{"id":643,"date":"2014-11-19T20:38:41","date_gmt":"2014-11-20T00:38:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/scalexan-vsf\/?page_id=643"},"modified":"2014-11-19T20:38:41","modified_gmt":"2014-11-20T00:38:41","slug":"m-turcotte","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/scalexan-vsf\/annotated-bibliographies\/m-turcotte\/","title":{"rendered":"M. Turcotte"},"content":{"rendered":"
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  1. Trushell, John. \u201cMirages in the Desert: The War of the Worlds <\/em>and Fin du Globe<\/em>.\u201d Extrapolation <\/em>43.4 (2002): 439-55. Web.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u00a0Trushell discusses the similarities and subsequent adaptations of The War of the Worlds. <\/em>He also traces the adaptations through cultural and historical timelines, linking particular adaptations and \u2018innovations\u2019 with the societal pressures\/thinking and threats of the time, from the 1938 Welles\u2019 radio broadcast (in the midst of World War II, when radio listeners were already accustomed to hearing news about the coming war and the Munich crisis) and the 1953 film adaptation of the same name (linked more to the Korean war and the threat of communism). He also discusses the phenomenon fin du globe, <\/em>the \u2018end of the world fear\u2019 that was present in both Victorian fin de si\u00e9cle <\/em>society and in 1930s America, brought on by the Wall Street Crash in 1929, the Great Depression, the disillusionment with the political system, and the \u2018brown scare\u2019 of fascism. (Also discussed is the importance of the film Independence Day, <\/em>however, this is not that important for my paper, for this essay was written before the 2005 adaptation of War of the Worlds, <\/em>which I will be focusing on in lieu of Independence Day.<\/em>) All of these interpretations of the adaptations seem very intune with the focus of my paper, however the author seems to jump too quickly over discussing the importance of adaptations in the 1938 broadcast and how society and warfare had really changed since the original 1898 edition.<\/p>\n

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    1. Malia, Jennifer. \u201cPublic Imbecility and Journalistic Enterprise\u201d: The Satire on Mars Mania in H.G. Wells\u2019s The War of the Worlds.\u201d Extrapolation <\/em>50.1 (2009): 80-101. Web.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      By applying close analyzation of the text, Malia reveals how The War of the Worlds <\/em>is actually critiquing media sensationalism. By deploying satirical storytelling, she argues, Wells draws attention to the unreliability of journalism (print media). Discussed is the period known as \u201cMars mania\u201d in which scientific writings, fiction writings, along with satirical cartoons were being published about \u2018life on Mars.\u2019 By using the strategies and storytelling methods of journalism, the narrator of The War of the Worlds <\/em>demonstrates his own unreliability as he fabricates and sensationalizes events. Also discussed is the perpetual failure of the print media to be a reliable news source, repeatedly sending out incomplete, inaccurate, or completely falsified news stories, such as the \u2018dead men from Mars\u2019 in the cylinder, the method of Martian space travel, or the repetitive threat of danger met with assurance of safety. All of these, Malia argues, are strategies of journalism and print media that Wells recognize, satirizes and, in this way, critiques. This argument is perceptive and thorough and will be very useful when writing my final paper, especially when comparing this to the fear tactics used post 9\/11 and how this is reflected in the 2005 adaptation of the text.<\/p>\n

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      1. Combe, Kirk. \u201cSpielberg\u2019s Tale of Two Americas: Postmodern Monsters in War of the Worlds.\u201d Journal of Popular Culture <\/em>44.5 (2011): 934-953. Web.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        In this essay, Combe attempts to identify the Martians of the 2005 Spielberg adaptation of War of the Worlds <\/em>as \u2018postmodern monsters\u2019 that represent the \u201cBad, imperialist, upper-class America.\u201d According to Combe, the aliens represent the \u2018gaps\u2019 in the construction of Lacanian \u2018Truth.\u2019 They are the imperialistic force masquerading as \u2018national defense;\u2019 the offensive war in Iraq masquerading as \u2018defensive war against terrorism.\u2019 Combe claims that the film demonstrates a war between two Americas: the good, working class America, the protagonist, Ray, and the bad, upper-class, military-corporate America: the Martians and their hyper-intelligent military-like equipment. Many allusions to 9\/11 imagery and insurgent warfare are made throughout the essay. While I agree with a lot of the ideas presented in this essay, I find that a lot of it is too forcefully opinion, almost tongue-in-cheek in a sense. I will probably use some of the discussions topics in this essay, however.<\/p>\n

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        1. Gunn, Joshua. \u201cFather Trouble: Staging Sovereignty in Spielberg\u2019s War of the Worlds.\u201d Critical Studies in Media Communication <\/em>25.1 (2008): 1-27. Web.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Gunn draws connections between events of the 9\/11 terrorist attacks and the destruction by the Martians seen in the film. He backs up his reading of the film with interview segments from script writers of the film who directly claim that they were citing their own 9\/11 experiences when writing the script, adding lines like, \u201cis it the terrorists?\u201d (says Rachel, the daughter). Gunn goes on to claim that, by restaging the 9\/11 attacks in a Hollywood, fiction narrative, one can better understand the popularity of George W. Bush post 9\/11. In other words, by identifying the need for paternal order after a \u2018state of emergency,\u2019 or a \u2018state of nature,\u2019 Gunn illustrates, \u201c\u2026how to love a dictator.\u201d I found this essay convincing and, while I wont use all of the points raised throughout, I will most likely be using a lot of material to support my own thesis in my final paper; especially the information regarding the \u2018state of emergency\u2019 and fear that led people to support George W. Bush\u2019s \u201cwar on terror\u201d and its connections to the imagery and emotions evoked by the film.<\/p>\n

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          1. Heyer, Paul. \u201cAmerica under Attack I: A Reassessment of Orson Welles\u2019 1938 War of the Worlds Broadcast.\u201d Canadian Journal of Communication <\/em>28.2 (2003): 149-165. Web.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Heyer discusses the career and creative history of Orson Welles, citing the panic caused by his radio adaptation of War of the Worlds <\/em>a direct result of his \u2018media sense.\u2019 Further discussion of specific techniques employed by Welles tend credibility to the mass panic that ensued following the broadcast. Discussed, also, is the \u2018reliability\u2019 of radio broadcasting in terms of news in an era when the threat of war (and the Munich crisis) was looming. All of this information will be very helpful when discussing the adaptation in my final paper, especially when comparing Welles\u2019 application of realistic techniques of journalistic-radio-reporting and Wells\u2019 realistic application of sensationalist, science-fiction mixing journalistic approach.<\/p>\n

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            1. Charles, Alec. \u201cExtraordinary Renditions: Reflections upon the War on Terror in British and American Screen Science Fiction.\u201d Historia Actual On-Line<\/em> 22. (2010): 117-124. Web.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              Charles discusses how, historically, science fiction has reflected contemporary historical situations, linking the original War of the Worlds<\/em> with late-Victorian concerns over the sustainability of imperial hegemony; Wells\u2019 1938 edition played upon contemporary anxieties about the looming world war; the 1953 edition of the film witnessed the Soviet invasion and nuclear holocaust; the 2005 Spielberg edition, full of, \u2018ravaged cities, crashed jets, and underground alien terror cells,\u2019 is an allegory for the War on Terror. Charles cites an article written by Michael Gove in The Times <\/em>on the 12th<\/sup> of September, 2001: \u201c\u2026the scenario of a\u2026 Spielberg blockbuster was no unfolding live on the world\u2019s television sets.\u201d Charles further discusses advanced weaponry and intelligence displayed by the martians in the 2005 film and how that mirrors the USA\u2019s highly advanced weaponry used to fight \u2018the War on Terror.\u2019 The essay also speaks on many contemporary British science fiction shows, which will not be as useful to my paper, unless I draw a few allusions from them to help support my own theories.<\/p>\n

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              1. Downing, Crystal. \u201cDeconstruction Herbert: \u2018The War of the Worlds\u2019 on Film.\u201d Literature Film Quarterly <\/em>35.4 (2007): 274-281. Web.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                \u00a0Downing claims that the 2005 adaptation of the 1898 novel, \u2018illustrates how a postmodern context affects and redirects a modernist text.\u2019 Writers and directors alike are affecting by events and changes in the world around them and react in various ways, often through their art. Downing goes on to list\u00a0 various 9\/11 allusions found within the 2005 film: a crashed airplane in a housing development, personal belongings falling from the sky, grey ash from human bodies that have been disintegrated floating around, homemade \u2018missing\u2019 signs of loved ones lining the walls and fences of the city. Downing also cites one of the original novel\u2019s explicit fears being that of \u2018attacking Europeans,\u2019 and goes on to explain the other fictional stories that were being published about Germans overtaking English forces. She then cites the main difference separating the two version of the same novel as the difference between the 1890s attitude toward science versus the 2000s attitude towards science, Wells rejecting any form of divine intervention (after all, it is evolutionary process by which the aliens are overtaken) and Spielberg displaying the postmodern \u2018linguistic turn,\u2019 the destabilizing of scientific rationalism, and how that relates to the deployment of a chosen \u2018faith.\u2019 Spielberg rejects all notions of Darwinism, closing the film with the claim that God put germs on the Earth. This article is going to be very helpful when writing my final paper and deals with theorists that I happen to be very familiar with, being a film (and english) major, so I am excited to incorporate them into my own work.<\/p>\n

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                \u00a08. \u00d6zt\u00fcrk, Ahmet. \u201cInternational Politics and the Media: The Case of the Press\/Media in the War on Terror.\u201d Alternatives Turkish Journal of International Relations <\/em>8.3 (2009): 42-64. Web.<\/p>\n

                The essay discusses the setbacks in basic rights and freedoms, such as the freedom of communication and freedom of expression, that has taken place in reaction to the September 11th<\/sup> attacks. \u00d6t\u00fcrk discusses specific international\/domestic political developments and media-press relations that have been affected by such setbacks, as guided by the belief that, \u201c\u2026the press always takes on the form and coloration of the social, political structures within which is operates\u2026 it reflects the system of social control whereby the relations of individuals and institutions are adjusted.\u201d Discussed are established theoretical studies of media-press relations, and further suggested relationships that define the world today. This will be really interesting to connect the media-press relations to the examination of print-media incorporated in the novel by Wells, and the adaptations and embellishments presented by the radio broadcast in 1938. Also, this essay approaches the War on Terror critically and theoretically, citing many different sources.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                Trushell, John. \u201cMirages in the Desert: The War of the Worlds and Fin du Globe.\u201d Extrapolation 43.4 (2002): 439-55. Web. \u00a0Trushell discusses the similarities and subsequent adaptations of The War of the Worlds. He also traces the adaptations through cultural and historical timelines, linking particular adaptations and \u2018innovations\u2019 with the societal pressures\/thinking and threats of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2430,"featured_media":0,"parent":577,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-643","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/scalexan-vsf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/scalexan-vsf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/scalexan-vsf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/scalexan-vsf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2430"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/scalexan-vsf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=643"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/scalexan-vsf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":644,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/scalexan-vsf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/643\/revisions\/644"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/scalexan-vsf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/scalexan-vsf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}