Portal Power

Dr. Sexson informed us, the first day of class, of the four foundations of literature: Classical literature, Biblical literature, Mythical literature, and Children's literature. He also told us that texts that fall under the category of Children's literature open into myth and are displced into realism. Children's literature is a portal for us to venture into other worlds as there are portals in some texts like Alice and Wonderland, the beanstalk, the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and there are others. Portals show up in Phillip Pullman's book The Golden Compass as well, which is the first book in Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. And in the Subtle Knife many many portals show up and the kids can create and close portals or windows. I won't say any more in case people haven't read the books yet. I also remembered that portals show up in the movie Donnie Darko, which is hardly anything like children's literature, or maybe it is.

If Children's literature is displaced into realism then I tried to find the portals in my own world and life. Maybe the revolving doors that whirl you into the luxurious world of comfort and care in a ritzy hotel are a portal. Is any door a portal? I don't think so because some doors take you to places that you are all too familiar with. Disney World is very much another world to me and I suppose after making your way through the parking lot and through whatever gate at the entrance you have gone through the portal and into some wonderful land people could never really go to, but they can go to the simulation. A thing about Disney World: It is supposed to be like the real world. They have all these cultural villages there, like Morocco and France, but it is a magical amusement park only meant to be the real world. This would be reality displaced into fantasy, and not fantasy displaced into reality. It is, it would seem, at least from a postmodern perspective, that the parking lot outside of Disney World is the mystical world which is actually our disparaging reality. The harsh back-top, reflective exteriors of high rise buildings, and a sense of alienation from the world of our own reality whereas in the world of whimsy inside the park, we may all feel at home and maybe comfortable when in actuality we should all feel estranged from Snow White, Alcie, Cinderella, and even Pluto (Why can Goofy talk but Pluto can't?). So, if this is the case, which way does the portal transport you? Out of one wonderland and into another?


One last thing, I liked the comment in class made by Mr. Sexson, I think, about the "MYPORTAL" email thing. Just interesting.