Macaulay Seminar One at Brooklyn College

Earlier in the year we as a class went to columbia university to look at the history of comic books in America. Although it was slightly bland, i did enjoy quite a few parts of it. First and foremost, the thing i really enjoyed was looking at the comic from the late 1700s when the Columbia students tried to make their teacher’s life miserable. In this comic, we see the teacher having an affair and getting an asian woman pregnant, then offering her a large amount of money to get the baby aborted. I found it mind numbing that truthfully nothing much has changed over the last 300 years as we still have the stories about affairs and offering a lot of money to a woman to abort her child. Another part i liked was the cosplay of the Red Dahlia it was so well made i was shocked that someone wouldve put that much effort. One thing i didnt like is that i was expecting more comic books about superheroes like Xmen but apparently the curator is more of a fan of historical comics as opposed to hero comics. I guess this shows the importance of a curator in the development of an exhibit as it can completely change the atmosphere of the show.

Going to Columbia to see an exhibit about comic books sounded like so much fun. Honestly I think comics are interesting to look at, not that I read them I do like DC and Marvel movies, and learning about Characters in comics. However the exhibit was not exactly how I expected it to be.

I had expected the exhibit to be rather large, which it was, but a third of the exhibit was placed into a narrow hallway. I thought that we would be able to learn about things in comics history. After going to class the next day, I did rethink the way the tour was given and how she would constantly question us. Most tours are given that way when they try to involve the people in the tour into a discussion.

I did enjoy looking at all old art pieces shown to us. I guess looking at different aspects of comics was interesting, like the company letters, draft comics, and cosplay. I probably would have enjoyed the comic archive if we were allowed to just walk around the area and look at all the different things for ourselves.

Honestly I found the five boro food talk to be interesting in a confusing way. I had hoped that the panel would be discussing and explaining the history of certain jewish foods, but listening to the panel talk, and not knowing much about jewish food, I got lost listening to the panel talk. Although it was enjoyable to be in a small panel room and sit so close to the people talking, not really knowing so much about the history was not so enjoyable. After going to class and hearing what other’s who were jewish had to say about the talk, it made it seem that the panel was not very good at talking about jewish food. The panel did seem too focused on the discussion on gefilte fish, zabar’s, and bagels and was unable to bring enough of a focus onto other topics. I probably would have liked the talk more if the talk didn’t assume everyone knew jewish food to start with, although in their defense most of the people who went were indeed jewish, the discussion should have been a more, in general discussion, instead of putting such a narrow focus on the large diversity found in jewish food.

I guess in the end I came to the talk expecting it to go one way, but was disappointed since I left the talk not knowing about much more jewish food then I had started with.

This show was by far my favorite event our class has attended together this semester. It was refreshing to see because the play did not just portray a cookie cutter story that I have already seen a thousand versions of. Instead, it discusses the relevant theme of discrimination against homosexual and transgender people. It questions the societal norms that dictate who is labeled a “family”. Since I am taking a sociology class now, this topic was extremely interesting to me.

I was looking at the set before the play began and wondered how the crew was going to switch the set between scenes. I thought that they were going to use the gaps between the walls and the set to transport the props. Instead, they set up different areas of the room as different scenes and varied the lighting. It was extremely well done. Overall, this was an extremely interesting experience for me.

By the way, I found Joey! After a long discussion, I talked him out of joining the military and he is coming home. In all seriousness, I had a very interesting conversation with Luke Slattery, the actor that plays Joey. He asked me what I thought of the ending of the show. I told him that I thought the playwright left it unanswered in order for the audience to add in their own interpretation of how the family would have ended up. When I said that we all hope for a happy ending, he said, “Well, there isn’t always a happy ending”, which made me believe that he did not have much hope for the family’s future together.

The violin performance that our class went to see at Carnegie Hall was an overall thrilling experience. The theater was beautiful and the stage was set up in a refreshingly organized manner. I was a little bit bored during the first act of the show and was anxiously anticipating hearing the Four Seasons during the intermission. The waiting paid off and I ended up highly enjoying the entire second act. I particularly enjoyed when the lead violinist interacted with the other musicians. The connection between them was beautiful. I also appreciated how in sync all of the instruments were played. Sally and I were wondering why there were so many encores. We were also confused as to why the lead violinist kept exiting the stage and then coming back. We felt that it was an overdone attempt to get more attention and applause. Overall, this was a great performance to witness!

Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the Comic Archives event at Columbia University because I was at a conference in California for one of my extracurricular activities. Instead of posting about that event, I will be reviewing one of the comics posted online. I have always loved the X-Man movies and, therefore, am choosing to discuss “The Uncanny X-Men #141″.

I really enjoyed the graphics of this comic. In an art class I took in high school, we learned about inking. We were given some pictures to ink ourselves and it was an extremely difficult process. I began to appreciate the patience and technique that goes into inking. It was very well done in “The Uncanny X-Men #141″.

One aspect of the comic that I didn’t like was the way that women were referred to. In the beginning of the comic, Wolverine saves Kate from Rogues. Logan addresses the villain stating, “YOU’RE GONNA RELEASE THE LADY, JUST LIKE SHE ASKED”. He specifically referred to her gender when she was being victimized and in need of savior. The helplessness of women is a flawed theme that is perpetuated in several forms of art. This tradition is in need of change.

Being a huge fan of theatre I was super excited just waiting to go into the space.  As we walked in, I observed a cite set of a 1980’s american kitchen, that seemed so close I felt like I should go sit in the chair on the set.  I feel this show had to be very close to the audience, there is no other way of putting it on.  It gives it a sense of intimacy and draws you in that much more.  As for the show itself, I was defiantly not expecting such an emotional power house.  The whole time, about 10 minutes in, the audience is given an uneasy mood, not knowing the secret Chris had.  The show did not fail to keep that emotion and energy sustained; giving the audience what they wanted: Something the could think about and something they could feel.  What I got from it was this idea of identity and acceptance in society, and the effect it has on the people in our world.  The acting was on point!  However, I do think the father of the family (the name escapes me) did the best job.  Looking back, the character was very real and was put in a very tough situation.  Needless to say, I feel the actor did a superb job displaying his inner conflicts.  This process had to be a team effort.  I can’t really say that I saw one part of the show falling behind in comparison to another.  Though I do wish I saw more of what Chris had to say about who she was and why she felt what she did was necessary.  I really like to see a show where we can see the inner most thoughts of a character.  However, the building conflict, tension and drastic measures taken by characters made up for it.  I was lucky enough to meet the play write.  He didn’t say much aside from the fact that when he wrote it in the late 70’s-80’s no one would touch it.  After seeing it, and reflecting on the times, I can see why.  But it’s nice to see that the show was in the end put on.  I would recommend the show in a heart beat to anyone who enjoys theatre or just wants something to think about.

Out of all the trips we’ve went to this semester, this play is the one trip I probably could have seen in my free time. I’ve always loved both Broadway and off-Broadway plays and I secretly wanted to be an actress in my young life (hehe).

I felt that the actors of On the Stool at the End of the Bar really put their heart and soles into the performance. Their talent was undeniable and was definitely something I’ve never seen before. There was intense drama, emotion, and content. As I said in class today, I found the homophobia to be very overwhelming. The “F word,” as Professor Ugoretz called it, is such a hurtful term and so hearing it consistently throughout the play was a lot to take in. Like Farzana, I didn’t realize the play was not meant to be set in the present day. It makes so much sense that it wasn’t because I don’t feel that there is as much homophobia today as their was thirty years ago.

As far as the story line goes, I definitely agree with the idea that if the family knew about Chris’s “situation”from beforehand, there would not be a play at all. I liked how there wasn’t necessarily a “happy ending” because this story could potentially happen in real life and in real life, there usually ISN’T a happy ending. The play actually had a perfect ending in such a way that no one could really determine if it was a happy one or not. The audience got to decide on their own!

I really enjoyed the performance at Carnegie Hall! It was my first time going to a classical music performance which heightened my excitement. I was a little bored during the first act…maybe because I was too excited to hear the Four Seasons. So I definitely preferred the Four Seasons over the first segment, but I really enjoyed both halves of the concert. With my lack of experience and knowledge of classical music, I couldn’t really tell when each season ended and a new one began, but I still knew that my favorite seasons were Winter and Summer (Thanks Hannah for letting me know which was which :)). I especially enjoyed the intensity of Winter and, as Josh said, the change in tempo.

As per the violinists, I felt the same way as Jeanette did in terms of the way they looked like robots! The violin is an instrument that drives the musician into a complicated mental state that they appear as machines.  However, at the same time, I realized the violinists were naturally swaying to their own music! Its so interesting how I found signs of both raw talent and inevitable emotion evoked from the violinists.

This was one of the most anticipated events when I was told we would be going to many culturally stimulating events and attempting to broaden our artistic horizons. All I can say is that I was in complete awe to see how one person can master her instrument. I felt the emotion within the musician and I saw how much work she has poured into something that has truly shaped her life.

My favorite song and movement was Vivaldi’s four seasons specifically the winter one as I just loved the change in tempo while still illustrating the harsh winds of winter.