Month: September 2006 Page 1 of 3

Christianity and Literature Conference

On September 29, 2006

So, I’m in Abilene for the Christianity and Literature Conference. There are four or so grad students from Baylor up here (three of us staying together), plus three or four faculty members giving presentations, so it’s been really great to be able to get to know some of them a bit better. We’ve been in conference sessions all day today, so our brains are starting to explode a little bit…we came back to the hotel right after the last plenary lecture (Baylor’s Dr. David Jeffrey, who did a magnificent talk on metanarrative, specifically the differences between the big archetypal Western narrative and the archetypical Eastern/Chinese narrative), skipping the post-conference jazz concert due to exhaustion. It’s been great…so many things to think about, both in terms of the papers I’ve heard and in terms of the whole conference experience. But I’m sort of glad tomorrow is just a half-day. Who knew that sitting around listening to people talk for twelve hours straight would be so tiring?

Dr. Jeffrey actually goes to Redeemer as well, but I hadn’t had a chance to meet him before. He’s teaching Literary Theory next semester, and I was already planning to take it (lots of good recommendations from other students), but now I’m totally psyched for it. I’m not huge on theory, but he’s so articulate and kind that I think it’ll be really good. Plus, there was a roundtable discussion today on postmodern theory that had me totally wired. I decided I like theory when other people who know about it are talking and I can just listen and absorb, I just dislike having to decipher it myself.

Harry Potter casting

By Jandy

On September 27, 2006

In Film

I hope Emma Watson doesn’t leave the Harry Potter films! I understand if she wants to consider other options than acting, and I understand that she may be reluctant to commit four more years of her life to the Potter films, but…for the sake of the films, I hope she decides to stay. It’s interesting that she’s reconsidering acting as a career, while both Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint seem to be trying to stick with acting (they both have indie films out, as well…Emma doesn’t). Reason being, she’s a much better actor than either of them, IMHO. If she wanted it, she could easily have a future acting career. And I want to see every bit of it!

Eeeeee!

By Jandy

On September 21, 2006

In Books and Reading, School

So I had this poetry explication that I wrote last week, about which I was a bit concerned. Firstly, because I don’t like poetry too much, and it’s always difficult to write about something you don’t like that much (although at least I understood the poem I was writing about, which was a plus). Secondly, I haven’t written a poetry explication since sophomore year, which was…six years ago. Thirdly, the professor has a reputation for being a tough grader (great teacher though, he’s quickly become my favorite; he’s also the one who goes to Redeemer). Fourthly, because I’m always concerned about papers, especially the first one for a professor I haven’t had before. The fact that he’d had complimentary things to say about the rough draft for a book review I showed him made me a bit more confident, but not much.

Got the paper back today.

A few scattered notes on things that could’ve been more concise or better stated, which he was totally right about…there’s only so much one pair of eyes can see, even through a few drafts. But on the last page: “Jandy, there isn’t much I can suggest to improve this paper. Its reading of the poem is penetrating and convincing, and your prose is supple and fluid, yet precise and pointed. This is outstanding work!”

I tend to think of myself as independent enough not to need validation, but validation really feels good now and again. Especially when certain other classes keep making me doubt whether I’m even where I’m supposed to be. And validation from him, with both the respect I have for him as a teacher and a person, and his reputation as a hard grader? Super-good.

Howards End

By Jandy

On September 20, 2006

In Books and Reading

Thing number one: I am so so so so so so glad to be doing novels in 19th-20th Century Brit Lit now instead of poetry. (This doesn’t help my Donne problem, since that’s a whole other class, but still.)

Thing number two: Howards End is one of the best novels I’ve ever read. I read it several years ago, and remember thinking it was really good, but this time through? Wow. I’ve read more than half of it today, and usually when I have to read that much of a book at one time, it’s sort of a chore. I can’t put this down. Even though I have read it before, and half-remember the story. That almost makes it better, because I can notice all the little details that set up what’s going to come later. Just in nuances of narration, the off-handed introduction of a character of future importance, the one-line paragraphs that say so much, the differences in tone of character that you feel even before Forster makes them explicit. My only criticism right now is that perhaps the characters are a little too exemplary of the points Forster is making about class and the changing of class structure in the early years of the century in England, but I can already see at least a couple of the characters becoming more complex. And even when you think you’ve got a character pegged as to their position and philosophy in life, he’ll throw in a different nuance that doesn’t so much change the character, but changes your perception of the character.

He can say so much with just a few words. I have to confess that I’ve started marking in books…I held off for the longest time, because a) I hate reading marked up books and b) I feel like I’m defacing them. But now, there are so many things I want to remember and draw attention to (in class, but also to myself later) that I had to do it. In pencil, mind you. I haven’t been able to use a pen yet, but perhaps that’s for the better. At least now I can erase my defacements if I feel so inclined. Anyway, I’ve been marking probably a sentence every other page or so. It’s all so good.

I don’t want to read past what we were assigned for class, because that always confuses me and makes me want to bring in things from later in the book that don’t fit yet in discussion, but I cannot wait until after class tomorrow so I can finish it. It’s been several months since I felt quite this way about a book. I love it. This is why I wanted to study literature. To read (and reread) things like this, have other people around who’ve also read things like this, and learn to be able to articulate why I like it so much. I’m not sure I’ve quite gotten to the second part yet…I still tend to fall back on “because it’s awesome!” Which isn’t terribly descriptive.

But yeah. Read Howards End. See the movie, too, if you so desire. It’s very good as well (Emma Thompson won an Oscar, blah blah jaffa cakes), but, as usual, the book is better. ;)

The Last Kiss (spoilers)

By Jandy

On September 17, 2006

In Film, Reviews

I saw a movie opening weekend! And I feel like writing about it! I’ve been looking forward to The Last Kiss since I first read about it on Zach Braff’s blog. He stars in it, but doesn’t direct it, which makes it slightly less squee-worthy than Garden State, but still. Braff was largely responsible for the soundtrack, which is excellent. In honor of it, I have updated the music player to play Braff picks–from The Last Kiss, Garden State, and Scrubs. Okay, I cheated and also threw in some from Grey’s Anatomy, because they’re similar-sounding. And also very good.

Back to the film. Braff plays Michael, a twenty-nine-year-old guy with a good job, a great girlfriend (Jenna), and a baby on the way. Everything’s perfect in his life, but that scares him–he’s afraid that everything in his life is planned out, and there won’t ever be any more surprises, and he’s afraid to be an adult and have his life settled. In addition to that, of his three best friends, one is single and happy, one just went through a nasty breakup with his long-time girlfriend, and one is constantly fighting with his wife about caring for their infant son, not to mention that Jenna’s parents’ thirty-year marriage seems to be coming apart at the seams as well. It’s really not surprising that he’s wary of marriage and commitment with these sorts of examples around him. He winds up making eye contact with Kim (Rachel Bilson), a college student, at yet another friend’s wedding, and is rather vague with her about the existence of his girlfriend and even more vague about the existence of his unborn child, and Kim goes after him. I was so terribly concerned that Michael would end up throwing Jenna over for the new experience of Kim (he does, briefly)…I came so close to screaming at him in the theatre more than once. The actress playing Jenna (Jacinda Barrett) was excellent, and really made it hard to believe that Michael would even consider leaving her. It also stretched belief a bit that Kim would go after Michael so quickly–I mean, I love Zach Braff, but it’s his whole persona…certainly not his looks, which is all Kim had to go on when she first started pursuing him.

But overall, the end turned me toward it. Kim’s philosophy when Michael told her he couldn’t leave Jenna was “Relationships either work or they don’t; the fact that you’re here with me now proves yours isn’t working, so give it up…I could be your last chance at happiness.” And I was concerned that the film would end up endorsing that. It certainly could have. But instead, Jenna’s father came through with: “Love isn’t about what you feel. It’s what you do to the people you love, that’s what counts.” In the final analysis, the film came through strongly that you’ve got to work at relationships…they don’t just happen.

There were some sexual scenes I wish they’d left out–as I’ve said before, I tend to ignore such things, but in this case it really seemed unnecessary to show as much as they did. So I’ll give that as a definite caveat this time. But there’s plenty of good here, especially in the good acting turns from Braff, Barrett, Bilson (who seems a little flip for most of this, but is actually just being her character…wait for the moment when Michael tells her about the baby), and Tom Wilkinson and Blythe Danner as Jenna’s parents. Although Danner’s hair is seriously scary. And also, we need to set these people up with some marriage counselors, stat. It blows my mind that people jump straight from frustration to leaving without even trying to talk with each other…well, I get it a little bit, given my own avoidy tendencies. But when you’ve been with someone for years, and you both clearly love each other (or the little betrayals wouldn’t matter so much) how could you just give up without trying all available avenues first?

Did I mention the music is awesome?

(I post this with trepidation, as I’ve already discussed procrastination-via-blogging with my parents, and now I’m adding procrastination-via-moviegoing to the mix. But I swear, everything is done now, except reading for Tuesday and Wednesday! I’m golden.)