Writing Across Cultures

Monty Python is a comedy troupe that included Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. Best known for their television show Monty Python's Flying Circus . The sketch show first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series. Since then the group has spawned various films, musicals, stage productions, and a variety of other pop cultural things. The group's influence on comedy has been compared to The Beatles' influence on music. Very impressive. Episode 7, Season one (part 1) Episode 7, Season one (part 2) Episode 7, Season one (part 3) Episode 7, Season one (part 4) Here's a few favorite sketches: Confuse a Cat Cheese Shop Upperclass Twit of the Year Architect Sketch The World's Funniest Joke Sketch Various films made by the troupe: Monty Python & the Holy Grail (1975) The Life of Brian (1979) Monty Python's Meaning of Life (1983) & The Tiger Sequence fro...

After our quiz on t he Stranger, please get into one of the two assigned discussion groups. Select a discussion leader, then discuss the questions posed to you. Leaders should grade their group members according to the rubric. After our discussion (likely during 2nd period), we will read and discuss (and write an exercise) based on Raymond Queneau 's Exercises in Style . Exercises in Style: 1. Write a short succinct story about "modern" life. This should be nothing more than a short anecdote. In fact, you can title the first entry anecdote . Or Writing Exercise . 2. Rewrite the same short story at least four more times (total of 5, but you can do more if you'd like) using any of the following writing "Styles": Metaphor Simile Personification Alliterative Anagrams Formal Slang Onomatopoeia Past Tense Present Tense Future Tense Passive Sonnet Alexandrine Exclamations Epic Heroic Cockney Cross Examination Five Act Play Summar...

We will complete the film today. With time remaining, we will move to the lab. Please complete and prepare for a quiz and discussion on The Stranger for next class. Review the term: existentialism (see posts below). HOMEWORK: Please respond to the film Amelie . The question is posted on the forum.

We will continue our screening of Amelie. As you watch the film, please note elements of French New Wave (see post below), surrealism, and romance archetypes in character, setting, and plot.

Please turn in your homework (questions on Camus & Existentialism and/or the ghazal) This morning we will read an article on the French New Wave and screen a few clips. Characteristics of the French New Wave:  Editing : use of the jump cut, in which two discontinuous images are juxtaposed.  Low budget : films were shot quickly, sometimes with hand-held cameras, giving the film a more naturalistic feel; often only one camera is used; improvised sets or locations; films were shot in natural locations (as opposed to studios); sound was recorded live. Lighting was often natural. Narrative : stories were often open-ended, unresolved, or loosely structured. Characters were often odd or eccentric. Actors talked over one another in order to create a realistic feel for dialogue. The French have greatly influenced the invention and continuation of film and the film industry. From the Lumiere Brothers, George Melies, and the Pathe Frere company, French culture impacted t...

Please hand in any homework you have completed to the substitute. I am at an English conference this week, but will be checking in digitally. During the first part of our class we will be reading a selection from Antoine de Saint Exupery 's The Little Prince . After reading and discussion, please go to the lab (3rd floor) and work on the following tasks:   1. While in the lab, take some time (about 10-15 minutes) to read about Albert Camus and existentialism. Please use the links to take notes on the following questions (homework for MONDAY). You may use this information to help you answer your homework (due MONDAY): Existentialism Albert Camus 1. Jot down a few notes about Camus' life and biography. Answer: who was he, why is he important to Western Civilization. 2. In your own words explain Camus' view on Absurdity . 3. In your own words explain Camus' view on Solidarity . 4. Who was Sisyphus and how might this myth be a good example of absurdity? 5....

In the lab, please read about the Gazhal and try one of these poem forms (see post below). To keep you honest and working, please submit a draft of this poem by end of Friday's class. Then onto France. In lab today, please check out this website .  Continue to research cultural aspects of France. Choose a region of France, find a city or village, learn a little about life there. One of your tasks for our next portfolio will be to set your story in a European country. Take notes on relevant information that a writer might use. Then use it to create a vignette (look a French word!) set in France. Here's a few short videos that may give you some ideas: French Culture vs. Islam (video rant) French Fried TV (French Culture) French Moms vs. American Moms French Documentary The literature and key authors: Antoine de Saint Exupery's The Little Prince . Please watch this film. It is 34 minutes in length. Albert Lamorisse's masterpiece: The Red Balloon . STORY...

The Ghazal is a poetic form consisting of rhyming couplets and a refrain, with each line sharing the same meter. A ghazal may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss or separation and the beauty of love in spite of that pain. The form is ancient, originating in 6th century pre-Islamic Arabic verse. It is one of the principal poetic forms which the Indo-Perso-Arabic civilization offered to the eastern Islamic world. History: The ghazal spread into South Asia in the 12th century under the influence of the new Islamic Sultanate courts and Sufi mystics. Although the ghazal is most prominently a form of Persian and Urdu poetry, today it is found in the poetry of many languages. The Arabic word غزل ġazal is pronounced [ˈɣazal], roughly like the English word guzzle . The Form: A ghazal is composed of five or more couplets. The second line of each couplet in a ghazal usually ends with the repetition of a refrain of one or a few words, known as a rad...

Surrealism : Surrealists are similar to the dadaists. They used Freud's theories on the unconscious to inspire their work. Freud's theories, the Surrealists believed, helped paint the true or authentic self through dream imagery, metaphor, and various tropes. They believed this dream-state was the true reality (the "surreal"). The "Pope of Surrealism," was the French writer André Breton (1896-1966), joined by writers like Louis Bunuel, Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) and Isidore Ducasse  (pseudonym: Comte de Lautrémont, 1846-1870). One quote from Lautrémont's prose-poem Les Chants de Maldoror expresses the Surrealist spirit concisely: "the chance meeting on a dissecting-table of a sewing-machine and an umbrella!" The Modern period filmmaker Man Ray is a good example of an artist influenced by the Surrealist movement. Here are a few film clips... The Return to Reason (1923) & the infamous Ballet Mecanique (1924). What caused this ...

Want ing to cram a lot of detail into an already overcrowded sentence can be entic ing , but probably is work ing against you, as you are add ing too many phrases, mak ing your reader annoyed, hav ing no idea where to stop, pretend ing to know what you're writ ing , hop ing that no one will notice, weep ing at your sentences that seem to go runn ing on and on like Spanish bulls, fight ing the frighten ing crowds in Pamplona, not car ing if they stop at all... A common problem with young writers is that they use too many participial phrases. They use them in the beginning of a sentence, in the middle, and then, again, at the end--pushing the limits and our patience. That last bit there after the em-dash is a participial phrase . Note the use of -ing words! Participles take two forms, according to the Grammar Desk Reference: "present participles always end in -ing, and past participles usually end in -d or -ed" Present participles run rampant through you...

Espana: Hola! 1st period prepare your portfolios. If you finish early, please read the fiction handouts in the packet and read this blog, and take notes (see homework sheet). Today we will cross the great straight of Gibraltar to Europe's main continent. Let's start with a little literature, and then move to some information and cultural research. Spain has an incredibly old history. From cave paintings found at Altamira to our contemporary period. The Romans and Carthaginians fought over Spain in the 3rd century B.C. Part of the Roman Empire Hispania rises and falls at the same time, being overrun by the Vandals in 409 A.D. (later repelled by the Visigoths who rule until the 8th century, followed by the Arabs). During 711-1492, Christians begin to reclaim the area at first slowly, until the Umayyad loss of power in 1031. You probably know what happens leading up to 1492 with the marriage of Isabella and Ferdinand in 1469. Curious about Spain ...

Please get together in the assigned groups this morning to conduct a discussion on the book Into the Beautiful North . By the way, please turn in your homework on part II of the novel. Discussion questions (see sheet, but here they are as well...) 1. What is the overall tone of the book? Does this tone shift? If so, in what section and why? If not, why not? 2. What purpose does the epigraph have? In what ways does it relate to the novel? 3. Discuss Urrea's writing style. Consider the use of diction, characterization, plotting, structure, syntax, setting, and dialogue. What did you like or dislike about his writing style? How would you improve it if you wrote the book? How might you apply his style to your own, if you found it effective? 4. What scene did you most enjoy when reading the book? Why? 5. Examine the influence of film (in particular the Magnificent Seven) as a structural device used by Urrea. 6. Which character did you most identify with? Which character ...

Please complete the viewing of Pan's Labyrinth . In the lab, please post your response to the question on the forum. This is due today. Afterwards, please work on your portfolio and/or your reading of the novel Into the Beautiful North . Please turn in reading questions by next class and be prepared to discuss the novel. HOMEWORK: Complete Into the Beautiful North and answer the reading questions.