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There is so much in "The Dollhouse" that does just what we talked about in class on Tuesday: it appeals to our subconscious (or at least mine), our dream state. There were several instances in the novel where I found myself reacting almost physically to some of the situations. So many different parts of this novel tapped into some of my deep-seated fears. I was frightened when Rose was nearly raped at the Cereal Convention. I cringed when I saw Jed being abused. In some ways, it also appealed to some of my fantasies or interests too. Like I said in class, at first glance I thought Morpheus looked like Robert Smith from the Cure (yes I am a dork). The most interesting part of all of this is that the novel itself, which relied on illustrating the frail boundaries between dreams and reality for the characters, also affected us as readers and our dreams, fantasies, and nightmares.

This is what makes humanities media different than anything we've read so far in the natural sciences and social sciences: different mediums will operate in different ways for different readers/participants. Gaiman's representation of the subconscious/conscious/reality/non-reality affects us each differently.

I'm very much looking forward to class tomorrow. Also, a gen/sex related Cure song for anyone who's interested - "Boys Don't Cry" (I'm sure some of you have heard this before...)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ7QRNG4gEY