You May Say I'm a Dreamer...

Through our discussion of the role media plays in the classroom last week, I was somewhat appalled to hear that someone thinks that there is "no John Lennon of our generation". This is a very bold statement to make, in my mind. In a very literal sense, there is, of course, no John Lennon because no one individual can precisely replicate another. It is true that few singer-songwriters have had as profound an influence on our generation as Lennon did on his, but to expect that there will be an individual that represents the same sort of sentiments for our generation is inconceivable. This is a different time, and with the advancement of our culture has come a tremendous number of changes regarding our thoughts, feelings, and attitudes. John Lennon would not be the same if he had been a part of our generation rather than his own, as he would speak to different facets of our communities and lives.

If what was meant by this statement was that there is no inspirational figurehead of our generation, then I beg to differ. This contention was brought up seemingly as a part of a larger argument that there is no one out there to challenge the conventions of our society, which makes me raise my hackles even more; how profound must an individual's ideas be to be considered a "John Lennon"? To what end must they unite and inspire a nation? Consider individuals such as Ursula Le Guin, a woman who considers herself an anthropologist... of societies that have never existed. Similarly, consider her book The Left Hand of Darkness, in which there is a species that changes gender and places no emphasis on conventions of one's sex. Is this not good enough? Does it not challenge society enough? Is its statement not bold, or its message meaningless?

I also have considered what it means to be a "John Lennon", and have found myself consistently stumped. I can't put a single, solid definition to what it means, so does that mean that it is an undefinable thing to be him, or is it simply that we can never hope to achieve the same amount of success through an individual's actions? Regardless, I believe that the claim is untrue. There are a plethora of individuals who contribute to society in unique ways and have broken conventions of society enough times to be considered as much an inspiration as he.

(This isn't to say I don't love John Lennon, the Beatles, and everything he and they have accomplished, but someone's got to play the Devil's advocate.)

Myth & Media

After watching the mythology presentations in our class, I have done a lot of thinking about the concepts presented in mythos and their relation to the modern day. What I have concluded is that many of the themes discussed in class are present in various facets of the media. For example, the trickster figure is a common trope in comics, movies, and even televised series. Stories make use of the trickster figure at various points, often for comedic purposes.

The female divine, too, can be seen in many aspects of the media, but is more specific to celebrities who bill themselves with a particular theme in mind. The male divine, though not quite of such epic and religious proportion as depicted in myth, is nevertheless present in modern media. Even sacred places have their, well... place. Those that might contest the relevance of myth in present day have only to look to the media to see examples of classic mythical figures.

Myth & Culture

For as long as I can remember, I have read. Books, magazines, brochures, comics -- so long as there is text, I am content to read it. I have gladly read and re-read stories over the years, sometimes starting a book again just after I've read it for the first time, certain I may have missed something. But of all those many tomes and texts, my very favorite type of literature is fantasy and myth. Something has always appealed to me about creation myths in specific, though I couldn't say just what it is about them I so enjoy. I like learning about myths from different cultures, too, as so many different cultures embrace unique and fascinating variants on the origin of man, how the sun came to sit in the sky, and so on. It makes me wonder about how those different myths come to define specific aspects of the culture and how they may have affected modern day societies.

Myth-ink Link

Many people regard myths as a thing of the past -- stories that are in relative conjunction with other legends and stock fantasy. However, myths are relevant to the modern day. For example, many people see graveyards as bad places to be, and perhaps even go so far as to associate them with bad luck, though there is only superstition to dictate such a feeling. As a culture, we associate graveyards with the dead (and rightly so), yet many old traditions from multiple different cultures suggest that the spirits of the dead are present in such a place, and that may be the reason why we, a culture otherwise ostensibly devoid of mythos, believe that graveyards are inherently bad places to be.

Superstition plays an unquestionable role in all of this, as well. If we did not believe that negative things would come as a result of our not observing a certain tradition or unspoken rule, we would most likely let a superstition, or myth, fade into obscurity.

Bad Poetry

As an individual who occasionally gives in to some mysterious whim and writes some potentially poor or pretentious poetry, I feel a little presumptuous speculating about what makes bad poetry so unbearably… bad. The World English Dictionary’s definition of poetry is “literature in metrical form; verse”, which gives us plenty of insight as to what poetry is, literally (no pun intended), but does not give us any idea of what constitutes good poetry, or what we should look for to determine poetry’s worth.

I surmise, then, that bad poetry lacks originality. It does not inspire the reader to imagine any circumstance that they have not already considered, nor do they envision a setting they have not already encountered. Bad poetry is matter-of-fact and practical. It reuses age-old phrases and images that not only fail to stimulate the reader, but also cause them to think the piece trite. Above all else, bad poetry has no imagination.

Heart's Desire

O, fickle heart, it has e'er been thou
That has led me astray, and so sweetly
Cajoled, lured me to this state wherein
I have lost all my control, completely.
Lost my logical sense of right and wrong
And lost all of my control completely.
How do I rebel against thee? Thou'rt
Not of a substance which I can defend
Against, nor art thou conscious choice; naught can
Come of it but unfortuitous end.
No simple thing to resist, yet I must,
Or I shall face unfortuitous end.
So ensorcelled by your lies have I been,
And in so, tempted to do wayward sin.

Riptide

The trepidatious white foam of the tide
Reminds me there is infinitely more to me
Inside.
A concept adrift on currents presently,
The I of I swam out too far and died,
Henceforth to be washed up
On the other side.
A place far across the sea.

How is it that the me of me came to be
Sans compass, navigation,
No stars or iron with which to guide
Or plot my course?
It was nature's judicious
Show of force,
That which the tremulous foam belied.
I found myself trying to rely
On instinct, but to no avail.
The "why" of it is less form than function.

To the credit of the tide
It has taught me
I must come to see
The I of I, the me of me.