Final Study Guide for EN 190 -- Summer II 2011

This study guide for the final will begin with F.W. Murnau's 1922 version of Nosferatu, an example of silent film and German Expressionism.  Below are links to YouTube versions of this film:

Here is a link to the YouTube video of the entire movie.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcyzubFvBsA

This version has a better soundtrack:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDZURPwzkRg

Below is a picture of the actor Max Schreck who played Nosferatu.

Below is his brief biography.  More rumors than facts are known.

http://www.leninimports.com/max_schreck.html#partone

Here is a biography of director F.W. Murnau who later worked in Hollywood.  His picture is below.

http://www.leninimports.com/murnau_fw.html#partone

Also, here is a link to my Multiply entry on the 1922 Nosferatu, the version that we saw.

http://worldlit2.multiply.com/journal/item/154/Nosferatu_1922

Werner Herzog remade this film in 1979:

http://worldlit2.multiply.com/journal/item/152/Nosferatu_1979

Let's move onto poetry.  As Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl" may be a poem or a short story, we may begin with her piece.  Here is some information about Ms. Kincaid:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/arts/features/womenwriters/kincaid_life.shtml

Here is a little benna for you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSbCGGl8aAU

Below are the definitions of the short story and the poem that I included.

A short story is a brief prose work of narrative fiction characterized by a carefully crafted plot and style, complexity in characterization and point of view, and unity of effect.  It is shorter than a novel (50,000 or more words) or a novella (15,000 to 30,000 words).

A poem is a literary composition, written or oral, typically characterized by imagination, emotion, sense impressions, and

 concrete language that invites attention to its own physical features, such as sound or appearance on the page.

I will also include the prose poems we looked at before the midterm:

http://webdelsol.com/tpp/tpp5/tpp5_edson.html

http://webdelsol.com/tpp/tpp5/tpp5_nye.html

Monday we began the unit on poetry by looking at word and image.  Terms covered will include denotation, connotation, and sensory impression.  We will look at word choice in poems.  Monday's poems were Robert Hayden's "Those Winter Sundays" and Gwendolyn Brooks' "The Bean Eaters."  Note how short and condensed these poems were--and that Ms. Brooks' poem had rhyme.

Here is a link to the video of Robert Hayden's "Those Winter Sundays" that we listened to.  Note that we are *not* listening to Mr. Hayden's voice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RoaNidQZnQ

These links are to Gwendolyn Brooks' "The Bean Eaters":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anKeKmfRCqc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWUOibkiXUk&feature=related

For more information about Mr. Hayden, see this link:

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/196

For more information about Ms. Brooks, who was a very influential Chicago poet, see this link:

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/gwendolyn-brooks

Midterm Study Guide -- Fiction

This afternoon, before the papers come in, I'd like to start the midterm study guide for fiction.  The pictures above are of Mel's Drive-In in Hollywood
http://www.melsdrive-in.com/hoursandlocations/hollywood.html
and a street scene in LA.  Southern California is known for its car culture (isn't The Fast and the Furious set there?), and people are able to drive antique cars more often because the roads don't need to be salted as they do here. 

Hmmm....on review day I'll have to dig up a YouTube of various antique cars on display in Southern California!

However, let's start with the folktales from Monday the 18th.

The first is the Brothers' Grimm's "Godfather Death."

http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm044.html

Next is the Wishram story, "Coyote and Eagle Visit the Land of the Dead."

http://www.native-languages.org/wishramstory.htm

The Navajo shadow puppet show "Coyote and Horned Toad" follows:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjUlyarH9F0

In addition, here is Wikipedia's outline of the characteristics of oral culture:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orality#Theory_of_the_characteristics_of_oral_culture

Take a look at the book review of Fr. Walter J. Ong's Orality and Literacy below:
http://worldlit2.multiply.com/journal/item/51/Orality_Literacy_._._._Cross-Posting_from_EN_201_Blog
How does orality shape the folktales we've read?  How does it shape the stories that Troy tells in Fences--and his approach to life?  (Feel free to compare it to Rose's or Cory's.)

-- Here are some of my EN 202 entries on the Brothers Grimm and their work. 
http://worldlit2.multiply.com/journal/item/146/The_Brothers_Grimm_From_Enchanted_Forests_to_the_Modern_World
http://worldlit2.multiply.com/journal/item/147

For the outline of Joseph Campbell's monomyth (hero's journey), see this link:

http://orias.berkeley.edu/hero/JourneyStages.pdf

It goes without saying that Dagoberto Gilb's "Love in L.A." and Joyce Carol Oates' "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" will be on the midterm.  Terms on plot (including foreshadowing, flashback, and false closure) and character (including protagonist, antagonist, and anti-hero) will be on the midterm as well.  Below is a picture of Shakespeare's Falstaff, who exemplifies the anti-hero.  He is the bearded man with the big belly...the man who is talking!

Here is a montage of scenes from "Smooth Talk," the movie that Chris mentioned in class today:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co9bfNOlSRQ

The trailer is below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXvmkCVbrBk&feature=related



The following stories will be on the midterm:  Sandra Cisneros' "The House on Mango Street," Alice Walker's "Everyday Use," and Lynda Barry's "Today's Demon: Magic."  We will also cover point of view (first-person, third-person limited & objective & omniscient) and theme as a way to compare/contrast works from different genres.  In addition, there may be a question or two on the definition of literature and inclusion of various genres (graphic fiction, autobiography & life writing, film, music).  With the last in mind, here are links to the videos from American Graffiti:

Here is the link to the trailer. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6Jo1gH89VM

For the beginning of the movie, see this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tzfm2fKYARU


To listen to Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" and read the song's lyrics, go
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziQx0cXV4nY

Here are some more sites where you may find Lynda Barry's work:

http://www.marlysmagazine.com/

http://www.comixology.com/articles/10/All-the-Comics-4-Lynda-Barry

http://comicscomicsmag.com/2011/02/lynda-barry.html

Vice Magazine also has an interesting interview with her.

The last stories on the midterm will be Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl" and Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants." 

I may also ask you about the following prose poems:

Russell Edson's "Sleep"
http://webdelsol.com/tpp/tpp5/tpp5_edson.html

Naomi Shihab Nye's "Hammer and Nail"
http://webdelsol.com/tpp/tpp5/tpp5_edson.html

Below are the definitions that we looked at:

Midterm Study Guide -- Drama

It really is amazing how many companies have done Death of a Salesman.  The picture above is from Thunder River Theater Company's 2007 production.  I wonder if MC will ever do this play.

Here is the company's picture of Biff's encounter with his father and his mistress.


And here is the study guide itself.  The midterm will cover both Death of a Salesman (play, DVD, and videos) and Fences (play and videos).  Remember that the term drama applies to the play script, not the performance and that the term theater refers to the "apparatus" of performance: director, actors, set designers & builders, costume designers, sound & lights, and audience.  Have I forgotten anyone? 

Also each production has a central idea.  After all, in 2011, Fences means something different than it did back in the 1980s.  The presence of the playwright may affect the production.  Location is also important even within the US!


Here is a link to the entry with links to various scenes from Death of a Salesman:

http://worldlit2.multiply.com/journal/item/200

However, we have not watched all of these scenes in class.  We will focus on the ones we have looked at (Charles S. Dutton's, Brian Dennehy's, Lee J. Cobb's).  I will have to show a bit of the Oberlin version when we review for the midterm.

You might like to look at these links about Arthur Miller (1915-2005).  Nayani found the first link: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/jan-june99/miller_2-10.html  
Here is a link to my entry on Miller:
http://worldlit2.multiply.com/journal/item/202

Below is the link to the entry on Fences:

http://worldlit2.multiply.com/journal/item/205

For some historical background, see this link:

http://worldlit2.multiply.com/journal/item/206

The picture below is from a 2010 production of Fences at the University of North Carolina's PlayMakers Repertory Company.


Here is a picture of August Wilson (1945-2005) in front of a restaurant near the Boston University Theater where the Huntington Theater Company performs. 



We will also cover the following background information.

First, here is a link to the outline of Erikson's developmental theory.  The last four stages will be especially important:

http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/erikson.htm

By the way, Erikson's wife and collaborator Joan Erikson later stated that there was a ninth stage for those who lived past 80.  Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D.  adds:

In Erikson's last book on the subject, The Life Cycle Completed, his wife, Joan M. Erikson, added a "ninth stage" that applied to people who had become very old (as they had).  In the book, she wrote:  "Old age in one's eighties and nineties brings with it new demands, reevaluations, and daily difficulties" (The Life Cycle Completed, p. 105).  According to Joan Erikson, in the ninth stage, the despair of stage eight is magnified by the experience of one's deteriorating body and mind, which results in a lowering of self-esteem and confidence. "To face down despair with faith and appropriate humility," she wrote, "is perhaps the wisest course" (The Life Cycle Completed, p. 106).


Carol Gilligan's theory of development is outlined here:

http://www.stolaf.edu/people/huff/classes/handbook/Gilligan.html

How might her theory apply to characters like Linda, Rose, Connie, or the mother in "Everyday Use"?

We talked a little about Lawrence Kohlberg's theory.  I'm including this link since Gilligan developed in response to his.  (She had been one of his grad students.)

http://faculty.plts.edu/gpence/html/kohlberg.htm

Moreover, his theory works so well with our plays!



I am also including links to the interview with Justin Emeka and Avery Brooks on their production of Death of a Salesman at Oberlin College.  Above is a picture of Brooks as Othello.  This production was at DC's own Shakespeare Theater.

We watched only parts 1 and 2, but I encourage you to watch all of this interview.  When we review for the midterm, we may watch part 4 and possibly part 5.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC4UUhUZRX8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPQjCznRE1c&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgIwdSpi6o4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ttJhC9iE4M&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNzESuJqU40&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unNtE-o5oNw&feature=related

See the link below for more information about the genre of tragedy:

http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/trag_vsn.html

OTOH, could Fences be a history play?  (Shakespeare wrote tragedies and histories as well as comedies and romances.)  Being a 20th century American, August Wilson would necessarily have a different approach to who could be a subject of a history play than Shakespeare would have as an Englishman of the late 16th and early 17th century.

I also hope to show some videos that are relevant to Fences.

Watch this entry for more. 

Below is a picture of Erik and Joan Erikson.  In addition to being his collaborator and muse, she was an artist who integrated art into occupational therapy for his psychiatric patients. 

Links from 7/18 -- Civil Rights Era, Baseball, & the Century Cycle

Link

I thought that it would be easier just to share this old entry.  See the link above to go there.

What else was going on in 1957?


In 1957, nine high school students desegregated Central High School in Little Rock, AR.

EN 190 Links for Fences

Above is a picture of the 2010 Broadway cast of Fences.  You may notice Denzel Washington as Troy.

There is no movie version of Fences, but here are some trailers from various productions, and below is another still from 2010 with Washington as Troy and Viola Davis as Rose.

Here he discusses this role:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKsDRcuePnk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENi15Vcx19M

Ah, here is a collection of scenes from that version!

http://www.youtube.com/user/FencesBroadway

James Earl Jones was the original Troy:

Here Jones is with Mary Alice, the actor who played Rose.  Courtney B. Vance of Law and Order:CI played Cory.

Kenny Leon directed another version at Boston's Huntington Theater.  Pictures follow below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp8OhjIkRNs

In 2007, Portland (OR) Center Stage presented this version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1qov8jlkXQ&playnext=1&list=PLC22B5D78F82DC4C1

This version is a film rather than a play filmed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24dkF5jJLIM&feature=related

The last clip is a classroom version from Introduction to Theater at CUNY Baruch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnGf0Zc_4X8&feature=related

In 2008, Minnesota's Penumbra Theater staged Fences.  As you may have seen, Wilson worked with this company at one point.

Here are links to interviews with people who knew August Wilson, the author of Fences:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4Nyi2szYFw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KcLTgiZ68Y&feature=related

Below are some reviews of various productions.

Charles McNulty reviews a 2010 production at LA's South Coast Repertory:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2010/01/theater-review-fences-at-south-coast-repertory.html


Frank Rich's review from 1987 is here:

http://theater.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?res=9b0de7de1f3df934a15750c0a961948260

Ben Brantley reviews the recent Broadway revival starring Denzel Washington:

http://theater.nytimes.com/2010/04/27/theater/reviews/27fences.html

Toby Zinman makes some interesting points:

http://www.broadstreetreview.com/index.php/main/article/august_wilsons_fences_in_new_york

Thomas Garvey reviews the Huntington's production here:

http://hubreview.blogspot.com/2009/09/huntington-swings-for-august-wilsons.html

See Carolyn Clay's review for another perspective:

http://thephoenix.com/boston/arts/90186-black-beauty/

Versions of Fences

Link

At the link above, you will find links to trailers from various versions of Fences.  Over the weekend, I will edit that old entry for your consumption.

Recent Reviews of Death of a Salesman

A director may have a compelling central idea for his or her production, but what do audiences and reviewers make of the idea?

Here are some reviews of recent productions of Death of a Salesman.  We'll start with Frank Rich's review of the Broadway version starring Dustin Hoffman, Kate Reid, and John Malkovich.  Note that at this time Malkovich was known for his work in the theater and that Hoffman was an unconventional choice to play Willy.

http://theater.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?res=950ce2d81e39f933a05750c0a962948260



Charles Isherwood reviews the Yale Rep version starring Charles S. Dutton:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/05/theater/reviews/05deat.html

John Lahr's review is here:

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/theatre/2009/05/25/090525crth_theatre_lahr

Blogger Tambay comments on these reviews:

http://www.shadowandact.com/?p=2778

Frank Rizzo's review is more positive:

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117940176?refcatid=33&printerfriendly=true



See these links for reviews of the versions starring Brian Dennehy:

http://www.talkinbroadway.com/world/salesman.html

http://www.curtainup.com/salesman.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2005/may/17/theatre

http://theater.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?html_title=&tols_title=DEATH%20OF%20A%20SALESMAN%20%28PLAY%29&pdate=19990211&byline=By%20BEN%20BRANTLEY&id=1077011429728&scp=3&sq=death%20of%20a%20salesman%20dennehy&st=cse

Charles Isherwood's review is here:

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117490674?refCatId=33

For reviews of other productions, see these links:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2008/nov/18/theatre-arthur-miller-death-of-salesman

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/may/07/death-of-a-salesman-leeds

http://newcitystage.com/2009/10/13/review-death-of-a-salesmanraven-theatre/

http://chitheatreaddict.com/2009/10/07/death-of-a-salesman-raven-theatre/

Enjoy!