synesthesia

The background information on Baudelaire presents the topic of synesthesia. It defines it as "the reciprocity of our five senses." I viewed synesthesia almost as a literary device in this sense; Baudelaire drew parallels between the senses and attempted to get his reader to see how they correspond. However, if you look up synesthesia online, it's mainly viewed in relation to the medical condition. I read an article released by pitchfork that detailed the various artists who have claimed to experience this phenomenon, which they defined as a condition in which a person's senses are joined. From Billie Eilish to Kanye West, everyone seems to want to claim this magical power. A professor of psychology at the University of Miami has claimed to experience synesthesia for as long as she remembers, and she even proposes that anyone can "teach" themselves the most common form of this unusual connection of senses. 

So, my question to y'all is: have you ever experienced this phenomenon, or even attempted to?

Joaquin Phoenix's speech at the Oscars !!

As I watched the Oscars this past weekend, I very much enjoyed Joaquin Phoenix's speech. I feel that he was deserving of the Oscar for Best Actor, and his speech stood out from any speech I’ve ever seen. The style and delivery reminded me of the material we’ve been studying in class: Notes from Underground. Phoenix seemed to be criticizing our current world, specifically the injustices, as well as human behavior. At one moment he said, “And I think we fear the idea of personal change because we think that we have to sacrifice something, to give something up, but human beings, at our best, are so inventive and creative and ingenious.” This part of the speech reminded me so much of Notes from Underground. Just like Dostoevsky, Joaquin Phoenix was brave enough to reveal the raw realities of our society and how we treat/interact with our surroundings. He dares us to push for change within ourselves and to see our commonality with others, regardless of how different we think we are. 

I suggest ya’ll watch Joaquin Phoenix’s speech, it’s very inspirational and moving !!

(Although when he starts talking about baby cows and milk it was a bit strange haha)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87zXvSCmSYk

UNDERGROUND MAN'S THEME SONG

Hey hey hey (dont worry im not fat albert),

It's me, King Tanner.

This is the song that makes me think of the Underground Man.

I declare this to be the National Anthem of the blog.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjgZZGo881E

Kindly,

King Tanner Duncan Sykes I

HOW BOUT THEM OSCARS, HUH?

So, I watched the Oscar's last night. I was pretty happy with them. Jojo Rabbit definitely deserved best adapted screenplay and Parasite was deserving of best original screenplay, and history was made when it also won Best Picture, becoming the first foreign film to do so.

I am curious to hear all of your thoughts on the awards last night.

Tell me.

Now.

Sincerely,

King Tanner Duncan Sykes I

Birds of prey, wow

So I just saw Birds of Prey and honestly it’s probably one of the best movies of 2020. The soundtrack was amazing and it’s great to see a group of women kick some major butt on screen. So let’s talk a bit about irony for a bit so this counts as a blog post. Black Canary sings the song “It’s a man’s world” in the first 30 mins of the movie. You can probably see where I’m going with this so yeah. She and the  rest of the Birds kick major butt but I won’t spoil the movie for those of you who want to see it.

Lack of Sympathy for the “Underground Man”

As I began reading “Notes from Underground,” the Underground Man began by telling us about his sickness and loneliness. He says how he has no friends and has isolated himself from others in his life. 

            When we typically hear people say how they have no friends, happiness, or meaning in life, we feel sympathetic towards them. You tend to feel sorry or at least try to help them out in some way. However, with the Underground Man, I don’t really sympathize with him. For some reason, it is very difficult to feel bad for him. 

           I began thinking more about this, and wondered if he wanted us to sympathize with him? Is his goal for readers not to feel bad for him? 

            There seems to be some quality to the Underground Man that makes him isolated, even from readers. He describes himself in terms of things he dislikes about other people. By not having the qualities that others do, he describes himself.

             Do y’all feel the same way? Or do you sympathize with him?

What is your version of Underground?

Whilst reading Underground I noticed the “dramatic monologue” style of the writing was particularly interesting. The Underground Man seems to be analyzing and picking apart the world around him, while also picking apart characteristics of himself. I wondered if one of us decided to write something like this, in this day and age, what would we choose to criticize or analyze? I’m curious about what ya’ll would discuss. What aspects of the world would be the topic of your own piece of writing similar in style to Underground? What is your “dramatic monologue”? What is your Underground?