Assignment #3: Machinima Poetry

This machinima form of presenting poetry is very interesting, in that it incorporates video game scenery and songs of the artist’s choice. As a visual learner, this machinima video adds a lot to the text’s meaning. For me, some poetry can be difficult to grasp and understand on my own, so studying it along with appropriate imagery and music can really set the mood and give me more of a feel of the poem’s underlying message. Machinima animations definitely have the potential to increase one’s enjoyment of the text, simply because it makes the poetry a lot easier to comprehend.
The video may seem silly at first, since it uses video game characters and not actual people or scenes. The first time I watched it, it made this serious poem seem quite awkward and a bit comedic, as I would have never imagined seeing poetry accompanied by animated characters. Overall, I believe that this machinima version remains true to the tone of the poem, because it still uses menlancholy music, and the animation shows us suicide, literally. This new form of expressing the deeper meanings of poetry is very attention-grabbing and aids in helping people further appreciate poetry.
A reference to poetry in popular culture is a reference to “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe in the television show, the Simpsons. Poe’s poem is recited by the man who narrated the voice of Star Wars’s Darth Vader, and it sets the mood for the Halloween festivities going on in the cartoon’s episode. This poem is supposed to be scary and haunting, but the way the Simpons portrayed it was as if it were simply a joke. Because of people’s familiarity with “The Raven”, this moment/scene in “The Raven” makes it even more popular. The poetry sets the mood and theme of the pop culture moment.

Response to “All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace” by Richard Brautigan

Technology and nature are, without doubt, two completely separate and opposite subjects, so for the two to co-exist in harmony in the future is a highly debatable topic. Through his poem “All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace”, Richard Brautigan addresses this matter, but it can still be interpreted in two different ways—either with an anti-technology or pro-technology perspective.

Some readers may interpret this poem as a warning from Brautigan and call for an anti-technology world. Since technology and nature contrast each other so much, a “cybernetic meadow/where mammals and computers/live together in mutually/programming harmony” is clearly an unrealistic scene. During the time period in which this poem was written, computers were extremely large, usually taking up entire rooms. If “a cybernetic forest/filled with pines and electronics” actually existed, the computers would definitely not be like “flowers/with spinning blossoms”, but would rather loom over cute, delicate blossoms, taking away the tranquility of nature and giving creatures the feeling of being watched. Also, Brautigan’s seemingly enthusiastic remarks, which are put in parentheses (such as “the sooner the better!”, “right now, please!”, and “it has to be!”), actually sound sarcastic. This poem can be viewed as a warning to mankind to gradually slow down on technological advances, or eventually, the things we create will overpower and greatly disrupt our natural world.

On the other hand, readers may have a completely opposite viewpoint—one with optimism that supports technological advances, in hopes that someday, technology and nature will coexist. In the third line of each stanza, Brautigan expresses hope for a cybernetic meadow, forest, and ecology. Starting with a meadow, forest, then ecology as a whole, the poet expresses hope that eventually, everything in this world will be technologically driven. Technology is invented to make our lives easier by completing certain tasks in place of the control functions of humans. Brautigan shows anticipation and optimism for a world in which humans can be “free of our labors/and joined back to nature”.

Technology does indeed make our lives easier by carrying out certain jobs for us. The people of Brautigan’s time did not have the chance to experience the advantages and conveniences that technology brings to us today. Thus, it is very likely that the world described in the poem is a positive, hopeful vision of the future and not a warning. Brautigan’s optimistic tone and use of imagery paint a scene of a peaceful utopian society that integrates both technology and nature.

"Diving into the Wreck" by Adrienne Rich

“Diving into the Wreck” by Adrienne Rich is about the coming-of-age of an adolescent girl. It is filled with descriptive imagery and objects that symbolize different aspects of the long process of maturity. As preparation for her journey, the narrator mentions a “book of myths” (1), “camera” (2), “knife-blade” (3), “body-armor” (5), “absurd flippers” (6), and a “grave and awkward mask” (7). These objects are all things she will need on her journey. The “book of myths” symbolizes the fun “myths” of childhood. Having read this “book of myths” and experiencing all the storybook-like joys of childhood, the narrator is getting ready to explore reality and the outside world. The narrator also “loaded the camera”, because she knows that the journey ahead of her is important and will be memorable. She “checked the edge of the knife-blade” (3) because she will need protection from any danger she might encounter. Since she is still young and vulnerable, the narrator wears “body-armor of black rubber ”,“absurd flippers” and a “grave and awkward mask in order to shield herself”. Inside, she is slowly preparing herself for her coming-of-age, but is still unsure of her true identity and feels the need to protect it. Her awkwardness indicates that she has not yet matured and has not yet established a name or personality for herself. As a result, she is cautious and unsure of whether to reveal herself to the world, explaining the need for “body-armor”, “flippers”, and a “mask”.

All of these objects listed above were mentioned in the first stanza, as they are tools in preparation for the narrator’s embarkation on her journey to maturity. These symbolic objects guided her through the first steps of becoming a woman, and some reappear in the last stanza of the poem. She remembers carrying a “knife” and a “camera” (91) for protection and for memories of her journey. The last phrase states that she remembers “a book of myths in which our names do not appear” (94), showing that now that she has fully matured, her name is no longer in the “book of myths”, which symbolizes the fantasy-like stories of childhood. These objects have all helped her mature and grow, so she makes sure that they are the first and last things to be mentioned in her poem.