Flying high!

One flies high because of magic and the other flies high because of chemical substances. In both cases, the point is similar, getting away from reality. I'm talking of two valuable pieces of literature: "The spatter of later stars" by Nina Kriki Hoffman and "Lucy in the sky with diamonds" by The Beatles (McCartney).
These readings may lead us to ask ourselves some questions: Why is the human being interested in escaping reality? Why are there so many ways of alienation? Is that what makes us human, imagination, that capacity of abstraction?
We see how literature, as a reflection of reality and culture, touches human's inner problems and circumstances.
Both texts allow us to see referents in reality. However, it is the reader the one that will decide what to do with the info. provided by the texts. In the case of the short story, there seems to be a clear message of good and evil, what we should do and the consequences of our deeds. The song, on the other side, presents a social reality as one of the many human manifestations of a decade, take it or leave it appears to be the hidden message of the song but if you took it, you would for sure go away from reality.
Alienation is then another piece of this puzzle of these contemporary topics. If you don't believe me, ask techoaddicts.

Interesting facts of life!

Last class discussion was about analyzing songs. It is so interesting to read and understand that there are facts of life hidden in the messages of some songs. For example, Beatle's song Lusy in the Sky with Diamond. After analyzing the song, it turned out to be that this song was a REAL SURPRISE! A suprise for me because it states a fact of life, or I would say a contemporary issue, which is drug addiction. I can honestly say that I had not heard that song before. So it was schocking, amazing and I may say facsinating to vizualize what a person thinks, does, or reacts when using drugs. The lyrics of the song clearly show that the person, within the song, is living another life in another unique place for him/ her, perhaps for us a stange place. This person has another perception of reality because of drug abuse. I agree with Prof. Vielma when he claims that perception of reality is a topic addressed by contemporary writers. I can end this posting by saying that drugs, as a fact of life, is a topic addressed by contemporary singers.

Alternative Realities, to Each its Own!

This week’s discussion was mostly based on the fact that some songs, particularly those belonging to Rock genre, may be considered poetry. Written in verses that make up stanzas, these words, or lyrics, are meant to be heard rather than read. They express feelings in a creative and aesthetic way that touch the listeners’ fibers, as they enjoy rhythmic and melodic arrangements that aid in the effectiveness of conveying suprasegmental or prosodic meaning. Being recorded, these art works maintain a consistent intonation in the singers’ performance, which, along with the instrumental execution, may account for consensual semantic implications for an interpretative community. Reader response theory or why not “listener response” comes very handy in song interpretation.

As to exemplify the above mentioned, The Beatle’s Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds was analyzed, and a general agreement was reached on the fact that it deals with drug use and its main effect on the user, the distorted perception of reality. What each and every one of us perceives as “what is really happening” may, in many cases, be very different. Such is the case of the experience drug users undergo, which makes each LSD trip, or that of any other drug for that matter be quite unique. The initials of the words in the song’s title and those of the acronym that names this hallucinogenic drug clearly match, and the words in the lyrics give support to this association. Though considered speculative by its performers, this interpretation seems to satisfy a vast interpretative community mostly due to the fact that it was released during a time in which experimentation with drugs was a widely accepted practice that was carried out by an important number of youths who made up the band’s public.

Perception of reality is definitely a topic addressed by contemporary writers, be it in terms of diversity in point of view, or change or distortion in the perception of reality. "A Spatter of Later Stars" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman, is a short story about a girl who just turned 14 and paints faces at a carnival. She has been given the gift to, in a way, read her customer’s minds and through her art make people feel beautiful or anything else she wants; just as rock bands do with their songs in the way that was previously discussed. Artist such as writers also have the power to influence their audience. Showing sensibility by appealing to the readers’ feelings, and by achieving the conveyance of their own through writing, authors can make their audience feel, reflect upon, and enjoy art.