Archive for the ‘Art & Literature’ Category

Uh, What Do You Mean By “Great Responsibility” ?

Welcome back! We hope you enjoyed last week’s podcast. Danielle and I are thrilled to continue our discussion of heroes and saviors in our fourth podcast. The theme for class was “You Are Here for A Reason.” We watched: Batman Begins (2005) “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman”...
March 17th, 2010 | Art & Literature, Film, Picturing the Word | Read More

Predatory Loneliness: Nighthawks

Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks maybe the most famous painting of urban isolation. Don’t buy it?  Let me try to help. When you’re attempting to understand a piece, the first step is to see it well. Look at the formal elements: color, shapes, and focal points. Once you can see what you’re...
March 16th, 2010 | Art & Literature, Media | Read More

Is there really room for another Austen remake? You bet your Pride and Prejudice!

Like clockwork, the BBC has come out with a television serial of Jane Austen’s classic, Emma. Weirdly, film adaptations of this particular novel seem to come in pairs: both Kate Beckinsale and Gwyneth Paltrow portrayed the eponymous heroine in 1996 — on British television and American movie...
March 10th, 2010 | Art & Literature, Film | Read More

What’s In a Name? That By Which We Call A Hero By Any Other Name Wouldst Act As…Villainous? Courageous? Cunning?

Welcome to Week 3 of Picturing the Word! This week in class we watched movies and read books with the theme “You have great power.” We watched: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Chris Columbus, 2002) Spider-Man (Sam Raimi, 2002) Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977) Star Wars: Episode II — Attack...
March 10th, 2010 | Art & Literature, Film, Picturing the Word | Read More

Fear of the Elements: Tsunamis, Typhoons, and Turner

Recent tsunami warnings in Hawaii brought to mind a powerful painting by JMW Turner. He was a good painter, but not gifted with pithy titles. Proof? This one’s named: ‘Slavers throwing overboard the Dead and Dying—typhon coming on.’ He didn’t misspell ‘typhoon’; that’s...
March 9th, 2010 | Art & Literature, Media | Read More

You Are A Muggle

Welcome back! We hope you enjoyed the first podcast and are excited to continue to discuss what makes a hero and a myth. For the second class, we watched: Superman (Richard Donner, 1978) The Last Son of Krypton from “Superman: The Animated Series” Pilot from “Smallville” Superman on Earth from...
March 4th, 2010 | Art & Literature, Film, Other, Picturing the Word | Read More

Dear Christian: Sigh No More

As if four vocalists, two drum sets, guitars, organ and piano aren’t enough, Mumford & Sons also employs banjo, dobro, mandolin, and well-crafted lyrics to pierce their listener with sublime melodies. A brand new folk indie-rock band based out of London, Mumford & Sons‘ first album,...
March 1st, 2010 | Art & Literature, Culture, Media, Music | Read More

Harry Potter and Superman – The Struggle Between Film and Imagination

Hello! And welcome to Picturing the Word! We’re your hosts, Danielle Howe and John Sirjord. So what’s this all about? Well… This podcast is both a continuation and a response to a class that John and I are taking through the Torrey Honors Institute at Biola University.  The class, titled Heroes...
February 25th, 2010 | Art & Literature, Film, Picturing the Word | Read More

On Overcoming Writer’s Block

After staring idly at the white screen for a few moments, your brows furrow. You type out a sentence. It is terrible; you must erase it. You notice your palms have begun to moisten and your intestines are all in knots. Disconcertingly, this process repeats itself until the worst has happened. You have...
February 22nd, 2010 | Art & Literature, Blogging | Read More

Reading As Conversation

Reading is a conversation. Reading a good book or a good poem is like talking with someone who has thought things through and has managed to come up with something that is really worth saying. Our reading practices should reflect that reality. Just because there is not a person sitting in front of us...
February 17th, 2010 | Art & Literature, Culture, Education | Read More