Reviews for The Paradox of Self-Amendment: A Study of Logic, Law, Omnipotence, and Change

The average rating for The Paradox of Self-Amendment: A Study of Logic, Law, Omnipotence, and Change based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-08-14 00:00:00 Jack Palelei Ingrid Fine's journey into the darkest layers of hell (and the video game inferno) starts when she makes the decision to go to law school. What's not to love about that premise? In turn, guiding her, protecting her, and all the while probing the purpose of her quest are two mysterious strangers - one of them being Mr. Death himself. While Mr. Death can be a bit tricky to pin down to some extent (since death itself is one of the true mysteries) his ethos seems to be one of anti-essentialism and leveling the playing field. He could be described as an agent of balance, instigator of new beginnings, and the bearer of light in darkness. He also may or may not be affiliated with a band of shamans who infiltrate dying institutions during thunderstorms and through crafty engineering attempt to save the good elements (the book's a bit ambiguous there, but if he isn't one of them, then there's at least a group like that operating at the same time that Ingrid Fine discovers and attempts to join). Throughout the graphic novel, a very simple question is posed repeatedly to Ingrid by Mr. Death: "Do you think this is okay?" By the end of the piece, it's clear that while the question is a simple one, it's one that is rarely asked and even less commonly acted on. And there's the rub . . . The journey begins when Ingrid, an undergraduate art student loses her faith in art (primarily because of the University's curriculum and the so-called artists they bring in to speak to the students). She decides to change her major to something more "practical". But what? Late one night, while walking through her University's eucalyptus forest in a state of anxiety and confusion, she says aloud "I don't think I'll ever become an artist with this degree." Those are in fact the magic words that open the portal. Wandering deeper into the darkness, she stumbles upon a tree unlike the others. The tree is made of some kind of metal and strange music emanates from deep within it. The music is intoxicating. Overcome by the melody, Ingrid passes out and when she comes to, finds that she's now enrolled in law school. Oops! Hence - the accidental law student. Somewhat amnesiac with only fragments floating back to her now and then, it appears that while in the woods that fateful night Ingrid had stumbled across an ancient rite of the ancestors (like Arthur Machen's Hill of Dreams, or maybe drawing down the moon) and now must go to the crossroads / through all of the deepest layers of hell in order to beat the devil at his game and thus earn her wings. To become a real artist she needs to be able to successfully navigate the darkness (a la Robert Johnson and even Dante himself). Luckily for Ingrid, Mr. Death is experienced in such matters and is there to help her and others through it. By day a law student, by night Ingrid is transported to the town's cemetery to learn the laws of the living dead in the school's Miskatonic-like shadow self. The poor girl never really sleeps! She thinks she's dreaming, but she isn't . . . Over coffee, Ingrid's best friend El confirms her suspicions that there's something wrong with the place. Ingrid asks El "Do you think this is okay?" El responds "I think we were told this was a place for special people. Gifted people. As they loaded us into a van and slipped the straitjackets on. Doom-tastic!" El's not far off from the truth . . . Ultimately Ingrid discovers that these spaces exist in the same place at the same time, i.e. that the law school is part of a vast necropolis itself. The necropolis is labyrinth like and hard to escape, with law school being near its heart or center. One of the images I most enjoyed was while Ingrid was in Mr. Death's class and a lightning storm outside illuminates the classroom and she sees for the first time that the school is just another large mausoleum in the cemetery. It's only during this storm that she realizes that her favorite professor is actually Death himself (because everyone wears a mask in the necropolis) but the lightning and crack of thunder jars her "waking" life and she sees things for what they are after that . . . (reminiscent of Borges Circular Ruins here with Mr. Death looking for a few good men /women to help him alter the legal scene). The reader was already aware of his true identity, since Mr. Death appears with a skeletal face on the frames where he addresses the reader directly with quips such as "And now I'll use the F-word: Fair," and "It's almost time for the ritual slaying of the elders." After discovering his true identity and that of the school, Ingrid is frightened at first. However, she quickly comes to understand that she had invoked him as a protector before coming to law school (in grad school round 1) while playing around with Burroughs' cut-up method. The frame for that one was cute. Ingrid was sitting on the floor of her one bedroom apartment, and frustrated with her professors thought: "How do I get all these of idiots to leave me alone? I know - I'll write a paper about Death. Because that freaks people out." And it worked! Much better than she ever could have hoped for, but definitely not as she'd anticipated . . . So that was pretty cool! :) But wait - maybe she invoked him successfully because she was Goth-ish in high school and kept a "death quotes" journal (and that all the while hidden under that innermost layer of "Not-Goth Goth" was something akin to a Perky + Dark Romantic Goth + Cabaret Goth?!!!! Oh yes!) So that could have been part of the invocation too. I mean besides the consistent hanging out in cemeteries. And then there was that whole dedicating herself to the Shamanic Path while at UC Sunnydale thing. Writing papers about the role of the spirit realm in illness and things like sleep paralysis. So hard to say what part of it worked exactly or if it was a combo of all of the above! But some version of it, just might get Mr. Death to be your protector too! It worked for Ingrid! Note -- Time is portrayed here in a slightly more complicated form than the standard law school hopeful might be prepared for, but it isn't too difficult to follow. Basically, Inferno is year one of law school and simultaneously all of law school and the first year and a half out of it. Purgatorio is both year two of law school and simultaneously after law school. Paradiso is both year three of law school and also some undefined time in the future after graduation. Year 1 - Inferno - Under Mr. Death's tutelage (an artist and former law student himself, now a mapmaker of limbo and beyond), Ingrid descends into the Underworld's dark belly. Once through the door, she manages to escaped being hacked to death by the Ax of Standards which frees students from their adherence to morals of any sort. However, the battle doesn't end there. She sits through class after class, having her soul being torn asunder by the Christopher Langdell/Karl Llewellyn case method and Socratic Inquisition. A dialectical process not unlike the process of separatio in the alchemist's search for the philosopher's stone (but note: the power here doesn't belong to the students . . . and he who controls the conflict controls the outcome). Hallowed, she's placed on a demonic conveyor belt. Too weak to fight, Mr. Death saves her just in time. Inferno Generally - Over the course of three years, Ingrid watches aghast as her classmates spontaneously combust, become black swan ballerinas, psychic vampires with a thirst for pain, or turn into corporate zombies. Some make the transformation after the very first exam. Others, who have managed to remain relatively intact (like have kept their souls) are so overburdened with debt and beaten down by the verbal lashings that they've lost the will to live. Those who didn't develop Stockholm Syndrome right off the bat are bathed in mystical The Fountain of Amnesia at graduation in order to ensure that the system as is perpetuates itself . . . and more undead are churned out constantly! Upon leaving law school, Legal Aid and similar positive outlets for the legal field have become nothing more than "rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic" because like Tinker Bell, if we don't believe in them, they die. Especially riveting were the post-law school images of "the enemies of art" (usurers and other tools of control) in one of the deepest layers of hell and their punishments. Here, Mr. Death tells Ingrid that "Art is the grandchild of God" [the line is straight out of Dante's work I believe.] Year 2 - Purgatorio - Ingrid repents of the vices she's accumulated while in law school - materialism and darker things. To do so, she constructs a sauna in her one bedroom apartment and sweats her vices out painfully. One at a time, they leave her body and appear before her as horrific visions of what she could have become. Bravely, she battles them in a tight black dress and killer heels (reminiscent of a Barry Reese - Violet Cambridge and Fiona Chapman combo). Spray painted on her bedroom wall, graffiti style, in many of the battle frames was the phrase "Bird of Hermes is my name, eating my feathers, so I stay tame . . ." (I wasn't entirely sure what that meant, but it's catchy so thought I'd mention it here!) Purgatorio Generally - Like Robert Crumb's Valerie the Vegetarian - Ingrid can't avoid the void. But, while stuck in this state of relative stasis, Ingrid persuades a good number of other accidentals not to go to law school. For the most part, people who don't know what else to do with their undergraduate degree or have otherwise lost their true path should NOT go to law school. Not because they aren't smart enough or can't be as competent as the next accidental attorney, but because the path is a dangerous and painful one . . . Those who are meant to be attorneys truly and are not accidental law students (a rare breed, like a unicorn), she encourages and implores to take up the public interest law torch. I think Grant Morrison's Animal Man (the Mr. Buddy Baker) makes an appearance here . . . or something akin to him at least. The advice she gives to accidentals who can relate to Arthur Machen's Hill of Dreams or The Great God Pan is more nuanced. For some, the hallowed walls of law school can be a place to tame the inner demon. But being a sacred space doesn't mean that in its current incarnation it's a good one. Without proper prior training and a good teacher, you may be rolling the die there. And after being escorted through it - Ingrid Fine can tell you that Inferno isn't pretty! --> So it's very important to understand the risks involved (like you can easily end up damned, broken, and definitely pretty broke). And please for the love of God, try to go for free or for cheap (unless you normally pay out of pocket at elite BDSM clubs gone wrong, in which case, knock yourself out)(Note: there's nothing wrong inherently with kink, only when it goes too far and there aren't any safety words! And in fact, sacred kink is critical to the ordeal path, but again we're looking at a Franken-institution that is taking the notion too far and isn't necessarily staffed by the right players). --> So -- before going Ingrid recommends that you do what she did and invoke a Mr. Death (or insert your favorite archangel or major arcana tarot card celeb here)(or maybe even Krazy Kat) diligently for awhile, possibly for years before . . . depends. Finally -- after all she's witnessed, Ingrid is relieved to find that she isn't meant to be an attorney at all, but rather a writer. Her mentor, Mr. Death's mixture of art and law has provided her with both a vision of how law can indeed be used to serve the greater good (but more often than not, isn't at present) and also a road map back to what she's meant to do. A path back to art. Year 3 - Paradiso - Her classes now much easier than when she first arrived on the scene, Ingrid Fine comes to realize that she can leave all of this behind by simply exercising her will to do so. That the cage is only locked when one believes it is. She concludes that while "interesting" as a social experiment of sorts, she doesn't want to continue down the dark path she witnessed. She wakes up in the Eucalyptus forest where she first began her journey through the law (this time with diploma in hand). The She-Wolf still lurks in the shadows but is no longer a threat to Ingrid Fine, and she goes home to start writing right away. Her faith in the power of art to save lives is now unshakable. Paradiso Generally - Ingrid graduates and goes on to become a successful (as per Stephen King's definition, someone who can pay the bills with it) paranormal noir writer instead of a lawyer. Taking after her mentor, she portrays herself as a Normative Chameleon / Death figure in her graphic novels. Apparently he'd portrayed himself that way since he was a law student. In Ingrid's work, the endings she writes, like the ending(s) she experienced are ultimately redemptive. One could even call her work "nightmare empowerment" perhaps. Eventually, she realizes (like Animal Man and others) that she herself is a cartoon. Albeit, one that now has a mind of its own. She becomes a co-writer with her creator and then eventually fades into the fuzzy beyond of Paradiso proper. I thought I heard the Church's Under the Milky Way song play as I looked at these images. That or the Chameleon's Ground Zero. Perhaps both at the same time. With hints of Peter Murphy's Things to Remember in the background behind those two. Or maybe they all played separately, but both Ingrid and the reader were in such an ecstasy that it felt like everything was happening all at once! After going through roller coaster like tumbles through the stars, Ingrid Fine and others end up in a white lit room. David Lynch stands before a podium and explains to all newly admitted to heaven that they never had to suffer, "only your characters had to suffer." The drawing here looked kind of like the last episode of Lost, except the drawn-in audience watching all of this was actually satisfied with the outcome. The newbies then leave the room and go out into Paradiso proper. Note: David Lynch actually made a guest appearance in Inferno & Purgatorio too and said the same thing, but it's only in Paradiso that everyone finally gets with the program (there were some stragglers). Also loved that Edgar Allan Poe, the great romantic, was finally at peace (with his true love) and gainfully employed (beyond his artistic endeavors) as the Grand Master of marriage ceremonies and engagement parties. He now states "Evermore" instead of "Nevermore." All the while, H.P. Lovecraft proclaims that he's so happy his very long panic attack has finally ended and he apologizes for freaking everyone out, "Sorry about all of that guys!" He ends up drinking Turkish coffee with all of the little children in Paradiso. Together, they give horrid and creative names to all of the "elder god" coffee ground stains they see in his cup. Jean Rhys is similarly at peace and together with William Burroughs teaches the cut-up method of liberation because language is a virus from outer space! Btw - I think the version of Paradiso that Ingrid experiences is much better and more redemptive than Dante's (it was about time for a woman's perspective anyway, wasn't it?). It's hard to describe the images here and I'm not sure I even understood entirely what was going on in several of the frames. Simply beautiful pictures though! What I can say is that it looked like a pretty amazing place for artists, surrealists (though I think Dali had to spend a little extra time in purgatory for breaking Lorca's heart!), musicians - especially jazz musicians, Urban Studies & Planning kids (and their adult counterparts and professors), Sufis, shamans, minorities, mystics, comic book aficionados, drag queens, computer geeks, engineers, theater kids who want to grow up to be "has beens", Dario Argento for Suspiria, queers, punk rockers, Mediterranean guys and dolls, freaks, "goths" who make a point of saying that they aren't "goth", "goths" who make a point of saying that they are "goth," the working class, Stanley Milgram and Philip Zimbardo, Mel Brooks for everything, burlesque dancers and those who help run the show, metal heads, carnival folk, film noir stars/writers/etc., the Turks (but how they secured their entry, is nobody's business but the Turks), Jess Franco for even thinking about creating the film Venus in Furs, anyone whose favorite holiday is Dia de los Muertos, Special Agent Dale Cooper, Asians of every stripe, the duo from Portlandia and their friends, Catholic school boys who know that they want to be just a little bit bad, Lola Ross and other similar medical anthropologists, Black people, funeral directors/directresses, Mike's Mondo Video people, Native Americans, Raymond Chandler (and his wife), Mad magazine, people who like Daria and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, people who love the City of Philadelphia, the far east - the middle east - the near east, the Irish, everyone affiliated with the Church of Jack Lord, Tom Waits, Latinos, the folks from Legal Aid, people who like the show Six Feet Under, members of the band Agent 51 both for their mythology and for the song San Diego's Burning Within, Lia Lee et al, twins, George Orwell, tarot card readers, vegan taxidermists, psychic vampires who use their powers for good rather than evil, Mrs. Prothero and pals, Indians, Public Defenders, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and pals, the creators of the Evil Dead et al, people with some color in their skin, all of the characters from Twin Peaks except for Bob and his allies, Michael J. Anderson & Peter Dinklage (because they are smart and sexy!), and above all - Lovers. So I think I'll be looking forward to this version of paradise . . . On the Art -- The images in this graphic novel are stunning! Easter eggs galore! I'd love to see more like this one. Conclusion -- Are law school and the legal field inherently evil? Or has it just become a franken-institution? Like other narratives in the legal dystopia genre, this piece doesn't entirely answer that question though it does clearly define some of the wrongs. It also provides a sound road map for how things can be made better. If you loved the show Damages but were left longing for a happy ending, then The Accidental Law Student is for you!!! Similar works, such as Bound by Law? & Theft: A History of Music are also highly recommended! - Vivien Barlow, graduate of UC Miska School of Law P.S. If you want to "plead accidental law student" this is the right place!

Review # 2 was written on 2011-10-30 00:00:00 Tamara Schwarz Legal culture as culture