Orginally written on October 15, 2011.
Part two
of a three part weekly series. Before working on the neurotic character essay, I was assigned to write a 3 page argument on a subject of my choice and I couldn't resist tackling the controversial issue about video games and whether or not they've dumbed down society. As a gamer, I understand both the positive and the negative aspects of gaming, how it could isolate you from the real world if you play for a long time(24 hours is my limit) but how it could also be a way to experience a brand new world and interact directly with the environment. That sounds a bit outlandish but I can promise you that the essay is very clear. To be honest, this paper was something I could only dream of writing in high school and I can't find any problems with it although there are probably a few. One more negative thing about gaming: it is one of the few things that can set me off more quickly than annoying jerkasses. Like always, let me know what you
think/how the argument could've been improved in the comments.
Video games have faced numerous controversies and accusations of being a wasted form of entertainment. Many people believe that video games have caused us to become more spastic, less able to focus on tasks, and diminished our capability to think. Video games simplify our impulses into objectives that range from getting from point A to point B to killing as many people as we can in a time limit, but as with any genre that we don’t really understand, we tend to generalize video games of still being this simple. In the year 2011, video games have advanced far beyond anyone’s expectations, and while enjoying the game is significant to its quality, so are the story and characters. Video games are capable of giving us enough control that they stimulate our behavior other than radically weakening it.
Video games have evolved from the basic arcade games, as they promote critical thinking as an incentive to completing the game. One of the most famous video games released in the modern era is Portal. The game begins with a simple premise: you are a lab rat in a science experiment, testing out a device called the portal gun, supervised by an artificial intelligence computer system called GlaDOS. Once the player absorbs those details, the game begins. Video games usually have time limits that increase tension and can make someone unnecessarily anxious when playing. Portal has no such time limit, and gives the player all the time in the world to complete each puzzle. The only distraction is GlaDOS who encourages you, the test subject, to complete each “impossible” puzzle, as well as quitting in order to get cake… that you will never get. The game also doesn’t pressure you into completing every single object at once; in fact, your impatience grows from either having a compulsory need to complete every single puzzle quickly, or from making brash decisions that only impede your progress. Portal’s many puzzles encourage you to slow down and make rational decisions in order to solve each puzzle, like solving a Rubik’s cube.
Portal is an innovative game not in only in gameplay, but also in story development that makes the experience more thought-provoking than others want to give it credit for. Portal plays normally up until a certain point where the game tests out your survival skills against gun turrets. You see a cube that can be used as a shield or a weapon, but it’s been precariously placed in between a malfunctioning wall panel. By removing the cube, you see a hallowed, rusted room that is the exact opposite of the testing labs; the game doesn’t force the player to see the room. It is only the player’s own curiosity that makes them cross into the hallowed shadows of the Aperture Science Testing Facilities where the player discovers some disturbing “holes” in the testing labs. Unlike most video games that force your attention, this is a moment you can choose to encounter or ignore.
The game makes a witting remark on how most people view gamers as mindless drones who only complete objectives, but this humanizing moment demonstrates how conscious gamers, or everybody else, can and have always been. A pivotal moment in Portal is when GlaDOS suddenly gives you a companion cube to use as a part of the experiment. The cube, despite being a lifeless object, becomes essential in completing the puzzle and you begin to grow attached to the object or accept it as just another tool at your disposal: it depends entirely on the player’s reaction. You arrive to the end, and hope to bring your cube along with you, but GlaDOS asks that you take your “new” friend to the incinerator for proper disposal. If you are the mindless drone GlaDOS expects you to be, you’ll destroy the cube and move on to the next portion of the game, but if you had any attachment to the cube whatsoever, you will hesitate, only be pressed on further by GlaDOS to destroy the cube. Evidently, the cube’s destruction is the only way to progress. Your attachment to the cube is spurred further when you discover some unusual wall markings that praise the cube, almost sanctifying as a holy object. Either way, Portal demonstrates that mental thought and understanding can be relevant in video games, as well as being a vehicle for advancing the story.
Now why does it matter? As I mentioned before, video games are currently a misunderstood medium. At one point, every medium we relate to today was lambasted by the majority for being useless and over stimulating until enough people made it acceptable in our culture. What these people don’t realize is that a sophisticated medium has existed for 40 years, and is much more engaging than a currently respected medium like film, for example. Usually, it takes a small group of craftsman who truly understand their craft to create glorious works of art much like the geniuses at Valve Corporation did in making Portal, but video games have always been an integral part of our culture, even if it has only been a small portion of it. As the medium continues to advance into new unexplored territories, people’s perception of games as an important medium will continue to grow, but even games like Portal shouldn’t be singled out as the only major advance in video games. Even goal-oriented games like Super Mario Brothers and Sonic the Hedgehog, made in 1985 and 1991, respectively, were innovative in their time for being bright, colorful games that also valued the player’s attention and mastery of the games’ diversifying locations much like Portal. Video games have always been relevant and in time, it will be as respected as the one of the most treasured literary devices of our time.
Works Cited:
Portal Version 1. October 9, 2007. Bellevue: Valve Corporation. October 14, 2011.
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Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Everybody’s looking at me: The Neurotic Character in Literature
Originally written on December 7, 2011.
This is the first of a three part weekly series. I've thought about posting this since the day I've finished it but I've held off on the idea for several reasons, the most important one being: NO ONE COULD CARE LESS ABOUT READING AN ACADEMIC PAPER I WROTE. I'm currently majoring in Spanish and one of the things a Spanish major has to know is writing long papers. I made a joke in high school about how long papers would have to be in college. I should slap my past self for being a smug bastard. Despite this, the following academic papers that I will post for the next three Wednesdays are about topics that matter a great deal for me and as such, I tried to make the papers sound very personal, not like the stilted, template-based ones we wrote in high school. This first paper is about something I wanted to investigate ever since I began to appreciate comedy. What are the origins of the neurotic character and why have we begun looking up to it as a modern archetypical hero? So, even though this is technically an academic paper, I still consider it as a kind of creative work since I can rationally argue on the significance of my biggest cultural influences and that has to count for something. Due to certain restrictions (such as only being 5 pages long), I could only pick out several important cultural figures that could be considered as neurotic although a more consise paper would much longer, way too long for this blog, even. Like always, let me know what you think/how the argument could've been improved in the comments.
The neurotic character is the unspoken hero of our modern lives. When at once we looked up to the strongman who could overcome any obstacle, suddenly we revere the character whom does everything wrong. The neurotic character, at one glance, is the living, breathing archetype of everything conceivably wrong with the world, but due to the character’s inexplicable popularity, absolute hatred toward the character isn’t common. The neurotic character is believed to be a modern invention, or a comical contrast to the more serious archetypes, but in fact, the neurotic character has been an integral component of literature for centuries. The neurotic character, within the text, is despised by everyone but beloved by everyone outside of the text.
The neurotic character everyone relates to is George Costanza from Seinfeld. George is a relatable character from a well-established sitcom. George behaves unlike most people, obsessing over pointless trivialities, taking advantage of everyone and everything, and being at the blunt of every moment of misfortune that comes his way. George, for a sitcom character, is very depressing, and constantly ponders the necessity of life, wondering if the mistakes he continues to make are worth minimum wage or even life; his behavior is a definitive trait of the neurotic character who“…suffers from easy fatigability and irritability. He is dissatisfied with everything including himself”(1). The center of his problems is his failed love life. George does not know to keep a relationship together, and constantly makes destructive or impulsive decisions that ruin the relationship. Nothing could be more tragic or hilarious than acknowledging that George’s fiancé died from licking poisonous wedding envelopes he had picked out. George is a character with no realistic prospects; his reason for getting up in the morning is “to get the Daily News”(2). Even after hearing a friend’s harsh argument about George’s laziness and encouraging George to mature, still George questions him with a comic “Why?” as though his friend’s words of wisdom flew right over his head, and George still refuses to accept reality, that there is more to life than getting the local paper.
Larry David, a “fictional” character from Curb Your Enthusiasm, is the apex of the neurotic character in pop culture. Larry is a character who has always been looked upon a weird misanthrope in the eyes of the other characters who simply cannot rationalize his actions. Larry talks of many unspoken rules that others are not aware of, although the rules are morally based at their core, even if they are ridiculous. Larry makes terms of each “rule” in order to get the point of the rules across to the other characters that consider the rules as something shortsighted and pointless. Larry also works under his own understanding of others, even if at times, he can be fairly off, usually, he knows how to manipulate others for his own means, such canceling appointments and using his mother’s death as an excuse. At the very center of Larry’s behavior is an unmistakable core that has a sense of justice. Larry and his wife go to the grand opening of their restaurant; all goes well until the chef, who has Tourette’s, spews out several curses that halt everyone’s conversations and leaves the room in complete silence. Ever the good spirit, Larry recalls seeing high school students who shaved off their heads in support of a fellow classmate who is going through chemotherapy, and does what any good-hearted soul would in that situation: he screams “Scum-sucking motherfucking whore!”(3) Shortly after, his manager curses, and eventually the entire classy restaurateurs invoke in loud profanities. The clip ends with Larry in the middle of the ruckus he causes, arms folded, proud of the moral obligation he made for the chef. It is an unusual solution, one some people would have trouble understanding, but it’s a truly daring act to risk the reputation of your restaurant if only to spare the feelings of a chef suffering with Tourette’s. Though Larry’s behavior is unusual, ultimately it becomes understandable and relatable.
Notes From the Underground, a famous novel from the early 19th century, is an example of the development of the neurotic character. The narrator with no name begins his “novel” by the narrator’s voice “exist[s] in our society, when we consider the circumstances in the midst of which of our society is formed,” an indication that someone with the narrator’s opinions undoubtedly exists within the norm(4). The norm is questioned by the narrator and at times, may seem even more deluded and mistaken than the narrator’s own conceptions. The narrator’s “intense self-consciousness causes him to be vain at one moment and self-loathing the next,” and seething with bitterness towards the normal man, although his criticisms and observations are undeniably truthful towards the folly of people. The narrator’s observances are very similar to George Costanza’s character in that both of them are very pessimistic towards the outcome of the world, and through their pessimism exists a moment of truth. Also, both characters are aware of their inadequacies and uselessness in the scale of everything in the universe, and both of them question their reason to live. Dostoyevsky’s narrator falls upon the themes made important in modern times, and many literary critics “identify the [narrator] as the archetypal modern antihero,” or the neurotic character(5).
Don Quixote goes back even further back in the early 16th century, with a neurotic character that has become timeless. Don Quixote is a lowly man living in an impoverished village, but due to his love of chivalric literature, believes himself to be one of the characters from his books, a valiant knight. Throughout the novel, Don Quixote causes much mischief in his travels with his squire, Sancho Panza, as he tries to save a beautiful princess who is actually a prostitute, and fight a dragon that is actually a windmill. Kashdan’s analysis remarks on traits neurotic characters embody: becoming “self-absorbed” in their own world, and ultimately being rejected by society, traits worn proudly by both George and Larry(6). In Don Quixote’s case, his behavior is purely chivalric and highly respectable, and with no actual malicious intent. For Don Quixote, being a knight with principles and values is more worthwhile than living the simple life of a villager, and ultimately, it is a reminder that even the world of the normal individual can be distorted by cynicism, repetition, and fear of change. It is remarkable on how much more sense Don Quixote’s actions are compared to the values of normal life. Bringing back Larry’s example, Larry swearing in the restaurant may not be the most appropriate solution to the chef’s unexpected swearing, but it was the right thing to do, despite the circumstances or consequences.
The neurotic character is the embodiment of our unforeseen behavior, and the most truthful voice in our society. When at one point we looked upon the valiant hero or the confident one, now we look at the neurotic character as the antihero; despite their values and customs, ultimately what each character wants is justice for all people, and some kind of rational understanding for the world’s mysteries, including the production of characters like the narrator, and how such characters emerge from a seemingly normal environment. When we are able to recognize our own faults, develop them, and ultimately improve ourselves with this long, ongoing process, we cannot stop but recognize the bumbling characters of Don Quixote and George Costanza for taking that first step.
Works Cited:
This is the first of a three part weekly series. I've thought about posting this since the day I've finished it but I've held off on the idea for several reasons, the most important one being: NO ONE COULD CARE LESS ABOUT READING AN ACADEMIC PAPER I WROTE. I'm currently majoring in Spanish and one of the things a Spanish major has to know is writing long papers. I made a joke in high school about how long papers would have to be in college. I should slap my past self for being a smug bastard. Despite this, the following academic papers that I will post for the next three Wednesdays are about topics that matter a great deal for me and as such, I tried to make the papers sound very personal, not like the stilted, template-based ones we wrote in high school. This first paper is about something I wanted to investigate ever since I began to appreciate comedy. What are the origins of the neurotic character and why have we begun looking up to it as a modern archetypical hero? So, even though this is technically an academic paper, I still consider it as a kind of creative work since I can rationally argue on the significance of my biggest cultural influences and that has to count for something. Due to certain restrictions (such as only being 5 pages long), I could only pick out several important cultural figures that could be considered as neurotic although a more consise paper would much longer, way too long for this blog, even. Like always, let me know what you think/how the argument could've been improved in the comments.
The neurotic character is the unspoken hero of our modern lives. When at once we looked up to the strongman who could overcome any obstacle, suddenly we revere the character whom does everything wrong. The neurotic character, at one glance, is the living, breathing archetype of everything conceivably wrong with the world, but due to the character’s inexplicable popularity, absolute hatred toward the character isn’t common. The neurotic character is believed to be a modern invention, or a comical contrast to the more serious archetypes, but in fact, the neurotic character has been an integral component of literature for centuries. The neurotic character, within the text, is despised by everyone but beloved by everyone outside of the text.
The neurotic character everyone relates to is George Costanza from Seinfeld. George is a relatable character from a well-established sitcom. George behaves unlike most people, obsessing over pointless trivialities, taking advantage of everyone and everything, and being at the blunt of every moment of misfortune that comes his way. George, for a sitcom character, is very depressing, and constantly ponders the necessity of life, wondering if the mistakes he continues to make are worth minimum wage or even life; his behavior is a definitive trait of the neurotic character who“…suffers from easy fatigability and irritability. He is dissatisfied with everything including himself”(1). The center of his problems is his failed love life. George does not know to keep a relationship together, and constantly makes destructive or impulsive decisions that ruin the relationship. Nothing could be more tragic or hilarious than acknowledging that George’s fiancé died from licking poisonous wedding envelopes he had picked out. George is a character with no realistic prospects; his reason for getting up in the morning is “to get the Daily News”(2). Even after hearing a friend’s harsh argument about George’s laziness and encouraging George to mature, still George questions him with a comic “Why?” as though his friend’s words of wisdom flew right over his head, and George still refuses to accept reality, that there is more to life than getting the local paper.
Larry David, a “fictional” character from Curb Your Enthusiasm, is the apex of the neurotic character in pop culture. Larry is a character who has always been looked upon a weird misanthrope in the eyes of the other characters who simply cannot rationalize his actions. Larry talks of many unspoken rules that others are not aware of, although the rules are morally based at their core, even if they are ridiculous. Larry makes terms of each “rule” in order to get the point of the rules across to the other characters that consider the rules as something shortsighted and pointless. Larry also works under his own understanding of others, even if at times, he can be fairly off, usually, he knows how to manipulate others for his own means, such canceling appointments and using his mother’s death as an excuse. At the very center of Larry’s behavior is an unmistakable core that has a sense of justice. Larry and his wife go to the grand opening of their restaurant; all goes well until the chef, who has Tourette’s, spews out several curses that halt everyone’s conversations and leaves the room in complete silence. Ever the good spirit, Larry recalls seeing high school students who shaved off their heads in support of a fellow classmate who is going through chemotherapy, and does what any good-hearted soul would in that situation: he screams “Scum-sucking motherfucking whore!”(3) Shortly after, his manager curses, and eventually the entire classy restaurateurs invoke in loud profanities. The clip ends with Larry in the middle of the ruckus he causes, arms folded, proud of the moral obligation he made for the chef. It is an unusual solution, one some people would have trouble understanding, but it’s a truly daring act to risk the reputation of your restaurant if only to spare the feelings of a chef suffering with Tourette’s. Though Larry’s behavior is unusual, ultimately it becomes understandable and relatable.
Notes From the Underground, a famous novel from the early 19th century, is an example of the development of the neurotic character. The narrator with no name begins his “novel” by the narrator’s voice “exist[s] in our society, when we consider the circumstances in the midst of which of our society is formed,” an indication that someone with the narrator’s opinions undoubtedly exists within the norm(4). The norm is questioned by the narrator and at times, may seem even more deluded and mistaken than the narrator’s own conceptions. The narrator’s “intense self-consciousness causes him to be vain at one moment and self-loathing the next,” and seething with bitterness towards the normal man, although his criticisms and observations are undeniably truthful towards the folly of people. The narrator’s observances are very similar to George Costanza’s character in that both of them are very pessimistic towards the outcome of the world, and through their pessimism exists a moment of truth. Also, both characters are aware of their inadequacies and uselessness in the scale of everything in the universe, and both of them question their reason to live. Dostoyevsky’s narrator falls upon the themes made important in modern times, and many literary critics “identify the [narrator] as the archetypal modern antihero,” or the neurotic character(5).
Don Quixote goes back even further back in the early 16th century, with a neurotic character that has become timeless. Don Quixote is a lowly man living in an impoverished village, but due to his love of chivalric literature, believes himself to be one of the characters from his books, a valiant knight. Throughout the novel, Don Quixote causes much mischief in his travels with his squire, Sancho Panza, as he tries to save a beautiful princess who is actually a prostitute, and fight a dragon that is actually a windmill. Kashdan’s analysis remarks on traits neurotic characters embody: becoming “self-absorbed” in their own world, and ultimately being rejected by society, traits worn proudly by both George and Larry(6). In Don Quixote’s case, his behavior is purely chivalric and highly respectable, and with no actual malicious intent. For Don Quixote, being a knight with principles and values is more worthwhile than living the simple life of a villager, and ultimately, it is a reminder that even the world of the normal individual can be distorted by cynicism, repetition, and fear of change. It is remarkable on how much more sense Don Quixote’s actions are compared to the values of normal life. Bringing back Larry’s example, Larry swearing in the restaurant may not be the most appropriate solution to the chef’s unexpected swearing, but it was the right thing to do, despite the circumstances or consequences.
The neurotic character is the embodiment of our unforeseen behavior, and the most truthful voice in our society. When at one point we looked upon the valiant hero or the confident one, now we look at the neurotic character as the antihero; despite their values and customs, ultimately what each character wants is justice for all people, and some kind of rational understanding for the world’s mysteries, including the production of characters like the narrator, and how such characters emerge from a seemingly normal environment. When we are able to recognize our own faults, develop them, and ultimately improve ourselves with this long, ongoing process, we cannot stop but recognize the bumbling characters of Don Quixote and George Costanza for taking that first step.
Works Cited:
(1)Price, Antoinette. “Understanding the Neurotic.” The
American Journal of Nursing, Vol. 37, No. 8 (Aug., 1937), pp. 878-881. JSTOR.
Web.
(2)KrsONE305. “Kramer Talks to George About Life.”
YouTube. Web. July 13, 2009.
(3)
Sujeetwearsvests. “Curb Your
Enthusiasm. Season 3, Episode 10: Restaurant Grand Opening.” YouTube. Web. Jun. 23, 2010.
(4) Dostoyevsky, Fyodor.
Notes from the Underground. Trans. Constance Garnett. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 2009. Print.
(5) Nielson, Keith. “Notes
from the underground.” Masterplots, 4th ed; November 2010, p1-4. Literary
Reference Center. Web.
(6)Kashdan, Joanne G. "Don Quixote de la Mancha." Masterplots, 4th Ed.; November 2010, p1-5. Literary Reference Center. Web.
Be sure to check out the RS(TBTT...E) group on Facebook, or on Tumblr for images, videos, and more (but not much more). Also, Harold from The Presenters has his own Twitter account now! Yeah...I'm running out of ideas.
(6)Kashdan, Joanne G. "Don Quixote de la Mancha." Masterplots, 4th Ed.; November 2010, p1-5. Literary Reference Center. Web.
Be sure to check out the RS(TBTT...E) group on Facebook, or on Tumblr for images, videos, and more (but not much more). Also, Harold from The Presenters has his own Twitter account now! Yeah...I'm running out of ideas.
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