Censorship Saves the Day!

"How I Met My Husband" by Alice Munro

Plot


Edie is no longer the handmaid to a misplaced suburban family in the country, but rather a young aspiring businesswoman living in her modest apartment in the heart of New York City. She complacently goes to work in a dull office building, often staying late without pay in her attempt to rise the corporate ladder. Through the monotony, a fresh, new face enters the office with a bravado never seen at Staples McStapleton, Inc. The rakishly handsome Tom Foolery steals her heart, and they fall into each others arms, intertwining in the supply closet. When they emerge, the office is all eyes on the disheveled duo. Edie quickly fixes her hair and returns to her work. The long-time stalker of Edie also works in the office, and after seeing the ordeal in front of his eyes confronts Edie at gunpoint and forces her to be his wife. He escapes with her to Utah to live the rest of their lives as Mormons.

Edie aspires to have a friend she can rely on.

Point of View

Much like the original, the story would be told from a first-person point of view. However, since this country bumpkin got a makeover, so did her attitude and diction! Edie turns everything into a large ordeal, complete with gossip, he-said-she-saids, and at least one sexual innuendo. Keeping it first person will allow the reader to keep up with the mercurial Edie by first-hand describing her emotions. As she is now a complex, modern woman with complex needs only her complex and insightful diction ("And then, I, like, stepped into the hall, and he was, like, so creepin' on me!") will do. The narrator could never understand her.

Mercurial Mercury. 

It makes you brain dead!

Characterization

Edie is now an upfront, in-your-face woman who isn't afraid to tell you what she thinks. Edie never beats around the bush and always brings her realist views to the situation ("And then, we went, like, clubbing and stuff, and I totally met this hot guy, but he wasn't even, like, into me, and I was like, umm, excuse me, but I'm hot."). As you can see, her self-description leaves nothing to be desired. In fact, throughout her narrative, not too many characters can get a word in edgewise. Edie usually cuts them off at the first sign of quotation marks. Tom doesn't speak much, so it was perfect, what they had.

Welcome to Party de Edie.

Setting

No longer is Edie confined to the countryside. New York provides a fast-paced, heart-throbbing setting for Edie to find true love. The taxis whiz by, sirens wail, nights are as bright as day. It's all perfect for a young woman to prowl the streets in search for the perfect man. 

Don't worry though, the purists will appreciate the scene change to Utah. It's nice and boring there. And desolate.

Theme

As far as meeting her husband, Edie sure does. She also has raging hormones just like the original, too. The theme of a kind of ironic twist is in tact as well. Everyone knows she can't end up with the cookie-cutter perfect man. It was never meant to be him, but rather, the stalker, whom she saw everyday but never payed attention to. Who would have suspected him? The story is now wrapped in a more superficial, blood racing, degrading package which is sure to appeal to the youth, thus more effectively conveying theme.

They're diverse!

The Cult of Singing Cereal Boxes - Scientology.

The Minority Report - movie style

Plot


Once upon a time, there was a short story called "The Minority Report." Then Steven Spielberg wanted to make a movie out of it. He decided "Oh, let's keep the title and the main character's name, but, uh, let's change everything else." I suppose though, changing one of the shortest short stories to one of the longest movies known to man does take some revamping. So, let us begin with the similarities. The idea of precrime and precogs remain constant. A minority report is still sought after. John Anderton is set up. Differences include the physical appearance of John Anderton who is a young strapping lad in the form of Tom Cruise [as opposed to"I'm getting bald. Bald and fat and old." (pg 119)] and one of Precrime's top agents rather than the Commissioner. Precrime in the written story has been institutionalized in American culture and is a nationally run program. In the movie, Precrime seems to be run privately and limited to Washington D.C. The country is supposed to vote to make the program go national. Enter Witwer, a government agent who looks to bring down Precrime by exposing flaws. Unlike the short story, he's shot and that's about all there is too it. Leopold Kaplan, the man Anderton is supposed to kill, is not the conspirator, nor does he play much of a role in the movie. His character is of a recovering drug addict who wants to die so his family will be given money. Anderton has a dead son, a divorced wife, and is a drug addict. At least in the story, he had a hot trophy wife who kind of put up with him. Quite possibly one of the biggest differences is that the minority report that Anderton seeks to clear his name doesn't exist in the movie, whereas there were three minority reports in the story. And, finally, in the end, Precrime is abolished due to its unethical nature and Anderton and his wife get back together and have a baby. The short story ends with Precrime being saved by Anderton because it works except in the case of the Precrime Commissioner who has access to the reports. These differences were some of the largest and just scratched the surface. The whole movie is the difference, in entirety.

John Anderton also gets fancy gloves with LED lights.

Point of View


So the point of view, just as in the story, is third person. Almost all movies are third person. The only movie I can recall being in first person was Doom, and that set the industry standard of a flop. So at least Steven Spielberg and Philip K. Dick can agree on point of view! Yay! It have been really odd if the viewer was John Anderton and we wouldn't have Tom Cruise as man candy to look at.

Ohhh yeaahhhh.

Characterization

John Anderton is characterized indirectly in the movie, as most characters in movies are. Literature can get away with stating outright what the character is or is not. It would be very difficult, though, to watch a movie in which the minor characters tell the audience exactly what the main character is like and then the main character acts exactly how the minor characters say he would. What is to be characterized in the movie compared to the short story, contains a vast array of differences. For example, John Anderton in the story is old, insecure, perpetually weary of human existence, and has bouts of paranoia. Tom Cruise (who will represent John Anderton in the movie) is confident, young, robust, and has that poignant critical flaw of being addicted to drugs that brings him ever closer to perfection. "He's troubled, but I can help him," says the middle-aged woman in the audience pining after the stud on screen.

While we're working on personality flaws,

let's all remember that he's in an extremist cult too.

Setting

This was der biggie y'all. It was in Washington D.C. and not New York, ahhhh!!! Washington D.C. added a kind of political flair to the plot, which I feel was a positive change for the direction the story was taken. Technically, because Precime was nationwide in the story, the setting is limited in the movie to just D.C., but that's plenty of room for the Precrime cops to make their exceptionally stereotypical ninja entrances in. That was probably the funniest part of the movie for me. Another biggie was that the story only mentions that the events were occurring sometime in the future after a big war. The year 2054 is clearly given in the movie and the only downfall of man was the catastrophic degrading of moral standards and the hedonism of humanity running rampant. One thing that I found consistent was the film noir feel to it though. Kate Schutte asked a marvelous question referring to the translation of the term, and yes, it does mean "black film" in French. It is used to refer to the black and white nature of the detectivey who-dun-it movies of the 40s and quite possibly the "dark" nature of a murder mystery thriller. The dark, film noir tone of the story was conveyed with word choice and gloomy settings, such as the slums of New York. The film noir aspect of the movie is kept alive in that, even though it wasn't black and white, the colors were painfully muted and the lighting was more of a sickly green or blue rather than a warm yellow, as  you may find on a sunny day in a romantic comedy, implying a kind of "black and white" effect.

This too is black and white; Tom Cruise is a mystery for the ages.

Theme

The Big Brother theme is still kinda pretty much there throughout the movie. Even more so than the story which mostly implied it. Rather in the movie, everybody was all eye scanned up to keep tabs on them which led to people switching out eyeballs on the street. Not even the story was that weird. Yet, because it's a Hollywood movie, there's gotta be a happy ending or heads are going to roll. Precrime is abolished and Tom gets the girl. It kind of shows how "humanity really isn't all that bad; we're just misguided beings." But the real theme here is that Hollywood should grow a pair and end a movie other than in true Disney form.

Because someone has to do it.

Check your moles!

"Popular Mechanics" by Raymond Carver

Discuss the title of the story. The original title was "Mine." Which do you think is more effective?

Discuss yourself! Oh wait, you can't, because it takes two people to discuss something! However, I digress, what I believe the title to be all about (and this is just my speculation seeing as I haven't checked it against a reliable source) is that when looking at "popular," we think of the star quarterback that cheerleader you had a crush on, but she never knew you existed in high school and now you're making a mediocre salary, living in a mediocre home with your mediocre life while she turned to stripping for extra money in college and is now in a halfway house, recovering from her drug addiction. Yet, "popular" in it's most basic terms, means "of people." So, combined with mechanics, which could mean, the workings of something, or literally a machine, we get a title that implies "how people work" and "these people are machines, dead and robotic." I'm either very close, or laughably incorrect. As far as effectiveness between the two titles, "Mine" makes the ending a little less ambiguous, I feel, but "Popular Mechanics" is more mentally stimulating and therefore title domination.

I saw you picking your nose at the stoplight.

"You're Ugly, Too" by Lorrie Moore

One thing I do when people have a last name like Moore (or Mohr) or Wright or Brown, I pretend their name is Less, Wrong, and Poop, respectively. But the guy with the fauxhawk asked if I would be excited if Zoe, with her fancy e that doesn't mean anything, joined AP Lit. My answer would be heecckk yes. Some people were turned off by her spaz attack at the end and her descent into bitterness, but I'm just pretending that's for the story's sake of making her a tragic character and winning some author bonus points. I guess, really, it's the author's humor that's used, so I'd much prefer to meet her. Also, while Zoe was staying with Evan (which I pronounced like "ee-vahn," all French-like), especially when she went to the movies, I died laughing because I could only keep thinking of this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTFZyl7hfBw (It won't let me embed, so you'll have to click on it to find out! Go on, do it! The suspense is killing you!) Also, the description of life in mid-southern Illinois was the most hilariously accurate thing I have ever read.

The lady with the bubble over her head says "Get off my house, please!"

Fire drills are more effective than Ex-Lax.

"The Drunkard" by Frank O'Connor

Hee hee, there's a little drunk boy in this one! I thought this story, compared to other's that we've read, was just overall "cute." It wasn't really deep. It didn't seek to make the reader drown in his own lucubrations. Then again, it was supposed to be humorous, and how deep can you really go with that? (That's what she said. Oh yes, that just happened.) Can humor be thought provoking? Maybe that's satire. I didn't say much, but this was eight sentences (minus content in parentheses).

Made in Germany.

Touch my bee!

"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson

Many modern customs or rituals have developed from primitive origins (for example, the decoration of a Christmas tree). Can you identify some others? What would set them apart from the ritual stoning in this story?

The "can you identify some others" part of this three-pronged dealio reminds me of something that would be asked in first grade. Naturally, I picked it because it requires the least amount of effort. Let's see, there's dressing up on Halloween, having a turkey at Thanksgiving, and the Easter Bunny hiding eggs on Easter. Many of these are a blend of pagan and Christian traditions (all except the turkey). Such background sets these apart from ritual stoning because, well, no one dies. Odd as it may seem to the villagers, holidays are for celebration and not killing. Lottery Day may be a kind of "holiday" for them, but it's kind of a macabre way of going about it.

Listen to the blog frog.

The Soup of the Day is Cream of Beefaroni

"The Minority Report" by Philip K. Dick

Plot


"The Minority Report" features a fast-paced, "need-to-know" basis plot structure. Due to the relative brevity of the work, it starts in medias res with the main character, John Anderton, meeting a protagonist/antagonist and quickly setting up the conflict of his being framed for murder. With this kick off, the premise of "Precrime" is explained in the classic "So we both know this, but I'm going to say it anyway for the sake of the audience without acknowledging the audience." For example, "...Anderton said, 'You're acquainted with the theory of precrime, of course. I presume we can take that for granted.' 'I have the information publicly available,' Witwer replied." (pg 120). Although I won't put the whole quote on here, the "theory of precrime" is explained in its entirety by Witwer even though neither character needed the information. Such techniques drive me up a wall, but in this case is necessary to keep pace with the ever-moving plot line, but is expertly satirized in the best parody of the century in "A Very Potter Musical" as seen here from 0:00-1:00


As the plot continues to unravel, the suspense is clear through the terse action scenes and mind-bending explanation of the theory of precrime.

Point of View


The story is written in third person and stays exclusively to the narration of John Anderton. The omniscient narrator frequently lets the reader into the mind of Anderton as he works out the possibilities of who may have framed him. "His original impulse - to tear open the machines and remove all the data - was uselessly primitive. Probably the tapes agreed with the card: He would only incriminate himself further." (pg 123). This style gives the story a film noir vibe with a sci-fi twist as the would-be detective tries to solve the mystery while traipsing around a futuristic, war-devastated New York with the possibility of knowing the future through mutants. Only in sci-fi. The narration hardly ever strays from Anderton, revealing much about the character. The shortness of the piece almost requires this to fully develop Anderton into a dynamic, round character. Even the other "main" characters, such as Anderton's wife, Witwer, and Leopold Kaplan, the main antagonist, are only discussed by means of interaction with Anderton.

Point of View - get it? (She's pointing!)

Characterization

Characterization, surprisingly due to the story's short length (<--- oxymoron?), was achieved primarily through indirect characterization. This is because of the vast focus on Anderton and his actions and thoughts as a means to move the plot. With direct and outright telling what's what thrown by the wayside, this only leaves room for the characterization of Anderton through his thoughts, actions, and interactions. Each interaction, then, too was utilized as a way of characterizing the character with whom Anderton spoke. "Startled, Anderton backed off. What were the chances of his wife's friendliness being benign, accidental? Witwer would be present the balance of the evening, and would now have an excuse to trail along to Anderton's private residence. Profoundly disturbed, he turned impulsively, and moved toward the door." (pg 124). This is taken from the beginning of the story when Anderton is first contemplating the potential suspects and establishes his paranoia with which he deals throughout the story as he suspects his new assistant and even his own wife.

Indirect + Direct = Characterization

Setting

"The Minority Report" is set in the future of New York City after a devastating war. Anderton marches around the slums, in back alleys, rides in fancy cars, and has his private office in a fancy skyscraper. These locations, plus the dark imagery and mood ("The bus entered the vast slum region, the tumbled miles of cheap hotels and broken-down tenements that had sprung up after the mass destruction of the war." pg 132) exude a retro 1940s film noir. However, this story ain't all super-sluthin' around in fuzzy black and white. The juxtaposition of a far off, science fictional future adds a twist to the story to make the setting fresh and new in both the murder mystery (although in this case it's a hypothetical murder) and sci-fi genres. 

Just in case you were all "uhh, whats a film noir?" please study the above photo. 

Surprise! It's one of them confangled detective-y shows.

And have yourself a fancy theme song for further illustration. 

This was actually considered popular music in the '50s. There's some sweet action!

Theme

"The Minority Report" seems to explore the topic of "Big Brother" and the role he (he?) may play in the future as the government (or some other powerful agency) utilizes technology to better keep tabs on people. It also points out the ethics involved with progressing technology to the point of "Should we be doing this?" rather than "Can we do this?" In the final scene of Anderton explaining the whole hypothetical precrime conundrum, which provides a means for arrest for a crime (usually murder) that hasn't even happened, that started his mess, Anderton is quick to point out that his situation was unique and could only happen again to one person, the Precrime Commissioner, now Anderton's assistant, Witwer, who has access to the precrime reports telling the future. "'Better keep your eyes open,' he informed young Witwer. 'It might happen to you at any time.'" When all the other themes are combined, cooked, processed, wrapped, and shipped to happy children across the world, it really comes down to the addage "with great power comes great responsibility."

Spiderman, Spiderman,
Does whatever a spider can
Spins a web, any size,
Catches thieves just like flies
Look Out!
Here comes the Spiderman. 

(Relevant this time, I promise!)