Author Archives: Liz Kim

Yes, yes I know it’s not that type of proposal. This may not be allowed but I’ve narrowed it down to two poems: Manatee/Humanity by Anne Waldman and Into Such Assembly by Myung-Mi Kim. I’ll split this entry into two parts, each about one of the two poems.

Manatee/Humanity: What drew me to this poem was actually a documentary that I watched over spring break, The Cove. The Cove is about the inhumane slaughter of thousands of dolphins in Taiji, Japan. The haunting images are still running through my mind and Anne Waldman’s poem really struck a chord in me. For this digital essay I would splice together images of how manatees and humans are similar (i.e. interaction between parents and offspring), images of human slaughter of these animals, images of people who are trying to save these creatures, etc. etc. The message I want to convey is that if we continue to believe that our species is superior, we will continue to destroy the lives of countless animals.

Into Such Assembly: I was excited when I found Myung-Mi Kim for two reasons: she’s the first female Korean poet I’ve ever read and we have the same last name (I know I know.. “Kim” isn’t exactly that unique, but still.)! Her poem is about trying to hold on to one’s culture while being almost forced to accept a brand new one. It also reminded me of Li-Young Lee’s poem Persimmons which is also about a clash of cultures and trying to find some balance between who you are and where you live. For this poem I would film clips/take photos in areas where it is obvious who the majority is (i.e. “Chinatown” or “Koreatown” in Flushing),  find images of American icons, etc. etc. For this video I want to show how American pride can coexist with love for one’s country of origin.

I know I need to make a decision pronto. Hopefully you guys are on a more sure path than I am…

Hi everyone, hope you all had a great weekend. For the digital essay proposal, is it a blog entry or are we handing in a hard copy to Professor Kaufman on Monday? Yay for me being completely clueless about this assignment! Thanks guys!

Although I haven’t made my final decision as to what poem I’ll be digging into (sorry!), I’m definitely interested in either Audre Lorde’s, Gertrude Stein’s or Carl Sandburg’s poems. Their styles really speak to me and I think that it will be a lot of fun to dissect their work and then put it back together again. For my digital essay, I’m even more unsure of what I’ll do. I know that it’s recommended to work in groups so… anyone interested (insert awkward laughter)? I am currently leaning more toward a stop action video rather than writing out a script and trying to “act.” Unlike many of my peers I’m not a Mac so it will be interesting to see how my PC will fare. I had this sudden Jimmy Neutron-esque brain blast moment while reading Stein’s “A Completed Portrait of Picasso.” Perhaps my stop action video will be parts of people’s faces and bodies…and this will convey a message of… ur… Yeah. It’s just an idea but I’m partly relieved that the creative juices are somewhat sloshing away in my brain. That’s enough of my midnight rant. Goodnight!

I’m equal parts excited and scared out of my mind about the digital essay. I’ve never made a video for a class so this is definitely something that is totally foreign to me. However, the concept of taking a thesis and expressing it through something that isn’t a paper really intrigues me. What I enjoyed about watching the videos made by previous students was that there were so many different ways to approach the digital essay. “Tell All the Truth But Tell It Slant” and “McDonalds” was more acting based whereas “We Real Cool” and “The Barbie Complex” were more stop motion. By the way, great job last semester Danielle, JAR and Brian! The questions that I have are about the technical aspects of the project like what programs I should use or the resources I have available. I’m sure that the famous Luke will have the answers to all of my worries. I’m having difficulty choosing a poem and coming up with a thesis that will translate well on video. Good luck to everyone and I look forward to seeing our finished projects!

APPLAUSE* Is it lame how excited I am to finally post something that isn’t a response paper? ANYWAY, I’m not even sure if anyone will read this so I might as well make it short. This song reminded me of the Dead Prez song we listened to during our first week of the semester. It seems like such a long time ago!

 [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/JMmlTG6FUD0″ width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]*

Am I the only one who thinks that the sign language used in the video is so deliciously dope?  Have a great (and warm) day!

                       I’ve always believed that the best stories are those that get you thinking long after you’ve read the last page. The beauty of writing is that you have complete control over the fate of the reader. Most successful stories leave you with a feeling almost as if you are lost in a literary forest at dusk, where you see only glimpses of your surroundings. It is up to you to interpret the details and hints given, get your footing, and find your way to the end. Luckily, this forest has multiple paths, multiple ways to escape. For the most part, I feel that Raymond Carver follows his own advice in “Cathedral.” We don’t really know what is going on in this house, what will happen to the visitor and the almost dreamlike, blurry mood and tone of the ending leaves the reader with some discomfort, but the kind that makes you want to find out what’s wrong and explore.

                        We feel immediate tension between the husband and wife. The story also hints at marital troubles because although we are told that the narrator’s wife writes a couple poems each year when important things happen, he makes no effort to find out about this poetry or what it might mean to his wife. From what we see, every time the couple speaks to each other, it’s usually in a snippy, terse, or annoyed manner. Most importantly, how the narrator tells us his story and his choice of words tell us a lot about what type of person he is. He seems to joke all the time, and hasn’t matured emotionally. One of the main causes of tension between husband and wife is that he is very unhappy to find out that her blind friend Robert is coming to stay with them. He has these misconceptions of blind people and even pities Robert’s deceased wife for having to have lived with a husband who cannot even see her.

          I felt the “sense of menace” from the beginning. I mean, the guy DOESN’T like blind people. One of his wife’s oldest friends is blind AND is going to be sleeping in his house! This didn’t add up from the start so I was intrigued to find out what would happen once Robert arrived. Would the narrator be mean? Rude? Kick him out or get in a fight? I also worried that the wife might have deeper feelings for Robert than just as a friend because… I mean come on. You read how she was describing him. Even I would feel a tinge of jealousy if my spouse was telling me how it felt to have someone’s hands on them, blind or not (does that make me a bad person?). From what we’ve been reading so far, I was expecting Robert to drop dead or for the wife to have an affair, but “Cathedral” had a surprisingly feel-good ending. I think it made even more of an impact because of the stereotypes the narrator had about blind people and the discomfort he felt of having to see this man.

                  Despite the relatively happy ending, I was left with a sense of, “what just happened?” It felt as though I had also been drinking and smoking with Robert and the narrator. Raymond Carver slowly weaves you into the story and you don’t expect for the two men to have physical contact and to bond. The fact that Carver left out why the narrator didn’t open his eyes or what happens afterward only strengthens the story. Once you’re done with the physical pages, you come up with your own interpretation of how you’d want it to end and the story continues to live on.

                I remember an elementary school teacher, the grade slips my mind, who would always say, “I know you’re hearing me, but are you listening to what I’m saying?” This was usually followed by an exaggerated rolling of the students’ eyes. Years later, it still sticks with me and I realize the significance of this statement. The same is true in “Cathedral.” It takes a man without sight, Robert, for the narrator to realize that all along he has merely been looking but not truly seeing. Is the narrator truly happy at the end or is he intoxicated? How do you think this idea of “looking but not seeing” is related to happiness?

From what I’ve learned about Freud, I know that at times his ideas can seem bizarre or farfetched. I was skeptical going into this because I was expecting him to relate everything to something sexual. Knowing this, I was surprised at how straightforward Beyond the Pleasure Principle was. In Chapter 2, Freud goes into detail describing a game that he has decided to call “fort da.” While observing an eighteen month old boy named Ernst, Freud noticed that he would toss away a toy, say “o-o-o” and then shout “da” once the toy was back in his possession. Freud named this exchange “fort da” or “disappearance and return.” It also seemed important to note that the little boy was for the most part quite well-behaved and would be fine even when his mother left him alone for hours. However, Ernst’s game left a deep impression on Freud’s studies and shaped his pain/pleasure principle.
Was “fort da” the child’s way of coping with the disappearance and subsequent return of his mother? Or was the child trying to display his anger at being left alone by tossing away a toy but getting it back later? Freud ultimately came to the conclusion that Ernst’s game was something we all do: replaying painful memories as a way of understanding and coming to terms with it. It all ties in with his “pleasure/pain” ideas. Although contradictory, he found that people find satisfaction with repeating moments of discomfort. We gain pleasure by replaying or reproducing the pain of a particular moment in our lives because we know that the conclusion is good.
Like Plato’s “allegory of the cave,” Freud’s “fort da” is about development and maturation of the mind. However, Plato goes into more detail and lays out more steps of development than Freud. Both mention that our childhood subconsciously affects our adulthood. We can only appreciate the outdoors if we have spent time in the “shadows,” and we learn our basic coping skills from the games of pretend we play as children. Chapter 2 also tells us something about happiness. We don’t necessarily find joy in positive times alone. Sometimes, reflecting on instances in our lives that have angered, saddened or frightened us can also bring happiness. This is because self-reflection is a sign of positive progress and can show you have far you have come.
Although Freud’s idea of gaining pleasure from replaying painful moments sounds plausible, can’t reliving these moments result in wallowing and self-pity which only brings more pain?
– Elizabeth Kim