Catcher in the Bunker?

Page 8 of Sheltered #1 written by Ed Brisson and
illustrated by Johnnie Christmas.

Over the past few weeks my students and I have been reading and analyzing that time honored high school classic of teen angst, The Catcher In the Rye by J. D. Salinger. Given its universal appeal to teens and immature teachers worldwide, the novel often results in some interesting and illuminating classroom conversation, and this past school year has been no different. One related source we also invested our time in together while reading and discussing the novel was the documentary Salinger (2013) written and directed by Shane Salerno. Among the takeaways students gained from the viewing was the impact Salinger's novel had on the minds of some less "mentally stable" fans who claimed Catcher's influence in their acts of violence. The hypothesis is that something in Catcher clicked with these slightly unhinged (or at the very least, "ajar") minds resulting in their need to act out violently.

This past weekend as I was re-reading the Image Comics series Sheltered, co-created by Ed Brisson and Johnnie Christmas, I came across a visual nod to Catcher In the Rye in the premiere issue. Bearing the subtitle A Pre-Apocalyptic Tale, Sheltered is a unique distant cousin of the popular zombie-Armageddon-survivalist comic book sub-genre. It is described on Image Comics' website thusly: "The men and women of Safe Haven have been preparing for any and all end-of-world scenarios for years. However, their bunkers, weapons, and training can't save them from the one threat they never could have expected: their own children."

Owing more than a little to William Golding's Lord of the Flies, violence eventually erupts in the secluded community, as teens are pitted against teens with one faction (the "bad guys") being lead by Lucas. As depicted in the page above from issue#1, a copy of Catcher is not-so-subtlety hidden among the computers and survival gear. While later cover imagery more overtly suggests the influences of Flies (check out issue 6's painted skulls on pikes motif below) it is the inclusion of Catcher at this early stage of the much larger story that peaked my interest. Is it intended to serve as an influence for Lucas, who *SPOILER* does violently--though with a cool attitude--lash out at the adults *END SPOILER* in his life setting up the kid versus kid narrative? If he is following Holden's lead in revolting against "phoniness" how is that reflected in this comic book world in which the "real" people are anticipating a hostile government incursion?

As I continue engaging more deeply with Sheltered during this second read-through of its to-date seven issue run, I'm curious to see the additional literary echoes that rattle around the pages.

The cover to Sheltered #6 by series co-creator and
artist Johnnie Christmas.

Gaming Retro Review: Beowulf (2007)

This is my first year teaching twelfth grade literature and as such my first pass through a number of selections as a teacher, rather than for purely entertainment purposes. I am so pleased to write that much of the literature I've reread has been both educational and entertaining, something which does not always seem to be the case. First up was the classic epic poem Beowulf.

Using the popular Seamus Heaney translation as the source document for our analysis was a plus, given its accessibility to the modern reader. One other unusual benefit was the both the fairly recent 2007 Beowulf film adaptation and the recent success of A Game of Thrones television show, both providing some initial context.

Just as Ecgtheow beget Beowulf, so did the film adaptation, directed by Robert Zemeckis (Forest Gump, Cast Away), beget a video game for the most popular gaming consoles of the time, including the XBOX 360. Both the movie and video game received generally poor reviews (and neither has characterization that--for my tastes--reflect that offered in Heaney's, or nay, translation), but this fact hasn't stopped many an English teacher from showing clips of the beautifully rendered Heorot Hall and Hrothgar's kingdom to assist in establishing the poem's setting for students.

The overall quality of the game, a used copy of which I purchased for $4.99 at a local video game store, is really not that open to debate, certainly not in the eyes of the market--it was much derided and inspired little support from gamers. Those students of mine who recall having received it at the tender age of ten years-old hold no fond memories of it, telling me simply, "it sucked." This did not stop me, however, from giving it a look-see to judge what, if anything, it brought to the "original" story, much as Zemeckis'  film played with quite a few accepted plot points. As well as altering enough of the character dynamics to make my showing it in class (beyond the ten minutes at the start), unnecessary and even counter-productive to an analysis of the themes and archetypes.

Beowulf: The Game's "chant challenges" are unique,
though ultimately frustrating.

Despite a fair degree of clunky game play which made even the most basic level of difficulty frustrating, to the game designer Ubisoft's credit, there is an attempt to utilize the full spectrum of X-BOX 360's controllers in a number of unique ways, most notably to "chant challenges" which require punching in long and short "tones" in rapid succession to prompt characters to a variety of actions such as moving barriers or rowing galleys.

Just as the movie fleshed out elements of the story in the interest of shaping the narrative to modern sensibilities, The Game takes advantage of the additional time to fill in spaces in certain key character relationships rather than simply retelling the story as paced in the the movie. In the game, Breca becomes much more of a foil early on and the challenges he and Beowulf face together increase. (Unfortunately, the actualization of these challenges--"giant" sand crabs the size of small dogs?--does reduce the sense of danger inherent in the the opposition.)

You are Beowulf!

There are also small cosmetic changes to the characters designs as presented in the film The Game was released to support. For example, Beowulf is now clothed while battling Grendel: a concession that would seem to have been made to allow for a broader potential market, though the increased amount of pixellated blood drawn from each sword slash would seem to be counter intuitive to that purpose. Many of Beowulf's "kills" are brutal (in the movie and game), and The Game earns it's M Rating based on those merits alone... which begs the question: why change that aspect of the game except that it might be more marketable to play as a murdering savage warrior who is fully clothed.

Much of my appreciation of Beowulf: The Game comes from both the cost incurred for the copy I bought ($4.99) and my interest in comparing and contrasting filmmaker Zemeckis's extended vision for the character with that of Heaney. Had I plopped down $50, seven years ago, my venom toward the game might be equal to that of reviewers of the day. Now, year's removed from the hype, and neck deep in analysis and class discussion, I can think of many more wasteful ways to drop a few dollars and wile away a few hours, than Beowulf: The Game.

Seen It: Painted Skin: The Resurrection (2012)

With nicer weather around the corner, my days of watching movies on weekends may soon be drawing to a close. Hoping to go out with something a little adventurous, I came across the oddly titled Painted Skin: The Resurrection (2012) on Netflix this morning and completely on a lark made the decision to check it out, based upon to the aesthetic similarities to the previously reviewed Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Secret Flame (2010).

Chinese poster (2012).

Prior to viewing, I must confess to having no idea what the title is meant to imply. Reportedly a sequel of sorts to 2008's Painted Skin, I suspect the title may have something to do with Chinese folklore (on which some of the characters and story are based), but to my Western mind it made little sense. I would also suspect that the seemingly unrelated title might limit the likelihood of Netflix trollers who happen to give the film a chance, which is unfortunate given its fairly strong entertainment value. Especially those who are leary of subtitles and Chinese cinema. The  meaning of the movie's title is clearer  at the conlcusion though the us of the descripteor word "Painted" seems unnecessarily off-putting.

Directed by Chinese director Wuershan, Painted Skin: The Resurrection is an action-adventure-romance starring a number of prominent Chinese actors, none of who have achieved as much name recognition in the U.S. Each is suitably physically beautiful or made up to be equally grotesque depending on the positive (or negative) nature of the character they play. The acting is superb and the the Fuedal Chinese world in whcih the action is set is very well realized. On the big screen this movie must have been beautiful.

The Princess (Wei Zhou) and the Warrior (Kun Chen) pass through one of the many beautiful vistas.

Given the significant roles played by spirits in the film, I was often reminded of Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke (1999) and Spirited Away (2001), two Japanese animated films that dealt with (although in an even more fantastic way) the connection between both the physical human world and a spirit realm. The influence of Miyazaki seems evident in some character designs--though I am not nearly fluent enough to assure anyone of that--these may just be common Eastern motifs of which I am unschooled. Personally, the most obvious practical similarity the design of Princess Mononoke and that of the primary antagonist's daughter, herself also part of a wolf clan.



Actress Xun Zhou as malevolent fox spirit Xiaowei.

Reminiscent as costume fantasies such the far more familiar Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Painted Skin: The Resurrection embraces the fantasy elements thought he occasional use of CGI, that rarely distracts from the story or performances. Some of the story beats are similar (and the true villain seems to come from just shy of left field), but there is enough here to keep any passing genre fan satisfied. There is also a fair degree of sensuality on display as both female leads, one a demon and the other a warrior princess, vie for the heart (literally--you'll see) of the same man.



Princess and Xiaowei.

Painted Skin: The Resurrection (2012) is streamed on Netflix, presented with subtitles. The original Painted Skin (2008) is available for free on Youtube for viewing, and listening to as well, if you happen to know Mandarin Chinese.