Introduction

There is a great wonder and mischief brought about when one comes across a blog entitled, "It's Not Playdoh!" While there is question and wonder, you must consider that there is so much more to a title and to words alike. Firstly, I will be the one to say that, no, I will not be discussing the variations of clay in comparison to the Playdoh brand. The reasoning for this blog then, is simply to make connections within the world of literary theory to that of the reality in which we live in. To explain this further, I will place an example (of which I constructed in Graduate Theory class) to give you a better idea and understanding of what exactly this blog was designed to accomplish.

Consider the video, "Doll on a music box" from the movie, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang:



From first glance, one might say that this is simply a performance in a movie. You, the audience, might consider this to be the truth also. But as a creative writer and student of literature, I must tell you that a number of readings can be taken from this simple five minute video. Dozens of interpretations and assumptions can be made about the intent of this scene. This is what theory does. But before I was given the actual video, I myself had to create an "ism" or rather, a theory about what I thought to be most important when approaching a text.

When analyzing a text, the underlying philosophies is what is considerably the most important thing aside from the figurative language and structure of composition. The true meaning of a text is what should be grasped, for philosophy makes literature a great work; it is there to expose a world outside the given boundaries to an almost-closed society. However, the imaginative aspect of the text should also be considered, for it is the imagination which allows for expansion, be it in the mind or the real world.

Note: To get technical, this would be a modernistic approach; looking at the importance of a text in terms to its servitude to society.

Shortly after constructing my "ism" I was then asked to apply it to "Doll on a music box." This is what my "ism" then concluded:

The dolls represent images of ourselves which in itself holds a meaning. Are we simply toys in a game of love? In life? Interestingly enough, the doll on a music box goes through routine (as we so often do in our society), implying that perhaps people can are toys functioning to produce the same things, when it is a common fact that all yearn for something greater. With the use of imagination (toys coming to life with feeling) the mind of the reader/audience should expand to look beyond the music box. Why would the author chose this particular metaphor without the intention to show us something greater?

This is just the tip of the ice burg when it comes to applying theory to a text. But this is the sort of thing which will be written here, for you all to read. In addition to the process, a magnitude of media will be used to help engage in the understanding of theory from a select number of theorists and periods.