Editor ’ s Note ing needs in Guglielmi ’ s “ Written Text to Oral Presentation .”
Our stories and our heroes shift and transform in protean fashion , and Chris Williams makes the case that even modern video game heroes appeal to the masses because of that same mutable character . In “ Why Mario Works : Super Mario as Transformative Icon for the Working Class .” Mario , it turns out , though he is specifically Italian and possibly representative of an immigrant working class , resonates with all of us in his liminal identity and the possibilities inherent in his almost magical and surreal manifestations .
Finally , we come full circle in asking important questions about personhood and love in Lorna Gibb ’ s account of her own family history , “ Defining a Life .” How do we define those around us , and do we extend them the same considerations and care we hope others in power will extend to us ? Isn ’ t it time to truly demand that we treat living things with the dignity and respect they deserve ?
In addition , we have several reviews in this issue . Kim Idol takes a look at Myra S . Washington ’ s Blasian Invasian : Racial Mixing in the Celebrity Industrial Complex , while James Altman examines Brent Hayes Edwards ’ Epistrophies : Jazz and the Literary Imagination . At the heart of all of these articles it is important to keep in mind our ideas about personhood and the conscious and unconscious biases we carry with us as we face a world that seems to be both rapidly changing and , depressingly , mired in the same problems that only succeeded in concealing themselves for a time . What does personhood and responsibility entail in our contemporary climate ? Hopefully we can all find a fulfilling answer to that question .
Felicia xiii