I have Swine Flu.
Which is why, yet again, I was absent from class. At least this time it falls under the "excused" category, or so I assume, since the physician's assistant ordered me to stay away from any and all classes until 24 hours after my fever breaks for good.
At least I can tell you that being swined is definitely not as horrible as the hype makes it out to be. No Black Death here. Still feeling pretty rough though. Staring at this computer screen is giving me a pounding headache.
On another note, I realized I didn't even discuss what our documentary was about. Any other time, it wouldn't necessarily be relevant. However, the mini-doc's title itself, Fire In The Garden, contains a Biblical reference of sorts. The film loosely addresses a theorizing of the West as the Garden of Eden (an old standby of American Studies) and the idea of the "American Adam". So, without going into too much detail, I've pasted the somewhat official 50-word description below:
Fire In The Garden examines thought provoking questions and issues of the American West in Montana, from the theoretical to the practical. At once poetic and formalist, Fire draws you into an academic discussion. In the end, you must answer the question: are we a fire in our own garden?
Sorry if it sounds a bit arrogant, calling itself poetic, but even non-traditional docs have to sell themselves a bit. Another selling point, the very first interview is with the English Department's very own Susan Kollin!
Back on the subject of bad days, I found two interesting Book of Job-related videos on Vimeo.
A "trailer" for a book of poetry from a traditional perspective.
An irreverently comical retelling of Job's story, obviously from a not-so-traditional perspective.
book of job from Gunnar Folleso on Vimeo.
I guess what I find interesting is how wildly different the two videos treat their source material. The traditionalist video attempts a darkly contemplative, yet no doubt belief-centered, aesthetic. I give it kudos for being a little more abstract and artful than the current literalist tendencies in mainstream Christian media. The non-traditionalist video, however, attempts nothing above the quirky, shallow pans prevalent throughout so much of today's web-culture. Don't misinterpret me though, I don't mean to sound like Mr. Holier Than Thou - there's nothing wrong with joking around. I'm definitely not innocent when it comes to proliferating stupid humor.
Head's about to explode. Time to sign off.
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