Non-Fictional Prose

In class on Thursday we discussed how people have different realities based on their personal interpretations of what is "real". I discussed how I was completely convinced that Randall was the murderer in the Thin Blue Line, and not David. We discussed how this interpretation could have been because David was more personable and charismatic than Randall, and while yes this might be true I feel like I constructed that truth in my mind based on what I interpreted. To me Randall was completely flat in all affect that he showed. He didn't become upset or emotional at all in any interview that was shown and maybe it was just frustration with him retelling his story, but I took it as he was emotionally flat all around.

  Scene I: Computer Troubles. 

We couldn't get the computer to work. It was straight-up G (that's a pun, because the "g" key was stuck down and we couldn't get a letter in edgewise). In light of this, J asked for reactions to Tarnation. 

J: It's scary and shocking. 

 I had a very uncertain reaction toward the documentary Tarnation by Johnathan Caouette when I started watching it. I was not sure what to look for and what to focus on in the light of our class discussion about truth and reality. However, as I continued watching the film, it became clear to me what was happening in his life and the struggle he was going through dealing with his mother's illness. The artistic techniques used in the movie were interesting at some points, but also very creepy at other points. I have also watched some parts of the documentary again but with Johnathan explaining certain aspects of the documentary.

"The failure of language (as 'we know it') to accurately create an understandable roadmap to 'realization' or 'enlightenment' has been taken by some, as evidence that there is no 'realization' or 'enlightenment'; "what cannot be described, cannot be real" is an actual axiom of certain philosophies.

Indeed, there seems to be a very generous allowance given to the assumption that a description, if accurate, somehow conveys the thing itself; if I accurately describe 'water', the reader would then be wet. Similarly, it is assumed that a person who has had an experience, should be able to describe the experience, in such a way as to convey the actual experience itself, to the reader.

I really enjoyed watching Thin Blue Line and found myself rewinding to re-watch portions of it. As I mentioned in class, I've been fascinated by the ways in which something is proven or authenticated as true. In terms of documentary film, there are all sorts of techniques and methods that can be employed. The Thin Blue Line features several, from invoking the psychological past and family damage done to David Harris, to the repetition of the murder scene. Interestingly enough, as we discussed, this film was intentionally crafted by the filmmaker to suggest the innocence of Randall Adams. While a murder is fairly black and white, with someone who is guilty of the killing and someone who is not, the stories or versions of the truth told by those involved varied greatly!

 Class Notes 10/26/10

Anne: Discussion of what to do on Thursday. People willing to serve as mediators in her absence. This would be a step towards self-directed education. Reactions?

 Veritatemdelixi: Suggested working together on papers.

Anne: We wouldn’t be able to discuss film.

 Aya Seaver: We could discuss film and then do writing groups.

  “It could be that we always need more stories because in some way they do not satisfy. Stories, however perfectly conceieved and powerfully written, however moving, do not accomplish successfully their allotted function. Each story and each repetition or variation of it leaves some uncertainty or co tains some loose end unraveling its effect, according to an implacable law that is not so much psychological or social as linguistic. This necessary incompletion means that no story fulfills perfectly once and for all its functions of ordering and confirming.

When I was watching F is for Fake I found that it was confusing to pick apart the story. There were all these people that were supposed to be connected to one another in some way (including Orson Welles own story) and I didn’t see the connection. At some point in the movie, the painter “a fake faker” which was hard to process before the next scene came up.

I do watch reality TV for entertainment but while this mock-documentary used similar camera angles/shifts, the plot/story was not made clear to the viewers.

 Notes 10/19/10

Anne: course-keeping, went over written course evaluations, read comments about our discussions might turn into arguments, class evaluations, what we are doing from here on out. Go over material that we will be covering, reading, watching. Decide amongst ourselves which books we will be reading because our first list was too extensive, too much material. Paper due soon!!! Can write about any material/conversation covered thus far.

On to etymologies…

Aya Seaver: wants to read the dictionary. On a spectrum, very easy to back it into the corner of nonfiction, look at the politics because it is more complicated