The Last Supper...aka the week before our presentation

In the beginning of the week, we discussed the book Chorus of Stones by Griffin. We spent a lot of time on this piece. There were many interesting themes throughout the book. For example, Griffin spends a lot of time on the issue of gender. She is clear in giving her opinion that masculinity is the cause of war, therefore implying that femininity would end war. One example she gives is Ghandi. She accredited his peaceful practices to being taught by women. I found this concept intriguing. When you really think about the people who are involved in war, it is usually men. Does that mean it is fair to generalize that masculinity is the cause of war, or is it that society has made it that war is designated for men? I am unsure of the right answer to this question.

Also this week, we watched the short film "Roswell". This film was very strange to me. While watching it, I was not certain how this would relate to what we were learning in class. I was eager to discuss it on Friday. Once in class, it was all pieced together. We analyzed the different aspects of mise-en-scene, cinematography, and editing used in the film. I'll admit, I definitely enjoyed waching The Shining more. I am very intrigued by the concept that there could be life outside of our planet, but this film didn't really do it for me.

Coming up on Monday, my band has our presentation on Barthes' essay on The Third Meaning. To be honest, we have had a lot of trouble fully understanding this concept. This essay is very confusing in that its hard to put into words something that Barthes himself has trouble putting into words. My group has spent much time in the library researching The Third Meaning and discussing our findings with each other. We also met with Kate before class on Tuesday to try and discuss what The Third Meaning really means. Tomorrow, we will be spending the whole day in the library. We finally decided that we are going to present just as Barthes had written: we are going to make a slideshow of images and try to put into words what the third meaning is for each one. Hopefully it all works out in the end. I am including the man that has baffled us all!

Shayna Tucker