Realities of Employment in SSTLS

Nettie Fine - Socioeconomics & Global Politics 
(SSTLS Page 11)

Nettie Fine is currently employed outside of Rubenstein's America, working as a contractor for the U.S. State Department.  Her position isn't entirely explained, but it can be assumed that she plays a fairly significant role in permitting  expatriate U.S. Citizens reentry into the country.  This position allows for greater awareness of the socioeconomic and global political issues facing America.  She is indirectly involved, as her knowledge stems from desk reports and international social media devices. Mrs. Fine is working for the American Government, however, is critical of their handling of international issues.  She stresses (to Lenny) the importance of good Credit - attainable only through good employment.  It is clear from this conversation that the American Economic System is collapsing, directly impacting employment, and the welfare of low-income/ low net-worth individuals. 

MaKay Watson - UNRC, OnionSkin
(SSTLS 211)

The value of material goods and personal image is really captured in this exchange between Lenny and Eunice.  While shopping in OnionSkin Lenny asks Eunice why she didn't ask the salesgirl (Watson) for a job.  Eunice replies: "Are you kidding? Do you know what kind of grades you have to have to work at UNRC? And she had the perfect body too.  A nice round butt, but a totally boyish top.  That's so hot right now." It is apparent that to work in high-end retail, higher education and academic excellence is required. Retail is seen as a regular course of study by the female twenty-somethings in this novel, and jobs in retail are much sought after.  Eunice would value the opportunity to work in such an environment, and resents Lenny's lack of material/retail world understanding. Her desire for such a position, and the high competition among individuals for the opportunity to work in Retail is indicative of a highly materialistic culture. 

Lenny Abramov - Staatling-Wapachung
(SSTLS 68)

Lenny is dependent upon his career for two particular reasons: 1. to attain his desired immortality, and 2. Joshie's affection and reassurance.  Regardless of this dependance, his role in the company seems a bit detached, and he treats his position as an entitlement upon his return from Rome. Lenny happily flew off to Europe, where he lived comfortably off Staatling-Wapachung funds for over a year.  As Howard Stu tells Lenny: "You did nothing. You fucked around." The benefit of Lenny's long-term relationship with Joshie is apparent when he is docked 239,000 yuan-pegged dollars - rather than fired from the company.  Lenny attempts to defend himself, and his expenses, while knowing full well that Stu's words were true. 

Super Sad True Love Story

Appropriating SSTLS for an internet (email) prank. 

M. Butterfly: Labyrinth of Gender, Eroticism, and Sex

M. Butterfly follows the story of a French diplomat who falls in love with a Chinese opera singer, only to find out some twenty years later, when the two stand trial for espionage, that his lover is actually a man. Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly serves as the backdrop for this fictionalized recreation.  David Hwang examines the racial/cultural and gender stereotypes and biases that cloud the lenses through which we perceive the relationships between men and women, East and West.  His intentions are always clear, however hidden between intricate layers of story-line. Song's biological identity is suggested throughout the play, yet the announcement of this truth during the trial is nonetheless shocking. The identity of Song is denied by the reader, as well as by Gillimard - a victim (and perpetrator) of of the collective patriarchal and Western psyches, the obstinate perpetuation of sexism and Orientalism. His ability to understand "the other" was significantly hindered by a self-inflicted (dangerous) obstruction of reality. An important overarching theme in this play is: fantasy vs. reality, a theme that often overshadows the important ideas of socially and culturally fabricated dichotomies that are used to uphold sexist and imperialistic views of the world. It is interesting to note, that the blunders of sexism and racism are highlighted in the misinformed actions of Gilimard. 

Song is first introduced in the stage directions of Act 1, scene 1: 

Upstage Song, who appears as a beautiful woman in traditional Chinese garb, dances a traditional piece from the Peking Opera, surrounded by the percussive clatter of Chinese music.  In first reading, this was simply a helpful direction in conceptualizing the scene. However, after re-reading the introduction of this character it seems to be the first suggestion (among many) of Song's biological sex.  The next important suggestion by the author is seen in the SCENE 2 dialogue:

WOMAN. Yes. Isn't it mad?

MAN 2. (Laughing) He says ... it was dark ... and she was very modest! (The trio break into laughter.)

MAN 1. So - what? He never touched her with his hands?

MAN 2. Perhaps he did, and simply misidentified the equipment. A compelling case for sex education in the schools. 

...

MAN 1. That's impossible! How could he not know?

MAN 2. Simple ignorance. 

MAN 1. For twenty years?

MAN 2. Time flies when you're being stupid. 

From this point forward, any minimal suggestions become amplified. The underlying biological truth is central to the play, and to understanding the implications of sexism and orientalism. As a central theme - leading both to the aforementioned, as well as to fantasy/ reality dichotomy. 

The Real M. Butterfly

Shi Pei Pu, Singer, Spy and ‘M. Butterfly,’ Dies at 70

• TWITTER
• LINKEDIN
• SIGN IN TO E-MAIL
• PRINT
• REPRINTS
• SHARE

By JOYCE WADLER

Published: July 1, 2009

Shi Pei Pu, a Beijing opera singer and spy whose sexually convoluted love affair with a French Embassy worker created one of the strangest cases in international espionage and was the inspiration for the Broadway show “M. Butterfly,” died in Paris on Tuesday.

Associated Press

Shi Pei Pu in the mid-1960s.

Related

The Diva Spy Who Loved a Trick, a Tall Tale, Himself (July 5, 2009)

His death was announced to Agence France-Presse by an aide.
Mr. Shi (pronounced Shuh), who was convicted of espionage in France in 1986 along with his lover, Bernard Boursicot, was believed to be 70. He had also been believed for years to be a woman, at least by Mr. Boursicot, who served time in prison after the affair and became a laughingstock in France.
Mr. Boursicot, who is 64 and has been living in a nursing home in France while recovering from a stroke, showed no sadness when he learned of Mr. Shi’s death in a telephone interview.
“I’m not surprised,” he said, in a tone that suggested weariness with a former lover’s theatrics. “It is a long time he has been sick. Now it’s over 40 years.”
Asked if he had any sadness at all, Mr. Boursicot said: “He did so many things against me that he had no pity for, I think it is stupid to play another game now and say I am sad. The plate is clean now. I am free.”
In the 1988 Broadway play and the 1993 film “M. Butterfly,” Bernard Boursicot was depicted as a high-ranking diplomat and Shi Pei Pu as a beautiful female opera singer who met in 1964. In fact, Mr. Boursicot was a 20-year-old high school dropout who had finagled a job as an accountant at the newly opened French Embassy in Beijing. His few sexual experiences had been with male schoolmates, and he was determined to fall in love with a woman, he wrote in his diary.
Shi Pei Pu was 26 when they met, delicate and charming. He lived as a man and taught Chinese to the diplomatic wives. He told Mr. Boursicot that he had been a singer and a librettist in the Beijing Opera. One perfect night in the Forbidden City Mr. Shi told Mr. Boursicot a story no romantic could resist: Mr. Shi said he was a woman who had been forced to go through life as a man, because her father required a son. A short time later, the men became lovers, although the sex, Mr. Boursicot would later say, was fast and furtive, always carried out in the dark.
When the affair was discovered by the Chinese authorities, Mr. Boursicot passed them French documents, first from the embassy in Beijing and later from his posting at the consulate in Ulan Bator, Mongolia.
Mr. Boursicot spent most of his life outside China and was romantically involved with men and women. On his rare visits to Shi Pei Pu, sexual contact was circumscribed. On one visit, Mr. Shi presented him with a 4-year-old boy, Shi Du Du, who Mr. Shi said was their son.
In 1982, Mr. Boursicot — then living openly with a male companion, Thierry Toulet — was able to arrange for Shi Pei Pu and Shi Du Du to live with him in Paris. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Boursicot and Shi Pei Pu were arrested. Mr. Shi first told the police he was a woman, but he admitted the truth to prison doctors, showing them how he hid his genitals.
Shi Du Du explained the mystery of where he came from in his statement to the police: he was from China’s Uighur minority, he said, and had been sold by his mother. “It was not that my mother did not love me,” he said. ”We were starving.”
Mr. Boursicot, hearing that Shi Pei Pu was a man and always had been, sliced his throat with a razor blade in prison.
In 1986, Mr. Shi and Mr. Boursicot received six-year sentences for espionage. They were pardoned a year later. Mr. Shi is survived by Shi Du Du, who lives in Paris and who, Mr. Boursicot said, has three young sons.
Although Mr. Boursicot and Mr. Shi occasionally spoke over the years, relations were strained. Mr. Boursicot said that they last spoke a few months ago and that Mr. Shi told him he still loved him.
Mr. Shi enjoyed the spotlight, performing in public as an opera singer, but disliked talking about his romance with Mr. Boursicot, particularly the sexual specifics.
“I used to fascinate both men and women,” he said in a rare interview in 1988. “What I was and what they were didn’t matter.”

More Articles in World »A version of this article appeared in print on July 2, 2009, on page A19 of the New York edition.

Good Country People

When reading Flannery O'Connor's "Good Country People," I was left wondering if which characters, if any, fell under this category.  Whenever "good country people" are defined in the text, it seems to be applied to the simple-minded and religious agrarian.  The traveling bible salesman/ con-man initially receives this distinction.  Manly Pointer is a deceptively polite and deceptively simple individual, who abuses the idealized "good country" image to intrude upon the family with (isolated) destructive consequences.  From the perspective of Hulga (a decidedly anti-GCP), Mrs. Hopewell is no more than a simple-minded mother, and the hired Mrs. Freeman is equally simple-minded and shrewd.  Hulga resents the existence of these simple women, who considered demographically, are "country people."  Mrs. Hopewell is isolated by this resentment, and exists much removed from the real world - living in a self-created one of illusion.  She holds pseudo-philosophical beliefs, and cliched maxims, both based upon her inventive "good-country" philosophy.  By her own standards, Mrs. Hopewell considers herself, and her surrounding community as "good country."  The daughters of Mrs. Freeman, although far removed from this idealized standard, are praised by Mrs. Hopewell as "two of the finest girls she knew."

The definition of  "good country people" seems to be agreed upon by the characters, however it remains questionable weather this is a positive or negative distinction.  Mrs. Hopewell praises the Freemans (and her decision to hire them) based upon this distinction: "The reason for her keeping them so long was that they were not trash. They were good country people." One could draw the conclusion that if there exist "good country people," "bad" country people must exist too.  Joy is the single character who voices a negative opinion of these simple individuals.  The underlying irony in the text is the absence of simplicity among these characters. Joy takes prides her education and worldly philosophical beliefs and actions, however, at the story's close, she demonstrates the naïvety expected  of "good country people."   

Twitterature: Tweets & Memes

PROS

I highly enjoyed this class "Twitterature" experiment.  It may not have been as productive as traditional in-class discussion, but it was an entertaining challenge nonetheless.  The specific challenges I had with this class format were:

1. learning to use the selected social networking sources
2. utilizing these sources to participate in viral class discussion 
3. applying class material in accordance with non-verbal limitations

I appreciated that the "Twitterature" experiment was both group and individually focused.  A hyperawareness was necessary to follow the streaming tweets, composing a response, and considering new discussion points.  The conversation was very fast, and at times hard to follow - especially for those of us new to tweeting, meme creating, and google hangout. I was more conscious of the thoughts/ ideas I was sharing, because they seemed more permanent than verbal ones contributed in class. 

CONS

I (among others) were a little slow in figuring out the selected social networking forms.  It was a fun learning experiment, however, by the end of class I still couldn't maneuver twitter, or generate memes as quickly as was necessary for keeping posts relevant and non-repetitive.  There were also the distractions that come with using a computer during class. Being new to twitter, meme generator, and google hangout, I did take time to explore the sites - which would've been better spent participating in the class discussion. 

OVERALL

I think there is some benefit in using social networking sources for academic and more intellectual conversations.  During this class, I paid attention to each individual 140 character comment, as all were necessary for our geographically dispersed class to hold a virtual conversation.  I've never experienced a class discussion quite like this, and I think that after a bit of practice (using the networking sites) it would be feasible to hold a constructive class discussion.  This class was a funny and enjoyable experience; there was much laughter at our social networking shortcomings throughout the viral conversation process.  It was interesting conversing online with such a large number of people. I appreciated the small group setting as well, which enabled a bit of verbal discussion (and twitter assistance).  As mentioned above, I believe this virtual class chat would be more successful with more social network savvy participants. 

*The google hangout was probably the most difficult to utilize for class discussion, but I thought it was the most enjoyable/ funniest part of class - and it was interesting to see where the rest of the class had chosen to locate themselves. 

The Sound & The Fury

Jason Compson, is introduced (in fragments of Benjy's and Quentin's introspective sections) as the least sympathetic of the Compson siblings.  While I don't disagree that he may exist as the ultimate arch-villain, it is important to note the circumstances which led Jason to become a misogynist, a racist, and an anti-semite by his section of the novel, April 6 1928.  As we enter his section, it is apparent that Jason as developed into a monetarily focused, hateful and bitter man.  He has no love for his family, the result of existing as a forgotten son, being denied chances and opportunities offered to his siblings, left as the last one to care for the mess of the Compson family. His chapter offers insight, and a perhaps more objective view on the information learned from the Benjy and Quentin chapters.  As this information is gained and reexamined, we come to understand Compson family dynamics and discord, and perhaps begin to justify the man Jason becomes. 

Throughout his life, Jason was the sole recipient of his mothers love.  This proved a burden, rather than a nurturing situation, as her affection was both overbearing and neglectful.  Jason's resentment for his siblings stems from unequal opportunities.  As the second youngest Compson, he observed the sacrifices taken to assure Quentin a place at Harvard.  Benjy's pasture was sold off; the money used for Quentin's year at school, and for Caddy's wedding to Herbert Head. This marriage would crumble as a result of her promiscuity - in turn, crumbling what Jason recognizes as his singular chance at opportunity.  Jason was not given the opportunity of college, and Quentin's suicide was seen as a selfish decision - a waste of both money and education.  Caddy's marriage provided Jason with a much needed advantage - a bank job, an opportunity lost when the marriage ended. Jason resents his sister, believing her promiscuity directly destroyed the only opportunity he had ever been given.  In accordance with the Compson brothers, Jason too, is preoccupied with Caddy. His obsession however is far more selfish that that of Benji or Quentin, and it is Caddy that he rages against. He resents Ms. Quentin - the namesake of a hate brother, and product of a shamed sister.  

His existence is is that of the Compson collective disappointment.  He is left as head of a failed family, left to carry on the shamed Compson name, and collective family disappointments of a brothers suicide, a sisters shame and disappearance, a father who drunk himself to death. His burdens don't end with heading a ruined family.  Jason is left with the burdens of a poisonous and suffocating other, a mentally incompetent brother, and Caddy's illegitimate child.  He continues to struggle with past perceived wrongs, and becomes obsessive about seeing the past in the present.  His discontent, be it present or bitter memories, are always focused upon the past - circling rage against Caddy, their father, and the Compson family history.