Under The Skin

Under The Skin

by: Michel Faber

2000

"Welcome to The Bottom of The Food Chain"

Tagline from Komodo (1999)

One of my favourite action films from the 1990's is John Woo's Hard Target. It features an ever kicking mullet-adorned protagonist with a morally conservative disposition. Jean Claude Van Damme is employed financially (initially, before it gets "personal") by a concerned daughter seeking to find her homeless veteran father in a sordid New Orleans. A group of successful entrepreneurs recruit desperate "volunteers" to engage in "the most dangerous game" scenario where veterans become prey to affluent thrill seeking hunters, who aided by the group, kill them for sport. This scenario culminates symbolically early in the film bluntly as an arrow pierces the throat and dog collar of the daughter's father. Subsequently, Damme executes the members of the group in a rogue militaristic fashion which garners, arguably, satisfaction for the viewer.

Now you might say, "what does a film about man killing komodo dragons, and vigilante justice have to do with Under The Skin?" Well, a few things actually. 

I mention the film because it reminded me of Under The Skin in a number of thematic and political ways. I believe that Hard Target and Under the Skin operate on opposite ends of the political spectrum. Under The Skin is more akin to revered socialist texts such as Animal Farm (referenced by critics on the front cover sleeve) then revenge oriented narratives such as Hard Target. But they share the same motif of hunting humans for the enjoyment of the upper class. Isserly, our protagonist, careens down Scottish highways choosing desperate outcasts to be turned into food. Yes, the premise does sound otherworldly, somewhat horrific, and silly. Although, to the credit of Faber, he controls the slow release of information to the reader in a way where the events appear natural, and even common. 

Many stories employ a tactic where an ignorant character is introduced to the mechanization of a system by a privileged character. One of the more recent examples of this phenomena would be Cloud Atlas as Somni-451 is shown how the killing floor operates in her dystopic environment. Isserly, follows the same path as Somni-451 as she becomes more aware of the process of castrating and pinioning humans, to be butchered into food for her race. This narrative device invites the reader to slowly integrate themselves into the world of the novel, and it works well.

I have always felt the way to evaluate a political group, is to look closely at how they support their most vulnerable citizens. This includes young children, individuals with special needs, and the poor. Faber, I would argue, shares this position with me. Since Isserly sees the most marginalized people, without families or social connections, as prime prey. The reader and Isserly meet a wide range of people that reflect political shortcomings. As in, people who have fallen through the cracks of society, people who have become marginalized because they cannot find a available resources to help them stay connected to society (ie their job/family/social circle).  We are introduced to characters who have been put out of work because foreign investors have bought out factories only to outsource their workers which leads them to looking for work hundreds of miles away from their families, people with schizophrenia, directionless youth, and voolent aggressive people. These people are on the fringes of society. They are taken and killed and no one mourns or calls the police to issue a missing persons report. These men are fodder. Van Damne violently "corrects" these polical shortcomings in Hard Target. He stands up for the underprivileged and kills those who represent ones in power with impunity. Isserly employs a more reflective response to gross inequality. She begins to feel disillusioned by the tasks she is given to perform. She feels empathy for humans.

Man has strutted around imperiously with the notion that they are at the top of the food chain. Our connection to other animals is one of superiority. Or, at its most base, "they are here to be eaten." By introducing readers to a society that exhibits the same arrogance over humanity, we are forced to reconsider our relationship with animals and how we treat them. All of a sudden we are not on top anymore, and it's a humbling development in the book.

Now,  the political and social rhetoric of this novel is commendable, and reminds me of a few ambitious first novels. It's similar to Knowls' The Collector, McEwan's The Cement Garden and Bank's The Wasp Factory. These are all great books. Under the Skin, although similar, does not reach the ambitious heights of the aforementioned titles. Under The Skin fizzles out strongly as one can plainly see that Faber did not know how to end the novel. It induces a shrug worthy ambivalence that almost deflates the strong first three quarters. If he had stayed closer to Animal Farm and provided a similar ending, this would be a more confident and assured first.

Grade:

B

A Disaffection

A Disaffection

By: James Kelman

1989

What is the role of Males in education?

“I mean it fucking stinks, it’s rotten from the outside in and the inside fucking out. Every last fucking thing about it, it stinks. And what goes on in the classroom, it’s a load of dross. This is how I’m fucking chucking it. And all these wee weans Christ they think ye know everything, every last thing in the fucking universe – especially about how to change for good. I’ll tell ye something else, bastards people think lies are true and even when they know they’re no true they’ll say fuck all because the shitey fucking arse who’s telling the lie holds the position of power.”

James Kelman – A Disaffection

            The discussion of gender and its impact on education should  include an historical account of how males are perceived through a cultural lens. It is important to trace the lineage of how men are understood in the classroom in regards to knowledge production and distribution. De-gendering male teachers and the pedagogy they symbolize is paramount for understanding why gender is an important issue in education. De-gendering male teachers takes the form of seeing males in positions that are uncommon in learning. More specifically, working with very young children.

The word "education" can be attributed to a masculine, positivistic pedagogy, while women, in opposition, can be perceived to perform a nurturing role in human development.  If men are symbols of patriarchy in education, they are marked as purveyors of knowledge and power. What ramifications do these notions harbour for students? Is it impacting their learning in a positive or negative way? Do traditional symbols of masculinity and femininity in education negatively impact learning in children? Should these traditions be upset to provide balanced learning for children at a critical time in their formation of their own understanding of gender?

Joe Kinchloe’s article What We Call Knowledge is Complicated and Harbours Profound Consequences situates knowledge and its production by discussing procedures and guidelines that have been employed to create particular kinds of knowledge. He references standardized test driven curriculums that create learners that are dependent on their teachers for information. The delivery of information is from the teacher to the student, and the student, in turn, synthesizes the information, then demonstrates their mastery or proficiency of the subject by accepting the information as truth, and recounting the information verbatim on a test. This positivistic pedagogy is further employed by taking the recounted information and filtering it through a measurable system and assigning a grade that is supposed to reflect the quality of work submitted. Therefore, if this pedagogy thrives in a patriarchal institution such as school, male teachers become symbols of this positivistic pedagogy. They become responsible for the dissemination of information that engenders a student that is reliant on their teacher for praise, feedback and grades. Kinchloe continues the article by providing applicable suggestions for creating a learning environment that produces critical knowledge, where learners are responsible for their own development and are mindful of social justice.

“In the epistemologically mechanistic, test driven, standardized and scripted classrooms of the present era students learn that school is not connected to the world round them. They learn that there is nothing complex or problematic about knowledge – it is produced by faceless experts and it is our job as students to learn it.”

(Kinchloe, 12)

            The above quote recounts the positivistic pedagogy by creating a student that accepts knowledge without being critical of it. It is important to understand that the expert or holder of knowledge and power is indeed not faceless or genderless. While Kinchloe could be referring to a distant empirical body that communicates information through teachers, he omits references to gender and its implication of knowledge production. We as learner should critically examine knowledge as gendered to understand it implications of learning. The face or gender of knowledge is not blank or empty. It is the face of patriarchy and the symbol of man.

            Here it is important to state that patriarchy does not limit social transformation. Feminism has thrived in a patriarchal environment and positive social change has occurred in history. By understanding the implications of a patriarchal system one can be critical of its underpinnings which can engender social transformation. Teachers who employ a critical pedagogy in their work help to create critical learners who question traditional notions of knowledge. Women, in positions of authority upset the historical norms of gender in education. Men consequently disturb their roles as teachers by taking on the responsibility of human development of preschool children. Critical pedagogy should not be limited to school age and adult learners, but should be implemented with human development of preschool children. With higher numbers of men working with young children, with an articulated philosophy of education that is founded on critical pedagogy, young children will enter school questioning knowledge rather than accepting it as truth.

            A difficulty arises from this troubling of gender norms. How can males be attracted to this profession? Presently males are not visible in preschool environments. Women are perceived as being accepted in preschool professions. Pre-conceived gender norms have made the profession one where women are intended to belong. Subsequently, if women are allocated to this profession, men will not feel as through, according to critics such as Judith Butler (who argues that people need to feel that they belong in their jog/gender/race etc to be accepted in culture), that this is an unlivable vocation, where they will be encumbered by isolation, and discriminated against based on their gender. Men are meant to feel like they belong when teaching older children and adults where they employ a positivistic pedagogy. How can men be invited to feel as though they belong when working with all age groups?

Kinchloe discusses the ideas of “a literacy of power”, where particular textbooks and mandated curriculum undermine people’s best interests. Material in textbooks reinforces an empirical truth, not to be questioned by students. These textbooks are meant to be read and the information regurgitated and supported as they are tested on the material. Evidence of “power” is present in how textbooks are used every year to convey the same information, often taught in the same fashion. Continuing to teach the same knowledge (from the same textbook) annually assists in valuing the material as something that is essential and universal for all learners. In regards to attracting men to preschool environments, textbooks or journal articles should reflect a diverse population of educators. Showing men engaged with young children in a positive and nurturing way in photographs or anecdotes assists in helping men feel like they belong in a female dominated vocation. This is one way of presenting the occupation as accepting and inviting for men. Since there are so few men working in this field it is imperative to see them as visible, accepted and helpful.

Kelman’s quote above serves as part of a tirade from a Scottish male teacher. His character also serves as a symbol of the male teacher, one who embodies patriarchy and a positivistic pedagogy. He becomes annoyed, and there is evidence of that in his words above, while attempting to disrupt his traditional gender performance. He is frustrated by the universal pedagogy that is implemented in his school. He sees students every day that believe he is the foundation of knowledge, and since he is a teacher he must have an encyclopedic knowledge of everything conceivable. He feels conflicted by implementing a critical pedagogy to his students. His teaching strategies vary from having the children repeat aloud nonsense political conjecture and asking them forwardly why their families are considered poor. The protagonist is understandably frustrated when he is attempting to invite the children in this class to be critical of their everyday lives, but they still ask him to relay truths in politics and cultural theory. 

         Subsequently, he is coming to terms with the irritation of embodying the symbol of patriarchy. His response to his exasperation is quitting the profession. He no longer feels, as Butler argues, that he belongs. This turmoil is created because he perceives himself to be a failure as a teacher. He cannot de-gender the minds of his students, and have them begin to think critically as learners. This could be reflected in that his teacher education did not support a critical pedagogy and he was intended to continue to employ a positivistic approach to teaching. Perhaps where he might feel as though he belongs would be in teaching younger children. This way he can introduce pedagogy to young learners as reflective and arguable. He will have to clean up his language first.

This is one of the greatest novels I have ever read. Absolutely amazing.

Grade:

A+

Memento Mori

Memento Mori

By: Muriel Spark

1959

While I was making a formative assessment of this novel, around the mid way point, I thought my experience would be enhanced if I did not consider the people in this novel to be elderly. Alternately, I would think of the people as ageless, neither young or old. Needless to say this momentarily stifled my reading experience because it is fundamental to assess this novel based on two particular themes: age and mortality. The reason I wanted the characters to be ageless was a resistance to biological strata. I wanted to be critical of the dichotomy Spark was seemingly creating with her novel, assigning particular traits and dispositions to the aged in opposition to that of a younger generation. 

My initial examination then could be seen as a incomprehension of what Spark is intending to study with her novel. She is carefully and methodically employing suspense novel conventions a la Agatha Christie, where an event such as a murder consumes a number of characters, while the narrative explores the hidden or repressed lives of these characters while leading to a complex and plausible solution. Spark deliberately undermines these conventions. The novel begins as one character after another receives phone calls proclaiming, "remember that you will die." In a Christie novel this event would act as a catalyst propelling the narrative forward toward resolution. Spark, showcasing her enigmatic talent, uses this event to prompt a complicated interplay of deception, adultery, and secretive dealings in her characters. But as these exhumed stories are brought to the forefront, they do little to resolve the narrative. The characters become more interested in each other than who is sending them cryptic creepy messages. While the massages continue in the novel, and the characters seemingly want to solve the mystery, but they become increasingly distracted by their own memories and the behaviours of their inner circle.

So who is leaving these messages? The ambiguity of the caller(s) is intended (or arguably not intended) to be answered by the reader. So what conclusions have I come to? Well, each character hears a different voice stating these words in differing tones and inflection. The group of acquaintances pronounce these inconsistencies to be either accounted for by individual subjectivity on the part of each listener or some kind of devious conspiracy orchestrated by family, authority, or their own social circle. This complicated and arguably turgid digression from the identity of the caller discounts what I believe to be a quite simple answer. The caller is "death." Death is simply reminding each of the characters to remember that they will die so they can reflect on their past indiscretions and hopefully atoned for their deeds. 

This is the third Spark I have read from the list and so far it is my second favourite. It's a helpful worm that burrows into your conscious and assists you in organizing your own thoughts surrounding mortality. 

 Grade:

B+

The Reader

The Reader

By: Bernhard Schlink

1995

A few weeks ago I celebrated my 31st birthday. At that time I was trying to think of authors, film directors and characters in novels who share the same birthday. I tend to do this with novels. I am always interested to see what characters share birthdays with me and my loved ones. The only character that I could think of who was also born on October the 21st was Hanna, from the The Reader. Coincidences such as these help me to feel connected with works of fiction (and I am sure I am not in the minority here) and entreat me to read further. I did not have much trouble moving forward as I read this one in one sitting. 

This is a simple novel that has garnered praise from critics and has been celebrated with an adaption to film that has also received similar adoration. The simplicity of the novel is in its form, the terse prose details the relationship of a young boy and a much older female bus conductor. Their erotic relationship becomes troubled by miscommunication and miscomprehension as they continue to see each other and even take vacations together. There are times when Hanna is cross with Michael for seemingly no reason and there are times when Michael is confounded by her lack of communication and strange distancing. The reader begins to think this is due to the age difference between the two lovers as they are many years apart, and that the boy is simply infatuated to the point of disillusionment. This segment of the novel was wonderful, highlighting a taboo pairing which is morally questionable.

I will have to agree with most readers on Goodreads in saying that the remainder of the novel does not complement the first half. The story then tries to awkwardly create similarities between the relationship Micheal and Hanna had years ago with a trial where Hanna is accused of war crimes during WWII. The transition between these two segments undermines the strength of writing in the first half and almost derails the novel completely. The one saving element is the realization that Hanna is in fact illiterate. A device Schlink utilizes to add character to Hanna, who would rather plead guilty to war crimes than announce her illiteracy. It invites the reader to rethink the circumstances which led to miscommunication in the first half of the novel, where Hanna's pride becomes the reason for her odd behaviour. After this realization, the novel then becomes mired by this fact. Michael, as an older man, sends her audio recordings of poetry and other German literature to keep her company in prison. She then learns to read independently. If Schlink had saved this revelation until the end of the novel and continued to pile on awkward scenarios, this book would have been better.

Apart from Hanna sharing the same birthday as me, I found little to truly grasp unto with this novel. Sure its ethical ambiguity was compelling, but that became unnecessarily overblown with the Nuremberg trial like ending. 

Grade:

C-

Play It as It Lays

Play It as It Lays

By: Joan Didion

1970

Hollywood, where dreams go to die.

Breton Easton Ellis' Clay from Less than Zero found it difficult to merge into traffic on the highways surrounding his fictional arts college. On the other hand Didion's Maria feels drawn to the empty expanse of the freeway. One can see the connections between these two novels as they deal heavily with the confusion and expectations of youth. Ellis has cited Didion as a strong influence on his early work, and Play It as It Lays illuminates a vision of Hollywood as pitiless, materialistic, and shallow.

I was also interested in this novel because of the connection to another dark novel about Hollywood, Nathaniel West's The Day of The Locust. (I know it's not on the list, but in those early years I thought it was. I do not regret reading it at all.) Locust is a novel that explores the underworld of Hollywood parties where disparate and marginalized actors attempt to find exposure in an industry that easily swallows up naive and unguarded optimists. Play It as It Lays is another animal altogether. 

Maria is a semi-successful actress who is haunted by her mother's strange death which may or may not have been a suicide. The book is less concerned with the icky underbelly of Hollywood but more focused on attempts to manage fame and family, while preserving one's identity. Maria appears confused, withdrawn and sexually promiscuous and turns to prescription drugs and alcohol to deal with her pervading anxieties which only deepen her depression. This may incite pathos in some readers, but Didion is not looking for us to pity Maria, her function as a protagonist is to invite the reader to critically think about cultural and political issues surrounding feminism.

Maria's disposition is arguably correlated to her pregnancy and the abortion she is implored to endure. After her visit to a doctor who says the scraping of her uterus should be "music to her ears" she dreams of dead infants and consequently her body reacts horribly to the procedure. The novel is detailed with bloody placentas and ever flowing menstrual blood which  prompts Maria to rethink her family life, especially her young daughter who has been institutionalized for a mental disorder. Since Maria is surrounded by frivolous, often misogynous people, she cannot find an outlet for the emotional turmoil she is experiencing. She spends time on the phone with her ex/husband where she cannot express herself and often responds to his empty empathy with derision and disassociation. Furthermore, this 1960's Hollywood saw the beginning of rumour magazines that sought to bring the sordid lives of stars to public newsstands. While Maria has amorous relationships with two-bit actors, she steals cars and winds up in prison; her circle of "friends" know her every indiscretion, (because they are frequent readers) and criticize her for her actions. Strangely, the one piece of information that does not circulate to her friends is her abortion. Her circle is more centred on her reputation, rather then her emotional state and her body. 

Summatively, this novel really impacted me in a number of ways that made me critically examine notions of power. It reminded me of Foucault's concept of Biopower, which argues that power is exerted over the body by particular groups who hold power. Seeing as this novel is from 1970, it was written after the initial women's liberation movement, and the proliferation of "the pill." I believe Didion is reflecting on these historical moments with Maria's abortion and the way men force her to destroy her unborn child without taking into account her feelings and attachment. Maria feels powerless over her own body, and although culturally and socially she is supposed to be reclaiming her body, there are still forces that impede her empowerment. Didion, arguably, wants her readers to see that these historical moments for women are important and should be celebrated, and that people should remain focused on creating an environment which promotes equality, celebrating one's identity and the reclamation of women's bodies. A statement that should be always present in cultural politics, and continues to be a contentious issue to this date.

Grade:

A