Picking Bateman's Brain

To add more depth to my previous blog regarding the film American Psycho, why is it that our protagonist, Patrick Bateman, spends much of his time strolling the streets of New York City (seemingly) killing innocent people?  What is his motive for doing such an act? Is it to satisfy some kind of crave, or is it just an extra curricular activity of his?  But most importantly, what goes on in that head of his? Let me provide a few theories...

First off, I think we could all agree that Patrick is one who loves to have control, power, and order.  Whether he is taking the axe to his fellow co-worker, or showing off the text of his business card, it is clearly shown that he constantly wants to be in control.  A scene that clearly demonstrates my theory would be when he takes another woman (not his fiance) out to dinner.  She is drugged, thus making her delusional.  He convinces her that they are at Dorsias (the hotspot which is frequently mentioned throughout the film, and a restaurant where it's extremely difficult to get a reservation), when it is clearly shown that they are not.  Taking advantage of her state of mind, he tells her exactly what she will order, and she obliges.  This very scene I found to be an example of Foucault's argument regarding the subject of discourse, stating that "bodies are subject to the regulatory power of discourse by which they become subjects for themselves and others." (Barker, p. 93).  So if this was connected to the dinner date between Bateman and what's-her-name mentioned above, then it is clearly shown that the woman is the subject, and Patrick is twisting this very subject for his own desires.

Let us now look at his other, more sinister activities, specifically the scene where he takes out an axe to hack away at Paul Allen, his colleague, out of sheer jealousy.  After chopping him up to bits, he finally regains a sense of control, eliminating his competition.  He is jealous and disgusted towards Paul because of several shallow factors, such as having a more expensive apartment than Patrick.  Not only do these scenes provide examples of power and control, they also display a sense of identity with Patrick.  The embodiment of the yuppie stereotype, Patrick is privileged, toned, and sophisticated, wanting no one to be above his standards.  He even tells his fiance at one point that he "wants to fit in."  He wants to build around himself a social identity that is perfect to the point where no one would see his true self.  In this regard, one could argue that his identity is anti-essentialist, which is, according to Barker, "The idea that identity is plastic." (Barker, 217).  In this sense, it is Patrick Bateman whose outside persona is "plastic," hiding behind a mask that is often threatened by those who make him feel inadequate. 

Seinfeld Withdrawl

You know that feeling you get when you finally finish a project you've been slaving over for about a week or two? That strong exhalation of breath you make when you realize you no longer have to deal with such a big project. That was the feeling my group and I had after completing our presentation devoted to Seinfeld, and I'm pretty sure that we are all tired of watching the wild antics of these four friends...at least for now.  Overall, I think our presentation went really well.  I think the way we introduced our presentation was very clever, and it definitely gave us an edge. Basically, it was a stand-up routine imitating Jerry Seinfeld performed and written by yours truly.  After that, we began our discussions.  There were some brilliant points that were brought up, as well as some very specific ties to the Barker book. I would have to give major kudos to Rachelle and Sandy, who were basically the ones to lead our presentation, and keeping the flow of what we were discussing.  In my opinion, "The Deal" was the most successful episode we analyzed, as we engaged in the topic of sex, friends with benefits; there was a strong connection to this them and McDonald's book  "The Beard" was also another good episode we discussed, challenging the concept of homosexuality and whether it is a "choice" or not, as it was vaguely brought up through Jerry and Elaine arguing.  "Romantic Comedy," going on about sex having barriers, and only to find that it does not work out in the end. We made sure to ask questions, challenging the students in our class, and they brought up some really good points related to our subject.  As I mentioned, our presentation went very well, and I have to admit that even though I had a good time with my partners, I am relieved that it is finally over!

A Political Satire...With Strings Attached

There are a few things I would never expect in a college-level classroom...and one of them would be watching Team America: World Police, and then critiquing and analyzing the potential "connections" it may have concerning our American culture.  Now after watching it, thanks to our professor Wexler, I have come to realize that this silly little puppet movie may actually have some meaning behind it.  At first, we took a look at the beginning of the film, where the middle eastern terrorists were planning to bomb Paris, only to be thwarted by Team America, our heroes. The terrorists were portrayed as the embodiment of the middle eastern stereotype: white robes, turbans, and beards covering half their face. One could argue that this film depicts Muslims from a subjective standpoint, and that in our post-911 society, it may be common to view them in this way.  The way this film depicts America, however, is no exception. Even the film's title is based off of criticism from other nations, viewing the US as one trying to "Police the world."  The beginning of the film clearly demonstrates how Team America were more destructive than helping--knocking down the Eiffel Tower to kill just one terrorist. One could also argue that there are ties between this and Barker concerning social identity, specifically meaning: how others view us, or how we now view Muslims. Of course, I could be wrong, and this is just a silly movie with marionettes.  But we cannot deny that the satire is eminent.

Sex Talk: An Introspective Look

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

A "Lullaby" Dealing with Death, Possessed Cops, and of Course, Radical Romance

What is love?  What makes two people so attracted to each other that they would be willing to share each others body? And what makes romance so radical?  The story I chose to write about is a novel is called Lullaby, written by the innovative Chuck Palahniuk.  For those unfamiliar with this story, I will provide a detailed synopsis, explaining why the romantic scenes are so radical.

Lullaby centers around a journalist named Carl Streator.  While out on an assignment, he discovers a culling song.  A culling song is an African lullaby designed to peacefully kill the old or infirm, and one such culling song is found in an anthology called Poems and Rhymes from Around the World.  It can kill when read to, or even thought about.  When Carl learns that unsuspecting parents are accidentally killing their children by reading this poem to them, he begins a cross-country quest to destroy as many of these books as possible, before the poem falls in the wrong hands.  He is aided by Helen Hoover Boyle, a real estate agent, her assistant Mona and her boyfriend Oyster. Eventually, it is revealed that many years ago, Carl Streator unwittingly killed his wife and daughter after reading them the poem.  It is also revealed that Helen is well aware of the culling song and its power, and she also unintentionally killed her son.  Mona and Oyster, who intend to use the culling song for their own sinister purposes, betray Carl and Helen.  Not only will they have to destroy every copy of Poems and Rhymes from Around the World, but the must also stop Mona and Oyster from obtaining this poem.  Given this, the idea of power and knowledge appears to be an important theme in this story.  The knowledge of the culling song and the power to use it against one is similar to Foucault's arguments regarding these topics, stating that power "forms a dispersed capillary woven into the fabric of the entire social order." (Barker, p. 92).  In Lullaby, Mona and Oyster intend to use that power to disrupt that social order, changing society and turning it into what they want it to become.

Signs of radical romance begin when Carl and Helen make love for the first time.  This is possibly as a result of them sharing something in common; both are responsible for the deaths of their family, a connection so tragic and horrible, but it gives them a sense of closure.  I find that there is a loose correlation between this and “The Graduate,” when Benjamin and Elaine fall in love.  They’re both brought up on a privileged upbringing, both with expectations from their parents, and to point the obvious, are of the same age.

 Another way this scene is so radical is how they had sex.  In chapter 37, it is shown that there are other poems that have different kinds of spells when they are read.  When Carl and Helen are alone, she reads a poem that causes them to defy gravity, floating through the air.  While suspended in mid-air, Carl and Helen start to undress each other, and they make love.  This sex scene is relatable to the lectures and class discussions that were held in Steve Wexler’s class.  Human beings all have sexual urges, as discussed in class, whether it is practiced with a significant other or someone you met the first time.  Lullaby displays the example for the sex scene as an act of love, thus roughly following the sex comedy pattern of “Boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy has sex with girl, loses girl, and gains her back.” While reading this, I found that Carl Streator and Helen Boyle actually follow this pattern, but done in a completely different way than the standard romantic comedy.

To summarize the near conclusion of this story, Helen is eventually killed by Oyster, showing the “Boy loses girl” stage of the story.  But using one of the many spells she knows before her death, Helen takes the possession of a nearby police officer, who Carl simply refers to as “The Sarge.”  Helen’s body has died, but her mind lives on through this policeman’s body, so in its own twisted way, Carl does “Get the girl back.”  Here then, another sign of radical romance ensues, as Carl reveals to the reader that he and Helen, through the body of the Sarge, continue to have sex despite the fact that Helen is within a male body.  This may leave the reader wonder: does this make Carl homosexual, Or is he still straight because it is still technically Helen that he is with, or is he a little bit of both? Carl's sexuality is open to interpretation, but Helen's situation correlates with Barker's arguments about sex regarding gender, stating the multiple modes of femininity, which are 'enacted not only by different women, but, potentially, by the same woman under different circumstances.' (Barker, p. 291).

The story concludes with Carl and Helen still on the hunt for Mona and Oyster, leaving an open ending.  The ending to Lullaby goes against the convention of “Living happily ever after,” as found in the majority of romantic tales.  Again, I find this ending relatable to The Graduate, where Ben and Elaine run away from their family, realizing their love for one another.  This may be the ending for the film, but their lives are not yet over, as shown in the changes of their facial expressions, transitioning from happy and ending with uncertainty.

Given the contents of this book, Lullaby is by no means, a romantic comedy.  But it is in its own way, a satire-horror novel where relationships play an important role, helping to further enhance the story. 

Bibliography
1) Barker, Chris. Cultural Studies, 2008. Sage Publications

2)  Palahniuk, Chuck. Lullaby, 2002. Anchor Books

3) Wexler, Steve. Classroom lectures, 2010. English 313

4) Nichols, Mike. The Graduate. 1967.

Gender Expectations: Priority or Just Stereotyping?

What is it about America and it's expectations for the individual's gender, race, sexual orientation, and so forth?  When a human being has a certain body part that determines their gender, are there automatically "rules" for them to follow?  Why is it that a man is expected to pay for himself and his date while at a restaurant?  Many people will most likely answer with something along the lines of "That's just the way it is."  But many fail to put some serious thought into these ground rules of society.  After watching "The Graduate" in my English class, I found that there were several scenes which appeared to have contradicted these expectations.

It is without a question that in an ideally patriarchal society, men tend to have more leadership over women.  Now before I move on, I am not saying that this is always the case in modern society, but it was definitely evident 30 years ago.  The Graduate, from my perspective, tends to go against the grain of what is considered patriarchal.  In this film, it is the woman to takes on the role of being the leader, specifically Mrs. Robinson, as she seduces the much younger Benjamin Braddock.  She is the one who approached him first, and she is the one who helped Ben become more experienced in sex.  Simply stated, Mrs. Robinson is the one controlling the relationship she has with Benjamin.

I believe that the same kind of expectations we hold for certain groups could go with people who have different ethnicities.  Let us look at music for example.  Rock is a genre that most would affiliate white people with, while Rap is a genre that most would affiliate black people with.  Therefore, many of us were quite surprised when famous rapper Eminem made his debut in the late 90's.  A highly successful musician, Eminem had garnered plenty of attention when the world saw that he was actually a caucasian, making music that appeals primarily to a black demographic.

I think that this proves how we tend to put certain groups of people in these little boxes, telling them what they are expected to do, how to act, and how to be.  The above examples prove that it does not matter what your gender or your race is; rather it depends on who the person is.

My Ethnography

Jeffrey Vandenburg

English 313

September 19, 2010

Ethnography

            For my ethnography, the setting I chose to observe people living out their daily lives was, I believe, quite a unique place: a karate studio.  Doing my ethnography at a karate studio was convenient for me because I currently work as an instructor, and there are usually a lot people for me to observe when I have some down time.  But the people I watched were not the students taking class.  Instead, I have decided to focus on the parents of the students, waiting until their children are done with their classes.  As I sat back and wrote down whatever the parents were doing, I began to notice a few common habits with the parents, several patterns of behavior among these parents, and a few things that stood out in my eyes.  Here are the many things that I saw.

            The first few actions I saw from the parents were simple actions that most of us do on a daily basis.  During the first ten minutes, most of the parents were sitting down and looking around.  Their eyes were on the kids, and then they’d look at pictures on the walls, at themselves in the mirror, and so forth.  On occasion, they would even look at me, probably wondering what I was doing sitting in the corner, cross-legged and writing whatever it was I was writing in a notebook.  I assume they thought I was doing my homework, or writing the rough draft of an essay.  Another act the parents engage in while their kid is taking class is socializing amongst each other, and I found that the biggest topic they bring up is about their children; not necessarily their own children, but the children of the parent they are communicating with.  A few common subjects would be praising about how cute their kid is, talking about how much their child “loves going to karate,” or about their own lives.  Most of the parents would watch class, and what was interesting was how I was able to get an idea of what they thought about the class.  I can tell by their facial expressions and body language.  If they slouched over with their heads forward, hands together and eyes wide, they watched the class with what seems to be of great interest and intent.  If they leaned back with their heads against the wall and eyes half-way open, they watched the class but seemed bored or indifferent; simply waiting for their kid to be done.  Overall, the parents in the karate school do average, mundane activities that any of us would do if we were waiting for something.  They would bring a book to read, or they would bring paperwork to finish—I assume they were paying bills, or doing homework for those who have kids and are in school at the same time.  I realized that the most common activity these parents do is that many of them would use their phone.  Whether they were using their phone to text message, go online, or call someone remains unclear, but what I do know is that I found a strong correlation between people who would use their phones in the karate school, and people using their phones everywhere in society—they’re on their phones during classtime, or when waiting for their appointment at the doctor’s office.  I can recall that at one point during my observation, more than half the parents were sitting, head down and eyes on their phone, completely oblivious of what their child is learning.  This quickly made me realize how much we, as human beings, have become dependent on technology.  With the boost of text messaging, we no longer have to be social animals in order to stave off boredom.  Interaction with your fellow peers is no longer necessary when you have your phone to keep you company.  I found a small connection between people with their phones, and Brick with his liquor from “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”  Instead of socializing with his wife and the people in the house, Brick would much rather spend his time drinking alcohol.  He even states during the end of the play that he is a man who is “married to his liquor.” (Williams, 1954).  In this case, it is the parents who are married to their technology.  During my observation, I have theorized that there is one thing these parents all have in common: they are on their best behavior when waiting for their child.  How they interact in the studio is most likely not the same way they interact within their homes.  When in the karate studio, these parents have given themselves a social identity that we perceive them as.  A dad who comes in the studio wearing a tie and slack is probably perceived as someone who works at a high end position, e.g. manager for a software company, or even a lawyer.  As Chris Barker points out, “Identity is expressed through forms of representation.” (Barker, 2008).  When they are present in the studio, they seem to be following an unwritten rule on how to act, on what to do, and how to be.  (Barker, 2008).  

Words: 862