Don

Mar 292019
 

We all know the basic overview of what Pocahontas is all about. The real Pocahontas was married off to a colonizer when she was around the age of fourteen. She then trotted around as a “savage” until she got sick and died. Her culture and relatives all were killed off. However, the Disney production we all have come to know and love kind of fluffed the movie out quite a bit. It downplays the actual historical relevance that it is and gives off this false sense of reality. Pocahontas is a brutal and sad story, and Disney seems to downplay it and tries to falsify what actually happened.

Magical Realism (Subject-POS)

 Posted by on Wed, 2/20 at 11:30am  subject-POS  No Responses »
Feb 202019
 

SUB: Incorporation of Myth

POS:   Pretty much anything can and does happen in myths.On top of that, myths are also collective stories of a given people. For Latin American writers,  incorporating myth into their work is one form of political critique. They have helped form collective identities stronger than political categories and affiliations.

SUB: Time Looping Backwards instead of Forward

POS: To keep up with the theme of Magical Realism, that everything isn’t what it seems.

SUB: Hybridity

POS: Magic Realism is all about mixing things up: the fantastic with the mundane, the ordinary with the extraordinary, dream life with waking life, reality and unreality.

Feb 132019
 

In literature, magical realism  is a style of fiction that paints a realistic view of the modern world while also adding magical elementsIt is often called fabulism, as it often uses fables, myths and legends. The term is most often used to refer to fiction or literature. One artist of this genre describes it as “what happens when a highly detailed, realistic setting is invaded by something too strange to believe”. This genre stems from Latin American literature and the characters within the genre go through a completely different perspective from what any other person would call “objective”. 

Feb 062019
 
  1. What content is typically included or excluded? How is the content treated? What sorts of examples are used? What counts as evidence (personal testimony, facts, etc.)?

Usually the content included within magical realism is matter of fact narrative, myths, and stuff of that nature. Usually magical realism utilizes real life settings. Some examples of magical realism includes the use of anthropomorphic tendencies to non human entities.

  1. What rhetorical appeals are used? What appeals to logos, pathos, and ethos appear?

I do not believe rhetorical appeals are often used in magical realism, however I believe that pathos would me the most prevalent in the genre.

  1. How are texts in the genres structured? What are their parts, and how are they organized?

The texts within magical realism are structured no differently than other pieces of fiction. But most of the texts are spoken from the narrator.

  1. In what format are texts of this genre presented? What layout or appearance is common? How long/big is a typical text in this genre?

The layout is common as any other genre, however in this genre, metaphors are treated as reality. Readers learn that they aren’t completely ready to understand the situation, that what they thought was knew is found to be strange, as it has something entirely unexpected to teach us.

  1. What types of “sentences” do texts in the genre typically use? How long are they? Are they simple or complex, passive or active? Are the sentences varied? Do they share a certain style?

The type of sentences used within this texts are usually complex and vivid, so that the author feel like whatever they are reading is actually true.

  1. What diction is most common? What types of words (or symbols, images, etc.) are most frequent? Is a type of jargon used? Is slang used? How would you describe a typical writer’s tone?

Metaphors are usually the most common and frequent among this genre.

 

Analyze What These Patterns Reveal About the Situation and Scene

  1. What do these patterns reveal about the genre, its situation, and the people who use it?

These patterns reveal that magical realism utilizes an aura of magical elements that cannot be explained. And description that stresses normal everyday circumstances. Other-worldly states of mind are often used to achieve this.

  • What do participants have to know or believe to understand or appreciate the genre?

Participants have to believe whatever they’re reading is fact, in order to become more invested into the text. I would also say that they must have a vivid imagination.

  • Who is invited into the genre, and who is excluded??

No one is excluded from this genre.

  • What roles for writers and readers does it encourage or discourage?

The roles of the writer encourages the use of vivid description and compels the reader to believe in myths, legends, and things of that nature.

  1. What can you learn about the actions being performed through the genre by observing its language patterns?

The actions of this genre usually goes out of its way to make sure that the reader is compelled to believe whatever they’re reading is a part of the real life story setting.

  • How is the subject of the genre treated? What content is considered most important? What content (topics or details) is ignored?

No content is ignored and the content that is considered the most important is the magical elements of the text itself, as many readers and people in general confuse magical realism for something else, such as fantasy.

  • What values, beliefs, goals, and assumptions are revealed through the genre’s patterns?

The beliefs of old myths and legends are usually revealed within the genre’s patterns.

  • What actions does the genre enable? What actions does the genre constrain??

The actions the genre enables is usually that anything is possible, whatever your reading has to be true, even if it sounds like complete nonsense.

 

Feb 032019
 

My tentative “underappreciated” genre is magical realism. The most interesting thing about this genre is how it adds magical elements to real life stories. It’s significant because it’s a very interesting genre that has rather distinct aspects to it. Magical realism can be best defined as a literary style or genre that is closely associated with Latin America that incorporates mythical elements in realistic fiction. This genre as stated before was usually seen by older Latin American writers, and has its ties to movements such as Realism. It is used by adding fictional and mythical elements to a life like story, for example in the movie Sky High, one of the characters has the ability to turn into a small furry hamster. This genre interacts closely with fantasy, drama and romance genres. This genre usually is associated with the issue of trying to find true love, or trying to distort reality. Or it may be as simple as fantasizing about something. Shakespeare incorporates this into a lot of his plays such as the Tempest and to a lesser extent A Midsummer’s Night Dream. This genre really embraces the irrational aspect of life. Writers of this genre must create this world of a children’s fantasy but keeping it as real as possible as well. Characteristics of  this genre that writers must possess is a belief in myths, hybrid and much more. Multiple writers of this genre isn’t impossible but it is not common. Most magical realism is usually falls under novels or short stories. There aren’t really any specific consumers of this genre. I think anyone can read this sort of genre under any circumstance, however one characteristic I believe that readers must possess is a very active imagination and a belief in a myth or two. I think writers write in this genre due to their reading history and partly they’re trying intuitive ways to entertain their readers. I think readers read magical realism because they’re trying to go to a different place if you will, actually get in the book if you will. Which is one of the main reasons people read to begin with. I think this genre fulfills the individuals with a very active and fun imagination.