Graphic Novel - Interview With a Vampire

I forgot to post my version of a graphic novel for a scene of Interview with a Vampire. This is the scene where Lestat and Louis travel to the cemetery and Louis sees his son and wife in the sculptures. I thought the imagery would be interesting!

Sofia Coppola

The director I chose to write about for this week’s assignment is Sofia Coppola. By watching three of her movies, The Virgin Suicides, Marie Antoinette, and The Bling Ring I can already start to identify recurring themes in Coppola’s work. Some elements that predominate in her work that stood out for me in her films are cultural media and the idea of images and perception, issues with society and isolation, the strong presence of female characters and ideas of femininity, adolescence, love and loss.

When it comes to revealing her ideas on cultural media, Coppola expresses her concerns and its effects through her movies in different contexts. For instance, in Virgin Suicides, the Lisbon neighbors pretty much rely on the media to get an idea of what is going on with the girls in the household. They all watch the nightly news and assume their own conclusions, only to be revealed that the youngest girl attempted suicide or that something odd is going on in that house. In the Bling Ring, it’s very obvious how Coppola portrays this idea of modern cultural media. She shows our interest in reality TV, and how everyone is pretty much obsessed posting pictures on Facebook and social media. I think the overwhelming tabloid culture in this movie is important and she aims at this subject with a critical eye.

Coppola also deals with the theme of societal issues and how we are perceived in a society – how our image is perceived. In the Virgin Suicides the girls are different from everyone else, and the rules in their household don’t apply to the other people in the outside world. Their whole family is gossiped about and looked upon as outcasts by their neighbors. In the Bling Ring, the whole idea is how we ourselves want to be perceived by others and create our own public perception for the media and society. It shows how fame-obsessed people like Rebecca and Nicki commit crimes, yet see them as accomplishments because they boost their popularity on social media and puts them on the spot light – even if its for the wrong reasons. In Marie Antoinette, Antoinette is clearly on the public eye as she is going to be the carrier of the heir of the French throne, but evidently she fails to comply the social expectations placed upon her. She really doesn’t behave as true French royalty, as she is barely just an Austrian teenager placed in a demanding situation by arrangement. Her social status allegedly determines her behavior and how people perceive her, but genuinely she’s more of a free soul.

Strong female characters are evident in all of the movies, the Lisbon girls, Rebbeca and Nicki, Marie Antoinette herself and all of the French royalty ladies. Femininity is a theme explored in Coppola’s work and I think it says a lot about her opinion on probably feminism and her beliefs in how society deals with this issue. Also, the presence of teenage characters and growing up, being an adolescent – along with basically coming of age stories. All of the movies in a way can be seen as coming of age stories, each in different contexts. Coppola’s point of view on life is very critical, and through her sort of melancholic, nostalgic imagery, her work creates a reflection in her audience. I think she’s very observational of society and our perception as individuals. It’s like she makes critiques, but with out them being a strong slap on the face instead it’s rather beautiful – with soft natural imagery, filled with pastel and natural colors and emotionally moving stories.

A Much Ado About Nothing

Going over Shakespeare's A Much Ado About Nothing, I decided to create an illustration that would reflect the character of Benedick talking about how he will never fall in love. My adaptation for this one scene is basically a modern teenager considering what he would like in a girl - with Shakespeare's dialogue. I made Benedick a "picky teenager." Of course he's wearing nice clothes and sports the hottest hairstyle. Here he is sitting, thinking to himself...

Vampires in the Lemon Grove

I found Vampires in the Lemon Grove a very interesting and entertaining read. Russell deals with issues such as identity and the humanity in the most unpredictable characters. I enjoyed the idea of these characters that are more than just what we would define as “monsters” and how we transcend from their oddities, whether it would be a vampire or a girl transforming into a silkworm, to their humane characteristics. I think her work is relatable because she captures our emotion and our vulnerability, as an audience, and presents it in a peculiar way. Even though it would be a vampire narrating his life story it becomes more than that – we see him as a man with loves and fears, and in him we can see ourselves. Her characters develop habits and have their own ideas about life and love and core motivations, which immediately creates an emotional connection. Russell sets up this psychological reality in which we understand what the characters are going through (at least I did). I personally found it fascinating how through her gothic sort of style of writing and dry humor, with stories that could easily resemble the monster and fantasy books and tales we read as kids, Russell captivates sort of the adult aspect to it. It’s like she sees the human component or the true individual matters that not many people would think of, like what if a vampire falls in love or fails to grasp his identity. I believe it is within this matter that a reader could easily feel related to the characters; the fun part being they are as fictional as fairy tales. I find her texts successful because she moves us emotionally and at the same time she creates stories that are fun and motivating to read.

      After reading the first short story of the Dewbreaker, The Book of the Dead, by Edwinge Danticat I have to highlight the fact that mainly because of our cultural backgrounds I can't relate to the story, but rather I can contrast my situation with hers. Firstly, the author is a Haitian woman living in New York, a key element I couldn't possibly relate to since I was born in Argentina and live in Florida. I could say I would understand what it feels like to live away from home, but the book doesn't really touch that subject so I'm left with little to connect to. Evidently this shows how different our life experiences are in terms of where and how we were raised, and so this might also affect our views of the world. As a result, I can only read those sections of the story as an audience, and rather than participate and relate to her experiences I can listen and try to take in her input. 
     Moreover there is the recurrent theme of the issue with her father, another key aspect in the book that is very incompatible with the relationship I have with my father for example. Danticat mentions how unstable her relationship is with her father, and how that affects her life even in adulthood. There are portions of the story where she seems to hold on to anger and mistrust because of her father's lies. Luckily in my personal relationship with my father this is not an issue, and her parental figure is portrayed in a very far away picture from what I could consider a dad. Again, reading her thoughts on her damaging relation with her father, the effect is has on me is minimal and I can only read from a far away perspective.
     Basically, after reading the Dewbreaker and learning about Danticat's experiences, fictional or not, my conclusion is that rather than trying to relate to the story, or try to find non-existant connections, sometimes we can just be the audience we are meant to be. I guess we could try to find empathy for the narrator and the characters in the story, or try to learn about different situations and how they impact different people on different levels, but other than that it would be almost selfish to try to insert oneself in a story that has no place for the reader.