It would only be fitting that I end my blogs with an episode of Seinfeld. This episode was actually on a week ago but I am sure that I remember enough to make this blog credible. In this episode, Jerry is visiting his parents in Florida. They live in a condominium surrounded by old people. News travels fast in this small, elderly community though.
Jerry is minding his business in the kitchen when Jack walks in. Jack is a friend of Jerry's parents and is around the age of sixty. He barges in with his wife and begins to write something on a piece of paper. Jerry asks him if that is the pen that writes upside down and Jack boastfully replies yes. Jerry compliments him on that pen and tells him he's heard a lot about it. Jack seems like a nice guy because he insists that Jerry take the pen. Boy, what a mistake that was. His wife sees this go on and as soon as they leave tells everyone about Jack's generosity and completely twists the story around to make it look like Jerry made Jack take the pen.
Once again, this sounds so small but everyone can relate to such a thing. It's called creating drama by being a busy body. Jack was not at fault and neither was Jerry. Jack was simply being nice and giving Jerry a pen that Jerry appreciated more than Jack. The problem was his wife spreading the word and making Jerry look bad. Next time, you are given something, look to see who is around you. It's often hard to recognize who will vent this situation to another individual and twist the story around to make you look bad. Be careful and always learn about the little situations from Seinfeld.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Values of the Different Classes
The second reading that was due for this week involved the entertainment industry and their display of the people from different classes. The claim to this article was that the middle classes instill good values in one another and the lower class people are displayed in darker colors with confused and incorrect values on things such as education.
We mentioned the movie Rudy and how the kid with a tremendous dream was viewed as slow. Well, this article would be incorrect to say that Rudy was demonstrated as slow because of his family's lower class status. However, it would be absolutely correct in it's claim that lower class families are viewed as caring about school less. Even when Rudy is on the right track at a community college outside of Notre Dame, his father does not acknowledge his grades more than a simple good job. Rudy was supposed to grow up, graduate from high school and work in the factory with his father. His lack of discipline when it came to school work hindered him in his quest for a dream to play football for Notre Dame. I will admit to disagreeing with many of the educated claims in the book this semester. Most of these articles make valid points and if it wasn't for these writings, we would never be educated enough to think outside the box and develop structural, credible essays. It will be hard for me so change my habits of watching movies for entertainment because I have done it for so long. I will work on reading both sides of the situation because it will benefit me in later classes.
We mentioned the movie Rudy and how the kid with a tremendous dream was viewed as slow. Well, this article would be incorrect to say that Rudy was demonstrated as slow because of his family's lower class status. However, it would be absolutely correct in it's claim that lower class families are viewed as caring about school less. Even when Rudy is on the right track at a community college outside of Notre Dame, his father does not acknowledge his grades more than a simple good job. Rudy was supposed to grow up, graduate from high school and work in the factory with his father. His lack of discipline when it came to school work hindered him in his quest for a dream to play football for Notre Dame. I will admit to disagreeing with many of the educated claims in the book this semester. Most of these articles make valid points and if it wasn't for these writings, we would never be educated enough to think outside the box and develop structural, credible essays. It will be hard for me so change my habits of watching movies for entertainment because I have done it for so long. I will work on reading both sides of the situation because it will benefit me in later classes.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Flags Of Our Fathers
This week I decided to take a break a Seinfeld and mix it up with an interesting movie I saw last week. The movie was about the famous statue that you will remember of the soldiers in the Vietnam war pushing up the United States Of America's flag on top of a major hill after battle. The statue is extremely inspirational and shows the determination behind each soldier working as a team to accomplish a task.
However, unless you know about past wars or have seen this movie, you are not sure who those guys are. When the United States finally captured this famous hill, there were many casualties to look down on. The general felt it was a good idea to plant a flag on top to dedicate it to the men that have fallen. Well, after the captain hears about this flag, he decides he wants it to show the president. So they are forced to take it down. The general decides to put another flag up on the hill. This is where we captured that famous statue. It was not the first men to the top of the hill but instead the second men who did not earn this honor or at least that is how they felt. The movie documents how these men were captured in a picture and sent back to the states to promote the war.
The command of the armed forces thought it would be a good promotion to get the people of America to donate money through the purchase of bonds. Everyone praised the three men that were still alive from the picture. The problem was that the men felt sorrow and regret because they were not the original soldiers to mount the flag. It was as if they were taking credit for the heroics of the first men to the top of the hill. I would recommend this movie to anyone who has the stomach to watch the battle scenes. It is interesting to learn about this movie which is based on an entirely true story. I will admit to not knowing that the men in the picture were the second men on the top of the hill and were mounting this flag with no battle going on and for the much, no activity at all around them.
However, unless you know about past wars or have seen this movie, you are not sure who those guys are. When the United States finally captured this famous hill, there were many casualties to look down on. The general felt it was a good idea to plant a flag on top to dedicate it to the men that have fallen. Well, after the captain hears about this flag, he decides he wants it to show the president. So they are forced to take it down. The general decides to put another flag up on the hill. This is where we captured that famous statue. It was not the first men to the top of the hill but instead the second men who did not earn this honor or at least that is how they felt. The movie documents how these men were captured in a picture and sent back to the states to promote the war.
The command of the armed forces thought it would be a good promotion to get the people of America to donate money through the purchase of bonds. Everyone praised the three men that were still alive from the picture. The problem was that the men felt sorrow and regret because they were not the original soldiers to mount the flag. It was as if they were taking credit for the heroics of the first men to the top of the hill. I would recommend this movie to anyone who has the stomach to watch the battle scenes. It is interesting to learn about this movie which is based on an entirely true story. I will admit to not knowing that the men in the picture were the second men on the top of the hill and were mounting this flag with no battle going on and for the much, no activity at all around them.
Semiotics in Batman
Last night, I began to read the passage assigned about the homosexuality in Batman. I must say that the passage pointed out a lot of things to me that I did not notice when I saw Batman. I saw the movie in pieces and vaguely remember the details of the movie. In the discussion today, the part that I found to be interesting was when we discussed nudity in the movie.
I do not want to simply restate what was said at ten this morning. However, I would like to elaborate on the idea that Robin is able to see Batman in just a towel because he knows his secret. I feel that the mask that each superhero uses to conceal his identity can be symbolic in many ways. There is always small flirtation between Batman and Catwoman. This is shown more through the cartoons which I remember watching a kid. He never flirts with Catwoman without his mask on. There are many times that they propose to be allies but never trust each other enough to even let the other one see their true face. Rob has earned that right with Batman. That does not mean he is gay. There are many things that I would tell my friends or confide to my friends in confidence that they will accept and give me advice back. This does not make me homosexual, nor does it mean that this relationship can only be established on an intimate level.
It was said this morning that the director or writer, I forget which one, has acknowledged the fact that there are some signs that may lead to this assumption. However, if you analyze just about anything from a bias point of view in search of what you are looking for, your mind can easily run away with you. It was not the writer's intent to show Batman without his shirt on only in front of another man. I think it was more symbolism in the way that he could trust his identity to his "partner."
I do not want to simply restate what was said at ten this morning. However, I would like to elaborate on the idea that Robin is able to see Batman in just a towel because he knows his secret. I feel that the mask that each superhero uses to conceal his identity can be symbolic in many ways. There is always small flirtation between Batman and Catwoman. This is shown more through the cartoons which I remember watching a kid. He never flirts with Catwoman without his mask on. There are many times that they propose to be allies but never trust each other enough to even let the other one see their true face. Rob has earned that right with Batman. That does not mean he is gay. There are many things that I would tell my friends or confide to my friends in confidence that they will accept and give me advice back. This does not make me homosexual, nor does it mean that this relationship can only be established on an intimate level.
It was said this morning that the director or writer, I forget which one, has acknowledged the fact that there are some signs that may lead to this assumption. However, if you analyze just about anything from a bias point of view in search of what you are looking for, your mind can easily run away with you. It was not the writer's intent to show Batman without his shirt on only in front of another man. I think it was more symbolism in the way that he could trust his identity to his "partner."
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
"She Had Man Hands."
So yesterday I plant myself on the couch and begin to scan through the channels. Lucky for me, my dad just got a new television and it shows the summary of episodes before they come on. I was extatic to see this episode of Seinfeld was about Jerry's girlfriend who was extremely beautiful, but she had male looking hands. It was all Jerry could focus on and he began disgusted with the fact that she had more masculine hands than him.
That all seems like a great story line but it raises questions as to what turns men off. Everyone male is different, but the slightest masculine quality in a woman usually shows through in a definitive way. It sounds shallow to say that it could end a relationship but it would be the same as a feminine quality in a man. Jerry's girlfriend really made it obvious when she cracked his lobster and he began to crindge. Jerry is not a guy that I would consider feminine but his character is more than the average male. My theory is that feminine men are able to spot masculinity in females because they do not have those qualities themselves. As I stated before, it is completley up to taste, but the way that they showed Jerry's girlfriend rub an eyelash from his eye and squeeze his hand when he went in her purse was shear genius.
In no way does this blog bash a masculine quality in females. Some men enjoy these qualities or even body parts in this case. As Seinfeld would say, "not that there's anything wrong with that." What people choose to find attractive is their business.
That all seems like a great story line but it raises questions as to what turns men off. Everyone male is different, but the slightest masculine quality in a woman usually shows through in a definitive way. It sounds shallow to say that it could end a relationship but it would be the same as a feminine quality in a man. Jerry's girlfriend really made it obvious when she cracked his lobster and he began to crindge. Jerry is not a guy that I would consider feminine but his character is more than the average male. My theory is that feminine men are able to spot masculinity in females because they do not have those qualities themselves. As I stated before, it is completley up to taste, but the way that they showed Jerry's girlfriend rub an eyelash from his eye and squeeze his hand when he went in her purse was shear genius.
In no way does this blog bash a masculine quality in females. Some men enjoy these qualities or even body parts in this case. As Seinfeld would say, "not that there's anything wrong with that." What people choose to find attractive is their business.
The Right Topic
Over the past two classes, we have discussed the possible topics and components that should be thought about when selecting a topic. After our discussion, I have began to think that I would be better off writing about the lighting, setting and how the editors decided to use dark blue tint throughout the movie. There seems to be a lot of ways to find quality evidence to support this topic.
The main reason that stood out to be, as far as the choice of lighting, was because the editors did not want the viewer to be able to notice the makeup of the zombies. This also includes the details when they feast upon human bodies. Obviously, they are not using actual human corpses and creating cannibals out of the actors. It would be much more obvious that these fake details are in place is the lighting was bright and it was easy to depict details.
Another interesting detail was how the electricity was only on at the Coffman's building. I realize that he was a rich man before the zombies decided to invade, but why would that make his electricity work better than others? There is a very small value placed on currency and the fact that Coffman has a lot would seem irrelevant. There are many other things that would fall under the same category of how the producers wanted to portray the city. These include the setting that Chiwawa owned in terms of light because he appeared to have some power over the place and even the lighting that the regular citizens used. I realize I am only scratching the surface but I do feel like I will be able to find more details when I research into why producers say they use specific lighting and what people believe the dark tint means.
The main reason that stood out to be, as far as the choice of lighting, was because the editors did not want the viewer to be able to notice the makeup of the zombies. This also includes the details when they feast upon human bodies. Obviously, they are not using actual human corpses and creating cannibals out of the actors. It would be much more obvious that these fake details are in place is the lighting was bright and it was easy to depict details.
Another interesting detail was how the electricity was only on at the Coffman's building. I realize that he was a rich man before the zombies decided to invade, but why would that make his electricity work better than others? There is a very small value placed on currency and the fact that Coffman has a lot would seem irrelevant. There are many other things that would fall under the same category of how the producers wanted to portray the city. These include the setting that Chiwawa owned in terms of light because he appeared to have some power over the place and even the lighting that the regular citizens used. I realize I am only scratching the surface but I do feel like I will be able to find more details when I research into why producers say they use specific lighting and what people believe the dark tint means.
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