Blog 15: Reflection

If we have the technology to put side by side two versions of myself, one in early September and one today, honestly there weren’t really that many intellectual or emotional differences despite the fact that there was a brief variation from the first day of class until now. In other words, since to me the first day of classes was relatively quiet and I honestly have to say that I was nervous; on the other hand, today feelings converted into a more calm aspect not to mention the speaking in public is a little overwhelming to me. But generally, I basically haven’t felt any significant alliteration in terms of my emotions, meaning that in general aspects I felt practically the same way. However, it’s essential to highlight that there were numerous and a variety of themes, factors, and even terms that I really didn’t know about which was definitely interesting to learn. Consequently, in some sense, all these things affected me, probably due to my ways of thinking. Sometimes in my inner self I would disagree with a certain aspect but I wouldn’t really mention it due to the fact that I’m not really a good discussion type of person. Nevertheless, in referential to intellectual aspects, I would have to say I encountered an improvement in my writing which I’m pretty grateful of. From all the blog posts as well as writing assignments, it’s essential to point out that there was a development on organizing my ideas in order to assess it into my assignments. When referring to the people I got to know, even though I know everybody I got to really know basically a few number of people little by little which was great. All over throughout the whole semester, the class all together was definitely hilarious and enjoyable even though I associated with relatively a few number people. In other words, I really enjoyed a lot of aspects of the class in general, but I have to say that at times these assignments portended a certain stress, especially when I had to post something and the BlogSpot didn’t work, but in the end the learning as well as the emotional experiences was okay.     

Major Research Paper

Michelle Tapia

Professor Luke Vasileou

ENG 103

18 November 2010

Fame 1980: Its Outlook of Reality

A dream is a vision, an image; the most cherished desire any individual can contain. Numerous people have this inspirational dream, and with a certain degree of ambition, they seek to achieve it no matter what it takes throughout their journey. Such yearning goals and purposes are rigorously based on the person’s most insightful and passionate aspirations in life. For instance, teens that are fervent and avid about artistic aspects might contain that certain admiration and complete devotedness to reach their most inner passion such as in performing arts, dance, theater, drama, and music. That’s how the American musical film Fame (1980) directed by Alan Parker marvelously fits in with this arty ideal; a group of youngsters seek to follow their dreams and audition in the New York City High School of Performing Arts hoping to get accepted. The movie’s setting, New York City, also known as the city that never sleeps, is fantastic due to the many lights, the magical Broadway theaters, delightful surroundings; but mostly because of its fervent appreciation of art. Thus, the stance Fame sought to portray toward life in the city during 1980, involving the social and economical aspect of it, is conclusively more realistic rather than unrealistic.

The film’s plot is about how students with artistic aspirations get specialized training at the New York City High School of Performing Arts which often leads them to success as actors, performers, singers, etc. Fame follows the main characters: Montgomery, Doris, Bruno, Lisa, Coco, Leroy and Ralph from the time when they audition in order to get accepted into school through graduation. It reflects each principal student’s pinpoint issues and how they struggle when attempting to accomplish their dreams. For instance, Montgomery struggles with his homosexuality causing him to feel excluded; shy Doris feels frustrated claiming that she is too ordinary in comparison with the others’ lively personalities; Bruno is reluctant to expose his music publicly and by this argues with his father; Lisa is constantly called by the teacher claiming she wasn’t trying hard enough in her dancing resulting in the teacher dropping her out of dance class; Coco gets fooled by a guy that claims to be a director; Leroy is illiterate but is ashamed to admit it and finally Ralph succumbs into fame excessively.

In the 1980’s New York City went toward a full economic recovery from its near bankruptcy in 1975. On November 23, city authoritarians announced that the city was nearly certain to have an estimated budget surplus from $100 million to $300 million for the monetary year that began on July 1 (Parrott). The city’s overall average salary was about $15,757 and had a minimum wage of $3.10 as seen on Figure 1. The minimum wage had increased from $2.90 to $3.10 on January 1, 1980; thus, the city’s economic status was practically stable.

*Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

On Figure 2 the minimum wage is represented as percentage of the average wage and the dropdown of the minimum wage percentage from 45.0% in 1975 to 42.0% in 1977 is clearly seen; but in 1980 the slope gets stabilized again to 45.0% at a short period however, dropping early from 1981.

*Source: Author's calculations based on data from the U.S. Department of Labor

With an estimated population of 7,071,639 in the city according to the Census Data, there was a majority in the number of the unrelated persons with income between $15,000 and $24,999 being 212,130 in comparison to the number of unrelated persons with income between $2,000 and $2,999 being 77,094 for instance. In other words, according to the chart below there is a surpassing difference between the amounts of people that attained more quantity of income rather than a low range; thus, by this it’s inferred that the citizens were stable in terms of economic status.  

Correspondingly, although Fame doesn’t necessarily portray the economical aspect of the city to a deep extent, New York City’s stable financial system is inferred by a single scene. The scene involved Doris wearing a costume of a kind of like blind homeless, holding a blind-stick and money cup next to Montgomery strolling by the city and having a conversation. All of a sudden, a random person puts a coin in the money cup and Doris exclaims that where did that come from surprised and then saying that they can buy coffee with just that coin. Consequently, this brief scene explains how, assuming it was 50 cents was sufficient in order to purchase two cups of coffee defining the city’s economic steadiness in 1980. Additionally, even though the economy was practically balanced by that time, there were still few people that didn’t contain the sufficient funds in order to pay for important purposes or even to subsist. This situation in other words engrosses: high, middle and low class which is the monetary status in which people were divided. The majority of the black race was significantly poor and deprived being so, known as low class. In ethnic minorities’ neighborhoods there were numerous structural factors that prevailed such as: low incomes, bad housing, scarcity, poor schools and unemployment. Due to the segregated conditions and pervasive poverty, some African American neighborhoods in New York City have been referred to as “ghettos” which was and is a somehow potentially offensive as well as controversial term which signified poor urban areas populated by ethnic minorities. Because of their deficiency and origin of cultural background, the majority of young black males were illiterate since the mid 1960’s and predominated several cultural attributes such as certain values and tendency of diverse rebellious attitudes that resulted in disobedient and seditious behaviors toward and throughout their lives. Additionally, since black males were unable to find jobs, they turned frequently to illegal activities (Patterson). Similarly, the film perfectly depicts ethnic poverty realistically by showing the characters’ background such as Leroy, for example. Viewers can infer from the beginning during the auditions his cultural background as a teacher demanded that he didn’t enter with a knife into the auditions and so, Leroy with a fresh tone states: “Are you going to steal it?” and the teacher irritated exclaims no, and demands him to give her the knife before entering. Then finally, as he goes up the stairs he opens his jacket, in which a bunch of knifes are hanging, and says eagerly laughing: “I got a lot of knifes”. Throughout the movie, it’s also observed how he doesn’t have a place to live, his lack of education as he is illiterate as well as his constant rebellious conduct and violent reactions, mostly when being pressured to prove his reading skills which he didn’t possess.  

Not only was the stabilized monetary aspect of New York City developing, but certain social trends and a phenomenon as well as growing up in New York City during 1980 was essentially radical. This time involved a significant change in people’s philosophy and way of life; it was the beginning of development on youngsters’ practically defiant attitude towards life and even against their regular custom. In other words, 1980 was the initiation of a phase and era of teen rebellion involving sex extravaganza, drugs, alcohol and many other factors. Another important feature linked to teen rebellion was definitely music as it was a way of youthful societal libertinage and wild philosophy. Not only did music mean a lot to society during that time, but art in general was deeply appreciated. The replication of Broadway theaters and institutions all around New York City represent the growth of art value and admiration evolving throughout society during that time.

Another interesting social affinity was the intricate theme of homosexuality. After the Stonewall riots that occurred in 1969 at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhoods of New York City, even though it marked the beginning of the gay rights movement in the United States, gay youth still had a really tough time figuring out how to be able to deal with this issue. It was complex for them to identify themselves as homosexual due to social disparities and in that year gay wasn’t a particularly socially accepted matter. For that reason, the homosexual had an unwanted dilemma they had to confront and so, waited a long time until they were able to come out of the closet. It is certainly out of the question to mention the fashion revolving during 1980; the frizzy hair, colorful tights, slouchy socks or leg warmers, power suits, and many other fashion trends. Since communication and media was already developed during that time in the city, fame and prominence was significantly vital to the artistic aspiring people. People sought for numerous forms of exposure and the media certainly made it a lot easier in that sense through newspapers, radio and television. Individuals searched for fame however possible, and when it was about to be reached it somehow succumbed them to a modified lifestyle and uncontrollable aspect of it.    

Likewise, the stance Fame took towards the social aspect of New York City during 1980 is undeniably realistic exposing factual circumstances throughout the main characters’ actions and events. Teen revolt is perceived through all the film’s plot by the main characters’ actions and occurrences. As mentioned already above, the use of drugs is one aspect of youth rebellion portrayed in the movie. This is seen when Ralph and Doris attend The Rocky Horror Picture Show in

8^th street

playhouse. The event’s surroundings involved numerous teenagers dressed in accordance to the film’s theme, having a great time and smoking marijuana. In accordance to art appreciation and music, Fame’s insight towards these social trends is unquestionable as it shows the passion and immense desire the students at the New York City High School of Performing Arts have to achieve their fervent artistic dreams. The passion is perceived when the student body, apart from encompassing an energetic lunch hour by dancing and playing music, by hearing the music from Bruno’s father taxicab the streets were filled with them dancing and singing jamming the traffic all around. The way fame was sought during 1980 was significantly portrayed by Coco Hernandez as she was fooled by a guy that claimed that he was a director and that she should go to a screen test for him; which turned out to be a totally unexpected outcome for her, as she was forced to take her top off in front of the camera instead. Also the uncontrollable aspects of fame were seen when Ralph was in a phase of fame which was transforming his lifestyle and apart from the constant drug consumption his ambition turned into urge falling completely out of his hands, thus ruining the comedy show. The struggle of homosexuality described above is another social factor realistically portrayed by Montgomery as he feels uncertain by his sexuality and feels isolated later when Doris and Ralph get together.  

Fame chose a realistic stance to specifically portray the lives of teenagers seeking to attain their most aspired dream in life and convince the audience to understand the variety of issues linked to art-oriented teens. In other words, it clearly reflected different teenagers’ lives and outcomes with one same passion: performing arts. The film also captures the raw emotions of teens that are grappling with strong issues and so portrays this by the students in an astounding clarity. The director Alan Parker opted this realistic approach to connect to the most important theme which is fame, showing the real effects that it can cause and how the teenagers basically dealt with it. By this, he wanted to persuade the viewers how life was during that time in the city as well as how teens strived among numerous troubles linked to the challenge of reaching fame.   

Works Cited

Cook, Jim. "Minimum Wage Reaches Historic Lows." Irregular Times News Unfit for Print. Irregular Times, using WordPress, 11 May 2005. Web. 23 Nov 2010.

Croop, Kari. "Fame." Common Sense Media. Common Sense Media Inc., Web. 23 Nov 2010.

"Fame Lives Forever." MTI Musical Theatre International. iTheatrics, 24 Sep 2009. Web. 21 Nov 2010.

"Fame (1980)." On the set of New York. On the set of New York, Web. 23 Nov 2010.

Johnston, David. "Income Gap is Widening, Data Shows." New York Times (2007): Web. 20 Nov 2010.

"Nominal and Real Minimum Wages, 1950-2005." Irregular Times. Web. 18 Nov 2010.

Parrott, James. "Raising the Minimum Wage In New York: Helping Working Families and Improving the State's Economy." Fiscal Policy Institute. Fiscal Policy Institute, Jan 2004. Web. 23 Nov 2010.

Patterson, Orlando. "A Poverty of the Mind." New York Times (2006): 1-3. Web. 30 Nov 2010.

 Popik, Barry. "Entry from November 27, 2004: "Fame" (1980)." The Big Apple. Double-Tongued Word Wester Dictionary, 27 Nov 2004. Web. 23 Nov 2010.

Rosenthal, David. "'Chorus Line' Goes to High School." New York Magazine 1980: 56-59. Web. 18 Nov 2010.

Tucker, Reed. "Claim to 'Fame'." New York Post (2009): Web. 23 Nov 2010.

Wright, Lionel. "The Stonewall Riots -1969- A Turning Point in the Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Liberation." Socialism Today 1 Jul. 1999: Web. 1 Dec 2010.

  

Blog 14: Draft of Eng 103 Research Paper

Michelle Tapia

Professor Luke Vasileou

ENG 103

18 November 2010

Fame 1980: Its Outlook of Reality

A dream is a vision, an image; the most cherished desire any individual can contain. Numerous people have this inspirational dream, and with a certain degree of ambition, they seek to achieve it no matter what it takes throughout their journey. Such yearning goals and purposes are rigorously based on the person’s most insightful and passionate aspirations in life. For instance, teens that are fervent and avid about artistic aspects might contain that certain admiration and complete devotedness to reach their most inner passion such as in performing arts, dance, theater, drama, and music. That’s how the American musical film Fame (1980) directed by Alan Parker marvelously fits in with this arty ideal; a group of youngsters seek to follow their dreams and audition in the New York City High School of Performing Arts hoping to get accepted. The movie’s setting, New York City, also known as the city that never sleeps, is fantastic due to the many lights, the magical Broadway theaters, delightful surroundings; but mostly because of its fervent appreciation of art. Thus, the stance Fame sought to portray toward life in the city during 1980, involving the social and economical aspect of it, is conclusively more realistic rather than unrealistic.

The film’s plot is about how students with artistic aspirations get specialized training at the New York City High School of Performing Arts which often leads them to success as actors, performers, singers, etc. Fame follows the main characters: Montgomery, Doris, Bruno, Lisa, Coco, Leroy and Ralph from the time when they audition in order to get accepted into school through graduation. It reflects each principal student’s pinpoint issues and how they struggle when attempting to accomplish their dreams. For instance, Montgomery struggles with his homosexuality causing him to feel excluded; shy Doris feels frustrated claiming that she is too ordinary in comparison with the others’ lively personalities; Bruno is reluctant to expose his music publicly and by this argues with his father; Lisa is constantly called by the teacher claiming she wasn’t trying hard enough in her dancing resulting in the teacher dropping her out of dance class; Coco gets fooled by a guy that claims to be a director; Leroy is illiterate but is ashamed to admit it and finally Ralph succumbs into fame excessively.

In the 1980’s New York City went toward a full economic recovery from its near bankruptcy in 1975. On November 23, city authoritarians announced that the city was nearly certain to have an estimated budget surplus from $100 million to $300 million for the monetary year that began on July 1. The city’s overall average salary was about $15,757 and had a minimum wage of $3.10 as seen on Figure 1. The minimum wage had increased from $2.90 to $3.10 on January 1, 1980; thus, the city’s economic status was practically stable.

On Figure 2 the minimum wage is represented as percentage of the average wage and the dropdown of the minimum wage percentage from 45.0% in 1975 to 42.0% in 1977 is clearly seen; but in 1980 the slope gets stabilized again to 45.0% at a short period however, dropping early from 1981. With an estimated population of 7,071,639 in the city according to the Census Data, there was a majority in the number of the unrelated persons with income between $15,000 and $24,999 being 212,130 in comparison to the number of unrelated persons with income between $2,000 and $2,999 being 77,094 for instance. In other words, according to the chart below there is a surpassing difference between the amounts of people that attained more quantity of income rather than a low range; thus, by this it’s inferred that the citizens were stable in terms of economic status.  

Correspondingly, although Fame doesn’t necessarily portray the economical aspect of the city to a deep extent, New York City’s stable financial system is inferred by a single scene. The scene involved Doris wearing a costume of a kind of like blind homeless, holding a blind-stick and money cup next to Montgomery strolling by the city and having a conversation. All of a sudden, a random person puts a coin in the money cup and Doris exclaims that where did that come from surprised and then saying that they can buy coffee with just that coin. Consequently, this brief scene explains how, assuming it was 50 cents was sufficient in order to purchase two cups of coffee defining the city’s economic steadiness in 1980. Additionally, even though the economy was practically balanced by that time, there were still few people that didn’t contain the sufficient funds in order to pay for important purposes or even to subsist. This situation in other words engrosses: high, middle and low class which is the monetary status in which people were divided. Similarly, the film perfectly depicts poverty realistically by showing the characters’ background such as Leroy, for example, as it’s observed how he doesn’t have a place to live and his lack of education as he is illiterate.   

Not only was the stabilized monetary aspect of New York City developing, but certain social trends and a phenomenon as well as growing up in New York City during 1980 was essentially radical. This time involved a significant change in people’s philosophy and way of life; it was the beginning of development on youngsters’ practically defiant attitude towards life and even against their regular custom. In other words, 1980 was the initiation of a phase and era of teen rebellion involving sex extravaganza, drugs, alcohol and many other factors. Another important feature linked to teen rebellion was definitely music as it was a way of youthful societal libertinage and wild philosophy. Not only did music mean a lot to society during that time, but art in general was deeply appreciated. The replication of Broadway theaters and institutions all around New York City represent the growth of art value and admiration evolving throughout society during that time.

Another interesting social affinity was the intricate theme of homosexuality. Gay youth had a really tough time figuring out how to be able to deal with this issue. It was complex for them to identify themselves as homosexual due to social disparities and in that year gay wasn’t a particularly socially accepted matter. For that reason, the homosexual had an unwanted dilemma they had to confront and so, waited a long time until they were able to come out of the closet. It is certainly out of the question to mention the fashion revolving during 1980; the frizzy hair, colorful tights, slouchy socks or leg warmers, power suits, and many other fashion trends. Since communication and media was already developed during that time in the city, fame and prominence was significantly vital to the artistic aspiring people. People sought for numerous forms of exposure and the media certainly made it a lot easier in that sense through newspapers, radio and television. Individuals searched for fame however possible, and when it was about to be reached it somehow succumbed them to a modified lifestyle and uncontrollable aspect of it.    

Likewise, the stance Fame took towards the social aspect of New York City during 1980 is undeniably realistic exposing factual circumstances throughout the main characters’ actions and events. Teen revolt is perceived through all the film’s plot by the main characters’ actions and occurrences. As mentioned already above, the use of drugs is one aspect of youth rebellion portrayed in the movie. This is seen when Ralph and Doris attend The Rocky Horror Picture Show in

8^th street

playhouse. The event’s surroundings involved numerous teenagers dressed in accordance to the film’s theme, having a great time and smoking marijuana. In accordance to art appreciation and music, Fame’s insight towards these social trends is unquestionable as it shows the passion and immense desire the students at the New York City High School of Performing Arts have to achieve their fervent artistic dreams. The passion is perceived when the student body, apart from encompassing an energetic lunch hour by dancing and playing music, by hearing the music from Bruno’s father taxicab the streets were filled with them dancing and singing jamming the traffic all around. The way fame was sought during 1980 was significantly portrayed by Coco Hernandez as she was fooled by a guy that claimed that he was a director and that she should go to a screen test for him; which turned out to be a totally unexpected outcome for her, as she was forced to take her top off in front of the camera instead. Also the uncontrollable aspects of fame were seen when Ralph was in a phase of fame which was transforming his lifestyle and apart from the constant drug consumption his ambition turned into urge falling completely out of his hands, thus ruining the comedy show. The struggle of homosexuality described above is another social factor realistically portrayed by Montgomery as he feels uncertain by his sexuality and feels isolated later when Doris and Ralph get together.  

Fame chose a realistic stance to specifically portray the lives of teenagers seeking to attain their most aspired dream in life and convince the audience to understand the variety of issues linked to art-oriented teens. In other words, it clearly reflected different teenagers’ lives and outcomes with one same passion: performing arts. The film also captures the raw emotions of teens that are grappling with strong issues and so portrays this by the students in an astounding clarity. The director Alan Parker opted this realistic approach to connect to the most important theme which is fame, showing the real effects that it can cause and how the teenagers basically dealt with it. By this, he wanted to persuade the viewers how life was during that time in the city as well as how teens strived among numerous troubles linked to fame.   

Works Cited

Cook, Jim. "Minimum Wage Reaches Historic Lows." Irregular Times News Unfit for Print. Irregular Times, using WordPress, 11 May 2005. Web. 23 Nov 2010.

Croop, Kari. "Fame." Common Sense Media. Common Sense Media Inc., Web. 23 Nov 2010.

"Fame Lives Forever." MTI Musical Theatre International. iTheatrics, 24 Sep 2009. Web. 21 Nov 2010.

"Fame (1980)." On the set of New York. On the set of New York, Web. 23 Nov 2010.

Johnston, David. "Income Gap is Widening, Data Shows." New York Times (2007): Web. 20 Nov 2010.

"Nominal and Real Minimum Wages, 1950-2005." Irregular Times. Web. 18 Nov 2010.

Parrott, James. "Raising the Minimum Wage In New York: Helping Working Families and Improving the State's Economy." Fiscal Policy Institute. Fiscal Policy Institute, Jan 2004. Web. 23 Nov 2010.

Popik, Barry. "Entry from November 27, 2004: "Fame" (1980)." The Big Apple. Double-Tongued Word Wester Dictionary, 27 Nov 2004. Web. 23 Nov 2010.

Rosenthal, David. "'Chorus Line' Goes to High School." New York Magazine 1980: 56-59. Web. 18 Nov 2010.

Tucker, Reed. "Claim to 'Fame'." New York Post (2009): Web. 23 Nov 2010.

 

Blog 13: Minority Report Response

Murder can be an unquestionably terrible and hazardous type of crime witnessed in present day society. It’s probably the worst felony an individual can commit, as of course a precious innocent life is taken away in perhaps a glimpse or a blink of an eye. Definitely no one in the face of the earth deserves their life to be seized in such a horrible manner; but sadly it occurs. There’s probably no justifiable reason by which a person might have the desire to kill another connecting the idea of conscience or inner scruples an individual can possess. The sense of right and wrong plays a vital role in a drastic situation similar to this. Perhaps the most reliable solution for increased crime rates and of course felony itself might be “Precrime,” the elite law enforcing squad that prevents crime before it even occurs in distinctive Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report.

In Minority Report the “Precrime” squad utilizes three genetically engineered humans called Pre-cogs, with special powers to be able to see in the future and predict crimes in advance. John Anderton, one of the members of the squad, believes the system’s flawlessness persistently. However, one day the Pre-cogs predict that Anderton himself will commit a murder in which he doesn’t even know the victim. With an inner intrigue, he decides to get to the mystery’s core by discovering the “minority report” which is the prediction of the female Pre-Cog Agatha that “might” tell a diverse story and prove Anderton innocent. Anderton’s situation started gradually getting intense as his own unit began tracking down his every move plus the futuristic automated city, where every step taken is monitored, makes it a lot worse. It worsens to the point that privacy is not even an option. This is mostly seen when the spider robots, eye-scanning electronic spiders utilized in order to identify individuals, are thrown and dispersed by the officers to find Anderton. These spider robots scan the iris of every individual in that building despite whatever they’re doing including sex, having a discussion, using the bathroom, attending their children, etc.; but it seems that the people are accustomed to this procedure as they stop what they’re doing in order to get inspected so the spider robots can leave and then continue with their activities. In other words, the city has evolved into a world of avoiding crime but without privacy ethics.  

            I believe morals and respect should always be considered in daily activities and humanity itself. Despondently, the world has really become into a discourteous entity in which disappointedly we’re part of. In referential to Minority Report’s Precrime, the system has turned the community into an aware personnel due to the constant bombarding advertisements towards their consumers, as well as the continuous iris monitoring in order to identify every individual. Thus, due to the scrutinized city, it’s evident how crime has been lowered by the permanent invasion of privacy. In other words, society should unquestionably consider ethical solutions for its security issues because the more security without privacy, the more immoral the world becomes. However, corruption and crime are undeniably deceitful acts being the most acceptable reason by which security has become stricter. Therefore, austere protection is important to consider, but at the same time applying ethical concerns in hazardous crime diminishment systems.

Finally, “Precrime” would be an ideal solution in order to effectively avoid an intended crime before it’s even made. Nevertheless at the same time, free will and determinism is bound to be perceived as in the world of Minority Report, the system punishes people for something they haven’t even done yet. According to the article Free Will and Determinism in the World of Minority Report by Michael Huemer, the idea of free will is discussed as he states: “if the alleged future criminals lack free will, then it is unjust to punish them since they are not morally responsible for what they would have done. If the alleged future criminals have free will, then it is unjust to punish them since we can not be sufficiently certain that they really would have committed the crime for which they are to be punished.” In other words, there’s a free will paradox occurring under this situation in which not even the Precrime system’s “infallibility” contains an answer.   

Special Project: MOMI activity

During my visit to the Museum of the Moving Image I realized that there was narrative based on the layout as well as the course of the guides’ tour. First, it was basically about the commercial side of the movies for instance, collectible toys and magazines. Then, we went to the first game that was invented: Pong. After that, we went to the legendary actors’ section where the museum had pictures of actors such as James Dean and Charlie Chaplin. We also saw the kind of like plaster mask that were used in movies to transform a person into an older character. Then, we formed part of a short moving image stance in order to be elaborated as a flip book. We had to move for about 10 seconds to attain this. Then, we got to see certain costumes used in movies such as Chicago’s, portraying the type of clothing utilized during that time. Afterwards, we got to check how the voiceovers work putting Babe as an example. Then, we got to discover how the sounds, music/background, special sound effects and voiceovers are all put together to affect the scene.    

Blog 12: Major Research Paper outline

1.       The movie Fame (1980) stances life in New York City in a both realistic and unrealistic way.

• Realistically

a.       Fame is generally about a group of youngsters that go to the New York City High school of Performing Arts in order to pursue their artistic dreams.  

b.       The 1980’s was a time of restrained optimism.

c.       In the 1980’s the economy was generally strong.

                                             i.      People were spending more money on themselves and their families for luxuries and conveniences.

d.       The 1980’s signaled a period of conservatism in the political and cultural aspects caused by Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan.

e.       Like many other decades, the 1980s was a decade where music was a way to chronicle the times and events of the era.

f.         The 1980’s was the “Dress for Success” decade.

                                             i.      Big hair & curled bangs and perms were very popular.

                                           ii.      Neon and colorful clothing.

• Unrealistically
a.       Even though in the 1980’s the artistic and pop culture was strong it’s obvious that there wouldn’t be people dancing & singing on top of cars and all over the streets (would be really cool though!).

Blog 11: Media Midterm

Mahatma Gandhi:

Peerless Communicator of All Time

Mass media was originated in the 1920’s with the initiation of national radio networks and the circulation of newspapers and magazines. Nevertheless, some other forms of mass media such as books as well as manuscripts had already been originated and utilized over centuries. Mass media has evolved significantly over periods of time due to technology as its current saturated status has not always existed. It has become into a versatile entity that is a crucial part of our daily lives.  As of today, the media has reached rising achievable sources towards its spectators and has even exploited events and news by expressing biased broadcasting. For this reason, it’s certainly canny to revisit Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy and principle of journalism during his times of constant political struggle caused by discrimination towards his people. Gandhi, throughout his life, has replicated inspiring prominence and also influenced the history of mass media to a great extent as he used journalism in order to portray his views about peace which involved non-violence, civil disobedience and morality to be the most effective ways in order to attain social and economical goals.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869 in Porbandar; a coastal city in the state of India Gujarat. He was well-known as Mahatma Gandhi, which the Indian people called him, meaning Great Soul. He studied law in London and completed his training as a lawyer in 1891. Later, he went to South Africa In 1893 on his first appointment as a visitor. He began his political career and accepted a one year contract to do legal work there, which was controlled by the British at that time. When he tried to claim his rights as a British entity, he was mistreated and soon realized that all Indians suffered the same treatment of racial discrimination. Discrimination against the Indians was massive and had a considerable struggle for them as well. During Gandhi’s 22 years in this country, direct contact of racial discrimination suffered by the Indians changed the reserved lawyer into a convinced activist. He stayed during that time in order to dutifully accomplish secure rights for the Indian people. Thus, he developed a method called Satyagraha which consisted on societal resistance that portrayed the principles of courage, nonviolence and truth. Gandhi’s point of view was unique and outstanding believing that people’s behavior was much more important than what they achieve. Accordingly, one of the major impacts of Gandhi relied upon his exceptional devotion towards peace seeking.

Gandhi’s instinctive pacifying and non-violent aspirations were the key to the development of his resistance movement for Indian independence. This can be relevant as stated by Thomas Merton in his book Gandhi on Non-violence, “Non-violence is for Gandhi the basic law of our being. That is why it can be used as the most effective principle for social action since it is in deep accord with the truth of man’s nature and corresponds to his innate desire for peace, justice, order, freedom, and personal dignity.” (36) On the other hand, violence promotes brutality causing more disorder and deviating from the main purpose rather than focusing on it. Generally, violence upholds more power and ambition before accomplishing the intended goal. This was probably the reason by which Gandhi always portrayed and promoted enduring non-violence throughout his political movement as well as through his innate writings, causing numerous impacts in the course of history. In effect, Gandhi returned to India in 1896 with the ideal of explaining the situation of the Indians in South Africa and presenting his thoughts to the public in order to fight for the Indian’s rights. He realized the need to inform the community about the issue through his reports which gained global awareness shaping him into a prominent journalist. The letters he sent to the editors of South African daily newspapers portrayed his views becoming a significant lesson to others. Through his reports Gandhi showed the process of fighting injustice in a nation where laws are mostly against a group of people, without providing offence to the rulers themselves. A perfect example of this aspect was his letter to the Times of Natal dated October 25, 1894 titled “Rammysammy”; it expressed disagreement among the leader’s treatment to the Indians but with wise and proper wording. Gandhi wrote:

“You would not allow the Indian or the native the precious privilege (of voting) under any circumstances, because they have a dark skin. You would look the exterior only. So long as the skin is white it would not matter to you whether it conceals beneath it poison or nectar…” (Gandhi)

After 10 years of constant struggle, Gandhi realized that in order to mobilize public opinion and influence on official decisions a regular newspaper was definitely required. Therefore, Indian Opinion was created on June 1903, newspaper in which the content was pure and natural. It didn’t contain advertisements nor was its goal to attain money; but instead, to support his concept in Satyagraha. Indian Opinion became an important tool of education as through the columns of the newspaper, Gandhi tried to teach the public about sanitation, self-discipline and good citizenship. This newspaper played an important role to the community as much as to Gandhi himself since in his own statement in his biography My Experiments with Truth this is clearly pointed out:

“Indian Opinion... was a part of my life. Week after week I poured out my soul in its columns and expounded the principles and practice of Satyagraha as I understood it… I cannot recall a word in these articles set down without thought or deliberation or word of conscious exaggeration, or anything merely to please. Indeed the journal became for me a training in self restraint and for friends a medium through which to keep in touch with my thoughts."

Indian Opinion effectively forced the South African government to modify their despotic laws against Indians; it lasted for 11 years.

            Another of Gandhi’s groundbreaking reports was after he received a call from Bihar where the Indian farmers of Champaran (a district in the state of Bihar) were mistreated and exploited the same way as the laborers in South Africa. Gandhi, in no time, went there to investigate the issue settling a detailed study and survey of the towns. With this, he provided a report describing the massacres, awful events of suffering and the status of deteriorated living becoming probably the envy of any grand investigative journalist in the world. The villagers began gaining confidence as Gandhi started leading the cleaning of towns, building schools and hospitals persuading the government to undo purdah (system of keeping women isolated), untouchability which consisted on the social practice of excluding a “minority” ethnic group by separating them from the mainstream by social practice or legal permission,  and the abolition of women. He was joined by various nationalists from all over India. It was no doubt that after this incident, Gandhi applied journalism as his most valuable weapon to portray his point of view. Gandhi was later convinced to take over the editorship of Young India and Navajivan newspapers as well as a Gujarati monthly. He encompassed various aspects of journalism which were to him the three paramount considerations for journalism which included: editorial independence, loyalty and self-restraints.

Gandhi being associated with six journals, for two of which he was the editor, stated that the purpose of a newspaper was to understand the well-known emotion and express it, provoke assured desirable feelings amongst people and boldly to describe popular flaws. That was certain through his publications written in a simple, passionate but indignant way. His newspapers’ main goal was to serve the public. They were strictly without ambitions as they didn’t contain advertisements nor was it to earn him his livelihood; it was just for the function of service and to deeply inform the people of his cause. Gandhi was solely devoted to his love for the welfare of the community and fighting for independence through newspaper writing. Therefore, his appraisal of the daily newspapers weren’t approving since they were commercial, afraid of the government and dishonest in reporting.  His message of audacity and sacrifice gave a new motivation to the development of the media as a weapon of Satyagraha. In his own statement Gandhi’s aspect of journalism is shown: “The true function of journalism is to educate the public mind, not to stock it with wanted and unwanted impressions.” (M. K. Gandhi)

The Mahatma campaign was later established by Gandhi in order to abolish the Press Act of 1910. It prevented the British government from passing a bill that would stop Indians from speaking up against the government. Social group disagreements and elements involving social deficit such as exclusion and untouchability were the targets of The Mahatma movement. During The Mahatma movement, later in between 1933 and 1940 Harijan (English), Harijan Sevak (Hindi), and Harijan Bandu (Gujarati) became the Mahatma’s powerful “vehicle” for carrying his message and major influence to the people of India. In these newspapers, The Mahatma campaign was focused mostly on the social and economic problems. Gandhi had become the holder of the key to his people’s future of liberty finally India attaining complete independence on the midnight of august 15, 1947.  

Because of Gandhi’s outstanding philosophy on peace, an influence on the U.S. peace movement felt on the early 1920s is relevant. John Haynes Holmes, a prominent Unitarian minister and reformer, and an honest pacifist in World War I was an effective supporter of Gandhi’s ideals. Holmes’s description of Gandhi in a sermon called “Who is the Greatest Man in the World Today?”  amazed many listeners. Accounts of Gandhi’s movement for Indian independence and non-violent resistance were reported in the U.S. newspapers by journalists such as Negley Farson and Webb Miller. Idealists were heartened by the successful struggles throughout India. The Salt March was an inspirational example of that matter. Religious leaders who were also social idealists were fascinated by the religious approaches Gandhi applied to social and political issues. They were also impressed by his battle against social groups and untouchability.  

Likewise, Gandhi made an impression on various speakers such as Martin Luther King Jr. He was coincidentally introduced to Gandhi through a sermon by Mordecai Johnson, president of Howard University. King was so moved that he read numerous books on the Indian nationalist leader. He read with fascination of the life of one who had successfully transformed the ethic of nonviolence into a political instrument against the British Empire. The impact caused on him is described on his own statement: "As I read, I became deeply fascinated by his campaigns of nonviolent resistance. As I delved deeper into the philosophy of Gandhi, my skepticism concerning the power of love gradually diminished, and I came to see for the first time its potency in the area of social reform." (King Jr.) Gandhi even caused major impact on former president Barack Obama as on one of his speeches he stated: “Throughout my life, I have always looked to Mahatma Gandhi as an inspiration, because he embodies the kind of transformational change that can be made when ordinary people come together to do extraordinary things. That is why his portrait hangs in my Senate Office: to remind me that real results will come not just from Washington - they will come from the people”. (Obama)

Apart from being one of the most influential political leaders of the twentieth century and social reformer, Gandhi was a peerless communicator. As a journalist, Gandhi taught brilliant lessons on mass communication. More than anyone else, he acknowledged that communication is the most effective tool in order to portray his outstanding peace methods and mobilize popular support. Gandhi used media to sway public opinion in the imperialist country that occupied India and utilized the power of media to promote a nation’s struggle for independence. He was successful because of his underlying skill in communication that blossomed in South Africa where he had gone initially to practice as a lawyer. Valiant, effective and eloquent with his words, Gandhi reached out to millions of people and convinced them of his cause. Nowadays, when there is an extensive concern over the growing influence of market forces on media, and lament of journalism no longer being a social service, Gandhi’s views on the principles of journalism sets on a position to bear on the profession of journalism the power of ethics and morality. On this aspect Gandhi stated: “It is often observed that newspapers published any matter that they have, just to fill in space. The reason is that most newspapers have their eyes on profits... At times, they produce bitterness and strife even between different families and communities. Thus, newspapers cannot escape criticism merely because they serve the people.” Gandhi is an icon to be respected as the man who inspired the Indian independence, and who achieved it with immense courage and proposal by portraying non-violence against all odds. His significant influence in the world was epic and can still contain the power to change societies to an improved place. His views and the power of media that he utilized were to be venerated everlastingly. Mohandas K. Gandhi died believing that his sole voice was unheard, but he was mistaken; the power of his message would certainly endure to progress the public and nations for all times to come. 

Blog 10: Gattaca Response

“The other” is certainly seen in everyday life even when you just think about it; this is, when a person thinks: “Wow, how she can do something like that?” or “I wouldn’t say that if that was me…” In this case, that person is putting his/herself into a position, as if that person were judging that “other” person’s actions and thoughts resulting in being “the other” for the person that was critiquing that individual. “The other” is not particularly seen in the present, but also in history as stated by George J. Annas in his essay “The Man in the Moon.” He articulates that “The new ideal human, the genetically engineered ‘superior’ human, will almost certainly come to represent ‘the other’. If history is a guide, either the normal humans will view the ‘better’ humans as the other and seek to control or destroy them, or vice-versa” (236).

I believe this statement to contain both probable as well as uncertain ideals, as he is stating that the genetically engineered which is the scientific alteration of the structure of genetic material in a living organism using recombinant DNA, humans are bound to be the “superior” type of human beings in a society as a whole. Therefore, these “superior” humans will be viewed as “the other” according to the normal humans; but probably to the “better” humans the normal ones will be viewed as “the other” creating a controversy. For example, in history situations such as the struggle between the Nazis and the Jews the concept of “the other” is evidently seen. For the Nazis, Jews were those of inferior race and they dominated and mistreated them based on their philosophy which was that the Germans believed they were the ‘superior race’ and their destiny was to take control of the inferior ones. In this case, the Nazis viewed the Jews as “the other” due to their philosophy resulting on the exploitation of the Jews unjustly. A revisit to the movie Gattaca is certainly clever as it matches perfectly with the concept of “the other.” In the movie, Vincent was considered to belong to the society’s lower levels due to the fact that he was naturally conceived; on the other hand, his brother Anton was artificially conceived therefore containing the genetic characteristics that are scientifically engineered to maximize his biologically in-built positive abilities. Hence, Vincent was viewed as “the other” because of the society’s functional outlook generally disdaining him when his dream was to travel to space.

Back to Annas’s theory, supposing that it might contain uncertain ideals, it’s crucial to point out that this statement is generally viewed from a scientific perspective and of course, scientists perhaps view facts from a more logical and technical outlook. They analyze and elaborate different studies in order to prove their point articulated and support their thesis in general aspects. In other words, there’s a discrepancy on a viewpoint of a person on this factor and an opinion of a scientist; showing what I believe which is that there are a lot of benefits on the genetically engineering, but at the same time there are issues linked to it. A positive aspect of genetically engineering would definitely be the elimination or at least the diminish of diseases. It would be of the nation’s welfare to have a decrease of viruses as of course, people’s health improves and there’s less risk of severe diseases that can cause death. Conversely, one of the negative aspects might be the fact that applying genetically engineered human beings will turn out to be too machine-like or elaborate. This means that such drawbacks might not be a problem to these highly structured beings and there won’t be such nature or natural joy ability. Genetically engineered species might be possible in the near future due to the constant increase in technology and machinery nowadays. The theory of the “superior other” cannot only be seen in human history, but also in present day society. For instance, a person that possesses large quantity of money might certainly be seen as the superior other due to the fact that the public consider a person with a lot of wealth to be powerful, sophisticated and interesting becoming a prevailing human being; why is money such an ambitious priority for the people?

Genetically engineered human beings can turn into a real controversy in the present, but can definitely be beneficial in certain ways in the long run. But mostly, to keep it natural is what’s best because we were created and conceived that way biologically. Due to constant technological advances it is of no doubt that genetically elaborated human beings might perhaps be a paramount option in the future. Hopefully natural human aspects are not executed and genetically engineering is utilized for other healthier purposes rather than elaborating a machine-like human. 

Blog 9: Matrix 2

Mythology and The Bible’s complex but convictive quotations have been and is somehow a controversial subject in our society nowadays. One side of the “panorama” probably question certain topics referring to that matter due to skepticism; others remain faithful and know that is to believe without bewilderment. Either side should be aware of respect towards any of these cases; this means having courtesy to each individual’s opinion and way of thinking. It’s unfair to refer to The Bible’s references or Jesus Christ’s proceedings as ridiculous or absurd just because it doesn’t seem to fit on an individual’s viewpoint; but maintain a certain respect to people that not only rely on these holy figures, but at least have faith and reverence towards Jesus. A person that has these believes are bound to be considered religious fanatics in our civilization despondently without even knowing what their real outlook is towards their faith. When a person wins an award due to a specific accomplishment in their lives and they’d have to articulate a speech and say: “First of all, I would like to thank God…” is when some people question “what the hell did God have to do in his/her accomplishment?” when in reality for that person God had a lot to do throughout his/her life but that people don’t know, and just considered that it will be pleasant and significant to make a reference to God. But sadly, people in general don’t understand and just scold that person as ridiculous. This is when the movie The Matrix comes to mind as a perfect example, since the religious themes play a fundamental role throughout its story.  

When referring to the movie’s story in general, the religious resemblance is evident in an instant. In Christianity, there is one true Messiah which was the anticipated savior of the Jews; but there is also a trinity which is the unity of Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Clearly, in The Matrix the characters portend these Christian allusions in which the trinity is unquestionably noticed. Neo is referred to as being “The One” and portrays rebirth. He is nothing less than the savior of the human race similarly to the true Messiah. Morpheus gave birth to Neo by separating him from the illusion and bringing him towards reality. He becomes his mentor, and is considered “more than a leader”; he is “The Father” symbolizing God. And finally, Trinity foreshadows the Holy Spirit complementing the trinity’s unity as a whole. In one of the Bible’s excerpts there is a story about a fallen archangel named Lucifer. Lucifer in heaven was a high and exalted angel next in honor to God’s Son. He was special and he was one with the Father before the angels were created. But he was envious of Christ and gradually assumed domination which was delegated on Christ alone. This statement is clearly represented in The Matrix by the fallen member of Morpheus’s crew, Cypher. Cypher, which was a trusted and important member of the team, became jealous of The One and no longer believed in his prophecies betraying his fellow escorts in order to return to the comforts of the Matrix.

Correspondingly, mythology also provides extreme clarification in the movie’s plot and theme. In Greek mythology, Morpheus means “shaper of dreams”; it’s the God of dreams and sleep. This visibly relates to Morpheus’s persona in the movie, as he is the leader of a team of free humans and enables Neo to awaken from his “sleep.” Another mythological figure is the Oracle which was a god who predicts the future, like the oracle of Apollo at Delphi for instance. In The Matrix, the Oracle knew that Neo was The One in intimate detail; she foresaw that Morpheus would find The One and that Trinity will fall in love with The One. But why then lie to Neo or deliberately mislead him in thinking that he wasn’t The One? The answer plays an important role in its movie’s plot as it’s obvious that Neo wouldn’t have accepted this predicament as true if The Oracle would’ve told him straightforward that he was The One. It would have resulted in him being unable to recognize his potential and underestimate his fate. Instead, The Oracle cannily sets him up to both think that he is not The One and to comprehend that he will be forced to opt between saving his own life and the life of Morpheus. When Morpheus is captured by the agents is when the Oracle’s predictions become evident, as Neo sets out to rescue him with unique determination but knowing that he might succeed but ultimately not survive. It is at the end, in the despair of his situation and his critical defeat which makes him reach down and find his true ability as The One.

Besides to The Matrix’s characters, there’s a lot to its setting and machinery. The free humans in the movie live in a city called Zion, named after the Biblical city described in Psalms (48:2): "Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion." God resides in Zion, which is together a place of past prominence and a future hope for the redemption of this world. It will be refuge for the enslaved and the oppressed. The free humans have named their own city Zion for apparent motives, as it represents hope for the freedom of humanity from the imprisonment and chimera of The Matrix. Machinery, of course refers to the hovercraft Morpheus’s crew uses to travel called the Nebuchadnezzar. In the Old Testament, Nebuchadnezzar was a King of Babylonia that destroyed Jerusalem and brought the Israelites back to Babylonia in incarceration. In the second year of his reign Nebuchadnezzar had continous dreams and sometimes couldn’t sleep. He commanded magicians and wise men to interpret his dreams; but they were unable to do so. That is when Daniel, one of the incarcerated prays to God to show the king the truth of his dream. Daniel goes before Nebuchadnezzar and deduces his dream leaving him astonished and realizing: “Truly, your God is a God of gods… and a revealer of mysteries" (Daniel 2:47). Thus, the reference to Nebuchadnezzar in The Matrix connects to the idea that only God can reveal the truth of dreams, which is that Neo is the savior who will show humanity the truth about The Matrix. One of Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams also relates to the movie’s plot as when “he dreams of a statue with a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of brass, legs of iron and feet of clay. A simple stone strikes the statue on its feet, and the whole statue crumbles. Then the stone grows into a great mountain that fills the Earth” (Daniel 2:31-2:35). The dream is a prophecy that states that each of the metals of the statue represents a kingdom of Earth but that rest on a weak base which is the feet of clay. The kingdoms will one day be ousted and be replaced by the kingdom of God. Therefore, the name of the hovercraft may refer to this prophecy as in this case, Neo is the stone; he will oust the machines and replace them with a new order.                         

It’s no doubt that The Matrix’s plot relies on mythological and Biblical stories in order to clarify it towards its audience. Its characters as well as its setting are both clear symbols of these cultural allusions and play an important role when interpreted that way. The story’s plot is exquisitely told and conveyed in a manner that it’s bound to be admired. Thus, misunderstanding is practically erased when viewed this way but leaves a certain point of inevitable thought. If it wasn’t for the director’s way of connecting its plot with mythological and Biblical references, the story itself would loose its magic as well as elucidation. On behalf of this, point of view is important to comprehend the plot of The Matrix, which is why its religious themes play a crucial role throughout.         

Blog 8 follow up

I would now like you to return to your blog 8 entry and discuss a situation when you have been seen as the other--when your sex, race, habits, tastes etc. have clearly made somebody react negatively toward you and turn you into "the other" for them. Discuss the experience in detail and what you thought about the person as well as about yourself after this experience.

I probably was seen as “the other” with my friends as they would love to talk about other people and put them names and stuff like that and the sad part of it is that I was kind of part of it. When they talked about someone and said like: “she is so stupid” I would feel bad and think to myself “just leave her alone” because it was something that they would talk about every day and it turned out as something annoying. So, in other words, I was seen as “the other” indirectly because of being with my friends turning out to be a part of it. Another of these situations was when I would have to talk or deal with someone that I really didn’t get along with being this, “the superficial person that loved to give attention all the time”, since in reality I would’ve wanted to ask him/her why was she/he acting that way, but of course I wouldn’t do it because it would probably turn out as something offensive and be misinterpreted turning out as probably something judgmental.