Jemisin’s work within “The Fifth Season” is a dedication to the unwritten ideas of countless cultures. Through her world-building, Jemisin is able to repurpose and rewrite existing myths and ideologies into the unique place that is The Stillness. This will be an ongoing series of blog posts that will attempt to bring light to the references and links that Jemisin makes. Continue reading “How the World Came to be”
Geology Fiction
Astronomy, physics and biology dominate the genre of science fiction. N. K. Jemisin has now added geology to the list with the Fifth Season and the other books in the trilogy. In terms of media, science fiction appearing in books is a given since it’s been known to have become popular through print mediums. There’s an interesting thread to be traced about the mediums that we tell stories through. A science fiction drama might play out on the pages of a book, but now we’re just as likely to see other planets and strange creatures through virtual reality goggles. Jemisin was, at some point, inspired enough by the study of rocks to deem it book worthy. This inspiration is the start of the Broken Earth trilogy although careful readers can see that Jemisin has carefully interwoven other subjects and inspirations into her work. I had been reading an interview Jemisin did with The Atlantic and she mentioned video games, that new and exciting medium for story-telling. Continue reading “Geology Fiction”
Jemisin and alternate biology
In the world of the Fifth Season orogenes are about as close to wizards and witches as you can get. Popular culture might also liken them to the earth benders of the Avater: The Last Airbender television series. Although there’s no explanation for where the power to move tons of rock with your mind comes from, there’s a small detail that Jemisin inserted into the world she built. In fact, it was inserted into the base of the neck in the form of a sesspinae. This addition of an alternate biology adds a way of explaining that isn’t complete but comforts a reader. Wizards, warlocks, witches and the like all classify as fantasy which is really only tangential to science fiction. Making the inhabitants of the Stillness in possession of an organ that interprets waves of energy is one of the things that Jemisin does to depart from fantasy. Paired with her desires to keep her science fiction as closely based to real science as possible, I think that having something to move from like the sesspinae is important. The counter to orogenes, Guardians, also can explain their abilities by pointing to the implant they received when they were children. Continue reading “Jemisin and alternate biology”
Response to “Freedom in Resistance: Yikka” by Elizabeth Gellman
Reclaiming a word can be a way to rebuild communities that have previously been fractured by the shaky world they live in. Many of the words that are reclaimed can still be derogatory if used by the wrong people in a bashful or ill intentioned way.
It is fascinating to think of the power that a single word can carry. The influence that words can have on people and their perceptions of the world is astounding yet horrifying. Continue reading “Response to “Freedom in Resistance: Yikka” by Elizabeth Gellman”
Say Cheese!
Despite my playful title, the topic I want to discuss is rooted in a deeply woven sense of fear, derived from my understanding—or lack thereof— of Guardians. When I first learned about the twisted nature of the Guardians I remember asking myself, “Why am I so bothered ?” (especially after the peak of my disturbance in The Fifth Season relating to the Guardian Timay). After some reflection—and constantly revisiting the novel—I was able to narrow my unrest resulting from two key behaviors that Guardians demonstrate: constantly smiling and expressing their love for orogenes. In this blog post I’ll explore the act of smiling.
Janelle Monae’s Dirty Computer
Janelle Monae’s visual album shows the everyday problems people of color face in a way that fuses past and present. The visual album consisted of a series of music videos that contributed to the overall story or theme. Continue reading “Janelle Monae’s Dirty Computer”
Afrofuturism in Janelle Monae’s Dirty Computer
Janelle Monae’s Dirty Computer is set in the future. It is a time where differentiating qualities are not valued. If you are “dirty” you get stripped off your memories of the past and become “clean”.
Continue reading “Afrofuturism in Janelle Monae’s Dirty Computer”
Dirty computer- Bailey Konen
This video was quite confusing at first, as the viewers of the film are thrown into this sci-fi world. I believe that this video does a fantastic job of fusing past and present through its lyrics and visualizations on the screen. Jane 57821 is almost being held prisoner by this organization that believes that her individuality is a threat to there society. This is very similar some may say to what society is like today, in that many people have unique experiences, feelings and abilities that make them special. However many people want to suppress that individuality in hopes that many people will conform to one common mindset. This is represented in the film, in the secret organization trying to wipe all of her memories with the “nevermind” gas. Jane try’s to fight this system because she doesn’t want to forgot her friend and her love Zen. She attempts to go against the powerful organization however Zen argues for her to just follow along and do what she is told. This futuristic world holds many parallels to the past because throughout our history, society changes with people that decide to go against the normal or expected. This includes the way that African Americans are treated and the way the homosexual people have been treated. I thought the short film does a great job of merging on over arching concept into two different time periods.
The Uncanny Valley (no geological pun intended)
I first learned about the concept of the Uncanny Valley in a class I took with Professor Kirsh (psychology) called Parenting in the Zombie Apocalypse. One of the very first things we covered was why zombies, and other monsters found in the genre of horror, are scary to us. Besides their physical danger to living humans and their mindless pursuit of wiping out all of humanity, zombies are simply creepy because their appearance falls in the Uncanny Valley.
Continue reading “The Uncanny Valley (no geological pun intended)”
Janelle Monae/Audre Lorde
“…we must move against not only those forces which dehumanize us from the outside, but also against those oppressive values which we have been forced to take into ourselves” (Lorde, 2)
For this blog post, I primarily want to deal with this quote from the Lorde piece we read. There is a lot to take in, both in Dirty Computer by Janelle Monae and “Learning from the 60s” by Audre Lorde, so I figured it was best to concentrate on one connection for a brief blog post.