Class Blog

Being an outsider within Neptune High’s social hierarchy gives Veronica Mars a perspective that enables her to be a good detective. Because of her fall in popularity and trauma as a rape victim, Veronica is able to have the invisibility and freedom that is required of a good detective. Her independence enables her to find an end that “justifies the means”(Burnnett, Townsend) by manipulating people without being noticed.

In the first scene, Wallace Fennel is taped to a flagpole with the words “Snitch” written across his chest. In most situations, the average teenager would consider it to be “social suicide” to assist the bullied. Instead, Veronica Mars breaks the social norm and helps untie Wallace. Due to her father’s job loss and Veronica’s status as an outsider, she does not have anything to lose socially and can easily free Wallace. In addition to this, her actions are of little surprise and significance to the rest of Neptune High’s pupils because she is low on the social hierarchy. Veronica Mars is able to go under the radar. Due to her ability to stand up to the population of Neptune High and save him, Wallace is in debt to Veronica, which gives Veronica more power. She uses his alliance in future scenes.

With the help of Wallace, she is able to obtain evidence of Weevil and another PCH biker stealing alcohol. Again, who would suspect a teenage girl with little social status to have the bravery and intelligence to trick a police station that mocked her when reporting a crime? Veronica would not have been able to pull this off without Wallace’s help with the remote control. Her ability to obtain the evidence tape is key to acquiring the partnership of the PCH biker gang. Again, Veronica Mars uses her intelligence and lack of social status to manipulate people into assisting her when needed.

Veronica Mars is able to uphold a confidence and independence that allows her to manipulate people and to be a good detective. She is able to maintain a lone wolf personality and be a strong individual through her survival of rape, and her ability to be invisible in society. She proves she has what it takes to achieve what she wants although most of society would believe she is incapable due to her social status and victimization. Veronica remains ahead of the game and in control of those who are in debt to her. She is not just another teenage outcast.

When considering detectives, perspective is key. After all, they are expected to see the things that other people do not. This can only be done with a unique, somewhat isolated perspective. One must be able to separate themselves with whatever they are observing. Being an outsider within Neptune High’s social hierarchy gives Veronica Mars a perspective that enables her to be a good detective. Because of her social status, Veronica Mars is quick to defend herself and others in challenging situations and not driven by popularity and the cliques of high school like so many of her peers.

In the pilot episode of Veronica Mars, one of the very first thing the viewer sees is a young African-American man, Wallace, taped to a flag pole with the word “snich” painted across his chest.

This scene is also narrated by Veronica saying, “This is my school. If you go here your parents are either millionaires or work for millionaires . . ..”  At this point, her classmates are standing and laughing and taking pictures, while Veronica approaches with a knife and cuts him down. Clearly in a school where one can assume there is racial stereotyping, Veronica defies the norm and befriends the outcast. The viewer can only assume and later rationalize that this is because Veronica Mars is an outsider to the social hierarchy of high school herself.

The cause of Veronica Mars’ outsider status is introduced to the viewer later through a flashback: Veronica Mars was raped at a party. The show portrays a typical high school party with Veronica Mars’ friends at the time (these are now the people she’s come to hate). She is drugged and then assaulted and no one steps in to help her. Even when she reports the crime, she is laughed at and receives no help. The case is closed before it is even started. This represents the beginning of Veronica’s solitary search for vengeance. The rejection by the authority makes her quick to defend herself and she realizes that if she wants this crime to be solved she has to depend on herself to do it.

This independence and drive is present throughout the show as Veronica Mars navigates Neptune High. She is quick to defend those who wouldn’t gain support of the “authorities” or popular kids. She is an outcast herself and works with them during investigation. Her opinions are not driven by the popularity and social structure so present in high school making it easy to catch motives and secrets hidden between different social structures and groups. Veronica Mars’ perspective as an outcast makes her quick to defend herself and other outcasts and therefore enables her to be a great teenage detective.

After her best friend’s murder, her father’s fall from grace and subsequent desertion by her mother, and the rejection from her boyfriend, Veronica Mars is left with significant trust issues, causing her to emotionally distance herself from nearly everyone around her. Without the multiple incidents of abandonment and perception of being a social outcast at Neptune High, Veronica Mars would not have obtained the separation she needed from society to become a serious detective.

Veronica is guarded in her interactions with anyone she meets because of how people have repeatedly wronged her in the past. The fictitious shield she has invented for herself equips her with the necessary skill of not immediately trusting anyone. Being skeptical is a required skill for all detectives because at any point, anyone involved in a case could be lying. By not trusting anyone instantly, Veronica allows herself time to form opinions about a person before she determines whether or not they can achieve the status of friend or ally. This is not only a way to judge whether or not the person will be able to assist her in cases, but it is also a way to protect herself from getting hurt again. If Veronica does not allow someone into her personal life and thoughts, if they leave, she will not feel any pain.

When she first meets Wallace, she is seen cutting him down from the flagpole he was taped to. Wallace interpreted her behavior as the initiation of a friendship rather than mere sympathy for being a fellow social outcast. His interpretation leads him to joining Veronica at lunch. Veronica’s self-protection is clearly displayed in this interaction when she harshly asks him what he is doing at “her” table instead of greeting him like a more “normal” member of society would. She had not intended to spark a relationship between the two that would last after he was freed from the flagpole, but she let him remain seated at her table once she realized that they were both on the same level of the social pyramid, indicating that he could be of use to her. Instead of trusting Wallace from the start, Veronica waited to determine whether or not he could be of assistance to her.

Preceding this moment by a minute or two, Veronica is seen gazing angrily at the table where her old group of friends were sitting. Although in her mind she is reliving the torment of being discarded, being rejected actually helps her. Being an active participant within social groups of her school would limit Veronica’s ability to do detective work because only when she is on the outside looking in can she observe their true behaviors carefully. Being an outcast gives her an objective view of not only her peers but of everyone else she chooses to study. It is much more effective to be disconnected from the situation when needing to carefully pay attention to the details. This moment also displays that because of her dismissal, she goes unnoticed. Although she used to be friends with the people she is glaring at, they do not pay her any attention. By being socially outcasted, Veronica can take her time observing objectively and surreptitiously, therefore allowing her to be a more effective detective.

The original claim I’m revising is example E:

“In the TV series Veronica Mars, Veronica has a series of flashbacks suggesting that she lives too much in the past. (A Generalization)

 

Revised,

 

With Veronica Mars’ flashbacks, the viewer is able to see a troubled past through the lens of a young woman who has used such events to build herself up into a confident and straightforward detective, not burdened with such thoughts but rather embracing them to make her a stronger person within a dangerous world.

In class today we joined forces to try and combat what Rosenwasser and Stephen call “Counterproductive Habits of Mind” (See pages 42-71 in Writing Analytically).  These habits do not bolster analytical thinking, but instead they “shut down perception and arrest potential ideas at the cliché stage.”

Rosenwasser and Stephen categorize these problems into four types: a Premature Leap (43), The Judgment Reflex (44), Generalizing (46), or Naturalizing our Assumptions (47).  Since, as a class, we are still struggling with some of these counterproductive habits of mind, I asked you to work on revising some examples of these common mistakes.

I am going to post the statements for revision below.  Instead of writing a full reaction paper for Wed, I simply want you to comment on this post with your revised claim.  Your claim might be a sentence or a few sentences, but please note which statement you worked on in your group.  We’ll take a look at the revised statements together in class on Wednesday.

Statement A:

The character Veronica Mars uses a camera and watches people, so therefore the series must be an adaptation of Rear Window.  (Premature Leap)

Statement B:

The Veronica Mars pilot episode does not get its point across because it is over-dramatic and outdated making it uninteresting to viewers today.   (The Judgment Reflex)

Statement C:

What Veronica Mars all boils down to is bullying and how it is always bad for schools. (Generalizing)

Statement D:

The character Veronica Mars comes from a broken home and just suffered a break up so her interactions with other people are guarded and sometimes mean because she has a broken heart due to these things. (Naturalizing Our Assumptions)

Statement E:

In the TV series Veronica Mars, Veronica has a series of flashbacks suggesting that she lives too much in the past (Generalizing)

Statement F:

Veronica Mars is a TV series a feminist show because it deals with rape and Veronica is a strong woman. (Generalizing/ Naturalizing Our Assumptions)

One revision from the Sherlock Holmes original that caught my eye was the fact that Irene Adler knew who Sherlock Holmes was at the same point that he knew who she was. In the book version, Irene Adler didn’t discover who Sherlock was until he was playing sick on her couch. In the movie she had been previously following him for a couple of days. She was ready for his arrival and wanted to make it known that she knew him before hand. While the book puts her ahead of Sherlock later on the movie shows that women have more power in society then expected during this time period. It shows she is a wealthy woman who can fend for herself and does not need a man to support her. It also shows how Sherlock and Irene Adler have the same understanding of each other and are at the same level as equals. The movie switches as to who has the upper hand, having it change between Irene Adler and Sherlock. They both outsmart one another throughout this movie over their desire to be in control of this phone that holds all secrets. The book differs from the movie perspective because by Irene taking the pictures herself puts her at an advantage. Where as Sherlock was handed pictures of her that had been previously consciously been taken. Sherlock was filled in about Irene Adler, while she gathered all the information about him by herself allowing her to get to know him without actually knowing him, keeping him in the dark. I think that they left the scene out where he fakes sick and had her know before hand because it makes her look more powerful and in control. Another thing that puts them as equals is the description of colors used, her make-up as well as his bruise. This scene shows how comfortable she is with her feminine body and how comfortable he is in her house.

Within the Sherlock Holmes short story “A Scandal in Belgravia” we have seen two different interpretations: the BBC series edition and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Although these two interpretations are derived from the same story, the way they depict the relationship between Irene Adler and Sherlock Holmes is extremely different.

Throughout the Sherlock Holmes book we see Holmes making deductions, carrying out his plans, and everything going in his favor. We, as readers, believe Sherlock is in control throughout the entire story. Despite this preconceived notion of who holds the power, we realized that Ms. Irene Adler has outsmarted Sherlock. This shift in power is not yet known until the closing of the story when Sherlock receives a letter clearly stating Irene’s deductions and reasoning’s.

Contrary to the book Irene Adler, in the BBC series, is in control for most of the story. She figured out Sherlock’s case before he was able to which, proved her dominance over him. She later tricked him into giving away the information about a government plan regarding a terrorist bomb on a British airplane. These situations allow the audience to see, and think, that Adler has bested Sherlock, similarly to in the written interpretation. Despite these situations regarding Irene’s control, Holmes does ultimately outsmart her. He steals her cell phone and figures out her pass code by reading her pulse. When he notices her heart rate increase when they are in close contact, he gained the evidence that she has feelings for him and figures out her password is “SHER”. This strand of events plays into the Sherlock stereotype of him being an infallible genius.

The BBC edition holds more firmly to the ‘typical’ Sherlock Holmes stereotype. Despite being bested in a situation or two, he will always come out the smartest, the winner. The written story gives Holmes more human characteristics; we see that he is capable of failure. By letting Irene Adler be the smarter of the two in the book, shows that Homes is human. He becomes more relatable when he does not always win or come out on top. The BBC edition plays on the stereotype of always being correct which feeds into the perception of Holmes being incredibly reliable. The idea of Holmes having human attributes is only touched on in the BBC edition of Sherlock. These different portrayals further the debate of Sherlock Holmes as a human or infallible character.  file://localhost/Users/sarahsackman/Desktop/images-1.jpegfile://localhost/Users/sarahsackman/Desktop/images-3.jpeg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtskKP5TTio

Gillian Horn

Seminar

Friday, October 4, 2013

A particular character in the Sherlock Holmes BBC series that interests me the most is Irene. From the intro of the 2nd season series, she comes across as the rich, pulled together and luxurious female villain. When she initially finds out about Sherlock coming  to her house, she starts to get in her “war” zone. Irene is sitting at her vanity putting on red lipstick and make up and talking about her  “ war” outfit she is planning to wear. Next she is shown in her bedroom closet in her green lace cover up, staring in her closet. She picks out a sparkly black one shoulder dress and looks at her self in the mirror. At this point Irene is ready to face Sherlock and is prepared for “war”. Soon after this scene, Sherlock shows up to her house and is told to wait in the living room for Irene. She comes out not wearing the dress anymore and is now naked instead. To me this seems like she is trying to lure Sherlock in by her nudity to be distracted and not question what she wants from him. Sherlock tells Irene to put something on but Irene questions it but in the end puts on a coat to cover up. About 5 minutes later of discussion between Irene and Sherlock, men come into her house and hold both of them hostage. Irene is sat down on the couch with a gun against her and Sherlock is brought over to the mural in the living room. Underneath that is a safe which the men see and tell Sherlock to open. Sherlock or Irene do not know the code, but Sherlock manages to open it after the countdown the man holding him was giving before he was going to shoot them. The safe opens and before any of the men can see, a gun being powered by a string starts to shoot at the men. This indicates that Irene must have known that this was going to happen so had decided to put the gun in the safe. This interested me because one moment the two of them arguing and being enemies, but they become partners trying to fight off these men. The characteristic that I would give to Irene after watching these scenes, is a powerful woman. She is powerful because she is clever. The gun in the safe is an example of this power and in a sense you can get from her initial imagery that she is a confident woman who isn’t afraid to fight. She not only is just a woman, but she is also a luxurious and sophisticated woman. The opening scenes help piggy back this statement because it shows her doing things that woman with class and money would do. She is provocative but she is also classy at the same time which makes her unique. A video from youtube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtskKP5TTio, highlights the moments of Irene Alder from the series and helps show every aspect of her “ powerful woman” personality. The song playing in the background, “  The Ballad of Mona Lisa” by Panic! At The Disco,  also helps support the statement of her powerful figure as well. Important lines in the song like, “She paints her fingers with a close precision” and “ Whoa, Mona Lisa, You’re guaranteed to run this town” are important to take note of because Irene puts lipstick on slowly in the begging and although Mona Lisa was married to a King and Irene is not, Irene has the motivation to be powerful like Mona Lisa. From analyzing these scenes, I can fully support the statement that Irene is a powerful woman and displays it throughout the story.

There is obvious tension between Irene Adler and Sherlock Holmes as both individuals are more perceptive, intelligent, but above all mysterious than the average citizen. As a Chinese proverb goes: “a mountain cannot house two tigers,” Holmes and Adler are both bold and occasionally reckless when executing their plans.

 

However, there are similarities between the two when both are on screen in succession. For example, the first instance where this happens is when “both” of them are naked. We see Holmes covered in a long white sheet while Adler is completely naked shortly after. The sheets play an interesting role here. One, the fact that it is white is ironic as white usually resembles purity and thus nothing to hide. But this is Holmes as he is far from being pure. Instead he is a black hole. He takes in anything but little is known about him other than his gifted ability to perceive everyday objects and routines in detail. The fact that Watson, his partner, cannot read Holmes indicates just how complex he is as a person. Second, along with the deep and mysterious personality Holmes embodies, the white sheet acts as a stark contrast to how is he as a person; the white sheet wrapping around him serves as a visual oxymoron.

We are then introduced to Irene Adler as the visual evidence continues. When she walks into the room completely naked in front of Holmes, she is doing two things. She is trying to seduce him and to “protect” herself by exposing her entire body. From an earlier scene we can gather that Holmes is about to “read” people as he made observations about people’s behavior and outward appearance. By showcasing herself in front of Holmes scantily clad she is able to shield herself from being read like a “normal” person and disguise her enigmatic personality.

Reaction Paper #2: Making a claim about The Maltese Falcon

Brigid O’Shaughessy is a mysterious actress on the stage of Sam Spade. As such, she is apt at disguising herself and her intentions. When the reader is first introduced to her as Ms. Wonderly, she was a woman desperately in search of  her sister in fear of her safety being compromised. As we later find out, this was all a fluke in an attempt to get Spade to help her in another situation. However, upon closer examination in the way that O’Shaughessy has requested this deed, it foreshadows the mysterious and manipulative nature of her character.

 

Ms. Wonderly walks into Spade’s office asking for someone to be tailed for the sake of her sister. However, she does not get straight to the point. Instead, she says that because their mother and father are about to return home, she hopes that her sister will be there, all the while referring to her sister simply as “her.” This does not accurately describe the situation a sister would be in if her dear sibling was in danger. We then turn to the fact that she showed no signs of close bond with this said “sister” that she had. However, from her dialogue, we can gather that Ms. Wonderly simply wants the sister to be within her sight.

Fast forward to the two murders that take place and again we see this shadowy and manipulative side of her as she plays the pity card against Spade but ultimately fails. On page 35 when Spade asks for more information on the situation, O’Shaughessy breaks down and tries to get Spade to help her once more. She starts off with “ I haven’t live a good life” and immediately bombards Spade with emotional rhetorical questions: “You know that I’m not all bad, don’t you? You can see that, can’t you? Then can’t you trust me a little? Oh, I’m so alone and afraid, and I’ve got nobody to help me if you won’t help me.” This then leads into forceful request laced with pity: “Help me because I need help so badly, and because if  you don’t where will I find anyone who can, no matter how willing? Help me… Be generous, Mr. Spade. You can help me. Help me.” The constant reinforcement of her plead only loses its effect and gains in pressure as a way to corner Spade into helping O’Shaughnessy despite her unwillingness to spill the beans.