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Aug. 9th, 2020 08:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkat1. JRR Tolkien and the Works of Joss Whedon
Abstract of two of the articles...
BINDING WITH ANCIENT LOGICS: THE IN/PER/SUB-VERSION OF FAËRIAN DRAMA IN THE CABIN IN THE WOODS
Janet Brennan Croft, Rutgers University - New Brunswick/Piscataway
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Abstract
Faërian Drama is a term developed by J.R.R. Tolkien in his essay “On Fairy-stories,” which he describes as plays which the elves present to men, with a “realism and immediacy beyond the compass of any human mechanism,” where the viewer feels he is “bodily inside its Secondary World” but instead is “in a dream that some other mind is weaving” (63-64). Smith of Wootton Major is a prime example from his own writing; other examples of the genre include Dickens’s A Christmas Carol and the movie Groundhog Day. When we read or view a work containing an example of faërian drama, we add a metafictional layer to the story: we are (or become) aware that the character is experiencing the faërian drama, and part of our engagement as an audience rests in the tense anticipation of whether the character will realize she is in a faërian drama or not.
I have previously written on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode “Normal Again” (6.17), a problematic episode which takes the faërian drama idea in unexpected directions. Here I want to concentrate on another Joss Whedon project, the move Cabin in the Woods. In this movie, the faërian drama concept is turned on its head as humans perform a recurring bloody sacrificial drama designed to ritually placate ancient god-like beings. This paper will explore the ways in which Cabin in the Woods problematizes the faërian drama trope by inverting and subverting who creates and performs it, who plays a part in it, the intended effect on the god-audience, and our engagement as the actual movie audience.
Why Do Villains Insist on a Ring? Greed and Fetishism from Sauron to Spike
Valerie Estelle Frankel, Mission College, San Jose City College
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Abstract
Tolkien establishes the perils of greed through Sauron, Gollum, Boromir, Thorin, and many other characters. In his world, beside treasure hoards and Silmarils, the ultimate temptation appears in the golden ring that offers ultimate power. The characters who seek it contrast with generous, royal Aragorn and Galadriel as well as the humble hobbits. Buffy the Vampire Slayer has a similar message, as the villains, great and small, construct talismans to focus their magic. Buffy and her friends find these to destroy them, never to use them. In fact, they fight with an assortment of unnamed weapons and simple spell ingredients from the corner store. Still, they discover more powerful tools and sometimes succumb to their worst urges. In both series, ordinary people remain quite vulnerable to temptation, with lessons that teach them to rise above it to find heroism.
Recommended Citation
Frankel, Valerie Estelle (2020) "Why Do Villains Insist on a Ring? Greed and Fetishism from Sauron to Spike," Journal of Tolkien Research: Vol. 10 : Iss. 1 , Article 4.
Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol10/iss1/4
2. Or you can follow the inane ramblings of a Television Reviewer on EW Online. I'm beginning to wonder about the field of television criticism and more importantly how these kids get their gigs? It's not talent. I'm guessing nepotism? I was highly disappointed by her essay. Mark Watches Buffy was more entertaining. Actually, everyone has been more entertaining.
Seriously? I think EW just keeps going downhill in it's inadequate attempts to stay trendy. I miss Premiere - much better magazine. Oh well, at least the Magazine EW has some meat to it, it doesn't do this sorts of articles. The online verison..sigh.
3. Finished The Mandalorian. It's uneven. There are a few really cheesy episodes in there - that kind of reminded me of cheap sci-fi. But the characterization is interesting, and over-all - the production value is rather good, along with the direction. Also, it has a decent cast.
With the guy who played Gus on Breaking Bad as the villain, Moth Gideon.
Also, the yoda puppet is insanely cute.
It's a family show and the violence while there, is toned down. Doesn't require much attention or focus, and held my attention throughout.
4. Now trying Halt Catch Fire which is basically about the tech industry in the 1980s and 90s.
Taking place over a period of more than ten years, the series depicts a fictionalized insider's view of the personal computer revolution of the 1980s and the growth of the World Wide Web in the early 1990s. The show's title refers to computer machine code instruction Halt and Catch Fire (HCF), the execution of which would cause the computer's central processing unit to stop working (catch fire being a humorous exaggeration).
It was rec'd by my brother to my mother - to show her what that would was like. My brother was in it in the 1990s, and jumped out in the early 00s.
And I had family members who worked in it during that time period as well.
Also, I worked on the fringes of it in the 1990s and 00s.
Stars the excellent Lee Pace and Mackenzie Davies. There's others in it, that I've seen in other things here and there.
5. Re-reading via audibooks, Illona Andrews Magic Strikes - Kate Daniels series. And am struck by the fact that she's a far better writer than Butcher. In that she doesn't have as many "saids" and less repetitious words. Smarter and far more innovative in her world-building and characterization as well.
Hasn't quite gotten the acclaim via the Hugos etc, because hello, female urban fantasy writer with a spark of romance.
The audio reader is better than expected.
Abstract of two of the articles...
BINDING WITH ANCIENT LOGICS: THE IN/PER/SUB-VERSION OF FAËRIAN DRAMA IN THE CABIN IN THE WOODS
Janet Brennan Croft, Rutgers University - New Brunswick/Piscataway
Follow
Abstract
Faërian Drama is a term developed by J.R.R. Tolkien in his essay “On Fairy-stories,” which he describes as plays which the elves present to men, with a “realism and immediacy beyond the compass of any human mechanism,” where the viewer feels he is “bodily inside its Secondary World” but instead is “in a dream that some other mind is weaving” (63-64). Smith of Wootton Major is a prime example from his own writing; other examples of the genre include Dickens’s A Christmas Carol and the movie Groundhog Day. When we read or view a work containing an example of faërian drama, we add a metafictional layer to the story: we are (or become) aware that the character is experiencing the faërian drama, and part of our engagement as an audience rests in the tense anticipation of whether the character will realize she is in a faërian drama or not.
I have previously written on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode “Normal Again” (6.17), a problematic episode which takes the faërian drama idea in unexpected directions. Here I want to concentrate on another Joss Whedon project, the move Cabin in the Woods. In this movie, the faërian drama concept is turned on its head as humans perform a recurring bloody sacrificial drama designed to ritually placate ancient god-like beings. This paper will explore the ways in which Cabin in the Woods problematizes the faërian drama trope by inverting and subverting who creates and performs it, who plays a part in it, the intended effect on the god-audience, and our engagement as the actual movie audience.
Why Do Villains Insist on a Ring? Greed and Fetishism from Sauron to Spike
Valerie Estelle Frankel, Mission College, San Jose City College
Follow
Abstract
Tolkien establishes the perils of greed through Sauron, Gollum, Boromir, Thorin, and many other characters. In his world, beside treasure hoards and Silmarils, the ultimate temptation appears in the golden ring that offers ultimate power. The characters who seek it contrast with generous, royal Aragorn and Galadriel as well as the humble hobbits. Buffy the Vampire Slayer has a similar message, as the villains, great and small, construct talismans to focus their magic. Buffy and her friends find these to destroy them, never to use them. In fact, they fight with an assortment of unnamed weapons and simple spell ingredients from the corner store. Still, they discover more powerful tools and sometimes succumb to their worst urges. In both series, ordinary people remain quite vulnerable to temptation, with lessons that teach them to rise above it to find heroism.
Recommended Citation
Frankel, Valerie Estelle (2020) "Why Do Villains Insist on a Ring? Greed and Fetishism from Sauron to Spike," Journal of Tolkien Research: Vol. 10 : Iss. 1 , Article 4.
Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol10/iss1/4
2. Or you can follow the inane ramblings of a Television Reviewer on EW Online. I'm beginning to wonder about the field of television criticism and more importantly how these kids get their gigs? It's not talent. I'm guessing nepotism? I was highly disappointed by her essay. Mark Watches Buffy was more entertaining. Actually, everyone has been more entertaining.
Seriously? I think EW just keeps going downhill in it's inadequate attempts to stay trendy. I miss Premiere - much better magazine. Oh well, at least the Magazine EW has some meat to it, it doesn't do this sorts of articles. The online verison..sigh.
3. Finished The Mandalorian. It's uneven. There are a few really cheesy episodes in there - that kind of reminded me of cheap sci-fi. But the characterization is interesting, and over-all - the production value is rather good, along with the direction. Also, it has a decent cast.
With the guy who played Gus on Breaking Bad as the villain, Moth Gideon.
Also, the yoda puppet is insanely cute.
It's a family show and the violence while there, is toned down. Doesn't require much attention or focus, and held my attention throughout.
4. Now trying Halt Catch Fire which is basically about the tech industry in the 1980s and 90s.
Taking place over a period of more than ten years, the series depicts a fictionalized insider's view of the personal computer revolution of the 1980s and the growth of the World Wide Web in the early 1990s. The show's title refers to computer machine code instruction Halt and Catch Fire (HCF), the execution of which would cause the computer's central processing unit to stop working (catch fire being a humorous exaggeration).
It was rec'd by my brother to my mother - to show her what that would was like. My brother was in it in the 1990s, and jumped out in the early 00s.
And I had family members who worked in it during that time period as well.
Also, I worked on the fringes of it in the 1990s and 00s.
Stars the excellent Lee Pace and Mackenzie Davies. There's others in it, that I've seen in other things here and there.
5. Re-reading via audibooks, Illona Andrews Magic Strikes - Kate Daniels series. And am struck by the fact that she's a far better writer than Butcher. In that she doesn't have as many "saids" and less repetitious words. Smarter and far more innovative in her world-building and characterization as well.
Hasn't quite gotten the acclaim via the Hugos etc, because hello, female urban fantasy writer with a spark of romance.
The audio reader is better than expected.
no subject
Date: 2020-08-10 10:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-08-10 10:32 pm (UTC)Also, I'm not certain Buffy works well for binging. It was created to be watched with long spaces in between. I've noticed people who binge watch it - lose a lot of the subtext and meaning, and are also a bit too aware of plot issues. It's easier to hand-wave plot issues when you aren't binge-watching the television show.
[ETA: haven't seen you in a while. Nice to know you're still there. I'd heard that Melbourne had been hit hard again by COVID.]
no subject
Date: 2020-08-10 10:39 pm (UTC)We're fine, but bored.
no subject
Date: 2020-08-11 02:25 am (UTC)