Witches the Surprising Feminist

            Okay YES! I am so excited about this week. I love witches. I love films and stories and everything about witches. First off, I binge watched a ton of films that are about witches. That’s probably what I’m mostly going to talk about because that really where I freak out about witches, but I’m not going to completely stop there.

            I had a really hard time getting into the Aunt Maria story. I’m not sure why, but it was just really slow and kind of boring for my taste as far as reading goes. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for it. I’m not sure, but I started reading the Thessaly Witch For Hire comic instead. Those were really silly. I actually haven’t read a comic in a long time and really enjoyed it. I think witches always have a powerful symbolism for women with power.

            This comic definitely went along with that. She’s constantly pushing men off from her and isn’t interested in being sexually desired. She’s independent, she’s sexy but smart, she’s taking care of business and in charge. I think its actually very positive and forward thinking for the modern woman. This comes across in most films I watched as well.

            In Practical Magic (1998), these women just own the screen. They even go as far in the story as saying their family is cursed and only really able to use men for breeding and then they die tragically. It’s pretty great that a man is what breaks the curse as well. In The Witches of Eastwick (1987) these women are literally the coolest and badest bitches before that was even a thing. I’m sorry but I can’t help but drool over every aspect of Susan Sarandon, Cher and Michelle Pfeiffer destroying the playboy that is Jack Nicholson. These women are strongly positive role models for witches symbolizing a confident, strong modern woman. I highly recommend watching both films if you’ve never seen them.

Cyberpunk and Steampunks

            I read an interesting short story/ article called Cyberpunk in the 90s. It stood out to me, because if I’m totally honest I was a huge cyberpunk fan during the 90s and I still am. I actually think its come back around to being a thing again, which is great as well as steampunk. I’m getting to that age I guess when trends are starting to repeat themselves.

            I remember being obsessed with trying to rent this film called Tank Girl when I was in my very early teens. It was the cover that drew me in. Here’s this strange looking woman staring at everyone right off the cover. I’m not going to say the movie was great, but it was very strange and I did enjoy it. Other films from that time also stand out in my mind that I think go really well with the article.

            Hackers is definitely a cyberpunk film that I think has come back again to a completely random cult following. I mean this was when Angelina Jolie was experimenting on every level and we all loved it. Thinking about this and reading through about what this author says about cyberpunks and steampunks being in this almost niche society they’ve created on their own is really cool. It’s something I wanted to belong to and definitely still do. I think that’s what makes it so cool.

            Seeing that come back especially in the newest Mad Max film definitely confirmed for me that steampunk is still well loved. I don’t think you could count all the Furiosa’s at Halloween this year. Isn’t that the popularity test? How many you see out. I admit I thought about breaking out the goggles and painting my mouth chrome. Steampunks and cyberpunks started being weird and then cool in the 90s and now its back and I think that’s awesome.

The Future

I envision that the future is going to be a lot of problems. I think technology will keep growing, faster than I can keep track of. I’m not sure how far we will go with space and the universe and connecting beyond Earth. I really like the idea of space being a possible place for people to live very far in the future, but I’m not sure what will happen. Space has always fascinated me.

In the terms of my lifetime I think a lot will change. If I think back from when I was a kid to my life now, I could never have imagined all the things that have happened. Places I’ve known my whole life have been torn down and rebuilt elsewhere, people I know have passed away, everything has changed and some have stayed the same. I can only imagine 10 years from now how different everything will be. Who knows, maybe we’ll actually have cars that fully drive themselves like in Minority Report. I think Tesla has a car that’s doing something like that now.

I think beyond our lifetimes things are going to be so different we can’t even imagine. However it’s fun to think of these possibilities in film. I think one of the most recent films I saw really peaked my interest in possibilities beyond this world was The Martian. I’m definitely going to try and read the book over break, because life on Mars sounds really cool. In general figuring out some sort of possibility to live in space over a period of time to cultivate another planet sounds like a huge deal.

I want to imagine that film, which is my true passion, will just evolve into something even cooler. I’m not sure if the holograms from Star Wars are the right path, to see 3D people acting out in front of me. I’m not sure what it will be, but I’m excited to find out. Not so excited to see the continually evolving programs we will be using for technology. It’s a lot already to figure out and I probably will just give up when it turns into that hologram area.

Hitchhiking the Galaxy

            This week I really tried to do a piece of each thing if I wasn’t able to do all. I surprisingly found myself getting really into all three things. I watched two films, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005), TiMER (2009) and read some of the Radio Show version of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy as well. All three were really fun and a great way to end the semester.

            I didn’t finish the radio show, because it was a lot to read, but from what I did read it was really interesting. The thing that stuck out to me the most was the writing style. I don’t think I’ve read anything else like this. It reads like someone is literally speaking out these thoughts onto a page, so maybe that’s because its being acted out for the radio, but it also doesn’t feel like a film. It’s different. I liked the story too, because it was different than the film. I’m more familiar with the film, but the story started differently with a more in depth explanation about the world building. This helped me a lot with how crazy the writing and pacing is. I needed that explanation. It continues to do that throughout, which is brilliant.

I didn’t realize I had seen both films before. I saw Hitchhiker when it came out and I loved that film. The quirky robot, the British humor, was really up my alley for a wonky comedy. When I watched TiMER, it was on a whim the first time. This time around, I remembered the story and basically had the same feelings about it that I did before. I thought the film was okay, but overall I don’t think it was extremely well done. I like certain elements of the story and how clever it was, but I thought the plot dropped out a lot at the end and it didn’t feel complete.

Bloodchild

1. Are there any prominent symbols in the story?

Yes, the story symbolizes a classiest system in which the worms are controlling the people. They live caged in a society where they are used as hosts for the "greater race". Seeing them fed by these eggs, which are like a drug to promise health and youth is difficult to follow at first, but then as the rebellious brother and the main protagonist Gan starts to break away from T'Gatoi, I start to really see everything unravel and how corrupt the system is.

2. What connections did you make with the story?

The connection I made with the story is based around how there's this separation of the classes. I still think this does exist today within our society. Obviously I'm a middle class white girl who's born with privilege and I acknowledge that and have since learned to educate myself on the truth that our society here in the States is still divided. Gan is relatable, because she's not sure what to believe in and she's pulled in many directions to make tough decisions. I think her brother symbolizes what a lot of my friends and I myself try to represent which is a look in the face of truth and honesty. He see's whats real and tries to make others aware. This makes him a threat to that world. People are scared to hear the truth. It still needs to be said.

3. What changes would you make to adopt the story into another medium?

If I was to make this into a film, it would be difficult for us to show that creatures like T'Gatoi exist and aren't threatening at first. It would have to be changed so people can grow to learn the creatures are evil. They would probably have to look human and transform. It's just how sic-fi and horror has to exist in film. We're raised on things like Alien, so monsters are monsters. It's easier to trust a human on screen, even though they can be the biggest threat, especially when they're a host. I would make a creature more like something like The Faculty.

Vampires

Vampires are always an interesting subject. I think its because throughout history they're been played with in so many versions of literature and film that everyone has some sort of Vampire fantasy. These creatures were created to make us look twice before you walk down a dark alley alone at night, when really you should just do that anyways. It's just common sense. I do like how they've become this thing people can associate with fantasy and reality though. Vampire's exist for sure, but are they what you dreamed them to be? Not really, unless you associate the hospital hunting you down for all your worth because you haven't paid a bill on time, somewhat similar to a blood sucker. 

Regardless, Vampires are fascinating creature to explore in literature and film. I couldn't find my copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula book, so I decided to venture into the teen/desperate mom world of fantasy literature. I decided to read Twilight again. Let me say that I've only read Twilight once and it was a very long time ago. I'm not sure when the books came out, but I read them all after the first film came out. I have a tick that if there's a series and I've started reading them, I have to finish them. I couldn't remember if I liked Twilight, though for someone who enjoys a challenging read or an every day sex novel, Twilight was severely disappointing. I should have known better to relook at this book. 

The characters are dull, unattractive, poorly written and all seem to have this acute tunnel vision for all of their wants and needs. I had a hard time relating to any of them. Wasn't Bella supposed to be strong? She was pathetic. I couldn't get past her teenage driven desires for this Edward Cullen. I remember later in the books she turns into a badass vamp because of her ability to basically not give a  %^#$ about other bad vamps. Well, how does that build really when she's just crying and pining over a man's approval for her love? It seems very inconsistent. The vampires are ridiculous as well. The emotional back and forth between the 100 year old vamp and the teenager did not work out. 

The film I ended up watching was Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) by Francis Ford Coppola. I have a huge love for this film. It's a classic to me. Gary Oldman wins hands down in my eyes for Dracula. He is so well balanced within the realm of history with this creature. Oldman's portrayal of Dracula is both attractive and ugly all at the same time. He's disturbing and inviting. This film can be a bit over the top as far as Drama goes, but it's worth a watch. I mean no one can compare to Tom Waits' Renfield. He was brilliant as was the rest of the cast. If you have not seen this film yet, please take a moment when you can and watch it.