One-Eyed Sheep Lover

I mentioned in class yesterday during mine and Lydia's presentation that there is a lot of debate over whether or not Polyphemus is a sympathetic character. Because Odysseus is the hero of the story, it's a little hard for me to think of the cyclops who ate his crew as sympathetic. However, looking a little closer into it, I think I do have some sympathy for Polyphemus.

Polyphemus is really just a shepherd who tends to his flocks everyday and makes cheese. He minds his own business, until a crew of men he's never seen before show up in his cave indulging in his possessions. This is where judging the situation becomes difficult because Odysseus is used to hospitality wherever he goes, as it's a tradition and he expects basically everyone he meets to be nice, and thinks it's perfectly acceptable to help himself to whatever he wants in Polyphemus' cave. He's used to being treated well by strangers. However, Polyphemus doesn't believe in hospitality and is incredibly offended that Odysseus and his men would do such a thing. I don't think what Odysseus did here was completely wrong because he's used to hospitality, but it is rude. On the other hand, if I were Polyphemus, even knowing about the tradition of Greek hospitality, I think I would also be mad at the intruders. As a two-eyed, pint-sized human, I can't say I would have been so angry that I would eat Odysseus' men, but I can kind of understand Polyphemus' reasoning. 

I'm not sure if I completely pity the Cyclops or not. I initially saw him as simply the villain, but after considering what happened in Polyphemus' perspective, I definitely think there's more to the story than that. The different views on hospitality complicate the scenario, but overall I think that I do pity the Cyclops a little bit; Odysseus' actions don't make him seem like a perfect hero.

(if you have any thoughts on this please comment them, I would love to see different opinions!)

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From the Bat's Perspective

One thing I have written in my notes that I find to be true for all of the readings we've done so far is: 'Perspective skews judgement.' I think this is something that I tend to forget when watching an action movie. I often find myself questioning why the police is always so hellbent on catching the protagonist. They're doing your job for you, how will chasing after them help anyone? Slowing down the hero isn't going to help anything. 

Well I think putting things into perspective has changed that view. In "Easier Than Typing," it's pointed out that though we see Batman on screen as a superhero who has good morals and has little flaws, if these movies weren't created and Batman was running around Champaign, I would be a bit wary of his motives. A normal person can only appear to be perfect for so long. I think I would recognize the good aspects of Batman, but at the same time I would expect his perfection to fade as he gained prestige. If he can inspire fear in criminals, he could inspire fear in the public as a vigilante. We wouldn't assume he's perfect because we would see him as a person dressed like a bat. With more power, his morality could shift and be a threat to anyone, not just criminals. I so often associate heroism with perfection that it almost surprises me that a person can be both a hero or a villain 

Perspective definitely played a role in "Victory Lap," but in a different way. If I heard about things that Batman did, I would be inclined to think of him as a hero, but if I heard anything about Kyle Boot similar to the descriptions that Alison gave, hero is the last thing that would come to mind. Even as I was reading, I was trying to figure out how he would fit into the story. If I knew Kyle as just another Uni student, I probably wouldn't think anything was particularly off about him. But like I mentioned in class, when Saunders gives us insight on his thought processes, I went from thinking about him like just another person to almost worrying about him. He has so much emotion built up inside of him that at any time he could crack at any point in time, and if he were a classmate I would be worried that he would crack at something I said (and if his reaction would be anything like what he did to the kidnapper, I would definitely be terrified). It happens to occur at a more convenient time and it is this aspect of him that turns him into a hero. 

So I guess something I'll keep in mind throughout this class is that perspective skews judgement.