Fight Club

     

     In my opinion, Fight Club is undoubtedly a revolution in filming. It is my favorite movie because of it's various storytelling methods, motifs, subliminal messages, and dark humor. For those of you have watched the film, how could you ever forget the story. For those who haven't watched the movie, "You haven't lived". However, I will provide a very brief summary. 

                                                                

                                                                 (SPOILER ALERT!!!)

     

Narrator 

The story begins with an emotionally disturbed unnamed protagonist, who is looking for a sense of self worth due to the prejudice and laws of society. After the realization that he is at the bottom of societal standards, he meets Tyler Durden who is a reject with a suave and nonchalant attitude who refuses to live within the standards of society. As time goes on the two grow to be best friends because as they say "Opposites Attract". As the two completely different men spend more and more time around each other, Tyler Durden seems to rub off more and more onto the protagonist. Teaching him how to drop the values that hold him back from living up to his full potential. Tyler Durden taught the protagonist that only when they've lost everything that holds value to them are they free to do anything. The two friends soon create a secret society called Fight Club. In this club, or brotherhood, men from various aspects of life go toe to toe in hand to hand combat. 

Tyler Durden in Combat

      By battling each other in brutal combat the men start to realize that the things they valued due to societal standard weren't actually important. They began to take on the idea of Existentialism. With the brotherhood of Fight Club increasing day by day, Both the narrator and Tyler Durden effortlessly created an army of relentless revolutionaries who are willing to fight "The Man" and the expectations society has for them. So in hopes of making society forget about the irrelevant values that they uphold on a daily basis, the radical group decided to blow up multiple IRS buildings in the hopes of destroying everyone's financial files and sending all their debts back to zero. While Tyler's mission was in progress, the narrator began to feel left out, seeing how he had no idea what the plan was. After days of the protagonist searching for Tyler, he realizes that he is Tyler Durden. He created Tyler Durden as an alter ego in order to combat the passive aggression he had. There was never a Tyler Durden. The narrator was the leader of Fight Club. Tyler Durden acted as the embodiment of his inner desires.
     After much thought I began to read in between the lines. The protagonist was unnamed because he represented the men of America who have been raised by society to live up to their standards. A generation of men raised by women, with the expectation of getting whatever jobs the economy allowed them. Tyler Durden however represented the hopes and aspirations of men. In society men follow the laws of society, but on the inside these men want to rebel. They want to drop the things they have been taught to value and follow whatever desires their hearts seek. 

 To the left is one of the famous quotes from the film that expresses the philosophy of letting go of the societal standards that doesn't truly matter but we allow to control our every action. People get jobs that they don't truly want in order to get money for things they don't truly need. We all want to buy that Ferrari, but it isn't because we truly need it. It's because we want to not only make others envious, but we want to attract others. But why do we use expensive objects in order to attract others while society pretends to frown upon materialistic people. That is one of the many lessons Tyler Durden taught not only his brotherhood but he taught me. In conclusion, BEST FILM EVER!

      

Celebrity Bodies

     For decades, the masses of society have been in love with celebrities. Celebrities are admired and envied for their careers in music, filming, modeling and so on. However celebrities are often admired for their physical appearance such as their hair, cosmetics, apparel, and physique. However today's society, especially American society, are fond of the lean and tone figures of celebrities' bodies. They envy the six and eight packs, the clear skin, yet that is all the majority is willing to do. As a child my mother taught me that if I admired or envied someone, I should take the custom I envied and make it my own. If I envied someone's intelligence, I must study harder. If I envied their skill, I must practice more. If I envied their physique, I must work harder and smarter.
     I completely agree with Daniel Harris assertion that society would be better off trying to be like the celebrities that we admire. The reason I agree so strongly with Mr. Harris is because he understands that celebrities are not above societal standards. Most of the time people complain that they could never achieve the physical health of their desired due to money and time. That is incorrect, nor money or time has anything to do with someone's health. The real problem is their bad habits.
   

      To the left you see the slim and fit Angelina Jolie. She is a very healthy woman, but she must live a healthy life if she wants to stay that way. One of the methods Ms. Jolie uses to stays in shape is by strictly sticking to the Ancient Grains Diet which is a diet that includes a various assortment of grains and fiber. All of these fibers can be purchased in bulk online, or at most local grocery stores. It isn't difficult to use the same health tips as the celebrities you aspire to be like. With a bit of research, smart shopping and dedication to change, you too can be Angelina Jolie, or Brad Pitt.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

     Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is admittedly an older film from 2010 that can honestly never get old to me. Some of you may have seen this film before, for those who haven't, I am happy to provide a brief overview of the story. (SPOILER ALERT!) The protagonist in the story, Scott Pilgrim, is a teenager who met the love of his life named Ramona Flower. However, in order to keep their love, Scott must defeat Ramona's seven deadly ex boyfriends. Throughout the story, the exes became deadlier and deadlier, but using his tremendous love for Ramona and his crazy ass kicking skills he is able to defeat all of his opponents. The reason I find this film so interesting is due to it's use of animations to express specific emotions tones and motifs. The film used many animations in order to exaggerate emotions, making the film closer to the story telling of a comic book or video game.

From action packed  fight scenes, to its cheesy comical remarks, the director of this film, Edgar Wright, did not mind veering away from the stereotypical story line of a teen love story.

      Edgar Wright purposely strayed away from the orthodox love story path, which made his movie authentic. Usually in a love story, there are two teens that are naturally kind, well spoken or confident, and generally suave. Which is the way teens wish their love was. However, Mr. Wright strayed from this by putting two socially awkward teens together and including all the authentic elements of falling in love, like the awkward silences during the first impression.

     Mr. Wright used these little awkward details, because those are the flaws that made Scott and Ramona's relationship more realistic. Teens wish for a picture perfect first impression and relationship, but in truth there is always a certain awkwardness that goes into the experience. Like I mentioned before, many animations were included in this film, but they were not only utilized in the fight scenes, but it was used to express other emotions like:

                                                                          Love

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                                                                   Confusion

      The use of these animations give the audience a visual reference that is easier to relate to so they can get a better idea of the character's feelings or ideas. Mr. Wright seems to understand how extreme teenagers emotions may range. So in order to properly express the intensity of the emotion, he made the characters emotions which are intangible into tangible visuals in the film. For these reasons, I truly believe that this film is a great teen film overall.

Hip Hop Planet

   
I completely agree with James McBride's statement that hip hop is a warning. To first understand the warning that hip hop is portraying, you have to understand the conditions and the environment that created hip hop as a whole. That is why Mr. McBride begins his passage by breaking down the history of hip hop. Hip hop began in West Africa and spread to America through the Middle Passage. This music was created because of the hardships that people were going through. So in order to cope with slavery, poverty, degradation, oppression, and racism, black people expressed their emotions through their music.

The music was created with anger, hate and sorrow in their hearts. That is what Mr. McBride meant when he said hip hop is the music of outrage.
From poverty, to slavery, to racism. It doesn't matter what the struggle was, hip hop was always the way to get their message or "warning" across. Whether it be a political rap, a spoken word about oppression or a gangster rap. The primary emotion fueling rap is anger and outrage. Like Henry said in paragraph 26 "Everyone likes to talk the talk but not everyone can walk the walk".

Throughout the years, the hardships and struggles of the black race have varied and changed but music was always the coping mechanism. For the Nigerians there was Afrobeat. For slaves there were negro spirituals. For the newly freed black people of the 2000's there was jazz. Hip hop was just the next generation of black music.

Blogging About Blogging

Why Blog About Anything?

     Before I ever I took this class, I honestly never took any interest in blogging. I thought it was for bored people who had too looked for attention because they can't find the attention in the real world. Now that I say it like that... I sounded really ignorant. 

     However now, I must admit, I find blogging quite relaxing. I have realized that it isn't about the attention you receive, but more so the information or emotions that you share with others. Whenever I have read another classmate's blog, I learn something new. With every post  I read, I find a new perspective, idea, tone. It's interesting to see what goes through other people's minds. It not only gives me insight on the topic at hand but it gives me insight on the type of person the author is and how they felt as they wrote. To see so many various tones makes me inadvertently question and change my own in the hopes of perfecting my own tone and diction. 

     Since I begun blogging, I began to express my opinion of things much more thoroughly. People realize a lot of things about themselves when they are allowed to express their views, especially when they write or type it out. So as I typed, I realized that it allowed me to express or more so release the ideas, or emotions that I'm not able to express in class or to others personally. Personally, I hate talking out my ideas and emotions to others but blogging allows me to express it without having to say a word. To sum it up, blogging is pretty cool. But I'll never admit that to Scalia.

Society's Expectations For Me

     As many know, a stereotype that often arises about men is that they are not smart, or at least not as smart as women. It is safe to assume that these stereotypes rooted from personal experience of a large population. However, is it right to put a label on others due to the experiences one's life?
     Since I've been in middle school, I have noticed that there has been a double standard between men and women when it comes to intellect. There has always been the stereotype, that women are smarter than men. From my perspective as a man, I notice this double standard in school the most. Every time my teacher asked the class what career they are pursuing, the females responded "Lawyer, Doctor, Teacher, Psychologist...", while most males responded with "Fire Fighter, Law Enforcement, Athlete". However the teacher would be puzzled when I told them that I wanted to be an entrepreneur. They tried to cover up their shock with a fake reassuring smile. Whenever I received the highest grade on tests, the teacher would be baffled that I got a higher grade than my fellow classmate, which just so happened to be a female.
     As years passed, I came to realize that it people didn't mean to sound rude but naturally they had lower intellegence for my intellegence. Although it was very difficult to tell whether they were judging me based on gender or race. However that is a topic meant for another day. Indeed, men are naturally more physical than women but does that mean that their intellect has to suffer? At what point does a man's physical discipline tie into is intellectual discipline? And why does that occur?
     In my opinion isn't right to make any assumptions about anyone's intellect. Because someone may not be as educated or have as much common sense, they shouldn't be labeled as being "Slow". They are just filled with different information and they have a different form of intellect than you. Gender is not a category when it comes to intellect. That is the equivalent of the stereotype that women are not athletic. Before you label someone's intellect, always remember "Stupid is as stupid does".

Myth Buster

"Women Are Supposed To Be Submissive And Do As They Are Told!"

       The following is an excerpt from the ignorant dialogue of so many. An initial judgement of character and customs based on demographics such as gender. Or better known as a stereotype. Now generally nobody likes to be stereotyped, yet most people do it. Which is stereotypical of society itself. There are thousands of stereotypes that I would really love criticize and diminish. However this stereotype in particular touches a very special place in my heart. I know some are thinking "How can a man talk about a stereotype on women? How could he understand?". Well, aren't they stereotyping now? But I'm not judging.
       Throughout history, natural gender roles have been implemented on women and men where men are suppose to be masculine and women are suppose to be feminine. Even though that is the natural roles that we play, when do we know the limits of these roles? Although, though women are more feminine than men, does that mean they have to be submissive?Do they really have to listen to what they are told by men? Personally, I believe that be feminine or masculine has nothing to do with being submissive or dominant. This is because I've had women in my life who have been both feminine and dominant at the same time. Even though women are not pumped with testosterone like men it does not mean they have the inability to think on there on or to be dominant. To give an example, the 2008 Higher Education Policy Institute report stated that women not only have a higher chance of getting into better schools, but they are also more likely to outperform the men those schools. Just in case you decided to skim the article I linked above, you can watch an ABC New Report that sheds relevant light on the subject. In the ABC New report it stated that women presently have five points higher than men on IQ test. So why can't women think for themselves. If they are proven to be more intelligent than men, then shouldn't they be dominant and in charge.
Think about it.

Superman And Me

     Like any writing piece, this one presented multiple messages. When you read any work of literature there always different ways of looking at it. For example, you give 100 people the same sheet of paper. On the paper there is a single sentence that says "The boy picked up the apple". When you ask these people what their opinion on it is, you might receive similar answers. Such as "Who is the boy?", "What did the boy do with the apple?", "Where is the boy?", "When does this take place?", "Why did the boy pick up the apple?". However you might find at least one person out of the hundred who is willing to ask "Why was this written?", and that is the question that came to my mind as I read "Superman and Me".

     Who was the author writing this for? When did the author decide that it was a good time to share his story with the world? Why did the author write this novel? What did he hope to accomplish while writing this piece? These are all thoughts that must come up when properly analyzing a work of literature.

Who Was The Author Writing This For?

     Like many other writing pieces, "Superman  and Me", was meant for various readers. However I believe this was written especially for Mr.Alexie's people and his enemies. That is why he broke up the passage into two portions, both with contrasting tones. The first of portion spoke from a third person view of Mr.Alexie's life in the hopes of sounding modest (As shown Par.5 Line 6-8). This explained his upbringing, his interest in books, the challenges he faced in his environment. So I believe this was written for his people, to relate to them, show them they weren't alone and draw them in to the reading. This is similar to how a movie may show something insightful that you can relate to or that you're interested in during it's opening scenes. Mr.Alexie knows that his people do not enjoy reading (As shown in Par.2 Line 1-3), so he must draw them in as soon as possible. 

     On the other hand, the second portion of the passage was directed more so to Mr.Alexie's enemies or the "non-Indians". In the second portion of the novel, Mr.Alexie spoke in first person which in my opinion made his tone seem rather confident. By speaking in first person, he seemed to have a sense of pride in what he was saying. As though he is subliminally saying to his enemies "Yeah, I said! What you gonna do about it". 

When Did The Author Decide It Was A Good Time To Share His Story?

As far as I can tell from the complexity of the reading, Mr.Alexie is a rather intelligent person. Also since he is an avid reader, I would be inclined to assume that Mr.Alexie has a lot of patience, seeing how that is often a virtue associated with reading. So taking into consideration his modest beginning in the first half of the novel and his confident tone in the second portion, I believe that he was always confident in his abilities and he always wanted to lead his people from the "non-Indians". When he was younger he pretended to be modest, non-opinionated, and a follower because it suited his situation best at that time. Seeing how he grew up being taught by "non-Indians", It was so much easier to be accepted by his people and his enemies if he played the part and stayed quiet.

    So as time went on he learned more and more, continued his reading and waited until he was at a point of power where he believed he could truly help his people.