Stranger Than Fiction: Samsa & Samsara

Sticking with lit., I decided to read for Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. In the novella, a young salesman supporting his parents and sister becomes an insect. What is The Metamorphosis an allegory for? and what does it say about Kafka himself? The card I pulled was The Hierophant 5 I Confess On a very basic level, The Metamorphosis could be said

Stranger Than Fiction: A Rich & Stranger Than Fiction Reading

Returning to literature, I was thinking about studying The Tempest in grade 12. I remembered that many of the questions on quizzes were rather unoriginal, and thought it could be fun to revisit some of them with the AHT. Instead of writing too much about any one topic, I chose to answer in straightforward manner questions which i found

Stranger Than Fiction: Hitchcockian Scuttlebutt

It was somewhat humorously suggested to me that I should do a reading on the Marie Celeste, the ship that was found derelict off the coast of Africa in the late 19th Century. How many possibilities are there? The food was still warm on the plates when the crew from another ship came on board

Stranger Than Fiction: Citizen Kane

Thinking about how Vertigo has usurped Citizen Kane in many Best Film of All Time polls, I decided to pull 1 card to answer the question: What is “Rosebud”? The card I pulled was Death “Rosebud” is what Kane, at the beginning of Welles’ film, utters as he dies. A reporter, looking to find out what “Rosebud” means, sets out

Somewhere Over The Rainbow

I have sometimes wondered about the kidnapped boy Hank in The Man Who Knew Too Much – how did he fare after the film ended? and what did he grow up to be? The card I pulled was the 3 of Gems The Man Who Knew Too Much As interesting as a reading of the 2nd MWKTM made by the

Stranger Than Fiction: Rebecca

Today I chose to focus on the film Rebecca. Although Hitchcock himself claimed it wasn’t really a Hitchcock film, and producer David Selznick exercised much control of the film’s production, Hitchcock nevertheless learned many things from making Rebecca, notably: the inherent depths of female psychology and the value of exploiting it in film. At the pivotal moment

Stranger Than Fiction: The Birds

Returning to Hitchcock films, I decided to pull a card on the film The Birds. My question was one that has baffled audiences for decades: what was it that caused the birds to act the way they did? The card I pulled was The Devil 15 Shadow of a Doubt On the face of it, The Devil represents that

Stranger Than Fiction: A Hitchcockian Copperfield

Continuing with using the AHT to read for literary predicaments, I chose to pull cards for David Copperfield. card one: what would’ve become of David if he hadn’t run away from his nasty step-father’s factory in London for the security of his Aunt Betsy?card two: what happened to David because he did run away?card three: what is the underlying meaning behind David Copperfield? The first card

Stranger Than Fiction: But Mad North Northwest

Switch-hitting here, I decided to use the AHT to read for a non-Hitchcock plot. I chose Hamlet. Card one indicates what would happen if the ghost of Hamlet’s father hadn’t appeared and implored his son to seek revenge.Card two indicates what does happen to Hamlet as the play progresses.Card three indicates the overall meaning of the play. The first card

Stranger Than Fiction: Rear Window

Continuing with the idea of pulling cards to read for what happens to characters after a film ends, I decided to read for the characters of Rear Window. Jeff, the globe-trotting photographer, has ostensibly agreed to marry the park avenue model, Lisa. The first card I pulled was for Jeff, Judgment 20 The Man Who Knew Too