The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby directed by Baz Luhrmann was a good cinematic portrayal of the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. One of the main parts of the movie that contributed to the movies success was the soundtrack that accompanied the movie. The soundtrack was done by a collaboration of many artists such as: Beyoncé, Fergie, Will. I. Am, Jay Z, Amy Whinehouse, Sia, and many other respectable artists.

The titles of the songs portray some of the main things The Great Gatsby is all about. Some of the songs included: 100$ Bill, A Little Party Never Killed Nobody, Young and Beautiful, Love is Blindness, and many others. I think that the music that was played in the movie definitely added to the experience of watching The Great Gatsby. Also, it helped put us in the time period that The Great Gatsby would've been happening in. The song A Little Party Never Killed Nobody by multiple artists was the song that really stood out to me because it reminds me of the instruments that were used around the 1920s. I couldn't tell you what instruments are being used, due to my lack of musical awareness. But I think the song fits perfectly playing at one of Gatsby's parties, which is where the song was featured in the movie. However, even though Gatsby's parties are fun and lively there are also sad moments in the movie and book. One of them being towards the end when Gatsby realizes his chance to win Daisy over is gone. A song that helps represent this part in their relationship is Over The Love by Florence + The Machine. It plays a sad, somber melody that reminds the audience that the love is over.

The music in the movies helps us relate to the scene taking place. It makes it easier for the audience to relate to the movie through the music. Maybe we all can't relate to being at a lavish party with all of New York's extraordinary people, but we can relate to having fun with friends because like the song says ".. a little party never killed nobody.."

I think without the music the movie would have taken on a different aura. Instead of the movie portraying a love story, it would have seemed more like a stalker losing his chance to seize the lady. If there wouldn't have been romantic music playing during the interactions between Daisy and Gatsby, the movie wouldn't have been that good. So the music defiantly added a positive aspect to the movie.

Bowling For Columbine

What is Moore saying about American identity and values? Is this an accurate representation?

I thought the documentary by Michael Moore called Bowling For Columbine was very interesting and I saw a new perspective that I hadn't noticed before. It addressed many difficult situations from polices, to foreign policies, welfare system, and others. I found it interesting that Moore made it seem like Americans all value guns. Some of the things he said angered me and others I agreed with 100%.  In the beginning of the documentary he focused a lot on multiple people that possessed multiple guns in their home. There were two young men that had been involved in some trouble and they were suspected to be bomb threats. There was another gentlemen that lived on a farm and kept a loaded hand gun near his bed. Michael asked these men what he thought about gun laws and how easy it was for them to get a hold of one and ammunition. For some reason Moore made me very angry when he was holding conversations with these people.
He never once addressed people that don't like guns and that don't have a loaded gun by their bed. Don't there perspectives count too? It is a democracy and people that don't currently possess a gun should have a say in the issue as well. There were not many people shown in the documentary that opposed gun laws besides Michael. It made me angry that he depicted all people in America as gun lovers. At least that's how I felt Michael came across. So no I do not think that was an accurate representation of America's values because not everyone values guns.
However, I did like some of the topics that Moore brought attention to. My favorite was the segment with Marilyn Manson because I thought it was interesting that people blamed him for the shooting. It is pretty ridiculous for people to think that so I'm glad Michael acknowledged it. It was also interesting that Marilyn said if he could talk to the shooters he would say that he would listen to them and here what they have to say. I think that is really interesting and cool of him to say that.  

Sound and Fury Reactions

It's hard for someone that isn't deaf or isn't around people that are deaf to understand some of the issues in this movie. It is a very controversial topic especially in a family that deals a lot with deaf people. You have two brothers and one of them is deaf that come from two non-deaf parents. The deaf brother marries a deaf women and they have 3 deaf children. The non-deaf brother marries a non-deaf women and they have twin boys. One boy is deaf and the other is not. The mom of these twins has deaf parents. So you can see where all the connections that this family has to the deaf community. As a person looking in at their lives I would think that they want their kids to get a cochlear implant.
It's hard for me to take a stand on this issue because I don't want to hurt the feelings of the deaf community or anyone that has relations to a deaf person. However I do think that getting a cochlear implant opens up a lot of doors for children that would have grown up deaf if it weren't for the implant. I can't imagine not being able to hear! One side of it I think it would be peaceful not to have so many noises around you. But on the other side you won't be able to experience all of the wonderful things you can hear. An example that was given in the movie was rain and a baby crying. I also think they won't ever be able to hear fireworks, music, or even how your name sounds out loud! Sure you will know your name, how to spell it, and how to sign it. But you will never really know how it sounds out loud.
I have never been exposed to the deaf culture or community. So this movie showed me a lot of firsts regarding the deaf culture and community. Along with all of the things deaf people can't hear I also wondered what they did in case of emergencies. What if there was a fire alarm and they weren't with anybody or around anyone? What if your child wakes up in the middle of the night? I understand that you can see them but there are other safety hazards as well.
If  I were Heather I would be very upset with not getting one. Why would my parents not want me to? I wonder if maybe the parents were jealous that Heather got the opportunity to potentially have one and they didn't let her because they wanted her to be like them. On the other side of the family the non-deaf brother and his non-deaf wife have to decide whether or not to give their son an implant. There decision was they wanted him to have the implant. The deaf parents of the wife disagreed just like Heather's parents. This situation is difficult from every angle, but I think that having an implant would be for the better. After this movie I realized how much pride deaf people take and they don't let it affect them, which I think is pretty cool.

When I was probably 7 years old my mom came in to wake me up, but what my mom didn't realize was that there was a giant, thick,  black, fuzzy spider on my pillow next to my face. So when I turned around and opened my eyes I was staring right into the face of my biggest fear. I'm getting goose bumps just thinking about them. I know they are just little guys that mean no harm, most of the time, but I will forever hate spiders.

I don't even really know why I am so scared of them. Maybe its because they can be found everywhere in all different shapes, colors, and size!! Just writing this is giving me goose bumps. I even have nightmares about them to the point where I have to check my bed every night for spiders and when I go camping I have to check every inch of my sleeping bag for them. They haunt my soul. I may be a little dramatic but I cannot describe how much I fear spiders. I have cried over seeing a spider. But what is even worse is when a spider is on me! I will freak out if a spider is on me. I don't care how small it is I will scream at the top of my lungs and probably shed some tears. I cannot and will not ever smile when I see a spider.

Blurred Lines

I have never paid much attention to the song "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke, mainly because I didn't like the song when it came out. The main reason why I never listened to it was because I thought it was annoying since all he sang was "I know you want it" over and over again. And trust me, I really don't want it. I'll admit that the song has a catchy beat to it that can  get stuck in your head for days unfortunately. Also, I have never watched the music video before we saw it in class. My initial response is that I wasn't surprised at all by the content of the video. There are tons of music videos like that now a days. So I was pretty much expecting it when it was played in class. However I was surprised by some of the things in the two essays.

The first article was by Tricia Romano and is titled "Blurred Lines...Is Kind of Rapey." Since I have never really listened to the song this article pointed out a lot key lyrics that help tell what the song is about. One of the people that commented on this song in the article was a Canadian model by the name of, Amy Davison. “The women are clearly being used as objects to reinforce the status of the men in the video. The men have all the control and status because they are not vulnerable—they are completely covered. Whereas the women have no status and are totally open to be exploited ogled and used,” she said. “It doesn’t jibe with me.” I will definitely agree with this statement. I think having the women half-naked degrades them to nothing, while the men are in full clothing which makes them look like they have all the power. But I did not agree with the view that the song was "rapey." I think the song is meant to be more about temptation instead of sex without consent.

The second article was by Jennifer Lai and was called "'Blurred Lines' is Cocky, Yes. But Rapey, No." Lai took a position that I supported in the paragraph before. Yes, the song is demoralizing women. But, it is not "rapey." She also pointed out exactly why the song is not "rapey." "I know you want it" chorus isn't creepy, let's do a closer reading of the other lyrics. The end of the chorus goes: "The way you grab me/ must wanna get nasty/ go ahead, get at me." The last part, "go ahead, get at me" very clearly kills any "rapey" vibe. If you look at all of the lyrics they definitely aren't the kind I would want my kids listening to but they do not show any signs of rape at all.

I also find it interesting that of all of the songs there is to listen to, we pick this particular song to judge the lyrics and music video. There are so many worse songs than this one! And yet no one wants to bring those to attention? I wonder why it was this song that the media chose to heavily discus instead of the ones that are more degrading and inappropriate.

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

The book I chose was one that was mentioned in the Wisconsin State Journal one day. I saw a review about it and was really drawn to it. It is about a man name Louie Zamperini. Louie is a former Olympian and solder in World War II. Ironically, when I finished the book Louie passed away and now his story is being made into a movie by Angelina Jolie. I thought that this book would seem like homework but surprisingly it didn't! Once I started I could not put it down. And since then I have re-read it for fun. I am in no way fit to give a good representation of the book, but I will try my best!

The story of Louie Zamperini starts off in his troubled youth. Louie didn't have a place to fit in and instead of making friends turned to bullying. He picked up athletics to help get rid of his anger, but only got kicked out of any athletic team. That's where is older brother stepped in and begged their principal to let him join the track team. That's where Louie found himself. He was a beast in high school track and smashed any record he put his mind to. He got a full ride to USC for track and continued his track reputation from there. He was driven to go to the Olympics someday and that's exactly where he went.

After the Olympics he signed up to be a pilot after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He became a bombardier on fighter planes. During one horrific mission his plane went down in a fatal crash. Him and two of his friends were the only ones who survived. They survived on two rafts for almost 50 days on nothing but rain water and bird meat when they were fortunate to catch one. As they neared their 50 day they drifted towards some islands they didn't recognize. Within hours they were picked up by a Japanese boat. As the war raged on he and his friends were bounced back and forth between Prisoner of War camps. It was terrible reading all the accounts of which Louis was beaten for no reason, but inspiring to hear how he never lost hope.

There is much, much more to the story of Louie Zamperini! And I highly suggest it to anyone who has the time to read a good book. There are many twist and turns and it's hard to believe how much he went through! RIP Louie

If Men Could Menstruate

The articles by Fuller and Steinem come from different time periods, but both get the same point across. I never really gave any thought to these two articles so it was very interesting, new perspective for me.  The article by Fuller was difficult to comprehend for me because it is from such a long time ago. One of the points from her article that I 100% agree with is that statement, "All men are privately influenced by women.." I think men should start to respect the female figures in their lives more. But are too "masculine" to show that they respect them.

The article by Steinem was humorous, yet it still proved a serious point. I found that the article by Steinem was much easier to relate to since it is more recent than the article by Fuller. Like I said before this article gave me a new perspective of thinking about what would happen if the roles were reversed. The idea of men menstruating is hilarious but also disturbing. Men would think of their menstruation cycles as a worthy event and " would brag about how long and how much." It would make it harder for women's rights to be as equal as to a man's because we aren't worthy enough to have such an "honorable" task as menstruating. Who knows maybe the government would give each man a week off of work while they were menstruating? Or they would blame some of men's actions on PMS? It's interesting to me to think about how the world would be if just one thing was changed. When you look at the world today women don't brag about their periods or think of themselves more worthy because of it. In the long run, I think today women and men are treated equal for the most part, but they are indeed different.

I also think that bringing up the topic of our differences can help us all appreciate the other gender more. Also, this can help us be more aware of the gender discrimination that goes on today still.