(no subject)
My best class this quarter is probably "Self, Culture, and Society", which is basically an introduction to anthropology/religious studies. We basically followed the development of structuralism through Durkheim, Levi-Strauss, and his successors (we read Sahlins for this). Structuralism in Anthropology holds that society constructs its worldview in a structured way (the emphasis is on signs/symbols, rather than "concrete" objects).
(also, random wisdom from JZ Smith, the teacher of said class and, I think, something of a luminary in the "religious studies" field: It's a common misperception that revolution comes out of conservatism. In fact, the opposite tends to be true--most revolutions are followed by periods of conservatism. Now that I think about it, I think Dune says the same thing (in GEofD))
But basically, I was reading Levi-Strauss (a founder of French structuralism) and pondering the difference between "bricolage" and "engineering" which is central to his perspective. Basically, bricolage is reuse. Cobbling something together out of whatever happens to be available. Relating this to sci-fi, I was thinking about how Blade Runner is a unique movie in its "post-industrial" future setting, which focuses on a society that "reuses" old things (in a way, critiquing the belief that society will indefinately invent new things in order to "progress"). However, I suddenly realized that Serenity, also, is ultimately a bricolage-based sci-fi epic. Thus, I decided to compare the two movies, in a way, by examining which element of Bladerunner are used in the same way in Firefly/Serenity.
The most obvious similarity is the cities. Both BR and F/S have futuristic elements in their cities, but nevertheless, retain a run-down feel and have prevalent "underworlds". F/S tends to have a more cheerful outlook on the future, but we still see a good deal of "reuse" rather than invention--the use of horses being perhaps the most striking of these. (among my favorite touches of Bladerunner is when Harrison Ford breaks apart his chopsticks).
Both BR and F/S and non-English elements to their languages: BR has most of its dialogue in english, but also has slang and random other languages thrown into the mix. Serenity, on the other hand, has chinese and also a language that uses familiar words in atypical ways.
I'm not going to keep going on and on about this topic, but just pointing out that part of the appeal of BR and F/S might be their use of "bricolage"--and this is certainly a distinctive feature of both movies.
On a different note, I'm going to a Mogwai/Growing concert tonight, which looks to be very exciting. Also, I should explain why I suddenly have double the number of facebook photos, and why I look sort of unusual in those photos. Basically, my house had a drag show, and I dressed up and danced around to "I will survive" (I was in 2 inch heels though, and somewhat unused to it, so according to some I looked something like a "drunken prostitute"). First place, however, went to our school's only heavyweight wrestler (deservedly--a hw wrestler in drag is not something you see every day). Afterwards, we toured the Campus, visited the library, and dropped in on some other dorms.
I like the black nail polish though--I was just waiting for the excuse (behold me in my gothy glory!).
Marcel out.
(also, random wisdom from JZ Smith, the teacher of said class and, I think, something of a luminary in the "religious studies" field: It's a common misperception that revolution comes out of conservatism. In fact, the opposite tends to be true--most revolutions are followed by periods of conservatism. Now that I think about it, I think Dune says the same thing (in GEofD))
But basically, I was reading Levi-Strauss (a founder of French structuralism) and pondering the difference between "bricolage" and "engineering" which is central to his perspective. Basically, bricolage is reuse. Cobbling something together out of whatever happens to be available. Relating this to sci-fi, I was thinking about how Blade Runner is a unique movie in its "post-industrial" future setting, which focuses on a society that "reuses" old things (in a way, critiquing the belief that society will indefinately invent new things in order to "progress"). However, I suddenly realized that Serenity, also, is ultimately a bricolage-based sci-fi epic. Thus, I decided to compare the two movies, in a way, by examining which element of Bladerunner are used in the same way in Firefly/Serenity.
The most obvious similarity is the cities. Both BR and F/S have futuristic elements in their cities, but nevertheless, retain a run-down feel and have prevalent "underworlds". F/S tends to have a more cheerful outlook on the future, but we still see a good deal of "reuse" rather than invention--the use of horses being perhaps the most striking of these. (among my favorite touches of Bladerunner is when Harrison Ford breaks apart his chopsticks).
Both BR and F/S and non-English elements to their languages: BR has most of its dialogue in english, but also has slang and random other languages thrown into the mix. Serenity, on the other hand, has chinese and also a language that uses familiar words in atypical ways.
I'm not going to keep going on and on about this topic, but just pointing out that part of the appeal of BR and F/S might be their use of "bricolage"--and this is certainly a distinctive feature of both movies.
On a different note, I'm going to a Mogwai/Growing concert tonight, which looks to be very exciting. Also, I should explain why I suddenly have double the number of facebook photos, and why I look sort of unusual in those photos. Basically, my house had a drag show, and I dressed up and danced around to "I will survive" (I was in 2 inch heels though, and somewhat unused to it, so according to some I looked something like a "drunken prostitute"). First place, however, went to our school's only heavyweight wrestler (deservedly--a hw wrestler in drag is not something you see every day). Afterwards, we toured the Campus, visited the library, and dropped in on some other dorms.
I like the black nail polish though--I was just waiting for the excuse (behold me in my gothy glory!).
Marcel out.