The Fabulous Journal Page!
Journal One - Lightness and Darkness in the Cave and Matrix
Why is the reality perceived as darkness in the movie "The Matrix"? When Neo leaves the Matrix he is welcomed into a dark world. His friends lurk aboard a ship inside what were, at one point in time, our sewer systems. They all are forced to sneak around in darkness to avoid being caught by those who wish to enslave them. To be caught by the light is what they fear most.
Why have the film makers used the opposite of what is considered the "normal" analogy of light as truth? Light is also used to give the perception of goodness and innocence. Yet, innocence does not convey actual truth. Were the filmmakers trying to convey that reality might not be good or innocent? In life, truth can be ugly, hurtful, but nevertheless true. The sewer is truth to them. To be forever in the darkness that is reality. Is that what you would look forward to? Who would want to live in "reality" that holds no beauty? No wonder some would want back in the Matrix.
There is, however, one thing that is beauty in the dark reality. At the last moment, when you think all is lost, and Neo is dead, Trinity utters a beautiful sentence. She declares her love for Neo. With that sentence, Neo lives again, and he has the strength to conquer the Matrix. In that scene, just as she says those words, the ship is lighted with the machines that have gotten through and are trying to destroy the ship. The light that the machines give off is so bright for that one moment.
Does that mean that the one truth in reality is love? And if so, why has the Matrix been bright throughout the movie? Was the light bright for that moment just for dramas' sake? Or was it saying that perhaps love and the Matrix are somehow tied together? Was it our need for machinery so bad that we believed it to be love, and therefore, it was the very thing that can destroy and free us?
Journal Two
In Douglass' Narrative, he refers to his female owner as "The Kind Mistress." He refers to her so not only because she treats him with some sort of dignity, but also because she attempts to teach him to read. She is the one that pushes his education until her husband stops her.
Now in the movie, The Matrix, Morpheus is a character that helps Free Neo from the Matrix to enter the real world. Morpheus is the one that opens the door for him, teaches him what he needs to know, and sacrifices for him. At first Neo thinks this is just a favor won, but he begins to realize Morpheus really wishes for Neo to become the one that will save them all from the Matrix.
The question I pose is; was "The Kind Mistress" more genuine in her attempts to teach Douglass than Morpheus was? It could possibly be. Although Morpheus offers the truth, he expects something in return for freeing Neos' mind. "The Kind Mistress," on the other hand, taught Douglass to read because she thought that every child should learn to read, and that this boy was no different. But, in contrast, Morpheus offered himself up as a sacrifice so that Neo could live. The flip side to it is that "The Kind Mistress" stopped teaching Douglass because her husband did not approve of it.
Journal Three
As part of my F.Y.E., I was required to attend a Dionysian piano concert with Dr. Zeltser at the piano. I was not completely sure what to expect, but I must admit, I was pleasantly surprised.
There happen to be two types of music, Apollonian and Dionysian. The first is indigenous to the left side of the brain, the side that is mathematical, scientific, and analytical. In music, it is beautiful, but very predictable. This is the type of music Bach and Mozart wrote. The second type of music is from the right side of the brain. The side that is creative, inconsistent, and sporadic.
One of the pieces Dr. Zeltser played was called "Malfistos' Waltz." It was an example of a Dionysian piece. It just so happens that in the Opera "Faust" the main character, Faust makes a deal with the Devil. Now, the Devils' name in this opera is Malfisto. Which makes you wonder; is Malfisto, The Devil, the modern deity of Dionysus?
Dionysus stands for drunkenness, adultery, revenge, murder, and a free lifestyle. The Devil, in his own right, likes to draw people into evils, including all that Dionysus stands for. Dionysus also exhibits rage, carelessness, and jealousy. These are behaviors that we associate with people who are "headed down the wrong path," or away from Christ. So perhaps Dionysus embodies all that the Devil stands for, only the Devil is a current name in our culture for him.
Journal Four
I had the enjoyment (should I call it that) to attend a Dionysian vs. Apollonian debate the other day. The Apollonians were in favor of an on-campus bar, and the Dionysians were against it. The Apollonians were ready and attentive before any of the students even arrived. Their notes were typed, organized and each knew exactly when they were going to stand up to speak. They were also dry and monotonous, and almost impossible to bear.
On the other side of the spectrum, the Dionysians made a typical show of themselves in that they were late for the debate and terribly disorganized. This is standard Dionysian behavior for the pack. They had pizza men and flower deliveries up on stage, and it didn't seem to bother them that they accosted several of the Apollonian debaters.
Now we come to the amazing part. The chorus for each side. Each side had it's own set of values and beliefs, and it was clearly apparent before they even reached the stage which side they were on. Being a tad on the dramatic side, the Dionysusian chorus was not happy merely with the orgies they carried on in their group, but deemed it necessary to embarrass and humiliate some of the students sitting in the audience. The Apollonian chorus at first seemed organized and just, turned to using signs to try and make ashamed those who would side with the Dionysians. "Is that your mother dancing naked?" one sign read.
All in all, I have to admit that I really didn't pay much attention to the debate itself. I was too busy trying to divert my attention away from the "moves" of the Dionysian chorus. They seemed all too pleased with themselves that they stole the show.
I can tell you this; I don't think we need a bar on campus. I already think that students have enough problems staying out of the several fraternity houses located on campus. Everyone knows when they party, how much they party, and how awful they look the day after. It ceases to amaze me that any student going to these events can even manage to get by with the amount they party, as to the amount they study.
Journal Five
The first time I ever sat down to watch a soap opera, I was somewhat shocked by the drama that was involved in every day life. One woman's' lover is also her cousin twice removed, who had a sex change operation in the sixties and has a secret daughter that he gave up for adoption. I also noticed that if you don't watch the show every day, you would not understand the story line at all. When I sat down this week to watch a soap opera again, I was filled with a certain amount of dread. As it turned out, however, there are many parallels to today's soap operas and the ancient Greek play Electra.
Electra was written in the intention to shock and make light of human behavior. The emotions that the charater's portray are almost the very depth of the emotion. In today's society, and also previous societies, people have been taught to squelch emotion. The school of thought that "men don't cry" has been the rallying term that describes emotion in society. Therefore, when we see something so raw and human as Electra, we are shocked. We are also curious. I think this is why so many women watch soap operas. They are amazed at the depth of feeling the charater's portray. Not only do women watch "soaps," but a large percentage of men also enjoy them. The find that they can watch someone else express what perhaps they would like to express but cannot.
Something else that soaps have stolen from Electra is the elaborate story plot. Each part of the story is so involved that it usually takes some deciphering to understand the text. In Electra, it takes the reader quite a few pages of reading to realize why Electras' father has been killed. Likewise, you have to watch soaps for a few days to understand the romantic triangles and villainous plots.
Journal Six
On Tuesday, September 25, I climbed the many stairs up the front of the Hurley School of Music in anticipation of hearing Professor S. Giora Shoham speak. I was not absolutely sure what to expect. I knew that this was a learned man, and probably had a lot to say about whatever subject you thought to ask him about, but I was not prepared for this. The man knows twelve different languages, is a veteran of four wars and was a POW. The Professor has not only book knowledge, but also the knowledge that comes from experience.
His topic for the lecture was an explanation of Germanic school of thought during the Holocaust. Until then, I could not understand why any man or woman would think that the extermination of a culture could be ethical. I had always been taught that each person is a child of God, created specifically by Him and a holy being. No one has the right to kill or hurt a child of God. The only person who could hurt another human being was a madman in my eyes.
What I didn't realize was that the hierarchy of the German government had thrown out the Christian system of beliefs in exchange for the paganism of the time before the life of Christ. When Christianity made it's thrust forward into Eastern Europe, the message was passed in a certain sense of hostility. The Roman Catholic Church attempted to stamp out any other religion that might have been there before, often with dire results. Anyone who was against the church was against God and therefore was a product of Satan. The negativity and punishment that the church brought to paganism caused many cultures to reform from the old ways. Unfortunately this caused a deep hatred to Christianity, which in turn caused a hatred of Christ. But Christ was already dead, and the only people they could blame were those who were like Christ, Jews.
Journal Eight
I must admit that I had a very dull fall break. After expending so much energy in the past few weeks, all I really didn't want to do anything at all. I had a chance to catch up on some much-needed rest. As King Henry explains in his speech before one of the battles, I acted as any man would in peace. I slept. I'm a firm believer that everyone should have a nap at least once a day. By taking one just when you feel grumpy in the slump of the afternoon, your whole outlook is better later on.
Like a greyhound in the slips, I was anticipating my break. That last day every class seemed to be twice as long as it ever had been. I was just waiting for my professor to say the magic words, "I'll see you after fall break," to make my mad dash to my car. After taking a huge sigh of relief I drove like a bat out of hell for home. Never did my apartment look so good!
Henry also talks of the battle scars that will be shown later on in life. I did spend a lot of time talking about how well I had done in the first half of my first semester in college. I was pretty proud of myself, talking to my mom over the phone. I also tended to exaggerate it just a little bit. "Mom, you don't understand, I had to write a five page paper for English! It was so hard!" It helped to be encouraged by my mom wanting to hear more and more about it. I think I ended by telling her that I had learned Portuguese and am taking Calculus. But I really don't think she believed me. It was still nice.
Journal Nine
This past week, I spent an evening in Kilpatrick auditorium, watching the talents of the Shendandoah Shakespeare Express perform Henry V. They have a peculiar way of performing, in the way that was supposedly the way that Shakespeare himself performed these plays back in the day when he wrote them. Shakespeare's acting troupe was a collection of around twelve men, but the plays that Shakespeare wrote had more than forty parts in them. He designed it so that a few people had to play many parts. Likewise there were only a few people in the SSE group.
Another thing that was so interesting was the fact that SSE did all of their costume changes in front of us. It was actually a little distracting at times because you had to be able to ignore the action going on behind the play. It was funny though, to see people struggle with their costumes. I could just see me, one day, struggling with a costume in my hands, before glaring at the college girl in the front row who was making fun of me.
Before the play started, all the actors came out on stage and sang a few songs. Shakespeare's troupe just didn't act, they were supposed to sing, juggle, perform magic tricks, and all around entertain. This was done out of necessity. There wasn't a lot of entertainment back then and when a troupe visited a town or city, everyone expected to see a good show. The songs managed to get everyone excited for the next part of the entertainment, and the songs were also a good source of a laugh before the play started.
Finally, all of the lights, stage and house were turned on. By doing this not only the audience could see the actors, but also the actors could watch the reactions of the audience. This made the play a little funnier because the actors could see how well the audience reacted to the jokes. Then the actor knew whether or not to push the joke further or to let it be.