Blog 4

This week I attended The Environmental Film Series at Loyola which showed a viewing of  “Chasing Coral”.  This documentary captures the disappearance of coral reefs which are dangerously spreading throughout our oceans today. In class this week we are reading “Tableau” by Countee Cullen, “Theology” by Paul Laurence Dunbar, and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley which share a common theme with the documentary. They focus on the importance of appreciating beauty to be something beyond appearance. Cullen relates this theme in “Tableau” to a friendship that is shared between someone who is black and someone who is white. While Dunbar uses satire to indicate the disparity between his sinful “neighbors” and himself. Finally in Frankenstein, Shelley creates a monster judged by his appearance rather than his character. It is easy to forget that coral reefs are living ecosystems. We oftentimes undervalue their significance to our world but “Chasing Coral” reminds us that their destruction leaves a catastrophic impact on our environment. We are taught that you should not undervalue the importance of living things this based on your own misconception.

In “Tableau”, Cullen creates a connection between two boys of different races. I researched that Cullen was an author in the early 1900’s and this shows his progressive mindset on racial equality at the time. Cullen uses incredible language to describe the fact that these boys walk in unison. He describes the daytime as “golden splendor” and the night time as “stable pride” to describe the beauty and fulfillment they have while walking together. “Chasing Coral” discusses the importance incorporating the value of aquatic life into our lifestyle. Like the two boys in “Tableau” we should also walk in unison with the ocean and its thriving life below.

In “Theology”, the speaker describes that he wishes to enter heaven and humorously notes that if there is no hell then his “neighbors” will have no place to go. I interpreted this as the speaker having a poor relationship with his friends and wishing ill on them as a result. He hopes that heaven is real for the sake of his soul and its longing to do good in the world.

In Frankenstein, Shelley creates what appears to be a horrendous beast-like creature who searches for meaning in his life. In the beginning of the novel, Frankenstein is terrified by his creation. The monster learns to find fulfillment in life by himself because his character is judged based only on his appearance. He is avoided and feared by all but we later learn that he has humanistic desires to learn and observe the behavior of others. Like Frankenstein learns about his monster, you should never undervalue living beings while remaining ignorant of them. In “Chasing Coral” we learn that marine life is extremely dependant on the sustainability of coral reefs. It is easy to ignore coral reefs because in many ways they remind us of rocks. But what some do not know is that they are better described as roots. We learn from the documentary that if coral is properly kept healthy it will never die. That is simply extraordinary and it is devastating to learn that these creatures are disappearing at an alarming rate. It is crucial that we learn to not underestimate the benefit of all living creatures both in Frankenstein's fantasy story and the real-life state of our ocean today.

Prior to writing this blog I hoped that the readings would relate well to The Environmental Film Series event I attended. I am pleased, though not surprised, to find numerous parallels between the readings and the documentary. It is incredible to think that such poems and such a famous novel like Frankenstein could share similar themes as a documentary about coral bleaching.  Regardless, they share the common message of valuing living things for more than their appearance and initial worth.