{"id":11567,"date":"2025-03-18T12:55:38","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T16:55:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/?page_id=11567"},"modified":"2025-03-20T10:46:53","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T14:46:53","slug":"scifimarch18","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/scifi2025\/scifimarch18\/","title":{"rendered":"March 18th: Zone One, \u201cSaturday\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Plan for the Day<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Suicide Prevention and Counseling Services<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Relate the Novel to (un)Common Experiences\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>COVID-19 Lockdown, &#8220;Social&#8221; Distancing, Vaccines, Facial coverings<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Media Representations of War\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=uchT2LH3eTY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&#8220;I love the smell of Napalm in the Morning&#8221;<\/a><\/strong> (<em>Apocalypse Now<\/em> [1979])<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/9FnO3igOkOk?t=16\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&#8220;You Can&#8217;t Handle the Truth&#8221;<\/a><\/strong> (<em>A Few Good Men<\/em> [1992])<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/scifi2025\/scifimarch13\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Finish Colson Whitehead\u2019s&nbsp;<em>Zone One<\/em>, &#8220;Friday&#8221;<\/a><\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Planned Obsolescence (p. 4)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Postmodern Architecture<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Colson Whitehead\u2019s&nbsp;<em>Zone One<\/em>, &#8220;Saturday,&#8221; pp. 129-271\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Sexuality in the Novel<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Viruses<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Apocalypse as moral hygiene (p. 153)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Social Darwinism<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>988 Suicide &amp; Crisis Lifeline and UNC Charlotte Resources<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Before discussing some of the heavier themes in the book, please know that your health (mental and physical) is extremely important to me, your family, and the University. If you are experiencing anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, or any other mental health concerns, I highly encourage you to see a professional to help. The University has resources for those who want them. Please know the&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/caps.charlotte.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Christine F. Price Center for Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;provides support for students. I do know they have after-hours phone counselors available by calling 704-687-0311. It\u2019s never too early or late to get help, so please use the resources available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally, you can dial 988 for the&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/988lifeline.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Suicide and Crisis Lifeline<\/a><\/strong>, which is available 24 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Suicide References in&nbsp;<em>Zone One<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Towards the end of the novel,&nbsp;<strong><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mark_Spitz\" target=\"_blank\">Mark Spitz<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;references people who took their own lives early in the outbreak. His Lieutenant also commits suicide (p. 251).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mark Spitz also refers to Mim as being \u201cthe healthiest relationship he ever had, and not because they had a lot in common\u201d (p. 241). On pages 246-247, Mim and Mark Spitz discuss hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why is the topic of suicide a major one towards the end of the novel?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>YA vs Adult Literature<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Many of you are familiar with&nbsp;<em>Harry Potter<\/em>,&nbsp;<em>Hunger Games<\/em>, and other YA series. What are some differences you notice between YA fiction and Zone One?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Planned Obsolescence<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Early in the novel Mark Spitz mention\u2019s his uncle\u2019s place and all the cool things he has (p. 4).&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dictionary.com\/browse\/planned-obsolescence?s=ts\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Planned obsolescence<\/strong><\/a>: the process of manufacturing goods that will eventually become outdated or \u201cworn out\u201d because of use, fashion, and\/or updates. The \u201cConclusion\u201d to my&nbsp;<em>Video Games and American Culture<\/em>&nbsp;book, asks \u201cHow does our unconscious acceptance of planned obsolescence contribute to the need to replace good technology for want of a newer model? And what of the environmental costs of more and more e-junk?\u201d (p. 135). If you need a visual, here are two from Charlotte:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/121\/2021\/11\/0429191201b-scaled.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Trash 1<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/121\/2021\/11\/0428191508-scaled.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Trash 2<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u201cSaturday\u201d<\/strong>&nbsp;(pp. 129-271)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The epigraph for \u201cSaturday,\u201d \u201cthe age demanded an image of its accelerated grimace,\u201d comes from Ezra Pound\u2019s&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/poets.org\/poem\/hugh-selwyn-mauberly-excerpt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cHugh Selwyn Mauberly.\u201d<\/a><\/strong> Alan Williamson analyzes this entire poem and claims,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>while &#8221;accelerated&#8221; is hardly the word, every reader must feel that this current style reflects something in the national ethos, especially perhaps among young people: a kind of gentle, bland hopelessness, a feeling that the culture either doesn&#8217;t generate, or offers no purchase to, the big emotions&#8211;whether of love or of resistance, rage&#8211;that make us sure of who we are.<br>Williamson, Alan. &#8220;Three Poets.&#8221; <em>The New York Times<\/em> (on the web), 10 Oct 1982: <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.nytimes.com\/www.nytimes.com\/books\/00\/07\/09\/specials\/johnson-incognito.html\">https:\/\/archive.nytimes.com\/www.nytimes.com\/books\/00\/07\/09\/specials\/johnson-incognito.html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Your turn&#8230;how far did you get?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Next Class<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s finish up <em>Zone One<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Plan for the Day 988 Suicide &amp; Crisis Lifeline and UNC Charlotte Resources Before discussing some of the heavier themes in the book, please know that your health (mental and physical) is extremely important to me, your family, and the University. If you are experiencing anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, or any other mental health concerns, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":598,"featured_media":0,"parent":11366,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-11567","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P2HAOx-30z","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/598"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11567"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11567\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11578,"href":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11567\/revisions\/11578"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}