Round Robin

First, the stories:

Mine:

Today is the most important day of Harold's life.

Today he found out that he is fact one of the

prickliest hedgehogs and not an incredibly

dull-pointed porcupine.

 

Malori:
Harold nervously prepared for his date with Thistle by carefully brushing his spikes.
On his way to her house he gathered as many delicious berries as he could. 

 

Wes's:



 

Emily's:

Harold and Thistle could not pay off their debt to Marty the Porcupine.

The hedgehogs were suddenly regretting their gambling habit.

 

Drew's:

 

 

 

 

Artist's Statement:

This is by far one of the more interesting assignments I’ve ever had to do. I’ve tried to do collaborative pieces before and I’ve always been frustrated by the lack of control I have over the end result. Through the frustration didn’t completely disappear for Round Robin, it was greatly lessened and I really enjoyed seeing how other people interpreted and added to my story.

With my stories, I always tried to incorporate either some kind of twist or a thoughtful element to make the story stick a little bit. “Very Short Story” on Twitter was very inspiring because he was able to create such three dimensional stories in such a short space through humor and irony. Some tweets that particularly influenced my work were, “Darla’s beauty was staggering…literally. When men saw her, they staggered, and fell down. Lonely, she resorted to dating blind men,” and “Climbing into the dirigible, we embraced, thrilled to elope. Everything was perfect. “Uh-oh” said David, “one of us has to cast off.” These particularly shaped my story for Emily’s series, which features a princess who locks herself in a tower with a dragon rather than being sentenced there. I tried to avoid making a direct sequel to the story I received for the sake of retaining the assignment’s similarity to the exquisite corpse pictures. They would go together, but not exactly continue the story/picture, just as I continued one theme or character of the story, but tried and avoid a direct copy of it.

As for my drawings, I also tried to have them expand the story rather than just represent it. The test scores for a hedgehog and a porcupine (mine), the screaming kid in the bed (Drew’s series), the smile on the dragon’s face (Emily’s), the yellow background versus the blue shirt for the sad man (Malori’s), and the speech bubble of the ninja (Wes’s) all attempt to add a new element to the story, however small, or simply emphasize an emotion or element in the story. I found it interesting that the characters in my story were featured in each story of the series, and that Harold went from discovering his true identity to joining a circus after a failed date and running from a bookie. The general, overarching theme is one of defining self-identity, getting past mistakes, and living with no regret.

I drew upon one outside source in particular—the book Sorcery & Cecelia or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer. This book was a collaboration, written as a series of letters they initially sent back and forth to each other as a writing exercise. They wrote from the perspectives of two cousins and although the stories exchange characters and events seamlessly, they never planned out the story ahead of time. They would only give hints as to the direction of their next letter, much like we were able to see only one story of the whole series.

Music Mosaic

           My collection of photos attempts to capture the nostalgia and tender memories of being young. The precise delicateness of the piano in the song evoked images of innocence and the pure life children see and experience. I drew heavily upon my own childhood memories of music and family. As a child, as hopefully as an adult as well, your family is your whole world and their influence defines how to understand life and what it should be like. For me, I was constantly surrounded by music, by my mom playing the piano or violin and by recordings and movies. Annie Dillard in her essay “Seeing” noted how we are each specialist seers, that the geologist will see fossils where we just see gray rock, and I believe that children are a kind of specialist. Not only do they have the innocent ability to see “color-patches” of a simpler, flatter world, but they also can focus in on one element and give it all their attention. One note on the piano can fascinate a toddler for minutes on end (an eternity in their world), as they marvel at the fact that pushing one key down can create such a large sound.

            This is why many of my photos have a close frame, as children turn all their attention on one detail at a time. I chose warm reds, oranges, and yellows to reflect the brightness and thoughtfulness of the song and in turn the natural optimism of children. In my selection of photos, I tried to capture both the perspective and emotion of childhood. Hand drawings and block magnetic letters reflect the colorful imagination of a child and the simplicity of their world view, just as the song begins with a simple melodic line. Intricate details such as depth of field and spelling aren’t important to understanding the concept of a sunrise or family.

            Other photos reflect the feeling of closeness, family, and places of safety. As the song adds more layers of percussion, strings, and melody, the scope of the pictures expand from the perspective of the child to include family and environment. Many of my feelings of family and home are rooted in the music room. Musical instruments and singing has always brought my family together and is a place of light, warmth, and magic. Sisterhood and a place to keep all your stuffed animals define childhood belonging.

            In the movie, You’ve Got Mail, Kathleen Kelly says, “When you read a book as a child, it becomes part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your life does.” I believe the same is true for music and the impressions of family. A child’s view of the world may be “color-patches” but these unsophisticated impressions of shape and color serve as the foundation for their ability to “see” as an adult.

Music: http://youtu.be/oVHyvXUQZ30 -- Long Long Ago, Jon Schmidt

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Halo" and American Military Culture

          Video games, today more than ever before, are influencing mainstream culture at the same level of the film industry. The ubiquity of game consoles, the extensive variety of games and online membership, and the natural intersecting of other media around gaming makes video games powerful agents of cultural change. The Halo series by Bungie Studios is the flagship of Microsoft’s Xbox, and is an incredible example of the influence interactive gaming holds over American culture. The Halo series is intimately connected with the US’s recent military and war culture by both reflecting it and shaping the public’s view.

            The current events from pre-9/11 to present day are intimately connected with the story of the Halo games, particularly in the second game, Halo 2. The first game, Halo: Combat Evolved was released on Nov. 15, 2001, only two months after 9/11. Though the creators could have in no way anticipated the rise of military/army culture in the United States that the terrorist attack created, it did serve as a media outlet to partially vent frustration at an inability to retaliate to the attacks, and introduced a way to participate in the new righteous-war culture. Also, “the power of the first-person shooter in presenting and constructing a specific identity and morality has not been lost on the US Army, which has funded a number of military shooters in a drive to improve recruitment” (Sykes), and Halo is part of, if not the reason, for the dramatic rise in first-person shooters, and therefore in recruitment, although less influentially. Halo supported the righteous violence mentality that the 9/11 terrorist attack inspired in the majority of Americans as it featured a man of violence saving the world. It also fed the flare of patriotism and the American glorification of our military through the heroism of Master Chief, the main character, and an America-dominant future world government.

The second game, released on Nov. 4, 2004, had ample time to incorporate and interpret current events into the story and game play as a way of mediating between the reality of war and terrorism and the fantasy of epic heroism. The game begins with Master Chief and other UNSC leaders receiving medals for their actions in the first game, while the commander of the alien forces being forcibly brought before their leader, branded as a heretic with the sign of a coward, tortured for failing in the first game. The aliens, known as the Covenant, are theocracy lead by militant prophets who claim that the righteous will be saved while the universe is cleansed of all others. Shortly after, the Covenant make an unexpected attack on the human’s home planet, Earth. Without going into the intricacies of the game’s story, the Covenant closely resemble the extremist practices and teachings of groups such as the Al Qaeda. Even at the end of the game, a speech is given that could have just as easily been given at Ground Zero:

“For us the storm has passed; the war is over. But let us never forget those who journeyed into the howling dark and did not return. For their decision required courage beyond measure, sacrifice and the unshakeable conviction that their fight—our fight—was elsewhere. As we start to rebuild, this hillside will remain barren; a memorial to heroes fallen. They ennoble all of us and they shall not be forgotten.” (Halo 2)

            Though many would argue that Halo games, Halo 2 in this instance, contribute to the violent delinquencies of adolescents, the story does not paint all of the Covenant in black and all the humans in white (though the glorification of violence cannot be denied). In fact, a significant amount of the game is played as the aforementioned Covenant commander, recognized by the other, less militant religious leaders as not a heretic and is given the role of Arbiter in order to regain his honor through a redemptive self-sacrifice. Eventually, Master Chief and the Arbiter settle their differences and work together to stop the Prophets from blindly eradicating the universe of all life. Racial stereotypes are pointedly broken and understanding is formed between this avidly religious alien and the thoroughly militarized hero.

            I’ve been playing these games since they first came out in 2001, and I can personally attest to their effect on my outlook on the military and the nature of war. Growing up, I considered joining the army and most of that motivation came from playing these games. The emotional effect of the incredibly iconic music, the classic, hero’s journey archetypal story, and the interactive element had and continues to have a profound impact on me, allowing it to shape my perceptions. Without getting into the ethics of first-person shooters and violent video games, the Halo franchise helped shape an entire generation’s perception of the US armed forces to be heroic, glory-filled, and violent, but worthwhile.

 

 

Works Cited

Halo 2. Bungie Studios, Microsoft Game Studios. November 9^th 2004

Sykes, David. “9/11, the War on Terror, and ‘Halo’.” E-International Relations. 18 May 2010.