My Research Topic: "If war produces one thing, it's many cemeteries. And in cemeteries, there are no enemies."

For my research paper, I'm going to look at Oliver Stone's Heaven and Earth and compare it to Le Ly Hayslip's autobiography When Heaven and Earth Changed Places. More specifically, after I watch the movie, I'm going to pick a section of it and analyze what techniques he used/how he went about adapting the corresponding part in the book. I'm still trying to figure it out a little, and I'm sure once our other paper is finished I'll be spending more time researching this one.

"All the great themes have been used up and turned into theme parks."

After reading the first couple pages of Lost in Translation, I was upset. After dealing with Meatless Days for my presentation the day before, I thought I was in the midst of another story that had too much forced meaning and too little relevant plot to make me care about whatever the author felt like sharing. Meatless Days can do that to people. When my group led the class discussion on the frustratingly pointless excerpt, most people had the same reaction: what is she talking about? In the end, I was in awe at how a story that centered on food could turn me off so incredibly much.

So I guess it’s not surprising that when I started reading Lost in Translation, the discussion of the word “river” that dominated the first page would worry me. But as I forced myself onward, I realized that this story had something that Meatless Days had lacked: plot. It’s a wonder what context and a storyline can do to one’s…story. Remarkably, there are many similarities between the two stories, yet they had vastly different effects on me as a reader. For starters, both autobiographers are going through cultural identity crises--Suleri (Meatless Days) alternating between life in the U.K. and Pakistan, and Hoffman (Lost in Translation) as a Polish immigrant to Canada. Both women also chose to use the topic listed in their title as the medium with which they could tell of their troubles—Suleri with food, Hoffman with words. But this is where the two authors take off in separate directions. For the sake of brainstorming for my paper, I’m going to focus on Lost in Translation.

As I continued to read her story, I realized that Hoffman has a candid ability to evoke a specific emotion in the reader. This is most obvious when she conveys the sense of awkwardness she feels in numerous social situations. Most people, aside from maybe the top tier of comedians, have all felt the embarrassment of telling a joke that is followed by silence instead of the anticipated laughter—Hoffman’s description of the fast-food scene is one that people in general, not just immigrants, can all relate to. After a slightly rough—though far from pointless—beginning, Hoffman was able to hold my attention for the duration of the passage. By the end of the story, I was reminded that you can’t judge a book by its cover, nor by a different story you read the week before.

My friend’s flying in to the airport soon, so I think I'll leave the more in-depth discussion of the excerpt for my paper.

And, as usual, the title for today’s post comes from another great movie. Major props if you know this one (hint: it's from 1990).

"This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished."

I’ve been reading a blog titled Pinko Feminist Hellcat, and all I can wonder is how many other times in my life I’ve had a reason to do such a thing.

As a member of an extremely technologically literate generation (I’ve heard it called Generation “M” before, as in media) I find it strange that it’s taken a class assignment for me to enter the World of Blogging. I’m not saying that I’ve been the technological equivalent of my grandma for the past decade (who has probably never heard the word blog before), only that I’ve never had any interest in posting my life on a page for all to see. Nor did I ever have any interest in reading the rants of someone I’ve never heard of.

But there is a significant benefit to the world of bloggin that even I can’t ignore—the rapid spread of news and ideas. The ability to share our opinions has allowed our generation as a whole the potential to become vastly more knowledgeable and well-read. Unfortunately, blogs also allow us to spread ignorance, hearsay, and, at its worst, hatred.

With that all said, I can finally talk about Ms. Hellcat. I guess the reason that I chose this particular blog, beyond the convenience of having it listed on the “Blog This!” article given to us in class, is that the blogger seems to be an honest commentator on social issues. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for women’s rights, but sometimes the motivation behind some of the more outspoken feminists can be a little intimidating and come off as shortsightedness. But Ms. Hellcat doesn’t seem to fall into that category: first, there’s the name: Pinko (Wikipedia tells me the term comes from the symbolism behind the color red as representative of communism—pink, essentially, refers to a watered down version of socialism), Feminist (self-explanatory), and Hellcat (apparently, she just likes the word). Creativity points right off the bat, but on another level, Ms. Hellcat is completely open with her views even in the blog title. And although all of her entries have a leaning towards women, she seems to be interested in discussing a wide spectrum of social issues as opposed to 1) a universal hatred of men, and 2) the mistreatment of women. She’s concerned about racism (Mexican women being mistreated based on race) and the type of man that would write sadistic threat letters to feminists. Ms. Hellcat seems to be outspoken, yet within reason, and has a directed sense of feminism instead of just an abstract perception of the concept. This should be interesting.

Oh, and by the way, this post’s title comes from one of my favorite movies. If you figure out what it’s from, go watch it and thank me later.