Another semester at university is slowly coming to an end and with it, the slow realization that I will have to leave a bunch of friends behind when returning home for good. I know that there is something called social media, but I prefer talking to people in real life. I still have friends back at home as well whom I haven’t seen in a long time either. These people will have some priority for a while, but I might try to meet-up with my university friends at least once a year (I’m pretty optimistic, since plane tickets cost money…).
The people I will probably miss the most are the guys from my fencing club. I’ve been hanging out with these people for three years, and we have been through some adventurous times together. They have become a sort of family. When I first joined the club, I didn’t know that I would meet an awesome bunch of nerds and geeks with swords and a tendency to party hard when the occasion arises. Geez, I think the final tournament and its following barbecue will be the death of me (and, I think, of them as well). Tears may or may not be shed, but good memories will stay forever. If not there, then it might happen on the airplane when the realization will hit me with its sledgehammer.
In other words, I will leave with a luggage filled with great memories, some captured in photographs, some captured in my brain. Until then, I still have to focus on my exams, before planning to move out of my accommodation (and what I’ll do with all of my kitchen stuff…).
I have finished reading one of the classic dystopian novels: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Now, before I go into any details, I will warn you: SPOILERS AHEAD! (Just in case you might not have read it, yet)
I’ll give a short summary first, before any details that struck me. So, the novel is set the far future, where the so-called World Controllers have created the perfect society, based on brainwashing, genetic engineering and recreational sex and drug use. Everyone is happy. Everyone? No, a guy called Bernard Marx (yes, the people are all named after Revolutionaries from both science, politics, capitalism, such as Marx, Lenin, Trotsky, Ford, Freud, etc) feels like an outsider. He feels empty and devoid of purpose. All he wants is to be free from everything and break out from the perfect society. After he visits one of the remaining ‘Savage Reservation’ and brings one of the Savages into his perfect society, his life takes a whole different turn.
So much for the summary, now come the details which made me think about our own possible future.
This society is, first of all, divided into various classes. Nothing unusual, one might think, but Huxley takes it to a whole new level. The children are not born naturally, as this is heavily frowned upon. Instead, they are literally mass-produced in labs and split into groups, ranging from Alpha to Epsilon. As the brainwashing machine explains:
“Alpha children wear grey.They work much harder than we do, because they’re so frightfully clever. I’m really awfully glad I’m Beta, because I don’t work so hard.And then we are much better than the Gammas and Deltas. Gammas are stupid. They all wear green, and Delta children wear khaki. […] And Epsilons are still worse. They’re too stupid to be able to…”
You get the picture. Children are trained to believe that some are to be treated as inferiors, others should be respected because they are superior. They are pushed into their future purposes by constant brainwashing and eventually believe it. An Epsilon could never do the same work an Alpha does, since he wouldn’t know how to do it nor feel the need to. He is, after all, been told to be happy about the job he has to do. It is scary to think about it. Are we also not told that we have our own free will, but are constantly bombarded by the media on how we should behave, what we should buy, where we should go to, etc. It leaves the question about Free Will unanswered. Are we really free? Or is it just an illusion?
Another bit which caught me off guard is how women are presented. As mentioned in the summary, recreational sex is used as a method to keep everyone happy and satisfied. (I do not, in any way, condemn the idea as such, by the way). Huxley, however, shows with the women’s behavior, how far the brainwashing actually goes. Lenina, who is interested in Bernard, sees herself as a ‘piece of meat’, as Bernard notices. She enjoys sleeping with a lot of men, and is proud of her numbers. However, that is her sole interest. When Bernard takes her out on a date and simply wants to enjoy watching the sea at night, she becomes lost. Lenina does not know how to react and starts sobbing violently. She doesn’t understand that Bernard might be interested in more than just sex. Same goes for when she tries to seduce John, the ‘Savage’. He rejects her attempts of sexual approaches and leaves her broken. Out of helplessness and frustration, she takes drugs to forget about it. Lenina is simply a product of the human mass-production and the brainwashing, and doesn’t know about anything more than being available for any man who wants her. If you start thinking about it, how many people (men and women) count their own worth in simply being an object of desire? They might only feel worthy by their one-night stands and do not understand that love includes more than just the exchange of bodily fluids.
Now, to the final point: the clash of the ‘Savage’ and the perfect society. John, the ‘Savage’ comes from the Reservation and thus outside of ‘civilization’. He was born and raised by his biological mother, a woman who actually comes from Bernard’s society. However, as a white young man, he faces serious bullying from the Natives, who call him and his mother names, throw stones at him, exclude him from everything, etc. John, of course, resigns to this life and tries somewhat to fit in. Bernard is fascinated by the young man and decides to take him and his old mother out of the Reservation and into ‘civilization’. This, of course, causes a massive uproar. John is treated as an abnormality. He does not take drugs, does not sleep around, has other emotions apart from happiness and has not been born in a laboratory. People flock to Bernard to finally have a look at this human being. While Bernard profits from his sudden success, John wants to get rid of all the unwanted attention. He eventually decided to move into a lighthouse in the countryside, but cannot escape the people’s attention. When he punches a journalist out of affect, the flocks of helicopters really swarm onto him. John breaks under the pressure and ends up hanging himself. The character of John is a pendant to Bernard’s. He allows the reader to see how the perfect society actually works and make up his mind about whether or not it really is a utopia. From all the drug induced happiness and brainwashing, John offers a massive contrast by reacting in a humane way. He wants to be alone to grieve his mother’s death, but is constantly interrupted by a group of children who are being ‘death trained’. Of course, he becomes frustrated and lets out his anger, shocking everyone around him. John, with his wide range of emotions, shows how cold the utopian society is. He is seen as insane and uncontrollable, while in fact, he is the only ‘real’ human being with all his imperfections. Mind you, the idea of genetic perfection is terrifying to me. Imagine being able to create the perfect human beings without any inheritable illnesses or other imperfections. Now, getting rid of Alzheimer’s, for example, would be nice, but how far would we go? How long would it last until there will be perfect and almost immortal soldiers? Would we start separating people according to their birth certificates and decide who is better than the other, just because the womb has been replaced by a glass container?
In conclusion, this novel makes you really think about such topics and ethics. It becomes scary, when you take the thoughts too far (as I have a tendency to do). Then again, I suppose that this was Huxley’s intention. So, if you’re up to get your mind working, read the novel.
First if all, I wish all of those reading this a wonderful new year and that everything you wish for may come true.
Secondly, I hope you made it through New Year’s Eve without too much of a hangover in the morning.
Thirdly, I have decided to no longer make any resolutions whatsoever. Mainly because I can never keep them. I tried for a few years and it did not work for me. So, I decided to stop that and set more realistic goals spread over the whole year. For me, that’s the best way to start a new year. All these #newyearnewme posts are , if you excuse me, utter crap in my opinion, especially if you cannot keep these good resolutions up for a long time. If you start falling back into old habits, then why make resolutions in the first place? I know it’s hard to change habits. but if you really want to achieve something, you have to work on it. That may sound cheesy, but it’s true.
So, a tip from me to you: instead of making a big resolution that cannot be achieved within a whole year, set smaller goals leading up to the bigger one. Whether it’s loosing or gaining weight, a work promotion, career boosts, studies, etc,. your goals have to be realistic and manageable. Hopping on the hype train to instant success won’t do that (believe me, I’ve been there). It’ll leave you disappointed, frustrated, maybe even angry and you fall back into old habits again. And that’s not the point of a happy new year.
Today I’d like to talk/write about something that caught my passion years ago, probably before I even knew what it was called: STEAMPUNK. Before I go on, I’d like to introduce you to a short definition of what Steampunk is.
agenreofsciencefictionsetinVictoriantimeswhensteamwasthemainsourceofmachinepower;alsowritten steam-punk (definitions from dictionary.com)
Just think of Jules Verne, H.G.Wells, or even Alan Moore’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Think of airships, bizarre inventions, women and men dressed in fancy clothes, goggles, top hats, pocket watches, etc. Think “alternative history”, stories that deal with the question: What if the Victorians or anyone in the 19th century had used steam-power for more than just locomotives? Moreover, what if that technology had survived until, let’s say, the 1920s? In one word: Anachronism.
But enough definitions; let’s come to my ramblings.
I discovered Steampunk quite early. Back in the early 2000s, when I was watching Disney’s Treasure Planet and Atlantis: The Lost Empire. (both heavily underrated films, in my opinion) The looks of these films stuck with me for a while, until it drifted way back into my mind.
Of course, I didn’t know then that there was a whole subculture based on this genre and the looks; that came over ten years later, when I held a magazine about the Gothic subculture in my hands (That was at a time, when I was heavily influenced by anything Gothic). It had a special edition about Steampunk in it, and while flicking through the pages and admiring the outfits, I remembered both films. And, boom!, I was drawn into it again.
Atlantis: The Lost Empire – the submarine reminds me of Captain Nemo’s Nautilus, if it was set in the ‘alternative’ year of 1914
Thanks to the internet, I quickly found out that there was more than just fancy outfits to it. I discovered a new genre of literature, art, crafts, and even music. I couldn’t get enough of it. My drawings, especially the clothes, were heavily influenced by my discoveries. I listened to pretty much anything remotely Steampunk in music (and that’s how I discovered electro-swing), before sticking to some bands such as:
Abney ParkSteam Powered GiraffeVernian ProcessThe Cog is Dead
What I probably like most about this anachronistic subculture, is the DIY and creative aspects (the ‘punk’ of Steampunk). I admire people who can build “functioning” laser phazer guns, little machines that actually work, even whole prosthetics. I am happy to work on stories or draw some pictures. I don’t sew my own outfits, but I have one made by mixing and matching bits of clothes that I had in my wardrobe either pre-existing or bought at some point. Heck, I even have an under-bust corset. Plus, it makes you think about how you can use and re-use bits and pieces, giving the whole a sustainable and environmentally friendly outlook.
Another bit that makes me happy is the annual Anno 1900 convention close to where I live. It is set in what once was an industrial hall. It has its own train station (with locomotives) and I can reach it by walking for 15-20 minutes. It’s free as well and you can buy a lot of cool and interesting things (I never have enough money when going to events such as these…My money always seems to run out before I see the thing that I really want) Unfortunately, it is always at the same time university starts, so I have been there only twice now. I plan to go next year, when I am back home again.
Anyways, it is basically living out a fantasy. It is, of course, inspired and influenced mainly by the Victorian period, but does not necessarily have the unpleasant bits to it. Of course, knowledge of the Victorian period or the 19th century in general can give the whole background a bit more realism. However, you don’t have to be a history professor to enjoy it. As I said, it is an ‘alternative’ version of the 19th century and its accomplishments (although it can be transferred to other time periods as well).
As history progresses, so does Steampunk. After the 19th, WWI and the early 1920s (in my timeline), comes Dieselpunk,(heavily inspired by the military and WWII) later on Atompunk (think Fallout game series), Cyberpunk and so on. There are even more split groups such as Stitchpunk, Clockpunk, or Décopunk. I won’t go into detail about those, but I might write about Dieselpunk at one point, since it deserves its own post.
After some serious research work for my essay, I decided I need to write something non-academical and less serious.
I have a confession to make: I am a female metalhead! I might not look like one (okay, maybe a bit…apart from the long hair. I don’t have that.) How I came into Metal started way back when I just hit puberty. I was one of those angsty and edgy teens (who isn’t at the age of thirteen?) and needed something to express myself and rebel against my parents (I thought I was a rebel. I’m wasn’t.) I found my first metal songs on a CD which had all the current hits on it. Only two songs were actual metal. One of them was Rammstein’s song Amerika, the other was Nightwish’s Wish I had an Angel.
Rammstein(Nightwish, when Tarja was still around. I still think they’re pretty great)
I liked the heavy beats and blasting guitars immediately and fell in love with it. These songs were now playing on repeat for a while, until I discovered more stuff. In high-school, I used to hang out with a group of girls, who were into the heavier stuff. Mind you, this was a Catholic girls’ school, so listening to metal felt extra-rebellious, even though no one really cared. That was also the time I got into Linkin Park, System of a Down, Within Temptation, Green Day, Billy Talent and later on, Blind Guardian, Amorphis, Nine Inch Nails, etc.. I grew out of Green Day and Linkin Park, once my ‘wannabe-rebellious-angsty-edge-phase’ was over. (That doesn’t mean that I wasn’t shocked when I heard about Chester Bennington’s death. He was, after all, a big part of my teenage years and a help of finding my identity. Thanks, Chester!)
Another part of me becoming a metalhead is due to my family. My uncle is into the more classic rock and metal music (e.g AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Queen, etc.). I even got the whole discography of Queen, Nightwish, System of a Down and Within Temptation compressed on DVDs from him. Plus, he made me want to learn how to play the drums! I am still thankful for that 🙂 My mother introduced me to Queen, Simon and Garfunkel, and U2; my father introduced me to 1970s rock. Thanks for that, folks! You formed my taste in music 😀
Anyways, as I grew older, I started to look more into the massive varieties of the metal genre. I could go into the hundreds of sub-genres, but that would take up too much time and I don’t want to bore you. Have this meme instead :
As you can see, it has a lot to offer. The ones I am into are Heavy Metal (Iron Maiden, Motörhead, Judas Priest), Power Metal (Blind Guardian, Sabaton, Gloryhammer, Battle Beast), Doom Metal from time to time (Trees of Eternity, Alcest, Witch Mountain, Thurisaz, Ghost), Melodic Death Metal (Amon Amarth, Dethklok, Sleeper’s Guilt), Folk Metal (Eluveitie, Korpiklaani, Tengger Cavalry, Skiltron, Alestorm), Symphonic Metal (Nightwish, Within Temptation, Haggard, Diablo Swing Orchestra) and Alternative Metal (System of a Down).
I do listen to Thrash Metal or Industrial Metal from time to time, but not as frequent as the rest. I also know that some of the bands mentioned above can be classified into more than one category. As I said, metal has so many varieties, it’s hard to definitely say “Oh, this is that genre X and that’s genre Y!”
Confession Number 2: I don’t like Black Metal. Before you try to sacrifice me to the Metaloverlords, hear me out: I think that Black Metal is too edgy for me. Something about it puts me off. I don’t know whether it is the screeching vocals, the repetitive sound, the whole “trve kvlt” attitude…It’s great if you like it, but it’s not for me.
Another bit that attracted me to this genre are the lyrics. Here are a few examples of bands whose lyrics I appreciate:
Nightwish tend to go the more Romantic way, as I have mentioned in a previous post.
Haggard have made two albums. One of them is about Galileo Galilei , the other about Nostradamus. And they put the symphony back in Symphonic Metal.
Blind Guardian, for example, has everything a Fantasy fan can wish for: epic battles, Lord of the Rings, Wheel of Time, Game of Thrones, etc. These guys are the proof that you can be nerdy and still be awesome!
System of a Down are on a more political side. They criticize political situations religion, and everything else that can be criticized. (Apart from a few exceptions, of course. You can’t be political all the time, can you?) They even have some more philosophical songs, which I quite like, too.
Folk Metal has a variety of lyrics. There is the fun aspect of it in Alestorm singing about piracy and booze, Korpiklaani has both booze and legends. Eluveitie are more serious. They are all about Helvetian history and gods.
I could go into a lot more examples, but I think this should do for now. I can go into detail about some songs, but that would end in an essay about religion, philosophy, history, politics, etc. However, this shows you that metal isn’t really ‘Satanic’ or ‘evil’. The only ones who pretend to be ‘Satanic’ are Ghost, but it is just a gimmick, so, nothing to fear here. (Honestly, Ghost is more a soundtrack to Milton’s Paradise Lost, if you think about it. As far as I know, that text isn’t Satanic at all.)
Plus, I like me some guys with long hair. I mean, have you seen a metalhead’s hair? It’s worth of shampoo commercials. Look at it:
Alexander Krull, Leave’s EyesLeo Jimenez, StravaganzzaTuomas Holopainen, Nightwish
In other words: Shampoo commercials, step up your game!
Before I leave, a last confession: I also like other genres apart from Metal (Electroswing, Folk, Dark Country/Blues). Yes, I am not one of those narrow-minded, ‘metal only’ people, who think that everything else but metal is pure trash. To those people I say: You can still find good music out there, you just have to look for it 🙂
It all started on a grey Saturday morning, with me walking up to our Sports Centre, carrying my Sabre gear and not worrying too much about anything else. I had decided to only fence Sabre that week-end, and nothing more. BUT my coach had a different idea. Since there were only half a dozen women in Foil, he thought it might be a good idea to have me fencing Foil. In other words, I had ten minutes to warm up (which, for fencing, is not enough), get my kit on and get on piste. Of course, I failed terribly in the first pool. My ripostes were “meh” and I couldn’t concentrate, since I had to fence Sabre from 1pm onward. I needed the second pool before I managed to get more than one hit. I got kicked out in the elimination round (as usual) and had five minutes to get into sabre. So Foil lamé and mask off, Sabre lamé and mask on, and running to the piste where the pools had already started.
I actually was better in Sabre than Foil. I guess it’s mainly because I didn’t have time to overthink my moves, as I do in Foil or even Epée. In Sabre, it’s basically “Kill or be killed”; there is no time for much thought. I didn’t win, but I managed to get at least two hits in almost every round. The Sabre girls thought I was crazy and mad to go from Foil to Sabre without a real break, until I told them that it wasn’t my fault. They understood. One of them actually complimented me on my almost touche. I parried her and had almost gotten her on the wrist (which is a pretty tough area to hit someone properly). She even gave me advise on how I could have done it a little better and made it a “class hit”, as she said. Of course, this nice compliment cheered me up a bit. I was knackered after two hours of Foil, my motivation was at its end and I was starting to get hungry, so this came at the right time.
My fellow fencers actually helped me a lot, too. The team captain provided me with a chocolate bar, which I really needed. My energy got restored a bit, and I survived the next pool and the elimination round. I didn’t win, but at that point, I really didn’t care anymore. My legs felt like lead, I was drenched in sweat, I was exhausted and just wanted a shower and some rest after almost four hours of non-stop fencing. Good thing dinner was planned for 8pm. Needless to say, I enjoyed the shower and short resting time. I felt human again after that.
Sunday was better. I had gotten some well deserved sleep and after breakfast, joined my fellow team mates in the Sports Centre again. This time, it was the guys’ turn to fence Epée and Sabre. My coach was a bit disappointed that I didn’t fence Epée that day, but I was done with fencing for that week-end. I could have joined the four girls and maybe have won a medal, but my legs were begging for mercy and my fencing arm hurt. I couldn’t stretch it properly, since one of the Sabre girls had hit me right at the joint. Either that, or I had overstretched it a wee bit while lunging. Anyway, fencing wasn’t an option that day. Instead, I provided some moral support for the guys. Epée didn’t get down so well for one of them, but he was better at Sabre. None of us had won, but to be honest, there are more important things in life than a medal. We got to hang out with each other and even meet some of the ex-members who came by to say hello. In the end, it’s the people you hang out with that matter more than some shiny medals.
Since I have a day off due to the storm Ophelia hitting the Republic and Northern Ireland, I decided to let you know about my last dissertation idea.
This time, it will focus on H.P. Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness and Ripley Scott’s Prometheus. I know that latter is a heated topic among the Alien franchise fans, but let me explain on why I choose to have a look at Prometheus (and not only because of Michael Fassbender ).
First of all, that movie is closer to Lovecraft’s story than, say,the first Alien movie. Sure, it hints at the idea that there is more than we can acknowledge, but it is clearer in Prometheus. You have the group of people traveling to an unknwon, strange location (city in the Antarctic/ empty looking planet), after they have found some relics of an ancient civilization worshiping unknown gods. Then you have the idea of the Elder Things, or, in this case, the Engineers. Both appear to have created life on earth and both don’t give a flying sh*t about human lives. Moreover, there is the subplot of something far more sinister going on: who killed the Elder Things/ Engineers? In Mountains of Madness, you have the shoggoths which wanted independence and partly killed the Elder Things. The Elder Things themselves have been at war with the Star-spawn of Cthulhu and the Mi-go. To top it all of, there are hints at something even darker lurking beneath the strange city.
(a strange and already hostile looking city? Let’s explore!)
In Prometheus, the group finds a dead Engineer’s body; it’s chest burst open (Wonder what that could have been..hmmm?), a different version of a face-hugger and vials of black goo and parts of an abandoned space ship. One of the Engineers comes back to life and goes on a killing spree, before entering the Prometheus. He is greeted by some gigantic face-hugger with more tentacles and teeth. The Engineer gets impregnated and dies once the chest bursts open. (Who’d have thought?)
( Mysterious chambers filled with vials containing black goo…Nothing to see here, move along!)
The focus of the dissertation will be not only on the similarities, but also on the differences. There are quite a few of them, and naming them all would take ages. So, I guess it could do for a dissertation. This is just a draft of some kind and it needs to be worked on more, but the basics are there.
On a side note: I am very disappointed. Guillermo Del Toro’s project to turn Lovecraft’s story into a movie will not be happening, since studios are reluctant to finance it and refuse to make an R-rated horror movie. I really would have loved to see Del Toro’s take on Lovecraft, since he is such a fan, but you can’t have everything , can you?
Now, this dissertation idea isn’t completely fleshed out (yet). I want to talk about Guillermo Del Toro’s movie Crimson Peak. Since it is a such a Gothic movie, I could talk about so many things. There’s the aspect of family relationships, relationships as such, murder, ghosts, marriage, class, representation of women, etc. (Warning: spoilers ahead!)
It would be interesting to talk about Edith and Lucille, the two ladies of the movie. They are actually the driving force of the film and that is pretty interesting. There are a few men in it, but compared to Edith and Lucille, they seem almost unimportant (except Thomas, Lucille’s brother, but more on that later). I could start by comparing these two, beginning with their clothes and ending with their behaviour. If I go by their dresses, I could talk about the Victorian notions and ideas about what clothes represented. Speaking of ladies: the ghosts haunting the house are all female. Contrary to popular belief, these ghosts, even if they look pretty creepy, are actually more of advisers, in one way or another. It starts with Edith’s dead mother warning her daughter and goes over to the other ghosts making Edith find out what actually happened to them.
Talking about relationships, I’d like to point out the interesting relationship between Thomas and his sister, Lucille. Considering that it is a Gothic movie, it should come as no real surprise that these two are a bit too close to each other. The movie gives away hints about why Thomas and Lucille have such an relationship. I don’t want to spoil too much, but let’s just say their mother played quite a part in it. Heck, I could even use a Freudian approach to analyze this.
Crimson Peak offers a counter part to the classic damsel-in-distress trope, which can be found in most Gothic novels (*cough*Castle of Otranto*cough*). Edith is shown as a ‘New Woman’, a young lady with a job. Now, set in the late 18oos, that is big news. She does marry Thomas, though, and enters thus the Sharpe family and their deep, dark secrets. Throughout the film, Edith is shown making investigations and wandering through the house by herself. However, she really doesn’t need to be saved by a man. The hauntings scare her, yes, but since neither her husband nor her sister-in-law are helpful, she has to take things into her own hands. That aspect would be interesting to analyze, too.
HOWEVER, and that is what is keeping me from pursuing the idea, I need something else to analyze as well. I talked to one of my lecturers last year, and she said that I would need a novel to compare the movie to. It can be similar in plot (more or less) and genre. Since I don’t know which Gothic novel I could use, I am a bit lost. I could use Walpole’s Castle of Otranto, but I cannot take that novel seriously. (way over the top for my taste) If anyone has any idea, please let me know. If not, I can still analyze the whole movie on my own, without further reading of a novel, by just doing my research and applying my finds to the movie.
This time, I want to discuss my other dissertation idea, in case my first one gets rejected. Now, this idea has been lingering in my brain since a few weeks. I want to write about Nightwish’s album Imaginaerum and why it could be considered Romantic. For those who are unfamiliar with the Romantics, here’s a short explanation:
The Romantic era was a European wide literary and artistic movement during the late 18th until the 19th century. The Romantics were celebrating individual freedom, emotions and nature; in other words, everything the Enlightenment movement despised. In Germany, famous authors such as E.T.A Hoffmann, Bettina von Armin, Friedrich Schlegel produced mainly fairy-tale like poetry or stories. This was also the time the brother’s Grimm collected fairytales from all over Germany. Musically speaking, there’s, for example, Richard Wagner and Beethoven , and for painting, it is Caspar David Friedrich.
(below: Wanderer above the Sea of Fog/Wanderer am Nebelmeer, by Friedrich)
In England, it was a bit different. They had Lord Byron and his oh-so-tragic-and-suicidal heroes, Coleridge (who loved his opium), Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, William Blake, Wordworth, etc. These guys mainly focused on nature and the emotions it can purvey, the power of imagination (Coleridge’s Kubla Khan) or, in the case of Blake, point out the corruption of the church and institutions. (Songs of Innocence and Experience). For the paintings, there was, for example, William Turner and for music, there’s Henry Bishop or George Alexander MacFarren. (It’s hard to find any Romantic English composers. The Germans were a bit more musically inclined than any other country.)
(below: Rockets and Blue Lights (Close at Hand) to warn Steam Boats of Shoal Water, by Joseph Mallord William Turner)
To come back to my dissertation idea, I want to focus on the lyrics of the album. Since it has a lot to do with memory, imagination and childhood, I thought that I could link it to Wordsworth and/or Blake, as both deal with these subjects. The background for the album is an old composer looking back at his life, mainly his childhood. If that doesn’t sound like some modern twist on the Romantics, then I don’t know what does. I could focus on Nightwish’s other albums, but that would become more of a Masters or PhD project.
As I am in my 3rd and final year at uni, I have to think about my future dissertation.
The first idea that has been lingering in my mind for a certain time now is comparing Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to H.P Lovecraft’s Herbert West: Re-animator to Stephen King’s Revival. I would discuss the fact that Frankenstein was the catalyst for the following novels and look how it has been adapted and re-adapted by Lovecraft and King. Funny thing is, Lovecraft’s version is a spoof/parody of Frankenstein, so that would be interesting to look at. (Plus, it has the first description of a modern day zombie. Yeah!) Revival then is a mash-up between these other two novels. At one hand, you have the idea of people being resurrected by electricity, and on the other hand, you have that very dark and Lovecraftian ending. I could go into some of the deeper meaning behind the reason of resurrection of Revival, but that would spoil the whole book for those who haven’t read it yet. (Go get it, it’s really good!)
I think for something that should be between 6.000 and 8.000 words long, it should be manageable. If I won’t get the permission to do it, I’d still write about it (duh!). As I said before, this idea has been lingering in my head for a long time now and I can’t wait to put it into words!
(a strange and already hostile looking city? Let’s explore!)
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