Meditations on Media

I love this quote, because it rings with so much truth. Everything already exists in the world that God has created; all that is left is for man to discover it. And that is exactly what he does through science. This quote is an interesting reminder that science does not create anything new--it merely uncovers what already exists.

Speaking of discovery, I want to hearken back to the article "Some Possibilities of Electricity." As I was reading it I couldn't help but think the whole time: "cell phone. These are cell phones. Cell phones. Oh my goodness, cell phones." Back then, the word "wireless" referred to radio waves. This is what William Crookes article refers to, and what Hertz is credited to have discovered. But today, if you Google the word "wireless" (which I did), a whole list of cell phone providers pops up. Wireless has a whole new meaning in the modern world. Wireless internet, wireless cell phones--these words didn't even exist in the 1890s. The forms of electricity, of wires, and of communication have changed and evolved exponentially over time. In 1892, scientists could dream of technology such as cell phones, but they could not imagine it. Now, it is a reality we could not imagine living without.

Nonetheless, this technology has always been. When it was in the form of the telegraph, the wireless technology was there, it just had to be discovered. When it was in the form of wireless radio signals, the technology for cell phones was there, it just had to be discovered.

This is the video that my link was supposed to lead to, but my technologically challenged self is having a hard time figuring out how to link it to tumblr. So if you would like to watch the video (which I highly recommend you do, because it's awesome/thought provoking), try going directly to the website below:

http://elitedaily.com/news/world/this-video-will-have-you-completely-rethink-how-you-conduct-yourself-online-and-in-person-video/

Let me preface this by saying, none of you actually want to read anything I'm about to write. This is literally just going to be a lot of tangential word vomit as I try to wrap my mind around a concrete, central question to base my paper on. This is what my thesis adviser refers to as epistemology: discovering through writing. I pray that this is what is about to happen, but here goes!

So, I just finished reading C.S. Lewis's The Magician's Nephew. Gosh I love Narnia so much. I want to go re-read the rest of the series now, and watch the first movie again. (But only the first one--the other two aren't nearly as magical!) Anyway, as I read I found so many references to doorways, thresholds, arches and portals that it blew my mind. Now to make some meaning out of it all!

Here are a few thoughts I jotted down. At the beginning of the novel, the doorways that Diggory and Polly go through, the thresholds that they cross, and the portals that they fall into seem to lead them to wickedness. The first time they go through the "wrong door" they end up in Uncle Andrew's office. He is a very unpleasant-not-very-nice-man who subsequently tricks Polly into putting on a ring that transports her to a different world. Diggory follows her so that he may rescue her, and once they are in the Wood between the Worlds they go through another portal (in the form of a pool) to the world of Charn, where the Witch Jadis is woken up. Every doorway that Diggory and Polly go through in Charn leads them closer to Jadis--and therefore to evil--and it is a bell in an arch that wakes Jadis up. But here is something I noticed. Jadis never crosses through any doorways on her own. She has to blast down a door in order for herself, Polly, and Diggory to cross through a threshold while still in Charn, and then for the rest of the novel she is dependent upon others to get through doorways. Hmmm...

For starters, when Polly and Diggory try to escape Jadis and Charn, Jadis holds onto Polly's hair and ends up in the Wood between the Worlds with the children. They try to escape her again by going back to their own world, and Jadis holds onto Diggory's ear to get through this doorway as well. Why can't Jadis--the epitome of evil and wickedness--cross thresholds on her own?

Maybe because evil was never meant to enter the world. It entered the world because of man (Adam and Eve disobeying God in the Garden of Eden) but it is unnatural and does not belong anywhere. Evil is a consequence of disobedience. Maybe, in Lewis' novel, when man tries to use his own reason to open doors (Uncle Andrew, magic/science and the Rings), it leads to wickedness. But through the ultimate door of Christ (Aslan), one is led to joy, happiness and goodness. Because the novel reaches its turning point once Diggory, Polly, Jadis, Uncle Andrew, and the Cabbie and his horse end up in the Wood between the Worlds again. From here onwards, the doorways and portals that the characters cross through will lead to good, not evil. In fact, it is the pool that the horse steps into that takes all of the characters to the empty land of nothingness that becomes none other than the beloved land of Narnia.

In Narnia they meet Aslan, who directs Diggory to the golden gates that take him to the "Tree of Life," and of course Jadis cannot cross through these gates. She climbs over the walls! And then in the end, Aslan says "You need no Rings when I am with you," and up to this point the rings have been the primary portals for Diggory and Polly. Now Aslan (Christ) is their doorway.

And then my favorite part...the novel ends with a middle-aged Diggory constructing a wardrobe out of the tree that grew from the magical fruit in Narnia. This wardrobe becomes the doorway to Narnia years later for the four Pevensie children.

Throughout the course of the novel, the doors seem to transform from evil to good. And they only become good once Aslan is present. Sigh, what does it all mean? I'm no closer to knowing now then when I first began writing this. But at least I've vomited this all out, and now I can come back and read it.

English 400: C.S. Lewis Paper

Michelle Holowach

Key Terms:

Door

Ring

Pool

Magic

Arch

  Central Question:

How are C.S. Lewis’ unfavorable views towards the rapid advancement of science and technology reflected in his novel The Magician’s Nephew?

  (Tentative) Structure:

I.                   Introduction: Thesis Statement

II.                C.S. Lewis

a.      His experience with WWI and WWII

b.      Views of science and technology

III.             Lewis as a writer

a.      The Chronicles of Narnia series

b.      The Magician’s Nephew as a reflection of Lewis’s views on technology and science

IV.             Doors, thresholds, arches

a.      Literal/basic meaning

b.      Figurative meaning in text

V.                Analysis of The Magician’s Nephew

a.      The doors Polly and Digory open

b.      The arches they go through

c.       The rings

d.      The pools

e.       The “in-between worlds”

VI.             Conclusion

  Sources:

Kathryn Walls: “Magician’s Nephew product of Lewis’ anxiety about atomic bombs”

Peter J. Schakel: Imagination and the arts in C.S. Lewis: journeying to Narnia and Other Worlds

Allister McGrath: The Intellectual World of C.S. Lewis

This doesn't cover much new "research" for my paper, but just for funsies I thought I would share.

These pictures are from when I was in Oxford, England with British Studies 2012. The uppermost right-hand window of the building is none other than the office of C.S. Lewis himself!!!! The path is one that Lewis and Tolkien used to walk together as they discussed theology and literature :) (Wouldn't I love to be able to listen in on THAT!) And the weird chick with a ginormous smile on her face is just proof that I really WAS there ;)

Now that I am no longer tossing and turning in the delirium of a fever, I am able to read and thoroughly enjoy Of One Blood. So far, it has been absolutely fascinating. The quote above in particular stood out to me.

Briggs is a scientist, yet with this statement, he seems to assert that not everything can be explained by reason. Mankind tries its hardest to attach a formula to every phenomenon or deduct a cause for every effect, yet not many people seem to consider that perhaps there are things we do not understand--and never can understand--that govern the world.

In the age of technology and scientific advancement that we live in, it becomes increasingly "easier" to assign reason to everything. Machines can be governed by nothing else but reason, and codes, and formulas. And yes, these were designed by man.

But let us not turn ourselves into machines, too. Let us remember that, perhaps there are some phenomena we cannot explain and that we never will be able to. Let us accept that there may be a supernatural force--or any greater, higher force-- completely out of our control.

Born in 1898, C.S. Lewis was considered one of the intellectual giants of his time. Today his astounding works are still read, respected, and loved all over the world. For my final research paper, I am interested in analyzing C.S. Lewis's fictional series The Chronicles of Narnia through the lens of media and modernity. Specifically, I am going to focus on The Magician's Nephew, which was published in 1955 and is the sixth book in the series. Although it was one of the final Narnia books Lewis published, it acts as the prequel to the entire series as it explains the lamp-post, Queen Jadis, Aslan, Narnia, and the wardrobe.

A professor at Oxford University, Lewis wrote his Chronicles of Narnia series in the midst of the World Wars. This tumultuous time brought with it the rapid rise of technology as modern warfare swept the scene and countries scrambled to keep up with the latest inventions. By the end of World War II man had invented the most terrifying technology of all--the atomic bomb--and had used it to completely destroy an entire city. Lewis witnessed the insidious rise of modern science, and his consciousness of its effect on the world cannot help but influence his writing.

Although it does not overtly confront technological advancement, The Magician's Nephew deals very heavily with media and the consequences of dabbling in this realm between realities. Doors, portals, and “worlds between worlds” all play an extremely crucial role in the formation of the story. The main characters Digory and Polly go through the wrong door into an attic between their houses where they meet the magician. He, in turn, sends them to an alternate universe where they are in "Wood Between the Worlds." From here, they can choose from any number of pools--or portals--to step into a new universe. The novel is rich with media; I have not even begun to uncover all of the possibilities, but the heavy presence of doors and "in between worlds" paves the way for an incredible conversation of Lewis and media—and therefore, on Lewis and technology.

In reading The Magician’s Nephew, I intend to ask: how does technology affect Polly and Digory? What consequence does their tampering in “worlds between worlds” have beyond their experience? What different forms of media appear in the text, and how are they presented? Why does Lewis seem to warn against the danger of delving into “between worlds,” or, media? How is his novel and views possibly affected by his wartime experience? What kind of technology was he witnessing the advancement of that possibly affected his text? This is just the beginning of many more questions I know I will run across as I re-read the novel and discover more links between the literature, media, and technology.

In order to explore this topic, answer these questions, and seek new questions, I will not only read The Magician’s Nephew but I will take advantage of other sources as well. This includes other writings by C.S. Lewis; I have not chosen specific texts yet, but I plan to research his other writings in order to discern where he personally addresses his views on technology and modernism. Furthermore, I would like to make uses of a secondary resource written about C.S. Lewis. Specifically, I am interested in Alister McGrath’s The Intellectual World of C.S. Lewis. Finally, I would like to review resources written about the Narnia series, such as Imagination and the arts in C.S. Lewis: journeying to Narnia and Other Worlds by Peter J. Schakel. Of course my list of sources will expand exponentially as I dig into the research, but I know that—in order to get a full perspective on Lewis, technology, and his Narnia series—I must read his novel, his personal writings, writings about him, and writings about his works.

Among other things, C. S. Lewis considered modern science a threat to freedom in modern society. In order to understand how modern sciences is a threat to freedom, we have to consider Lewis' view of modern science. Lewis lived at a time when science was emerging as the dominate system of thought in the Western world, when the technological spin-offs of that intellectual activity were fundamentally transforming every aspect of life.

Kate Chopin is notorious for her sense of irony. Her short story "The Story of and Hour" is certainly no exception. While most literary students would locate the story's irony in Mr. Mallard's return and Mrs. Mallard's death, the deeper irony lies within the miscommunication that results from new technology that--at its root--claims to improve the world of communication.

With the rise of the telegraph came the ability to instantly send messages across hundreds of miles. Such a revolution of course transformed communication; there could be no sin in this fantastic invention that "God has wrought." Yet in Chopin's story, it is the seed of all trouble. A misfired telegraph with false information causes a cataclysmic chain of events that eventually leads to Mrs. Mallard's death. Had the telegraph not existed to give Richards the false news that in turn gives Mrs. Mallard false hope, Chopin would have had no story to write. Instead, it is the worlds new favorite technology that ironically weakens communication instead of strengthening it.

Perhaps Chopin is pointing out the inherent evil of disembodied words. Any new technology and new form of communication can be frightening when it first enters the cultural scene, and no doubt many people feared the power of the telegraph creating a new media. Once media arises that eliminates the need for direct human contact, the domino effect of separating humans from one another is set off. Now, one does not even have to leave their house to talk to a hundred people a day; half of whom they probably do not know. Whether it is via email, facebook, twitter, or the phone, humans can communicate without ever actually seeing another human being.

A book that has always intrigued me but that I have unfortunately never read is Dante’s The Divine Comedy.  Since I have not yet satiated my curiosity to explore the poem as most English majors would—by opening up the covers of the book--I have followed the steps of how not to read a novel in order to make generalizations about a text I actually know very little about. In so doing, I can present a visual analysis but not a literary understanding; for my knowledge of the text does not expand beyond my understanding of how many times it uses specific words.

According to my word cloud, the most frequently used word in the novel is “thou.” This in and of itself is not very interesting, but it does place the novel within a very specific time period. Although I did not know exactly when Dante was alive and writing, I was able to deduce from his heavy use of the words “thou,” (772) “thee,” (423) and “thy” that he wrote during the medieval ages.  Upon further research I learned that Dante Alighieri was an Italian poet writing during the 14th century, which confirms my assumption of the text’s context. Although such trivial words such as “thou” and “thee” may have seemed irrelevant during the 14th century, I find it interesting that they were not removed by Wordle among other “common English words.” This is demonstrative of the tremendous transformation of the English language from formal and reverent to informal and colloquial as the centuries have gone by.

Among the more interesting words that I discovered were frequently used were words referring to light. The word “light” itself is used 155 times, and “sun” is used 91 times. My minimal knowledge of Dante’s epic poem informs me that the first two parts of it recount the journey through Hell and Purgatory, therefore it is interesting that his text refers more frequently to light than it does to dark. In fact, the word “dark” does not even show up on the word cloud. Perhaps this reflects Dante’s own confidence in the light waiting at the end of one’s life; while hell and purgatory may be real places to him, they do not have as much control over the soul as heaven does—which is where the light is.

I found it surprising that the word “God” only appears 103 times since The Divine Comedy, by my understanding, deals heavily with religion and theology. Again, though, it is important that words such as “Satan” or “devil” do not appear in the word cloud, which again reveals Dante’s assurance that God, good, and light ultimately conquers evil and the devil, which he will not mention by name. The word “love” frequents the poem 148 times—even more than “God” and almost as much as “light,” which causes someone such as myself who has never read the poem to consider Dante to be somewhat of a sentimentalist. Surely enough, my assumptions seemed to be confirmed when I looked into the background of the poem. I noticed the word “Beatrice” showed up in my word cloud, and upon further investigation I learned that Beatrice was a woman who Dante loved by did not marry, and who suddenly and mysteriously died. The fact that she found immortalization in an epic text alongside the common use of “love” reflects Dante’s inner passion towards a woman he could never have.

Finally, I am intrigued by how many times words such as “eyes” (182), “see” (102), “sight,” “seen,” and “look” seem to appear in the poem. This project has been all about visual analysis, and even in the 14th century authors were registering how important sight and seeing was for understanding. To completely journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven requires visual attention; this is how one gets through the darkness back into the light. Navigating through the digital realm often times feels like trudging my way through purgatory and Hell, but the visual cues that take me from one place to the next eventually lead me to the light of Heaven as I understand the register of sight that a machine has created in order to get me to my desired technical destination.

I am going to put my reputation as a scholar on the line, here, and admit that Henry James novella In the Cage brings me endless frustrations.

I was talking to a friend of mine after our class yesterday, and I told him I believe I have degenerative brain disorder (which is not a real thing, but it feels like it could be). For some reason, no part of this novella is sinking in past my thick skull. I honestly feel as though I am sitting in high school Chemistry class again listening to the teacher explain how to balance chemical equations while I grasp desperately at any opportunity to comprehend what in the world is going on. All of my friends get it, but I don't.

The same goes for this novella.

Even as I scroll down Tumblr, reading what others have to say about James and the telegraph, something just isn't sinking in for me. As I read James's story I am reminded of reading Gertrude Stein; it feels like a random agglomeration of words thrown onto a page that I am trying to string a coherent thought process through, but cannot.

I KNOW there is NO WAY it is this difficult to understand. Everyone else certainly seems to get it!!! I am hoping that, by the time I finish reading it and I have seen the "big picture" so to speak, I will be able to intelligently contribute to the class's conversation.

For now, though, I feel lost, "disconnected;" James novel has done to me what the telegraph did for his day and age. It has filled my mind with disjointed sentences that leave me feeling personally disconnected from his text--and therefore from the class--because I cannot follow the transient train of thought. I have been putting off writing my Tumblr post until I actually had something to say, but this is the best I have.

*SPOILER ALERT: IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE MOVIE THE SIXTH SENSE, DO NOT READ THIS POST!!*

So, I'm sure that this is completely wrong, but it is kind of fun to speculate as to what could possibly be going on in Henry James absurdly confusing text The Turn of the Screw. I have only read through Chapter 5, and I couldn't help but pick up on the feeling that this is similar to the movie "The Sixth Sense." Does anyone else think that perhaps Mrs. Grose "sees dead people?" ;) I only put this out there because, when the narrator sees the man looking through the window (who we soon learn is a ghost), she goes outside to look through the same window just as he had. Mrs. Grose sees here there, and  "turned white." This causes the narrator to wonder "why [Mrs. Grose]should be scared."

We already know there is a governess who dissappeared--or died--and that the narrator is the governess. Then, the narrator frames herself in the same window that Peter Quint's ghost did, and scares Mrs. Grose, who seems to have a strange insight into everything going on.

Is our story being narrated by someone who is already dead?? And maybe she doesn't consciously know it yet?

Family, Take a tour of The Gables and experience the secret staircase or explore the house with October weekend evening theatrical performances.

One more thing I ran into: can we take a class field trip???