100 Confessions: My Five LEAST favorite books

(67) My Five LEAST favorite books:

(1) Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
Reason: This Pultizer-prize winning story captures the dichotomy of beauty and death. Dillard writes this in first person as she spends years recording what happens in nature If anyone cried as much as Annie Dillard in that story, they would be on anti-depressants. She could have a spiritual revelation while taking a dump.

(2) The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
Reason: imagine reading Lord of the Rings if Tolkien was an awful writer and clearly ripping off other people's material. That's The Sword of Shannara.

(3) Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Reason: this is mainly principal. If you were a young aspiring fantasy writer, what would be your wet dream? Two parents in publishing. Paolini's wet dream was real. Both his parents were in publishing, and, we get the impression, kind of helped him through the process. Once it's finished, they have easy access to speaking engagements in schools, etc. to promote the book. And on a narrative note, the only author more derivative that Christopher Paolini is Terry Brooks.

(4) Living Dead in Dallas by Charlene Harris
Reason: After writing a blockbuster first novel Dead Until Dark, Charlene Harris writes a sequel that has none of the narrative mystery, flair or even sex appeal of the first book. Someone should tell her that there are other ways to bring sex appeal to book rather than actually having a sex scene every chapter. It's like 007 became a woman...and started sleeping with vampires. The sweet, innocent girl we fell in love with in Dead Until Dark kisses at least three different guys in this one and tries every position you can imagine in this one. And ones you can't really imagine. Because they're vampires.

(5) Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
Reason: I know it's a harsh thing to say about the second-most read book of all time (next to the Bible), but I really did think the book is awful. I left Pilgrim's Progress really hating Christian, the main character. And more than that, I was furious at having "Christian" represent my religion. He was an a**hole. I left the book thinking that I'd rather be left outside the castle than spend my life walking on eggshells with that dude. I know, I know. It was a different time period, but hey, so was the Bible. I can still read that and think Jesus was chill.

Review: New Media, New Politics: From Satellite Television to Internet in the Arab World

This semi-famous white-paper from 1999 confronts head-on the issues of censorship just hinted at in other publications (such as here, here, here, and here). There are three essential messages of this paper:

(1) New Media is still new and confined largely to the elite. But Internet is proliferation rapidly.
(2) Governments are struggling to exert censorship over new media.
(3) "The Internet holds the promise of allowing Arabs to dip into a vast sea of information that currently lies beyond their grasp" (Alterman xi).

Alterman could be accused of being overly optimistic that the new generation of Arabs, using New Media, will overcome any ills in their society. The internet certainly provided a great source of new information in America and many new tools for overcoming the ills in our society, but it also gave tools to pedophiles. Media is both glorious and fallen as Calvin would say.

Alterman notes the grounds for censorship in the Arab world. It is fascinating enough that I will quote it at length:

"There are generally four grounds for censorship in the Arab world today. The first has to do with the bounds of political debate. Whereas every Arab country has some degree of free debate, in each there are "red lines" that cannot be crossed. These red lines often have to do with Islamist opposition forces...The second and related taboo is criticism of a country's rulers or their families. From Morocco to Iraq, rulers may not be criticized by name in the domestic media (Alterman 46)

A famous example of the second taboo (that often results in censorship) was of the Moroccan leader Hosni Mubarak's sons. After a regional newspaper advertised an upcoming issue in which they would reveal details of the sons' personal corruption, the sons successfully sued the news organization to keep them from printing it. Then to add insult to injury, they sued the paper a second time for false advertising by promising a story they never delivered to the public (Alterman 46).

The third taboo has to do with writing of a religious nature that might cause undue dissension in a country. Islam is the majority religion in every country in the Arab world, but there remains disagreement within and between countries regarding what the proper practice of Islam requires. Within the generally acceptable bounds od discussion are debates over the nature of Islamic finance, cultural conflict with Western secularism and the role of women in the family and in the workplace. What are generally barred are discussions that seek to delegitimize Muslim groups or that incite violence against religious minorities. This is often a floating line, and it is most clearly crossed when Islamist partisans start tossing around the concepts of apostasy (ridda) or disbelief (kufr) to describe groups or individuals whose views they oppose. Whereas governments in the region often try to appropriate Islam to legitimize their own rule, they are vigilant in guarding against the possibility that some would use Islam to deligitimize either the government itself or groups in the general population (Alterman 46-47).

The third taboo is interesting because it relates so closely to the second. If the leader of your country IS your religious leader (ie. Iran), then what are you doing when you publish something that challenges that leader? Are you challenging politics or religion? In practice, it's often whichever has the worse consequences for the journalist (Doha Debates). Without separation of religion and state, a statement against a corrupt leader can be twisted easily into a statement against Islam.

The forth taboo has to do with social and sexual mores....The guiding principle seems in many ways not so much toban because of the nature of the materials themselves, but rather to ban those materials that are likely to cause (or have caused) offense among domestic clergy (Alterman 47).

But Alterman notes that censorship is perhaps a dying art. Because the internet proliferates and as literacy proliferates, people will be using the internet for information. "Censorship over the internet is ...perhaps the easiest to circumvent, becuase many of those who want to circumvent restrictions are more technically savvy than those who want to keep the restrictions in place" (Alterman 47).

Alterman predicts that transnational media is the future of Arab journalism because they can do hard-hitting reporting of multiple countries without having to answer to them. Off-shore media is large area of growth, with reporters on the ground in the Arab world, but supplying information to publications based in England and France, who are exempt from censoring laws (Alterman 73-74).

Review: Arab Mass Media

The essential message of William Rugh's updated study of the Arab world (he wrote the foundational book "The Arab Press" in the 1970s), is the government shapes the media and, to a certain extent, the media shapes the government. This is particularly interesting in the Arab world because, while the Arab countries share numerous similarities, the environments can be vastly different as a result of the government in place. (and I would add, it can also be different depending on the amount of internet penetration. Compare Lebanon and Saudi Arabia).

The mass media play a larger role than other forms of communication in the daily lives of people everywhere, but especially in the Arab world. These media are consequently regarded by politicians and governments as having great political importance. In fact, the acquisition and distribution of news has been seen for a long time as a vital political function in society because the news items may have political impact very quickly on large numbers of people...The way government and society deal with this institution (mass media) is significant for an understanding of that government and society as well as of the mass communications process. (Rugh xiv)

Rugh spends much the book updating the information he'd obtained for "The Arab Press." Whereas the press and the media were perhaps less developed at this time, the number of type of communications outlets has proliferated so that even the poorest Arab countries have television stations etc. By the late 70s all Arab countries not only had their own television stations but their own magazines and newspapers) (Rugh xiv-xv). As in his previous work, Rugh uses a typology unique to the Arab world to characterize the ways in which media operate. The four categories are:

(1) The Mobilization Press- (Syria, Libya, Sudan) The press system where "the ruling group is aggressively dedicated to revolutionary change, and it has managed to eliminate all real organized public opposition domestically, but requires active support from the media to help achieve its stated goals and combat its declared enemies" (Rugh 251).
(2) The Loyalist Press- (Bahrain, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE) is seated in countries where a "more traditional political system prevails; all are monarchies except Palestine, which has been dominated overwhelmingly by one man. No significant opposition exists, but the government, more satisfied with the status quo than intent on change, is content with passive acquiescence from the public and does not require the press to generate action" (Rugh 251-252).
(3) The Diverse Press- (Lebanon, Moracco, Kuwait, Yemen, Iraq) it takes place in a "political environment where the public expression of a variety of opinions and viewpoints, including criticism of the government, is possible, and where the regime does not intervene to suppress all open dissent" (Rugh 252). The government may occasionally take action against a news outlet, but it is rare and done primarily through the courts.
(4) The Transitional Press- (Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia) this press system is a "mixed system in which the largest circulation print media are controlled directly by the government but smaller ones are owned by private individuals or parties, and they have some latitude to criticize those in power" (Rugh 252). The government does try to restrict them at times, but it uses the courts as well and relies on journalists' self-censorship.

These types of press systems aren't an accidental bi-product of political realities, but an object of political calculation (Rugh 254). According to Rugh, the biggest indicator in determining the nature of the relationship between the press and the government is the diversity of press publications. In every Arab country, some media will be in complete support of government policy (Rugh 252). The essential function of the diverse press which allows it to have the freest press in the Arab World (Morocco Lebanon, Kuwait) is the existence of a genuine opposition to the ruling party which can function openly. If no public opposition is allowed, it follows that the press will be in uniform voice (Rugh 253).

Interestingly, the most tightly controlled media (radio and television) are the media which have given the Arab public the most freedom. Because while the media in their country may not aire any news about local government, another country within airwaves may be willing.

Review: Twilight

Okay, just to be clear here: I'm reviewing the book, not the movie. I haven't seen the movie, but I use the pictures because it brings more hits. True story.

Now, I approached this book with a bit of trepidation. After all, what would I tell people if I actually liked it? Twilight has earned the rap of being a girl's book and more specifically a tween girl's book. However, as a writer in the fantasy genre and some one who's been fascinated with vampire books for a long time (recent evidence), I thought it was worth a read.

So here are my thoughts:

(1) This book does for chicks, what a sword and sorcery book does for dudes. If you read any typical sword and sorcery book, it has some very typical elements: the young orphan raised in isolation; he discovers he is "special" and is sole person who can save the world; and in the process he will save damsels in distress, fight alongside buxom but ferocious female warriors and become unbelievably powerful (the late Robert Jordan is perhaps the epitome of this in his endless Wheel of Time series).

Now Twilight has some similar elements: a girl from a place things are boring and normal; she has an emotionally sensitive relationship with her parents that isolates her; she comes to a place where she is "special" and every boy at school wants to go out with her (including the boy genetically geared to destroy her); she will bravely, for love, put herself in dangerous situations where people fight for her because she is so special.

(2) Once again, we have secular vampires. The religious elements of vampirism have been taken out (the fear of the cross, holy water, etc) which leaves them as a sort of social group. In the book, they are balanced by a native Indian tribe who have been there for centuries (and who, I suspect, are werewolves). Thus the vampires become a marginalized part of society, largely through the actions of some bad apple vampires who hunt and kill people.

(3) The vampire elements are a backdrop for a romance story. Stephanie Meyer claimed that her inspiration for Twilight came from reading Pride and Prejudice. You can see the elements there: the forbidden love, the social danger, the major subplot of family relationships, and even the comedic elements (Bella can't play sports to save her life, and for someone who likes to hang out with bloodthirsty vampires, she tends to hurt herself a lot).

So to answer the broader question: "Did you like the story?" I liked parts of it, but then again, I wasn't the audience for this book. This isn't a book for people who like vampire/fantasy stories, it's for people who like romance stories. My favorite plot line was not the love relationship between Bella and Edward (which was the main plot), but the subplot of Bella's relationship with her father, Charlie. Neither Bella nor Charlie are good at expressing emotion yet throughout the story you see Charlie attempting to show his love for her in his own way (putting chains on her tires while she was asleep, etc.)

The Unvampiresque Vampires of Dead Until Dark

Review:

Dead Until Dark

So I just finished reading the book Dead Until Dark, by Charlene Harris. As a fantasy fiction writer, I try to keep up with the hot trends in books, movies, television etc. and True Blood (which is based on Dead Until Dark) has been getting quite a bit of press. If you've watched an episode, it's easy to see why. You've got sex, you've got murder and you've got...well, more sex.

But I have to admit, I've always liked a good vampire story. I'm the kid that grew up reading Stephen King and Anne Rice (I was actually forbidden to read Anne Rice, so I would sneak the books out of my mothers bedroom or read chapters at a time at the local bookstore). I plowed through Salem's Lot while in grade school and then Dracula while on a family trip one heart-racing summer not long after. Dead Until Dark itself isn't brilliant. It's basic pop fiction fare: lots of dialog, little description, a fast-paced plot that ends in about 300 pages. What is brilliant is the world she creates. Because Harris departs from the traditional vampire lore in some very interesting ways:

(1) Vampirism isn't demonic position, it's a virus. In the traditional Der Vampir/ Dracula story, the vampire is a human person who's been possessed by a demon. One of the key arguments for staking Dracula in the book is that by killing him, they were freeing his soul from imprisonment by a demon. The demon possession is, thus, why vampires can't stand holy water or crosses. Holy water was used in Dracula and Salem's Lot to destroy the vampires living space. The cross fended them off. In Dead Until Dark, this is not the case. Vampires can go to Church, can touch crosses, no problem. Religion is taken off the table and vampires become the new persecuted social group. They have a virus which "they can't help" and they "just live a little differently" than everyone else. In the book, the integration of vampires into mainstream life is equivalated to the early days of the civil rights and, clearly, the gay rights movement.

(2) Vampires still break cultural taboos, but just as much as humans. Its perhaps hard to understand in today's culture. But in the 19th century when Dracula was published, vampires epitomized all the taboos of 19th century life: cannibalism, sexuality, isolation (they weren't part of a local community), and anti-Christian (they couldn't go to Church and were in fact deadly afraid of Christian artifacts.) The vampires of Dead Until Dark are still cannibalistic, they need blood to survive, but they have an artificial blood they can drink: "True Blood." And many show restraint in terms of their blood-sucking habits. Humans, by comparison, burn down vampire homes, conduct kinky sex regularly and have a serial killer on the loose. The book doesn't portray vampires as morally better than humans, but they're certainly not portrayed worse. And that's the point.

(3) Vampires aren't completely animalistic and humans don't always act, well, humane. One of the key frightening points of Dracula is the understanding that a person as wise as Dracula could become a slave to animal desires, losing reason, cultural restraint (as mentioned earlier), sympathy. In Der Vampir, Dracula, and Salem's Lot that holds true. Humanity does eek into Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and it certainly does in Dead Until Dark. But by putting the context of the story into a murder mystery, we get to see one of the worst sides of humanity: the serial killer. Just a brief glimpse over the bios of John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy (here), and Jeffrey Dahmer is enough to make your blood run cold at the inhuman nature of what they did. This is incredibly ironic that Harris would use that contrast, as the original medieval legends about werewolves and vampires are believed to have originated from serial killers.

How reporting in Arab states is eerily similar to reporting on evanglical Christian campuses

Review: The Doha Debates

I know this sounds far-fetched. But similarities are striking between the struggles a journalism student faces on an evangelical Christian campus and a working journalist faces in the Arab media. The "ah-ha" moment came during a viewing of the Jan 31 2006 episode of the Doha Debates, "This House believes that Arab media needs no lessons in journalism from the West."

Arab media expert and academic Marc Lynch noted in the debate that Arab media in the last few years had improved leaps and bounds. And said that while the Arab media in a given state can't cover their own state, they're remarkably good at covering neighboring states. The host, Tim Sebastian took him to task:

TIM SEBASTIAN: They do the easy things, they criticise other people. You'll never get an Arab station criticising its own leadership on its doorstep, do you?

MARC LYNCH: That's true but if you look at the range that's out there, if you want to find someone criticising Qatar , just go to Abdallah's station, it's easy enough to do.

TIM SEBASTIAN: That's the point, you have to go somewhere else. It's easy to throw stones over the wall and then escape, isn't it?

MARC LYNCH: The difference is that in the past, nobody could criticize Saudi Arabia because there was no place to do so. Now there is, and if anyone wants to criticise Qatar , there's a place to do it.

TIM SEBASTIAN: But it's neither in Qatar nor in Saudi Arabia.

MARC LYNCH: Does it matter? These are pan-Arab debates for pan-Arab audiences. Does it really matter where the studio is located?

TIM SEBASTIAN: But isn't the point of journalism to act as watchdogs on your own turf?

MARC LYNCH: I think that's the next step. The next step has to be local media, local media which takes on the hard problems and holds local leaders accountable. Al Jazeera cannot do that, Al Arabiya cannot do that (Doha Debates).

Let me list some of the similarities:

(1) In Arab Media, you can criticize other countries, but it gets more dicey when it comes to criticizing your own government. In Christian schools, you can talk about scandals on other schools no problem, but when it comes time to report on your own Christian school, it also becomes problematic. This becomes especially true if the Arab state/Christian school helps fund the news outlet.

The difference here of course is quality of response. The stakes are higher in Arab media, where you can be detained, or in some cases assaulted and killed (Doha Debates). In the meantime, Christian Schools face prior restraint, news outlet closing or expulsion at worst.

(2) In Arab Media, it's perceived as easier to write an opinion piece critiquing something in government than a news story because in a news story, people either don't want to be quoted or you'll find yourself perpetuating governmental spin. In Christian schools, many of which are private institutions that can fire on the spot, professors don't want to be quoted. Because they don't want to get fired. So it's easier to write an opinion piece critiquing the school.

(3) In Arab Media, journalists at times practice self-censorship for their own safety, and oftentimes because they don't want to be perceived as "hurting" their country (Rugh; Ayalon). In Christian schools, journalists at times also practice self censorship because they don't want to make waves with their professors/other students or perceived as hurting a "Christian brother."

I'm sure I'll find more...

Review: The Arab Press

For the basic themes of this book, read this, then subtract two decades.

That said, “The Arab Press” is the original study of press in the Arab world. Rugh notes in this book, which looks across sixteen Arab countries, that the press in the Arab world reflects and takes the shape of the country it’s in.

There is an intimate, organic relationship between the media institutions and society in the way those institutions are organized and controlled. Neither the institution nore the society in which it functions can be understood properly without reference to the other.

This is certainly true in the Arab world. The news media there, in fact, are particularly interesting in this regard because of the roles they have played during the third quarter of the twentieth century as most of the Arab countries gained their full independence and developed their own national institutions (Rugh xxvi).

The main thesis of Rugh’s book is that arab news organizations take the shape of, and reflect the country their in. It’s hard to generalize about Arab press because there are some countries with significantly freer press than others.

The Four Models of Journalism make an interesting appearance in this book however (though they’re slightly altered). Rugh asserts that, in the arab press, there are four basic press models:

(1) Authoritarian-

“the media support and advance the policies of the government, which controls the media either directly or indirectly through licensing, legal action, or perhaps financial means. The regime allows the media some discussion of society and the machinery of government, but not of the people in power” (Rugh 25).

This system arises from the assumption that truth arises not from the masses, but from the elite few. This press model is perhaps similar to public relations model in the United States, though in the U.S. few people would consider this legitimate journalism.

(2) Libertarian- holds that

“the media must be completely free of government controls and provide the consumer with sufficient objective information and variety of opinion so that the consumer can make up his or her own mind. The libertarian media are both an outside check on government—the watchdog function—and a vehicle for what Milton called a “free and open encounter” of ideas which should help reasoning people distinguish truth from error” (Rugh 26).

This press model is perhaps most similar to the American model of the press. Multiple, competing viewpoints. Objective, independently verified facts as a foundation.

(3) Social Responsibility- formed in response to the libertarian model, Rugh said this model has had a harder time taking hold in the Arab world in it’s pure form for both cultural and economic reasons. There are segments of society that didn’t have either the funds or the reputation to create their own press in the 20th century that was strictly their viewpoint. They had a better chance of being heard in the libertarian model.

This is the party press. The press with a bias, presented openly and delivered unapologetically. The press has a social responsibility to back a certain viewpoint (Rugh 26). This model corresponds with the European model of the press.

(4) Totalitarian- this is press model that perhaps isn’t even worth consideration in American, but overseas, it is.

“Under the totalitarian system, all information media are centrally controlled by the government, whether they are in private or public hands, and unapproved foreign or other competing media may not be distributed at all in the country. Unlike the negative controls of an authoritarian media system, which merely restricts anti-regime content in available media, totalitarian controls are intended to force the media into a positive, active role of agitation and propaganda within an overall scheme to mobilize the population. Most importantly, while the authoritarian system generally is concerned only about mass media and outward obedience and allows free speech in private, in the totalitarian system, the rulers attempt to control all aspects of a person’s life, demanding an individual’s positive, active commitment in public and private to their goals” (Rugh 27).

This is the PR Model on steroids. This is the Stalinist USSR. This is 1984. Thankfully, this has few homes in the world today, but in previous imperialist days, the Arab media saw this press model in their homes.

Review: The Press in the Arab Middle East

Press freedom was problematic in the Arab world for much of the 19th and 20th century. Press censorship wasn’t just legislated and economically motivated. Many times the harshest censor was the press itself.

Culturally, many Arabs saw freedom of expression as a weapon that could either be used beneficially or destructively. Rafiq- al-Maqdisi, a Syrian author, told the following story to illustrate it’s destructiveness:

It happened in 1908, following the restoration of the Ottoman constitution, in the Banyas district of the province of Ladhiqiyya. An angel walking from the town to the country met a villager on his way to Banyas, who asked him:
“What is new in town?”
“Freedom has been declared.”
“How come?”
“Our lord the Sultan has restored the constitution and imparted freedom.”
Whereupon the villager shouted at the top of his voice: “The world is free then!” and immediately grabbed a stick and started beating the angel for the world had become free! (Ayalon 132)

Ayalon’s history of the Arab Press makes the case that the Arab press was largely progressing along the western world’s path, albeit a century or two behind (Ayalon 249) until the fall of the Ottoman Empire which sent it back to tabula rosa. Ayalon proposes that the Arab press has always been a step behind the western press because of the religio-cultural obstacles that had to be overcome for press freedom. She noted that even among the most educated arab journalists, there is a desire to self-censor to protect their country (Ayalon 136).

This self-censorship is perhaps rooted in religion. Before the rise of news publications in the Arab world, the primary means of communication happened through the mosque (Ayalon 4). The mosque was not just a place for religious devotion but a locale to learn about current events. Well, with the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the people who took charge of countries in the Arab world, appeal to their constituents religious beliefs—but depicting themselves as faithful religious people. Those elected officials then at once affirm press freedom as long as it “obeyed the law” and also largely supported or disapproved of the press according to their whims. Since these officials were seen in the same role as religious leaders – those who traditionally gave the news anyway – the concept of writing copy which might be in opposition to them was an obstacle for journalists (Ayalon 126).

Culturally, not only was critical journalism itself seen unfavorably, but any type of journalism was viewed negatively (Ayalon 221).

One serious disadvantage in being a journalist was the low public image of the occupation, which remained so throughout much of the period under consideration. When Jurji Zaydan joined al-Muqtataf as an administrator in 1887, his father’s reaction was, typically, strongly adverse. He wanted his son to study something more ‘decent,’ such as medicine or law. Still an amorphouse activity, journalism had none of the prestige of either of the other two professions (Ayalon 221).

The job seemed odd. It required no special certifications, it was denounced by religious leaders and it dealt with words and opinions.

Overall, Ayalon admits that the idea of a free press assimilated slowly into the Arab world and said the press faced numerous cultural and religious obstacles perhaps not faced in the West.

Review: Modern Arab Journalism by Noha Mellor

Noha Mellor’s book attempts to map the research gap of Arab Journalism. Through the course of the book, she notes empty areas of academic research: the social practices of Arab Journalists and the local/national Arab media as opposed to pan-Arab media. She also refuted the generalization of Arab media as a unified entity, viewing it instead as a diverse array of press models in a diverse culture.

Hybridity is a key concept in the understanding of this book. Hybridity is flows from the idea of globalization. When Arab countries encounter a force like McDonalds they don’t always (often?) react by forming a picture perfect western McDonalds. In hybridity, a culture forms their own style of fast food restaurant (Mellor 9-10). This is especially true in regards to journalism. Over the past two decades, increased western presence in Arab countries, along with the proliferation of cell phones and internet have given Arab countries unprecedented access to Western Journalism.

One of the key social practices adopted from the American model press is the idea of the objective reporter (Mellor 127). Acting as what Mellor, calls a “truth investigator,” arab journalists in numerous countries go in search of a set of facts (Mellor 123). What is perhaps less adopted from the American Model press is the idea of quoting numerous sides of an issue to find the truth. For example, Mellor notes that there are no arab news organization – at least none that she cites – that publish stories critical of Islam (Mellor 133). In this way, Arab Journalism is perhaps more easily identified with the openly-biased (by Western standards) style of the press used in European countires. But even there, the comparison still perhaps falls short. Numerous factors, such as the proliferation of Arab dialects used in news organizations, the medium and the country in question make Arab Journalism problematic to pin into a given slot of typology (Mellor 142-143; 91-92).

Mellor’s book also notes the problem of studying Arab Journalism in a pan-Arab manner. Perhaps the most well known Arab News Organization, Al-Jazeera, is not even universally supported by the Arab League. Many countries within the League dislike the idea of a media entity questioning the practices of their government (Mellor 86).

Mellor notes that the idea of a unified Arab people wipes away “any diversity in language, interests, goals, history, alliances, social problems and concerns…Furthermore, such a generalized view of the ‘Arab Public’ disregards the nuances and complexities brought about by the increased immigration of Arabs to the West and the enlargement of the Arab diasporic communities there” (Mellor 77). In addition, while the pan-Arab media may inadvertently push for Arab unity in their use of MSA Arabic (a form of pan-Arab Arabic that is standardized, and perhaps watered-down), the very laws of individual countries make that problematic (Mellor 82). Vernacular Arabic is at times radically different from MSA Arabic—so much so that one can’t comprehend the other (Mellor 91-92). So if the law includes that the official language of a given country, and the official state communitications is in vernacular, that makes pan-Arabic satellite channels and MSA Arabic publications largely unreadable in given Arab countries.

Largely implied by the diversity of vernacular Arabic languages, is a diversity of opinion on the press. While it may have at one time been fair to characterize all Arab media the mouthpiece of the government, with press freedom largely downtrodden, Mellor makes the case that the press is increasingly complex. The advent of news blogs and online news organizations makes prior-restraint more difficult. It’s easier to find a publisher if he has a printing press in his house, then if he goes from internet café to internet café uploading news content.

GopherLink! Hamlet done in the Facebook medium. Classic.

Review: The Watchmen

I know there was a lot of hype. I really did have high hopes for this one. As a fan of the graphic novel, I recognized that there was alot the movies would not be able to do (just for sake of time and sensibility). I think my problems come down to whether the movie ought to have been made--the same question the Washington Post raised the day before it's release.

As a rule, movies based on movies stray to far from their original narrative. In this case, the Watchmen didn't do too bad, but it was to the detriment of the movie. What seems cool and exciting in a graphic novel seems...well, kind of slow in a movie. In the graphic novel, the flashbacks are gripping and immerse you in the book. But on set, you just want the action to start. So here it is: the positive three and the negative three:

Positive
(1) It's true to the book- I'd wondered how they were going to spin a book that doesn't have a true antagonist. (spoiler alert: The "bad" guy of the movie never really stopped being good. He just a realized that "save billions" he would have to "kill millions.") It a bit of a statement for moral relativism.
(2) The visuals are stunning- I mean it. If you put screenshots of the movie next to panels from the graphic novel, it is stunning how they recreated these scenes.
(3) The characters are well played- I really did think they'd try to make Night Owl a more attractive protagonist. But they allowed him to be the regular Joe portrayed in the novel. Rorschach is creepy. Silk Spectre is hot. All is as it should be.

Negative
(1) It's true to the book- as I said earlier. Being true to the book really held back the pace of the plot.
(2) The visuals are stunning- so the gratuitous violence and sex are not held back. Now mind you, Alan Moore is the sick dude who had the graphic rape of Batgirl by Joker in Killing Joke, but even the graphic novel was more staid. Did we really need to see the bones coming out of the guys' arms? How about when Dr. Manhatten splats a guy and his body parts are left hanging from the ceiling (not even in the book)? And then of course you get the sex scenes and yessir, it's all there.
(3) The characters are well-played- at least those who appear. The Minuitemen make only a brief appearance and the entire pirate sideplot is gone. Sidebar: The sideplot really helps the viewer understand what the heck is going on in the story. Without it, the ending seems a bit ambiguous.

Grade- C+

Alice in Wonderland: A Review

So I recently re-read Alice in Wonderland, a book I haven’t read since childhood. Coming back to the novel now, I’ve noted a few things:

(1)Influence of Opium- it never seemed odd to me as a child that Alice struggled with being “too big” and “too small” throughout the course of the novel. And the only way Alice could attempt to regulate her size was by eating cakes and drinking certain potions. The problem of course is that her size is in continuous flux, so she has to keep taking potions and eating the cakes. Some scholars seem to think Carroll (actually known as Charles Dodgeson) had an addiction problem to opium.

(2)Use of the genre “Literary Nonsense”- yes it’s actually a genre. All the characters in the book use lines of reasoning that make little sense, but all are too stubborn to re-think their reasoning (perhaps a subversive statement about 19th century Britain?). One of my favorite passages from the book:

“I’m beginning to think that Mad Hatter is quite mad,” said Alice.
“Of course,” said the Cheshire Cat. “I’m mad, you’re mad, we’re all mad.”
“Well, excuse me,” Alice said indignantly, “but how do you know I’m mad?”
“If you weren’t mad, you wouldn’t be here.”

Madness was also a key subject of Dodgeson’s life. He suffered from epilepsy and mental disorders for most of his life and was, at times accused of madness. Also, his mother died of an inflammation of brain while he in his first semester at Oxford University.

(3)Integration of English school lessons- I recognized on this reading, just how many lessons are given through the course of the novel. Some have noted that these lessons were meant for young 14-year-old Alice Liddell, for whom the book is presumably named. Of course they also say there was a problem with Dodgeson’s relationship with young Alice. It’s worth noting that not to many books about little girls talk about their breasts. Alice in Wonderland does.