Baudrillard and Ripley

Am in class doing research. Yes, really. 'Ask the internet' is research too.

We're studying Baudrillard. We have one paragraph from p406 of Simulacra and Simulations and we're now to spend an hour discussing how it applies to (a) The Talented Mr Ripley and (b) adaptation (films made of books etc).

*blinks*

we can also go look for more learnings. I take that option pls.



Also today we got into discussing fanfic (because, adaptation, works based on other works) and teach got to a point she said 'I'm going to stop talking about this because I don't know enough'. So I gave her a book list and a link to OTW cause I had those names to hand. Any suggestions?

'Disneyland is there to conceal the fact that it is the "real country" all of "real" America, which is Disneyland (just as prisons are there to conceal the fact that it is the social in its entirety, in its banal omnipresence, which is carceral). Disneyland is presented as imaginary in order to make us believe that the rest is real, when in fact all of Los Angeles and the America surrounding it are no longer real, but of the order of the hyperreal and of simulation. It is no longer a question of a false representation of reality (ideology), but of concealing the fact that the real is no longer real, and thus of saving the reality principle.'

[Baudrillard, simulacra and Simulations, 1980 in Lodge, p406]

Teach says there's a text on the Stanford website. I go read.



Ripley keeps changing who he is because who he is isn't a solid real thing hiding in the middle, it's just what he does. Is fun.
... well, the murder part isn't. But other than that.

Semester: Finished!

I have done all the lessons for another year of college :-)
...a couple of tutorials and one exam still to go.

I also still have 40 credits to go before I stop being a second year student. 10 of those are prep for year 3 work that I won't be doing until after I've done half of year three. 10 are on Satire. And 20 are Work Based Learning.
... I have to do work? Wait, I thought that's what I was avoiding in college...


Today was double successful. I made a (short, top of my head) reading list on fanfic for teacher (revenge! revenge at last!) (her reading lists tend to be full of books where the nearest copy is in a library in Cambridge. We are not in Cambridge. :-p ) She took it and went looking on the internet for Ripley fanfic. Which, obviously, she found, for the internet has everything, especially when it includes Jude Law and Matt Damon. First page result was an Alien xover. Win. So now she reckons next time she teaches the unit she'll include something about fanfic. Since the topic for the last lesson was adaptation, forgery, fakes, authenticity and originality, there's a lot of mileage to be had there, even more than in the comparison of book to films.

Baudrillard is annoying and teacher was arguing that the things he says aren't true but they're to make us think of the true things. Or something. Boo. Stupid writings stupid saying things that don't mean things and then you get to the next paragraph and it says that wasn't the point anyway. Small idea, big word mess to hide it in.
(Possibly I just being stupid and don't understand, but even so, stupid word mess.)

I was going to go to a film but at lunch I risked some of the food I probably can't digest because the food I can actually eat wasn't available. Surprise surprise, I still can't digest it. But the good thing about small amounts of ungood food is it resolves itself relatively swiftly.

Must remember to have proper grab and go food on the way to college. No more eating the no good stuff.

Apparently there was a petition about providing better (or any) vegetarian (and vegan) food, but I did not see it. I shall have to write to someone instead. It would really help if students could eat.


... but I don't have to worry about it until next September. Because I am finished with lessons for the year. Yaays!