Entertain Me...

Every once in a while, one of my students utters a thought that makes me shudder.  Today I had such a moment.

In an argumentative essay addressing the perils or perks of television, this student profoundly (or at least he thought so) proclaimed that "entertainment is what we live for in life" and that "life is incomplete without television." 

Hmmmmm....

After my first incredulous cringe, I reread the phrases--and cringed again.  Is that what we have really become--a nation of fools whose only reason for being is to be titillated, to be thrilled, to be entertained? Forgive me, but it sounds as though we are aspiring to be Jordan Belfort, of recent Wolf of Wall Street fame, reveling in as much debauchery as we can command, narcissistically thinking of only ourselves, only of what we can take.

If entertainment is what we live for, it would explain an awful  lot, though.  For example, it would explain why the entire world was enraptured with the birth of celebrity babies with bizarre names rather than the efforts of Malala Yousafzai, a young Pakistani woman shot in the head for trying to bring education to all people of her homeland.  This preoccupation with being amused would elucidate why the multitude of inane and absurd reality television shows continue to proliferate despite the fact that they serve only to show people at their worst moments.  It would also illuminate our desire to take beautiful, meaningful, life-enhancing narratives and turn them into sensory eye candy by stripping the narratives of the very parts that make them beautiful, meaningful, and life-enhancing and replacing them with explosions, blood, and gratuitous skin.


This fixation on being entertained has dulled our senses to the beauty--and real sorrows--that this world has to offer from which we can learn more about what it means to live a human existence.  Our ability to have empathy is tragically dwindling, reducing us to slavering chucklebunnies immune to the real substance of our existence--our ability to connect with one another, to learn patience, love, and compassion, to develop the qualities that bring out the best in us, not allow us to sink in the mire.

My essay's sentences would be so very different.  Yet, these are the honest thoughts of a young person who has pondered an essay topic for at least three weeks, discussing, rethinking, challenging, exploring.  Alas, this was not my essay to write.  However, if it were, I would enlist as support a wise American writer/poet/philosopher:  

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Where did we go so wrong?

BOOK REVIEW: Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

BOOK REVIEW:  Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

This is the seventh book of Clare's work I have read so far, having read first the Mortal Instruments series (up through the fifth installment).  I am so glad I read the Mortal Instruments series first because, although I was lukewarm about Clockwork Angel, I absolutely love Clockwork Prince.  It's going to be hard to complete the "dislike" list, so I will make a slight adjustment to the lists's title.

Three Things I Love:
1.  Setting = London:  I'm an admitted Anglophile and am drawn to any novel set in London, and Victorian London is even better.  The soot and dust covered streets and buildings, the hovels and destitute of Whitechapel, the grandeur of the churches and Parliament buildings calls to me through these stories and creates in me a longing to return to London and really explore.

2.  Richly constructed characters:  I wasn't sure I was going to even like Tessa in Clockwork Angel; however, she has turned into an independent, well-rounded character with integrity and honor despite those who attempt to lure her away or trick her.  In contrast, I loved Will Herondale from the first moment he was introduced in Clockwork Angel and he does not disappoint in Clockwork Prince.  He's a tortured soul, self-sacrificing and complex, rich in irony and conflict.  Equally endearing are Jem (the demon-venom addicted co-protagonist--I can't bring myself to call him a minor character or even a sidekick--who provides a really nice foil for Will, but at the same time refuses to shrink into the shadows) and Charlotte (the independent, no-nonsense mother figure).

3.  Plot nuggets:  Clare makes excellent use of the plot development of planting seeds that promise to germinate, grow, and blossom throughout the Infernal Devices series.  Despite the fact that some of these seem a bit obvious (i.e., ascendancy and demon pox--haha!), I have an inkling that some of the more subtle (and not-so-subtle) plot elements will also take root and flower into amazing creations.  Tessa's origins, for example, is intriguing, keeping not only the reader, but the characters guessing.  It makes for not only entertaining but fascinating reading.  More, please...

Three Things I Loved Less:
1.  Will's "trick":  I don't want to give too much away, but this "trick" was really obvious.  This plot point was frustrating because of being so obvious and took so long to resolve.  That being said, it was also a necessary part of the story, so I don't "dislike" it...I just loved it less.

2.  Cecily:  I have an icky feeling that Cecily is going to turn out to be an evil character, somewhat akin to Nate.  I'm hoping I'm wrong, but her introduction into the story struck me as ominous and her appearance at the end caused my hackles to rise.  I'd hate to see Will further tortured...

3.  Jessamine:  Okay, part of me likes Jessamine and understands where she is coming from.  She doesn't want the life her parents ran away from...she wants a "simpler" life...but honestly, she's a dingbat!  She doesn't trust, she doesn't think, and she's an entitled, self-righteous brat.  She has elements that make her less annoying, too, though, like when she bought Tessa new clothing in Clockwork Angel and when she...no...she's just annoying!

Overall, Clare has won me over with Clockwork Prince.  I'm going to get Clockwork Princess today!  I need to see how Jem and Tessa and Will and Charlotte and Henry continue.

"I Didn't Mean It Like That..."

Browsing interesting articles is a primary benefit of having Internet access.  Even better is when, instead of browsing myself (often due to a lack of "free time" to do so), I have friends and colleagues who come across worthwhile texts and then share them on Facebook, where I happily can quickly find them at a convenient moment.

Twice in the past month (or so), I have come across articles about microaggressions, a term coined in the 1970s to describe intentionally or unintentionally inflicted phrases, behaviors, or other insults or humiliations directed usually toward people of color.  This definition has grown over the last several decades to include insults aimed at gender and sexual orientation and has garnered increasing attention lately because of the subtleties of the offenses.   However, the effects of this behavior exhibit ignorance at best and blatant -isms at worst.

The most  recent article showcases the experiences of students at Oxford University.  Although I cannot recall the first article I read about this current cultural phenomenon, I am struck by the audacity exhibited in these similar articles, which consist of numerous students of color holding dry erase boards exhibiting messages they have been the recipients of during their educational experiences at top-notch universities.

At first glance, the messages may seem benign, harmless little verbal indiscretions.  However, comments like "But...what is your African name?" and "Is that your real hair?" or "You do know they accepted you because you're black" say more about the speaker than about the recipient.  Such comments exhibit something truly more derisive, divisive, and harmful than a complete disregard for and lack of awareness of the dignity of the person. These comments, often uttered under the guise of feigned innocence, exhibit the thoughtlessness with which many people go through their lives, a shallowness all too often excused by caveats like "I didn't mean it like that" or "It was just a joke."

The term microaggression is telling, too.  Those on the receiving end of these acts of stupidity (for that is what they truly are) feel attacked, belittled, insulted.  And, they have started and joined campaigns to increase awareness of these behaviors arising from ignorant attitudes in forums like The Microaggressions Project.

So, if it isn't already obvious, what do I make of this?  Mostly, I am disappointed and even angered that there still exists an incredible amount of stupidity mascarading as ignorance, which in turn breeds intolerance and excuses.  Are people really still so naive as to think that what they say to others isn't important anymore? (A rhetorical question, but I guess the answer is apparently "yes.")  Although actions speak louder than words, it is also true that what we say is in itself an action.  Additionally, our actions (and words) DO have implications and consequences. What ever happened to the Golden Rule?  What ever happened to "speaking the truth in love"?  Thoughtlessness ought not be tolerated any more than stupidity should...and my closest friends and family know how I feel about stupidity.

SOURCE:

Edds, Robin. "65 Students of Color Share Their Experiences of Life at Oxford University."BuzzFeed. BuzzFeed, n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.

Book Review: The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde

Book Review:  The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde

I have read two other Jasper Fforde novels, both from his Thursday Next series. Although I liked those books and found Fforde's wit endearing and unique, I honestly think I prefer the Nursery Crime series better.  Fforde has a wonderful wickedness in how he uses nursery rhymes in this series, and his main character, Jack Spratt, is both endearing and principled in contrast to other characters who are cynical and power-hungry as he attempts to solve the apparent murder of Humpty Dumpty.  With lots of unanticipated plot twists and complications, the story was enjoyable, silly and inane at times, but clever and exceptional.

Three Things I Liked:
1.  Absurdity:  I heard Fforde's writing described as absurd and even more than in the Thursday Next series, this is true of this Nursery Crime novel.  In fact, toward the end, as the various plot complications resolve, I found myself giggling at his absurd sense of humor and crazy logic.  The logic of the story is in itself remarkable at times, and downright bizarre, but actually works in a way one could only expect of a nursery rhyme crime drama.

2.  Chapter epigraphs in the form of press releases:  The epigraphs that introduce each chapter actually provide interesting back stories for the events transpiring in the course of the novel.  This is an interesting narrative technique as it doesn't make the story run away on a tangent, but provides important insights.  They add to the absurdity of the story at times and most importantly provide interesting commentary on society's infatuation with the drama of the famous and infamous.

3.  Transformation of flat, stock characters into round, multidimensional characters:  Mary Mary (of the Quite Contrary rhyme) and Jack Spratt are transformed from one-dimensional characters in this novel, which includes other unlikely characters as Prometheus of Greek myth fame, the depressed, womanizing Humpty Dumpty, the insomniac Wee Willie Winkie, and the murderous Tom Thomm (the piper's son). Although some of these characters don't undergo dramatic transformation, most have a seedier side in Fforde's imagination and they become more than they appear in their nursery rhymes (and myths).

Three Things I Liked Less:
1.  Incredulity of some plot complications:  Some of Fforde's plot complications seemed unnecessary and even inane at times, but I think this might be in keeping with the absurdity he was striving for.  Without any spoilers, did that really need to happen to Humpty?  Couldn't it just have been a bullet???

2.  Aliens??:  Yes, one of the minor characters is an alien from another planet.   Seemed gratuitous and unnecessary to me, but what do I know?

3.  Backhanded charges against Jack Spratt of "racism":  Jack Spratt is constantly accused of racism by his peers and the media jury who keeps trying to hang him out to dry.  It seemed at times the newspaper media were as duplicitous as the antagonist, but I'm hoping to retain an open mind for when I delve into the next Nursery Crime novel in the series.

Overall, I enjoyed The Big Over Easy and as I was looking for a quick read at the time, this one fit the bill for me.  I am really interested in the next novels as I'm genuinely interested in what happens to Mary Mary and Jack Spratt as they continue to fight Nursery Rhyme Crime and the corrupt police force that is beholden to the media (yes, complete social commentary here) for their "success."  Despite the absurd approach, Fforde seems to have something scathing to say about the criminal justice system and society's infatuation with the infamous.

SOURCE:
Fforde, Jasper.  The Big Over Easy:  A Nursery Crime.  New York:  Viking, 2005.  Print.