Author: Thomas Degroat

I am not a theater major, but I would like to think I know something about acting. Acting is the art of expression and convincing an audience of the reality of the scene. The expression, the voice, and the body language must all be perfectly aligned in order to be as truthful to the emotion as possible. Personally I believe that acting is truly impressive when one or two of the three components is removed from the scene. There are two instances from movies that I feel perfectly encapsulate these ideas. One being Scarlett Johansson in Her and Jennifer Lawrence’s last scene in Catching Fire.

I truly believe that Scarlett Johansson portrayal of Samantha in Her deserves an Academy Awards. In radio (or podcasts), one only has the voice to portray emotions, so one’s mind is forced to find the emotion within the voices. Her, on the other hand, is a film, so we become accustomed to using the face to convey these emotions. Johansson does not have this option, only her voice is ever heard. She must have truly mastered voice acting, because one can sense every emotion of Samantha’s with perfect clarity without any safety nets of body language or facial expression. Despair, anger, and joy are easy to convey, but she is able to be incredibly nuanced in her role. We know when she is nervous, slightly sad, disappointed, or off-put. I would suggest everyone go see this movie, if only for Johansson’s performance.

I think it is safe to assume that most of my readers are familiar with Catching Fire. I think it was a great movie, one of the best “popcorn films” to ever be made. Part of this movie’s success is Jennifer Lawrence’s acting. Ifyou want to see her amazing ability, then watch the final scene of the movie. Without speaking or moving, we can see the full range of emotions that experiences after (SPOILERS AHEAD) learning that her home district was destroyed by the Capitol. She moves from depressed to confused to angry and, finally, to determination. This was one of the best scenes of acting that I have ever experienced. I applaud both Lawrence for her ability, and the director for choosing to shoot it this way and trusting Lawrence enough to allow it.

If you are studying acting and need help in either of these departments, then I suggest you look towards these two actresses. Watch Her and study it. Any voice acting lessons you are taking are probably telling you how to act like she did in this movie. As for expression, definitely look towards Lawrence, not only in Catching Fire, but her other movies as well. Every time I watch these movie, I am still amazed by these two performances.

Have you ever looked at the sidewalk during an intense storm? An amazing thing happens to those sheets pf droplets as they plummet to the ground; they start to group together into vein-like formations from the disparity of concentration of those droplets. It’s almost as if the storm is helping to show us the natural blood-network of the Earth. This is how we are all connected, through the Earth and its ordinarily invisible network. This is the beauty of the Earth and nature and the everyday.

It breaks my heart to hear people make stark distinctions between science and art. There is no distinction, one blends into the other in a perfect gradient. No art exists without some orderly science behind it and there no science without some beautiful art to observe. Creativity and fact exist in all things. Look at the branches of trees, they grow in orderly fractals, but there is also beautiful randomness that dictates their growth. Nature is the existence of art and science in harmony. Humanity is the only force trying to separate the two.

I don’t understand why we try to categorize life like this. The brain thrives on both the chaos of creativity and the regularity of fact. Chaos allows us to relax and emote, regularity allows us to predict and react. Both are necessary and both complement one another. Humans can live with this notion of gradience, but we refuse to accept it. We love contrasts and categories because it often allows us to function more easily, but this should be the one thing that isn’t categorized. We should witness the beauty of the everyday and also see the stunning order. Life isn’t lived in categories and nature won’t exist that way either.

We should learn to appreciate Nature and its creations. The veins of rain and its connections show us this interaction of art and science. We could perhaps form some sort of explanation for this occurrence, but we could never truly predict its artistry. Let’s all take a moment to appreciate the wonders of the world. It is perfectly ordered with rules, but also incomprehensibly chaotic. Look at the ordinary and marvel at its extraordinary existence.

I have always believed in the equality of genders, but I used to be afraid of the term “feminist” and I could never really see the immense disparity of power between the genders. I will never really see all the nuances of gender bias because I am male and have the power to ignore it, but now I am not afraid to attack rampant sexism of our culture. I owe this to a few powerful books I have read and a class that forced me to think about the issues in the books.

The class I took was CompLit 140 and while it was not my favorite class I have ever taken, I cannot thank it enough for changing me into a better person. Being forced to discuss feminism and sexism through a literary lens was immensely eye opening experience. The most notable novels that really affected me were Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Vagina Monologues. Perhaps this was because I had to analyze these two books the most as I don’t think they would have had the same impact if I read them for myself.

I would say that Their Eyes Were Watching God was my first real introduction to the feminist lens. When reading and analyzing this novel, I had to carefully dissect every character and plot line in order to really see the underlying feminist themes of the novel. My feminism grew with the love for the character Janie Crawford. Janie Crawford is far from a perfect person and that is why she is such a powerful character. She is one of the most well-rounded characters I have ever had the pleasure to experience. All of her choices are perfect to her character and they serve as a strong insight into the mentality of the character. Her growth and struggles throughout the novel helped to show me the issues of society through a female’s perspective. This novel’s ability to subtly portray these issues is truly beautiful and I would recommend it to any person.

While I do love Janie Crawford, the most important novel that I read through that class was absolutely The Vagina Monologues. I’m not sure if I’ll ever find anything that was as powerful as that was. Eve Ensler’s writing was deeply affecting and uncomfortable and inspiring. It is one of the best things I have ever read in my life and I hope to one day be able to see Eve Ensler perform these monologues herself. She discusses all the topics necessary for burgeoning feminist like I was. Her discussion of issues that I never thought about was what really made me turn the corner towards the label “feminist”. I urge everyone to please read this or go to a performance of it. I know it can be uncomfortable to read about the vagina, but that is why this book exists. It necessary for society to stop turning everything about the female gender into something to be ashamed of. These monologues are a necessity.

This is not why I am a feminist. I believe I would have become less afraid of the word one at some point in my life, but I probably wouldn’t be the fighter I am today without this class and these novels.

Let me start this by saying that I do not hate Edgar Allan Poe or his writing. In fact, I quite enjoy the things I have read that he has written. Instead, I hate how America has turned his name and works into a shorthand for “intelligent” or “gothic” (Hot Topic gothic, not art/architecture gothic). This has become such a pandemic that just hearing the name Edgar Allan Poe makes me groan in exasperation. Yes, his writing is interesting and deserves analysis, but why has this racist, obsessive, alcoholic become Hollywood’s poster boy for those quirky intelligent types that they love?

I understand why society might have chosen him. Everybody recognizes his name, he can be difficult to understand for people not used to literary analysis, and his writing is usually very dark and intimidating. Do you also know why I don’t understand it? Because everyone and their mother has read him, everyone has watched or made some sort of parody/interpretation of “The Raven”, everyone likes his writing. This is not a unique thing anymore. We can’t separate the goths from the populars by their appreciation of Edgar Allan Poe anymore. Lets, as a society, stop pretending that he is some sort of genius that only the most macabre can understand.

The use of Edgar Allan Poe in the way that I have described is my definition of pretentiousness. Your TV show does not become more intelligent because you added some slight allusion to “The Fall of the House of Usher”, your character is not more sympathetic because they carry around a copy of “Annabel Lee”, and you movie certainly is not worthy of praise just because its some action-ized remake of “The Telltale Heart”. I am not going to sit here and pat you on the back because of these things. If you actually did something new and interesting with it, then I might consider it, but until then, you still have a lot to prove to me.

I think the thing that pisses me off the most is that I can no longer read an author’r work without feeling like a pretentious asshole for liking it. So America, save me and start using other amazing literary works for your metaphors. Want your character to look intelligent? Have them read Faulkner. Want to add some darkness to you plot? Base it off of HP Lovecraft. Need some witty allusions? Feel free to use James Joyce. There is so much out there to work with, so why don’t you? I will stand by the sidelines waiting while you make some oh-so romantic reference to “Romeo and Juliet”.

“Somebody That I Used to Know” was surprising hit when first arrived on the music scene. It was by two unknown artists, did not seem to have a lot of mass appeal, and frankly was a little strange sounding. But, as most of us are already aware, this song was hugely popular and the lead singer/composer, Gotye, gained massive success. Unfortunately, that fame only lasted until that song was on the radio. After it got replaced by the new sound, Gotye fell out of favor with the general public and was lost amongst the other names. I personally believe that this was a mistake, as Gotye has massive amounts of talent and still has great hits stored away for future releases.

A little background, Gotye was born May 21, 1980 in Belgium, though he lives and grew up in Australia. His real name, Woulter Andre De Backer served as inspiration for his pseudonym. Woulter is the Flemish form of Gauthier, which, when phonetically spelled, gives Gotye. De Backer first got his idea for his act when his neighbor gave him his collection of records after hearing his band practicing. Gotye has so far released 3 albums, but only 2 are available in the United States. His creative styling and composition is truly unique as he goes out of way to mix sounds that aren’t usually put together. He’ll do anything from vocal distortion, to individually plucking strings of a harp, to sampling older records in order to make a sound that really inspires him. To find out more, I would highly suggest watching his video, “Making Making Mirrors”.

I do not believe that Gotye gets the praise that he deserves. His art is something truly unique and it deserves praise. If “Somebody That I Used to Know” didn’t convince you of his talent, then I suggest you look up “Eyes Wide Open” or my personal favorite, “Easy Way Out”. Both songs are completely different experiences with differing sounds, meanings, and feelings to them. His songs are beautifully and carefully crafted in such a way that it is astounding.

In addition to the crafting of the songs, the creation of the album as a whole is also ordered fascinatingly well. The songs flow from one to another without any noticeable change. That is how an album should be made. The songs should change, but the sensation of the album should not. “Save Me” and “Bronte” are right next to each other on the album “Making Mirrors” and even though they are very different songs, they sound perfect in that exact order.

Perhaps, what I find to be the most interesting is that he does it mostly by himself. He has people play instruments rarely and has people look over his work, but all of his work is almost entirely self-made. He does not have a studio to make him sound perfect, nor does he have a sound technician to make sure that all of it is put in the right place. Gotye is a master of his craft and recognition must be given.

I don’t think anyone will argue with the statement that society seems to be losing its creativity. Hollywood is awash with remakes and adaptions, the literary world is stuffed with paranormal teen romances, and even advertising is splitting into two distinct worlds, one dominated by sex, and the other dominated by quirky non-jokes. An interesting look into declining creativity is adaptions and the “twists” they try to create in established stories. One of the clearest examples of this is Little Red Riding Hood.

Little Red Riding Hood has been adapted several times, and while it is one of my personal favorite fairy tales, its re-imaginings have been lackluster to say the least. The only word I have to say in order to explain most adaptions of this tale is, “werewolves.” While it makes sense in certain circumstances, there are also many other ways to create an interesting take on the tale. Werewolves can be used very cleverly, like in the game The Wolf Among Us, or it can be used as cheap plot device, like in the 2011 film, Red Riding Hood. Nevertheless, the constant werewolf barrage is no longer interesting to a general audience since we are oversaturated.

So this is my plea to any creative types out there, if you have the want to create a new version of Little Red Riding Hood, please avoid the werewolves and help to return some creativity to us. Take a look at 2006’s Hoodwinked!, it turns Little Red Riding Hood into a comedy murder mystery that surprisingly works really well. Take the path less traveled and find a new way to twist the tale; link it to Greek mythology and turn Little Red into Persephone and the Big Bad Wolf becomes Cereberus, or, alternatively, make Little Red some form of beast tamer who learns to control the Big Bad Wolf. Possibilities are endless for tales like this. Don’t be afraid of flop because it’s not what people are used to. Without innovation, red wouldn’t even be a color we could see on our screens.