Dexter

I should mention that I wish I would have watched the series of "Dexter" sooner. I have learned a lot about composition and other visual elements from just the first three episodes than from a lot of other sources. The episodes I watched were recently uploaded to youtube, so there are not that many up yet (there are 5 seasons after all). I shall keep watching the series as much as I can.

Just to support the idea of the main character, and the other characters, in the proposed piece and their related compulsions:

"...Some people with OCD perform compulsive rituals because they inexplicably feel they have to, others act compulsively so as to mitigate the anxiety that stems from particular obsessive thoughts. The person might feel that these actions somehow either will prevent a dreaded event from occurring, or will push the event from their thoughts. In any case, the individual's reasoning is so idiosyncratic or distorted that it results in significant distress for the individual with OCD or for those around them. Excessive skin picking (i.e., dermatillomania) or hair plucking (i.e., trichotillomania) and nail biting (i.e., onychophagia) are all on the Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum. Individuals with OCD are aware that their thoughts and behavior are not rational,^[13] but they feel bound to comply with them to fend off feelings of panic or dread..."

This is from the Wikipedia article on

Obsessive–compulsive disorder

I feel like I am going back to this point a lot. Not to say that this is the only defining characteristic for the main character. She will be much more three-dimensional. And I will most definitely push her to act better.

On a side note, I have managed to download Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and "King Lear" and will upload the earlier scene test as soon as I can find a strong enough internet signal or at least 6-7 hours to do so.

"Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder characterized by uncontrollable, unwanted thoughts and repetitive, ritualized behaviors you feel compelled to perform. If you have OCD, you probably recognize that your obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors are irrational – but even so, you feel unable to resist them and break free.

Like a needle getting stuck on an old record, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) causes the brain to get stuck on a particular thought or urge. For example, you may check the stove twenty times to make sure it’s really turned off, wash your hands until they’re scrubbed raw, or drive around for hours to make sure that the bump you heard while driving wasn’t a person you ran over."

So after reading this little tidbit from "helpguide.org/mental/obsessive_compulsive_disorder_ocd.htm", it appears my character will not have full out OCD. Interesting to note that I exhibit some of the behaviors listed on this page (very loosely, mind you).

"Superstitions; excessive attention to something considered lucky or unlucky."

"Ordering or arranging things “just so.”

"Accumulating 'junk' such as old newspapers or empty food containers."

These things are the few things that apply to the main character, so I will have to play up other qualities like excessive double-checking or things and repeatedly checking photos of loved ones that the main character holds dear.

Another side note: Origami may have been invented in China, paper being made there during the first century A.D. It was brought over to Japan around the sixth century A.D. The wikipedia article on "History of origami" says the term "Origami" was coined by kindergardeners since the written characters were easier for young children to write. If that is the case, it would be interesting to see this put into the aspect of murder.

The story of the 1,000 paper cranes is quite touching though (wikipedia again):

"One of the most famous origami designs is the Japanese crane. The crane is auspicious in Japanese culture. Japan has launched a satellite named tsuru (crane). Legend says that anyone who folds one thousand paper cranes will have their heart's desire come true. The origami crane (折鶴 orizuru in Japanese) has become a symbol of peace because of this legend, and because of a young Japanese girl named Sadako Sasaki. Sadako was exposed to the radiation of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima as an infant, and it took its inevitable toll on her health. She was then a hibakusha – an atom bomb survivor. By the time she was twelve in 1955, she was dying of leukemia. Hearing the legend, she decided to fold one thousand origami cranes so that she could live. However, when she saw that the other children in her ward were dying, she realized that she would not survive and wished instead for world peace and an end to suffering.
A popular version of the tale is that Sadako folded 644 cranes before she died; her classmates then continued folding cranes in honor of their friend. She was buried with a wreath of 1,000 cranes to honor her dream. While her effort could not extend her life, it moved her friends to make a granite statue of Sadako in the Hiroshima Peace Park: a young girl standing with her hands outstretched, a paper crane flying from her fingertips.

Every year the statue is adorned with thousands of wreaths of a thousand origami cranes. A group of one thousand paper cranes is called senbazuru in Japanese (千羽鶴)." (seen at top of post).

I hope to properly portray the element of "innocence" or "child" through the actions of the main character.