There are some notable differences in Stoker’s and Coppola’s Dracula. To begin I noticed that in Coppola’s Dracula there is a tagline written ‘love never dies’. Initially this was a bit confusing for me as the Dracula in Stoker shows no love for Mina or any other women; furthermore I would guess this tagline to be for Mina and Jonathan Harker. The Dracula in Stoker’s book was more of a villain/ monster as he did not display any emotions towards his victims. The thrill the book brought was that Dracula would stalk and kill as a murderous cannibal, leaving no room for character development. This was not the case for Coppola’s Dracula as he seemed to have much greater character development and emotions. This is probably the major difference in the protagonist between the two Draculas. Coppola’s Dracula seemed for the most part a normal human being who was out to find his love. This is the case in the film as Dracula falls in love with Mina believing she is the reincarnation of Elizabeta. Another example is when Dracula forces Mina to drink his blood in the novel, whereas the movie Dracula leaves it up to Mina to drink the blood or not. I also felt that Mina had a stronger role in the novel compared to the book due to her character role. In the novel she does not seem to have interest in Dracula and remains faithful to her husband, as in the movie she slowly falls for Dracula. Overall I enjoyed both the novel and the film and cannot say one is better than the other as they are very different from each other.
MIRACLE or NO? Three men that have been found dead in their bedroom in Drimalegue, County Cork are now SAVED. The three men happen to be brothers. The three men had not had any bruises or attack marks and were considered healthy.
Earlier as a crowd of people gathered to witness the death the boys when all of a sudden a women entered in front of everyone. According to the sources a women by the name Kate brought the three men back to life only after she was allowed to marry the oldest son. These were her conditions and the boy’s father agreed with the conditions. Soon after Kate needed everyone to evacuate the house so she can bring life back to the boys. Sources tell us that the women wanted everyone to leave the house so she can perform her miracle. Surprisingly moments later all three men were alive and perfectly normal. Sources also tell us that the women received Gort na Leachtan [the field of the stone heaps] as one of her conditions to revive the men. Although the women did revive all three men there were speculations of how she managed to do so. Some people say that the men were not dead and this was a hoax. Some people point out that they knew of Kate and her healing powers. No true explanations have been addressed yet, for now this is a mystery. According to sources the women married the eldest son couple weeks after and happened to find huge amounts of money on their land. Some say this was a conspiracy, some say it was for insurance purposes, but for now this speculation remains open to the public.
When comparing spaces in the works of David Goldberg’s Racist Culture: Philosophy and the Politics of meaning and Robertson’s, Taming space: Drug use, HIV and homemaking in downtown eastside Vancouver; ‘spaces’ as a place opens to critical insight with how race, gender, identity are created and represented within these spaces. Goldberg begins by outlining how colonial settlement began creating these spaces within society leaving groups marginalized. One important feature of this is the ‘Group Areas Act of 1950’ which allowed for the proposal of race zones for different racial groups (Goldberg 1993). These ‘spaces’ that were marginalized from rest of society create this area of discourse where the ‘west’ as Goldberg mentions, creates the difference of these spaces to rest of society. He quotes that ‘distance is not primarily to be interpreted spatially or geographically but in terms of difference – and in the reinvented articulation of racist concepts; he says that these are the ‘modernistic morals’ (Goldberg 1993). Goldberg allows us to see spaces as this manifestation of racial ideologies. In Robertson’s article we see space as this place where home is made. In her narration of the 14 women who are drug users living in Vancouver’s downtown, Robertson shines light into how many of these women who are alienated from society share many similar histories which brings them to these ‘spaces’. Robertson points to that these spaces are ‘marked’ by exclusion. The sense of space here is one that is shared amongst many of the women who consider the DTES (downtown east side) as this constructed space of home. This space that the women share is not a permanent home but one in which they can create forms of order and dynamics in order to survive.
Camacho’s Romanticizing Warriorhood is in interesting piece of poetry because of its two part structure in explaining the tribal history. It starts off with the narrator describing the types of spears their ancestors would use for warrior hood. The poem then continues with the narrator describing their spear and how it resembles that of their ancestors.
“then began to marvel at our warrior hood
at our encounters at our spears
the kind of spears my ancestors used
the kind I wanted to use
the kind my friend used
she showed me one
sketched on a paper pad
showed the sharp tip
the slim shaft
and said, “see, that’s what we used” (113)
What I found interesting is the connection that is made between the past and present and the historical significance of warrior hood that is shown in a form of literature. For me it gives a sense of how these stories in poem form outlines the significance of family and the power of stories.
“I ask permission
from the spirits
with my machete
chopping away
i find an ifet tree
cut a piece
carrying the wood
to my truck”
One important aspect I noticed was the use of nature and how nature plays an important role in the tribal history of the narrator. In this particular poem the narrator portrays the clouds, trees and previous ancestors as important figures in the impact of tribal history. The poem ends with the narrator ending their life and laying beside their ancestors.
“we never died so forth
not then
not now
not ever”
What the author accomplishes in this poem is signifying the power of stories. The author situates themselves in the forest and recalls what it takes to be a warrior- similar to their ancestors. The author without mentioning explains that the ancestors sacrificed themselves to keep their sprits alive and the author does the same. While sharing this experience the author allows us to examine the power of stories and how stories that have been passed down still have the power to move forward.
Out on Main Street by Shani Mootoo is an interesting read because we see the themes of identity performance and roles. I have skimmed through it couples years back but have never had the chance to analyze it. The reading allows us to capture the larger picture of identifying as homosexuals in a heterosexual sphere- intertwined with race, ethnicity and religion. The narrator begins by outlining ‘identity performance’ and roles as Indo – Trinidadian. She mentions that her family and she are ‘watered down Indians’ because they do not follow the ‘identity’ of being Indians nor follow Indian practices. She links this identity with her sexual orientation and gender performances as she describes herself as masculine lesbian wearing jackboots and a crew-cut (48). Along with awkward sentence structure and slang grammar, this read allows me to look at identity performance of gender and race from a Sociological perspective. One theme that struck me while reading was ideas about multiculturalism. The multiculturalism act of 1988 still to date has been criticized heavily because some groups see it as a threat to national identity or critique that multiculturalism keeps society divided between different races. With our mosaic model, Mootoo raises some interesting questions on multiethnic groups and gender. The ideas of multiculturalism and immigration have always been of interest throughout my Sociology degree. Coming from a mixed family myself, I have always examined how the concept of multicultural allows for multiethnic groups to choose what aspects of their culture/ religion to bring and what not to bring when entering Canada. Still today we have debates over this with identity politics in Quebec or debates on Sharia law in Canada. Overall this read opens up important questions regarding Multiculturalism and gender with Canadian society today.
The Kappa Child is a unique book as it contains many symbols and themes which address the construction of identities. As a Sociology major, this book made me think of the social construction of identity and reality. With the Japanese family newly immigrated family from Japan and their struggle with fitting into a new country, while reading I started thinking about the discussion of what culture is brought into Canada and what is left behind. The Kappa Child raises some important questions regarding integration and how within the separate spheres of identity and reality and within this integration individuals can lose a sense of their own identity. The book also allows us to see how our families and friends are situation within our own sphere of reality and fantasy. With this we see light shedding into sexual identities/ orientation and questions the binary associated thinking with sex and gender. Although this is my first time reading a story with Japanese mythological creature – a Kappa, the book does a good job providing realistic confrontations and rejections the mother and daughters face. Spoken from first person, the book manages to capture many themes. One important theme was family and how a family’s role can impact an individual’s sphere of reality and imagination, we see this with the protagonist and overcoming her difficult past. Overall this was an enjoyable read and for the most part a feel good novel. There are many instances in the novel where we can personally relate to and understand. I would say this would be one of my top reads.
After reading through the Handmaid’s Tale, I find it difficult to grasp some of the major themes related to ideas related to reproductive freedom. This may be due to the fact that I have only read the novel once but there are some important issues with power and gender with the course module help understand the novel more precisely. What I found interesting with the connection to power is that Atwood’s representation of Gilead society is similarly related to our society today with sexuality being controlled (not by guns) but with rather with laws and rules which still don’t allow basic needs to women. One important connection I made was with the mandatory coverage for contraceptives in the United States and how before this mandate the Republican party were opposed because it violated religious beliefs. Another interesting idea I picked up is the idea of fear and how the women in the Gilead society are afraid of breaking the rules. I think the greater implications of this is that of the gender conflict today. Throughout the novel Atwood displays the struggle between men and women and how at times women would try to kill the Handmaids. It does a good job grasping the tension between how rules and gender can coincide and nevertheless depriving women of the struggle of freedom.
I have heard about Juno since its release in 2007 but never had the opportunity to watch it till today. Overall I enjoyed the movie as covers some important aspects of the representation of reproduction and of teenage pregnancy. I think that this movie plays an important role in ‘furthering’ of the debate of reproducing politics in both empowering and controversial ways. This is a major step compared to many of the early movies (as seen in the YouTube clips of abortion in popular culture). The ‘good’ or empowering ways this movie displays the political narratives is by allowing Juno to have this ‘power’ of making her own decisions. This sense of empowerment is seen in the beginning the film when she was making her decision about getting an abortion and also when she decided to carrying out her pregnancy. Another positive connection we see is the reaction of Juno’s surroundings. The sense of ‘cultural anxieties’ is not apparent from her father, step mom or boyfriend. Although it is a movie, it allows us to think how the discussion of teenage pregnancy and the previous taboo that has been set for abortion is seen in a lighter light.
On the other hand, I found an article on aboutnews.com that points out that the film avoids the real issues about teenage pregnancy. In the article Gloria Feldt points out that “ there is very little angst that Juno experiences over carrying the baby and giving it up, pointing out that the character is disconnected to the deep-seated emotions that pregnant teens feel” (Lowen, n.d, para 3). She further argues that the films narrative implies that carrying a pregnancy to term and giving it up for adoption is nothing (Lowen, n.d, para. 3). I found this article particularly interesting because it brings it back to the discussion of how some people analyze reproductive politics and in turn always target the mother, even though in the movie Juno made it clear that she is not ready to become a mother.
Lowen, L. (n.d.). What “Juno” Says About Teen Pregnancy, Abortion and Choice. Retrieved September 30, 2014, from http://womensissues.about.com/od/teenpregnancy/a/JunoAntiChoice.htm
After going through Susan G Komen and the Breast Cancer Action website there are some notable differences and similarities in the approach as well as the structure and design of both websites. My first impressions were that the Breast Cancer Action has a ‘serious tone’ with its monotone red and grey colours and the structured layout. First thing I noticed was the “health justice for all” on the front page, and how BREAST CANCER ACTION is bolded with emphasis on ‘action’. Susan G Komen’s website is structured with a more ‘nurturing’ atmosphere with pink and white colours. Komen’s webpage also contains images with breast cancer survivors on the front page. Both websites have their upcoming events, interestingly the Breast Cancer Action website calls it a ‘strategic plan’ while Susan G Komen’s has it as ‘the latest’. Right away it is obvious that these two websites which are addressing very similar issues have taken different approaches on presentation.
After browsing through the Breast Cancer Action website, I noticed that there is much critique on the ‘pink ribbon awareness’. Slogans such as ‘think before you pink’ and reminders of ‘slick corporate profiteering’ is apparent on the Action website. Their approach reminds its audience of the marketing culture of breast cancer and how we as viewers can avoid the corporate outlook on treating breast cancer. Another interesting approach was relating breast cancer with social inequality and social justice; the action website provides factsheets and webinars on breast cancer and inequalities. This website does emphasis on how individuals can take action with education resources and volunteer opportunities.
Komen’s website has notable differences in addressing breast cancer, as it takes on a more healing approach. This website emphasises on the ‘breast cancer journey’ by providing personal stories, assistance, support throughout the stages of breast cancer. Interestingly Komen’s website also has clothing brand apparel for people to shop online. Komen’s website also has the option of corporate partnership along with volunteering and donating options.