Emily Wiemken
Analytical and Persuasive Writing
Prof. Robinson
Annotation
Annotation for Vogler’s “The Writer’s Journey/Stories Are Alive”
In the writer’s journey, Vogler summarizes the journey writers and audiences go through in a story. He explains that this isn’t just a journey through stories, but a journey throughout life as well. “The boundaries of space and time and even the limitations of death can be transcended (239)”. Vogler then goes on to explain how Disney came to remaking and reanimating old stories from The Brothers Grimm and Perrault. He explains how he got to examine the same story from many different cultures, and examining the inner and the outer journey the hero goes through. He then talked about Rumpelstilskin and how powerful the element of wishing is to a story claiming it gives the story a strong “throughline…organizing the forces in and around the hero to achieve a clear goal” (304). Also sometimes the hero wishes for something he or she really wants at the moment, but the journey they go through forces the hero to look beyond to what he or she really needs. It is also important to think about what the audience wishes for in a story. In the end, the wishes of the audience usually are granted and achieved by struggle, overcoming obstacles, and by reconsidering them. Willing is quite different from wishing. While a wish can evaporate at the first setback, the will endures. The will is a wish that is concentrated and focused into a firm intention to achieve a goal step by step, that becomes more and more resilient and accustomed to conflict and opposition.
I thought this final Vogler was very interesting, especially the aspect of wishing and willing, and feeling unsatisfied at the end. When the hero receives awards proportionate to his struggle, and the villain receives his appropriate fate depending on what heinous crime he or she committed. If the lessons and punishments don’t add up to what we expect or wish for, then we leave feeling unsatisfied. Thinking about it, I feel this must be very tricky for a writer to do. They want to keep the audience on their toes, but can’t deviate too far from what they expect or the audience wont enjoy it as much.
1. Are there any movies you can think of that didn’t satisfy because you feel the hero or villain didn’t get what they deserved? Which and why?
2. Is there another popular fairy tale where wishing is a major underlying principle?
3. Do you personally think the story needs to start out with wishing to set a tone, or do you feel most stories tend to satisfy without wishing?
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
Project Plan
Reflection and Action
Rhetorical Analysis: Song: American Girl by Estelle, Movie: Borat, Image: ?!, Book: ?!!?
DO: figure out what to use as a visual and a book.
Interviews: Interview Lila about her trip to Israel. Talk about how impressions of the country is actually different from how it really is.
Volunteering: Volunteer at the YMCA. Ask kids what they think about other countries based on TV shows and movies. November 23.
From my rhetorical analysis' I chose the movie and and song that I did, because both provided a different interpretation and impression about the people of a different culture.
From the interview I expect to gain some first hand knowledge of someone's experience when they went to a foreign country that I've never been to, and about a place that has a lot of different stigma's surrounding it.
Rhetorical Analysis: Song: American Girl by Estelle, Movie: Borat, Image: ?!, Book: ?!!?
DO: figure out what to use as a visual and a book.
Interviews: Interview Lila about her trip to Israel. Talk about how impressions of the country is actually different from how it really is.
Volunteering: Volunteer at the YMCA. Ask kids what they think about other countries based on TV shows and movies. November 23.
From my rhetorical analysis' I chose the movie and and song that I did, because both provided a different interpretation and impression about the people of a different culture.
From the interview I expect to gain some first hand knowledge of someone's experience when they went to a foreign country that I've never been to, and about a place that has a lot of different stigma's surrounding it.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Emily Wiemken
Analytical and Persuasive Writing
Prof. Robinson
Annotation
Annotation for Vogler’s “Resurrection/Return with the Elixir”
The resurrection as Vogler explains it, is the villain’s last ditch attempt to return and foil the hero. This is when all that the Hero has learned comes in to play to finally vanquish the villain once and for all. Vogler related this to a smoker trying to quit. The smoker does good for a while, he has resisted all the initial temptations, but there has to be a final closing of the time when he smoked for good. One last final temptation that the smoker has to get through to where he can finally feel rid of the desire to smoke ever again. For the hero, this is like going through a final purging and purification before they reenter the ordinary world. Writers have to show a change in the Hero before and after this stage. Vogler also relates this stage as the final exam in a class. The Ordeal in the case is considered as the midterm. After the hero gets through the Resurrection, there should be a sense of closure, of starting a new life. Sometimes the hero will actually return with an elixir that they bring back for the ordinary world. This is in a sense the “unknotting” of a story, where all the loose ends are tied together and all the questions are answered. There are two common endings present in a story. In the Circular story form, the story tends to go full circle back to the beginning where it might restate a line of dialogue or show and image to show how much the hero has grown and provide a contrast which helps the story feel complete. The other type of story is the Open-ended story form which some story tellers prefer because it tends to leave some of the unanswered moral questions up to the audience. They end by posing new questions that resonate with the audience long after the movie and often tends to turn up in arguments over coffee or in the office.
I enjoyed this section of Vogler and thought it was interesting how he said that the closed endings were more preferred in our western culture, and open ended endings where more preferred in European cinema. He said that Hollywood films are often criticized for their unrealistic fairy tale endings leaving the audience undisturbed so they don’t have to think about it after. Europeans tend to enjoy the sophisticated, realistic, and ambiguous edge that open ended stories often bring to the table.
1. Are there any stories that you feel end too abruptly and if so, why do you think that is?
2. What type of ending do you prefer in a story and why?
3. Do you feel there is a need for an epilogue? Why or why not?
Analytical and Persuasive Writing
Prof. Robinson
Annotation
Annotation for Vogler’s “Resurrection/Return with the Elixir”
The resurrection as Vogler explains it, is the villain’s last ditch attempt to return and foil the hero. This is when all that the Hero has learned comes in to play to finally vanquish the villain once and for all. Vogler related this to a smoker trying to quit. The smoker does good for a while, he has resisted all the initial temptations, but there has to be a final closing of the time when he smoked for good. One last final temptation that the smoker has to get through to where he can finally feel rid of the desire to smoke ever again. For the hero, this is like going through a final purging and purification before they reenter the ordinary world. Writers have to show a change in the Hero before and after this stage. Vogler also relates this stage as the final exam in a class. The Ordeal in the case is considered as the midterm. After the hero gets through the Resurrection, there should be a sense of closure, of starting a new life. Sometimes the hero will actually return with an elixir that they bring back for the ordinary world. This is in a sense the “unknotting” of a story, where all the loose ends are tied together and all the questions are answered. There are two common endings present in a story. In the Circular story form, the story tends to go full circle back to the beginning where it might restate a line of dialogue or show and image to show how much the hero has grown and provide a contrast which helps the story feel complete. The other type of story is the Open-ended story form which some story tellers prefer because it tends to leave some of the unanswered moral questions up to the audience. They end by posing new questions that resonate with the audience long after the movie and often tends to turn up in arguments over coffee or in the office.
I enjoyed this section of Vogler and thought it was interesting how he said that the closed endings were more preferred in our western culture, and open ended endings where more preferred in European cinema. He said that Hollywood films are often criticized for their unrealistic fairy tale endings leaving the audience undisturbed so they don’t have to think about it after. Europeans tend to enjoy the sophisticated, realistic, and ambiguous edge that open ended stories often bring to the table.
1. Are there any stories that you feel end too abruptly and if so, why do you think that is?
2. What type of ending do you prefer in a story and why?
3. Do you feel there is a need for an epilogue? Why or why not?
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