Comic or Literature?

When considering Alan Moore's, Light of Thy Countenance, the question that quite easily arises is whether or not it can be considered literature. But then again, what is literature? Can a comic/graphic narrative seriously be thought of as literature? Or is it a classification exclusive to expansive novels and esoteric poetry? This would certainly seem to be the traditional view of literature, and if this is indeed the case, Light of Thy Countenance would definitely fall short. However, in many ways, Light of Thy Countenance, is, in my opinion, more worthy of being called literature than many of the 'great' classics because it simply, yet elegantly, conveys a powerful meaning.

I guess to fully understand why I think Light of the Countenance is an excellent example of modern literature, you would have to go back to when I first encountered the question of what literature is. It happened several years ago, when I tried to convince my brother to read a book. He had just come home from college for the summer, and I remember asking him if he'd be interested in reading Diablo: Legacy of Blood, by Richard Knaak; a book I'd really enjoyed. He scoffed at me, replying that he was only interested in reading real literature, not fantasy. Literature, he said, transcended mere entertainment value and rested in the what books can tell us about ourselves – what messages they can impart upon us. This fantasy book, he surmised with obvious scorn, couldn't possibly hold any real value. However, looking back, I can see a number of ways in which this view is fundamentally flawed. Regarding it's message, Diablo: Legacy of Blood, actually carried several profound themes. Albeit, it's a story about demons and magic, but its' main plot is focused around the tragedies and destruction that occurs when the main character shuns his friends and succumbs to his lust for demonic power. So while it was certainly meant to entertain, it is also a novel warning us about how greed can destroy all we hold dear. Point being, even fairy tails can be considered literature because of the very real themes they carry.

In this respect, Light of Thy Countenance, even though it's comic book and not a novel, can be considered literature. Not only that, but the graphic nature of the story actually helps reinforce the theme it carries. The story is ultimately a commentary/critique on how TV has infiltrated our daily lives to such an extent that we have begun to look to it for guidance. Moore bluntly suggests that TV has become a new god, one that is quickly growing out of control in it's influence over us. And what better way is there to show TV as a monster than to paint the pictures of it's creation like a scene out of Frankenstein with lightening, a mad scientist and Igor all included? In this way, Light of Thy Countenance succeeds where mere description might fail, as it quiet literally portrays TV in ways that are more creepy and disturbing than could ever be possible in the written world alone. It is in this way, that Light of Thy Countenance is really more deserving of being called literature than most other novels. Not only does it waste no time in delivering it's theme, but it does so with a vividness and power that is usually reserved for only the greatest narratives.

M. Butterfly's womanly and weak East

 Perhaps one of the most important aspects/themes in David Henry Hwang's play, M Butterfly, and indeed the thing that stuck out to me the most as I read it, is that the West tends to hold onto the delusion that the East (specifically Asian countries) is subservient, weak and feminine. This seems especially true, mentality wise, when it comes to Gallimard, as he is all too eager to believe in and exploit this idea when it comes to his lover, Song.

Although it may be said that this mentality could just be a mirror Gallimard's ideals about women in general, to a great extent, they are quiet distinct and separate. For instance, when Gallimard says, “Did you hear the way [Song] talked about Western Women? … She does – she feels inferior to them – and to me.” (31) he reveals, quite clearly, that he thinks Song is subservient to him not because he thinks she's a women, but because she's not Western. The fact that Song is a women (in Gallimard's eyes) has nothing to do with it, in fact, Gallimard had previously mentioned how much he'd been socially hobbled when it came to women – for the majority of his life, he's been, “... afraid they'll say no....” (8) It's only now that he has an Asian woman, who is easily intimidated, that Gallimard finally feels, “the absolute power of a man.” (32)

Throughout the rest of the play, the view that the East is weak is continuously brought up, though it doesn't always concern women. When Gallimard is talking to his boss about the upcoming Vietnam War, he says that, “Orientals will always submit to a greater force.” (46) This stupendously stereotypical statement about Easterners shows just how deeply Gallimard – who can be seen as an accurate representation of the collective Western thought at the time – believes that the East is weak and feminine. This mentality, which is undoubtedly a byproduct of his experiences with Song, is one that persists for the rest of the book. Not only that, but it accounts for his puzzlement at the eventual American loss in Vietnam and his failure to ever see through Song's charade, because as Song says, “...being an Oriental, I could never be completely a man.” (83) 

Pattern Recognition -- A Modern Day Thriller

In Pattern Recognition, by William Gibson, perhaps one of the most recurring aspects of the story is that it is written like a Spy/Mystery novel. Throughout the novel, many things happen which give it cloak and dagger feel, but two cases stand out more than the others. The first is when the main character, Cayce's, apartment is broken into, and the second is when she goes to Russia in search of the mythical “maker” of the online footage. Together, these two cases accurately personify how Gibson makes Pattern Recognition seem more like a Spy/Mystery thriller, rather than just a Science Fiction novel.

The “break-in” incident in the first chapters of the novel is significant because it is the first example of the Spy/Mystery element in the story. Cayce first discovers that someone broke into her apartment when she notices a website she had never visited in her computer's browser history. After a full investigation, Cayce eventually concludes that the whole thing was instituted by Dorotea, her work enemy (aka the “bitch”). This immediately raises questions as to why Dorotea did it, and what will she do in the future. These question's present an appealing mystery, one for which Cayce has no initial answer. For the first time in the novel, the “break-in” introduces us to a sense of suspense and intrigue usually reserved for James Bond movies. This sense will permeate throughout the rest of the novel and also convinces Cayce to take extra measures against any future trespassers (she barricades the door, changes the locks, etc...).

After the “break-in,” the Spy/Mystery aspect of the story sits largely in the background until it comes back in full force in the latter part of the second half of the novel when Cayce travels to Russia in search of the “maker.” As soon as she gets out of the airport in Moscow, Cayce notices the, “Cyclopean Stalin-era buildings.... Built to humble, and terrify.” (269) This imagery, particularly the use of “Stalin,” brings a Cold War type flavor to story. The fact that the buildings were meant to “humble, and terrify” also brings fourth an ominous tone about the city. The buildings, in essence, captured the general dark feelings of the Cold War era and transplant them into the modern-day setting of Pattern Recognition's Russia.

Since the Cold War was practically the golden age of the spy, we can naturally expect some form of secret agency to pop up, and it does, in the form of the “maker” herself. Nora, the “maker,” turns out to be the niece of an extremely rich and powerful Russian tycoon Andrei Volkov. This fact in of itself makes Nora a prime target for Andrei's enemies and therefore must be tightly protected. As such, when Cayce goes to see Nora for the first time, she is escorted by bald security guys in black coats and sunglasses to a building that could have passed for a KGB interrogation facility in its' creepiness.

Later, it turns out that all the security officials in charge of Nora and her sister's security are ex-KGB agents and called, “traditionalists.” (339) These “traditionalists” originally held great suspicions against Cayce because her father, Win Pollard, was an “old opponent” (339) of theirs, and it was they who hired Dorotea to break into Cayce's apartment. These Cold War veterans, aside from having real spy roots, greatly bolster the Spy/Mystery aspect of Pattern Recognition.     

Pattern Recognition Theme/Motif Brainstorm

Mystery and/or Spy Genre of Fiction

Pattern Recognition, seems at many times to be mystery/spy novel, or at the very least, incorporates many mystery/spy elements into its story. We see this when the main character, Cayce, is forced to investigate several suspicious events. Foremost of which is when her, or rather Damien's, house is broken into. Although there are no obvious signs of entry, Cayce finds a web page in her computer's browser history which she had never visited. She also notices that a roll of tape which she had placed on a counter before leaving, is now on the floor. This leads Cayce to come to the conclusion that someone had broken into the house at some point, and, upon investigating the phone, that this vagabond was in the employ of her enemy Dorotea. This observation-conclusion type investigation that occurs here is really characteristic of many mystery type stories where the investigator first notices that something is wrong, and through further observation, is able to deduce what happened.

The “break in” further gives the story a mystery/spy feel, because, although we know that Dorotea was behind it, we still don't know anything about the actual trespasser. Will he strike again? What are his capabilities? What will he do if there is a next time? Cayce barricades the apartment, will that be enough to stop him? All these questions are not only asked by the main character, but by the reader as well. Overall, events like the “break in” create a mystery for us to ponder throughout our reading of the story, as well as a feeling of suspense as we wait for the next “break in” to occure.

Globalization commentary

In Pattern Recognition, there seems to be a lot of globalization commentary throughout the story. This becomes clearly apparent when Cayce receives two emails from her friends. One email is from a friend who's in Russia, and details his experiences in that country to date, while the other is from one of her forum buddies who is writing from Japan. Just the fact that Cayce gets these two emails at the same time, from two places in the world, is a form of globalization commentary. Although its not explicitly saying it, the origin of both the emails implies that although these people are physically very far away from Cayce, they are still in close contact with her because they can still communicate instantly by virtue of the internet being simultaneous.

Globalization can also be seen with the existence of the Fetish:Footage:Forum. The forum's admin is from Seoul. One of the daily contributors to the site is in Japan. Cayce is from New York, but is currently residing in London. Again, we have an instance in the story where there are many people conversing with each other on a daily basis regardless of the tremendous distance between them.

On the whole, Pattern Recognition seems to constantly be commenting that, in on our globalized world the distance barrier between people has been removed by institutions such as the internet. In other words, it's commenting that nowadays, being far away can't really separate you from everyone else.

Perspective Switch on “A Rose for Emily,” by William Faulkner

When talking about, “A Rose for Emily,” by William Faulkner, it is easy to see that the stories point of view is of extraordinary importance. If we consider what the story would be like if written from the views of either Tobe (Emily's servant) or Homer (Emily's sweetheart) then we would undoubtedly get two very different story.

If the story were told from Tobe's perspective then, rather than being held in dark for the majority of the story, we would have an insiders view of what happens in the house. As well as not knowing anything about Emily's distant past (As the narrative would likely begin at the commencement of his service to Emily), we would know immediately that she killed Homer. This seems to rather defeat the purpose of the story, or, at the very least take a lot away from its meaning as the main revelation that ties everything together comes from when we finally learn of Homer's murder.

Likewise, there probably wouldn't be much of a story anyway if it were told form Homer's point of view. Aside from also not learning about Emily's past, or future for that matter, the story would abruptly end when Emily kills him. We wouldn't even be able to speculate as to why she does this if all we has is Homer's view. I mean, if he knew she was going to kill him, he probably wouldn't have come to her house. The only thing we could possibly gain from Homer's point of view is the intimate details of his and Emily's relationship.

Ultimately, if told from either point of view, the meaning of the story would most definitely change. From Tobe's point of view, we wouldn't know why Emily did what she did, only that she killed Homer and, at most, how it effected Tobe. And from Homer's point of view, we would probably be as puzzled as he was when he finally died of arsenic poisoning, leaving us with no meaning besides, maybe, that you shouldn't trust reclusive southern women.

Rise of the Machines, Brautigan style

When first reading Richard Brautigan's poem “All Watched over by Machines of Loving Grace,” it initially appears to contain a fairly weak anti-technology sentiment. In the second stanza, the author describes a spot where “deer stroll peacefully past computers as if they were flowers,” (13-15) giving the impression that, despite it being “peaceful,” the computers have replaced all flowers. This, and the fact that computers rend to lack the same muted ascetic beauty of flowers, paints a picture of a lifeless, mechanical forest. This mechanized view is further reinforced by the repetition of the word “cybernetic” in the third line of each stanza, which continues to bring forth a view of an unnatural landscape distorted by encroaching machines.

In contrast to the weak anti-technology sentiment, there seems to exist a strong pro-technology view. Lines such as “mammals and computers live together in... harmony” (4-6) suggest that animals and machines can live together happily. Furthermore, the author appears to insist that they are reflections of each other in the line stating that they are, “like pure water touching clear sky” (7-8). Later in the poem, the living together idea is taken to a new level in the third stanza where machines have made humans, “free of... labors and joined back to nature.” (20-21) Yep, life is good in this peaceful, work-free paradise where machines watch over frolicking humans and cute animals alike with a “loving grace.” (25)

However, after rereading the poem several times, the pro-technology images of tranquility and harmony begin to take on an uncharacteristically ominous tone. The phrase 'too good to be true' comes to mind as lines such as “mammals and computers live together in... programming harmony,” (5-6) begin to speak less about a mutual peace, but more about a “programmed” stability garnered solely through the absence of free will. Like a beautiful melody descending into dissonance, this wonderful mechanical paradise starts to takes on an oppressive atmosphere as we have only been “joined back to nature” (21) and our “mammal brothers and sisters” (22-23) because we have forgotten everything else ever since the machines have made us “free of our labors” (20) and essentially taken over. More and more, it seems, the vision of this “cybernetic ecology” (20) changes from one of happiness, to one of depression. For now we live in a statistically tyrannical realm where the machines will forevermore rule and “watch” over us with a mechanically precise “grace.” (25)

Word Speculation on Adrienne Rich's “Diving into the Wreck”

Imagery:

“Body-armor of black rubber”

“absurd flippers”

“grave and awkward mask”

“oxygen...blue light...clear atoms”

“I crawl like an insect”

“air is blue... bluer then green... then black.”

“It pumps my blood with power”

“The drowned face always staring”

“Ribs of the disaster”

“Mermaid whose dark hair streams black, the merman in his armored body”

“I am she: I am he”

“We are the half-destroyed instruments that once held course”

“Water eaten log... the fouled compass”

“Carrying a knife, a camera a book of myths”

Of the many images in Adrienne Rich's poem, “Diving into the Wreck,” the first ones to catch my eye came, unsurprisingly, in the first few lines. As Rich describes the Diver's equipment in the lines; “black-armor of black rubber”, “absurd flippers”, “grave and awkward mask”, I got the feeling that while the Diver is physically preparing to enter the wreck, he's sort of steeling himself for what he thinks will be a mentally trying challenge. This is further reinforced by the decent, as so described in the lines; “oxygen... blue light... clear atoms,” “I crawl like an insect down”, “air is blue... bluer then green... then black.” Although the Diver is just diving deeper, it's painted more as a decent into a kind of dead zone where the Diver himself is starting to feel like an intruder, hence him crawling like an “insect” and the water getting darker and darker until it's finally black. At this point the Diver also becomes keenly aware of the morbidity of the place he is entering as he almost faints and is saved only by his air mask as, “it pumps my blood with power.” Even though the descent is trying, though, the Diver soon reaches the Wreck itself, which appears to him as, “the drowned face always staring,” showing that he is giving life (or more specifically, death) to the Wreck. Furthermore, the line, “ribs of disaster,” continues the metaphor that at one time the ship itself was alive though now it's just another drowned carcass.

Perhaps on of the most eerie and macabre episode in the entire poem occurs when the Diver comes across a drowned women who is a, “mermaid whose dark hair streams black,” and he is, “the merman in his armored body.” What really caught my eye, though, was the line, “I am she: I am he,” where it seems as if the author is injecting herself into poem. Perhaps she is pondering what it would be like if she drowned in a sinking boat; would a Diver come looking for her? Maybe she's wondering if she will ever have a “drowned face [that] sleeps with open eyes,” or “breasts [that] still bear the stress.”

In any case, the poem seems to get a little wired after the interaction with the dead maiden as the Diver's reflections begin to expand to include us all in lines like, “we are the half-destroyed instruments that once held course.” However, at the end of the poem, the diver seems to come back to himself and remember that while he is indeed surrounded by death, lines like, “carrying a knife, a camera a book of myths” act as reminders that he is only a visitor and an observer. His ship, it seems, has not yet sunk.

Welcome to MLAM!

Hi there my name is Maris Kali and welcome to my new blog, MLAM!  You are undoubtedly already wondering why anyone would call their blog MLAM!, and although you're probably beginning to like the word the more you roll it over your tongue, allow me to explain the original of the inexorably awesome title.

Often times, whenever i sit down to write, whether it be an essay or a short story, i always experience a creative crisis.  I'm not talking about the subject of my writing, I'm talking about names.  Names, names, names... be it titles or characters and places, I'm usually at a complete loss.  Even when i do come up with a name, i usually change my mind soon after.  Why, just the other day when i made a new character in a video game, i spent over an hour trying to come up with the perfect name and five minutes after i made him, i deleted him because i no longer liked the name.  Yes, that's how bad i am at it.

As you can imagine, coming up with a title for this blog was quite the challenge.  As i sat at my computer, pondering unimaginative and disappointing names like Maris's World, i was suddenly reminded of word that my brothers and I always say to each other.  It is a simple word, one with no definition and yet, it was a word of great significance.  It is a hilarious word (if used tactfully that is) and one which I have come to associate with family and close friends.  Thus, the title of my blog came to be MLAM!

I hope you have great time at my blog...MLAM!