Strikes, Balls, and Bunts – Trial and Errors December 10, 2009

 

The first half of this blog greatly affected how I approached the second part of the assignment. For instance, my Family stories and my Entertainment had so much in common: the water, birthdays, mermaids, an underlying struggle between good and evil. I was so sure that finding my Image of Wide Scope would be so easy…Error #1.

 

When I was done with my Community post, I realized that David Yulee and the Civil War didn’t mesh as easily with my Family stories and Entertainment as my Family and Entertainment meshed with each other.Sure, the Homosassa River was present in my Community Post. The plantation needed the river because sugar cane grows along the riverbank, so it was the river that brought the family here in the first place. Also, when the four scouts went back to the Yulee’s home after the Union showed up, they had to escape from enemy soldiers by paddling down a narrow creek. However, despite the presence of water, I didn’t feel as if water was that powerful in the Community post.

 

Trial: Were do I go from here? Since all my original ideas were contingent on water being the “thing,” I had to go back and see what sticks out as an image and as a symbol. The Yulee Sugar Mill, for example, definitely stands out as an image. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really have any significance inside the story or symbolic meaning.  Then I thought about Yulee’s involvement with the development of the Florida railroad system. Could I connect the meaning of trains to a Family story and Entertainment?  

As I thought about what trains mean–travel, mobility, power, speed, strength–it seemed to me that trains fit my stories about water, mermaids, and birthdays much better than any water symbolism could fit the story of David Yulee.  Suddenly, I went from merely drifting down a river to charging at this assignment with all the power and force of a stream engine locomotive.

Revisiting Memories October 14, 2009

Once I knew that my Entertainment would be “The Little Mermaid” it was time to refine what memories I wanted to write about. The most obvious mermaid memories was my fourth birthday at Weeki Wachee Springs. I had countless memories from living in Florida, so close to the beach and rivers. One of my favorite stories to tell was going fishing for the first time and catching a shark with my Snoopy pole. One of my most vivid memories is from my fifth birthday, the day of the No-Name Storm. Just like that (*snap*) I had material for my micro-narratives.

Then it became the process of connection the memories to the entertainment, in order to craft a My Story. The mermaid connection was obvious. However, it wasn’t until I reread “The Little Mermaid” that I realized that birthdays were such a big part of the story. In “The Little Mermaid” birthdays were a right of passage. At fifteen, the mermaids were able to go above the sea, which was a huge deal. In my family, my mom always made our birthdays special. It was MY DAY.

Once I got on this mindset of connecting my three stories to “The Little Mermaid,” it changed everything. The assignment seemed so easy after that…which worried me a little bit.

Felt – Mermaids October 14, 2009

There is the obvious connection between My fourth birthday party watching the mermaid show and the story “The Little Mermaid”, but the connection goes deeper then that. When I saw the mermaids, I wanted to be a mermaid too and partake in all their fun. When the little mermaid saw all the people on the ship, she wanted to be apart of their world. The mermaid was a sea creature that always felt a strong connection to the land, where I am a land creature who has always been pulled towards the sea.

The Little Mermaid – Resolution October 12, 2009

“The culmination is the lighthouse toward which the dramatist steers his ship, and the resolution is the safe harbor towards which that lighthouse guides him. ” - The Tools of Screenwriting

Unfortunately, the prince married another. After the ceremony, the little princess lingered on deck and leaned over the edge. She sees her sisters rising out of the water. They said, “We have given our hair to the witch, that you may not die this morning. She has given us a knife. It is very sharp. Before the sun rises, you must plunge this knife into the heart of the prince. When his warm blood falls upon your feet, they will grow together again and form a fish’s tail, and you will once more be a mermaid and return to us to live out your three hundred years. But either he or you must die as the sun rises.”

However, the little mermaid could not kill the prince. She flung the knife into the water, and then threw herself from the ship into the sea. She began to feel her body dissolve into foam. However, as the sun’s rays feel unto the princess, she did not feel as though she were dying. The little mermaid saw that her body, now transparent, and that she was rising higher and higher out of the foam.

She was among the daughters of the air. One said, “A mermaid does not have an immortal soul, nor can she obtain one unless she winds the love of a human. Her eternal destiny depends on the power of another. ” The daughters of the air explained that, though they do not have immortal souls, they could earn one by doing good deeds for three hundred years.

The daughters of the air said, “You, little mermaid, have tried with your whole heart to do as we do, You have suffered and have endured and raised yourself by your good deeds. Now by striving for three hundred years in the same way, you too may obtain an immortal soul.”

The mermaid joined the daughters of the air, “After three hundred years, we shall gain immortal souls,” she said aloud.

The Little Mermaid – Conflict October 12, 2009

“Conflict is actually created not by histrionics and excessive behaviors but by a character wanting something that is difficult to get or achieve.” – The Tools of Screenwriting 

As stated in objective, what the little mermaid wants is clear: she wants to be with the prince. What makes her objective difficult to achieve is the simple fact that she is a mermaid and he is a human. 

The little mermaid goes to a sea witch, and the witch already knows what the princess wants. “You want to get rid of your fish’s tail and have two legs instead, like human beings on earth, so that the young prince will fall in love with you, and you may gain an immortal soul.”

While the sea witch is able to give the princess a potion to make her have two legs, nothing is ever too easy in fairytales…

Real Mermaids – Part 3 October 7, 2009

When we exited the theatre, there was a mermaid sitting on a rock. You could ask to take pictures with her.  I liked her pink tail best of all.

At the park, we went on a boat ride, looked at all kinds of exotic animals, and then we had lunch followed by cake and presents. All throughout the park there where signs that read “Happy Birthday Caitlin,” which was very exciting. I distinctly remember my birthday crown, which had a spot to place a sticker of your age.

One of my favorite gifts that I recieved that year were my “Beauty and the Beast” Barbie dolls. The Beast was actually a prince doll with a Beast costume you could make him wear, and Belle came with both her blue dress and gold ball gown. I loved those dolls like Andy loved Woody and Buzz.

All and all, it was a very memorable day. Years later, during the Christmas before my eighteenth birthday, in my stocking, Santa stuck a job application to be a Weeki Wachee mermaid. I guess he must have remembered when I wanted to be a mermaid professionally.

Real Mermaids – Part 2 October 7, 2009

At the park, the first thing I wanted to do was watch the Mermaid Show.  It was magical…or at least it was to a four-year-old girl.  We sat in a theatre, and where there should have been a stage, there was a viewing glass instead. On the opposite side of the glass were giant rocks, fishes, plants, and anything else you would expect to see in a natural Florida spring. The show began, and mermaids appeared. The women danced under the water so gracefully. They had long wands that they would breathe though.

The storyline followed the plot of “The Little Mermaid” pretty closely. A little mermaid longed to live above lands, saves a human prince, and asks a sea witch to give her legs. The prince and the little mermaid did some acting outside of the water, inside of the theatre. It is  in front of the glass, where they have to battle the sea witch. Everyone lived happily ever after.

I knew, when I grew-up, I was going to be a mermaid…a real mermaid.