Moretti- Taking on a Different Perspective

     Moretti takes full advantage of an extremely peculiar way of approaching the literature genre. He chooses to use a method of computer science to express the same topics expressed in an ordinary piece through the use of graphs and charts. As you may already be able to tell, there are numerous benefits, as well as drawbacks for this kind of approach.
     The benefits of using this approach is that it can be a major time saver. If you are faced with a very dense novel, or you have a large load of books to digest, rather than take the time to analyze each novel closely to gather information, you could use a graph to take all of said information and summarize it in such a way that not only do you extract the same amount of information, but you also can see patterns and similarities much easier. Also, you may be able to find the exact information that you need through cross referencing multiple novels, forecast future events through the analysis of patterns in the graphs and please a wider audience by using a method familiar to both scientist an writers.
     The drawbacks of using this system is that it is unfamiliar to the public and may not always deliver the same, in depth perspective that one may wish by glancing over key concepts. Also, this way is more unusual in that it relies upon graphs, rather than words, which are a key point in literature.
      A really neat, yet futuristic way of incorporating an interdisciplinary way of combining literature and computer tools would be a program that reads/records the frequency of words within a novel and can produce possible themes, or one that can analyze the personas of the characters within a novel and generate random endings to a story, based upon valid calculations of the characters.
      I think that we could approach SSTLS in other ways, such as through literary critics, peer analysis, the author's biography, other novels by the same author, the time period that it was written in and the fashion, or style, that it is written in.

The Universal Language of Love

    The film, M Butterfly, contains multiple themes that relate not only to its time period, but also to the miraculous transformation that the human soul goes through in its conquest of true love. Gender, ethnicity, politics, art and love are major points that are touched upon by the film unique storyline. These themes help to tie the overall plot of the film together as the bittersweet relationship mutates and entrances the audience. 

     Ethnicity played a major role in the progression of the relationship between the two main characters. In the 1960's, it was not exactly "traditional" for a French diplomat and a Chinese opera singer, as is frequently stated by Song to Rene. She also refers to his western stereotypes of the orient and that he is mistaken if he believes that she will be submissive due to his skin color. Also, because of their conflicting cultures, they are forced to pursue one another in secrecy. This may also be partially due to the fact that this is a marital affair. The famous line "Only a man truly knows how a woman is supposed to act" is echoed nonstop throughout their relationship due to Song being a man imitating the persona of a woman in the stage of life and Rene admitting that he "loved the lie" and that he found a more fulfilling love life with a cross-dressing male, rather than with his biologically correct wife and, ultimately, assume a female identity.

     Rene's love of the Chinese operatic arts cause him to become hypnotized every time he watches Song on stage and is caught in his own web as he creates a fantasy world in which love reigns dominate over reason and morality. This, in combination with Song recommending that he "educate" himself on her traditions, cause him to have an affair with Song and also become easily manipulated by his feelings of her mysticism by overlooking the very important fact that she is a man and is slowly sapping him of governmental Intel. This leads into the world of politics, as not only are Rene's emotions being manipulated, but so are his political powers and resources. Song is stealthily relaying governmental secrets from the French to the Chinese on the status of American troops formations in Vietnam.

     M Butterfly is a phenomenal story of taboo love and betrayal between two people, both living a lie to discover the truth within themselves.

    
     
    t, and love

Technology Reshaping Humanity

     Gary Shteyngart's fiction novel, Super Sad True Love Story, is a very odd and interesting piece of literature. There are a myriad of themes expressed throughout the chapters uniquely displayed in the format of a diary. There is one that I feel has arisen quite a few times through the past dozen pages or so that I have read and it's impact on the characters and plot in question as a whole is becoming more and more apparent. The theme that I focused on is the social media reshaping what it means to be human in this futuristic world.
     Three passages in particular that have supported this certain theme are found within close proximity of one another. The first is a letter to Eunice from her mother and an instant messaging conversation between Sally and Eunice found on pages 72-73. These relate to the theme by allowing technology to modify the interactions between humans in such a way that conversations are done over the internet, rather than in person. This not only makes something that was originally intimate, into something that is impersonal, but it also allows humans to mask their feelings from one another; avoiding conflict altogether by keeping it buried within the recesses of one's heart. such is the case when eunice questions sister about her fathers abuse towards her mother and herself and she either does not respond, or changes the subject.
     Another passage that relates to this theme are the F.A.C applications found on the apparati (pg 88). Meant to "Form A Community", this is a resource used to judge a stranger and determine if they carry the possibility of being a compatible mate. This has totally obliterated the dating scenario by discouraging the pursuit of quality conversations meant to introduce one person to another, by encouraging the browsing of one's profile to produce a set of three scores that ultimately decide whether or not a person is right for you. This not only destroy one's self esteem, but it also takes way from the value of knowing who that person truly is as a person, and not a statistic due to the fact that technology has a difficult time reading emotion and feeling, over numbers and other forms of data.
     One last passage that relates to this particular theme is the fact that an individual's profile is available for viewing on the web. Such is Lenny's case when he is scoped out by women while meeting with Noah and Vishnu. His profile is read by the women in the bar and they feel that through these facts, they gain an entire idea of who he(Lenny) is as a man. This is not only inaccurate, but preposterous, because there is no way to take into account the means as to how those facts came to be, nor can he be accurately portrayed as a individual due to the lack of tone, emotion and justification in the profiles. They are merely numeric figures, that is all.
     These three passages tie into the them that the social media is reshaping what it means to be human because they promote conventional modes of communication, or lack thereof. Humans no longer value quality time with one another without agendas due to the increasing influence of technology and the inflation of the importance of one's social status.