BLOODCHILD RESPONSES

What is your reaction to the text you just read?

Not to sound too vague, but my honest first impression was just “wow, what was that?” Meaning there were so many crazy things packed into this short story that it took a while to process it all. I have a love-hate relationship with horror/ thriller/ gory subjects because I get really interested in them, but then the images haunt me for at least a couple of months. This particular story felt suspenseful for the most part, because the author was trying to prolong this horrifying truth that was there since the beginning. Not saying specifically where the story was taking place or who the characters are felt off-putting at first, but as I continued to read I actually liked how everything started to unfold itself. This was probably the way Butler intended the audience to receive the story. Also the eggs were a mysterious motif to me at first, not completely knowing the real purpose of them. I did get a good laugh when I read “he dreamed his egg dream” though.

What connections did you make with the story?

Even though this story is very fantastical and far from reality, there is still an underlying theme of the value of humanity and the irony of it. The Terrans are normal people I’m assuming, and in this world they are used as vessels for alien offspring. The Tlic/ Preserve is given an antagonistic personality. The way that the Terrans are oppressed by the Preserve is kind of like animal cruelty in a sense, so it’s interesting as the reader to connect to both the good and evil. We feel scared and sorry for the Terrans, but at the same time there are people who do just as bad as the Tlic. So who is to say that humanity is generally good or evil? We have emotions with which we are able to empathize with others and feel strong attachments to things, but at the same time we are capable of manipulation and torture just like T’Gatoi.

What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium? What medium would you use? What changes would you make?

I like this work as a short story since we are able to read the descriptive word choices Butler has made, but I think another way of enjoying this story would be through an animated short film. As I read, I couldn’t help but think about the Netflix series “Love, Death, and Robots” and how perfectly this type of story would be for it. The only thing that would need to change is throw in a little more scifi with robots. I could see T’Gatoi being some kind of mutant-spider-robot creature and this taking place on a different planet. Maybe I’m biased with animation, but I feel like visualizing this story in a stylistic way could really plus the story and make it even more horrifying and gruesome. Which is exactly how most of the shorts from “Love, Death, and Robots” feel! Since most of the episodes are quite short (10-15 minutes) a lot of the story would need to be condensed. I feel like parts of the beginning could be cut out, like the whole explanation of T’Gatoi and the mom’s relationship and their backstories. I think that dialogue and acting can make that apparent, but not as long as it was in the short story.

- ☽Stacy Moon☾