WEEK 12 - ASSESSMENT ("Bloodchild" by Octavia Butler)
1. What is your reaction to the text you just read?
I found it strangely interesting… as in, I was disgusted by the concept of this centipede-like creature implanting eggs inside a human, and yet I couldn’t stop reading until I was finished. (For some odd reason, the gory and grotesque always fascinates me, especially if it involves some sort of underlying message/commentary on humanity itself. i.e, "Brave New World", "Atlas Shrugged"). In this case, Octavia Butler seems to have a common theme within all of her works, in that she has some sort of message or theme to convey about humanity in some way, shape, or form (through descript sci-fi, filled with monsters and fantastical creatures). For example, in “Lillith’s Brood”, she reflects on the concept that humanity has an instinctual drive towards corruption. In this short story, she seems to be commenting on the overall morale of humanity through the character of Gan. One of several siblings, Gan is the only one to witness the gruesome "surgery" that happens to Lomas. For an instant, I as the reader was able to stand in Gan's place and feel the utter disgust and horror that she felt watching such a process. It made me think that she wanted to rethink her morals and decide whether or not T'Gatoi's beliefs/actions are morally correct and virtuous. I found this interesting, because to a certain extent, all of humanity deals with this sort of questioning of beliefs. We believe one specific thing or follow a specific set of principles for a set amount of time, until we experience an event or "epiphany" of sorts that challenges that familiar way of life/thought. Sometimes it's for the worse, and sometimes it's for the better. In Gan's case, it would seem that she came to realize just how morally wrong and unethical T'Gatoi's actions were, and had her brothers Xuan Hoa and Qin not been at risk for implantation, she probably would have refused to be the host all-together.
2. What connections did you make? Discuss the elements of work with which you were able to connect.
As previously discussed/mentioned within my answer to the first question, in "Bloodchild", Octavia Butler seemed to be reflecting on the fact that events can happen that cause an individual to question or rethink their long-time beliefs/morals. Putting myself in Gan's shoes, I could personally empathize with her disgust towards T'Gatoi's actions. For example, growing up from childhood to adolescence; many are led to believe that hamburger is just a food in itself, not the product of what was once an animal. I know I was one of those who believed that (at least, until I was six or seven years old), and when I learned that I was essentially eating a dead cow, I was mortified, for lack of better words. It made me question everything I had come to believe up until that point, regarding food and where it came from, and what I was actually eating. Was there other food like this that was made from formerly living animals? Had I been eating other animals too, all this time? For a while, I refrained from eating any sort of meat or eggs because of that realization... but then I realized exactly how necessary it was, and went back to eating hamburger as if it were just any other kind of food. Similarly, Gan faces the same exact questioning of beliefs after witnessing the "surgery" of Lomas firsthand.
Also as previously discussed within my first answer, I made connections between Octavia Butler's "Lillith's Brood" and "BloodChild" in that both comment on some sort of aspect of humanity. They seem to be shining light on the more negative aspects, such as tendencies to lean towards corruption and frequent questioning of beliefs.
3. What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium? What medium would you use? What changes would you make?
I think that this short story would be best suited for a feature movie/film adaptation-- one of the sci-fi horror genre. I would change the pacing and order of the story however, by having it start out "in media res"-- that is, in the middle where (pardon my language) shit hits the fan. It would do viewers well to throw them right into the midst of the action-- in particular, Lomas's gruesome operation scene that Gan has to unfortunately witness. Then I would start where the short story actually began; Gan recounting her last childhood memories. In reorganizing the storytelling in such a way, the viewers would have a better chance of getting hooked without telling them exactly how it ends-- only slight foreshadowing, if that.
Being an avid fan or horror/thriller films, I know that many films use this method of "in media res" storytelling-- just a few being "Contracted", "The Lovely Bones", and "Insidious 2". Even non-horror films such as Disney's "The Emperor's New Groove" start the film in such a way-- and an effective one at that! It gets the viewers wanting more, wanting to find answers, and wanting to see how the character/s tackle the problem and [possibly] come up with a solution.
Aside from the technical side of things regarding storytelling, "Bloodchild" would be a perfect fit for the horror/thriller genre because of the powerful and grotesque imagery it contains (i.e. T'Gatoi herself, the Lomas's surgery scene, etc). There are so many opportunities for jumpscares and gore-- some of the essential elements of any horror medium, whether it's film, literature, audiobook, etc.
I found it strangely interesting… as in, I was disgusted by the concept of this centipede-like creature implanting eggs inside a human, and yet I couldn’t stop reading until I was finished. (For some odd reason, the gory and grotesque always fascinates me, especially if it involves some sort of underlying message/commentary on humanity itself. i.e, "Brave New World", "Atlas Shrugged"). In this case, Octavia Butler seems to have a common theme within all of her works, in that she has some sort of message or theme to convey about humanity in some way, shape, or form (through descript sci-fi, filled with monsters and fantastical creatures). For example, in “Lillith’s Brood”, she reflects on the concept that humanity has an instinctual drive towards corruption. In this short story, she seems to be commenting on the overall morale of humanity through the character of Gan. One of several siblings, Gan is the only one to witness the gruesome "surgery" that happens to Lomas. For an instant, I as the reader was able to stand in Gan's place and feel the utter disgust and horror that she felt watching such a process. It made me think that she wanted to rethink her morals and decide whether or not T'Gatoi's beliefs/actions are morally correct and virtuous. I found this interesting, because to a certain extent, all of humanity deals with this sort of questioning of beliefs. We believe one specific thing or follow a specific set of principles for a set amount of time, until we experience an event or "epiphany" of sorts that challenges that familiar way of life/thought. Sometimes it's for the worse, and sometimes it's for the better. In Gan's case, it would seem that she came to realize just how morally wrong and unethical T'Gatoi's actions were, and had her brothers Xuan Hoa and Qin not been at risk for implantation, she probably would have refused to be the host all-together.
2. What connections did you make? Discuss the elements of work with which you were able to connect.
As previously discussed/mentioned within my answer to the first question, in "Bloodchild", Octavia Butler seemed to be reflecting on the fact that events can happen that cause an individual to question or rethink their long-time beliefs/morals. Putting myself in Gan's shoes, I could personally empathize with her disgust towards T'Gatoi's actions. For example, growing up from childhood to adolescence; many are led to believe that hamburger is just a food in itself, not the product of what was once an animal. I know I was one of those who believed that (at least, until I was six or seven years old), and when I learned that I was essentially eating a dead cow, I was mortified, for lack of better words. It made me question everything I had come to believe up until that point, regarding food and where it came from, and what I was actually eating. Was there other food like this that was made from formerly living animals? Had I been eating other animals too, all this time? For a while, I refrained from eating any sort of meat or eggs because of that realization... but then I realized exactly how necessary it was, and went back to eating hamburger as if it were just any other kind of food. Similarly, Gan faces the same exact questioning of beliefs after witnessing the "surgery" of Lomas firsthand.
Also as previously discussed within my first answer, I made connections between Octavia Butler's "Lillith's Brood" and "BloodChild" in that both comment on some sort of aspect of humanity. They seem to be shining light on the more negative aspects, such as tendencies to lean towards corruption and frequent questioning of beliefs.
3. What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium? What medium would you use? What changes would you make?
I think that this short story would be best suited for a feature movie/film adaptation-- one of the sci-fi horror genre. I would change the pacing and order of the story however, by having it start out "in media res"-- that is, in the middle where (pardon my language) shit hits the fan. It would do viewers well to throw them right into the midst of the action-- in particular, Lomas's gruesome operation scene that Gan has to unfortunately witness. Then I would start where the short story actually began; Gan recounting her last childhood memories. In reorganizing the storytelling in such a way, the viewers would have a better chance of getting hooked without telling them exactly how it ends-- only slight foreshadowing, if that.
Being an avid fan or horror/thriller films, I know that many films use this method of "in media res" storytelling-- just a few being "Contracted", "The Lovely Bones", and "Insidious 2". Even non-horror films such as Disney's "The Emperor's New Groove" start the film in such a way-- and an effective one at that! It gets the viewers wanting more, wanting to find answers, and wanting to see how the character/s tackle the problem and [possibly] come up with a solution.
Aside from the technical side of things regarding storytelling, "Bloodchild" would be a perfect fit for the horror/thriller genre because of the powerful and grotesque imagery it contains (i.e. T'Gatoi herself, the Lomas's surgery scene, etc). There are so many opportunities for jumpscares and gore-- some of the essential elements of any horror medium, whether it's film, literature, audiobook, etc.
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