Zone One Reaction

I thought the book started extremely slow with a fuzzy transition from childhood to adulthood without out any explanation as to what is going on until Mike is attacked by a zombie. The over explanation and attention to petty details can be nice in some stories but in this cause it it really distracted from what was happen and I found myself bored and wanting to skip ahead. The character started extremely bland with the only one having any personality at all in the first 30 pages being Gary and that was mainly because of a grin. So far I am unimpressed with the book and hope it can redeem itself in the chapters to come. So far it remind me of Lord of the Flies and I did NOT enjoy that book at all.

Zone One Reaction

At first, the book seems slow.  The descriptions are detailed and paint the scene extremely well, and characters are really introduced. As the story progresses and we start to see more and more of the world around our main character, I began to enjoy the small things. The whole picture started coming into focus and made the storytelling method much more enjoyable. Without the microscopic attention to everything in view, there would be no setting, no anticipation. I liked the way Gary was introduced and shown from the single perspective as well. It makes for a very vivid reading experience. I liked the way the zombies haven't destroyed society, but rather have just driven it in a different direction. These new implications for humankind are interesting to consider.

Zone One Reflection

          For me the book was kinda hard to understand what he was describing especially on the first couple of pages. But I thought it was weird that Buffalo had them take up orders like check the ID of the dead like there height and age and other things like that when it would be a lot easier to check the living. I also found that the people in Buffalo were still as greedy as before everything went down because they wanted to find people of the big companies so that when it was all over they could be given tax cuts.

          I also thought it was interesting that there were skels that would attack you and ones that were frozen in there daily routine like some part of there mind was still still there. This book to me is good but at the same time written so sophisticatedly and riddled that its kinda hard to understand a lot of what he is saying.

Zone One 1

Zone One 1

It was kind muggy thinking for me to understand the whole picture what they talked out. Mark Spitz was alone till he found more people so he can build up an army to battle with. He scouted the zone one out there and figured out what he needed to do something with what he saw there. 

I don't get it about human resource. HR seem to check out who the dead people were and zipped and put somewhere.It seem that Mark tried to tell the people to clean up the zones what he want to see but he need to figure out what caused the people being dying.

Walking Dead/Vampire Gentleman Reaction

Reaction to Walking Dead and Vampire Gentleman Article

                My reaction to the article and the reading was one I didn’t quite expect. I actually found myself opening up to the possiablity of acceptin zombies as a ligiament form of horror. Never before had I thought this. I had always pushed zombies aside thinking them to be nothing more than silly, groaning, corpses. I have never really delved into what they could actually represent, what there origins were, or why there were so popular. It was also cool to read how much vampires have changed from being the center of the horror gene to shifting out and into an entirelly different genre in general.

                I had always been a fan of vampires, though found myself less interested as the fanbase was split between making them complete hidious monsters and sexy humane beasts. I had been a fan of the past vampires that were a bit of both. Seductive enough you overlooked the beast that was within andwaiting for you to drop your guard so they could strike. Zombies just didn’t have that appeal for me. Having been introduced to some of their background and having read an actually decent depiction of zombies in The Walking Dead I actually found myself impressed and wanting to read more.

Article Reactions

Wow I know this is really late but here it goes:

Article One: Everything Quentin Tarantino Really Thinks About Violence And The Movies

I thought this was particularly interesting, both the video and the quotes.  I was intrigued when Tarantino completely shuts the interviewer down when asked about why he thinks movies and violence is unrelated. He becomes irate when asked a simple question then keeps repeating he has said all he has to say over the past 20 years. When reading his statements from interviews over the past 20 views he just states the same thing over and over and just keeps saying that there is no link between movies and real life violence… as if his word is enough and just because HE wasn’t effected no one else can be. While I agree that there is a link between fantasy violence and real violence I don’t believe it is the soul blame of media.

Article Two: Violent Media Poisoning Nation’s Soul

The author of article two takes considerable time explaining WHY violence in movies should be censored without really backing up anything with solid research. The author keeps alluding to they believe that the movie “Dark Knight Rises” helped cause a shooting. While well written it is written based on pure opinion, not a single fact backed up which of course leaves it open to the readers opinion. Having a conflicting opinion I did not find the article sufficient. I would think someone sharing the author’s opinion would find the article likeable. I did not.


Article Three: “Columbine, Whose Fault Was It?”

  I actually liked this article the most despite not being a fan of the author. I agree completely with Manson on the fact that violence hasn’t changed it just the publicity of it. He also states that people are pushing the blame on the wrong thing. When you leave children to their own devices around things like fantasy and never help them distinguish what is real and what is not what do you expect?

Zone One: Part 1 Response

My reaction to the first 10-20 pages was, to put mildly, not good. The writing seemed dense and full of superfluous descriptive language, to the point where I was tempted to skip paragraphs on paragraphs of metaphorical language and 'tangent' side-stories just to find out what was actually happening in the present tense, the now. For instance, when the main character is doing his sweep of the abandoned law firm he kicks open a door and three zombies jump him. It takes literally pages and pages and pages before 30 seconds in real time happens. I'm sitting there thinking "Holy crap there's three zombies trying to eat this guy!" while having to get through four pages of memories the main character is thinking about while this happens. It's great to have some depth but god damn I'm a bit more interested in the main character getting attacked at the moment.At first this was a turn off and just felt like unnecessary rambling (which I still think it was to a very small degree) but after finishing the first 80 pages I'm definitely starting to enjoy the story and am getting more used to the writing style.

As I've read on, the dreary thoughts and murky feelings that surround the main characters thoughts is starting to become less of a turn off and more of a representation of the context of the story. I really like the way the characters are being built, and how much time is spent exploring the depth of the different characters. One of my favorite things so far was how each survivor at this point seems to have their own weird quirk, something they cling to that on the surface seems pointless but in actuality is probably part of why that person is still alive. For instance how Gary still talks as if his two twin brothers were still alive, saying "we" this and "we" that instead of "I". It's weird but it's something that helps him stay sane in such an insane world, and ultimately something that helps him survive.

Zone One Response: Part 1

     Colson Whitehead has a way of painting a picture with words. He goes into very deep detail to establish a vivid setting that is easy to picture. Although I tend to get lost in the long explanations, it is important to have a strong setting for the reader to picture. It was very interesting to see the angle the writer took with this story and developed a bit of a different post-apocalyptic world than your average zombie story. He has a government that is established and in control to add a sense of normality and hope for the survivors in the book. While most zombie stories have the focus of surviving the mass hordes of human eating zombies, Whitehead developed a story of reconstruction and development of a new culture.
     I really like the route the author took when producing the characters in the main sweeper team. The overachieving college girl, the "average joe" and the mangily, unpredictable crazy fellow. Their different personalities highlight each other to make interesting conversation and interaction. It is very interesting to see them interact and work as a team through this rough and rugged landscape. Having Mark Spitz as such an average person helps people place themselves in the story and come from his point of view on things and relate to him.
      The zombies in this story are very unique because they are not the typical zombie we have come to know. They are stranglers, left behind, rather than the hordes of flesh eating monsters. Mark Spitz seems to look at them as corpses rather than monsters and relates them to people he knew in the past. I like a lot of action and with such few skels around, the story at times can get a little dull. Since there are less skels, it allows for the story to develop and focus more on other aspects such as the characters interaction with each other, the reconstruction of the city and the details of the setting. Overall, it is an interesting book and I look forward to further reading into the lives of Mark Spitz, Kaitlyn and Gary.

Reaction to Zone One reading

I find it interesting that this novel is creating a society around the zombie apocalypse. In every other zombie novel, tv show, or movie it seems like what's left of society is just simply trying to survive, kill and hunt. Zone one is different, survivor camps and reconstruction efforts make it seem sort of like functional life. I like how average the main character is. I can't really seem to dislike him or root for him, which makes the other characters around him seem more interesting, and puts focus on the dismay of civilization around him. The characters are relatable to me, unlike in most zombie apocalypse stories. I would never be as brave as Rick Grimes, you know? But I could definitely survive under Mark Spitz' conditions and mindset. Also, the zombies are unusual. It's refreshing to get away from the typical horde setting and I like the idea of zombies lingering stagnant in places that are connected to their pasts. I feel a little sympathy for them. The way the "government" and corporate sponsors survived the apocalypse gives the novel a hopelessness that makes me want to keep reading to find out how they all pull this off.

response to Zone One

In this novel I really like how whitehead has started to separate the zombies from one just hoard of mindless idiots into the stragglers or the ones that for some reason weren't exterminated or "shown mercy" by the marines who first came into this effected zone. I really like the detail he goes into with the characters and how we see the development of the civilian soldiers "the sweepers" there to clean up and bring society back to somewhat of a normal state, so that they could get industry back up and running and bring the world back to where it was. With that it is interesting that our main character seems to doubt that society will every come back from the brink saying that essentially if you dream and don't pay attention to the present you can get caught off guard and pinned as we see happen to him in one of the firms they were clearing. With that it is quite interesting to me how he always comes back to his basic B mentality floating under the radar and that’s how he’s gotten through life quite successfully so far.

Unlike in many other zombie films or books where the zombie plays a major role almost a main character role, I like how here we are seeing the characters develop and the skells playing a large yet small role in the grand scheme and we see the hardships of the regs and not being able to pick up a piece of food in an open refrigerator or use moisturizer unless its from a “sponsor” company. Also sponsor companies and corruption going on at almost the end of society its interesting to see how no matter what’s going on no matter how bad it is outside corruption is still alive and well.I like seeing the characters develop as a unit and their personalities come out, like the generic sorority girl leader or the grimy almost skell mechanic or even our main characters aversion to id checks or even when you see him have a bit of remorse for the copy boy asking the group if they could just leave him there not wanting to put him down, It is all building up to be one if not my favorite piece in this genre.

My reaction to reading "The Walking Dead" was just "wow" I was not expecting the ending, i did not see Rick's son to be the one to end up saving his dad's life and i kind of thought it was kind of funny how Lori did not want her son to have a gun but he ended up saving both his mom and dad. I see by reading this that stress, life threatening situations, being scared and other mixed emotions can really cause people to go insane, being put into the characters situations I would have to agree with Lori at the end there is no way after all they have been through that they will ever go back to normal. I can't even imagine what they have been through it takes a lot of courage and awareness to survive all the things they have.

Zombie and vampire

I think it is very true that the vampire has become more human than zombies have. We have seen from Twilight that vampires are creatures just like us who understand love, happiness and can exhibit human behavior, a far cry from Dracula. Zombies on the other hand are mindless creatures who want nothing more than to turn you into one of them. I think this is partly because zombies are rotting flesh and don't resemble living humans so how can we give something like that human qualities? Vampires can still talk, they require nourishment to survive, like humans.  Both have undergone change but vampires have gone through a "worse" change. Going from something of terror to something teenage girls are wild for. I don't know if there will be any other scary monster that can take the place of either the zombie or vampire but only time will tell.

Walking Dead

It seems that I am a minority in this class... I don't like zombies. I think the whole idea is ridiculous because I like reality. The walking dead comic is illustrated well, has an ok story line and since it has such a cult following I would assume its a good tv series, I have never seen it. I also have never been into graphic novels so this is very new to me. Honestly I would say this assignment was difficult to me because it encompasses so many things that I am not used to or that I enjoy, ie graphic novels and sci fi.I would like to understand why people like it so much. Is it because it's so popular or do you really love the idea of dead people roaming this earth? Maybe this class will open my eyes to a new style of reading and tv.

Vampire Gentlemen and Zombie Beasts

To me zombies have always been a terrifying thing to me, actually zombies are one of my worst fears next to spiders. But for some strange reason I've always loved to watch zombie movies and tv shows. I think its because of the thrill and curiosity of how they came to be in the show and how someday it might be possible for a disease to come about the world that can turn a person into a raging victim with no personality and the only thing they want is meat and the'll get it from any living thing. So to me when it comes to zombies I don't think there is any other way to represent them other than scary, grotesque, once alive, monsters.

But on the other hand I love Vampires and don't find them scary at all and never have even when I was a kid which is weird to me considering they do almost the same thing as a zombie. I think its the fact that they have a voice, a conscience, and like they said in the article are mysterious. They aren't just a corps walking around with no sense of where they are and one purpose to kill and never stop because if they did there would be no humans to feed off of, they have the ability to stop and not just infect and cause disease on the human race. I think there kinda interesting because they are immortal and have super human abilities and zombies are just dead feeding off of the living. Although the early vampires like in The Lost Boys were more grotesque I feel like its just the point we are at in film and society they don't get as high of rating as the loving ones do. Though personally I like the vampires portrayed in True Blood they are not just some night in shiny armor to teen girls they have a dark and bloody side that the older vampires had but they don't look like a monster.

zombie comments

The Walking Dead comic

Response:

I read the comic and found a bit interesting to read comic better than a movie. It seem less annoying me because it doesn't show much splatting around the humans. It focused on a policeman taking the journey to find out what going on.  He arrived the city and found more zombies there, then went out of the city and ended up to meet his family there. He was so happy. In later days, he turned more angry and tried to control what going on with the families. He got the weapons for them what they need to protect from the zombies. The argument leaded him to be angry more. He threaten a guy but the little boy shot the policeman. His father told him that he was not zombie but it was ok. That was different twisted stories. I thought it was all about zombies but not. It was about his personality changing and stress out leading to the death.   

Zombie article

Response:

I read this article which was not great to me. I fall asleep when I read. Geez..I don't know what I think of Zombie but do about the vampires. I guess I am used to watch the vampires for long time.  The zombie story annoyed me because the way they acted to the good people. Vampire story made the things interesting - love, powerful, fantasy, more fun to watch.  The zombie I don't understand why the watchers like to watch the story. It was about blood and touching the people becoming them.  I don't get the concept why the director created the movie about the zombies. I understand that they try to do different for audience rating. I predict that the zombie movies might be no longer and vampire will stay strong.

Zombie Article Reaction

My first comment about this article is that I don't think western culture has "lost" an icon in true horror in the ever evolving vampire character. Just because how we use vampires in fiction has changed, doesn't mean it can't change back or won't change into something completely new. It's natural for their to be a cycle, and we are just witnessing one part. Our children's children may grow up watching vampire horror films and zombie romance movies, instead of handsome and troubled vampires who just want to be loved and flesh eating zombies with no conscience. Despite the differences between the 'current' zombie and vampire character, it's interesting to me how they both still hold a very definite relevance and purpose. The vampire that lives it's life as an outcast, is never quite considered normal, has different needs than the average person but ultimately still desires the same things (love, acceptance) is something I think a lot of us can relate to. Sometimes we all feel like this unique individual that the rest of society as a whole can't always relate to, and it's good to deal with these feelings even if it's through some fictional story about a vampire. There's still fear here, but it's a fear of yourself and your own inability to fit the rest of 'normal' society. The zombie however, uses fear in a totally different way. It makes you realize the danger you could potentially be in at any moment, and how truly scary our world would be if we didn't communicate or work together and just wandered aimlessly, only acting on the instinct to feed and nothing more. At our foundation we are zombies, and the idea that we could be stripped of our humanity is freaking terrifying.

The walking dead

I enjoy reading about zombie apocalypse because its makes one realize how good they actually have it even if they're struggling in life. We still have it very easy as American's. Work, bills and debt effect a majority of us as a country but I think most people complain because they haven't ever know a true hardship or true devastation. If you ask them would they rather keep their life the way it is or would you rather a zombie apocalypse happen? Most people would choose to keep it the same. Me on the other hand I honestly wouldn't mind something world changing to happen. We as American's take so much for granted. Everyone has cell phones and Facebook. What would they do if the satellites crash? Most people wouldn't know what to do without their internet and television. I think that's very sad. I love to camp and be outside as much as possible. Learning how to survive in the wild is a very important skill that's being lost over time. Ultimately this skill will be very useful and will save you at some point in time. Knowing how to start a fire, how to hunt and how to shoot a gun will be the difference between life and death. Reading this comic only proves my point. They had fire but had to risk their lives to collect more guns to survive. I personally would have taken Rick's side in wanting to move camp away from the zombies. I thought Shane was acting irrational from the start with him not wasn't to move, trying to comfort Rick's wife and also his short temper. Obviously he was losing it because at the end he told Rick he wasn't suppose to come back. Pulled a gun on Rick and ultimately left Carl with no other option but to kill him. I'm anxious  to see what happens next!

The Walking Dead and Zombies in American Culture

 The Walking Dead was, to most of us, a breakout summer TV series shown on AMC. More acute followers of the horror genre may have known it in its original comic form. Both mediums are impressive in their own right, but the comic more so in my opinion. I really liked the art style because I feel like it gave the words attitude.  The format leads to smaller, more frequent interactions than TV does, and each of these interactions has a tone of its own.  The character development is far superior on page then it is on the screen.  Each person is exactly and specifically what they need to be, but nothing more.  The interactions are limited to what fits in a frame or series of frames. The American Gothic dissertation was interesting. I hadn't noticed the specific phenomenon, but it is apparent when someone points it out.  The thought process is solid, and well supported. It’s a very well written paper, but I wonder if people humanize monsters because their imaginations are limited to a human frame of reference. The way it was written was thought provoking and really pointed out just how culturally significant zombies are in today’s day and age.

Reaction to "The Walking Dead"

             I want to start off by saying I have never read the actual Walking dead series but have been an extreme fan of the live action AMC interpretation. With that being said I found the comic to have amazing visual substance the details in the art are amazing and it really does help to build the story, not only is the plot amazing but well thought out and executed.

             In the opening strip I really like how they set the characters of Rick and Shane as best friends only later to find out that Shane has abandoned him and tried to steal his family and the jealousy eats him alive later on in the storyline.

             In the story though I do like how not only through word but through the use of fabulous art the author sets up the horrific reality that they are now plagued with. Life that consists of basically running and hiding for your life not knowing when the next zombie might strike. It is also interesting to me to see how the group as a whole is coming together to form a family like bond in their time of need but outside forces like the growing hate for Rick from Shane "ultimately leading to his death" or the zombies trying to rip them apart "literally in the case of the zombies". All in all I feel as if it is a well illustrated well written graphic novel that depicts the world and all of its pit falls and how in your time of need finding people you an rely on is one of the most important things for survival.

Reactions to "Vampire Gentleman and Zombie Beasts"

            In the article “Vampire Gentleman and Zombie Beast” the author blew me away with the comparisons of these mere ghouls of the night to real world problems plaguing us today. I found it myself in the beginning of this article asking, “Where might this go?” “What can we actually learn from horror characters?”

           

           Quiet to my disbelief we can actually learn a lot from these ghouls and the ideals that they were founded from. It really interested me to see how the birth of the modern “Romanticized” Vampire rose from western cultures self absorbed nature, making the once ghoulish and equally horrifying Dracula a mere symbols of repressed sexual fantasy and wealth beyond belief. Essentially every common persons dream existence.

            Just as with the Vampire change in role, I had always wondered where the shift from mindless slow slave that once inhabited the role of zombie diverged into the modern day “28 days” or “The Walking dead” menacing fast super ultra zombie came from. Learning that it was a gap in horror that eventually led to this was quite intersecting. Along with socioeconomically laced background of both characters quite intrigued me. The author did a fantastic job citing an abundance of material really outlining how deep our natural fears of social breakdown could occur if we all become the next hoard of non-individuals driving mindless consumerism.

            But the underlying message I took from this article is its alright to be a consumer in today’s economy such as the crazy wealthy vampire, but don’t let it consume you so much so that you forget all that you are and fall into the horde and become just another faceless nameless being like the zombie just consuming with no end in sight.

Reaction to Vampire Gentlemen and Zombie Beasts

Initially when I began reading this article, my first reaction was, 'why is this guy dissecting the social meanings behind vampires and zombies so much?' But upon finishing the article, he makes some valid points! Vampires have taken the more 'human' role of atrocities. Wanting love, but being unlovable. Attractive, but mysterious. Scary, but human. I think the main point of this article is to show us how our favorite monsters have evolved. Vampires have gone from being a bloodthirsty villain of the night (Nosferatu, Dracula) to a romantic, relatable, chilling, almost-human. (Twilight, Interview with the Vampire) More often than not recently, vampire tales are intertwined into love stories. I think of Twilight, obviously, which was definitely more focused toward the love story than the ugly side of vampires. Sometimes the vampire is even the hero. I like what the author says about the difference between the two undead monsters; 'the vampire incites desire, while the zombie incites fear.' Zombies have become the gory, treacherous, disgusting monsters that we fear in our nightmares. Zombies are scary, vampires are mysterious. Zombies didn't use to be as versatile, though. In earlier years, in Haitian folklore, zombies were used as 'undead slaves'. I find that quite interesting. Verses now, where zombies really represent the fragility of our society; how easily we can become invaded and infected. Zombies are the popular choice to satiate our need for a thrill. I also really love how the author delves into our self-image as society, and relates it to our film. Zombies represent our fear of ageing, and death- or something worse, eternal life in a corrupt body, a powerful metaphor. While vampires depict our desire to look flawless forever, and our fears of being alone. However, I disagree with the correlation between plastic surgery and vampires. Awesome article in my opinion. :)

the new monsters

Landon Matheny

Vampires and Zombies

Today's movies portray sexy vampires and ridiculously disgusting zombies. I feel like that is what the viewers have come to expect. Thanks to an unnamed book saga and movie franchise with vampires, werewolves, and Kristen Stewart, the once monstrous is now acceptable. As for zombies, we can thank "graphic novels" and AMC.

The Walking Dead comics were actually really interesting in my opinion. I was never into the TV show because I guess I am just different. However, the books i liked. I think that the zombie craze has worn itself out and will soon be forgotten. throughout the course of the zombie uprising, there have been many incarnations of the zombie. My personal favorite was the one in the film Warm Bodies. The main character, R, is lovable, likable, and personable. The viewer can understand his mind. He wants to feel, he wants to live, and he wants to not be a zombie. These new zombies with entrails flowing out of their mouths, that are double fisting intestines until they are less hungry for flesh, are great. However, in my opinion, what viewers want is a personality.

I feel like tho opposite goes for the new vampire. The new vampire is mysterious, ominous, and of course, good looking. They have no personality because they aren't really a real person. However, girls will lift their shirts to any guy like that. The vampires today are lifeless, emotionless, cold, broken, basket cases that everyone loves because of their lack of knowledge about them. They are mysterious. Therefore, they are sex symbols.

I can learn to live with the new monsters. However, I'm sure that eventually they will be replaced with yet another breed of monstrosity.

Reaction to The Walking Dead Comic

I, like many others in this class I'm sure, watched The Walking Dead TV series! (Only through season 3) So I was pretty familiar with the characters already when I opened the comic. To be completely honest, I am tired of the zombie franchise, the over done concept has been exhausted by so many movie directors and TV producers it's hard to come across something fresh and different.  Zombies aren't that scary to me, especially how they are depicted in this comic.. Slow, flesh eating, moaning dead people. Personally, I like my monsters to be scary. I know the author makes a statement about this right away, but come on... It's zombies. Give me some thrills. If you've seen the movie World War Z- now those are some scary zombies! None the less The Walking Dead has a great story line, which is what makes it different. I like how the focus isn't really on the zombies, but the characters, their stories and how they survive together. The Walking Dead comic was very interesting to read AFTER watching the show, I expected to see more differences in translating from paper to on-screen, but it is flawlessly similar. I feel like the art work really tied together the over-all tone to the story, it wouldn't have been as successful in conveying Rick's character and attitude without the visuals.

Week 1

Landon Matneny

MACC Fall 2014 Comp.

Mr. Darr

I really enjoyed the different points of view given from the different writers in these articles. My personal favorite was Tarantino's. I feel like he has got the media figured out and understands that there is not a problem with movies or television, but a problem with the media that follows.

In Tarantino's responses he constantly repeats the fact that he is just a film maker. He makes movies for a living. The media should understand that. If there was a problem with comedy in America, I'm sure that the media would look into people like Mel Brooks or Judd Apatow. However, since there isn't aproblem with comedy they look to people like Tarantino as they believe there is a "violence" problem in America. Tarantino makes violent movies, always has. However we cant blame one person for the violence brought on by people that feel like killing others.

As for the LaSalle article, I understand where he comes from. LaSalle talks about the violence that media brings to the table opposed to the movies themselves. I like the point of view he offers and how he points the finger at the media instead of at the cinema itself. I disagree with the fact that LaSalle believes there is a gun problem in America. If guns were a problem, then why are they an issue now? Why didnt the term "gun problem" come up when Bonnie and Clyde made their way across the U.S. wielding Tommy guns, shooting up banks? I believe the answer is because there was no cinema or media to bring about the carnage they brought. In my opinion, we don't have any problems with guns, movies, or media, we have a problem with people.

Manson's point of view doesn't point any fingers anywhere, except for maybe at the parents of the kids that massacre people. He believes that it is the way that a person is brought up that makes them who they are. If they are brought up in a strict home where there are punishments for wrong-doing, those kids probably wont end up shooting up schools, movie theaters, or anywhere. He believes that it is the media that points the finger at people like himself and not the people. The people may listen to the media and base their opinion on what it has to say, but that is the work of the media. America doesn't want to take responsibility for it's actions, and therefore has to direct the blame for these events of figures like Manson.

vampire gentleman and zombie beasts

I found this article very interesting. The article described vampires as "good looking, sophisticated, preserving cultural memory and being fully invested in the past". On the other hand the article describes the zombie as a "mindless, emotionalist corpse un aware of borders". As the vampire has become more civilized and more humanized, the zombie has taken its place on the horror scale. The vampire longs for love and invests in his own business endeavors all while maintaining his cultural beliefs. He knows his borders and doesn't cross the ones he's knows he's not suppose to. All while keeping his unique self.  The zombie however isn't unique, knows no borders, and doesn't know of any borders. All the zombie knows is to eat on flesh and keep eating on flesh, there is no humanization at all. Both "monsters" have evolved into what they are today over time. I think was very interesting how they compared the zombie to humans in a overall capitalist world. We as present day humans are being brain washed into being consumers and helping create more consumers. Pretty soon nobody will be unique. We will forget our past and we will be nothing but consumers trying to do nothing but consume. Like the zombie doing nothing but consuming flesh. The article is very interesting. I think we are headed for a very capitalist world and I hope it doesn't destroy us. We must channel our inter vampire. Stay unique and think for our selves not just consume because everyone else is.

Reaction to "The Walking Dead" comic

In response to The Walking Dead comic.

                I am one of the many people who are obsessed with zombies and anything that has to do with them.  The Walking Dead comic vol. 1 was a very well-illustrated, entertaining comic that kept me engaged the entire time.

                Rick was a police officer that got shot and went into a coma just before a zombie apocalypse occurred. He awoke, very confused, to an abandoned town and no wife or kid at home. I would be very devastated to find my wife and kid missing after waking up from a month long coma. After finding a man and his son that told him everyone had traveled to Atlanta, Rick grabbed some gear and headed off to the city. He was surprised to be unable to find gas (which he could have syphoned from other vehicles). I am not in his situation, nor have I ever been, so I feel I cannot accurately assume what I would do.

                After he found a survivor in the city, who took him to a camp with others, Rick found his wife and kid there. His co-worker had brought them to the city and assured their safety. I saw this as a stretch and in some ways unrealistic but I keep in mind that it is a comic and it makes for an interesting storyline. Rick continues to try and get the camp moved due to safety hazards because they are so close to the city. His co-worker Shane refuses but I agree with Rick that it would be safer further from the city, with the exception of getting supplies.

                This volume ends in Rick’s son shooting Shane to protect Rick, which was an un-expected turn of events for me. I found it to be very interesting and a good way to end the issue. The entire issue was enticing and I look forward to reading more of these interesting comics in the future. 

Reaction to “Vampire Gentlemen and Zombie Beasts”

In response to “Vampire Gentlemen and Zombie Beasts” by Angela Tenga and Elizabeth Zimmerman.

                In this article the author’s had a very interesting discussion about the changes vampires and zombies have occurred over the years and the difference between the two. They also explained the representation of each monster compared to today’s society.

 I thought it was interesting to see the comparison of the vampires from earlier times with the sympathetic vampires of Twilight. Vampires seem to have a less threatening appearance than they did in earlier times. For example, the vampires in The Lost Boys from the 1980’s had a much more intimidating feel but at the same time still had individuality and did not age just as they discussed in the article. I do agree that today’s vampires, like those in Twilight, are a poster for celebrity lifestyles but that is all modern day media. Vampires have gone through a drastic change and are now just a small print in modern day horror movies.

Zombies are now a national phenomenon due to their current status in the horror industry. As they talked about in the article, zombies have taken over vampires place in the horror film genre. They also described that zombies remind us that we’ll soon be rotting flesh. Zombies have taken on many forms throughout the years and everyone has their own take on them. There is a fascination with the zombies, giving people the feel of surviving.

The authors touch on the representation of people and society through these monsters. They discussed that the Twilight vampires live a fantasy life and show a higher social status than those in the past. Today’s vampires’ work is rarely shown but their rewards are capitalized. On the other side, zombies represent the poor man in today’s society. Zombies’ work for feeding and continuing on is focused on but they have no rewards to show for it. Zombies have taken the spotlight for modern day horror films. 

Homework part 2

Article 1:

I believe that Tarantino is in the right about the subject. I feel that its not his blame for the violence in America. I think that just because you watch a violent movie doesn't mean you'll become a violent person. Its the way you are raised that makes you who you are, movies can be a outlet for violence and a escape for some people not a reason to go out and hurt somebody.

Article 2:

In this article Mark LaSalle thinks that media and movies are to blame for all the violence in America and that when a kid watches a violent film they over a period of time will get distant from what is right and wrong and think that violence is the right thing. I think that is not true because as a kid I watched all kinds of movies for entertainment purposes but my parents always reminded me that its not real and its just for entertainment and excitement.

Marilyn Manson:

Marilyn Manson was blamed for the violence in the Columbine shooting because the media needed somebody to point a finger at when they couldn't find a reasonable cause why the kids did it. They couldn't just drop the story and not say why they did it so they pointed a finger at somebody who made "violent" music. I personally do not think that his music made these kids violent he even states that the kids hated his music. My dad when I was growing up would listen to his music and so I would hear it too and I actually enjoyed it and if you look at me now I would have to say it did not influence me in any way. Like Manson stated I think news is to blame in most cases the way they idolize and make the people who do bad things "famous" but its also in human nature to be somewhat violent and you don't have to grow up watching violent movies to become such a person.

Week 1

In the article written by Mark LaSalle, is about the numbing of the outcome of violence in our culture. Kids see a death of a person, their body gored, mangled, and guts everywhere, they become senseless to the entire ordeal. To me i still see a body in the movie as a real life body and still freak out. I can't even see a bird being killed in the 6th Harry Potter movie... But in the article he explains that today's media and movies they glorify the death scene in any movie.

The second article of  Quentin Tarantino he explains that there needs to be a defined line between movie violence and real life violence. Fight scenes in movies are a staple to everyone!! so he believes that there is no real connection to the real life violence and movie magic. I grew up playing playing video games and watching cage fighting through my ATA taekwondo academy and I didn't want to punch or even cause injury. But, some people are easily swayed.

Marylin Manson explains that his music is just music, that he as a single person shouldn't be blamed for the killings at the Columbine Shooting. The two teenagers who did the shooting were really a product of bullying. I was living in Colorado at the time of the shooting too, the state acted amazingly to the crisis. But plastering their faces everywhere. Some shooting that I know of have began as a way to get noticed. 

Article 1 for next week.

response:
 I don't watch any movies about 15 years. I observed my kids watching the movies. It had no effect to them because I educated them that the movies were bullshit. Just for excitement or feel action to do something for fun a bit. I don't hold the movie directors accountable for the violence. It is the parent's responsibility to educate the rights or wrongs.

Article 2 for next week

response:

I believe that the movies don't hold their accountable related to the crimes that we face daily. I hold the media the most accountable for keep the crimes spreading. They expose too much about the crimes which encourage the bad people to get attention or wanna to be "well known" in news or history. If the media don't show the crimes happenings, the crime will cut half or much more.


Marilyn Manson’s “Columbine: Whose Fault is It”

response:

The enterainment was not accountable for this crime. I strongly believe that the parent and media were responsible for either exposure or poor judgement. The parent should notice the signs of trouble that they had. The media gave too much attention so they influence the bad people wannabe to be famous. Suppose that the media doesn't exposure much about crime, it will be much less than we would think.

Violent movies and their effect on American culture

 In an article published to SFgate.com, author and movie critic Mike LaSalle confronts the issue of violence in movies with the claim that these images desensitize and contribute to violence in American society.  He then switches over to blaming critics for this phenomenon, because he feels like they(himself included) should have spoken out and somehow convinced movie makers that showing violence in any film rated underneath "R" was wrong.  I think Mike feels like critics have more control over society and the film industry than they actually do.  People only care about what critics think when they agree, these trends and film in general reflect society moreso than the other way around. 

Tarentino advocates not blaming the film industry for real world violence. His claim is that films reflect society and people do not feel the need to commit violence against actual people just because they saw it.  While there are good points to be made about this, in my opinion he is too dismissive of the effects films can have on people.  He speaks about wanting to reach people and then pretends like his films have no lasting effects.

Our last article, by Marilyn Monroe, provides the most insight into our topic simply because he's not using an interview or article as a sales technique, but is actually contributing to an ongoing discussion. He claims that the attacks by journalists are simply a tactic to distract people from the fact they provide as much violence to the public as anything else.  Monroe also contends that times have not become more violent but our access to individual events has increased.  From my perspective, there is a lot of truth to that.  Its easy to decry violence when it happens against people you sympathize with, but nowhere near as many people bother to address the issue when we're killing Osama Bin Laden in his home, in a foreign country, or when we execute a murderer, or when a war breaks out between other countries. 

Lets not blame any industry or group or law for violence commited by the individual.  Every person is different, everyone reacts to different things.  Lets educate and help people, and see if we can have more of an impact in reducing violence than people who seek to blame and legislate.

Article Response

In the article about Quentin Tarantino I do believe that he has a valid point about separating violence in movies and violence in real life. Quentin believes that violence is a part of his movies as much as another film maker may use comedy. Everyone has their own style. I believe that there is little to no connection between animated violence and real life violence. For example, I grew up watching violent movies and playing violent video games but I want to be a police officer to help better the world. I believe violence is in the person and the media is just something to blame.

In the article written by Mark LaSalle he states that violence is the cause of violence in our society. He says that movies, like anything else, are a part of our culture and children and young adults see images of graphic deaths it desensitizes them to real life violence. He believes that fake violence is creating a culture in which young people turning into adults don't understand the seriousness of violence. He also says that movie critics aren't helping because they will write a good review on a violent movie just because that's the thing to do. Violence is a part of any culture and video games and movies are entertainment. A normal minded person will not get desensitized just from movies.

Marylin Manson makes his view very clear in this article. He was blamed for creating a violent culture of young adults. Manson claims he was just making music and that has nothing to do with turning two teenagers into murderers. Manson blames the media for making violent people "celebrities" by plastering their faces all over the media. They make movies, write articles, and make murderers famous. Manson believes violence is human nature like when Cain killed Abel, there was no movies to blame it on then, just human hate. I believe Manson has a point, human nature is violence, it has been in our history for millennia and movies are just something to blame.