Post #7 Silver Linings Playbook Trailer

Blog #6 Readicide

Gallagher's discussion in "Readicide" is very interesting and I believe that he brings up many valid ideas. One of the many questions that arises from his argument is whether or not genre fiction is "less worthy" than Literary Fiction, and therefore whether or not it should play a role in school. In my opinion, looking at things from a purely artistic standpoint, genre is fiction is less worthy in terms of skill and craft. Not to say that genre fiction writers are not talented; Dan Brown, Stephen King, Michael Crichton, etc. are genre writers and are still considered among many to be great. However, genre writing in general is more about storytelling talent than it is about writing talent; an important distinction to note. If schools want to teach their students how to be good writers, how to read and interpret skillful writing, and expose them to skillful writing in a general sense, then Literary Fiction should definitely be the focus.

Gallagher suggested as a possible solution to "Readicide" that schools should teach Literary and Genre Fiction is a 50/50 manner. I believe that Gallagher is correct in suggesting more Genre Fiction in school curriculums; however 50% seems to be heavy-handed. A 2/3 split in favor of Literary Fiction would be better in my mind because it would allow the focus of the learning to still be geared towards the more skilled and intelligent writing, and it would also prevent schools from having to entirely overhaul their current English curriculums. However, schools definitely need to be more inclusive of Genre Writing. As Mr. Coates said in class, can you actually name a school book that would be considered Genre Fiction? Something such as Lord of the Flies or Life of Pi probably could be considered Genre Fiction, although they both still contain many literary merits. The point is that when schools only incorporate the "proper tasting", "Thumbs up from the historians' literature, students are missing out on an entire part of the literary spectrum. By offering both Literary and Genre Fiction, schools can teach the sophisticated writing/reading crafts, but also provide students with the popular culture that is needed to thrive in the modern world.

Post #3

So far Silver Linings Playbook has been a very pleasant surprise. I thought that the book would be incredibly sappy, along the lines of a Nicholas Sparks novel, but so far it has been fun to read. The book's short chapters help to keep the story moving at a fast pace and the book is a quick read as a result. I really like Pat's character because he is dynamic and unpredictable in his actions. We know that he has been mentally damaged by events from his past so it makes his outbursts very surprising and melancholy, but it also makes his moments of happiness and morality really shine. Tiffany is an interesting character as well. We don't know much about her besides that she has psychiatric issues similar to Pat. There is something definitely "off" about her, but that also makes her character fun to read about. The reader can assume from the beginning that she will end up playing a larger role in Pat's life, but this makes her crude behaviors and straightforward attitude before her significance to Pat even more engaging. I'm about halfway though the book right now and I would give it a B rating.

Movie Adaptation of Silver Linings Playbook

The biggest challenge in adapting Silver Linings Playbook into a movie is that the adaptors would have to find a way to create or portray a single/main issue to the audience. The novel is more focused on Pat's day-to-day journeys and experiences after being released from a psychiatric institution, and thus lacks a central element of conflict to focus on (a common theme among most movies). Another challenge that a filmaker wold have in adapting Silver Linings Playbook is that all of the book is told from Pat's point of view, in a very personal and cerebral manner (think a milder form of Holden Caulfield). It might prove very daunting for a filmaker to accurately convey Pat's feelings and inner emotions while still maintaining outside action in the film. In order to make these challenges surmountable, the filmakers would need to take either Nikki (Pat's obsession) or Kenny G (Pat's Arch-Nemisis) and make them more central to the story. In the story both of these characters are intermittenly mentioned, however they are never consistent characters. By making them more consistent, the filmmakers could create a focal point for the audience to get hooked on. Also, be simply adding more dialouge, it would help bring out Pat's internal feeling and relay them to the audience.

One essential scene of Silver Linings Playbook is the dance competition towards the end of the book. Pat and Nikki dance together after countless hours of practice and the dance competition, and the success that comes from it, symbolize their coming together and moving on from their damaged pasts. It also serves as somewhat of a climax to the story (as far as action goes) so it definitely needs to be included.

Another essential scene would be the tailgating incident that occurs at the Giants v. Eagles football game. This is a great scene because it shows Pat in a happy environment, but when trouble is presented, it demonstrates just how much work Pat still needs to do on his road to recovery. The fight between Pat and the Giants fan shows off Pat's phisical strength as well as his vunerability, aspects that make him a dynamic and unique character.

Lastly, another scene that would be essential in a movie adaptation would be the opening scene showing Pat in the psychiatric institution. This is an important moment because it informs the audience that Pat is a damaged person, and is probably off-the-mark in some way. When Pat talks about his obsession with Nikki and his desire to get her back, it introduces the reader to Pat's persona.

When Pat and his brother are tailgating before an Eagles game and the meet up with Cliff's (Pat's Therapist) tailgating group. It is a fun scene and shows Pat bonding with normal people and enjoying himself, however it doesn't do much to advance the story. There are several football game scenes in the novel and this one is probably the least noteworthy, so cutting it may be wise to keep the story focused on more important scenes.

Another section of the book that should be cut would be all of the running and working out that Pat and Tiffany do when they first meet. The meet up together daily and run ten miles without ever saying anything to one another, and then Pat goes home and lifts for hours on his own. This demonstrates a strange bond developing between the two, but it is very repetitive and there are other scenes that could be shown to viewers that are more exciting.