Minh B. Nguyen

Postmodern literature analysis at GCSC

[aliteraryconspiracy-blog]

All the Books have been Read.

We are at the final leg of this class, and I must say that it was a relatively fun and interesting experience. Since I plan to work in a Publishing house one day, this course has taught me what genre I shouldnotwork in. I know, I know. It’s good to try new things, and I did! I read contemporary/post-modern novels, and I came to the conclusion that they just did not suit me. And, that is what I got out of this class; experience in a new genre. That and laughs!

[republicanvampires-blog]

"relatively fun" relative to what watching paint dry? I'm just joking. Don't give up on post-modern fiction and art though. A lot of media (some you're probably in to) is influenced by post modern ideas. Groundbreaking films like Bladerunner and books like catch-22 have been labeled postmodern. It's influence in contemporary culture so deep its hard to notice. Like check out Wu-Tang clan; its a group that just happens to be popular with affluent white males. They rap about kung-fu and street violence. It doesn't get anymore ""multicultural"  or "irrational" than that. Your taste of postmodernism was really limited by the time we had in the semester. I mean really 4 novels and a few excerpts representing 50 years of American cultural evolution? There's a plethora cool stuff out there don't hesitate in taking part just because you heard it labeled as "postmodern". 

[republicanvampires-blog]

Fourteenth post, umpteenth hour awake.

It's 2am, do you know where your kids are? End of the semester and I'm back to situation I was last semester, same stuff different pile.

Overall this class has been pretty cool. It's the closest thing to a book club I've ever been in. The tumblr "New Media" exercise was an interesting idea to say the least. Even though I was punctual only during the first half of the semester (and barely at that) this really felt like an effective writting exercise. It's a great way to make sure students are reading the material, you know actually having them think then write about it. Much better than the quizzes which I felt were the worst part of this course. The quizzes were memorization games that forced students to read on a rather rigid schedule. There's a reason why students stop taking AR exams by 6th grade... On the other hand I find writing these tumblr posts to be a cognitive exercise that really get me thinking about the text. 

[justdolit-blog]

The Road movie was not amazingly great but it was ok I thought. I think that the movie gave away some stuff such as stating at first that there was cannibalism going on rather than letting us interpret that. But other than those minute things that movies cannot possibly include because it is a...

[republicanvampires-blog]

Naaaw man Hollywood HAS to explicitly state the obvious. They have to appeal to the lowest common denominator in order to make profit :p. Actually I give them the benefit of the doubt and think they just wanted to give the story a little more exposition, something there was a lack of in the book. I agree the movie was ok at best. I really hated the extra scenes with the wife, it all just felt like fluff. The boy seemed about the right age in the book as in the movie. I had just imagined him as an archtypical  prepubescent boy character found in American fiction, somewhere between 8-12. 5 or anything around that seemed to young I'm not too sure what lead people to expect a boy so young, if someone were to give me their reasoning I'd be delighted. 

[republicanvampires-blog]

My opinion of The Road pt.2

When I was finished with The Road I was relieved to say the least. That's not just because its was the last book of the semester either. I was relived to find one of the few books I would want to read more than once.The Novel is so barren with some details that it begs to be re-read in hopes of finding a missed detail that would answer lingering questions brought by the novel's conclusions. Like to what extent were the people following the Father and son and what was the novel trying to convey with its final scene with the trout. As for the ending being a fairy tale cop-out, a dues ex machina, I don't feel that way at all. The boy is still living in world worse than hell, I don't see many fairy tales ending that way. In my opinion the ending had just the right amount of, hope, mystery, and believability. 

[republicanvampires-blog]

My opinion of The Road pt.1

"The wall beyond held a frieze of human heads, all faced alike, dried and caved with their taut grins and shrunken eyes" (76).

Yeah this book is gnarly. The Road seemed to be both the most graphic, and subtle of the 4 novels we read. What it lacked in complex plot, and number of characters  it made up for with its imagery. The imagery was without a doubt the first thing that hit me when I started reading. I thought McCarthy was excellent at describing the atmosphere. He's not only detailed but he's subtle enough to let the reader infer just how gruesome and hopeless the scene is, that's the genius of it. I also found the setting to be genuinely unique. I've read/watched a heathly amount of post-apacolyptic stories in my time but nothing where the setting is as hopless as this. It makes setting of Fallout3 look like a utopia. This is the what the setting would be like if they made a 4th then 5th  Mad Max film. As for anyone who found the setting "bland" or "too brown and black" my retort is: didn't we just read two books set in New York City? That place is starting to feel pretty boring if you ask me...

[stopcallingmehipster-blog]

I can't even remember if the film had any music at all. Everything from that movie was just a blur. I don't think that scene where the trees were falling on them was in the book though. They probably added it so there would be more action. I didn't care for the extra scenes with the wife either, they seemed extraneous. I mean c'mon there is a woman choosing to abandon her family through suicide. No amount of exposition is going to make it more dramatic than it already is. The movie seemed more palatable in terms of horror though. THE ROAD is probably the most bone chilling piece of writing I’ve ever read. There was no way they could get it right for the movie. Sometimes what you keep in the back of your imagination can be much more horrific than what you actually see. Props on doing the CD, I thought about doing that but I’ve been on this binge of terrible, terrible rap since spring break (wakka flakka, Gucci mane, A$AP etc.).

[republicanvampires-blog]

Hey I know who that is!!

Last week, while driving home late one night, I flipped on the radio to npr. What did I hear? An episode of talk of the nation with none other than Lynda Barry of course! It was an interesting to say the least. I don't recall what she was promoting exactly, whether it was a new book or autobio or something (unfortunately I can't find the interview on the npr archives). But they were discussing the topic of creative block, writers block among other things. The comparison was made between adults in creative thought and young children in intensive play. Knowing who she was  just seemed really cool at the time.

Additionally, guess what I heard on TV the other day?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crTC5mL1eO0&feature=related

That’s right, Laurie Anderson! The weird part isn't hearing Laurie Anderson in a cellphone commercial (that seems oddly appropriate), or that it’s a skydiving fashion show, but what self-respecting photographer would shoot with a cellphone!?! geez..

[republicanvampires-blog]

On the subject of pauses.

 I don't know how to feel about the PowerPoint included in Goon Squad. On one hand I don’t understand why it needs to be in there. It seems like just an easy way to wrap the whole story up. You know instead of writing a detailed account of events and developing the characters you can just put it all in a few slides right? But at the same time I'm relieved that its in there. I really needed a break from all the text. I read the book pretty much all in two sittings back to back and nothing felt better than just flipping through those PowerPoint slides. Also this may sound harsh but is autism the new trend in western fiction? Why do all kids need to have autism in stories now? It's as if kids can't just be unconventional without having a disorder. I've read three books this year containing young boys who could be suffering from mental disorders. It reminds me of that scene from tropic thunder (you know the one). There was a lot of discussion in class about Lincoln's fascination with pauses. I don't see why it’s so strange. Rests are a CRUCIAL part of music. They often build tension and shape moods. I've played in a few bands and I can tell you it takes a HELL of a lot of practice to get everyone to NOT play in sync.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOT2-OTebx0

This songs got some good pauses at 2:55, 2:33, and an EPIC one at 00:50

[aliteraryconspiracy-blog]

So I started reading The Road

It’s making me depressed and the inner editor in me wants to cry because of all the fragments in this book. I am actually going to be pulling out my hair for this thing. There WILL be bald spots. Everything is just so gray and dead… and the whole time, all I could think of was Viggo Mortensen and how gross he looked with that beard…

AND there is no chapters. I don’t understand this…

[republicanvampires-blog]

I guess ignorance really is bliss. You see I have no idea how grammar actually works. My ignorance killed my ACT score but it allows me to read THE ROAD with no qualms. I guess it's a fair trade hahaha. I’m just guessing but I think that McCarthy chose not to use apostrophes on the negative contractions in order to give the book a futuristic, anarchic vibe. The English language is always evolving and I could imagine that contractions would start taking the place of the words they summarize by the time the world goes to hell. Who has time to say “do not” or put down apostrophes when they’re trying to run from cannibals anyway? As for the lack of chapter numbers I’m even less sure of. I think it’s an homage to long epic poems or storys from the bible.

[aliteraryconspiracy-blog]

But it looks like my one I did that morning didn’t go through. How awful.

Anyway.

I’m really enjoying Goon Squad! I am wondering when Rolf is going to pop up again. His character is intriguing. All he wants to do is be like his father, which is sweet, but sad. He doesn’t realize just how….not...

[republicanvampires-blog]

Rob's a pretty interesting character. I agree that Rob definitely had deep feelings for Sasha, but I’m not sure if they were actually romantic. More like a very strong platonic love. I think it was sort of implied he was a homosexual in denial. One of his secrets to Sasha concerned a boy on boy experience he had in high school. Furthermore his meticulous observation of Drew as he undressed for a swim was, for lack of a better term, kind of gay. I personally found it amusing how Rob used his intoxication as an excuse to speak what was really on his mind. I think more people than who care to admit are guilty of using drugs or alcohol as venue to say how they feel without repercussion. Nowadays you can do it with the internet. I wonder if Bix knew that was coming!

[republicanvampires-blog]

Mannnn you know......

 All the name dropping that goes on in A Visit From The Goon Squad. There’s no reason to do it and most of the time it comes off as very contrived. On top of that it is distracting.  When I do recognize the bands and artist it feels like a gimmick. Something put it the novel just to appeal to its market base. Hip, young, educated, youth who think it’s smart to read literature. Because really who else would be reading this book? Real people are too busy doing real things. Then if  I don’t recognize the name drop I have to take the time to do a Google search and learn something not really integral to the novel. For example on page 30 “ Scotty drives his pickup, two of us squeezed in front with him, blasting bootleg tapes of The Stranglers, the Nuns, Negative trend…” Was that really necessary? She could have just said they were listening to punk rock. I personally would have written “Scotty drives his pickup, two of us squeezed in front with him, blasting songs about sniffing glue and raping corpses…” Its provocative, gets the same point across to the same audience, and is far less pretentious.

[republicanvampires-blog]

ugggh oh

"Why do today what you could put off till the end of the semester"

- Sun Tzu

Who am kidding, it was actually George Washington who said that, or was it George Bush? I always get those two confused. I'm just going to pick back up where I left off. Goon squads 2nd chapter is kind of a letdown compared to the first. It was eerie how well I could to connect to Alex’s boyish idealism in the first chapter. Both Sasha and Alex seemed like rather complex characters. On the other hand the characters in the 2nd chapter are about as flat as Florida. Benny comes off as a typical sleaze ball. I don’t know if he’s supposed to be satirical or not. If he’s supposed to be comical, then the jokes are tired. If he’s supposed to be serious then it’s just hilarious. I don’t know why but I don’t like benny’s son either. I have a hunch he doesn’t get beat as much as he should. The Safari chapter reminds me of Hemmingway’s short story "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber". Not just the setting but the characters as well, particularly Albert.  I don’t know if it’s supposed to be homage or a rip off but it’s all I could think about while reading that chapter.

[republicanvampires-blog]

later post!

the last question of the midterm really bugged me. Professor Clarke asked us which was our favorite reading. I can't remember what i put down exactly (it was probably some sarcastic quip) but its got me thinking. Im not too sure i can choose a favorite reading. the two novel's we read seemed soo polarized with one another it be like apples vs oranges. the segments from the paf are just that segments. therey excerpts which often times seem very strange when out of their original context so its not too fair to compare those either! I can say though i enjoyed Tim Obrien's novel aswell lynda berry's work among others. I which the PAF had more standalone examples of Post modernism taking things out from novels like that just feels wrong.

[republicanvampires-blog]

late post

while studying for the midterm i went through some of the works and i realised something fascinating. one of the key concepts of post-modernism, the blending of highbrow and lowbrow art has been is soo seeped into our society but ive never noticed it until now when it comes to literature. take the beatles for instance 45 years ago they were the most popular group AND the most acclaimed. The other day I read a New York times review of rapper Tygas debut album. At first i thought it was hilarious to read an article so eloquently written that was reviewing such a base artist  but then i realized that mainstream and avant garde culture rely on each other and often times do lead the way for one another. heres a link to the review  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/21/arts/music/reviews-of-albums-from-grimes-galactic-and-tyga.html

[kingdomheartsangel-blog]

Am I glad it’s spring break! It’s nice to know half the semester is already over and we can start reading and talking about a new book. In regards to the midterm, I thought it was relatively easy, even the short answer questions. I saw the questions on Angel and I made sure to go back in the book…

[vansoff-thewall-blog]

I was also pretty pleased with the midterm. I hope I did as good as I think I did. Sometimes the better I think I did the worse I actually did, but I hope that isn’t the case this time. I’m really excited to start a visit from the goon squad. I actually brought it on our little get away trip so that I can read while riding in the car, it’s so nice to have good books lined up to read and so far I have liked all of the novels and most (like all but 2) of the short readings. I am really enjoying this literature class. Honestly it is the only class that I am enjoying. It’s basically just like book club. I’m really glad that I signed up for it, because I almost didn’t. I’m kind of sad that it’s almost over.

[republicanvampires-blog]

Yeah I killed that midterm. Straight up murdered it yo. I enjoy the class as well and i do feel as though I'm learning. It really is an interesting course and the ability to have so much discussion and such a small class size adds to the learning experience. no way this class would be like this at a public university the closest thing would be at a private college. All the readings, except one (EL&IC), are challenging enough to hold my interest and I really have to struggle to comprehend the readings to their fullest extant and that really gets me high. 

[tison-hannah-blog]

[eldridgekayla-blog]

I am excited that it is spring break too! It was a much needed break for me too that I have been looking forward to since the first week of the semester! I can’t wait to start reading Visit From The Goon Squad Either! I agree, just looking at the cover makes me excited to read it. That’s the same...

[republicanvampires-blog]

oh yeah spring break!!! hopefully i don't kill too many brain cells school's tough enough as is. I've only read the first few pages of goon squad but it does feel quite interesting.it also feels alot more adolescent oriented than the other two books. I haven't read anything by this author before either so my curiosity is high.  im not sure which cover your copy has but i do enjoy the cover on my copy. its graced with the image of the icon that is the fender stratocaster. Its such a ubiquitous image even people who don't play guitar know what it is and more importantly what it means! 

[vansoff-thewall-blog]

“I wanted you. And I was looking for you. But I couldn’t find you. I wanted you. And I was looking for you all day. But I couldn’t find you. I couldn’t find you. You’re walking. And you don’t always realize it, but you’re always falling. With each step you fall forward slightly. And then catch...

[republicanvampires-blog]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHFCdviF6zU

yeah most defiantly, her work just oozes cool. My turn table needs this record!She was SOOOO ahead of her time. you really can hear her influence today in contemporary musicians like Bon Iver and James Blake. But Laurie Anderson is a true OG. I feel like a jackass for having read and seen her work sooner. Every word she says seems to have this subtle brilliance. It seems so spontaneous but very methodical at the same time. Her being a woman also brings out a certain edginess to it as well. Its great to see female artist and musicians raising the bar to such an extent. Its the same reason why Bikini kill will always have more balls than Nirvana.