On Wednesday, your first (of 3) major assignments is due: comparing and contrasting the conventions of three different journals. In terms of what is/n't a journal, as I stated in class, you can use your flexible discretion. If you can make a case that X is, in fact, a personal journal then, by all means, include it!
To determine the "conventions", think of the patterns, the surface-level features, or the ingredients of whatever text/document you're inspecting. Essentially, I want you to specifically describe the writer's decisions/"moves" and the overall significance/relevance towards journaling.
The reason why I'm asking us to complete this assignment is because I want us to see a wide(r) array of possibilities of what journals can be and what they can include.
Oh, wow, cool idea; I hadn't thought of that. I'd like to incorporate that into my stuff -- that's what I'm looking for.
To model what this assignment could look like, here's my analysis of the conventions in Heath Ledger's "Joker journal" -- the one he used to help himself get into "The Joker" character for the
The Dark Knight. Please excuse the graininess of the images.
The
pictures from Ledger's "Joker journal" offer insight into how an
actor/actress can use a journal to get into character. From the get-go,
the just somewhat trippy
cover -- an elephant and a young boy standing alone in an Alice
in Wonderland-tiled floor (when would
this happen in real life?) -- immediately creates an undertone for this
journal that, to me, seems to be equal parts innocent/sad.
It's innocent because it conjures up associations of a bright-eyed
child's fascination with (circus) animals, as well as the boy and the
elephant's close, trusting proximity to each another. The sadness comes
from my knowledge of the movie's content -- as a child, the Joker (that
is, the character in the Batman series) had his innocence destroyed by an
abusive father. Of course, context can/should play a significant role in
any analysis, and Ledger's post-filming overdose echoes the sadness and end of
innocence embodied within the cover. With all of these considerations in
mind, Ledger's journal is "pretty heavy" even before the audience
takes a glimpse at the first page.
It
looks like Ledger taped/glued images into his journal. There's a cut-out
from a Batman/Joker comic juxtaposed with the face of a whimsical-looking
clown. (For the record, I despise clowns.) On another page, there's
another comicbook cut-out and two "Joker" cards from a deck of cards.
On the adjacent page, there's a "Got Milk?" ad featuring the
evil, brutal antagonist from A Clockwork Orange. There's also a
photo from what I believe is a pre-filming makeup/dress rehearsal that allowed
him to see what he looked like. Lastly, there's a page titled "The
Hospital" -- which I have to believe is a direct reference to the
infamous hospital scene in the movie -- along with some scribbled notes that
might be about what he wants his Joker character to say or do in that
particular scene. What this all suggests to me is that Ledger was using
this journal as a centralized "homebase" to store possible
ideas/angles for his Joker character. In other words, it appears pretty
clear that he relied on this journal to think through his character development -- various
dimensions of clowns, different pop culture associations, and how he envisioned
this all taking shape.
***
Or something like that! As you can see, I wrote that in a relatively informal, conversation tone; if that approach will make this assignment any easier/cooler/useful for you, then rock it out. If you prefer to write in a more formal and academic tone, that's OK by me too. Again: this whole class is about you so use your discretion to make sense of it how you see fit.
Also, please don't forget to "wrap up" this assignment by finding out what kind of similarities and differences the journals have. I'm genuinely looking forward to reading your work. :)
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