This week begins with a quiz and then the students continue to watch Big Fish. I made it clear that there are two forms of Postmodernism alive in Big Fish: metafiction and magical realism. The example of metafiction is that there are stories within stories: there are a number of different storytellers in this movie, non more prevalent than the father; yet while the father tells a number of "big fish" stories, there are characters commenting, analyzing, and reinterpreting these stories for their own purposes. So remember: metafiction is, generally speaking, when a story is told within another story.
The other element is magical realism, a concept that is easier to pin down. The examples in this movie are the giant, as well as the field of daffodils that Ed Bloom plants for his love so that he can win her love: remember with magical realism you have to pay attention to both words--not just the magic. Ed's planting of a field of daffodils outside his love's home is fantastical, but in this world, it is not impossible: it does not break reality for the characters. A Day and B Day will be spent reviewing the novel, from the chapter "Love" - "Friends" on A Day, and then "How To Tell A True War Story" on B Day. On Friday, a speaker, Dick Irvine, will come in to speak about his experience in Vietnam. Dick has been with MGSH for a long time and his stories often put into sharp perspective the vitality and terror of life at war. |
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