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It's about the novel by Alan Hollinghurst, The Line of Beauty (2004), and the 3-part television mini-series of the same name made and broadcast by the BBC last summer.
The title is, "The Line of Beauty: Preparing a 'gay novel' for a mainstream television audience".
I'm handing it in tomorrow, so I'd appreciate comments (after the deadline I'm likely never to want to read it again!). It needs another round of proof-reading, which I plan to do myself before submitting it, but is otherwise complete.
Most of it is not specifically gay, but I do address the depiction of homosexuality in that programme and on British television in general (the latter briefly). It would be most of interest if you've read the book and seen the series, though just seeing the series might suffice if you ever intend to read the book; it discusses the differences between the two.
I remember a couple of people said they'd be interested a while back, but that's when it was much more general. Now it is very specific in what it covers (which is a good thing, because I could have written several books on homosexuality in recent British television and film, which is what I was originally looking to address).
If you're interested, MSN me or send me an email.
Thanks!
David
[Updated on: Wed, 17 January 2007 17:12] |
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It's 11017 words now. It was about 13000 when I said it was "complete" earlier today.
I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Good thing, in that it was far too long and I would probably have lost marks or at least annoyed the marker. Bad thing, in that I have a horrible feeling that I will come back tomorrow morning and find I cut out all the good bits ...
David
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There comes a point where one's done what one can, and there's a risk of making alterations just because one feels one "ought" to be able to improve it.
Sounds to me as though it's not a bad thing you have to hand it in (later today?). If you show even half the level of intelligent argument in your dissertation that you often show here, you should be fine !
"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. ... Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night devoid of stars." Martin Luther King
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The controversial thing I did (something I have never tried before, not even on a 500 word school essay) was to remove two sections that I wasn't very happy with, a total of about 1200 words.
I read them very critically, and they made no sense to me, so I read them again and started clarifying each sentence in turn until it did. Which I quickly realised was going to take hours.
Then I noticed that they did not come under the title I had set myself ("The Line of Beauty: Preparing a 'gay novel' for a mainstream television audience"). They applied to both the novel and the television programme, instead of one or the other. So I removed them, and, to my surprise, the section they were in didn't mind having two thirds of the material cut out.
I will, of course, be extremely careful to make sure it does actually work in the morning, and I'm not just drunk with tiredness.
I think I will try it next with my forum posts. If I'm lucky, I will be able to remove half the words in my posts without
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cossie
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On fire! |
Location: Exiled in North East Engl...
Registered: July 2003
Messages: 1699
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... I don't think I'm qualified to comment specifically, but when is it due for submission? I've found from my own experience and the experience of others that what matters most is having time to reflect on the finished article; ideally, time to be able to put it out of sight and, so far as possible, out of mind, for at least a couple of days. Re-reading after a gap almost always provides clearer insights into what needs expanding and what needs excising. Apologies if I'm trying to teach my grandmother to suck eggs - Hi, Gran!
For a' that an' a' that,
It's comin' yet for a' that,
That man tae man, the worrld o'er
Shall brithers be, for a' that.
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Thanks, Cossie. Your point is absolutely right -- I wrote the vast majority of it last term. I'm just trying to take it to pedantically complete. The law of diminishing returns applies, I think.
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cossie
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On fire! |
Location: Exiled in North East Engl...
Registered: July 2003
Messages: 1699
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... but I hope you've tried to avoid over-egging the pedantic pudding!
For a' that an' a' that,
It's comin' yet for a' that,
That man tae man, the worrld o'er
Shall brithers be, for a' that.
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I guess I've logged on far too late to be of any help, David. And in any case I am not sure that any comments I may have been able to make would have been of much value. Good luck!
J F R
The paradox has often been noted that the United States, founded in secularism, is now the most religiose country in Christendom, while England, with an established church headed by its constitutional monarch, is among the least. (Richard Dawkins, 2006)
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Thanks, JFR. I have finished, but they have pushed back the deadline because there is currently a huge power cut due to the stormy weather. No relief for me yet! (I am trying to post this from a mobile phone.)
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It may not be appropriate in this particular case, Deeej, but it is sometimes a good policy in this situation to put the text you have cut out in an appendix.
It does not form part of the body of the dissertation so does not contribute towards the word count and the marker is under no obligation to read it, but it does no harm at all to demonstrate that you have considered another angle to your topic, but then relegated it from the main body of the text for reasons that you can give.
You can never be marked down for something in an appendix and it demonstrates that you have done more work.
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I don't know if the department will let me correct (with a pencil) or replace the paper copy tomorrow morning before the deadline (which has been extended to noon tomorrow), but if it won't I think I will actually spend the next six months beating myself up -- possibly the rest of my life if I discover that I didn't do as well as I hoped!
I was skimming through a copy of the dissertation and I discovered that one of the footnotes in the submitted work currently reads:
>Since nostalgia is a key element of the Charles's story, it is not gratuitous within the context of the story.
instead of:
>Since nostalgia is a key element of Charles's story, it is not gratuitous within the context.
It just goes to show how attached one can become to minor details -- I am literally shaking with annoyance at myself.
David
[Updated on: Thu, 18 January 2007 22:57] |
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13796
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i suggest you ignore it. It does not seem to change the sense, does it? Itls just a little clumsy
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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The terrible thing is that I must have introduced the errors at some point today, since they are not in the version I sent to you.
I will go over tomorrow morning and ask the secretaries if I can substitute a page, or cross out the offending words with a pencil. I can't think of a reason they would say no, other than the minimal hassle it would cause them.
David
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cossie
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On fire! |
Location: Exiled in North East Engl...
Registered: July 2003
Messages: 1699
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I can understand how you feel, but in my experence tutors don't mark down for trivial matters like this - it looks like a cut-and-paste error, even if it isn't!
I think that your idea of taking in a reprinted page is sound; apart from anything else, it'll make YOU happier. I agree that it's difficult to see why there should be any problem, but even if there is I don't think that you'll be penalised in any way, except by your own frustration!
For a' that an' a' that,
It's comin' yet for a' that,
That man tae man, the worrld o'er
Shall brithers be, for a' that.
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Thanks, Cossie.
It's not the only trivial error; I've subsequently found about half a dozen. So I'm taking in a whole reprinted dissertation (all 36 pages) because it's simplest, and I'll throw myself upon the mercy of the departmental administrator, who's a friendly soul.
David
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13796
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And if they refuse, then press the "Ah well, I tried, and it's good anyway" button.
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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I thought I ought to add that I finally got it in at 9.45 yesterday morning. The department accepted the updated copy.
I have forbidden myself from reading it again until I'm not feeling quite so anxious about the result. I have read it through so many times that I caught myself redrafting paragraphs from memory a couple of times on the train yesterday evening.
Thanks for everyone's help.
David
[Updated on: Sat, 20 January 2007 14:01] |
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