Week Eight

Week 8

According to McKnee, what relationship did Dick’s ideas have to (a) Christianity (b) religion and philosophy in general?

From what I can comprehend from McKnee (2004), he tells of Dick’s work and life being all centrally involved with religion and philosophy. Most of his novels have a higher or powerful being in them, for example the I Ching in The man in the High Castle. McKnee (2004) quotes Dick’s wife Tessa about her opinion of Dick’s religious beliefs “I remember quite clearly that Phil always expressed a belief in Christ. I am tired of people proclaiming that because his religious beliefs were strange, he could not possibly be a Christian” (p.32). So I get the impression from Dick’s Wife and also from McKnee that it was a wild debate over what his religious views were.

In Dick’s ‘Exegesis’ entries he changes his religious and philosophy beliefs and opinions frequently. As his views go from one extreme to another it is hard to determine what he does believe in or not or if he was just in some drug hazed state at the time. McKnee (2004) reveals that Dick’s strong views extended to what people thought of his own work. If he did not agree with them then you did not want to be on his bad side as “his disapproval was extreme” (p.24).

I also found this quote in Wikipedia from Dick's former wife Tessa regarding the substance Ubik created in the Dick novel Ubik - "Ubik is a metaphor for God. Ubik is all-powerful and all-knowing, and Ubik is everywhere. The spray can is only a form that Ubik takes to make it easy for people to understand it and use it. It is not the substance inside the can that helps them, but rather their faith in the promise that it will help them”. So it is apparent that religion is interpreted through Dick’s work.

McKnee (2004) states that “many literary scholars who have studied Dick’s work describe his religious writing as ‘Gnostic’ “(p.27). Collins Dictionary (2010) describes this as “Gnosticism – Religious movement believing in intuitive spiritual knowledge” (p.254). And in Dick’s novel ‘VALIS’ it is said by Wikipedia to be a ‘gnostic vision’ of one aspect of God, so these are just some examples of apparent Gnostic views in Dick’s work.

In regards to Dick’s philosophy you can see examples of this through his novel ‘Do androids dream of electric sheep’ which looks at what it means to be human. And McKnee (2004) looks at the examples in Dick’s ‘Exegesis’ of exploring the concepts of ying-yang – good vs. evil. But as McKnee (2004) ends his view on Dick’s religious views he states “The God that Dick believed in was the Christian God, and it was Christianity to which his theories ultimately returned” (p.44).

References:

Collins English Dictionary (4^th ed.). (2010). Glasgow, UK: Collins

McKee, G. (2004). A Scanner Darkly: Dick as a Christian theologian. Pink Beams of Light from the God in the Gutter: the science fictional religion of Philip K. Dick. New York, USA: U Press of America

Ubik. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved October 8, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubik

VALIS. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved October 8, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VALIS

week 9 ✿

Wilcox and Lavery (2002) identify 9 defining characteristics of ‘quality TV’ – can you apply any of these to other television series that you have viewed recently?

I have been watching ‘Lost’ in the past few weeks and I loved it. One of the nine characteristics of quality TV identified in Wilcox and Lavery (2002) could be applied to Lost. It is the Quality TV aspires toward “realism”. In the ‘Lost’, the plane crashed and some people managed to survive on an island. The island is isolated and the survivors need to find their own food and water which is the most important thing to life. However, in now days most people don't know how to survive in the wild. The show is realistic and close to us, it shows what would happen if we are alone on an isolated island and how to find food and water.

In my point of view, another characteristic that could be added to the list is humorous. So TV show may not related to literature or towards realism but it simple makes your happy. If a show can makes you laugh and help you to relax it should be a great show. For example The Big Bang Theory, the story is not realistic but it make me laugh and every time I watch it, it makes me feel relaxed.

Reference:

Wilcox,R. & Lacery, D.(2002). Introduction, in R. Wilcox & D. Lavery (eds) Fighting the forces: what`s at stake in buffy the vampire slayer. Lanham: Rowman and littlefield.

week 7 ✿

What is the difference in emphasis between the terms science fiction and speculative fiction? Which is The Man in the High Castle?

Science fiction is a story that didn't happen but the writer pretend it will happen or already happened. It tells a story that is possible to happen. It usually avoids events that will make readers doubt about the story or explains those events with a plausible reason. Science fiction is all about imagination, the writer came up with an idea of what the future would be and write a story on it. The idea must be plausible in order to get the readers’ interests. Everything in a science fiction will be explained with a plausible scientific reason.

Speculative fiction can be a collective term to describe works of science fiction and also addresses works that are not science fiction. Speculative fiction includes everything with supernatural, fantastical, or futuristic elements, including science fiction and fantasy.

The Man in the High Castle is science fiction; it changed the history and made up the story based on imagination. It started the story in 1933 when the president of United States was assassinated and continued the story by creating new characters and altered the history. And it was expected that the story already happened and it came up some ideas to make it possible to been happened.


Reference:

Brown,E.(2001).Introduction.In Dick, P.K., The Man in the High Castle (p.v -xii). London:Penguin

Week 10

In what way is Buffy influenced by the romantic gothic tradition? Yet how does Buffy also provide a contemporary critique of this tradition?

Buffy has been influenced by the romantic gothic ideology and it also provides a critique of this tradition. Rose (2002, p. 133) states that “Buffy adopts and adapts many romantic gothic conventions”. Buffy conveys romantic ideology in new contexts as well as new terms. Traditionally it is seen that literary romanticism is expressed by showing admiration for a male or admiration for a female and a typical storyline showing that the hero struggles while competing or dealing with the opposing forces or the villains. As Rose (2002), explains that these opposing forces are conflicting pulls of social VS antisocial, emotion VS intellectual and most importantly or in Buffy’s case nature vs technology, though emotion VS intellect also applies to Buffy in a greater sense.

Buffy who is a female hero creates a feminine narrative in itself and introduces a misunderstood romantic hero. In Buffy the importance of science and technology is taken for granted and then adding the whole idea of military and its potential is also used as a subject.

In Buffy the site where the science experiments are carried out is actually a secret military operation.Then the story has a twist to it when Buffy becomes more involved in the good and handsome guy, Riley Finn, who is professor Meggie’s teaching assistant. Rose (2002), states that the romantic ideology in Buffy lies within itself. Rose (2002, p.138), asserts that “Romantic ideology suggested that answers were found within and the individual took on primary importance”. Rose (2002), also writes that Buffy the rewrite of Shelly’s story also involves reimagining of the Romantic hero.

Rose, A (2002) Of creatures and creators: Buffy does Frankenstein, in R.Wilcox &D. Lavery (eds) Fighting the forces: what’s at stake in Buffy the vampire slayer. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer and the Romantic Gothic. AUT Screening: Buffy The Vampire Slayer: ‘The battle between good and evil’

week 8

Week 8. Research the number of the films that have been adapted from Philip K. Dick novels or short stories. Which have generally been acclaimed as the most successful? Why?

I have looked at online, there are lists of the films I have found are adapted from Philip K. Dick novels or short stories.

Completed Films                          
Blade Runner  (1982)
Based on "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"
Screamers  (1995)
Based on "Second Variety"
Total Recall  (1990)
Based on "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale"
Confessions d'un Barjo  (French, 1992)
Based on "Confessions of a Crap Artist"
Impostor  (2001)
Based on "Impostor."
Minority Report  (2002)
Based on "The Minority Report."
Paycheck   (December 25, 2003)
based on "Paycheck."
A Scanner Darkly  (July 7, 2006)
Based on "A Scanner Darkly"
Next (April 27, 2007)
Based on "The Golden Man"

And there two films are processing

Films in Production
The Adjustment Bureau  (coming 2010)
Based on "The Adjustment Team"
King of the Elves  (coming 2012)
Based on "King of the Elves"

Through all these films, I found “Blade Runner” is been acclaimed as the most successful one of his works.  Firstly, it’s the first film is been adapted from his novels.

The film “Blade Runner” despite major departures from the original work, Ridley Scott takes a deeply Dick approach.

 In the novel, the world has been confused, everything is not general, and people have lost their humanities they even have colder blood than nonhuman group. What’s sort of the world is it? The world is sick. I think that’s the world look like in Dick’s eyes, some human are even worse than a special group of human. However, in Ridley’s film, there is a background with cement and steel, black misty, dark areas, abandoned houses and no ended rains, these are factors of the end of world.  The world in Ridley’s movie is same as the world in Dick’s novels, there is no belief, no socialism, people who live under are dispirited and loss their target and they only live like mediocrity.                 

 The scenes in the film is gorgeous, it gives viewers a very strong impact. It is not the best Philip K. Dick adaptation, but also one of the finest ever mad.  Dick said Blade Runner has enormous impact in the future, whatever in the public or to people who are among in creating their works. Even though, the film was not very successful, but in later provoked a strong reaction. In the film, it’s not just a dark sort of fantasy story, it’s more about the full intend and philosophy of human nature and the scrip of itself.

Reference

http://blog.moviefone.com/2011/03/04/best-philip-k-dick-movies/

Week 8

Week8
How does Dick’s essay (1995) illuminate his use of Nazism as a motif in High Castle?



In his essay, Dick points out that Nazi Germans who has fear as we do (1995) and he further gives an example of one of his Nazi friend’s fear of Jews. It can be seen that Nazi’s phobia is profound and appalling, but, the power behind this fear is lethal. In his work, “The Man in The High Castle”, he exaggerates the power of Nazis’ fear. This great destructive power from the fear urged German Nazis won the World War II and destroyed the whole Africa. They expelled and killed the people they thought were dangerous to them. However, I think they were not satisfied, because although they temporally eliminate Jews, they could not dispel the fear from deep inside, because they would be afraid of the force of revenge and the guiltiness of their tyranny and cruelty can also bring them a convulsion.



In his essay, Dick also mentions that the more dreadful thing is that the Jews who are the victims of the Nazism drove Arabs and saluted to Nazis. From these statements we can see that Nazism is not simply a description of Nazi itself; it is the dark shadow of those Jews who also discriminate other races. Therefore, in the Man in the high, just like Nazis racial police, Childan who also trade different customer with different attitudes. Dick tended to extend Nazism’s influence on Americans or non-Nazis. I think he probably also points out this is common dark side in human. Maybe his wish is just like he mentioned at the end of his essay “may the peace and love of god be with you. Germans included and Please Jews too.” (Dick, 1995, p.117)



Dick, P.K. (1995). Nazism and the High Castle. In Sutin, L.(Ed.), The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick (pp.112-117). New York: Vintage.

Week 9

Hills (2004) lists a number of defining characteristics of cult TV that contain similarities to the defining characteristics of pop genres (e.g. fantasy, science fiction) discussed earlier in the Pop Genres paper. Can you identify these and discuss why you think that these characteristics are repeatedly viewed as underpinning popular genres.

Firstly, Hills (2004), defines Cult TV as textual analysis and states that It is dependant on texts. Cult TV is also thought to be the best group as text hailing from genres such as Science Fiction, fantasy and horror. Secondly, Cult TV is defined through secondary texts or inter-texts and depends on inter-texts (Hills, 2004)

According to Fiske (1991, as cited in Hills, 2004p. 509) “secondary texts such as criticism or publicity, work to promote the circulation of selected meanings of the primary text”. Fiske (1991 as cited in Hills, 2004) also states that secondary texts also influence television’s meanings. Hills (2004), stats that the term ‘Cult’ circulates through media culture. Hills (2004, p. 510), also explains that “the definition is basically tautological, ‘Cult TV’ is what is labelled cult TV in journalistic coverage or publicity”. Hills (2004) affirms that Cult TV is not a mater of programmes or secondary texts which associate the meaning to ‘Cult’ or attach this label to certain programmes.

Hills (2004), also defines Cult TV as being dependent on fan activities, that is to say fans of Cult TV express their suggestions which arises cult’s status similarly through audience’s passion for TV show. This shows that the popularity of Cult TV is developed by fans and not by media producers. Cult TV is dependent on texts. “Cult TV is characterised by a number of shared textual attributes”(Hills, 2004, p. 511). Containing fantastic, narrative worlds which basically transcends what we learn onscreen, hence Cult TV represents narrative worlds.

The fantastic nature of these world shown through Cult TV is also significant. As Hills (2004), asserts that a fantasized world is shown in for example the “Buffyverse” the wish lead to scenarios leading to science fiction and vampires which are a kind of demon in the narrative world of “Doctor Who”. Science fiction, fantasy, horror are different varieties of Cult TV defining and developing fantastic beings and shows worlds over a long period of time and in detail. Fantastic worlds and extraordinary features are what Cult TV appeals to its audience overtime (Hills, 2004).

Cult TV makes fantastic world appear normal and narrative structure, but due to audiences preference Cult TV has become entirely familiar to its audience and is highly appreciated but the audience. Hills (2004), also explains that Cult TV emphasises on fantasy and fanatical world with its own narrative rules and does not slip off to parody, Cult TV also represents non-sexualised characters. In terms of relationship it shows primary relationship within close knit community for example the Scooby Gang in Buffy. Hills (2004), states that in contrast, Cult TV focuses on defining narratives or puzzle that is related to fantastic narrative world. All these explanations of Cult TV closely relate to and share the qualities of fantastic hyperdiegesis, hence, these features are highly appreciated by the audience and these characteristics are repeatedly viewed as underpinning popular genres due to its popularity and similarities that define characteristics of popular genres.

Reference:

Hills, M. (2004). Defining Cult TV; Texts, Inter-texts and Fan Audiences, The Television Studies Reader, in R. C. Allen & A. Hill. London and New York: Routledge.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer and the Romantic Gothic. AUT Screening: Buffy The Vampire Slayer: ‘The battle between good and evil’