66th Emmy Awards Review (FW)

So, last night was the 66th annual Primetime Emmy Awards. For the first time since 1976, it was broadcasted on a Monday mainly due to conflicts with next months Sunday Night Football and MTV's VMA Awards. I usually like award shows mainly because its cool to see amazing television shows honored for bringing us great entertainment. I was especially excited for this year's show mainly because for the first time, I had seen some of the dramas nominated for best drama (yes I know, start making comments about me not watching Breaking Bad until now). I had watched Breaking Bad, House of Cards, and Game of Thrones this "television" year, so I was really excited. There was also the list of comedies that I love, so it was set to be a pretty great night.

 

The host was Seth Meyers, a pretty respectable and funny actor. I haven't seen any of Late Night yet, but I enjoyed him immensely on SNL so I thought it would be good. The opening was okay, a few jokes here and there and a pretty good Segway into the awards. I loved it when Bryan Cranston and Julia Louis-Dreyfus were presenters and Julia "forgot" that Bryan was on Seinfeld and he was her boyfriend(the dentist). Her memory came back when he kissed her after winning Best Actress in a Comedy. The presenters were also okay, with the humor ranging from great to mild. I also liked it when Gwen Stefani pulled a "Adele Dazeem" by pronouncing the T's in The Colbert Report. I really enjoyed when Seth and Billy Eichner went around asking people about the Emmys and having them awkwardly respond (should probably mention this took place in the street). There was also Weird Al's performance, taking theme songs from shows like Mad Men, Game of Thrones, and so on and adding words to them.

 

 Of course, the most emotional moment of the night was the "In Memoriam" section, highlighting those who have passed on like Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Maya Angelou, and Harold Ramis. A special segment was dedicated solely for Robin Williams which I thought was very touching. "Oh captain, My Captain."

 

Now lets get to the awards. I was happy to see Ty Burrell and Jim Parsons win for comedy as they are some of my favorite actors. I also loved it when Aaron Paul and Anna Gunn won in their categories. As much as I loved you this season Tyrion, I had to give to Jessie. Some big surprises to me came from the Miniseries or Television Movie Category, with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman winning for Best Actor and Supporting Actor respectively for their performance on Sherlock. I did think that they did great this year and it was cool to see a show that's three season's in and only 9 episodes be recognized the way they did (the episodes are long, but are very entertaining). Of course the major awards of the night were Best Comedy and Best Drama. Really it was a contest of Modern Family vs. Orange is the New Black and Breaking Bad vs. True Detective. That's just my opinion, but it seemed that these two legends were being challenged by some new hits. Modern Family did win and continues to cement itself as "TV's Funniest Comedy" which I'm okay with. When it came down to Drama, it was kind of anyone's game, but I was rooting for Breaking Bad. I'm not going to lie, the other nominees were impressive. Game of Thrones kicked major ass this year and House of Cards was definitely more darker and intriguing. I have only seen one episode of True Detective, but so far it's pretty good. But nothing could beat the second half of the final season of Breaking Bad. It was just so good that I'm mad I didn't start watching sooner. Breaking Bad also won with Best Actor (Cranston) Supporting Actor (Aaron Paul, Yeah Bitch!) and Supporting Actress (Anna Gunn).  While many people may say that it won because it was its final season I say "Yeah, because when Lost was on its final season, it won as well." I'm sorry, but you don't get to be the highest rated television series in history without being excellent.

 

 

Overall, I would say that this year's Emmy Awards was awesome. You had some good humor here and there and some great shows won. While I would have preferred to have seen Neil host again, Seth, you did great and the show was awesome.

 

Now Where Have I Seen Him Before (#7)

So having finished both Beowulf and Grendel, I have come to enjoy both of them immensely. Overall, I think I would agree with Foster with his idea that there is only one story with these particular books as Grendel was more of a prequel rather than a retelling. However, I did find it unique the way John Gardner was able to set up a timeline before Beowulf and was able to incorporate unique settings and characters. I also liked how Grendel learned about the nature of the world from a dragon, which I'm almost certain is the same dragon Beowulf would eventually fight.

I will say though that reading Grendel gave me a whole new perspective on Grendel that I had never thought of before. I still think he is an evil monster who only wants to cause harm on the Danes. There are times where his interactions with certain places and people (i.e. his first encounter with humans, his talk with the dragon) that might have caused him to look upon the world in a harsher light, but he still goes around devouring men and destroying the mead hall for twelve years. While he may have had other influences, it doesn't really redeem his character in my mind. Even with his fight against Beowulf in which it almost makes you see Beowulf as a villain, I wasn't convinced that Grendel was innocent in this situation. All I saw was the a man freeing the Danes from the wrath of Grendel.

I think that out of the two, I appreciate Grendel a little more than Beowulf. Sure Beowulf had a lot of action and is a classic, but it was a little dense at times (being written 1000 years ago will do that) and the summary on the back basically told me everything that would happen. Grendel took on a more psychological stand, showing Grendel learning about the world and basically debating right and wrong. It also showed his innocence, being hypnotized by a minstrel's tale and at times believing that he was a dangerous evil monster. I will say this though, reading Grendel did make me elicit some sympathy for Grendel. It showed how he didn't learn anything about the world because no one would take the time to interact with him. No one would acknowledge him and his mother couldn't speak so it was like he was living in isolation.

Overall, both of the these novels were very interesting. I agree with my sister's statement that Beowulf is basically Chuck Norris. He fights three powerful and dangerous monsters and establishes himself as one of the greatest heroes ever. Grendel was also enjoyable, giving Grendel more of a character rather than just have him be a vicious monster who kills. I also enjoyed how it showed what was happening inside the mind of Grendel and showed how he felt about things. I really enjoyed reading both of these novels and I hope that the novels in AP Lit will be as entertaining as these.

Sonnets (#2)

So I have been putting this particular blog post off for a while mainly due to the fact that I don't find sonnets that entertaining. I don't think they're bad or anything, they are just sometimes boring and difficult to decipher at times. I'd much prefer a novel where the plot keeps flowing and keeps me interested. However, I found this sonnet that I thought was very intriguing and it captured my attention immediately. This is Acquainted with the Night by Robert Frost.

I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in rain—and back in rain.
I have out walked the furthest city light.

I have looked down the saddest city lane.
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.

I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,

But not to call me back or say good-by;
And further still at an unearthly height,
One luminary clock against the sky

Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night.

When I first saw this sonnet, the thing that got to be was the structure. Sure it follows the simple ABAB rhyming structure with an occasional twist to finish the section, but I thought it was interesting was that it would break off after the third line rather than the fourth. It's interesting to see an odd number of lines each time and I also found it enjoyable that the rhyme from the second line was continued on into the beginning of the next section. Now the sonnet itself tells a very interesting story. It uses imagery very well to paint the image of a city at night into your mind, almost bringing you into a rainy city. Overall, I gravitated toward the idea of city lights and even the sound of a baby crying as it really cemented you into the city it was describing.

I still don't understand sonnets or a lot of poetry for that matter (and yet I'm taking AP Lit. Quite a predicament) but I truly enjoyed reading this one and I look forward to more poetry that is able to create such vivid images in my mind.

Geography's Impact on Grendel (#6)

So having just finished the novel Grendel, I have a somewhat new perspective of the great monster from literature. Does it change my view of him altogether? I'll save that for my final post. However, I did notice in this novel that the use of geography was very descriptive and effective, both on the reader and on the characters. Foster's novel talks about the importance of geography and how it can develop characters or contain important symbolism and themes. I think it applies to Grendel's home very well.

Grendel's home is a cave in the middle of a lake. However, said cave is almost impossible to get to. Not that it's under water, more of the lake and his lair is surrounded by a bunch of monsters including fire snakes and water dragons. Not a typical swim to find him as one stubborn hero found out when he tried to kill Grendel for attacking the mead hall. I found the idea of the hole full of fire snakes very interesting for two reasons. One being it's a bunch of fire snakes and that sounds cool but the other that they sort of represent his peace.

In order to come to the surface and raid the people, he has to swim through the pool of fire snakes. As his skin is almost invincible, they don't hurt him and he can swim without fear. However, they represent a change in him. Most of the time when he's in his cave, he is a (somewhat) kind spirit and doesn't do anything like attack his mother. However, swimming through the snakes shows his transformation, becoming the terrifying monster he is. It's like the snakes hold back his (somewhat) good nature when he exits the pool and then gives it back to him when he returns home. The geography acts as a dream catcher in a way, but instead of catching bad dreams, it holds onto his good. Although it's minor, the geography in Grendel helped to make an interesting read.

Quest for Adulthood (#5)

So for my summer assignment I decided to read the great epic Beowulf and it's retelling Grendel which tells the backstory of Grendel and his decent into the monster Beowulf eventually fights and kills. I'm only about 75 pages into it, but so far it's pretty interesting. However, at times it gets really weird, like Grendel describing these things that look at him in his cave, but never acknowledge him. While it's definitely a very bizarre novel, its still entertaining, especially when you see Grendel go though a personal quest.

The second chapter of the book shows when Grendel was young and began to explore outside of his cave and into the real world. He sees moonlight for the first time, gets caught in a tree, feels pain, and has his first experience with man. However, they try to attack and kill him, so not a great first impression. The later chapters are about more contact with humans and him learning about the world, science, religion, philosophy, and so on. However, the second and third chapters are what caught my eye immediately as it puts him through a quest; the loss of his innocence.

In How to Read Literature, Foster says that there are certain points that need to be addressed for a quest: a Quester, place to go, stated reason, challenges, and a real reason to go. This quest almost answers every single point. The quester is Grendel and the place to go is the outside world. Some challenges he faces is getting stuck in a tree, being attacked by a bull and then by men. He never openly states why he takes this quest, but odds are its simple curiosity. The true reason for his quest is to learn and interact with the outside world, the world he has never encountered before. This is also his loss of innocence, as for one of the first times ever, he experiences pain and learns that people fear him. Rather than look at the world as a safe haven, he sees it as what it is; a dangerous place full of violence. This is expanded more in the next two chapters, where he even uses some swear words he learned from men (like a child becoming an adult sometimes tends to do). But during this chapter, his quest for adulthood and loss of innocence makes for a very interesting read.