Wensi Cai, one of the foremost poets of the "2010" generation, has created in her poem "ICU (for now)" a striking picture of the world as presented in the recent film, "Avatar". Through dramatic use of imagery and metaphor, Cai encapsulates the sweeping, gorgeous landscape of Pandora as well as providing a darker view of the Na'vi's way of life. The first reference to "Avatar" can be seen in the use of the letters, "ICU", to form the title of the poem. These letters represent both sides of the conflict over Pandora; for while Jake Sully and the Earthlings initially appear to consider only that "I C Unobtainium", Jake gradually grows to understand the Na'vi's consideration of nature and harmony, and as such, his changing view is represented in the Na'vi greeting, "I see you (insert hand signal)". That "ICU" also stands for the Earth term, "Intensive Care Unit", foreshadows the demise of Jake's human self, as well as the many deaths that occur throughout "Avatar". Similarly, the use of the bracketed aside "for now" creates a sense of doom, as seen in the sense of time running out for the Na'vi and Pandora. It can thus be seen that through the innovative use of the acronymn "ICU", reminiscent of internet slang such as "brb" and "lol", Cai has provided an immediate link for all of the "2010" generation to relate to, while creating a haunting, moving picture of the "Avatar" world.
Cai's affinity for alliteration and regularity in both rhythm and rhyme is demonstrated in the use of the alliterative "twirling and twisting...flowing then falling...sliced smooth", as well as the alternative line-rhyming. These techniques contribute to a sing-song, nursery-rhyme quality, contrasting with the
OH NO !
Shamefully I did not finish this commentary. However as the deadline has passed, I thought I would post up what I had done. Hopefully you may enjoy reading it.
I made a souffle with the help of Sam.
Sadly it doesn't look that good and is kind of deflated. It was exciting when it was puffy. It tasted fairly good, although I'm not sure what a souffle is supposed to taste like.
I FEEL VERY UNPRODUCTIVE.
Words to say less (in order to make vocabulary less repetitive and irritating): upsetting, distressing, oh dear, oh no, shocking, why, exciting, stressful, excellent, gosh.
3 comments:
Feeling unproductive? Mundane Solutions Inc. has the perfect remedy! Comply with the following instructions (failure to comply will result in instantaneous termination.)
1. Go outside
2. Find some grass. It shoud look like this: http://www.inkycircus.com/jargon/images/grass_by_conformity.jpg
3. Measure the length of every blade of grass inside a 1 square metre block of land. If you repeat one, start again. No tagging or marking of measured grass is allowed. We will be watching.
4. Every five seconds, re-measure the length of every blade of grass. Failure to completely measure the length of every blade of grass before the next measuring cycle will result in termination.
5. Plot the average and instaneous rate of change of grass growth between measurements. Failure to plot accurate results will result in termination.
6. Convince passerbys to join in your activity. One per measurement cycle. Their plots must be exactly adjacent to yours, but no grass may overlap from being rooted in one plot to occupying airspace in another. Failure to comply will result in termination.
7. Repeat. Sleep will result in termination. Eating will result in termination. Drinking wil result in termination. Breathing excess oxygen in quantities greater than that produced by the photosynthetic process of the grass will result in termination. Having another person complete even an iota of your measurement cycle will result in termination. We will be watching.
omg lol. your commentary is epic. it would be epic x 100 if you finished but wow. avatar. it would've never occurred to me. :D
Btw oj, I can't figure out whether your comment is spam or not. Blogger certainly thought it was, but after reading over it a few times, I'm starting to think you did actually write it.
Ahemm I actually didn't read anyone else's commentary so i think I'll go read them now
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