My table group did our project on the play "For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls," and it so far is one of my favorite assignments from this class. Primarily, my liking of this project pertains to how funny I thought the play actually was. I was not expecting the play to be as crude as it was at parts but I mostly enjoyed the innuendoes that are not as easily spotted. For example, I found the line, "If some sailor misses his boat, that's no reason you have to put him up in your room, You're too big-hearted, son," especially funny (especially because I had to explain it to Tori.)
I liked the project itself because it made me look deeper into what the play meant and forced me to try to understand the main themes the dramatist was trying to convey. I agreed with the idea that society can create images of what people should be, in this case, the idea of the perfect "southern belle" or "functional family," and this became apparent with Amanda not being happy with her life and not always being able to compose herself in a perfect, lady-like fashion when frustrated. I think the play also touched on the idea that no family is perfect and it is unhealthy for society when families try to portray themselves that way. Although the Wingvalley family was a particularly over-dramatic family, it was so that the audience would understand the idea through rude comedy.
From a technical aspect, I appreciated the project because it allowed me to become familiar with new forms of internet composition, such as GoogleDocs, which I enjoy because I like to seize as many opportunities as I can to become more tech-savvy because I think it is a useful skill to have. I thought the media was easy to use and I am glad I can add it into my arsenal of computer knowledge.
My only complaint would be the short amount of time we got to work on the project, because I wanted to make a video of us acting out part of the play because it would have been funny, but no day in the week worked for all of us. Other than that, I greatly enjoyed the project.
-Bobby R.
Wow, nice review of the project. You really went into all aspects of it. We also read "For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls" and I enjoyed it for many of the same reasons you did. Some of the hidden inuendos and also the unexpextedess of the crudeness. It was funny how they set up the play as a sweet innocent "southern belle" then this woman ends up screaming about pornographic trash and dykes. It was a nice stray from the political corectness of everyday. Derek B.
ReplyDeleteAlthough my group did not study the same play, I too really enjoyed the one that we chose and the project that followed. "Time Flies" also had a lot of surprising innuendos that made it so much more humorous and fun to read. I feel like when I have fun reading something, I am much more willing to work on the project that follows. I think that this project was a great way to interact with our group in a way that was both fun and informative!
ReplyDelete-Audrey T.
Bobby, our table too read For whom the southern belle tolls and I especially loved it! Everyone thought of all the cruel aspects of it but I couldn't stop reading it because I thought it was just hilarious. Although I did take into account it had a very serious subject matter, the funny moments made me fall in love with this play.
ReplyDeleteKelli H.