The Damned Thing Adaptation

Conor Doyle

Mr. Bailey

10/13/10

The Damned Thing Adaptation

Ambridge, Pennsylvania, 1955. The town would have been bustling with activity. Wealthy shop keepers of all kinds would have their doors wide open to the happy shoppers that walked aimlessly along the sidewalk. Around 5:15 many of the laborers, many of whom were still in high school, could be found relaxing out on the town at a favorite bar or restaurant after a hard days work at the steel mills. Younger children would hang out in the many parks and fields along the east side of the Ohio River, some playing pick up games of baseball or football, and others lazily trying their luck with a fishing rod on the docks. They would later come home to their suburban houses, all neatly built along an efficient grid of streets, to a delicious home cooked meal that their mother had prepared for them. That was Ambridge, Pennsylvania, 55 years ago. Today roughly a third of the population remains in the town. The once busy streets are now almost completely empty, with only a few people still walking on the cracked and uneven sidewalks. Most of the shops had closed when the steel market went over seas, but the buildings still stand along the main street, with peeling lead paint and lettering so faded one could hardly distinguish between businesses. They stand as a memorial to those happy, carefree times in the 50’s before the good economy that came with the success of the steel market disappeared. Fields that were places of joy and laughter are now either built up with the empty shells of low income housing or overgrown with tall grass and small trees. The warm and inviting suburban houses are now boarded up structures of rotted wood, stained by the vandalism of restless youths who had nothing to do but make trouble. A colossal steel factory sits on the river bank, rust generously spread all over its corrugated roof and walls. The windows are all shattered from the many pieces of excess slag that thuggish kids have thrown at them. The inside of the factory is full of large ovens and massive iron pots used for the transportation of molten metal. Chains hang like vines from the ceiling clink together when the wind blows, and old machinery creaks and whines constantly. A small scrap metal store haphazardly thrown together in one small corner of the factory is the only reason that the relic still stands. An old man, who looks strangely youthful for his age, runs it. He works alone, spending his nights sitting and smoking by an improvised hobo stove. His house is a small, enclosed room that looks like it may have at one time been an officer for one of the rich steel barons. It is about 9 o’clock, and he has just returned from a rare trip to Riverton, Wyoming, to see his brother replenish his supply of pipe tobacco. He casually lights his pipe and sits down on a three-legged wooden stool next to the stove. Just when he has gotten completely relaxed in comfortable silence, he hears a crisp knock on his shop door.

“Shop’s closed,” he hollers with an aged southern accent in the direction of the door.

“Larry open up, it’s me, Steve,” a voice responds.

As Larry opens the door, the dim light shines on a man wearing an old sheriff’s uniform with a trooper’s hat, both of which look as though they have not been worn for a while, with dust on the brim of the hat and neat creases still the shirt. Steve’s face is worn with many lines and looks to be only a few years younger than Larry. His voice is deep and commanding.

            “Why’re y’all dressed up in your uniform tonight Steve? I ain’t in any trouble am I?” Larry asked inquisitively.

            “No, not at all Larry, at least you’re not yet. Listen, this morning I was out on my usual patrol, and as I came around to the docks, I saw some horrible things….”

* * *

            I woke up early on that crisp and chilly late November day. I got out of bed and went about my normal routine, but suddenly paused when I looked out the window. I saw the familiar large plumes of smoke and ominous orange glow coming from the old mill. I know they shut that mill down years ago and that all valuable materials and machinery had been removed. How could this be happening? I quickly threw on my leather coat, trooper’s hat, and sheriff’s badge, and sped over there in my squad car. The smoke had stopped by the time I arrived, but there was still something glowing around back. I got out of the car and was casually walking over when I heard a scream that seemed to be the voice of fear itself. The noise hit me like a freight train, and I tripped as I started to run like hell back to the car, locking myself inside. I thought of calling for back up, but it would take almost a half hour to get here, seeing as everyone else was sound asleep. After what seemed like forever, I forced my self to get back out of the car. Before I went anywhere, I took my brand new M590A1 pistol grip shot gun off of the gun rack, and struggled to load in 5 shells with my shaking hands. This time I slowly crept along the wall of the mill, cursing as my feet crunched on the frosted grass. As I neared the corner, I slowly took one step at a time, hoping that each step wouldn’t be my last. When I reached the corner, I summoned up all of my courage, and jumped around, chambering a round and yelling “FREEZE!” as I moved. As my eyes darted around, I quickly saw that I was alone, but then took notice of three dull orange stumps of metal in the process of solidifying. With adrenaline pumping in my veins, I sprinted to the other side of the mill and looked down the wall to make sure that nobody had tried to sneak off in the other direction. After convincing my self that I was alone, I tried to calm myself down, walking calmly back to the strange metal forms. Looking on the scene again, I noticed something small and cylindrical next to one of the lumps, and some tracks in the frost covered grass leading directly away from the area. Upon closer inspection, I realized the cylinder was a can of spray paint. It was at that moment a horrible thought crept into my mind. I looked more closely at one of the lumps, and to my horror I saw hand sticking out from underneath it, with all of the skin and flesh burned off, leaving only the charred bones, with the fingers dug into the ground as if the poor person had tried to pull themselves out. I jumped back, repulsed by the sight, and scrambled for my radio, calling all of the stations for back up. Luckily, back up could get here in about 15 minutes. Just as I finally relaxed, something like a raindrop hit the brim of my hat, and within a second a hot bead of molten metal burned all the way through, leaving a nice neat hole. Surprised, I looked up and saw how these three poor kids had been murdered. A huge melting pot had been overturned from the top floor window. I knew I had to go up there and investigate, but I couldn’t find an unlocked door anywhere. Right when I was about to break in through one of the locked doors, I noticed a small rusted out hole in the wall against the ground just big enough for me to squeeze past. After a few minutes of maneuvering and some small scrapes, I was in. I looked around the masses of huge old machines, and realized that someone could easily still be hiding in here, so I went on the alert, shotgun up and eyes scanning constantly. After a thorough check, I gazed at the far wall and saw that there was a sort of loft room that could be reached by an old rickety staircase. I padded over there on silent feet, trying to make as little squeaks as possible on the staircase, until I got to the door leading into the room. I tried the handle only to find that it was locked from the inside. I just had to get in there, so I stood as far back as I could, took aim, and blew the handle off with the shotgun. I ran in quick to surprise whoever was in there, But nearly fell down a great hole that had been melted through the grated floor just seconds earlier. I glimpsed down and saw what did it—a hideous monster constructed of boiling metal, with large arms and a head that had only a great mouth that screamed up at me as it sank underground until it was no longer visible. Absolutely amazed at what I had just seen, I pinched myself several times to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. I then realized that it was that creature that lifted up that several ton pot and killed those kids.

* * *

            “It was horrible Larry. So you’re saying you weren’t here at all these past few days?” Steve asked. Larry however didn’t respond immediately, and just sat there with a small smile on his face.

            “Larry?” Steve repeated.

            “Oh yeah, yeah, just awful what happened to them kids,” Larry responded hastily.

            “Well its not all bad, we think one got away, and we’ve got everyone looking for him,” Steve said hopefully.

            “What’d you say? One them thugs got away?” Larry said with a flash of anger.

            “Yeah, Larry, something wrong with that?” Steve said.

            “Uh… no, no, not at all. Good for him…” Larry mumbled in response. Steve looked at Larry suspiciously, thinking about how he always complained about those kids, and how he spent so much time down here alone, doing who knows what. He had lived his whole life in this town, and worked for years in the mill.

            “Say, Larry,” Steve questioned “You haven’t ever heard of any sort of metal monsters or anything like that in these parts, have you?”

            “Well,” Larry began with a strange grin “There always been rumors that the government people used the mills for experimenting on things, ‘specially with that nuclear type stuff. Heck, they even say they used it on a few fellas who were unlucky enough to volunteer. Of course, they say that the effects or what not wore off when they ran out of that stuff.” Steve’s heart started beating faster. What if the monster he saw was some old scientists mistake?

            “What kind of effects was this stuff supposed to have on somebody?” Steve asked with wide eyes and mouth slightly open, like a scared child asking what happens next in a ghost story.

            “Well now, I heard it gave a man prolonged youth, and supernatural powers of transformation. But these are all rumors, Steve, nothing to take seriously, right?” Larry said very softly.

            “Oh yes, of course, all hypothetical,” Steve said with an awkward laugh “But if these things were real, how do you suppose you would kill—,” Whatever Steve was trying to say was cut off with a large amount of static from his radio. He tuned a dial and a voice crackled over.

            “All units, we have found Kevin, the boy who escaped, I repeat, all units, we have found the boy who claims to have escaped the incident this morning,” The dispatcher then proceeded to give out an address for an apartment on the other side of town.

            “Ok Larry I gotta go now but can you do me a favor and stay here for a few hours till I sort this out?” Steve asked. Larry responded with a nod. Steve put on his jacket, and stepped outside, just as it started to rain.

            “You take care now, Steve,” Larry said as Steve walked out. After the door closed, Larry pulled a small bust strangely heavy lead box out from underneath his bed, and opened it, letting a strange glow light up his face.

* * *

I skipped last period a week ago on Thursday, with Jack, Dave, and Kyle. We had been talking about going and spray-painting for days, and that Thursday we got pumped up enough to actually go and buy some. It was stupid now that I think about it, but it seemed like fun at the time. Dave’s a year older than us, he was going to graduate this spring, and he said we’d be ok because he’d done it before. We weren’t going to do it, but then some old guy seemed to over hear us when we were talking when we were walking to Dave’s. It seemed like he was expecting us, because he jumped out of nowhere. He told us about this old mill that hadn’t been sprayed in a long time. He even told us about how in about a week the old guy who stayed was going away in a few days and that there were cameras everywhere except for on one wall. When we got to Dave’s, we told him about it, and he took us in his car and we scouted the place out. Now that I think about it, we didn’t see any cameras at all, but thought that they might be hidden. So we waited until real late last night, and snuck over there. I only survived because I came late, and was still a little hidden in the tall grass when it happened. Well, they thought we were set, so they didn’t try to be quiet or anything. They just shook the bottle up when suddenly a door up near the roof opened up, and we saw that same old guy that told us to come at this time. They thought he was helping us at first, and I was about to pop out when I saw him take some funny green stuff in a vial and inject it into his arm. Then he screamed, but not like a normal scream, much worse, and I nearly fainted. He convulsed, and it sounded like he fell down the stairs, but when he came back up, well, it wasn’t him, it was some kind of glowing metal monster. It had brought up a huge pot of molten steel, and threw globs of it at my friends. They were crying and screaming, and Dave even tried to pull himself away. The thing seemed to watch them, and it looked like he was laughing. Then it noticed a squad car had pulled up, and stepped back in the building. I started running when it went inside, and didn’t stop till I was home.

* * *

            The moment Kevin finished his story, Steve sprinted out to his car and raced, sirens blaring, all the way back to the mill. He grabbed his shotgun, blasted through the door, and ran in hoping he could catch Larry before he left, but he was gone. All that remained was an empty vial with the label “Gas Hills Uranium Mine, Riverton, Wyoming. Danger: highly radioactive substance.

Fairy Tales

The idea of a fairy tale has changed radically over the last two centuries. It has gone from meaning a lesson that should be taken seriously to the stuff of fluffy and wimpy stories of magical princes and princesses where nobody gets hurt and no one dies. In the story Fitcher's Bird, there are many lessons that children can learn. The first is if a stranger or in this case a disguised beggar comes up to you it is best to not talk to them or go with them. They may seem to be wonderful or offer you candy or riches, but chances are they want to hurt you like the mean sorcerer. Next, there is the classic problem with going specifically where you are told not to go when the person who told you not to go there is away. In the story, the daughters who open up the door that they were forbidden to open were chopped up with an axe. A child probably wouldn't be chopped up, but the idea is the same; if you are told not to go somewhere, there is probably a very good reason for it. This older and more graphic version of a fairy tale is more effective because it uses fear to prevent children from doing bad things instead of making it all fake and Walt Disney-ish.

Dark Fantasy Comparison

Conor Doyle

Mr. Bailey

Dark Fantasy Essay

10/3/10

            Dark fantasy plays on human’s most basic instinctive fears: death, the supernatural, and horror. These aspects are depicted well in Stephen King’s The Raft, Robert McCammon’s Nightcrawlers, and Richard Matheson’s Duel. The Raft is the best example of dark fantasy, followed by Nightcrawlers, and lastly Duel.

            Duel is a short story about a guy named Mann who is driving to San Francisco for a business trip, but a has a near deadly run in with a seemingly insane trucker, who nearly kills Mann on several occasions. In the end, Mann survives because the trucker tries to take a turn to sharply and overturns and explodes. Although there is no supernatural aspect to this short story, which is why it is not the best example of dark fantasy, its emphasis on the human mind and how it reacts when put in a life or death situation is what makes it still apply to the sub genre. When Mann first has an experience with the trucker passing him at a dangerously high speed, he is scared and tries to calm himself down. As the duel between them gets more intense, his fear becomes great enough that he can no longer make any excuses for the trucker, and starts to panic when he is followed to the diner. The death aspect comes into this story comes in not only when the trucker dies, but also when Mann realizes that he may not survive this ordeal, and thinks seriously that he was going to die.

            In Nightcrawlers, the story takes place at a highway diner somewhere down south. A policeman named Dennis is having a meal and talking to Cheryl, the waitress and the cook, whose name is Bob. A family is eating a quick snack in a booth. Death is suggested from the very beginning when Dennis tells of the hotel massacre at Daytona Beach. The massacre itself has an aspect of the supernatural because there were plenty of bullet holes and the victims looked like they had been shot up, yet no bullets were found. Then a Viet Nam veteran named Price comes in, and they fear him because he drives in recklessly, and yells at Dennis when he tries to talk to him about the war. Supernatural events occur when Price suddenly thinks of a beer and one appears in his hand for a moment, and Bob is stunned. This display of his paranormal powers really freaks Bob out, and he becomes scared. Horror, death, and the supernatural all come together in the chilling conclusion when Price falls asleep, his ghostly comrades from the war who he deserted converge on the diner, shooting the place up with the imaginary bullets, and killing price. This combination of all the dark fantasy traits makes it truly a great example of the sub genre.

            Finally the best example of dark fantasy is The Raft. It is truly great because you have four young college kids who decide to do something stupid to be tough, telling nobody where they are and being completely unaware. The swim out to the dock, and immediately the supernatural starts to happen when the oil slick monster comes, and hypnotizes Rachel into falling into it, and it burns through her with a terrible burning acid, leaving the other three kids in total horror on the dock, too petrified with fear to swim away. Right away there is horror, fear, and supernatural events happening to these poor kids, and all three remain constant for the rest of the story, making this short story the perfect example of dark fantasy.

             All three of these short stories had their own unique way of incorporating dark fantasy’s aspects of death, the supernatural, and horror. The Duel focused more on realism and the fear of death, but its total lack of the supernatural puts it in last place. Nightcrawlers had a strong sense of the supernatural, and there was great fear and death, but no constant horror that prevailed throughout. The Raft included all three aspects of dark fantasy in perfect balance, and that is why it was number one on my list. 

Dialogue Exercise with Narrative and Action

Dialogue Exercise
Owen Neuburger
Conor Doyle

Cree slowly turned her shopping cart around a display of Chef Boyardee, and into the frozen foods isle. She putted lazily down the isle, window shopping for frozen pizza, occasionally stopping to wipe off some condensation to read a label. She selected a brand, and dropped the box into her cart. As she closed the door, she looked down the aisle and saw her old friend Serena scrutinizing the nutrition facts on the back of a low fat ice cream.
“Serena?” Cree asked cautiously.
“Cree!” Serena answered in delight. “It’s been so long!”
Although Serena’s initial greeting was warm and inviting, she could not help but notice how much more weight her once thin and graceful high school friend had now put on.
“I know. How’s your family? How’s William?” Cree inquired.
“They’re good. We’ve had some minor problems but I’ll tell you about it in a bit, I want to know how you’re doing too.” Serena responded. Though she seemed happy enough, Cree noticed that her smile faded slightly when she spoke.
“I’m great, Ted is fine and so is Sonny. He’s the goalie on the school soccer team, and I’m so proud of him. Faith is having a tough time with high school, but I think she’s getting better now that it has been a few weeks,” Cree said.
“Good, good. My girls are doing well, but they are having some trouble making friends; they’re just not getting along people as well as they used to. William keeps saying it’s my fault for spoiling them, but he’s at work so much that he barely even knows them.”
“Aw, poor things, it can be so hard going through school without good friends. Cree said, thinking back to her early days in high school, when she had very similar problems. “How is William’s clinic doing?” She asked, changing the subject.
“Not too well actually,” Serena said, suddenly with a far off look in her eyes. “His business was going well at first, but lately it’s gone downhill, now that the new hospital emergency room opened up. God, he has been so depressed by it and when he comes home he’s angry and shuts us out.”
“I’m so sorry. I know it can be tough when a husband doesn’t see it your way,” Cree said as she thought back to how Ted hadn’t understood why Faith was having trouble in school.
“It’s ok; it’s not your fault. God, he just gets so angry. Lately he doesn’t get home till past 4 in the morning. He used to be home by 11:30. I think he’s going to a bar. He often gets home drunk, shoving us around and yelling and crying at the same time. I can’t go on like this. Two weeks ago he full on hit me across the face. I’m just scared the girls will find out, or he’ll target them,” Said Serena, exasperated.
“Well have you called the cops yet?” Cree asked. Before Serena could respond, there was a deep rumble, coming from nowhere in particular. Both women looked around for a moment, the lights flickered for a moment, and went out. In the pitch black of the windowless supermarket, both women began stumbling blindly toward where they thought the exit to be. They were quickly separated from each other by running shoppers and the blackness, and separately exited the supermarket and went home.

Pan's Labyrinth: A New Spin on a Fairy Tale

            A little girl who moves in with an evil stepfather and escapes into a world with fairies and magic seems like the stuff of a 6-year-old girl’s dream. A girl who travels through fascist Spain to live with a violent, merciless, and malicious military leader and is told that she is the Princess of the underworld by a peculiar faun, and must complete deadly and challenging tasks seems a little bit less like a chick flick and more like an action movie. Pan’s Labyrinth makes this jump expertly and creates a more realistic and in depth version of a Dark Fantasy, by using a brilliantly orchestrated mixture of a believable realistic plot and setting with a mysterious and magical fairy realm.

            Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) is a girl of approximately 12 years of age when she and her mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil), move to live with Ofelia’s vicious and cruel military stepfather, Captain Vidal (Sergi López). Ofelia encounters a fairy when they stop on their way to Vidal’s mill, which is turned into a makeshift fort. When she arrives, we meet Mercedes (Maribel Verdú), Vidal’s handmaid, and the Doctor (Álex Angulo), who are both rebels working under his nose. As Carmen draws closer and closer to giving birth, Ofelia wanders into the Labyrinth that lies next to the mill, and encounters a Faun, who tells her that she is really a Princess of the underworld.  To prove her royalty, she must complete three terrible tasks by the time the moon is full. As she starts to complete these tasks, and the threat of a rising rebellion becomes greater and greater at the mill, the plot gets slightly harder to understand, as things start to happen and come together quickly. A blending between reality and the other realm makes the plot less believable, but all scenes and actions help to progress the plot as smoothly as possible.

            The actors in this film were well cast and all seemed fully capable to play their parts well. Captain Vidal’s animosity and utter loss of sympathy for any creature beside himself was displayed perfectly by Sergi López. The director, Guillermo del Toro, was very smart to show no mercy whatsoever in this character, because it instinctively makes the viewer hate Vidal and view him as a monster. The only character that wasn’t represented as well as she should have been was Carmen. She was too complacent and seemingly not caring about what happened to Ofelia. Although she was pregnant, she seemed to disregard how Ofelia felt about Vidal, and she should have been able to see how much of a monster Vidal was and should have tried to protect Ofelia. Guillermo del Toro did a great job with this film overall. Although it was hard to get the full effect of the characters emotions by reading subtitles instead, especially in the more action packed or revealing scenes, the script was still easy to follow, and made sense, with no horribly awkward or confusing parts. There may have been some description lost in translation, for some Spanish words hold different meanings that are hard to express in English, especially their expletives, which do not line up with ours.

            The setting of the film was perfect. Having it set back in the latter years of World War II makes the film simpler, because evil can be represented by the political or military figures that were present during that time period. This also eliminates some of the skepticism and loss of wonder and mysteriousness that comes from modern media and information. Back then, fairy tales and magic could still be possibilities because the world was not as revealed as it is now. The old mill and woodland setting make the old Labyrinth look less out of place than it would have been in a suburban neighborhood or city. The eerie lullaby that Mercedes sings for Ofelia fits perfectly with the shadow and uncertainty that surrounds the other realm. Vidal’s military style songs that he listens to in the mornings when he gets ready for the day nicely emphasize his disciplined way of life.

            This film is extremely effective because it takes a story line that many people grew up with and brings it back to them in a more adult manor, using motifs like the fear of death. Guillermo uses blood to expand on this, like the bloody sheets when Carmen dies in childbirth, or the final scene where the only color visible is Ofelia’s blood as she lets it drip down on to the portal to the underworld. People would never expect to see these things in a child’s fairy tale, but realize when watching the film that these problems and motifs are the things that provide the chilling realistic effect of the movie and the characters involved. For instance, it would not be enough to just have Vidal grimace and look tough. To truly express his cruelty, scenes like the one with the two innocent hunters that he brutally murdered are needed to make the viewer really believe and fear the man. This film gave people who love dark fantasy and action something they had never quite seen before, and for that I give it 3 out 4 headless fairies.

Pan's Labyrinth

The movie takes place in fascist Spain during the latter years of World War II. The first scene shows us Ofelia, a young girl of about 12 years old, and her pregnant mother, Cameron, traveling together to live with her stepfather, Captain Vidal. They arrive at his mill, which is being used as a base camp for him and his soldiers as they fight the guerrilla rebels that oppose the dictator. We immediately see Vidal as a cruel, merciless, and disciplined military leader who uses fear to get what he wants. When Ofelia and her mother arrive, he seems only to care for the well being of his son that Cameron is carrying. On their way to the mill, Ofelia discovered a fairy, which in turn follows her. She becomes fascinated by it, and it leads her into the labyrinth, where a faun tells her she is actually Princess Moana of the underworld, and that she must complete three tasks by the full moon to return to her throne. Along with these challenges, Ofelia must also deal with Vidal's watchful eye, her pregnant mother's approaching labour, and her new lifestyle at the mill.

Conor's Top 12 Scifi Movies REVISED

Conor’s Top 12:

12. Wall-E

The funny little robot called Wall-E definitely has a place on my list. I was captivated by his adventures on the spaceship colony with Eva, and was very amused to see how several hundred years of having robots do everything for us turned humanity into a race of fat blobs attached to floating chairs. It is also a classic underdog story, for Wall-E, a simple trash compacting robot, singlehandedly changes the earth from being a trash heap by reminding a lazy bunch of humans that they can make a difference by cleaning up and taking care of the planet.

11. District 9

The coolest thing about this movie is how it puts aliens and humans together in a believable manner. The aliens, or “Prawns” as they are called in the film are segregated from humans because of their hideousness and gangster reputation. The film follows a reporter, who is transformed when he unknowingly infected himself with powerful alien technology. After escaping military testing with the help of an alien comrade, he gives the alien a chance to return to his home world with the promise that the alien will return and relieve the reporter from his mutated state. I loved the irony of how the reporter who went from exposing the aliens becomes one himself, and has to deal with the same discrimination that the other aliens had to take from him for years.

10. Hancock

In this spin on a superhero movie, our hero is far from beloved. His manner of saving people is extremely costly, lazy, and sometimes plain stupid. Hancock is at times an alcoholic, and the general public despises his arrogant and selfish attitude. To regain his honor and hero status, he must take the advice of a lowly businessman. The thing that draws me to this movie was that Hancock is not a flashy caped crusader; he’s just a regular guy. This version of a superhero is much more believable to me, which is something you can’t say about most other superheroes.

9. Iron Man

I loved this movie because it is an example of how one man alone can make such a huge difference in the world. Iron Man is a rich guy who had it all, and then nearly loses it in a near death experience, which reignites his passion. My favorite part is how he creates his own suit and flies it himself, free of military intervention to do what is morally right, not what is legal.

8. X-Men

 The concept of mutated humans with superpowers has captured my mind ever since I read one of my dad’s old comic books, and the movies provided great special effects and characters that were instant classics for me. In particular I liked Wolverine. When have retractable adamantium blades and instant regeneration ever been a bad thing?

7. Avatar

The thing that attracted me to this film was that it was set on a different planet, with eight-foot tall blue aliens. I think it would be awesome to be able to get into a machine that would transfer my mind into an alien body that could fly on strange beasts and dive from treetops. Another aspect about this film that set it apart from the others was the fact that the bad guys were human beings. In most stories, it is the aliens who want to scour Earth for all of her natural resources, but in this case it is us Earthlings who want to strip mine Pandora.

6. Star Trek

This movie came out recently, and proved to be extremely entertaining. I was very interested by the effect of the time paradox created when the Romulans killed Captain James T. Kirk’s father. It changed the course of his life, making him a more reckless as a child, and giving him and Spock a different relationship for the better part of the movie.

5. The Book of Eli

This post-apocalyptic film depicts earth about 40 years in the future after a nuclear war destroys the world as we know it today. Eli is a man who is one of the few people old enough to remember the world as it was, and is guided by the last Bible in existence. God blesses him, and the book seemingly gives him protection from his enemies, leading him to a refuge on Alcatraz Island. I have always like post-apocalyptic movies, and this provided a new perspective in which religion plays a large part, which I had never heard of before.

4. Terminator

The concept of a cyborg going back in time to murder a person who wasn’t even born yet seemed cool to me. It got even better when Arnold Schwarzenegger is the cyborg, armed with guns, intelligence, and of course, plenty of cheesy catchphrases. I really liked how Arnold ends up protecting the Connors in the second and third movies against enemy cyborgs and other threats. I thought the newest installment that came out in 2009 was a great addition to the series and I can’t wait for a conclusion.

3. Star Wars

Although this series was created some years before I was born, I went through a time in my life when everything I did could be related back to Luke and Vader battling it out on the Death Star. For me it was definitely the exotic aliens and lightsabers that provided the initial interest, and from the moment I finished my first Star Wars movie, I realized that my life would not be the same without the series.

 2. The Matrix

The Matrix is an incredible movie because it suggests the theory that all life as we know it is simply an illusion created for us by machines. In the movie the only way to escape the Matrix is to be freed by the people who have escaped the machines and are living underground in a city called Zion. The coolest thing of all about the movie was by far the bullet-dodging hero, Neo, who masters the Matrix. My brothers and I spent days trying to imitate him after we watched the movie for the first time.

1. The Lord Of The Rings

Any fantasy movie or novel that takes place in another realm where Orcs, Elves, Hobbits and many more fantastic creatures are constantly at war against a seemingly invincible enemy pretty much encompasses all things that a guy of any age loves. What makes this movie particularly good is the fact that it has great special effects, superb acting, and most importantly sticks almost completely to the novels it is based on.

Dialogue Excercise

Dialogue Exercise

Owen Neuburger

Conor Doyle

Cree: Serena, Serena?

Serena: Cree! It’s been so long.

Cree: I know, how’s your family, how’s William?

Serena: They’re good, we have some minor problems but I’ll tell you about it in a bit, I want to know how you’re doing too.

Cree: I’m good, Ted is fine and so is Sonny, he’s the goalie on the soccer team, I’m so proud of him. Faith is having a tough time with high school, but I think she’s getting better.

Serena: Good, good. My girls are doing well, but they are having some trouble making friends. William keeps saying it’s my fault for spoiling them, but he’s at work so much that he barely even knows them.

Cree: Aw, poor things. How is William’s clinic doing?

Serena: Not too well actually. His business was going well at first, but lately it’s gone downhill, now that the new hospital emergency room opened up. God, he has been so depressed by it and when he comes home he’s angry and shuts us out.

Cree: I’m so sorry.

Serena: It’s ok; it’s not your fault. God, he just gets so angry. Lately he doesn’t get home till past 4 in the morning. He used to be home by 11:30. I think he’s going to a bar. He often gets home drunk, shoving us around and yelling and crying at the same time. I can’t go on like this. Two weeks ago he full on hit me across the face. I’m just scared the girls will find out, or he’ll target them.

Cree: Well perhaps you could tell someone who could do something about it, like an authority maybe?

Serena: No I couldn’t do that, I like William but just lately he’s been getting pretty crazy and unpredictable. I don’t trust him as much anymore though.

Cree: I’m sorry to hear that. I guess if you don’t want to do anything about it you’ll just have to deal with it.

Serena: sigh I guess so, what about Ted is he doing well?

Cree: He’s doing great in fact; he just got a promotion at the phone company, so I was actually here shopping for the celebration dinner. I think it might also lift Faith’s spirits too since she’s been sad about school recently.

Serena: Oh that’s too bad, what’s the matter at school?

Cree: It’s just all the new problems that come along with High School.  I guess she’s not used to being the youngest again after being top dog at the middle school. She’s always had trouble with older girls; I think that she fights with them a lot. Or at least that’s what it seems like.

Serena: Well she’ll readjust sooner or later; it seems as if everyone does. And after awhile high school becomes fun!

Cree: Hah – you say that now but I’m sure that’s not what you thought when you were there.

Serena: Well my memory from then is a bit fuzzy it’s been a while.

Cree: Yeah I know, but with his new promotion, and it means he’s going to be gone a lot, and he’ll be home less on the weekends.

Serena: Well longer hours aren’t so bad are they?

Cree: Its more then that, business trips and not seeing the kids enough.  He coaches Sonny’s soccer team, but I’m afraid this promotion will put an end to that and I don’t want him to become disconnected from them.

Serena: Maybe with this promotion he’ll bring in more money, and you can improve other things to make up for his absence?

Cree: That’s always possible but you can’t buy a father, I just want him to be as involved with the kids as I am.

Serena: At least he’s making an effort. William didn’t even seem to care the both Meredith and Kris both failed Geometry for the second time.

Cree: That’s horrible!

Serena: As if that was the only problem I had with them. They’re just so out of control and they don’t respect me.

Cree: You’ve got to take charge and make them buckle down and work!

Serena: It’s so hard for me though! Whenever I ask them to do something they just scoff at me and go up to their rooms and listen to their Ipod’s or go on Facebook. They have no respect or sense of honor for anybody. Will just pushes it under the rug and seems to think that if he ignores it it’ll just go away.

Cree: You really need to check on them and make sure that they are working. Show them that it’s not ok to fail.

Serena: Do you think I should go in and talk with their teachers?

Cree: That’s what I would do.

Serena: I think that maybe their friends have something to do with it, too. The attitude was always there but Kris and Meredith always had decent grades until now. They both have older boyfriends on the football team, and I’ve heard some bad things about the parties they’ve been to.

Cree: I’ve heard about those parties too!

Serena: Does Faith ever go to those? From what you’ve told me it sounds like she wouldn’t.

Cree: No she doesn’t, I wouldn’t exactly call her the party type.

Serena: Well I guess she doesn’t take after her mother then, you went to EVERY party they threw!

Cree: Well maybe not partying all the time will lead to better things for her and perhaps she’ll focus on her education.

Serena: Yeah that’s what I really want for Kristen and Meredith, but they’re kids so what should I expect anyways?

Cree: I don’t think you can expect anything. But I have to go ive been chatting so long with you ive forgot to even shop!

Serena: Oh my, your right! Well I’ll see you later it was nice talking to you!

Cree: Nice seeing you, bye!

"The Ghost in the Cap'n Brown House"

Harriet Beecher Stowe brings up the idea that people are effected differently from believing and non-believing events that they did not have credible evidence provided for or did not witness first hand. Sam states that people who are more willing to believe often absorb more from stories, especially when it comes to the supernatural, and that those who do not believe often refuse to learn from the morals or mistakes that are depicted in these stories. After the quote he also says that "We hain't ben there, and can't say that there ain't no ghosts and sich; can we, now?". By saying this he provides an argument for both sides of the spectrum, non-believers and believers. This relates to the previous quote because Sam reveals that all people have the choice to believe, which really means that they have the choice to either disregard events without physical evidence, or take them into consideration and learn from them.

I agree with Harriet Beecher Stowe's idea about the believability of unexplained stories. I think that even the most fantastical stories can offer up wisdom in some form. The truth of a story becomes such a small factor when the events of the story affect most people that hear it, especially in "The Ghost in the Cap'n Brown House" because almost all of the townspeople interact with Cap'n Brown at some point or another, and the events of the story will certainly completely change their relations with him depending on whether or not they choose to believe the story.

Nothing in the Dark: An Example of Dark Fantasy

The episode of the Twilight zone called "Nothing in the Dark" is a perfect example of Dark Fantasy because it depicts horror, fear, and impending death. There is horror when the old lady realizes that the injured soldier is really "Mr. Death". She is horrified because he tricked he into letting him into her home. This also means that she will finally die and leave her beloved home. Fear is a constant throughout the show until the end. It is most prevalent when she first hears the policeman get shot and hears his cries for help. She is also incredibly scared when he touches her, thinking that he will cause her great pain or suffering. Impending death is really the theme of the episode, because death is literally upon her doorstep. He gets closer and closer to her as the show progresses, until he finally takes her life in the end. "Nothing in the Dark" is a great example of Dark Fantasy, for all elements are certainly easily found.

Setting Excersise

The smell of alcohol and sweat dominated the air in the confined space of the tour bus. Several unwashed, unconscious human forms were scattered about on the floor. Pizza boxes, chinese food containers, and plastic plates plastered the floor, among other objects that may have at one point contained some type of edible substance. The air was cold and dry, constantly being pumped in by the bus's air conditioning system. Everything felt stale or dirty to the touch, after being trapped in the small room for so many weeks. A few old guitars with broken and untuned strings lay in a corner, along with some splintered drum sticks. All clothing, either worn by a person, or strewn about, was smattered with sauce and food stains, and hadn't been cleaned in weeks. The bus was like a cell, isolated from the rest of the world.

Conor's Top 12 Scifi Movies of all time

Conor’s Top 12:

12. Wall-E

The funny little robot called Wall-E definitely has a place on my list. I was captivated by his adventures on the spaceship colony with Eva, and was very amused to see how several hundred years of having robots do everything for us turned humanity into a race of fat blobs attached to floating chairs. It is also a classic underdog story, for Wall-E, a simple trash compacting robot, singlehandedly changes the earth from being a trash heap by reminding a lazy bunch of humans that they can make a difference by cleaning up and taking care of the planet.

11. District 9

In my opinion the coolest thing about this movie is how it puts aliens and humans together in a believable manner. The aliens, or “Prawns” as they are called in the film are segregated from humans because of their hideousness and gangster reputation. The film follows a reporter, who is transformed by accidental influence from powerful alien technology. After escaping military testing with the help of an alien comrade, he gives the alien a chance to return to his home world with the promise that the alien will return and relieve the reporter from his mutated state.

10. Hancock

In this spin on a superhero movie, our hero is far from beloved. His manner of saving people is extremely costly, lazy, and sometimes plain stupid. Hancock is at times an alcoholic, and the general public despises his arrogant and selfish attitude. To regain his honor and hero status, he must take the advice of a lowly businessman. The thing that draws me to this movie was that Hancock is not a flashy caped crusader; he’s just a regular guy. This version of a superhero is much more believable to me, which is something you can’t say about most other superheroes.

9. Ironman

I loved this movie because it is such a classic. Ironman is a rich guy who had it all, and then nearly loses it in a near death experience, which reignites his passion. My favorite part is how he creates his own suit and flies it himself, free of military intervention to do what is morally right, not what is legal.

8. X-men

X-men is definitely one of my top 12. The concept of mutated humans with superpowers has captured my mind ever since I read one of my dad’s old comic books, and the movies provided great special effects and characters that were instant classics for me. In particular I liked Wolverine (when have retractable adamantium blades and instant regeneration ever been a bad thing?).

7. Avatar

The thing that attracted me to this film was that it was set on a different planet, with eight-foot tall blue aliens. I think it would be awesome to be able to get into a machine that would transfer my mind into an alien body that could fly on strange beasts and fall from treetops etc. Another aspect about this film that set it apart from the others was the fact that the bad guys were human beings. In most stories, it is the aliens who want to scour Earth for all of her natural resources, but in this case it is us Earthlings who want to strip mine Pandora.

6. Star Trek

This movie came out recently, and proved to be extremely entertaining. I used to watch some of the old Star Trek episodes, and I was very interested by the effect of the time paradox created when the Romulans killed Captain James T. Kirk’s father, and changed his life, making him a little more reckless as a child, and giving him and Spock an opposite relationship for the better part of the movie.

5. The Book of Eli

This post-apocalyptic film depicts earth about 40 years in the future after a nuclear war that destroys the world as we know it today. Eli is a man who is one of the few people old enough to remember the world as it was, and is guided by the last bible in existence. God blesses him, and the book seemingly gives him protection from his enemies, leading him to a refuge on Alcatraz Island. I have always like post-apocalyptic movies, and this provided a new twist I had never hear of before.

4. Terminator

The concept of a cyborg going back in time to murder a person who wasn’t even born yet seemed cool to me, and became even cooler with Arnold Schwarzenegger and his cheesy punch lines and use of guns and cars to hunt down Sarah Connor. I really liked how Arnold ends up protecting the Connors in the second and third movies against enemy cyborgs and other threats. I thought the newest installment that came out in 2009 was a great addition to the series and can’t wait for a conclusion.

3. Star Wars

Although this series was created some years before I was boring, I went through a time in my life when everything I did could be related back to Luke and Vader battling it out on the death star. For me it was definitely the exotic aliens and light sabers that provided the initial interest, and about 20 minutes into my first Star Wars movie, I realized that my life would not be the same had I not seen the series.

 2. The Matrix

The Matrix is an incredible movie because it suggests the theory that all life as we know it is simply an illusion created for us by machines. In the movie the only way to escape the matrix is to be freed by the people who have escaped the machines by living underground in a city called Zion. The coolest thing of all about the movie was by far the bullet dodging hero, Neo, who masters the matrix, and my brothers and I spent days trying to imitate him after we watched the movie for the first time.

1. The Lord Of The Rings

The Lord of The Rings is by far number one on my list. Any fantasy movie or novel that takes place in another realm where Orcs, Elves, Hobbits and many more fantastic creatures are constantly at war against a seemingly invincible enemy pretty much encompasses all things that a guy of any age loves. What makes this movie particularly good is the fact that it has great special effects, superb acting, and most importantly sticks almost completely to the novels it is based on.

My Sci Fi Blog Introduction

I think in this class we will be reading sci fi novels and reviewing them often comparing them to their film counterparts. I have no idea what type of posts that I will have on this blog.