ENG 6283: Narrative Theory

One of the best representations that I can think of in regards to a narrative violating its own canon of probability is The Dark Knight (2008). This movie is great for so many reasons, but one of the most intriguing characteristics of it is how an antagonist within this movie breaks and violates Gotham City’s canon of probability. Can you guess who? Known to be one of the most popular and complex characters in the DC Universe, the Joker is no stranger to upsetting the established order. In The Dark Knight , the “Crown Prince of Crime” expertly manipulates his multiple personalities (and cronies) with the different scenarios he’s presented with as he torments Gotham. The first ten minutes of the movie integrates suspense with canon of probability. We see several robbers with clown masks robbing the bank; any one of those masked criminals could be the Joker. However, due to his expert manipulation tactics, he sets up a chain that takes care of its own lose ends. As each ste...

“We all come from somewhere.” [pan to pretty flowers in a supposedly wild but obviously well-tended garden of exotic flowers on a strange world]. “We carry that place with us, wherever we go.” [an alien hand, yet five-fingered and humanlike, reaches for a Starfleet badge; the view shifts to Commander Saru, an officer and an alien aboard the starship Discovery] “That never leaves our hearts. Not entirely.” [cut to view of Saru, oddly tall, sinuous, with a gait like a centaur; he walks onto starship bridge]. “But none of us can predict where our journey will lead.” Yes. I’m a Trekkie. Yes. Instead of beginning my weekend readings about “character” and narrative, I caught up on two  Star Trek Discovery  episodes I’ve missed in the last few weeks. I’m trying to refocus on fictional causality or canons of probability. I’m still ruminating on this notion, but at the moment I understand it as the internal logic created by the narrative. Or, what happens in a story makes sens...

(Lilya Brik shouting "Books!" in a poster by artist Alexander Rodchenko, 1924.) I tried to think of a chill thing to write about or a casual but interesting narrative that I think needs to be told, but I couldn't see those fitting the prompt. So, I'm just going to lean into the preachy-ness and answer the question in the most intuitive way I can. It is a cliche that history is written by the winners, and that the marginalized, the brutalized, the erased have left no stories behind. But I think, ironically, this cliche further erases those peoples' stories by asserting that they left nothing behind. From folk songs, stories, myths, pictograms, rhymes, quilt patterns, recipes, old wives tales, superstitions, hobo signs, un-burned books, family lore, etc, the stories of those crushed by war, imperialism, slavery, and subjugation survive. Those are the narratives that we need to hear. We need to hear the truth about glorified "heroes" of our society, ...

What’s a lost story we should know about? Just one? Oh no, there are millions of lost stories we should know about, and I know a good place to start. Because I’m known to ask google a myriad of weird questions, I found this delightful piece a while back which led me to seriously ponder the significance of oral stories. For me, some of the most important narratives in my life are oral simply because of the lack of good photographs and paperwork from my mysterious entrance into the world. *mysterious music here* To add to that tradition of telling stories by mouth, my daughter and I have established a new tradition in the past six months of storytelling before bed. Sometimes these stories are true (When Mommy was little, she loved frogs), and some of them are pretend (Once there was a princess who never brushed her teeth). The only rules? They must be brand new and no repeats (which, as it turns out, might be the furthest from oral tradition as possible). First I sing her a song, then...

If I have had an existential crisis in this class due to readings or blog posts, it does not compare to what this prompt has done to my brain this week. "A Lost Narrative" If a narrative is REALLY lost, then no one living should know about it, right? If anyone knows of any kind of narrative, then it isn't lost. If it just isn't widely known, then it still isn't lost and the entire thing is just a mindfuck. Perhaps I'm thinking too hard about it, but who really knows anymore. Narrative is just....wild. Anyways, I began thinking of narratives that aren't as popular, or have been lost for a really long time. I asked around. I went on the History Channel (which was useless but entertaining). And then I got it. In our Research Methods class we are putting together a digital archive of women letter writers. The woman I chose is called Cordye Hall and she was amazing. She made copies of every letter she ever sent out. She was a ring leader in the Mothers fo...

The libraries of the world are full of lost stories. Stories of love and betrayal, adventure and ennui, beginnings and endings. Books go into libraries but that doesn't always mean that they are read. They may languish on the shelf for decades, unloved and eventually, lost in the stacks. It's ironic then, that some of the stories that are often the most missed and then eventually lost are those of the librarians. I want to tell you about someone that maybe should mean more to you, but you don't know who she is because no one has ever really told her story. This person's name? Era Boswell. Let that name just sit with you for a minute. Back when Texas Woman's University (TWU) was still Texas State College for Women (TSCW), the library had a librarian named... Era Boswell. That name conjures images of grand adventures through space and time, protecting the fabric of reality with a few well-placed library books. The truth, however, is much more quiet. But I shou...

When I think of lost narratives, I think of the stories that aren't passed down to or between generations. The stories that aren't said in between drags in a gas station parking lot, or the stories you think about when you look at a person across the way in a subway car. Or,t he stories you think you know, but you really, really don't know them at all. Ignorance is not bliss. This photo reminds me of all the stories, memories, and experiences that I've never had, and possibly will never get to have in the future. It's a photo scanning the border of Miyajima Island in Hiroshima Bay. The water, much like the shores of Galveston, is murky and deep. As we sailed into the docking station, I wondered about the people who protect the shrines and keep the traditions and legends of the majestic tor-ii gate. How do they work to keep those legends alive? Is there a constant effort of rallying listeners to hear how the tor-ii gate came to be? Or is it much simpler tha...