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.