fates just as Kurtz is able to bring prosperity to his buisness. It turns out that the Wizard is actually an old man hiding behind a curtain who uses his voice and an illusion to control those around him. Marlow also says that Kurtz “…was little more than a voice” (48). The praises surrounding Kurtz seemed to outweigh the actual Kurtz because when Marlow finally meets Kurtz, he is a sickly invalid. We came up with the theme of illusions, or having not everything as it seems, and both Kurtz and the Wizard are perfect examples of this idea.

-Amanda

This is a clip from the movie Dead Poets Society starring Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, and Ethan Hawke, directed by Peter Wier. The movie is about a group of teenage boys, influenced by their teacher John Keatings (Robin Williams), who form a group called the Dead Poets Society. The Dead Poets Society gets together to read poetry, discuss life, and whatnot. These young men are so inspired to change their lives because of their teacher and his unconventional ways. This movie reminds me of the poem we read today in class, On Reading Poems to a Senior Class at South High by D.C Berry. The poem talks about how a teacher is so inspired and excited because of his students’ participation in the discussion of poetry his classroom. This scene starts off with the Mr. Keating telling his bored students to rip out the first page of their poetry book. The kids are totally confused like “frozen fish” but then when they finally start to rip the book, our ears are flooded with the sound of shredding paper, like “water began to fill the room”. The tearing continues until another teacher comes in and scolds the students for being disrespectful, which I connected to Queen Elizabeth the cat, who “licked my fins till they were hands again”. This is such a wonderful movie and I highly recommend it! 

-Amanda

LIVING LIKE A KING

I like to draw on the parallels between the Tempest and Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida”—both narrate the story of a powerful royal and how he loses his power. Though the play’s central character, Prospero, is the duke of Milan, and then later the king of the island, the king in the song remains somewhat ambiguous and refers to only kings in general. There is a slight anti-authoritarian tone that is infused with the lyrics of the song, which connects to the turbulence of Prospero’s kingship and the power struggle of the inferior characters in the play.

Though Prospero is overthrown by his brother Antonio, he reestablishes himself as king once he reaches the island. The lyrics themselves, especially at the start, are very similar to Prospero as king on the island. They even elude to the tempest he causes when it says “seas would rise when I gave the word”. The following lines, “I used to role the dice/feel the fear in my enemy’s eyes” also connect to the play, since Prospero uses Ariel to make mischief and scare his enemies. The song continues, saying “I used to hold the key/next the walls were closed on me”, which again can relate to the play because one moment Prospero is in change as Duke of Milan, and the next, his brother Antonio is overthrowing him. Both the song and the play track the story of a royal who is humbled and isn’t evil anymore: the king in the song becomes less of a dictator, and Prospero eventually forgives those who wronged him.

ALLIE

In the movie, The Tempest, starring Helen Mirren, Felicity Jones, and Ben Whishaw, director Julie Taymore portrays Ariel as a being of the air and Caliban as a creature of the earth. Ariel disappears into thin air and blends in with the somber blue sky after a storm. Caliban is dark and is covered in what looks like mud or the bark of a tree. Typically, those associated with land stay true to their beliefs and roots and are slow to change to the evolving world around them. The air is affiliated with constant motion from wind and fluctuating movement. In the Tempest, the characters break from their appearance. Caliban is eager to switch alliances, while Ariels devotion to Prospera is unwavering. What does this switch reveal about the power of association to specific personality traits? Does this change our thoughts on any other characters that appear to fit in one box, but break from their affiliation?

-Rachel F.

This is a clip from the movie The Tempest directed by Julie Taymor starring Helen Mirren, Felicity Jones, and Ben Whishaw. This clip is from around the lines 322-347 when Prospero is criticizing Ariel for complaining about his duties. I love this scene because it gives such a good visual of Ariel becoming the pine, but also the special effects emphasize both Ariel and Prospera’s power. They are able to turn their setting from inside a room into a flashback of Ariels imprisonment, which shows how Prospera and Ariel are able to control the island with their magic. I also like the fact that Julie Taymor made Prospero into a Prospera, male to female. In this scene, Helen Mirren portrays a very intimidating Prospera who I would be equally frightened of, male or female. Another reason why I like Prospero portrayed as a woman is because either way, Miranda cannot tell the difference between parenting. In the text, she has never known her mother, but in the movie, she has never known her father but that doesn’t make a difference because one or the other is still parenting her. What do you guys think of Prospero being portrayed as a Prospera?

-Amanda

Happy studying! 

I chose this clip because of Emma’s facial expression after Mr. Elton remarks about the stars in the beginning. It is a perfect example of satire and of how Jane Austen can satirize the stupidity of marriage proposals. It seems as if the insincere proposals in her novels are always completely ridiculous and contrasts the clumsy proposals of true affection.

Hopefully this will bring you guys back a few weeks! Happy studying!

-Amanda