Chaos, Cosmos, and the Hare Beats the Tortoise

Today in class, we analyzed a painting titled "The Great Chain of Being." Initially Mr.Rivers asked us to simply react to the picture. In my groups initial reaction we noticed the obvious divide between what can best be described as Heaven and Hell. We also saw the six layers in between them which consist of plants < land animals < sea animals < birds < humans < angelic figures. After all of the groups shared their initial reactions, we were then tasked with developing a theme to fit the ideas of chaos and cosmos. My group said, "'The Great Chain of Being' represents cosmos by linking all of the parts of existence. The chain runs strong through seven layers of being, and unites them all. The only bit of chaos (Hell) is completely removed from the united chain of cosmos." We then once again came together as a class and shared our final thoughts on how the ancient painting reflected modern ideas of chaos and cosmos. 

After looking at the painting, Mr.Rivers read us a story called "The Rematch." It follows the Hare from "The Tortoise and the Hare" as he attempts to regain his dignity. After months of training and trying to convince the Tortoise to a rematch, the two faced off for a second time. This time the Hare completely destroyed the Hare, and the new message of the story became, "slow and steady wins the race, till truth and talent claim their place." We then had to find examples of each type of comedy throughout the story. The superiority came when people laugh at the Tortoise for losing what he really didn't deserve, the incongruity came when a small section of the otherwise kid friendly story began using expletives, and the relief theory came from the idea of taking a phrase that society has coined as fact and flipping it on its head.
Also, don't forget to catch up on any podcast reviews and reflections you have! Your final podcast will be recorded tomorrow (3/29)!

Outside of class, I recently watched the second season of The Santa Clarita Diet. I am planning on writing my Be Reel blog about it so I don't want to give away too much, but the show has an excellent use of chaos and cosmos. The characters are constantly finding themselves in chaotic situations that sometimes take two or three episodes to resolve. It is one of the few shows in recent memory that has had me laughing out loud through its inventive takes on existing tropes. I cannot recommend the show enough to anyone who has enjoyed learning about comedy in class.