Assignment #3

When a poem is machinima-ized it takes on slightly different properties. On one hand it can help to increase the understanding and meaning behind the poem, especially for someone who wouldn’t understand the poem normally. On the other hand, it may shift the meaning of the poem and cause the viewer to not focus on the poem by itself but reflect more on what they see on the screen and the meaning behind that. No matter what, I feel that a machinima will not be able to encompass the exact feeling and meaning that the author intended because it is using characters and video games that already have their own separate story and connotation, depending on who is viewing it. However, for a lot of young people who are more interested in video games than they are in poetry, a machinima might heighten their interest and help them to understand it a lot better. So it seems that there are pros and cons to using a machinima to represent a poem, ultimately however, it is not the truest form of the poem.

A moment in popular culture that references poetry is when the Simpsons recite the poem “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe. This is acted out by different characters in the show. This reading of the poem helps not only to increase understanding of the poem but also to give it a comical twist. It changes the tone of the poem a bit to accomplish this but it still does a good job of intertwining the literary world and the cartoon world.

Assignment #2

In the poem “All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace” by Richard Brautigan there are two ways to possibly read it: as an anti-technology poem or as a pro-technology poem. This poem can be read as being anti- technology because it discusses dreams of places that are natural such as meadows or forests. However it has turned them into a “cybernetic meadow/ where mammals and computers/ live together in mutually/ programming harmony”. Though this may sound positive it can be interpreted as the dissolution that computers and machines have over humans today. Where poets used to write about the beauty and complexities of nature, now they have fallen in love with technology, like the rest of the human race, and place it as an equal to nature.

This poem can also be read as pro-technology because of the positive tone throughout the poem. It speaks of the merging of technology and the natural world and having them live together in harmony. This is most clearly seen at the end of the poem where it speaks of “a cybernetic ecology/ where we are free of our labors/ and joined back to nature,/ returned to our mammal/ brothers and sisters,/ and all watched over/ by machines of loving grace”. This shows a clear desire for a relationship between humans and technology that is a trusting and nurturing one.

I personally feel that this poem is best read as being in favor of technology. It does not say anything that is outwardly negative about technology and seems instead to be trying to repair the damage done to technology’s reputation out of fear. It speaks almost lovingly towards computers wanting them to not be feared but embraced as much as the natural world is. Computers can have a dark side, just like nature such as with natural disasters and animals attacking, but in this poem it is compared to the softer side of nature. This seems to suggest that the two ttruly aren’t that different.

Assignment #1

book of myths, camera, knife, scuba gear, schooner, ladder, shipwreck, he/she, flippers, breathing mask, sea life, mermaid...

In Adrienne Rich's poem "Diving into the Wreck" The diver leaves their own “sun-flooded schooner” and dives under the dark water to explore the ragged and dirty ship beneath, which mirrors the beautiful one above. These two images work together to bring a message to the reader and help with interpreting the poem. The diver comes to realize that the wreck is a reflection of them self and mankind; that we are “the half-destroyed instruments/ that once held to a course”. Rich put two realities together, the beautiful outer layer and the truth that lies beneath it, this causes the reader to question their emotions and their sense of self. Rich is juxtaposing the two ships as a way of suggesting something about humans, that they may go on a journey searching for truth and themselves, when really the grim truth about them is lying just below the surface. The bright and shiny schooner is described as a place of light, speeding across the surface of the water. This represents the wonderful thing that everyone sees. The shipwreck seems to suggest a hidden and dark truth as the diver realizes that it is a reflection of them self. It is unclear what Rich is wanting her audience to do, possibly just be brave enough to take the journey to face their inner demons.

Here I am God, mold me and make me yours...