Oryx and Crate Notes 4/6/2012

What is Snowman’s decision whether to talk to human or not after going to compound?

What Crake really is like since everything comes from Jimmy’s POV?

-similar to Lost = flashbacks = more questions

- book named Oryx and Crake to reflect importance of the two characters yet telling from Jimmy’s POV shows mysterious plot

- Uncle Pete were to die first before Crake’s mother since hatred/no blood connection to Uncle Pete

- Why Crake destroy human race?

- Use Crakers to create perfect human race

- BlyssPluss pill – super virus rather than advertised anti-STD pills

- “These people are specialists,” said Crake. “They wouldn’t have the empathy to deal with the Paradice models, they wouldn’t be any good at it, they’d get impatient. Even I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t begin to get onto their wavelength. But you’re more of a generalist.” – Crake wants Jimmy to take care of Crakers since they are both lower level in intelligence than Crake

- “zero hour” at end of book – countdown towards death or beginning of life

Oryx and Crate Notes 4/2/2012

Copyright

All intellectual properties are copyrighted.

Center for Internet and Society

- Fair use are factors of consideration to allow people use stuff

- Needs to be transformative to have high fair use of materials

- Parody needs to critique the original, needs to use fair amount of original to use parody, protected under fair use

Oryx and Crate

Why mother leave?

- flaw in society – ethical and moral issues in society

Oryx and Crate Notes 2 3/30/2012

Oryx and Crake: The General Public’s Reception

Atwood – Author, Canadian, won every major literary award, feminist,

Oryx and Crake – praised by technical aspects of genetics

- good bc flashbacks between Jimmy and Snowman

- “cast of memorable characters”

Negative Reception

- New York Times: calls Sci-Fi, not enjoy Jimmy or other characters bc does not flow with the “intelligence of the plot” and writing.

- Kakutani of New York Times – like Jimmy but does not like a world of Oryx and Crate, not realistic

Conclusion – polarize reviews

Jimmy – pleasure through suffering micro level, but mimics culture on macro level

Jimmy – word smith, quotes a lot,

*sorry, I forgot to publish.

Oryx and Crate Notes 1 3/28/2012

Bibilography line

Summary of bibliography. If old source, say why still relevant. (Summary and statement of relevance to project)

Plagiarism

-using somebody else’s writing = findings, ideas, research, interpretations, argument, work, w/o giving them credit

-take someone’s voice/structures

Paraphrase

-putting someone else’s idea in own words and giving credit to them.

-take same amount of words as original

Summarize

- condensed

- convey main ideas

- giving credit

Why cite?

- increase self ethos – being ethical

- shows credibility of self-research

- connection of ideas and work

Why paraphrase?

- keep your own voice consistence through the essay

- unless losing message of words, paraphrase

How?

- get some distance

- understand

- not rewording/ but restating

- cite while taking notes

-

Oryx and Crate

-Pre-apocalypse –

- dystopia bc gated community sponsored by companies, capitalism and science put together = not good

- no government entity

- scientist playing as God

- competing companies, people = pawns

-Post-apocalypse – dystopia for Children of Oryx and Children of Crate

Class Notes - Minority Report

Minority Report Movie vs Short Story

Similarities

Differences

John Anderton is the protagonist Anderton is the head of the pre-crime organization Witwer wants Anderton's job Futuristic, flying cars, etc Hasn't been any murder in a long time Page exists

John Anderton is significantly younger in the movie Pre-cogs names were different (Donna-Agatha, Jerry-Arthur, etc) Story is in New York, Movie is in DC Everyone in the movie is attractive (no overweight people, etc) Murders printed on wooden balls in movie, rather than cards Three minority reports in short story, no minority reports in movie Movie contained concept of “echos” In story, pre-crime had a week or two advance notice, in the movie, they only had barely enough time to stop the crime Anderton didn't have a son in the short story No Flemming in the movie No eyes being surgically removed Anderton kidnaps Donna in the movie The precogs are depicted as more human in the movie Changed name of victim from “Leopold Kaplin” to “Leo Crow” Witwer came from Department of Defense in movie Lamar Burgess is villain in movie, as opposed to Leopold Kaplin Anderton's a drug addict in the movie Movie has a lot of focus on drugs – drugs caused the precogs gifts/curses

Added from class discussion:

Similarities	Differences
Idea of free will – choice Concept of minority report and alternate futures Futuristic, sci-fi Precrime works in relatively same way future setting Witwer = Danny/Anderton Leo/Leopold Kaplan/Leo Crow	Precrime is preserved in the story but not in the movie drug problem Anderton has a son in the movie Three minority reports in story, none in movie Anderton is different age + plays different roles Lisa/Laura Agatha, Dashiel, Arthur (named after writers) Advertising, surveillance

Security vs Privacy

Backstory of Son – used against Anderton to make him kill, rather than in the story where the “bad guys” didn't want him to actually kill anyone

Wife Divorced – makes it possible for things to appear healed in the happy Hollywood ending when they get back together

John Anderton made into the “good guy” - negative aspects of Anderton in the story put on Lamar.

"The Minority Report" - Class Notes

The Minority Report – Film

• Summary

o Precrime system that works the same way

 Mechanisms the same

o Anderton’s name is printed as murderer

• Characters

o Witwer

o Anderton

• Theme

o Freewill

o Knowledge of the future and its effects

Differences

• Summary

o Happy ending

 Precrime ends

o Person against Anderton

 In the story, the character attempts to get rid of the Precrime system

 In the film, the character attempts to keep the Precrime system

• Cover up murder of precog’s parent

o Does drugs – neuroin

o Steals Agatha

 Agatha is necessary in film

 Need 3 precogs in story; less than 3 only leads to uncertainty

o Witwer dies

o No minority report

o More technology and gadgets in the film

o Story changes after encounter with Leo Crowe

• Characters

o Anderton’s son

o Lamar Burgess

o New names

o Anderton’s victim

 Leo Crowe vs. Leopold Kaplan

o Precog names are based on mystery writers

 The function of the precogs similar to mystery writer – give information to solve a murder or mystery

• Theme

o Knowledge of future and its effects are present, but not emphasized

o Precogs are human

 Non-functional in story

o Security vs. Privacy

o Advertising – consumers

Philip K Dick's Minority Report

Phillip K. Dick

- death of twin sister inspired common theme in his stories of phantom twin

- lived in poverty most of his life

- 1955 – FBI visited his house bc Dick’s wife of socialist views

- Dislike Hollywood but Hollywood liked his works

- “Everybody runs!” – Minority Report

- Main common theme – free will

Characters – Anderton, Lisa, Witwer, Fleming, General Kaplan, Precogs: Mike, Donna, Jerry, Leopold

Summary

Anderton is 50 and bald. Leopold kidnaps him. There’s a crash and a man named Fleming gives hime a flase id and helps him escape. He realizes that there is a minority report that states that he is innocent, so he goes to the precogs to find the minority report. When he finds his minority report it says that he won’t kill the guy bc he’s already seen the majority report. While he’s there, the police close in on him, his wife helps him escape. Fleming tells Anderton that his wife is behind the plot, however Anderton doesn’t believe him and knocks him out. He then discovers that Fleming works for Kaplan. He finds out that Kaplan wants to prove Precrime doesn’t work and take the funding for the military. They then return to the police station where Anderton decides to kill Kaplan to prevent discreditation of Precrime. Anderton finds out that majority report is 2 minority reports. Anderton and Lisa are going to go off world.

Themes:

Fate, free will, idea of act of manipulating future can change future/present