Literature Through Film Post #3: Responding to "To Kill a Mockingbird"

       In this mysteriously interesting movie, we go over the experiences of Scout, a curious and lovely young girl who pretty much is the definition of innocence, is faced with challenging life experiences that prove to be contributors to her growth. She naturally challenges the standards set by her archaic society and questions the silly logistics that have overtaken the minds of the people in the past. Everyone seems to be just mindlessly following racist and sexist standards without ever stopping to think about them, but Scout is always questioning why the world around her is rotting and the people around her are so negligent. Scout questions, why does she need to wear a dress to school just because she is a girl. She clearly isn't allowed to do what makes her comfortable which in return makes the world around her a more hostile place for her. She witnesses the hatred of white people towards black people, and see how unfair and unbalanced the justice systems were are the time. On the way, she also saw how manipulative and destructive people can be when Mr. Ewell abused his daughter and still managed to convince her to say that a black person did it in court. All throughout what I managed to see of the movie, I was afraid that Atticus would be killed by the people who accused Tom Robinson of a serious felony because of the scene where Mr. Ewell snuck up to his car and seemed threatening to Atticus' kids. He also called Atticus a "nigger lover" which is what the people in Selma called the white people who helped the black people in the civil rights movement before they killed them.

Literature Through Film Post #2: Responding to "Precious"

       In this stunning emotional roller coaster, viewers constantly find themselves making that "ouch,," expression as they witness the abuse and mistreatment that the main character, Precious, experiences. One of the most interesting displays of film abstraction (at least that's what I would call it), is when Precious is seen in an illusion in which she is in a happy place while she is experiencing a considerably scarring experience. When she is getting raped by her father, when she was assaulted in the street, when she was running away from her mother, all of these scenes seemed oddly out of place and didn't hold any immediate meaning to me when I saw them. I found myself troubled trying to understand what message is being sent out every time Precious is in one of these illusions, and I couldn't come up with anything. After reflecting on it for a while, I've decided to believe that these illusions are Precious' coping mechanism that allow her to move on with her life and give off the strong appearance she does all throughout the movie without breaking down and crying. I wondered all along the movie how could precious possibly go on with her life. Reality is, she can't, not on her own. These illusions and dreams of happiness are the reason she is still attempting to set her life on track, and this reveals that she is a strong character that has managed to live through situations none of us could possibly imagine ourselves going through by ourselves.

Literature Through Film Post #1: Responding to "Monty Python and The Holy Grail"

        In this marvelously hilarious display of criticism of the darker aspects of the middle ages, we as viewers were granted information that is only heard of seldom when talking about the middle ages. This information was delivered to us in such a clever manner, that even the senseless killings of women during witch-hunts were hilarious to us. How did Monty Python manage to do this? To put it simply, by highlighting stupidity and really making clear how much we have developed as humans. This brilliant appeal approach is the "Monty Python" touch. All of their films appeal to their viewers by creating this feeling of achievement through the very detailed highlight of stupidity from the past ages. The effect this has on the viewers is evoking a feeling of joy because the viewers have now made aware that there are people so stupid that compared to them, they might as well be gods. The stubbornness of the black knight, the desperation of the virgins, the thirst for blood that the villagers possessed. All of these details add up to the image of what we used to be. Logically, this would bring shame upon the viewers, but upon the realization that these things don't happen anymore (or at least not as often or as explicitly), a feeling of improvement overcomes then, and these dark stories suddenly becoming entertaining and even educational. This entertainment approach is brilliant and I wish it was used more often in modern films. Sadly, all we see is the same love story with different Barbies and different Kens nowadays...

Poem Post #8; Responding to: William Wordsworth, “The world is too much with us”

The world is too much with us; late and soon,

Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;—

Little we see in Nature that is ours;

We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!

This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;

The winds that will be howling at all hours,

And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;

For this, for everything, we are out of tune;

It moves us not. Great God! I’d rather be

A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;

So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,

Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;

Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;

Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.

       This poem is straight up criticizing the place that humanity holds in this earth. It starts up by being explicit and to the point. There is no room for us in this world, we simply don't fit. We just take and take, we give up our power to make. There is nothing in nature that really is ours, we have to break down and rebuild to our needs, the earth wasn't made for us. We made the earth to kind of work for us. We bring down forests, we litter the sea, we kill the real owners of this earth, the animals, and once again, use them to feed us and keep us alive. We are selfish and needy. We are all united, but still hurt the planet with our wars. We simply do not fit in. The author would rather be spiritually enlightened, and escape the human body. That way, he would be able to witness and appreciate the beauty and majesty and wondrous features that humans have gone blind to. That's why the author addresses mythical figures such as Proteus. To represent the wondrous ideas we can't see, but would be able to if we became spiritually enlightened. I believe that in the eyes of the author, we need to stop being human to finally fit in this beautiful earth, and stop biting the hand that feeds us. Thinking about it, there is really no planet we can belong to, because the same would happen. Humans are just a coincidence.

Poem Post #7: Responding to: "Sonnet 29" Shakespeare, William

       When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes,

I all alone beweep my outcast state,

And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,

And look upon myself and curse my fate,

Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,

Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,

Desiring this man’s art and that man’s scope,

With what I most enjoy contented least;

Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,

Haply I think on thee, and then my state,

(Like to the lark at break of day arising

From sullen earth) sings hymns at heaven’s gate;

       For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings

       That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

       This poem takes a turn on the idea "money doesn't bring you happiness". As a matter of fact, this poem actually says "money will make you sad and excluded". My paraphrasing of the poem goes as follows:

       When I'm drowning in money and the jealousy of others,

I am alone in my own island, 

And I ask for mercy when I deserve no pity,

And I damn myself for being rich,

Wishing to be as rich in hope as I am in wealth,

To be known like him, to have friends like him,

Desiring to have meaning in my life other than money, 

Getting the least money from what I enjoy the most; 

I hate my decisions,

I think about you, and how I am,
I'm still asking for mercy;

       Because you loved me for my money

       I want to be poor. 

       

       These emotions may be coming from Shakespeare as a justification for his decision to do what he loves, writing, instead of what would give him the most money. He expresses that had he followed the money instead of his dreams he would be miserable, lonely, and an outcast. It's almost like one of those stories about wanting to fit in, and in the real world, fitting in means being average. With average amounts of money and a life lacking luxurious assets. To Shakespeare, fitting in economically means being rich in spirit and hope, as he described in the poem. He believes that his happiness will come from not being alone and from doing what he really wants to do with money aside.

Poem Post #6; Responding to: Randall Jarrell, “The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner”

From my mother’s sleep I fell into the State,
And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze.
Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life,
I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters.
When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.

       This poem attempts to point out how meaningless and worthless the people are to the government and the army. This unnamed gunner (the fact that it is unnamed is an attempt to allow the character to represent everyone in this situation), was taken away from home, from its family, from its planet, to be cannon meat and put in the nightmare of war. Everything had been taken away from it to fight a fight it had nothing to do with. After the gunner was abused and mutilated by the flame of the rage of the powerful people, not even its honor was granted to it, as it was washed away with a hose like trash that is in the way. 





This is what it looks like to be in a ball turret. The gunner was squeezed in there because his comfort is meaningless to the people in power. After all, he is expected to die. This poem makes me think of the famous lyrics from System of a Down: "Why don't presidents fight the war? Why do they always send the poor?", since it feels like it is also a call out to the people creating conflict and death while keeping themselves safe and sheltered. A leader isn't supposed to boss people around, a leader goes with the people and guides them and puts itself in the front lines, and its people over itself. If this was the way war was fought, there wouldn't be so much war to begin with; because all our "leaders" care about is their own skin.

Poem Post #5: Reflecting on: Gwendolyn Brooks, “We Real Cool”

We real cool. We
Left school. We

Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We

Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We

Jazz June. We
Die soon.

       The brief and quickly escalating poem, made up of fragments and phrases, that is We Real Cool, serves as a warning for kids that delivers the commonly known message "Stay in school, kids". It is quick and to the point when asking the question: "Do you really want to live fast, die young?". Looking at the historical context of this poem readers can quickly see that it is from what we would call the "post-modern era", where narrators drift away from common rhythmic tradition and deliver messages more known to the current audience. A particularly interesting aspect of the poem is its consistent, catchy rhythm; with the lines being able to be delivered like a rap song with beat boxing behind it. This effect is created by the use of an artificial pause caused by a line break after the first word of each sentence (except the very first one). This poem has proved to be complex and difficult when attempting to pinpoint a certain kind of foot and meter to it. Although the rhythm stays consistent, the syllables and stressed in each line don't BECAUSE of this artificial rhythm founded on line breaks. I find it very interesting how it is possible to create a stable and consistent rhythm from LACK of measurable rhythm. It's almost paradoxical in a way. I can't help but think about the possibility of meaning hidden behind this complex paradox. The poem is quick and unmeasured... Is that how the "real cool" kids live their lives?, and could this perceived stability represent how common it is for kids to experience this?