Author Archives: Kenny Vu

Fateful Laughter

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Fate means that there are events that are beyond a person’s control. In the case of the Barber of Seville, The Count, with the help of Figaro, captures fate by the reins and guides his own destiny. In a comedy like the Barber of Seville, fate plays subtle roles, disguised by the hilariously absurd situations in the plot. Fate advances the plot through unforeseeable/convenient situations and introduces absurdities into the play that enhance the comedic aspects.

Fate is practically inserted through various parts of the play in order to advance the story. It appears early when The Count met Figaro outside Bartholo’s home. It is purely through fate and/or coincidence that they met, but their meeting allows the story to progress. Other instances of fate include the weather on the night of the marriage, which helped The Count acquire his woman. On the other hand, the characters were also able to control their own fates, so they controlled their own outcomes. The prime example is The Count’s decision to remove the ladder, which allowed him to marry Rosine directly in Bartholo’s house.

The more important role of fate in comedy is the absurdity that fate brings into the play. When Bazile fatefully enters the room when Rosine is getting her “lessons,” a crazy situation erupts where there is a comedic exchange between the character, and where Bazile is left clueless. The fact that Bazile comes at such a time shows how fate is used in this play, as an opportunity for insanity to occur, producing laughter from the readers and the audience. Another example is at the beginning, Rosine asks for information by song from The Count; if Figaro did not have a guitar at the moment, then the light and humorous lyrics may have never left The Count’s lips.

Comedic plays use fate similarly to tragedies: to advance the plot. However, the main difference between the two is that tragedies use fate to highlight themes, while comedies use fate to enhance the humor.

Pity and Fear

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Fate is one of the main ideas that drive the Thebian plays by Sophocles, but fate is not the main theme. Fate is merely a device that moves the play forward – sort of a deus ex machinima device. In Antigone, it is clear that fate plays a role in the outcome of the play, but it serves as a platform to express the themes of religion(gods) and the role of catharsis in Greek society.

The most apparent role of fate is the ominous prediction that Creon will be left with nothing. Of course, fate prevails and his whole family, his son Haemon, his wife, and his other relatives, die. This was only due to Creon’s reluctance to listen to Teiresias. Fate only occurred due to his absurd actions that displeased the gods.

In Greek tragedies, the gods were the bringers of justice, and if you disobeyed the gods, you were cursed with a horrid fate. This wasn’t the case in Oedipus Rex where Oedipus was unlucky enough to be granted a cruel “fate” by the gods, however, the idea of a god’s wrath is more defined in Antigone. In the end, Creon suffered for his actions and Polynices was eventually buried. The fate that the gods bestow can never be avoided.  This idea of fate subtly, yet strongly introduces catharsis to the audience. Sophocles wanted people to experience pity for the main character, and fear of the gods/fate. This was the common goal of Greek tragedies, thus fate’s role in Antigone was important to the play-writer’s intent.

Contemporary

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A common aspect of contemporary theater is innovation. New directors stray from the traditional forms of plays by incorporation interactivity and altering essential parts of a play like the stage and music. The play “The Love Letter You’ve Been Meaning to Write New York” by Jonathan Solari is a prime example of the unconventional methods of a contemporary play.
In her review, Claudia La Rocco paints a vivid description of the play by describing the novelties surrounding this play. She starts the review stating that the play is lacking on “conventional levels,” meaning that the plot, script, and acting are subpar. However, she points out that the real success of this play is the creative stage. “The Love Letter You’ve Been Meaning to Write New York” is obviously about New York, but what makes this play so unique is that the audience sits inside a building looking out a glass wall, and the actors take their roles on the streets. The unpredictable occurrences in the streets make this play very enjoyable.
La Rocco does not describe any further than the stage located on the streets. She leaves out information regarding music and plot, making this review weak at explaining all the facts. But, perhaps it was her intent to say that the creative stage is the only thing worth mentioning.
Even though this play sounds extremely interesting to watch and the review makes it sound very cool, I wonder whether or not the stage method is a gimmick. The review said that it lacked in plot and acting; if you take the actors out of a play what is left? I don’t feel confident that a production would be enjoyable solely based on a trick. I remember watching a 3D movie – Sure, it’s great and novel, but if the movie were bad, would I marvel at the 3D effects? I hope not.
Will “contemporary theater” just be an excuse to try gimmicky techinques? I plan to keep on the lookout for new shows that tread new grounds (like audience-actor relationships) and figure out whether this is just a trend or a viable method for a play.

Sept. 11th Memorial Video Review

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Here’s our (Derek+Kenny) video review. We discussed what we felt and liked about the memorial and what could have been done better, in interview form. Derek had an actual interview, thus I was clearly outdressed for the position…

http://youtu.be/l908zqq4VFg

Also here are some pictures from the memorial!

Why did you leave?

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My mom and grandparents lived a happy life in Vietnam, but..

There were certain circumstances

And they left Vietnam for a better place

My grandfather was a doctor and they were well off in Vietnam. At the time the Vietnamese government took control of mostly everything.  However, their money in the bank became the government’s. So they gave a few ounces of gold in order to leave.

The Whitney

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When I was in high school one of my “artsy” friends brought me to the Whitney Museum of Art. The different art styles of most exhibitions at the Whitney evoke a strong atmosphere if you visit. There are sculptures, paintings, films and other abstract exhibitions from time to time. If you’re a fan of modern, contemporary art galleries, then the Whitney is an easy choice. If not, the Whitney also carries several galleries of paintings from different eras (ex. expressionism).  Currently, there are six exhibitions displayed, but I highly suggest visiting just for the Singular Visions exhibition, which is a series of 12 different art pieces that are meant to give different impressions using a wide array of art mediums and sizes.

Singular Visions has started on Dec 16, 2010 and is still ongoing

Where:

Whitney Museum of American Art
945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street
New York, NY 10021
General Information: (212) 570-3600

Hours:

Closed Monday, Tues
11am-6pm The other days
1pm-9pm Fridays

What To Expect

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A successful review needs a few key elements in order to persuade readers to trust in the reviewer’s judgment. Readers must be engaged through persuasive language and style, as well as be informed about the subject in review with a thorough yet concise summary of what are the best and worst parts to expect. The reviews, Excavations on Catfish Row by Ben Brantley and A Couple’s Big Break That’s Not So Lucky by Neil Genzlinger, are examples of strong and weak reviews.

Ben Brantley provides the readers with an engaging review of the opera “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess” through the usage of strong opinions and a great summary. His main argument is that the adaption of the classic American opera “Porgy and Bess” only shines because of the main singer was able to invoke incredible emotions, while the other singers were sub par compared to her. Also, he criticizes how the construction of the singing parts of the opera and the modernization of the opera did not meld into a smooth experience. In addition to the content, Brantley’s descriptions were superb and persuasive. For example, he described the main singer’s talent by saying “Ms. McDonald’s performance is as complete and complex a work of musical portraiture as any I’ve seen in years.” This is also evident in the final paragraph of the review. He adds credibility to his review by both highlighting the impressive and worst parts of the opera.

On the other hand, the article about the play “Temporal Powers” by Neil Genzlinger, should not have been labeled as a review at all. Genzlinger starts with a attention grabbing opener “What’s the No. 1 thing couples fight about? Money.” However, in the short, 8-paragraph review, Genzlinger spends 5 of the paragraphs summarizing the whole play. He does not reveal the entire plot, but he basically gives theatrical ‘sparknote’ on the general story of the play. He does not delve any deeper into the play, such as important aspects to consider and leaves the reader wondering “what should I look forward to?”

I believe that a review is great if it can persuade a person whether or not to go appreciate the arts. Brantley was able to make me want to watch and not watch the opera through his great description of Ms. McDonald’s singing and criticism of the rest of the play. Genzlinger was only able to tell me what to expect and that it would be a long but rewarding play. What would you prefer to read?

New taste

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Of the two novels, I found The Namesake to be the most relatable; in fact, it was almost instantly after I finished the novel that I encountered a moment when I felt connected to the book. I walked into the kitchen to see my mom and dad eating fish and bean sprouts wrapped in rice paper, dipped in fish sauce.  She told me, “This is what I ate when I was little. It reminds me of home.”

At that moment I saw similarities between my mother rice wraps and Ashima’s rice crispies concoction.  But this sparked the question in my head – what food would remind me of home?

I remember … pizza, hot dogs, chinese food, pho, barbeques, salmon and all different kinds of food. Living in NYC, it is hard to pinpoint what food would spark the memories of home.  American and Vietnamese food were the only things I knew, which is why if I wanted to be reminded of home, I would be eating one of the strange dishes of east and west that my dad made. I remember sitting in the kitchen, whining about eating something different. I saw him start frying noodles with different sauces, Italian sausages and a few Asian herbs. What came next blew my mind – it tasted awfully funky and weird but I couldn’t help but appreciate the effort. The taste, although weird, was strangely homely. Eventually he kept making the noodles and I kept eating the noodles. It’s something special to me and this family alone, which makes it such a great memory.

Two Ways to Remember

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The two novels, The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Foer, both use memory as a powerful tool to advance and improve their stories. However, they have completely different methods to integrate memory into their novels. These methods can be explained by the course theme “Culture and Memory”; Lahiri uses the development of culture in the lives of the Gangulis and Foer uses memories inscribed in key objects.

In The Namesake, the book’s progression is rather chronological. This makes the concept of culture a lot more significant to evoke memory. As the characters grow up, they develop new views as they become accustomed to American life. As a result, the change in the characters allows the readers to feel somewhat nostalgic when a reference to the Ganguli’s culture appears. Family meetings, old trips to Calcutta, good names and food, appear frequently in Gogol’s thoughts late in the novel. These aspects of his culture serve as memories that both the readers and Gogol can share.

On the other hand, Foer uses a more direct approach to evoke memory. Objects and possessions of the characters in Extremely Loud and incredibly Close serve as the vehicle of memories.  Oskar uses the envelope and key as a method to preserve the memory of his father, although there is no real connection between the two.  He uses the key as a way to keep the most precious memories of scavenger hunts and riddles with his father close to heart. In a way, Oskar wants this personal relationship with his father to never end; he wants to keep experiencing these memories over again, which is why Oskar embarks on the unreasonable quest. We can see similar ways the other characters inscribe memories into objects through letters and places like the Empire State Building.

The ways both writers evoke memory in the readers extremely effective and relatable, allowing readers to be reminded of their own memories.

I love the lights

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Hi, my name is Kenny Vu. I’ve been a native New Yorker for 18 years, and I love living in this city.

I don’t exactly have any hobbies. Instead, you can say that my hobby is trying new hobbies. Over the past years I found myself trying something new every few months. I found myself delving into several hobbies such as: digital art (Photoshop), building computers for myself and friends, playing guitar (bought an electric, ended up settling for acoustic), trying to learn piano and photography. Unfortunately, trying so many things means that I’m mediocre at everything (well, except tech) but I’m still happy I tried.

I’m a generally normal guy, somewhat passive, and when I speak to people I enjoy individual conversations compared to large gatherings. I like to explore the city with friends to find “chill” places. I like to make bad jokes. I like to listen to all kinds of music (maybe not country). I love looking for spots to see manhattan’s nighttime cityscape – I love the lights. Hope to get to know you all better!