Riya - Thoughts on Readings for November 4th

Cage of Zeus does a great job at capturing the non-binary/intersex/non-heteronormative experience while also challenging the role of gender norms in society. Specifically through the perspective of Tei, (th)eir alienation was a result of having one physical (?) difference than other Rounds clashes with the security team members all projecting their gender expectations on Tei. It was an interesting monologue to follow. Additionally, I liked how Ueda specifically made the choice to translate "their" into "eir." She mentioned how the Japanese gender-neutral pronouns were not as common. Ueda's choice to use "eir" is a really clever way to rebel against this notion, and bring more attention to the gender nonconformity found in the story (and in real life). 

In Aoko Matusuda's stories, both main characters seem to share the same disdain/awe for tradition. In On High, the main character, or the ghost, dislikes how commercialized the castle is without real regard for the real people who lived there. In The Missing One, the main character or the story seems to briefly criticize passerbys for their love of the monorail yet ignorance of the castle (when describing her hanging out with her ex, he only seemed excited to see the monorail, not the castle).

In the Place of Shells, it was interesting witnessing the distance between the two characters. I really liked the lines about the masks and associating things with memories. People often put preassigned preconceptions on most things, and things people remember are clouded with nostalgia. It is hard to see the real truth behind something, and often times truth can be obscured by these masks. This is true when interacting with strangers, loved ones, and especially when interpreting historical events. 

In Self Reference Engine, I definitely was very confused. It felt like reading a bunch of observations; this feels like less of a story and more of a scientific observation or a journal entry. It really feels like it is linguistically dissecting the Japanese language.

In First Rate Materials, it was interesting to see such a difference in how people respect the dead. In this universe, respecting the dead looks like wearing them to prolong their usefulness or utility after they've passed. In our world, respecting the dead usually (for the most part) looks like either preserving their remains, or spreading it somewhere with meaning. It was interesting that the husband had such an adverse reaction to this (it felt like he was the most normal when it came to the conversation about wearing human remains). It's interesting to see how society can make something objectively grotesque (such as wearing human remains) into something that is generally accepted,