I just wanted to point everyone to the Being Charlie Kaufman site that has two earlier drafts of the Adaptation script. One has a Swamp Ape as its deus ex machina! Enjoy…
Some links of note
If you’re interested in reading more about Dennis Potter and how his own life fits into The Singing Detective, there’s a wealth of information on the official Dennis Potter site, as well as his Wikipedia page. And here’s an interesting site analyzing the series in light of Potter’s work.
And if you want to read more from David Bordwell on narration, his blog (which he co-authors with his wife & collaborator Kristin Thompson) is quite excellent. Some posts of relevance: on subjective narration, and on technology & storytelling.
Narrative Wiki
I’ve kept meaning to link to this, the TV Tropes Wiki. It’s not just for TV, but also film, animation, videogames, etc. Basically, it’s a compendium of techniques, conventions, plot devices, structures, and anything else that can be catalogued about how media tell stories. And as a wiki, you can add your own examples and ideas throughout! It might be helpful for you as you look for examples & ideas for your final papers.
Warning: might suck up hours of your life, so surf cautiously…
Interesting links on Memento
Forgot to post these last week. First, a good analysis of the film from shortly after its release that tries to parse out the narrative logic.
Second, a nice remix video from the film, edited by Tim Leavitt, a recent FMMC grad:
[youtube KV3wTxhuSzc]
Research Paper Assignment
Here’s the assignment for your research papers. Post any questions about it in the comments…
Discussion Leaders
Here are the scheduled leaders for discussion – sorry I couldn’t give everyone your choices:
Week 3: Week of Sept. 22 – Character
Kyle & Jared
Week 4: Week of Sept. 29 – Narrative Comprehension & Cognition
Allen & James
Week 5: Week of Oct. 6 – Narrative Temporality and Spatiality
Alex & Luisa (1/2 week)
Week 6: Week of Oct. 13 (No class 10/14) – Focalization & Point of View
Alex & Luisa (1/2 week)
Week 7: Week of Oct. 20 – Narration & Voice-Over
David & JJ
Week 8: Week of Oct. 27 – Authorship
Nick & Waylon
Week 9: Week of Nov. 3 – Classical vs. Art-Cinema Narration
Brett & Charlie
Week 10: Week of Nov. 10 – Experimental Modes of Narration
Jason & Leslie
Week 11: Week of Nov. 17 – Television & Serial Form
Scott & Ioana
Week 12: Week of Nov. 24– New Media Narratives
Aaron (1/2 week)
Week 13: Week of Dec. 1 – Videogame Narrative Logics
Matt & Andrew
How to read
Last week, a number of you complained about the density factor in the chapters from Herman’s book. Hopefully subsequent readings will be easier to comprehend, but certainly we’ll be reading a fair amount of tough stuff throughout the semester – it is your “capstone” major course, after all!
As a helpful tool for reading academic books and articles, I highly recommend “How to Read a Book,” a brief strategy for comprehending advanced non-fiction written by University of Michigan professor Paul Edwards. Even if you can’t adopt all of his strategies, there should be some tips that will help out. Good luck & happy reading!
Welcome to the class
This class blog will aggregate discussion for the Fall 2008 seminar, Narration Across Media. Enjoy!