A little late...but worth the wait...or not.

So, due to a week crammed with papers due, I just now gathered up enough time to write my post for the week. I watched Pan's Labyrinth by myself in a dark room right before I went to bed Monday night, and I must say, that was not one of my brightest moments. I had no idea what the movie would be about (other than possibly a labyrinth, haha) and there were definitely moments that I was really scared! The faun was so creepy! And the baby eating man was even worse! I don't think that this is a movie that I would've watched if not for this class, but I'm glad that I did. Overall, I thought it was a very good movie, and I thought that there was a pretty good balance between "real life" and fantasy. I was also quite intrigued by Ofelia's bravery, or stupidity, whichever it happened to be. NO WAY would I have gone down those stairs by myself!

Story wranglers for March 5 class

Jessica, “Fourteen Experiments in Postal Delivery” (Schoffstall)

Jessie, “La Fee Verte” (Sherman)

Casey, “Cup and Table” (Pratt)

Laurie, “Journey into the Kingdom” (Rickert)

Ellie, “The Muldoon” (Hirshberg)

Congratulations to Renee

I just innocently visited the University of Alabama home page, looking for the final exam schedule, and who's smiling out at me but our own Renee Rivas, recently named to the 2008 USA Today All-USA College Academic Team. Congratulations, Renee!

Due date for second paper

The Monday of exam week is May 5, Cinco de Mayo, so the second paper will be due that Monday night at midnight. Sorry I left that off the syllabus; thanks for noticing.

Go sleep now?

Since I was writing my paper on labyrinths, I wanted to wait to read everyone's comments on the film until after I had finished. Preserve my initial assessment type thing. Of course, now that I'm all done and have read the billion comments I never want to write about labyrinths again. Nevertheless, I would like to get the class's opinion on something (something I didn't write about in my paper. Yay!) Unlike, say, the movie Labyrinth with David Bowie, very little of the fantastical action takes place within the garden maze. Ofelia's ordeal with the toad arguably occurs underground, not in a branch of the magical kingdom. In the meantime, what the official Pan's Labyrinth website calls an ogre, a.k.a. the Pale Man exists in an intriguing, yet unspecified location. Basically, I'm used to the monsters staying in the labyrinth and wondered if these creatures were also somehow trapped by the labyrinth's power. I find it somewhat strange to think of a kingdom as idealistic as Princess Moanna's harboring Mr. Creepy Cannibal.
While I'm at it, I also want to note my disappointment regarding the second challenge. For starters, Ofelia accomplished that task for all practical purposes by retrieving the knife. So the faun had no good reason to revoke her birthright. For finishers, why did Ofelia go through that harrowing experience if the blood of the innocent could just as suitably be shed with a gun? I feel the faun is at fault somewhere and hope the king gives him a stern talkin to.

Paper

Ok, because I'm paranoid, I just wanted to get it out there that I just sent my paper (twice). It was sent! Please tell me if it doesn't arrive safely in your inbox...

Chalk Door also in Beetlejuice!

I finally remembered! I kept trying to remember where I had seen the whole 'chalk door into the underworld' thing and it hit me. It was in Beetlejuice! Haha!

Anyway, I thought I'd share my amusement. I'm sure you can find references to it elsewhere. Since it managed to appear in both movies, I wouldn't be surprised if it were a more common magical device (like the mandrake root) that appears not infrequently.