Monday?

So not in it today. I was hoping to be, since I've got so much to accomplish and only a few short weeks in which to do it. I got some things done today, though there were many other things that won't get finished.

Maybe I'm just ready for a break. I hope so. Things are so jumbled up I can't sleep a whole night, and I have the most vivid and odd dreams constantly. Of course, power-watching/reading The Lord of the Rings could have something to do with that.

I'll just take a line from old Bilbo Baggins: "I feel like butter scraped over too much bread."

Maybe Tuesday will be better.

Lazy Sunday

This is my cat. While I work hard, she's hardly working. Ever.

So I've finished The Two Towers after having to return to Verizon because the new phone they gave me was attached to a New Jersey number. Fantastic.

With one film left, it's time to gather my thoughts. At this point, there are some things to consider: the difference between adaptation and appropriation (and which realm the films and games fall under), the reasons for the adapter's changes made to Tolkien's narrative, and the effects of those changes for the audience.

As to the first, I believe this is indeed an adaptation and not an appropriation. Granted I'm still reading the theory, but when I think about the films, even with all the changes made to the story, it is still very much Tolkien's work. That elusive essence is definitely there, even if it's hard to define or pin down. I would say that part of the defining line is in the adapter's intentions. Now this doesn't mean that all attempted adaptations are actual adaptations, but this at least plays a part in it. Also playing a part is the audience's reception of the adaptation and how they view.

Which really means that these questions are all intertwined. Fantastic.

Dinner and break for Quantum of Solace, and then back to finish the films.

Damn Distractions

So I just had to go to Verizon and get my phone replaced. Luckily they do it for free because the warranty is still on it. Why is that you ask? Because I just got the damn thing replaced two months ago. I really can't wait to upgrade this coming summer.

Well, now that I've taken care of that, time for a late lunch and the second half of The Two Towers. I'm hoping to be able to read the books soon so I can think about all the differences, what they mean, etc., but there's so much that the challenge is quickly becoming what changes to focus on. Thus, the viewing rolls on...

1 Down, 2 to Go

So I finished watching Fellowship. It's interesting how the first film overlaps with the second book, but the second book carries on well into the third film. Hmm...

Just realized that with the extended editions there's all that extra material, and it's even titled "From Book to Vision" and "From Vision to Reality." Don't think I'll watch them today, but maybe I'll get to them at some point.

Oh, and when the hell did the end of the semester get here? I'm starting to think about how much I have left to do and how little time I have left to do it. Oy...

Sleeps, Blessed, Blessed Sleeps

So I did take a break there for a while, but I'm back at it. It's 9:50, and I'm into the second disc of The Fellowship.

A lot of the changes seem to be focused on creating conflict and tension to continually move the plot of the film. This would make sense, so things like Tom Bombadil are cut out of the book in favor of quick action, moving toward the council at Rivendell that is more tense than the one in the book. Boromir and Saruman's parts have been amplified to create more of a sense of danger for the fellowship and Frodo.

Many of these changes seem to all work toward making Tolkien's story a film. Obviously changes are necessary, and so the choices to leave out parts of the story, increase the importance of other parts, and shift key events and dialogue (the reforging of Aragorn's sword and several of Gandalf's lines), all work to make this a film that works with what an audience would expect.

It's interesting to think about the audience, who may be resistant to such changes, but at the same time still made the trilogy huge box office successes. There had to be more there than simple curiosity about how the film treated Tolkien's books; thus, these changes that were made seem to be forgiven by the audience. I wonder what the response of hardcore fans of the book were?

Dang...

This is ridiculous how much of Tolkien's story is changed around in the film. My guess is all these changes work to move the action and develop the characters, two things that would be important in films. And to think that with all the changes, the films are still each around 4 hours long.

There is also a seeming increase in humorous moments in the film. Just like the Arwen/Aragorn love story, it's something that will attract a wider audience to the film.

On a totally unrelated note, I'm still quite disappointed in Stinespring's playcalling in VT's loss to Miami. We could have been in complete control of the ACC Coastal, but no.

And once again, for the record, kick the damn field goal Beamer. How hard is that?

Mmm Pie

So I must admit I was distracted by delicious apple pie. And laundry. But mostly apple pie.

So anyway, it's 10:03 Mountain Time. I've finished reading The Fellowship of the Ring, and now I embark on my film viewing adventure.

Stay tuned.

It Begins...

So for Video Game Theory, I'm writing a paper on how transmedia storytelling differs from adaptation. You may have questions about what the heck that means, and this paper and the blog will hopefully begin to inform you on my thinking. What you need to know are the two primary texts I'm using (well, they're actually several, but you get the jist): The Lord of the Rings and The Matrix. I'm embarking on the LOTR case study, which means reading the books, watching the films, and playing the games. And there is my weekend. By all means, follow along. I'll be posting throughout the experience today and tomorrow.

Currently, I'm doing laundry, cause that needs to get done, and finishing The Fellowship of the Ring. Once I've done that, I'm going to watch the movies long into tonight and probably into tomorrow.

On a side note: Blizzard sucks. Obviously I love the game, but I've paid for an empty box, and both Gamestop and Blizzard are giving me the run around. It's not often I get worked up about things, but I am livid that as of right now, I'm just out $40. Oh well. Hopefully this will get resolved.

Back to our main program. Let it begin...

Election Day Eve Eve

Let's just get this out there:Now that that's out of the way, I am stoked for this week. Not only because of the election...no, wait, that's the only reason I'm really stoked.

Actually that's not true. I have a lunch and symposium with some big names in the Renaissance field this Friday. That should be interesting. I just hope to not appear like an ignorant fool in front of them. I mean, I'm smart. I know things. Yeah...

As I promised another update, I do indeed deliver. I've been spending most of the weekend working on getting my new laptop and wireless printer/fax/scanner/copier set up. When I wasn't doing that, I was wasting time playing Secret of Mana or Super Mario RPG on the Wii. And here is my big problem. Not the procrastination. The fact that I have 2 next generation systems, and I'm content playing SNES ports. I've obviously played them many times before, but they suck me in again and again. However, I do get to talk about/play Gears of War in front of my Video Game Theory class this week. That should be pretty sweet.

School's going well. I'm enjoying teaching, but at the same time I'd much rather be able to focus solely on my classes and research. Word around the department is that we'll be moving to a 2/1 load beginning next year, so that'll be pretty nice. The student body, if I haven't already mentioned this, is quite interesting at ASU. Aside from the 60,000+ and growing population (apparently ASU's goal is an enrollment of 90,000+, and the University president refers to graduates as the "product," chew on that), there are a lot of kids who walk around oblivious. I mean lost in their technology in the wrong lane on their bike I'm just waiting for that idiot to get hit oblivious. I seriously might clothesline someone off their bike, or skateboard, or weird skateboard shoes (the two wheels on the bottom of their shoes and that's it).

Classes are going fine. TA Seminar is a class I've taken before in the form of Composition Theory, though the nice thing is the rest of the semester is devoted to working on our 102 syllabi for the spring. I'm disappointed in the film course I'm taking. The title of "Identity and World Film" was intriguing, but I wasn't expecting a course cross-listed between three departments and the undergraduate and graduate levels. As a result, I'm lectured to, asked what an article said, and taking quizzes. I am working on a paper discussing gender roles in The Crying Game, but that's really an independent project worth the same amount as one of the quizzes. Oh joyous day.

My best course is "Video Game Theory," and not just because it's about games. I'm currently doing a lot of interesting research into the differences between adaptation and transmedia storytelling. Hopefully I'll be able to use some of these ideas in my dissertation, so this is really te class that's most interesting and engaging. At the same time, it's a lot of reading. And I mean a lot.

In terms of my degree, things are going well. I've cleared all my distrubtion requirements, so except for 6 hours of literary theory, I'm pretty much cleared to take the classes I want to as I work towards my dissertation. Which is much better than taking all these other classes that may be interesting but not quite helpful.

Anyway, big week coming up with the election, VT playing Maryland on Thursday night, the lunch and symposium on Friday, student conferences all week, a quiz in the film class, and of course the research. Guess I better get on it. Peace.