The approach I've taken is to focus on those two core components of The Soft Machine – the author... more The approach I've taken is to focus on those two core components of The Soft Machine – the author-less form of the cut-up technique and the abject nature of both the text in and of itself and the content contained within – to form a synthesis of the two most applicable theories for that purpose. In applying Barthes and Kristeva, I've found that there is a commonality found in viewing Burroughs' text as a metaphor for each theory – and in doing so the same analogous relationship can be found between the theories themselves. Put another way, Barthes' “The Death of the Author” can be read as a metaphor for the act of abjection developed by Julia Kristeva in the following way: the Author as the maternal figure, the reader as the child who must define the boundaries of themselves and the world around them through the experience of finding meaning in the text, which is done through the process of removing the Author's intent (meaning) from the text – that process being a form of abjection.
The city of Detroit has experienced both a meteoric rise and massive decline over the last hundre... more The city of Detroit has experienced both a meteoric rise and massive decline over the last hundred years. It has undergone a series of changes: the birth of the auto industry, a civil rights movement book-ended by two tragic riots, unprecedented corruption in city government, the impact of a global recession and a federal bailout of the Big 3 automakers, and the still unknown effects of a historic municipal bankruptcy. During this time, the city also made important contributions to the arts, with Motown, the Broadside Press, the Detroit Institute of Art and two United States Poet Laureates – Robert Hayden and Philip Levine. Born nearly a generation apart, these two men from different cultural backgrounds were influenced by their experiences in a way that is reflected in their poetry. Despite their differences – socio-economic, generational and cultural – the works of Hayden and Levine offer a unique look at the city which shaped them. Along with the explicitly autobiographical poems, their work can be examined in greater detail through an exploration of the ways in which each man wrote about the people and places around them. Through this context one can see how the traumas of his early childhood would play a part in Hayden's approach to writing about his family and his neighbors in Paradise Valley. Levine, on the other hand, often returns in his writing to the post-World War II factories in which he worked for several years. The differing approaches of both men to writing about the working class and underprivileged world they grew up in allows for a multifaceted analysis of their work. With Robert Hayden's folkloric approach to the characters and Philip Levine's mythologizing of the factories and city, the reader is given a full and engaging picture of Detroit. This offers a starting point for understanding and defining just what “Detroit Poetry” is.
Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb ... more Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb illustrates the irony in seeking peace through an escalating arms race carried out in an environment of fear and paranoia. At key moments in the film, Kubrick uses the score, lighting, and framing to counter the audience’s expectations as a means of satirizing the strategy of mutually assured destruction. Examples cited include the sparing use of non-diegetic score music (specifically the songs “Try a Little Tenderness”, “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” and “We’ll Meet Again”) placed in juxtaposition against opposing visuals at moments within the narrative, the use of high and low key lighting and shadows to visually indicate and subvert the roles of protagonist and antagonist in the scenes between Ripper and Mandrake, and the composition and set design in the War Room sequences to convey the weakness and lack of agency of what should be the most powerful men in the story. I also show how the historical context in which the film is situated – released shortly after the Cuban Missile Crisis, and in the wake of the novel Fail-Safe and its film adaptation – and its satirizing of the jingoistic war movies of the 1940s plays a role in adding to the ironic theme of the film.
The comic book series DMZ by writer Brian Wood and artist Riccardo Burchielli is a dystopian alte... more The comic book series DMZ by writer Brian Wood and artist Riccardo Burchielli is a dystopian alternate reality in which Manhattan island has been turned into a demilitarized zone between warring factions in a new civil war. This premise allows Wood to examine and critique the imperialist United States policies of preemptive war, invasion, and occupation – with Manhattan functioning as an allegory for Iraq. What I will look at is the way in which the turning of imperialism against itself allows for an examination of the “other-ing” of the targets of this imperialism. Within this, I will examine the ways in which the news media itself contributes to this casting of the enemy (and often innocent civilians) as terrorists/enemy combatants/the other. Wood's use of a neophyte journalist, Matty Roth, as both reader proxy and as a representative of the news media allows for a wide overview of the complicity of the news media in both creating and perpetuating neocolonial narratives. By tracking Roth's development over the course of the series, we see that intentionality on the ground often has little to do with the detrimental impact of the news media. The collusion between the state/corporate interests and the news media as a propaganda tool creates a formula for imperialism that is, and can be, used against any group of people. I also intend to look at the way in which the comic book, as a niche genre, allows for a critical overview that might not otherwise have been possible.
In Pattern Recognition, the character of Cayce Pollard is constructed in a way that allows her to... more In Pattern Recognition, the character of Cayce Pollard is constructed in a way that allows her to act as a bridge between constructed binary ideologies. In this paper, I look at the way in which the work reframes the idea of globalism and globalization to look at some of the positive unintended consequences and the blurring of borders both in a physical sense and through relationships formed and information shared online for some in the world. I examine the narrative’s position as a post-Cold War/post-9/11 text, which sets the character in an ideological space which allows the reader to look at the shift in geo-politics from Gibson’s construction of binary ideologies. That shift is from an adversarial Capitalist/Communist and United States/Soviet Union divide to a world of transnational economic superpowers.
I also examine the way that Pollard’s constructed identity positions her as a conduit for the larger conflict between an identity constructed within a consumer culture that seeks individual independence from that culture. I explore the challenge of positioning oneself as a non-conformist in a world in which non-conformity/individuality can only be defined in opposition to the larger mainstream consumer culture, and in which that very expression of that non-conformity is often a commodity sold to consumers. I will also explain what is problematic about Gibson’s narrative solution to this problem (specifically, the neo-Colonial framework under which it operates), while positing that Gibson’s positioning of the search for the footage as an existential journey offers an alternate path from those identified in critical writing on the novel.
The approach I've taken is to focus on those two core components of The Soft Machine – the author... more The approach I've taken is to focus on those two core components of The Soft Machine – the author-less form of the cut-up technique and the abject nature of both the text in and of itself and the content contained within – to form a synthesis of the two most applicable theories for that purpose. In applying Barthes and Kristeva, I've found that there is a commonality found in viewing Burroughs' text as a metaphor for each theory – and in doing so the same analogous relationship can be found between the theories themselves. Put another way, Barthes' “The Death of the Author” can be read as a metaphor for the act of abjection developed by Julia Kristeva in the following way: the Author as the maternal figure, the reader as the child who must define the boundaries of themselves and the world around them through the experience of finding meaning in the text, which is done through the process of removing the Author's intent (meaning) from the text – that process being a form of abjection.
The city of Detroit has experienced both a meteoric rise and massive decline over the last hundre... more The city of Detroit has experienced both a meteoric rise and massive decline over the last hundred years. It has undergone a series of changes: the birth of the auto industry, a civil rights movement book-ended by two tragic riots, unprecedented corruption in city government, the impact of a global recession and a federal bailout of the Big 3 automakers, and the still unknown effects of a historic municipal bankruptcy. During this time, the city also made important contributions to the arts, with Motown, the Broadside Press, the Detroit Institute of Art and two United States Poet Laureates – Robert Hayden and Philip Levine. Born nearly a generation apart, these two men from different cultural backgrounds were influenced by their experiences in a way that is reflected in their poetry. Despite their differences – socio-economic, generational and cultural – the works of Hayden and Levine offer a unique look at the city which shaped them. Along with the explicitly autobiographical poems, their work can be examined in greater detail through an exploration of the ways in which each man wrote about the people and places around them. Through this context one can see how the traumas of his early childhood would play a part in Hayden's approach to writing about his family and his neighbors in Paradise Valley. Levine, on the other hand, often returns in his writing to the post-World War II factories in which he worked for several years. The differing approaches of both men to writing about the working class and underprivileged world they grew up in allows for a multifaceted analysis of their work. With Robert Hayden's folkloric approach to the characters and Philip Levine's mythologizing of the factories and city, the reader is given a full and engaging picture of Detroit. This offers a starting point for understanding and defining just what “Detroit Poetry” is.
Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb ... more Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb illustrates the irony in seeking peace through an escalating arms race carried out in an environment of fear and paranoia. At key moments in the film, Kubrick uses the score, lighting, and framing to counter the audience’s expectations as a means of satirizing the strategy of mutually assured destruction. Examples cited include the sparing use of non-diegetic score music (specifically the songs “Try a Little Tenderness”, “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” and “We’ll Meet Again”) placed in juxtaposition against opposing visuals at moments within the narrative, the use of high and low key lighting and shadows to visually indicate and subvert the roles of protagonist and antagonist in the scenes between Ripper and Mandrake, and the composition and set design in the War Room sequences to convey the weakness and lack of agency of what should be the most powerful men in the story. I also show how the historical context in which the film is situated – released shortly after the Cuban Missile Crisis, and in the wake of the novel Fail-Safe and its film adaptation – and its satirizing of the jingoistic war movies of the 1940s plays a role in adding to the ironic theme of the film.
The comic book series DMZ by writer Brian Wood and artist Riccardo Burchielli is a dystopian alte... more The comic book series DMZ by writer Brian Wood and artist Riccardo Burchielli is a dystopian alternate reality in which Manhattan island has been turned into a demilitarized zone between warring factions in a new civil war. This premise allows Wood to examine and critique the imperialist United States policies of preemptive war, invasion, and occupation – with Manhattan functioning as an allegory for Iraq. What I will look at is the way in which the turning of imperialism against itself allows for an examination of the “other-ing” of the targets of this imperialism. Within this, I will examine the ways in which the news media itself contributes to this casting of the enemy (and often innocent civilians) as terrorists/enemy combatants/the other. Wood's use of a neophyte journalist, Matty Roth, as both reader proxy and as a representative of the news media allows for a wide overview of the complicity of the news media in both creating and perpetuating neocolonial narratives. By tracking Roth's development over the course of the series, we see that intentionality on the ground often has little to do with the detrimental impact of the news media. The collusion between the state/corporate interests and the news media as a propaganda tool creates a formula for imperialism that is, and can be, used against any group of people. I also intend to look at the way in which the comic book, as a niche genre, allows for a critical overview that might not otherwise have been possible.
In Pattern Recognition, the character of Cayce Pollard is constructed in a way that allows her to... more In Pattern Recognition, the character of Cayce Pollard is constructed in a way that allows her to act as a bridge between constructed binary ideologies. In this paper, I look at the way in which the work reframes the idea of globalism and globalization to look at some of the positive unintended consequences and the blurring of borders both in a physical sense and through relationships formed and information shared online for some in the world. I examine the narrative’s position as a post-Cold War/post-9/11 text, which sets the character in an ideological space which allows the reader to look at the shift in geo-politics from Gibson’s construction of binary ideologies. That shift is from an adversarial Capitalist/Communist and United States/Soviet Union divide to a world of transnational economic superpowers.
I also examine the way that Pollard’s constructed identity positions her as a conduit for the larger conflict between an identity constructed within a consumer culture that seeks individual independence from that culture. I explore the challenge of positioning oneself as a non-conformist in a world in which non-conformity/individuality can only be defined in opposition to the larger mainstream consumer culture, and in which that very expression of that non-conformity is often a commodity sold to consumers. I will also explain what is problematic about Gibson’s narrative solution to this problem (specifically, the neo-Colonial framework under which it operates), while positing that Gibson’s positioning of the search for the footage as an existential journey offers an alternate path from those identified in critical writing on the novel.
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Papers by Matt Linton
Born nearly a generation apart, these two men from different cultural backgrounds were influenced by their experiences in a way that is reflected in their poetry. Despite their differences – socio-economic, generational and cultural – the works of Hayden and Levine offer a unique look at the city which shaped them. Along with the explicitly autobiographical poems, their work can be examined in greater detail through an exploration of the ways in which each man wrote about the people and places around them. Through this context one can see how the traumas of his early childhood would play a part in Hayden's approach to writing about his family and his neighbors in Paradise Valley. Levine, on the other hand, often returns in his writing to the post-World War II factories in which he worked for several years. The differing approaches of both men to writing about the working class and underprivileged world they grew up in allows for a multifaceted analysis of their work. With Robert Hayden's folkloric approach to the characters and Philip Levine's mythologizing of the factories and city, the reader is given a full and engaging picture of Detroit. This offers a starting point for understanding and defining just what “Detroit Poetry” is.
Wood's use of a neophyte journalist, Matty Roth, as both reader proxy and as a representative of the news media allows for a wide overview of the complicity of the news media in both creating and perpetuating neocolonial narratives. By tracking Roth's development over the course of the series, we see that intentionality on the ground often has little to do with the detrimental impact of the news media. The collusion between the state/corporate interests and the news media as a propaganda tool creates a formula for imperialism that is, and can be, used against any group of people. I also intend to look at the way in which the comic book, as a niche genre, allows for a critical overview that might not otherwise have been possible.
I also examine the way that Pollard’s constructed identity positions her as a conduit for the larger conflict between an identity constructed within a consumer culture that seeks individual independence from that culture. I explore the challenge of positioning oneself as a non-conformist in a world in which non-conformity/individuality can only be defined in opposition to the larger mainstream consumer culture, and in which that very expression of that non-conformity is often a commodity sold to consumers. I will also explain what is problematic about Gibson’s narrative solution to this problem (specifically, the neo-Colonial framework under which it operates), while positing that Gibson’s positioning of the search for the footage as an existential journey offers an alternate path from those identified in critical writing on the novel.
Born nearly a generation apart, these two men from different cultural backgrounds were influenced by their experiences in a way that is reflected in their poetry. Despite their differences – socio-economic, generational and cultural – the works of Hayden and Levine offer a unique look at the city which shaped them. Along with the explicitly autobiographical poems, their work can be examined in greater detail through an exploration of the ways in which each man wrote about the people and places around them. Through this context one can see how the traumas of his early childhood would play a part in Hayden's approach to writing about his family and his neighbors in Paradise Valley. Levine, on the other hand, often returns in his writing to the post-World War II factories in which he worked for several years. The differing approaches of both men to writing about the working class and underprivileged world they grew up in allows for a multifaceted analysis of their work. With Robert Hayden's folkloric approach to the characters and Philip Levine's mythologizing of the factories and city, the reader is given a full and engaging picture of Detroit. This offers a starting point for understanding and defining just what “Detroit Poetry” is.
Wood's use of a neophyte journalist, Matty Roth, as both reader proxy and as a representative of the news media allows for a wide overview of the complicity of the news media in both creating and perpetuating neocolonial narratives. By tracking Roth's development over the course of the series, we see that intentionality on the ground often has little to do with the detrimental impact of the news media. The collusion between the state/corporate interests and the news media as a propaganda tool creates a formula for imperialism that is, and can be, used against any group of people. I also intend to look at the way in which the comic book, as a niche genre, allows for a critical overview that might not otherwise have been possible.
I also examine the way that Pollard’s constructed identity positions her as a conduit for the larger conflict between an identity constructed within a consumer culture that seeks individual independence from that culture. I explore the challenge of positioning oneself as a non-conformist in a world in which non-conformity/individuality can only be defined in opposition to the larger mainstream consumer culture, and in which that very expression of that non-conformity is often a commodity sold to consumers. I will also explain what is problematic about Gibson’s narrative solution to this problem (specifically, the neo-Colonial framework under which it operates), while positing that Gibson’s positioning of the search for the footage as an existential journey offers an alternate path from those identified in critical writing on the novel.