So, unlike most of the class, I was not new to the idea of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In fact, I was in fifth grade when the show debuted. Watching the episode in class gave me a great wave of nostalgia. The show played an integral role in creative decisions I have made since, both in writing and teaching.
However, you aren't here to read about me; you're here to read my thoughts on the show. First of all, I hadn't originally planned to teach this episode. The one I had intended was actually "Hush," in which everyone in Sunnydale has their voice stolen and demons harvest their hearts in a desperate attempt to maintain their immortality. It is one of the eerier episodes of the series. But, things didn't work out as I had planned, and you guys were stuck with "Halloween,"
Role reversals:
When Buffy tells Willow that Halloween is all about "Come as you aren't." She distinctly foreshadows the events that will take place during their Halloween experience. Every character is transformed into the exact opposite of their personality. Their desperate desires to change who they are presents them with an interesting "be careful what you wish for" kind of moment. Even the reluctant Willow is forced to change her role, despiter her greatest efforts to hide who she is.
Buffy was rather groundbreaking in its portrayal of a female heroine who is essentially stronger than any of her allies. Even her vampiric boyfriend is weaker than she is. This episode showed just how easily we can lose ourselves when we try to step up and be something we aren't to impress those around us. Buffy desperately wants to impress Angel by shedding her "bad girl" persona and picking up that of a prim, pretty princess. In doing so, she loses her powers and, more importantly, her identity. It's an interesting commentary on the way teenagers tend to behave in high school.
The appearance of the Greek deity, Janus, as the statue Ethan performs his spell on is significant. For those of you who don't know, Janus is representative of the duality and new beginnings. He has two faces. One of the front his head, and one on the back. How might this be symbollic to the spell as a whole?
That's all for now!
Ryan
Monday, November 1, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Supernatural Cluster Map to Topic List!
You begin by pulling pieces from the outer bubbles (the further out you get from the center, the more defined the topic will be).
I could question the existence of ghosts (even though I didn't get that far with this bubble, for this exercise we will pretend it is there).
Topic #1: The existence of ghosts
Question #1: Is there scientific evidence to support my claim?
Question #2: Who are some experts in the field who I could draw information from?
Question #3: Where are some of the better known "haunted" locations?
Notice how I branched off the ghost column. I didn't incorporate any of the other branches. This will give me a good, focused topic. The fewer different directions you pick, the more focused your topic will be.
Topic #2: Aliens exist
Question #1: What really happened in Roswell, New Mexico?
Question #2: Is there scientific evidence to back my claim? If so, where can I find it?
Question #3: Are there any credible researchers with evidence to help my claim?
The same could also be done with the media branch. Maybe someone could look at the impact supernatural themes have had on the media, the audience it has found, and what that means. They could develop questions to support their research.
One could even draw a conclusion about the evolution of the hero in the 90s, and 21st century. Afterall, from this cluster we did draw out two very distinct and impactful heroes, Buffy Summers and Angel. For those of you unfamiliar with the two, they presented a distinctly new mold for the hero. Angel, the vampire turned tragic hero, and Buffy Summers, the tail kicking cheerleader from Sunnydale. Both (particularly Buffy) had a distinct impact on popular culture. And yes, there is information to support that out there.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Memory Dump
Sample Memory: Meeting Alice
It was my senior year of high school, and it was time for the big literary research paper. Everyone jumped on a classic author: Shakespeare for Bobby, William Blake for Stetson, Graham Greene for Liz. Everyone had an author, but I was in the the dark. I had no idea who I wanted to write about, and to make matters worse, everyone knew I wanted to teach English.
I searched and I searched. The interesting ones were taken and the others just sounded flat. It was around this time that our English teacher reminded us to not feel limited to the authors we'd studied. I threw my textbook aside and went to the library in search of an author and found one in the unlikeliest of places, the children's section.
The book was Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It wasn't the manliest of topics, but I knew I could finish the book in a couple of hours and pushing through the book seemed a lot more pleasant than examining Chaucer's Canterbury Tales for a month. I had never been a fan of research, but Alice sucked me in. Carroll's carefully crafted satire painted an interesting picture of the England he lived in at the time.
It would be my first encounter with Alice, but certainly not my last. I got an "A" on the paper, and I've never scored lower on a Carroll project since. To this day, it's one of the few works of British literature I truly enjoy.
It was my senior year of high school, and it was time for the big literary research paper. Everyone jumped on a classic author: Shakespeare for Bobby, William Blake for Stetson, Graham Greene for Liz. Everyone had an author, but I was in the the dark. I had no idea who I wanted to write about, and to make matters worse, everyone knew I wanted to teach English.
I searched and I searched. The interesting ones were taken and the others just sounded flat. It was around this time that our English teacher reminded us to not feel limited to the authors we'd studied. I threw my textbook aside and went to the library in search of an author and found one in the unlikeliest of places, the children's section.
The book was Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It wasn't the manliest of topics, but I knew I could finish the book in a couple of hours and pushing through the book seemed a lot more pleasant than examining Chaucer's Canterbury Tales for a month. I had never been a fan of research, but Alice sucked me in. Carroll's carefully crafted satire painted an interesting picture of the England he lived in at the time.
It would be my first encounter with Alice, but certainly not my last. I got an "A" on the paper, and I've never scored lower on a Carroll project since. To this day, it's one of the few works of British literature I truly enjoy.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
What Defines You?
What makes Ryan Adkins, Ryan Adkins?
The answer is simple, but it comes in many parts.
I am defined by the words on a page. In second grade it was the single page stories written in crayon, with an accompanying horrible illustration. By junior high it was the papers I wrote in the hours before class and still managed to pass. High school was more of the same. As time progressed it was how I conveyed my ideas. Words are my most powerful ally. A letter to my girlfriend, a well-timed text message, a short story, a chapter, or even the multitude of explanatory email messages I bombard my students with on a near-daily basis. My words are everywhere and they are my way of finding myself, and sharing that self with those around me.
Words even explode from the subject matter I teach. Which leads me to the next portion of what defines me: the class that sits before me. I see myself in each of their faces: the quiet student in the back of the room; the slacker waiting until three a.m. to write a paper that's due in six hours; the love-struck young one who can't wait to leave just to hear their partner's voice; the writer disguising his prose as notes so the teacher doesn't know; the student who doesn't want to read his assignment, and even the one who does. I was each of them at some period in my life, and in many ways still am. I look at them and I see myself, or more accurately the evolution of myself, the definition of who I have came to be.
And the final and most important of all, I define myself through the one I love. Never has a single person pushed me as hard as she has. She found a spark, a sleeping drive with in me, and she brought it to life. Without her, I doubt I would have ever made it where I am today. She implanted courage, and gave me strength. For all of these things and many more, I am grateful.
So how do I define myself? The written word, the class I stand before, the woman I love, and so much more. We've only scratched the surface, but there's a lifetime left to explore.
The answer is simple, but it comes in many parts.
I am defined by the words on a page. In second grade it was the single page stories written in crayon, with an accompanying horrible illustration. By junior high it was the papers I wrote in the hours before class and still managed to pass. High school was more of the same. As time progressed it was how I conveyed my ideas. Words are my most powerful ally. A letter to my girlfriend, a well-timed text message, a short story, a chapter, or even the multitude of explanatory email messages I bombard my students with on a near-daily basis. My words are everywhere and they are my way of finding myself, and sharing that self with those around me.
Words even explode from the subject matter I teach. Which leads me to the next portion of what defines me: the class that sits before me. I see myself in each of their faces: the quiet student in the back of the room; the slacker waiting until three a.m. to write a paper that's due in six hours; the love-struck young one who can't wait to leave just to hear their partner's voice; the writer disguising his prose as notes so the teacher doesn't know; the student who doesn't want to read his assignment, and even the one who does. I was each of them at some period in my life, and in many ways still am. I look at them and I see myself, or more accurately the evolution of myself, the definition of who I have came to be.
And the final and most important of all, I define myself through the one I love. Never has a single person pushed me as hard as she has. She found a spark, a sleeping drive with in me, and she brought it to life. Without her, I doubt I would have ever made it where I am today. She implanted courage, and gave me strength. For all of these things and many more, I am grateful.
So how do I define myself? The written word, the class I stand before, the woman I love, and so much more. We've only scratched the surface, but there's a lifetime left to explore.