Monthly Archives: November 2013

It’s a surprisingly little-known fact that professors and TAs like, even love, to give good grades. Think about it: who but a sadist would enjoy giving bad ones? I’m not saying that there aren’t some profs who are, but most … Continue reading →

In class I briefly alluded to Sarah Polley’s adaptation of the very last scene of Alice Munro’s “The Bear Came over the Mountain,” a poignant scene as touching, morally fraught and complicated as anything out there. I was tipped off … Continue reading →

Here are some thoughts from Georgia: It is interesting that Bloch and Hitchcock took different approaches to the depiction of mental illness in Psycho. Bloch is much more concerned with exploring issues of mental illness within one person and because of … Continue reading →

Quiz # 2 will take place tomorrow (Wednesday) during the last 6 – 10 minutes of class, after the lecture on Away from Her and “The Bear Came over the Mountain.” The quiz is worth 10% of the final grade. … Continue reading →

Here’s a great observation from Anna: The number given to Alex DeLarge when he enters the prison presented itself as frustratingly odd and imperfect; the number ‘655321’ is dangerously close to a neat, descending pattern: 654321. The inconsistency in the … Continue reading →

Most of the revised journal entries have now been posted on this site. To find them, click on the “Assignments” page and choose entries on the menu, which is organized by film. If your entry is not posted, this is … Continue reading →

Several students have asked me what an A or A+ journal entry looks like. I’ve already posted two A entries, but I now have had three A+ entries, so I post one here, with the author’s permission. Notice how specific … Continue reading →

This Tuesday, we’ll be watching the bulk of Stanley Kubrick’s extremely controversial 1971 film A Clockwork Orange, which Kubrick himself chose to pull from distribution in the UK after a series of copy-cat crimes. It wasn’t available there until 2000. … Continue reading →

Here is a fascinating article by Jason Heller, about his experiences as a punk and his history of A Clockwork Orange. It’s a good introduction to the novel’s–and especially the film’s–notoriety. And for those struggling to read the novel (either … Continue reading →