Seeing these people exhibiting such macho behavior reminded me of the mustachioed Terry from “Herland”. Terry was probably my favorite character in the book because he thought he was such a ladies man and it was funny to read about him continuously failing and making things worse for himself and the group of men who traveled to Herland. Gilman did a very good job at portraying a chauvinistic male character and his interactions with the peaceful nation of females was an interesting social commentary.

      ”Herland” was a fairly entertaining book and it was interesting to see how a feminist would picture a society free from masculine influence. Not surprisingly violence is practically non-existant in Gilman’s created nation. At least until Terry and his mustache show up. Jeff and Van don’t fall under the category of the typical chauvanistic male so they do pretty well in Herland. Terry, on the other hand, sexually assaults one of the women and because of this is banished back to his world. This is a particulary strong statement being made by Gilman. Terry represents a large portion of the male population and violence seems to be very closely related to the macho attitudes exhibited in people like Terry.

         In “Herland” many statements are made concerning the roles of the two sexes in society that are still very valid today. By creating the utopia of Herland, Gilman is making a very strong statement about the violence that has become engrained in masculinity and it’s effects upon society as a whole.

Few other genres of fiction offer the limitless possibilities if science fiction. Practically anything an author desires to create or say can easily be expressed through science fiction. This aspect of the genre make it a particularly useful medium for making social commentary in an entertaining way. H.G Wells mastered this aspect of science fiction and that is part of the reason why his works are so memorable.

Despite these complaints the novel was fairly entertaining and it’s significance to the evolution of sci-fi is not lost on me. Verne had a huge part in developing the genre and his works are extremely well written. For me the “sci” kind of got in the way if the “fi” in this book as a lot of time is spent on details but that is a more personal complaint and I realize that many readers would enjoy the scientific mumbo jumbo.

Our class seemed to feel like the lack of women in the novel reflects the possibly homosexual tendencies of Nemo and his crew but I strongly disagree. That’s not to say that there is no way that any of the crew were gay, it’s just that there is nothing sexual about going on a dangerous submarine adventure, unless you’re some kind of sado-masochist aquatic pervert.

It seems to me that nearly every memorable artist was tortured by some aspect of their lives. The examples are nearly endless. Vincent Van Gogh was so insane that he cut off his own ear to give to his lover, yet produced some of the most captivating and beautiful paintings of all time. Kurt Cobain changed the course of musical history in the 90′s but despite his millions of dollars and adoring fans he committed suicide after a life of depression and drug addiction. Hunter S. Thompson was one of the greatest writers to emerge from the dope decades but also committed suicide after years of drug abuse and insanity.

Why is it that there is such a close correlation between pain and art? It seems as though the greatest art is produced by individuals who live a very difficult life. Often times artists how have lived happy lives do produce meaningful work but it still seems bland in comparison to work of the more tortured individuals.

Countless zombie movies have found success by using this type of postapocalyptic setting, also countless videogames have sold millions of copies by creating a postapocalyptic world. This trend will continue to resurface in the future as well. People just can’t get enough zombies.

It’s difficult to say why we are so enthralled with the idea of the decimation of our species. Perhaps it is because we all fear the possibility of something like that occuring. Also, we are constantly being told by sources like the bible and other religious texts, and also the discovery channel, that our days are numbered. If it’s not global warming that gets us it will be swine flu or 2012. Perhaps watching zombies eat people helps alleviate the stress.

        Shelley may have written one of the earliest examples of a gothic and science fiction hybrid, but the trend still continues today. Films like the recent “Daybreakers” also could be classified as Science fiction with Gothic elements. Originally the idea of vampires was a very gothic idea, “Daybreakers” combines this idea of a blood sucking entity with a futuristic story involving a world run by vampires using humans as producers of blood that they need for sustenance.

         Gothic and science fiction used together in the same story makes for some interesting settings and plot lines. The success of these two genres together is obvious because Frankenstein is perhaps one of the most recognizable titles in english literature.

             The early feminist influence that can be seen in early gothic works such as “Mysteries of Udolpho” is not where my problem lies. The feminism portrayed here is more of an undertone which is good in that it begins to challenge societies expectations of female characters. This lack of outright feminist material could be caused by the oppression of women at this time, or it could simply be that it was not the author’s intention to focus on a feminist agenda. Either way, the feminism I have seen in early gothic fiction is very important to the history of feminism.

             On the other hand, more modern works like that of Adrienne Rich which was written in the 1980′s is slightly more difficult for me to support. I understand that the feminist plight is an important one and that they do face great obstacles insofar as some of the chauvinist they must overcome to completely achieve equality, however, generalizing all men as the commiters of rape and claiming that all heterosexual intercourse is rape is far too radical to me. This disagreement does not change my view of feminism as a good thing, it does however make me feel as if radical feminism such as this could be a step backwards instead of forwards.

            Even though I do find some issue with the more radical sides of feminism, it sure beats a lot of the hegemonic masculinity I see every day in the media, at the bars, and pretty much everywhere else I go in life. I believe that these chauvinist views in society are a problem and that they need to be abolished before equality can truly exist, but I do not believe generalizing and name calling is the way to do it. I think many feminists would agree with me that alienating and criticising males as a whole is counter productive in making the world a more equal place because many males do agree with equality and they do not rape or attempt to oppress woman at all.

          Presently the gothic genre is the most popular of any genre in the mainstream. This popularity stems from the hugely successful “Twilight” novels and the films which changed this mormon based love story which promotes abstinence into a cultural phenomena that is making kids my sisters age actually want to be vampires. The popularity of these books baffles my mind. Every time I turn on the T.V or go on the internet I always see Robert Pattinson’s face. It seems like these books are the most popular books ever.

          I will never read these books or watch these movies, so I cannot be entirely certain, but it seems to me that these books do conform to the gothic genre. All the elements are there, the supernatural vampires, the foggy settings, and distressed heroine, and the sappy love story. However, I’m going to assume that this book does not compare to the great works of authors such as Stephen King because in all honesty I am 95% sure this book is probably garbage like most of pop culture I see on television today.

http://www.xepisodes.com/southpark/episodes/1214/The-Ungroundable.html… This is a link to an episode of South Park from last season that satirized the popularity of vampires and how that compares to Gothicism in popular culture.

           This misunderstanding of the purpose of the text does not mean I did not enjoy reading this story. It was actually one of the more enjoyable readings I have done this year. It reads something like the philosophical essays I have been reading in other courses. The message of the pursuit of happiness is very easy to grasp and I can relate to many of the issues presented in this text to my own life. The way it is presented as a more adventurous novel is also interesting as the avoidance of any real action and the reliance of character interaction says a lot for Johnson’s own views on the purpose of writing.

       Another interesting aspect of this novel that I needed to have pointed out for me to truly appreciate is the orientalism involved in the text. I thought the perspectives presented regarding the Europeans was very interesting. They are presented as a sort of super race that uses knowledge to gain power. This opinion is very interesting when it is expressed from the point of view of a non-european explaining it to the naive prince.

          Satire is truely one of the most entertaining forums of expressing one’s opinions. It is also one of the most effective ways to criticize other people’s creations. I believe it to be better than simply critcizing something because it requires more effort and often can be a work of art in it’s own right.