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.