What an ending. I truly can't write much because I don't know what to say. Does that make any sense? I know it looks bad, but not even that concerns me; I'm speechless for the first time ever! He is a murderer, he isn't, the girl may be dead, but she's alive, the switching of stories. The zombie narrator. Jesus K. Christ.
It figures Ariel had something to avenge by interrogating Katurian the way he did (Now it really reminds me of SVU, how Elliot is a dad and hates child molesters, and Olivia is a rape victim, etc.). Tupolski was a prick, too, don't get me wrong. One day, I hope to be half the "writer" as Tupolski is. :)
I'll write more after class. I need to hear other people's interpretations.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
The Pillowman: Act II
Nothing seems to be true, factual, or anything that resembles the expected. When we learn that Michal was never really even tortured, it reminded me of the famous psychological experiment where people pushed an inactive button and willingly tortured other humans for the sake of conforming. Why Michal lies about the third death and its connection to the third story beats me, but it's an interesting twist when it is revealed that this too is but a lie.
Third story:
"The Tale of the Town on the River" (Act I) - I thought it was cool how McDonagh linked the tale of the Pied Piper with Katurian's third story. So I guess that kid wasn't playing this little piggy anymore after that hooded man left town. I suppose the story meant that fate has a funny way of playing tricks; that something that seems a hinder may be a help in another situation. Ok. So then what?
Fourth story:
"The Little Jesus" - Pretty sick. Parents can be cruel, but hey, put the girl on pills. I know having a daughter who is delusional can't be fun, but hey, that was a nasty punishment for a girl who thought she was Jesus. Could have been worse. She could have told people she was the devil.
Fifth story:
"The Little Green Pig" - So sweet. I loved how it ended. I was relieved that for a moment, the stories weren't Aesop Fables translated by this creep.
Third story:
"The Tale of the Town on the River" (Act I) - I thought it was cool how McDonagh linked the tale of the Pied Piper with Katurian's third story. So I guess that kid wasn't playing this little piggy anymore after that hooded man left town. I suppose the story meant that fate has a funny way of playing tricks; that something that seems a hinder may be a help in another situation. Ok. So then what?
Fourth story:
"The Little Jesus" - Pretty sick. Parents can be cruel, but hey, put the girl on pills. I know having a daughter who is delusional can't be fun, but hey, that was a nasty punishment for a girl who thought she was Jesus. Could have been worse. She could have told people she was the devil.
Fifth story:
"The Little Green Pig" - So sweet. I loved how it ended. I was relieved that for a moment, the stories weren't Aesop Fables translated by this creep.
The Pillowman: Act I
*****The Pillowman: Finally, something worth reading! Entertainment! Deliciousness.
Although I was waiting for Detectives Benson and Stabler to jump in and rescue Katurian during the interrogation, I was relieved when they didn't show up. I thoroughly appreciated the jumping from present to narrative. It's more my speed, reminiscent of a good thriller.
First story:
"The Little Apple Men" - So, like everyone else, I was shocked by how gruesome the tale turned out to be. I certainly wasn't expecting it to turn out like a bad Trick or Treating experience. What do I think it means? Well, initially I thought that perhaps the message behind the story was to heed suggestions or face serious consequences. Then I thought maybe the message was the things/people you foster may be the ones who turn on you. I'm not sure which, if either, is the correct interpretation. After reading thus far, there may not even be any rhyme or reason. I guess I'll find out tonight in class.
Second story:
"The Three Gibbett Crossroads" - The obvious: being punished for a crime you don't know you committed. That sucks. After reading the novel the only connection I could find between this story is Katurian adding fuel to the fire by unwillingly letting his brother in on his twisted world. He provided an outlet for him to release his years of frustration onto other children, as he once had been, with the stories as a guideline for his murders.
Although I was waiting for Detectives Benson and Stabler to jump in and rescue Katurian during the interrogation, I was relieved when they didn't show up. I thoroughly appreciated the jumping from present to narrative. It's more my speed, reminiscent of a good thriller.
First story:
"The Little Apple Men" - So, like everyone else, I was shocked by how gruesome the tale turned out to be. I certainly wasn't expecting it to turn out like a bad Trick or Treating experience. What do I think it means? Well, initially I thought that perhaps the message behind the story was to heed suggestions or face serious consequences. Then I thought maybe the message was the things/people you foster may be the ones who turn on you. I'm not sure which, if either, is the correct interpretation. After reading thus far, there may not even be any rhyme or reason. I guess I'll find out tonight in class.
Second story:
"The Three Gibbett Crossroads" - The obvious: being punished for a crime you don't know you committed. That sucks. After reading the novel the only connection I could find between this story is Katurian adding fuel to the fire by unwillingly letting his brother in on his twisted world. He provided an outlet for him to release his years of frustration onto other children, as he once had been, with the stories as a guideline for his murders.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Thoughts on Blackwatch (Music and Temperature)
The music really hit home for me, being of Celtic descent myself. The sounds of traditional bagpipes meshed with modern ballads was a masterful combination. The pertinent lyrics and haunting melodies added dramatic interest to the show, fully immersing the audience in a sensory experience of the audio and visual. The gunshots fired several times throughout the play were well placed and startling, further providing an uncomfortable environment for the viewer. At times, one almost feels as though they are transported to the dangerous sands of the Middle East.
Which rbings me to my next topic: THE HEAT!!!!! Wow. No intermission and no air conditiong; that's an idea! As I sat and watched the show, the whole time regretting I had worn my tanning cream, I realized that perhaps the director put us in that position so we could in some way, if even for an hour, be exposed to the elements as these soldiers are in times of war. As I watched upper class New Yorkers fan themselves throughout the peorformance it occurred to me that if such a decision to cut the air was premeditated, it was BRILLIANT, even if my collar looked like I was attacked by a pumpkin!
Which rbings me to my next topic: THE HEAT!!!!! Wow. No intermission and no air conditiong; that's an idea! As I sat and watched the show, the whole time regretting I had worn my tanning cream, I realized that perhaps the director put us in that position so we could in some way, if even for an hour, be exposed to the elements as these soldiers are in times of war. As I watched upper class New Yorkers fan themselves throughout the peorformance it occurred to me that if such a decision to cut the air was premeditated, it was BRILLIANT, even if my collar looked like I was attacked by a pumpkin!
Thoughts on Blackwatch (Acting and Blocking)
I have a confession: I actually LIKED Blackwatch after I had the pleasure of seeing it performed. In retrospect, I guess my main reason for hating it in the first place was because of the distraction of the language, thereby forcing me to not really give the play a chance from its outset. When the language no longer was an issue (Irish and Scottish brogues are no stranger to me), I was able to entertain the true meaning of the play, identify the characters more clearly, which allowed me to relate to them more than when they were a bold word at the beginning of a long line of garbled English.
The layout of the theater was also interesting, and watching the actors parade down what resembled a runway and all the space it provided was no easy task. Luckily, the direction and choreography was dead-on and each inch of the floor was skillfully utilized. The two-tiered platforms on each end of the theater further utilized space, this time vertically, and engaged the audience from what seems like every angle possible. Furthermore, the television sets, although small, related a sense of the media's affects on the War in Iraq, which was a prevalent theme throughout each of our war pieces.
The layout of the theater was also interesting, and watching the actors parade down what resembled a runway and all the space it provided was no easy task. Luckily, the direction and choreography was dead-on and each inch of the floor was skillfully utilized. The two-tiered platforms on each end of the theater further utilized space, this time vertically, and engaged the audience from what seems like every angle possible. Furthermore, the television sets, although small, related a sense of the media's affects on the War in Iraq, which was a prevalent theme throughout each of our war pieces.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
"It takes 300 years to build an army that's admired and respected around the world. But it only takes three years pissing about in the desert in the biggest western foreign policy disaster ever to fuck it up completely".
This quote, taken from the middle of page 71 of this terrible play, actually meant something to me. It made me realize that, as an ignorant American, I was unable to truly take something from this play that I regarded as meaningful. To these men, and since it is based on a true story, real people, they were fighting for something bigger than themselves because they lived in a "peaceful country". They really were, in effect, fighting for world peace, which is the reason any nation goes to war. As Americans, we forget at times that war is not a solution to most problems. Not only that, war is most often, in this country, a facade for our selfish alterior motives. It's difficult for me to comprehend what it must be like to risk one's life for the benefit of a country that could care less about the survival of the little people. These men's stories are worth reading because we are able to see from another perspective how a war, especially an unnecessary one, can ruin the lives and reputations of even those who have the best intentions, without anyone caring.
Just ask them.
This quote, taken from the middle of page 71 of this terrible play, actually meant something to me. It made me realize that, as an ignorant American, I was unable to truly take something from this play that I regarded as meaningful. To these men, and since it is based on a true story, real people, they were fighting for something bigger than themselves because they lived in a "peaceful country". They really were, in effect, fighting for world peace, which is the reason any nation goes to war. As Americans, we forget at times that war is not a solution to most problems. Not only that, war is most often, in this country, a facade for our selfish alterior motives. It's difficult for me to comprehend what it must be like to risk one's life for the benefit of a country that could care less about the survival of the little people. These men's stories are worth reading because we are able to see from another perspective how a war, especially an unnecessary one, can ruin the lives and reputations of even those who have the best intentions, without anyone caring.
Just ask them.
Torture.
So, Black Watch. Hmmm.
My complaints:
1) I haven't read Shakespeare in some time, but after the first few lines of Black Watch I thought I was. I remember being in grammer school and reading Romeo and Juliet and Othello with the classic version on the left page and the modern English translation on the right. I wish Black Watch was released like that. It wasn't so instead, I began to make a glossary of terms with translations on each page so I could more easily follow along. To no avail, it was still a terrible read.
2) Ask which character said what and I couldn't honestly tell you. Did I read the play? Yes. Was I able to identify with any of the characters? No. Do I know which character is which? Hell no. It was a jumbled mess of swearing and slang. Reading plays isn't the easiest thing to do, even when written in English (our English). The Mercy Seat was obviously easier because it dealt with two characters, it was written in America English, and it dealt with topics of which I have interest.
3) There was very little action. For the majority of the play, the discussions focused on what I consider fluff. It was like a Seinfeld episode set in the desert. I am totally open to admitting that this play may have gone over my head since after having read the reviews I felt like a moron for not loving it. I didn't.
4) A pool table that turns into a tank? Really?
My complaints:
1) I haven't read Shakespeare in some time, but after the first few lines of Black Watch I thought I was. I remember being in grammer school and reading Romeo and Juliet and Othello with the classic version on the left page and the modern English translation on the right. I wish Black Watch was released like that. It wasn't so instead, I began to make a glossary of terms with translations on each page so I could more easily follow along. To no avail, it was still a terrible read.
2) Ask which character said what and I couldn't honestly tell you. Did I read the play? Yes. Was I able to identify with any of the characters? No. Do I know which character is which? Hell no. It was a jumbled mess of swearing and slang. Reading plays isn't the easiest thing to do, even when written in English (our English). The Mercy Seat was obviously easier because it dealt with two characters, it was written in America English, and it dealt with topics of which I have interest.
3) There was very little action. For the majority of the play, the discussions focused on what I consider fluff. It was like a Seinfeld episode set in the desert. I am totally open to admitting that this play may have gone over my head since after having read the reviews I felt like a moron for not loving it. I didn't.
4) A pool table that turns into a tank? Really?
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Unmarried. Unsingle. Unloved?
The freedom to love since childhood nursed in a mother’s womb
Cradled by the life of another a breakthrough an extension of the love of two people
A realization of that fact and the need for duplication a sense of ownership
Owning and being owned a glance a tingle under the skin goose bumps
And standing hairs the world at a standstill
Love does exist in oneself between family and friends without boundary
Some say sadly mistaken for the invisible line an unspoken law
For a child deciding to choose an object of affection a partner a lover
More than that beyond the corporal indulgence the warmth of two bodies
Joined by a heart a mind a choice not mother to child but the result of a search
A process dictated by the trinity of heart soul mind
It is said one must love oneself before being loved or loving another and as
More and more children are being born deprived of the intention to love until
Death do us part a sense of true love within is but a myth born into the world where
Love is too complicated a feeling to rely on how can one learn to love oneself when
Role models are becoming more and more few less visible in a culture of reckless sexuality
I choose love I am love I see touch and hear love can you hear the tingle under my skin
Hear the hairs standing on my arm when love is inside my soul can anyone
See how my mind races when I think of the feelings inside that most people choose to deny
I am capable of a time long ago a time of hidden romances and “roommates” and unrequited love
I choose to love without thinking pondering penance
Is love a white gown the inside joke among friends when purity is a forgotten term
Does a judge’s signature decide if what I feel is normal or appropriate sanctity and poverty and
Emptiness ignored but present is a subtle punishment for being oneself no more than
A Child born out of love learning to love over time a feeling a subconscious decision
A life without marriage no less but love throughoutOn death and dying, on life and loving..
This week has most likely been the most bizarre I've ever experienced. I usually lead a simple life, devoid of traumatic goings-on and therefore, live vicariously through the lives of the characters on the pages of any good novel/memoir. This week was different. Fuck different, it was terrible. Here's why...
This week, I learned that one of my good friends hung herself in her boyfriend's bathroom because he found out she was cheating. She had gotten laid off, used the boyfriend to pay her bills for many months, began seeing someone else on the side, got caught --- the boyfriend naturally wanted every dime she borrowed from him, he threatened her, shouted, and left angry and went out for a much needed drink. Well, that drink turned into a 12 pack and five years of therapy when he came home to find the money she had borrowed on his kitchen table and the now ex-girlfriend dead in his bathroom.
I then learned that a co-worker, another good friend of mine who is a former Catholic school principal, a former Brother, who had the balls to come out in the late 80's and leave the order, died from what we think is a heart attack in his apartment yesterday morning; probably not the way he wanted to start the Jewish New Year. Now we are left to sort things out with his partner since most of his family never came to terms with his sexuality. Assholes.
Writers have always used traumatic experiences as a catalyst for important work. We saw that with both the Mercy Seat and with Jarhead. So, amidst all of my shock, surprise, numbness, anger, fear, retrospection, and hope, I came across a poem I had written over the summer that could have been written by me yesterday. The true background of the poem is it allowed me to pour out my feelings on my inability to be married legally in the majority of the US. I felt this poem was now even more appropriate because life is short, too short, and denying someone the right to be happy in a life where life may not last much longer simply pisses me off.
And so, without further ado, my poem.
This week, I learned that one of my good friends hung herself in her boyfriend's bathroom because he found out she was cheating. She had gotten laid off, used the boyfriend to pay her bills for many months, began seeing someone else on the side, got caught --- the boyfriend naturally wanted every dime she borrowed from him, he threatened her, shouted, and left angry and went out for a much needed drink. Well, that drink turned into a 12 pack and five years of therapy when he came home to find the money she had borrowed on his kitchen table and the now ex-girlfriend dead in his bathroom.
I then learned that a co-worker, another good friend of mine who is a former Catholic school principal, a former Brother, who had the balls to come out in the late 80's and leave the order, died from what we think is a heart attack in his apartment yesterday morning; probably not the way he wanted to start the Jewish New Year. Now we are left to sort things out with his partner since most of his family never came to terms with his sexuality. Assholes.
Writers have always used traumatic experiences as a catalyst for important work. We saw that with both the Mercy Seat and with Jarhead. So, amidst all of my shock, surprise, numbness, anger, fear, retrospection, and hope, I came across a poem I had written over the summer that could have been written by me yesterday. The true background of the poem is it allowed me to pour out my feelings on my inability to be married legally in the majority of the US. I felt this poem was now even more appropriate because life is short, too short, and denying someone the right to be happy in a life where life may not last much longer simply pisses me off.
And so, without further ado, my poem.
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