Author Archives: s.myint

1. The most important service the library offers are rentals for textbooks, calculators, and laptops.
2. Library hours, study room reservations, important dates such as last day to return rentals
3. List of numbers for different directories

Bates Motel is a perfect example of a modern day Jacobean drama because of all the over-the-top violence, incest, jealousy, and revenge it contains in the show. Bates Motel is a TV show on AMC being a contemporary prequel to Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 film, “Psycho”. The series begins with a mother, Norma Bates and her son, Norman Bates starting a new life after the husband’s death in their new motel. This is a very simple beginning with serious plot twists with every turn as the show progresses.

The show covers all the basis of a Jacobean drama. Norma, the mother is an extremely paranoid and jealous mother leading to the suppression and suffocation of her son. The mother was raped within the first episode of the show by a stranger. The son has severe mental problems where he experiences blackouts. However, these are not normal blackouts. The son becomes very violent and goes as far as even killing people. After the first person Norman kills, they hide the body instead of reporting it. Norma also has an older son whose father is actually Norma’s brother. It happened from an incestuous rape further creating drama in the show. This show is anything but simple, in fact it is an endless suspense full of drama similar to that of a Jacobean drama.

The song that reminds me of the Tang poem, “Question and Answer in the Mountains” is “Cudi Zone” by Kid Cudi. The mood of the poem is very carefree and calm. The person in the poem doesn’t even answer the question with words but with just a smile. “I smile and don’t reply; my heart’s at ease.” is very similar to the lyrics of Kid Cudi’s.  In Kid Cudi’s song, “Cudi Zone’ he mentions, “When I zone, I’m feeling alright. I forget about it all.” These two characters seem to be in nirvana and are in no hurry to be out of it. Kid Cudi also mentions, “ I could find peace somewhere” which is something I feel the character in Tang’s poem has already found.

In the second half of “Question and Answer in the Mountain”,

“Peach blossoms flow downstream, leaving no trace.

And there are other earths and skies than these.”

It seems this character is in another zone himself in which no one else can see or penetrate. Kid Cudi is in his zone and he clearly describes that with,

“I’ll be zonin’ all alone.

And then the place where my mind is going.

Filled with songs that no one’s knowin.”

These two characters are both floating away in perhaps their own dream world or even a different dimension, who knows? The only thing that’s certain is their mind is at ease and carefree.