Chapter Annotations
by RJ Espinas / 074126 / II BS-Comtech
Introduction to the Chapter
Chapter 37 (Kino) is the mysterious climax of the novel because it is filled with odd characters with strange settings and events. Moreover, it is climatic because it is the chapter where Cayce finally meets the creator of the footage, who is Nora.
Kino, which is a german translation for cinema or film, is the chapter’s title because the whole section is directed at the footage itself and its creator.
visit this website for more translations: (German, Russian, English, etc.) [http://dictionary.reverso.net/]
Chapter Summary
The chapter started with Cayce Pollard inside the car that was sent by Stella. Cayce together with the driver stopped at a strange place which was described as, “Gray, distempered concrete. Cyrillic skater’s tags, their letters bulging in clumsy homage to New York and Los Angeles.” After leading Cayce outside the car, the driver led
Cayce to the anciently battered steel door, then into the stairs which had rope like railings, and finally into the kitchen which was bathed with red light. Inside the tenement kitchen, Cayce met Stella and they were left by the driver.
Stella then led Cayce to another room with tall, unwashed windows and with the view of “The Kremlin and the Duma”. Cayce looked and observed the unpainted and cracked walls and notices the complex chart located above which had a production that seemed unfinished. Stella then said, “Only the start of the work can be done here, of course.” After, discussing the work being done, Stella described what the place was before. She said that it was ‘squat’ and that people come to make parties and talk about freedom, art and things of the spirit. Then, Stella led Cayce to the room, which had a smooth and white door insubstantially looking against the scrabous plaster, to meet Nora who was said to be there when working and not there when not working.
Stella opened the door and signaled Cayce to enter. At first Cayce thought that the room was windowless. She did not know that the windows were painted black. She also quickly noticed the sole illumination inside the room. It was coming from the largest LCD Display she had ever seen. Upon seeing the unfinished footage, Cayce also saw Nora, who was intensely working. “A cursor like a bombsight whips across the image, locking on the corner of his mouth. Mouse-click. Zoom. Into image-grain. Some quick adjustment. Clicks. Out of zoom.” Nora looks like her sister, except that there were no scars. Her hair was long, dark and center-parted. Her eyes, dark. Her skin was smooth and white. Stella then asked Cayce to sit very gently and watch. She said, “You will not disturb her. You have come a long way. You must watch her work.”
Three hours have passed and Cayce was awed if she will ever be able to describe what she saw, even to Parkaboy. For Cayce was disturb with the scenes, made from mere scraps of video, in the footage. Like the boy whose life it seems, was bounded by the T-shaped city. She was also struck and she remembered the Claymore mine that killed her parents. The scenes and how the footage was made, simply justified what the creator has been through. For Nora was a victim of these brutal bombing attempts.
After watching the footage, Cayce cried and Stella accompanied her and made her feel better. Stella soaked a thick pad of gray paper toweling in the steam and tap and passes it to Cayce, who gently pressed it against her eyes. While taking care of Cayce, Stella explained how the place where they are, seem to give security and comfort. Stella then proceed and said how such works die with their artists and how she wished that Nora’s work be heard and be seen by others. Cayce and Stella then discussed the dangers of the footage, like the rich and powerful men going after them and the concept of commercialism coming into play which Stella and Nora’s uncle, who loves them so much and protects them from the enemies, was against.
Finally, Stella thanked Cayce for seeing the footage and Cayce assured that the work be concealed from others, especially from her company. She thanked Stella and kissed her in the cheek. Stella’s service offer was opted out and Cayce said, “Send him away, please. I need to walk. To feel the city. And I haven’t seen the Metro.”
Notes and Illustrations
Kino – Kino is a german word which when translated to english, means Film or Cinema.
Kino (software) – The free software is a GTK+-based non-linear digital video editor. The program supports many basic video editing and assembling tasks.
How the place looks like – The place where Stella and Nora were used to be squats. And now, it looks like an old, dirty and abandoned building which contains workstations and cube farms. The interior of the building is dark and dirty with unpainted walls. The railings of the stairs looks unsafe anymore because of their rope-like feel. Little light shines through the black painted windows. A total opposite of what used to be a party place.
The Kremlin - The Moscow Kremlin usually referred to as simply The Kremlin, is a historic fortified complex at the heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River, Saint Basil's Cathedral, Red Square, and the Alexander Garden. It includes four palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin wall with Kremlin towers. The complex serves as the official residence of the president of Russia.
Duma – A place for councils and official assemblies (Looks like a big municipal or hall).
Squat – A Squat is a place where people from different places gather to party and share ideas and thoughts on art, freedom and things of the spirit.
Technology of the footage – The footage’s technology was of the high end. It was further emphasized with the use of LCD Display and Computers.
Claymore mine (M18A1 Claymore) – It is a directional anti-personnel mine which is used by the United States of America.
(A Short Video Description and Demonstration)
Commercialism – It means being popular and being exposed to the public.
Insights
Reading through the chapter, there were a lot of things which caught my attention. Some of which are the following:
How Ironic the Place where the Creator was Found.
The history and physical conditions of the place where Stella and Nora stayed, given the fact that the footage was quality made and controversial, was unexpected. The place which used to be ‘squats’, where people gather, share thoughts and party, looks dirty and abandoned.
Here is the lyrics of Alanis Morissette song, Ironic. The song obviously is about irony. This song is probably the best song for depicting how ironic the place was.
[http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/alanismorissette/ironic.html]
A Political View
I was bothered with the surroundings of the place. The place is located in a place surrounded by political buildings. The place had a view of the political buildings, The Kremlin and the Duma, which only shows that the footage and the people behind it really have an idea of what is going on, especially in the political aspects of life.
Here is an illustration of where Nora and Stella are. They are at the center(grey circle connected to the three rectangles) of things. They were surrounded by political buildings (which are the brown rectangles in the picture). Which shows that they are surrounded by politics. Justifying that the footage was influenced by politics.
[http://www.doc.mmu.ac.uk/RESEARCH/virtual-museum/Kahun/senet/ray/OverheadView.jpg]
The Changes in the Place
I was disturbed with the drastic changed that happened in the place. At first, it was ‘squat’ an open and party place where people would gather and share their endless ideas. But now, the physical look is the totally different and the formerly open space became enclosed. It now is now the opposite of what is was. It is an abandoned building with unpainted walls, makeshift cube farms and secret workstations.
Here is an example of great change. But instead of changing for the worst, it changed for the better.
[http://www.mtv.com/ontv/dyn/pimp_my_ride/series.jhtml] (MTV PIMP MY RIDE)
How Mysterious Nora was
My attention was captured with how Nora was described. According to the chapter she had no scars. But in fact, her scars were from within. Her physical scar is deeply embedded into her bones. And her mental scar can be pertained to her experience and trauma from the bombing attempts. Due to her experience, she can only express herself through the footage she was making.
Here is a website of top 10 mysterious people. Is Nora qualified to join the list?
[http://listverse.com/people/top-10-mysterious-people/]
Modern Technology for the Footage
I was amazed with how advanced and modernized the footage was made. From how ‘techi’ Nora creates the footage to the description of its massive illumination and morbid and striking scenes. No wonder it quickly became popular and controversial. It also struck me, how Cayce was affected by the footage. Due to the footages intense scenes and how 'techie' it was made, Cayce’s dreadful memories of her parents came to her.
Here is a study of how modern technology affects our us.
[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-565207/Modern-technology-changing-way-brains-work-says-neuroscientist.html]
Artists Die with their Works
I was awed with how Stella explained how artists together with their artists die without being known by others. This is true, in today’s world there are a lot of inventors and artists out there who prefer not to be known and publicized. For if they are known or if they are to be "commercialized", officials and powerful people may control them, in order to know more about the unknown, depriving the inventors and artists from their freedom and life.
Here is an example of an artist (Jose Rizal) who died because of his work. But fortunate enough, his work did not die. In fact, it is alive in the hearts of Filipinos.
[http://www.joserizal.ph/]
060258 COM12 G
Chapter 37 KINO
The old building
Interestingly enough the building is one that was once lived(squatted) by Stella and Nora. This building was old. It was the venue of meetings, sharing of ideas, poetry readings and the sort. Living in it was very dangerous. Because this was the type of venues which made activists, and revolutionist types of people. Actually living in it could mean jail time for the two girls though innocent. What’s amazing is that this building offered a sense of freedom for the people of that time.
The Feeling of unworthiness
Cayce Pollard’s main goal was to meet the maker of the film. Well, the time has come. Cayce was able to meet the maker, Nora. When Cayce entered the room, she felt a slight hesitance. She felt unworthy of talking to Nora. Rather she said that she did not want to bother Nora. She just wanted to watch. What’s amazing is that Cayce was able to do it for not only her sake, but for the sake of Parkaboy and the rest. When Cayce met Nora, she watched her work. As she watched Nora, she felt a sense of “aweness”. She shed tears. Not specifying whether the tears were of eye strain, of joy, of idolism. All of these are possible.
Protecting Uncle
In the last part of the chapter they talk about Stella and Nora’s uncle. The sisters are protected from the enemies of the uncle. They do not say who the uncle is or what he does, but the only thing that comes to mind is that their uncle must be a powerful man and the only occupation that comes to mind is the Mafia type of job. A powerful man with powerful friends is their uncle. This not only poses as a benefit, but this poses a lot of dangers as well.
