IV. Le Petit Prince is Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's most famous novella (written in 1943). It is one of my favorite books and has been since I was young. It is a story about a boy who draws these fanciful images which come alive. While it is a children's book, it makes several really profound comments on human nature and society. It is about the simple truths that we, as we grow up, forget and stop appreciating. While the messages throughout the book are so beautiful in their simplistic truth, I find it remarkable how large of an audience this book has reached. It has been published in over 180 languages, sold over 50 million copies and is one of the top 50 best-selling books. Le petit prince can be seen on tee-shirt, plates... everything with inspirational quotes about love and life. I'm not sure how I would elaborate on this, but I think it would be a great primary source to look more into. 

Also:: I was interested in photo booths... i really have NO idea if this would work or what I would do, but what do you think??

Primary Sources: Part II

III. This time around I started off in the bookstore and came across this month's Cosmo. Rihanna is on the cover, surrounded by several catchy headings such as "21 naughty SEX TIPS", "5 things never to tell your guy", and "your va-jay-jay". I think that looking at this magazine in a feminist perspective would be very interesting, because basically Cosmo supports women to have sex "like men", which in fact, is contradictory to female needs. Plante, in her book "Sexualities in Context" talks about how Cosmo is actually degrading rather than empowering for women. I think that if I were to look at an issue, or a section in a few different magazines and look at how the rhetoric, language and images are either empowering, degrading, confining etc to women. 

I. My first primary source is Amélie.  It is a french film directed by Jean-Pierre Jenuet in 2001. The full title is "Le Fabuleux Destin D'Amélie) Poulain" (the Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain). It's a romantic and dramatic comedy about how one person can change your life forever and the little, but magically parts of the world. It is one of my favorite movies. I love the beautiful yet quirky cinematography and the appreciation of the wonderful delights of life. While I couldn't find some of my favorite scenes (such as Amélie as a child)-- there is one scene in which she accidently finds a box in the walls of her bathroom that a boy left there several years ago. It is filled with material objects that seem trivial; however, as we see Bretodeau rediscover this box (that she hid in a telephone booth for him to find), a flood of emotion overwhelms him and transports him back to his childhood. It is remarkable that these simple objects can bring about such poignant and vivid emotions of events over 50 years ago. "I'm in a box myself". We are all just an accumulation of objects and experiences that shape who we are. This raw and simplistic truth about life evokes a number of different emotions. It is visually and emotionally beautiful. It is enigmatic, yet entirely relevant; thus, this almost concrete connection that the viewer can make pulls him/her in to the transformational ways of Amélie.

II. My second primary source is a box of Rice Krispies. It's characterized blue box with Snap, Crackle and Pop dancing around the almost erupting cereal is enticing and entirely nostalgic. No matter how my tastes change, Rice Krispies (with 1% milk, a tablespoon of sugar and sometimes sliced bananas) reminds me of my childhood, in the mornings where I used to quickly enjoy a bowl before first grade. While this "primary source" entices my senses on a more personal level, in looking at the box today I realized that there are several changes on the box. While those delicious krispies have remained that same, both the depiction of the adorable trio of boys as well as the additional information on the box has changes significantly. In comparison to older boxes, these new ones are so different. From the switch from a white to bright blue box, the continual characterizing of Snap, Crackle and Pop, as well as the emphasis of "Nutrition at a Glance" reflects societal changes in market and demand. I found it funny that there was such a focus on "Nutrition" on this box (considering that it is catered to children -- or so I thought for the cartoon figures on the front). I remember that these boxes used to be filled with fun games and puzzles... things that kids really loved. I mean, do kids really care that there are only 120 calories in a serving... 6% of the GDA (Guildline Daily Amount... which is later explained, in case you were wondering). Anyways, I think that the contrast among boxes could be an interesting primary source to look further into. 

writing I interview

In talking to my roommate about her experiences with Writing I last semester, I began to realize that the way in which the class is structured is really there to make these seemingly daunting assignments possible while also giving the opportunity to actually succeed in understanding a cultural object in a new and maybe even more profound context. She wrote about "Amazing Grace" -- comparing and contrasting the original score and lyrics to recent ones. She tried to integrate historical and social changes that could have affected these changes within the song. While she is inherently much more musical than I, I think that it is so interesting that something as simple as a song can have so much meaning behind it, both in when it was originally created, but also when it was redone. After talking to her, I started brainstorming about what I would like to do. I love film, so I was thinking to possibly look at a movie... or even an object or idea that is represented in or embodied by a movie. I'm not really sure, but I'm very excited to see the development of this process.