Week 12 (part 2): Assessment (Reading: Bloodchild)

1. My first reaction to the text was to be filled with disgust. I was intrigued but I found a lot of the ideas presented repulsive. The relationship of Tilc and Terran seems wrong - unhealthy. I didn't like the way that humans had been forced to just give into an alien race. They had fled earth to escape other humans only to end up as not much more than animals.

This relationship is complicated by the fact that Gan and T'Gatoi seem to genuinely care about each other. But it's hard to accept this type of love as it functions in a way like Stalkhome Syndrome. However, what makes it really interesting is that Gan has grown up around Tilc kind his entire life. He has been desensitized to most aspects of living with an alien race in subserviency. 

As I read more I felt that the story was effective. I think that the reaction of disgust in much of Bloodchild's audience in a way proves its genius. An extreme emotional response that engages the audience is a very gratifying tool that was utilized by this author. I would prefer a story that evokes emotions that I consider negative over a narrative that causes me to feel little or nothing.

The story presents a lot of ideas that can encourage a variety of reactions from many different readers. In this way, it encourages mindful consumption and self-reflection. It was a brilliant narrative that involved complex and challenging relationships.

2. I found connections to my childhood by focusing on the way these circumstances affected the protagonist in relation to his young age. He's learning how to navigate the world he's living in. There are several characters that work as catalysts to force him to question what he has been taught to believe.

Being exposed to the Tilc so young, he was indoctrinated into acceptance of not only coexisting with Tilc but also the position of the human race. This relationship is heavily embedded in him from before he can remember. He can't see the evil in it until he is confronted with its gory side.

He only began to question what these things truly meant to him when an N'Tilc was brought into his house. Based on this he was forced to see what grim elements his future has in store for him. He also has to support his positive believes about the Tilc Terran relationship against his brother's negative ideas. After Gan sees what the grub looks like in a human, his brother challenges his blind allegiance to the Tilc. 

I connect this to my childhood as I feel in some ways I was indoctrinated to believe the religion of my parents. I had total faith in it as it was all I knew. While I'm not saying religion is a bad thing, I do think that it can become negative when children who are too young to know what to believe for themselves. 

In the story Gan advocates for sharing all information about the N'Tilc to be hidden from children so that they become desensitized to it. While I see the value in providing all information to the public so that everyone can make informed decisions, I also feel that to a level, this would make the Terran even more complacent.

The idea of controlling information and populations being indoctrinated to have beneficial beliefs is something that I think is very relevant to the modern time. An example of this is the way that history is taught from a biased standpoint. In this way, the story connects not only to me but all modern people.

3. If I were to make an adaptation of this short story I would make as a film. To make it a feature-length film I would add more depth to the world, maybe add the additional perspective of a different Terran family to introduce another dynamic. Maybe show a Terran family that is mistreated by Tilc. I would also focus more on the history of what happened between the 2 species to give a good background to the main narrative. Visually I would want the house and area around the house to appear like it exists on earth, but I would want to also show the outside areas as more alien. I would slowly reveal this so that it developed in a similar way to the short story.