(October 10th) Jack Kerouac Literary Festival, Talk and Reading

                On October 10^th, 3:30 PM I was at the talk and reading by Tanya Donelly and Rick Moody. Tanya is a Grammy nominated musician and Rick Moody is a novelist and short story writer. Both of them discussed how they craft songs and talked about their experiences with music and its meaning. Some questions asked in this talk were: Do songs have plot? Can songs be like a narrative like that in writing? How important are lyrics in songs?

                Rick and Tanya both spoke about how music can be a narrative just like writing, how it can have a storyline, and how it can convey a message. They connected Jack Kerouac with this in that Kerouac could write in a musical direction without being encumbered by plot. So basically, they were saying that the best lyrics are worked fast and not overlabored. Too much time trying to come up with lyrics for a deep plot, they argued, takes away from the musical direction of the song, and instead interferes with its flow. With this, it also implies that Kerouac’s writings are able to flow nicely without harping on any conflict or plot too much, giving it a musical feel when thought of abstractly.

                A person from the audience wanted some advice on how to write song lyrics, that she thought too hard and still was at an obstacle for coming up with lyrics. Both Moody and Donelly agreed that the songs don’t come from the instruments, but instead the lyrics are the first step that get thought of at “opportune times” that aren’t expected. So basically they recommended getting the lyrics down first and then doing the melody later, because they said coming up with a melody first limits what you can do for lyrics. For instance, Moody and Donelly played a song they created called “Meteor Shower”. This song piece originated from when Donelly one day woke up at a very early time, I think 4 am, to go to the beach and watch the meteor shower in the sky. With this imagery and his memory, he came up with a song about it, doing the lyrics first to get a clear sense of where the song is headed.

                One could wonder if writers ever feel lonely. Moody, being a novelist and short story writer, admitted that writing life is rather solitary. Moody said he picked up music because playing music with other people created a sense of discovery and creativity. With music, Moody wasn’t just doing things alone like in his writing, and he also thought that music could make you discover yourself and unleash your creativity in a musical form to express to others. He brought up a point about how songs are a short story, being a few minutes in length. Prose, he described, could be seen as a songwriting impulse at great length. Writing is much longer than what you’d see in usual song lyrics, but writing can also be written in a way that is musical; this also goes back to how Donelly and Moody said that Kerouac could write in a musical direction, giving his works flow and not suffering from the weight of too much plot.

                Moody and Donelly played several songs for the audience, a few of them their own creations, and discussed how they remembered the songs. Moody talked about a song that had an odd time signature, and that he didn’t try memorizing the time signature, but rather tried an intuitive approach at “feeling” what the notes would be played as in an attempt to not overcomplicate playing the song. So rather than switching from 7/16 time signature to 4/4 in certain sections, he would “get a feel” and just play the notes and not think too much about it. There were interesting melodies played, and even though the lyrics were hard to understand from the microphone being too loud, I was able to appreciate how they incorporated a story into a song while making the melody match and flow nicely.

                After this reading and talk was done, I consider stories I’ve read that try too hard to delve into plot, and they don’t flow nicely and it winds up not being fun to read. I like stories that you can think into while not harping too much on the plot, and stories that can be understood more clearly with a better flow. A song can be a concise story, and I think stories could be more like songs in the sense that they don’t need to be verbose to get a point across. Considering that these people said Kerouac was able to write in a musical direction and have a flow in his writing without restricting it to plot, I can see this as an admirable trait Kerouac had for his writings.

(October 10th) Boondock Saints Screening

                On October 10^th, 6:30 PM, there was a screening of Boondock Saints in O’Leary 222. Basically this film is about religious vigilantes who go around killing “bad” people whenever they please, such as Russian crime mobsters and other gangs. This film was especially infuriating to me in how this was being done “in the name of God”. I absolutely disagree with what these guys were doing, and they aren’t even tackling the bigger underlying issues that even contribute to these crimes.

                Instead of going after corporations, politicians, bankers, etc. the people that are causing the big problems, these fraternal twins go off just killing these people that they somehow know are part of crime syndicates feeling good about themselves that they can’t solve the financial issues of the United States of America. This film was also set in Boston, and gave a poor impression of it. Whenever these “Saints” were saying prayers and quoting religious phrases before killing, I cringed at the thought of religion being involved. The court scene was possibly the most shocking scene in this entire film. A psychopathic prisoner was released and decided to help these “Saints” in their mission of God to kill anyone that is bad. I mean, they even went and killed some porn-shop customers. REALLY? This prisoner and the “Saints” were able to just go into a courtroom and kill Papa Joe before his trial was even finished just completely destroyed the point of the court system. What if these people are killed from rumors? People would also get the wrong message and start to say that what they’re doing is right because it’s what they think is right or that it’s “in the name of God”.

                However, this film does relate to the violence in Townie and raises the question of when violence is justified. What was incredibly appalling in this movie was how these guys were able to always know about crime bosses and “bad people”, and find their exact location and meeting places. You don’t have religious lunatics determine who’s guilty or not, you have the court system to do that. You only use violence as a last resort. Since these guys always knew about the crime bosses and such, they could have tried reporting them to the authorities, get them to trial, and not stir up a bloodbath involving religious phrases before they kill the last person. At least in Townie Andre Dubus III is not involving God into his actions and repeating religious beliefs over and over again. I am livid when religion is used as justification for violence or bad actions. Dubus III instead uses his own conscience and decides himself, not in the name of God, that he should give some people a taste of their own medicine.

                Andre Dubus III states the idea that cruelty is cruelty and you don’t question it in his memoir Townie. None of Andre Dubus’s actions are done “in the name of God”. It really irritates me that religion can make people fearless and blind of their own lives. Hey, these guys are “Saints” that are killing whoever they please. I’ll just go in, have God with me, and suddenly have information on every bad person in the area and kill whoever I don’t like! If I die, I’ll just go to heaven and be a Saint! It sends a bad message, and I really hope nobody takes the initiative to do whatever was being done in this film. This film wasn’t much more than a lot of violence mixed with crude humor and religious atmospheres that freaked me out. Anything I see that involves religion, I’m likely to be very critical of it, especially in the context of it being connected to violence and “a mission”.

                In Townie, Dubus III has to stand up for himself. He considers his own morals and own thoughts. Dubus III grew up in an environment of cruelty, violence, and drugs. He doesn’t go around finding mafia or suddenly knowing information about people’s meetings like in Boondock Saints. Violence is not something that can just be tossed away like nothing happened. In Boondock Saints, the “Saints” were commended by an FBI agent and were able to continue with their murders. It gives me the fear of how these connections established would lead to more corruption, religious intentions, and other things that would cause more problems for everyone else. Boondock Saints might have had some energetic action scenes, but people could easily create a bad message and also go against the court system for not being perfect.

(September 30th) American Textile Museum Excursion

                On September 30^th, I visited the American Textile Museum. This museum also had an exhibit on the Civil War, and how textiles played a role in communication and expressing emotions. Quilts could be used to express gratitude for soldiers, for instance. There was also information about the materials that were used for clothes back in the mid 1800s, as well as conditions for keeping your job as a mill worker. I also took some pictures as well during my visit here that I can include here.

                Materials used for cloth back in the mid 1800s were from plants or animals. This included wool from a sheep’s fleece, cotton from the hairy seeds of cotton plants, linen from the stalks of flax plants, and silk from cocoons spun by worms. There were also ups and downs for each. Wool helped with warmth, but was bait for moths. Cotton had its versatility of uses but was too damp and unpleasant when wet. Linen was good for presentation, but wrinkled easily. Silk was elegant, but was very expensive. This information was obtained from a plaque: http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/DossarLX/textilemuseum/DSC05648_1024x768.jpg

                There was also a section on how cotton was acquired back in this period of time. The labor involved in picking the cotton was ridiculous. This is a picture showing what the cotton pickers had to wear and do: http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/DossarLX/textilemuseum/DSC05654_1024x768.jpg. Basically, they had to drag a long bag that could weigh up to a hundred pounds, they had to bend over with this weight against them to reach low plants that were sharp and could cut your fingers. It required a lot of stamina and perseverance, and the black slaves that picked cotton weren’t even getting wages due to being slaves.

                Conditions for mill workers were appalling; I found this section of the museum intriguing. Mill workers worked six days a week for as long as 14 hours a day starting as early as 5 am and end as late as 7 pm. This means a week’s work could average more than 70 hours! Today, people commonly work around 40 hours a week, which is substantially less. The mill workers also had to be punctual because the gates closed at the time they had to be at work, so even being one or two minutes late would lock them out and they’d miss work/not get paid. Mill Workers had to be in their boarding houses by 10 pm. Mill workers had to live in rooms with five to seven other people with only three beds. If the mill workers didn’t attend church every Sunday morning, they would be removed from work. There were also rules establish by the companies which were very stringent on the workers and forced them to be obedient. Any employee who broke the rules or was disobedient could be “dishonorably” discharged, meaning that you’d be blacklisted so no other mill would hire you. There were also signs put around that encouraged people to report anyone taking materials out of the factories, such as this sign that proposed a $25.00 reward to any person caught stealing: http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/DossarLX/textilemuseum/DSC05680_1024x768.jpg.

Last but not least, we have the Civil War section of the museum. This was a Union flag presented to Abraham Lincoln a few days before his assassination in April 1865: http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad328/DossarLX/textilemuseum/DSC05703_1024x768.jpg. Because the Civil War increased the demand for textiles and food, people tried to hide their food so it didn’t get seized by the authorities. Also, a surprisingly high number of people who entered the army were unable to write, so for these people instead of putting their signature they would put an “X”. Because of the desperate need for uniforms, even rushed uniforms were accepted in the army. The price for the common people increased quickly and wages were lowered, and the textile industry shifted heavily towards the war effort. Textiles were also made to express gratitude to soldiers and used as a way of communicating emotions; there were several quilts in the Civil War exhibit which showed quilts that expressed sentiments towards the soldiers and the Civil War. Some mill owners thought that the Civil War would not take years to end, and tried selling off their cotton to make quick profits while they could; they expected the Civil War to only last a few months.

(September 25th) Billy Jack Screening

                On September 25^th, I went to see the Billy Jack screening in O’Leary 222. It turns out that it was a film I saw a long time ago at home as well, so it was amazing to watch such a good film again! This film is about a half-breed Native American fighter who tries to give justice to people that are harassing Native American people. There is a lot of fighting and violence in this movie, which I could relate to Townie as our common text is there. It was certainly a fitting film considering how Andre Dubus III vividly describes the cruelty he experienced as an adolescent, and how cruelty was just cruelty.

                An outstanding aspect of Billy Jack is its explicit display of violence and cruelty. There is an alternative school in the film called “Freedom School” which had hippie students and Native Americans. One day these students are brought downtown, and are harassed in an ice cream store by locals by getting white flour poured on them because it would cover them with white over their darker skin. Billy Jack came in after to give the guy who poured the flour a beating, Bernard Posner. Later, there is a scene where students from the school are in a court room. One female student asked why the jury was so afraid of them, and one man said something along the lines of her being a filthy girl. The students presented logical arguments that questioned the validity of the jury’s decisions and claims, while the jury gave biased responses that clearly showed an opposition to the school and its people.

                The acting in the film also was comedic in certain parts. One scene, for instance, has a hippie from the school playing a robber with an empty gun with a suitcase for a businessman getting robbed. A police officer thinks they were trying to legitimately rob a local, but then ends up getting into the act. They try to rehearse a mock robbery of someone on the street. I’m not exactly sure what message this was supposed to show, but it certainly gave a good laugh. Another scene that was powerful and comedic was the scene where the hippie students were singing “The Star Spangled Banner”. During the song, a person in the acting group was not standing for it, and in the middle of the song the people that were standing up started beating up the person that wouldn’t stand up. The message here is interesting in that the United States of America claims to be the land of the free, yet this one person that wasn’t standing up with the others was beaten for not being “patriotic”. It was basically “you’re free to do what you do, but if you don’t do what we please, we won’t hesitate to go against you!” I vividly remembered this scene the first time I watched the movie, and it was a pleasure seeing it again and noticing the hypocrisy of the country in this aspect. The discrimination against the students in the school even shows that this country isn’t as “free” as it claims to be.

                Throughout the film, there is a tremendous amount of suffering. There is rape, violence, harassment, and vengeance. The ending was an inspiring scene in how Jean convinced Billy Jack to stop his violence and instead solve this issue of hatred with a trial. Billy was able to bring attention to the cruelty that needed to be dealt with. Jean said to Billy “So easy for you to die dramatically! It's a hell of a lot tougher for those of us who have to keep on trying!” This is an excellent statement although painful, because it gives the truth that violence wasn’t going to solve the situation anymore. This film shows how violence should be avoided as much as possible, and that a closer step to peace can be achieved simply by lowering discrimination, prejudice, and societal tension. People were killed when it could’ve been avoided; there were stupid actions that were impulsive and based on prejudice, and it caused more tensions. Violence can be an inevitable choice in certain situations, and it just makes things worse for everyone. I don’t find this film to be controversial of its message about peace; I think it shows that all this violence could be avoided simply by not being terrible to others, and solving the underlying problems of an issue without violence (in Billy Jack’s case, giving up his violence, getting handcuffed, and then driven off to trial at the end of the movie).