Thursday, May 1, 2008

White Noise Day

Though I thought that WND was a very good experience, I felt like it relied too heavily on a student's ability to use and edit video. Having no prior experience in this field, I felt a bit at a disadvantage compared to others who could produce quality material (in the form of their movie) from their taping.

WNOISE

In the novel there are several instances of back-and-forth dialogue that are absurd in the lack of thought that each character puts into their own statements. I found this in the dialogue on page twenty-eight (What do you want to do?...whatever you want to do...I want to do whatever's best for you...what's best for me is to please you...etc). These dialogues definitely satirize the abruptness and lack of depth in social interactions, and I think they do so very affectively.

WN

"Society is set up in such a way that it's the poor and the uneducated who suffer the main impact of natural and man-made disasters" (115) is a quote that I found particularly interesting. It is a quote that, though no one would ever admit it, many people do actually believe in. I think this say-what-most-people-only-think satire is extremely effective and sharp.

Delillo sees the future

Just like we said in class that Delillo's writings on the overabundance of information in society- before the internet was even invented- were almost prophetic, I also think that he was way ahead of his time in terms of writing about pollution. His phrase about the "toxic cloud," "this was a death made in the laboratory" (127) is particularly prophetic, as global warming and other environmental problems have been directly caused by human's use of chemicals invented in labs.

White Noise

Though I did enjoy reading White Noise, some parts of it were frustrating to read. I was particularly frustrated during the sections of the book in which the subject matter was Babette's pill usage. Each time a character asked Babette if she was taking pills, the conversation somehow moved to a very different topic. These digressions were frustrating as a reader, as I just wanted to know whether or not she was taking pills.

my last post

I just thought I would comment on today's in-class writing assignment.  I agreed with Neitszche's statement about conflict arising from the juxtaposition of chaos and order in the plot and also the contrasting themes throughout the novel, particularly those regarding death.

wn

I really liked the book for all its intricacies.  I can't say that it was my favorite in terms of plot, but the endless contradictions and switching back and forth between chaos and order were very interesting.

typical family?

i was reading a discussion guide about white noise and one of the questions that was asked was do you think jack and babette's family is a "typical american family" and, if not, how are they unusual or unique. i thought that jack and babette have a very typical american family in the present day sense that everybody has problems and these days, it's almost unusual to NOT have some sort of merged family. so, in that sense, i think that jack belongs to a very typical family and i also think that that might contribute somewhat to his need to seem better than he is and not quite so average.
-Bonnie

plot+narration

another thing i thought was really intriguing was how the narration paralleled the plot of the novel in that both were somewhat random and erratic. when the plot was rambling (like in the beginning with the line of station wagons going on for miles)the narration did too, describing all the things that kids were taking out of the cars, etc. 
-Bonnie

how jack presents himself

i think one of the really interesting things about white noise was how jack tried to present himself and make himself worthy of such weighty subject matter as he teaches.  for example, he adds initials to seem more academic  and revels in the formal clothing that the professors wear at college on the hill. without frivolous clothing to enhance his image, jack just seems like a normal person rather than an important professor. i think this realization greatly influences how jack acts throughout the novel.
-Bonnie 

English Class

Hello,
I am in english class. Right now. We are about to write about White Noise, but I'm disappointed because this prompt is about White Noise, not my favorite topic, White Noise Day. However, White Noise Day got me so excited about the book in general that I am still mildly excited.
Thanks,
Charlie

What I learned from White Noise Day

School teaches students to prepare. But, under the spotlight, many students have not yet been taught how to improvise and think on their feet. This was revealed by students who were overwhelmed and unable to answer on the spot interviews. It was really interesting to find out.
Thanks,
Charlie
ps
from charlie

Welcome!

Glad to see so many of you here! I wonder if White Noise Day will ever work again, or if it will always lack spontaneity after this year.
I loved white noise day so much!!! Everyone was so interested in other people's quotes!! They all really took time to interpret the material in different ways and look into it really deeply. It was a great final project because it allowed us to get out of the class room and we were able to be interactive with others in the process. My quote was " May the days be aimless. Let the seasons drift. Do not advance he action according to a plan (98). I love this quote because it really encaptures how a lot of people see life and live life. I personally think it's important to live every day as it comes and not have to plan everything.

white noise day in general

although i wasn't here on the actual White Noise day, i definitely still felt how people felt about it- mainly, their hesitation to be on video. many people had already been asked for quotes several times and were therefore reluctant to give me an answer. once they did, however, most of the responses were thoughtful and insightful.
I liked the idea of white noise day as a senior project because of its more interactive nature, rather than just taking a test or writing a paper. i think white noise day should definitely be kept as the senior project.
-Bonnie

white noise day video results

"How much could one word matter?"

When I asked my interview subjects this question for the White Noise day video, a lot of them had the same reaction: that it actually matters a lot. A word can be the difference between a yes and no, or it can turn a hurtful statement into a helpful one. Only one person said that one word doesn't make much of a difference because another word can always be used to combat it.
I thought it was interesting that almost everybody had the same basic answer but all of their examples and logic were different.
-Bonnie