Death in a Movie

The theme death is crucial in the movie Romeo and Juliet. One reason I believe this theme is crucial in the movie’s end is because it’s a way to show how Shakespeare’s play turned into a tragedy after the first half being a comedy. I think it was a good way to show how the play changes direction. At first Romeo and Juliet are having fun, falling in love, and playing around then Mercutio dies and the whole play turns into a tragedy afterwards. Death plays a crucial role in

Death plays a major role in the play because it helps the whole plot move along. If Mercutio hadn’t died then Romeo wouldn’t have had to leave and Juliet wouldn’t have taken the potion and then they both wouldn’t have died. Basically Mercutio was almost like the climax. Nothing would’ve happened in Romeo and Juliet if Mercutio had not died. Death is very important for the movie’s plot and the play in general.

Death is such an important theme. It makes it easier to understand Shakespeare writing. It helps us understand why the plot happened and why Shakespeare play became a tragedy. Death is a difficult theme to write about but Shakespeare wrote it really well. I strongly believe Death played a crucial role in the movie.

Beauty Role Model

I was currently rereading a book called Fairest by Gail Carson Levine. It was a children’s book. It had all the fairytale structure incorporated. If you are familiar with the other book called Ella enchanted then you know what this book is about. Basically this book was about a hideous girl with a talented voice. She lives in a kingdom where beauty is essential and your voice (singing) is praised. She doesn’t fit in. She is too ugly to be able to fit in with the kingdom’s society. This fact alone got me thinking what is the archetype for beauty. Who do we all (as a society) think fits the mold the best? Is it just made up by all the media or is it something we all truly believe.

            In the book, the beginning, as in the prologue, we get the feeling that beauty and singing (talent) are the only two requirements to be able to be part of the human species in this kingdom. Since there are ogres, gnomes, fairies and other magical creature those two points are really the only way you know if you are a human, gnome, fairy, or an ogre. It is as if you have to fit in the mold. If you cannot be classified as a human with these two qualities you actually will be shut out and shunned. I think this is sad. In fact it’s pretty pathetic to even consider the fact that if you don’t posses this two qualities you are classified as whole other specie or disowned from your parents.

            I started thinking the author wouldn’t exaggerate and create this whole other world with these principals out of nowhere. He had to have gotten them from someplace. Where else would he have gained this idea of beauty being a necessity than us, the society Then I started thinking are we actually that similar to that book and that kingdom. Do we only judge a book by its cover or in this case face and beauty? Just think about it for a second. If it comes down to a good-looking person and a merely decent face that do you think will be chosen? Okay, yes they have the exactly the same amount of talent, but who do you think will get produced. Obviously I would give them both a fair chance for the place and let a diva competition begin but I’m not rich and successful... yet. Seriously though, the prettier person would win does anyone know why? It’s because the media has portrayed this imaginary person with looks that are smoking hot and totally gorgeous and everyone aspires to be this person. So the prettier face would win. I think this is totally unfair because they should both get the same amount of chance of making it into the show business.

            Looks should not matter in people. That’s why we have surgery, duhh! Just kidding! On a serious matter we really shouldn’t let the media decide how we should portray ourselves in real life. Yeah, they can portray Megan Fox as smoking hot and gorgeous but that shouldn’t make us feel incomplete and hideous. Plus we should be sending this message out to Hollywood and all those other big money places that makes us feel hideous. We can wear sweats and a t-shirt any day and still look hot, screw being all pretty and doll-like we didn’t decide for an imaginary beauty role model. We should be allowed how to dictate our lives and ourselves not the media! We should not truly believe this beauty role model is right! We are all beautiful in our own weird, creepy, pretty, ugly, tall, small, big, fat, skinny way! 

the meaning of birth

I think the painter was trying to say that even though adults are grown up they still have that small innocence of their inner childhood. When he was trying to portray Venus being born he probably planned that an adult would have shown up. Why didn't he choose a kid, a baby or even a senior? Doesn’t everyone say how babies are so pure and innocent when they're small? Seniors act like babies and are oblivious to the world. I strongly believe he was trying to show the viewers how even adults can be innocent.

     One reason I strongly believe he was trying to present innocence in this picture is because the woman, Venus is naked. She is in her pure and innocent form. She is natural. She doesn't have anything to hide. All her feelings and expressions are out in the open. Anyone can view her and read her like a book. Since she has nothing to hide I consider her innocent. No guilt, no crime. All the people, angels, and gods around her are viewing her and since she has nothing to hide they look as they are accepting her. The author wanted to portray her as innocent.

     The second reason I believe the author was trying to say that adults and Venus even if they are grown up could still have some inner child inside them, the innocence inside their hearts. The lady on the right is holding out a blanket of some sort to cover up Venus. When babies are born the doctors clean them up and wrap them in blankets. I feel as if the lady on the right knew how pure Venus was and wanted to cover and protect her. Even the people on the left know how innocent Venus is at this moment of birth. 

Even if adults were born 30, 40, 50 years ago they still have their inner child within and always have innocence like Venus.

    The author could have chosen to illustrate a child being born or anything else, but he didn't. I really strongly believe he was trying to say that even though adults are old they could still be innocent; they can still posses their inner child (hood).

Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor was a tragic day. It's the day we realized there's seriously some issues that needed to be solved. Many people died. No one helped us; we didn't help each other. The only good outcomes of that day were: we learned to always be prepared. We never know when a tragedy can happen. Anyone can die any second of the die. We learned to become aware.

Pearl Harbor was the die we realized we needed to come together. Unite. One. America.

America learned to be aware that there are some days were we do not know what is going to happen until it happens. For example, in 9/11 no one truly suspected it was really going to happen until the towers got crashed. 2 days before maybe even a week you could've asked someone do you think there's a possibility that the twin towers can be demolished by planes and they're answer would've been no. I can bet my allowance that many civilians had suspicions about Japan getting hot on our tails but no one truly believed they would act out on it. 

We as a whole were ignorant back in 1941 and in 2001 are we still going to be ignorant in 2012? How many more tragedies do we need to let happen before we realize holy... poop we need to stop and observe our actions. 

Sometimes people say ignorance is bliss but I believe if you are ever are ignorant you are being a fool. Why would someone blind themselves and become deaf their surroundings? Nothing can protect you from the cruelness of the world and all its wars. Someone can hide behind a rock or 10 feet under ground or 100 feet above ground we will all get affected by the discordant going on around us. All we can do is be prepared and aware.

We should let Pearl Harbor and 9/11 be more memorable in a way that makes us aware for the future and the better of the world. We as a world should learn our mistakes and not let it get out of control. Has anyone ever heard the saying "History repeats itself.” well, it does and we can make a difference if we fix our mistakes. 

Imagine a world without any wars. “Imagine all the people sharing all the world. Imagine all the people living for today." John Lennon.

The truth about Dreams

What do you do when your dreams don't come true?       Do you just complain about how unfair your life is for the rest of your existence or do you do… something.

My character Sylvie had an accident when she was in her ballet company, she became disabled, and her dreams were cut short. This made me wonder about the world and all the young people who want futures and already have their dreams made up. What do you do when your dreams come to a halt? Sylvie is undefined she doesn’t know whether if her dreams are worth sulking around for all your life. One thing that did happen that made me think you should just move on if your dreams are cut short is when Sylvie realized she could be off worse. She just became disabled for half a year, she didn’t become paralyzed nor did she go into a coma for 5 years in her life. No, she could’ve been worse by a lot but she wasn’t. She was and I quote “healthy” nothing was wrong with her except her leg, which in time she could maybe go back to dancing. She should be grateful.

Many teenagers’ life dreams are cut short. They can only fantasize for so long before reality catches up to them and they realize they can’t afford their dreams. Many Americans can only dream for so long. They can only have a certain dream before they are forced to move onto another dream. So, now why is it when it’s a snobby or inconsiderate kid that doesn’t get their dream we feel bad for them. Well, we shouldn’t because we all have to suffer the loss of our dreams one day or another. You should realize that life moves on and you need to move on to or else you’ll get stuck behind in your own misery. I just can’t take it when people don’t want to move on. I mean come on; you need to understand life isn’t all roses and meadows with rainbows painting the background. Not many people realize it though and become stuck. Stuck in the moment.

If your dreams ever do get cut short then you need to think twice and then think another million times, is it worth sulking around for the rest of your life if your dreams don’t come true. I know that if my dreams ever do get cut short I would go back to the drawing board. What dreams are really worth chasing? What dreams should I let go? If I really was passionate about this one dream then I would take a moment and say is there any way I could still be around my dream? For example if your really into swimming like me then if I ever became invalid and couldn’t swim again then I would be really sad. I would think is there any way I can still be intertwined with swimming? Maybe, I could be the coach or something. Everyone, just think at least once if your dreams come don’t come true, is there anyway around it? There’s always a way. Where there’s a will there a way.

Ballerinas

Splendid Falls is about a ballerina whose name is Sylvie, Sylvie’s life was purely ballet related. When she broke her ankle she realized that she had no life. All she ever did was work for ballet purposes. Ever single highlight in her life was an accomplishment in her ballet career. Every downfall was unexpected.

Sylvie fell on a simple fell on a simple turn. That simple turn cost her greatly. She went from being the youngest most important ballerina to being a one shot single. She went from having all the things she wanted to not having anything at all.

The only thing Sylvie wanted was to fulfill her legacy. Once her ankle became broken her life was cut short. She felt the weight of the world, or at least the weight of her ballet world.

The way Sylvie was portrayed in Splendid Falls made me realize that ballerinas suffer a lot. Sylvie suffered once she lost her ballet because all she could ever remember was her striving for the better. Making herself a certain way, doing everything just right, in order to be able to accomplish her dreams, even if her dreams were harmful to her.

The media also portrays ballerinas similarly. For example, in the movie, Black Swan, the main character, Nina (Nathalie Portman) was very similar on the basic bases. They both made themselves a certain way; they had no real meaning of the value of life, besides ballet.

The only difference between these two main characters, Sylvie and Nina was the way they handled situations. Once Nina realized they were going to cut her out of her ballet career she did everything in her power to stop it. She reduced down to low levels just to obtain her career back. When Sylvie’s career ended abruptly she went through a great depression because her life ended when her ballet career ended. She did not handle the situation badly she handled it much much better.

Both main characters broke down in some point in the movie or book. I strongly believe that they felt too much pressure into becoming a certain way. Nina did wrong doings in order to confront her depression, while Sylvie just sort of kept her opinions to herself and destroyed herself on her own. The Media portrays ballerinas like this. I do not have a first-hand resource on ballerinas, and how they have high stress levels and mental disorders, but from all the writings in Splendid Falls, Black Swan, and so many other books, plays and articles I can conclude ballerinas are under great pressure. They force themselves to be a certain way and do not have a life they are content with outside of ballet.

Fast Food

                                      “Chew On This”

The book Chew On This by Eric Schlosser has changed my view about fast food companies.  I am going to stop eating fast food because of the unhealthy, unsanitary conditions and the abuse of factory workers, and animals.

       I knew eating too much junk food could cause you harm, likewise your weight, but it never concerned me.  I knew that it was so unhealthy -with all the chemicals, et cetera…- but after I read Chew On This my opinion changed direction. The book states that almost two thirds of adults, and one sixth of kids in the U.S.A are obese, or overweight. This is due to people eating more and not exercising/moving around. Fast food is very unhealthy because the fat that accumulates on your body can cause other problems such as, diabetes, asthma, heart problems, high blood pressure, and many more diseases. I realized I didn’t want my body to suffer through any of these medical conditions, so I decided to discontinue fast food from my life.

       The slaughterhouse is not as clean as one might expect, not that anyone will expect high standards. According to Chew On This and its resources, in the 1990’s workers were not allowed any breaks at all, so they had to pee/poo in their pants while they worked, which allowed more possibility of contamination of the meat. It is very unsanitary where cows are raised. Cows produce tons of manure in which, a lot of manure has to be removed that cows are raised in their own pile of poop. Also, a cow can get sick/poisoned because of its manure, and still become manufactured. Um… Eww!!! I know I do not want to eat my hamburger knowing that my meat has been in an unsanitary location! Yet, another reason I am trying to avoid fast food.

       People who work for fast food companies are mistreated. These people are paid the minimum wage, and work long hours. Farmers are now owned by huge corporations, in which they only get paid for the amount of livestock they produce (not including the ones that die because of the hormones they are fed).  It is unbelievable to see that factory workers have to confront many dangers while they are slaughtering animals for large periods of times. Workers can be at risk of being cut or chopped up, or even burned by the machines, and they don’t even get insurance for their injuries. That’s totally unfair, they are workers and should be respected! Injustice does not qualify in my vocabulary, so from now on NO MORE fast food for me!

       Huge corporations mistreat animals, but the chickens suffer the most. They suffer during their stay at a farm and can suffer a huge amount of pain in the slaughterhouse. Chickens are clustered on the farms, in which they can barely move, and live clustered for 6 weeks. During their time at the slaughterhouse chickens are knocked unconscious at a stage called “stung bath”, in which chickens are dropped down into a pot filled with water where electricity is running through it. 2 out of every 100 chickens survive this stage. Then the chickens go through a blade, but some chickens can also survive the blade. The chickens that are still alive are boiled to their death, which is cruel to animals. I know I do not want to be part of this terrible abuse of animals, and I sincerely am going to stop eating fast food.

       In conclusion, I now strongly do not desire to eat anymore fast food. I can’t stand the thought of the cruelty of these companies towards animals and workers. Also, the unsanitary and unhealthy junk that goes in to making a hamburger is nasty. I will never eat another piece of fast food EVER! Eww!