Short Term 12

After reading the article, and watching the trailer, about Cretton's first project Short Term 12, it really struck me as to the creativity and process involved in film making. It kind of reminded me of how I write stories, taking experiences from my own life and then adapting those to the big screen. In a way I think these are the things that can really touch people if you do it right, because there's a personal connection that the writer can push through that he might not be able to if it was just a fiction story based off of something that wasn't from his actual life.

Now, that's not to say that fiction and fantasy can't be deeply touching. There are many works that resonate deeply with the readers, but I posit that this is because those works draw on the author or screenwriter's sense of life and his personal experiences, what he's been through, maybe people he's met, and more. These are the things that are very real and tangible for him, so he is able to put more into them and breathe life into the script, or on to the page. At least, that's how it seems to me, and that's how it is when I write.

Removed

It was a story about an abusive father figure and a mother that would not help or protect her two children. The daughter was the mother figure and she was the one telling the story. It gave a good point of view about someone’s life who has gone through the pain and suffering. You cannot assume their life or how or their past has been. Their past does not define them it only tells what they have gone through. This girl moves house to house because the violence she has that her past has made her become. She tries to have it not define her, but the memories keep coming back and she does not know how to control her outrage. She then goes to a house she feels is the best fit and then sees the girl on the phone. She assumes and we assume she will be going to another home because she causes her so much pain and suffering. In the end you see the girl pack up her stuff, and she breaks her one security her porcelain doll, all she has to sustain living. And then the car pulls up and out comes the brother reunited with her brother, for a comfort to help ease her suffering.

                                          

Tragedy in Brazil

It is a sad week in soccer, and the whole world is feeling it.  A soccer team from Brazil, Chapecoense, was traveling to Colombia and the plain crashed in Rionegro, killing 71 of the 77 people on board.  This was a tragedy, there is no other way to put it.  As a soccer fan, I just can't help but feel for the country of Brazil, especially the families of these soccer players.  Chapecoense was on the verge of a cinderella-type season.  They were about to play the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final.  Chapecoense's season this year was easily the most success they have ever experienced since the club was founded.  This team had all of Brazil's support as they were the obvious underdog in the majority of their recent matches.  Life is too short.  A team and a country went from celebrating an incredible win to a time of mourning.  The whole situation just seems impossible, like it just can't happen.  It is impossible to believe that the plane crashed due to a fuel shortage.  It is impossible to believe that 71 people, 71 helpless people, lost their lives.  They left their families without saying goodbye.  Human beings, just like all of us, no longer have the chance the enjoy the wonderful gift of life.  Heaven just gained some incredible soccer players.  Peace be with their families, peace be the club, and peace be with the country of Brazil.  God Bless.    

The Americans

As I have earlier stated that I have a huge love for historical fiction. Recently I have begun to watch the series The Americans. The FX original series first aired in 2013. It is the story of two KGB spy's that have been planted in the United States, how long they have been there we are not told but it is long enough to have successfully created an upstart business and have two children. So approximately 15 years of deep cover in the D.C. area. Our story takes place right after Reagan is elected into office. He then signs Executive Order 12333 giving the USA intelligence divisions more freedom and specifically allowed the NSA to collect unencrypted data online without needing special permission. This show does a very good job of showing us what it was like being on the other side of the Red scare. Seeing how the main characters struggle with staying loyal to the motherland or giving in and becoming rich and traitors. Seeing how well these spies blended in with the American people really sheds light on how afraid we were back in 1981. So far I am pleased with the show and I can't wait to see where the story takes us!

Infamous: Choose Wisely

I do not consider myself to be a hardcore gamer, but I do enjoy playing video games on occasion. One of the main criteria a game must have for me to consider playing it is a compelling story. To date one of the best storylines I have ever played belongs to the game series Infamous. Infamous is the story of a man (Cole), through unfortunate circumstances receives  special abilities. He becomes a human conductor, he is given the abilities to absorb electricity and release it from his hands. He is left with a choice, will he help the citizens of Empire City or will he use his powers to help himself and his own desires. Cole isn't the only one who was affected by the unfortunate event, the city is full freaks of nature like himself but they have their own agendas.

Not to mention the gang war for territory within the city. What is fantastic about the story established is that as the player/audience have to make decisions that not only affect them but the people surrounding them. The reaction of the public changes as weather you chose to become famous or Infamous. Coles journey is full of twists and turns and though the series is only two games you feel so emotionally invested in both Cole and his allies that you hate to see them go.

My Conviction: A Look at Macklemore's "White Priviledge II"

I'll begin with a bit of a goof as an icebreaker to this more serious topic. (Which is in continuation from previous posts here and here).

"I uh...just want to apologize. Whether it's true or not, Joe shouldn't have yelled 'you ain't real hip-hop, bitch'. He's just passionate." pic.twitter.com/aUbZS0VrwX

— Ol' QWERTY Bastard (@TheDiLLon1) October 10, 2016

Macklemore is often seen as a lesser artist in parts of the Hip Hop world, but a case can certainly be made for his artistry. Being a white guy from Seattle, Macklemore stands out in an industry dominated by black artists. He recognizes his outlier status is not without conviction.

"This is not my culture to begin with. As much as I have honed my craft, I do believe that I need to know my place" said Macklemore in a 2014 interview with Rolling Stone's Jason Newman.

In the song White Privilege II, Macklemore reflects on his role not only as a white artist but as a white person when it comes to issues of race in today's America.



Macklemore begins the track by recalling a time attending a Black Lives Matter March. He's not sure what his place is; he cares deeply about the issue, but is he in a position to be a part of the movement?

I want to take a stance 'cause we are not free
And then I thought about it, we are not "we"
Am I in the outside looking in, or am I in the inside looking out?
Is it my place to give my two cents?

He shifts gears to discuss the bastardization of Hip Hop culture by the music industry; no doubt questioning if what he's doing and what he's creating has any similarities to the hypocrisy he curses in the verse.

You've exploited and stolen the music, the moment
The magic, the passion, the fashion, you toy with
The culture was never yours to make better
You're Miley, you're Elvis, you're Iggy Azalea

Possibly the most convicting part of the song is the interlude featuring a skit wherein a mother approaches Macklemore in a coffee shop thanking him for the positive message in songs such as Same Love and Thrift Shop. She expresses her frustration with the negative messages in much of Hip Hop "like, all the guns and the drugs // The bitches and the hoes and the gangs and the thugs" Her frustration quickly turns toward the protest outside the coffee shop heard in the background of the track as a muted "Hands up, don't shoot!" over and over again.

"Even the protest outside, so sad, and so dumb
If a cop pulls you over, it's your fault if you run"

Macklemore is forced to consider his role in bringing Hip Hop to people with thoughts and opinions like the mother in the coffee shop. "America feels safe with my music in their systems" What has allowed him to become the voice of Hip Hop to the demographic of "white moms" and the like? "My success is the product of the same system that let off Darren Wilson, guilty" (I'll give you a hint, it's the title of the song).

In turn, what responsibility does he then have as the "white mom's" representative of Hip Hop? "So what the fuck has happened to my voice if I stay silent when black people are dying"

This song describes so many of the same feelings I feel as a white guy with conviction about the movement. What do I do? What do I say? These are not easy questions to answer, and the answers may vary based on who you ask, but it is important to keep asking those questions.

I've heard that silences are action and God knows that I've been passive
What if I actually read a article, actually had a dialogue
Actually looked at myself, actually got involved?
If I'm aware of my privilege and do nothing at all, I don't know

I don't know either, but hell if I'm going to stop trying to figure it out.

Too Strange to Not be a Doctor

Marvel has brought to life another comic in the adventure to give the nerdier side of the world a little more love. The newest addition, Doctor Strange, brings to life the character of Stephen Strange.

Dr. Strange was one of the best surgeons in the world until an extreme car accident sent his life into downward spiral. He travels to temple to find someone who can fix him and in doing so, stumbles upon a world he had never seen before.

The movies escalates the special effects to an almost shocking point of beauty. The screen twists and turns as the world is flipped upside down and inside of itself. The visible magic that is brought to life out does what imagination could possibly conjure up. The planets created are by far expanding to the possibilities of what is beyond our world.

The movie and actors sell the parts they play with excellent skill and flawless morphing. Marvel, in my opinion, out did themselves with this movie. It's beautifully done and artfully created.

Where to Find the Beasts

It's unimaginable, the mind of J.K. Rowling. How she comes up with such mystical and magical stories is beyond comprehension of most people. Her novel, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, is the newest addition to the Harry Potter series.

The Fantastic Beasts novel has been made into a movie and it is supremely magical. It follows Newt Scammander and his trip to New York City in 1926. Newt comes to America to return a beast to Arizona but that plan goes askew when terror starts to roll through the city.

Besides just a beautiful story line, Fantastic Beasts as a movie is, without a doubt, a beautiful piece of cinematography. From the costumes to the set, from the musical score to the special effects, this movie knocks it out of the park. The animators did a fabulous job bringing to life the beasts that Scammander looks after.

Overall, I absolutely loved the movie and encourage others to go see it, even if they haven't seen any of the other Harry Potter movies.

Nolan

One of my favorite directors of all time is Christopher Nolan, the genius behind, the Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception, Interstellar and Memento. He is one of the few directors ever to have more then half of his films on the top 250 films on IMDB, those, he has 7 of 9 feature films he has directed, all of which I mentioned before. The movie that is highest on that list is considered the best superhero movie of all time, The Dark Knight, to be fair he had Heath Ledger as the Joker, which helped the quality of the film. He wrote or co-wrote all of these films, and I can safely say that he and his brother Jonathan Nolan are master storytellers. By watching their movies, you can just see how much effort and thought goes into their storytelling, they don´t just blurt out a screenplay and start shooting. Christopher Nolan is also one of the few directors today that prefers to use practical effect, one of the coolest scenes you see that in, is the spinning corridor in Inception.  instead of relying too much on CGI, and we all know how too much CGI can affect a movie… (cough)… Star Wars prequels. Nolan just really cares about his films and I can´t wait to see his next one, Dunkirk.

Chapel

Chapel is something every Huntington University student is familiar with. Some like it, some don't, some are apathetic. 30 chapel credits, however, are what every student needs by the end of the semester. I didn't make it last year, and with my busy schedule this semester I had no time for doing the community service. I paid my 150 dollars and made sure I made the requirements this time. It's a pain though, honestly.

I've always felt that forcing religion on to someone is the worst way to get them to learn about it or consume it, and the mandatory chapel policy seems exactly that. I know I'm hardly ever enthusiastic to attend, and quite a few times I've found myself asleep in the back of the auditorium instead of paying attention to whatever speaker is giving the message that day.

I understand that as a Christian university Huntington University wants to promote a Christ-filled environment, but maybe they should consider reducing the amount of chapel credits needed, if nothing else, because someone forced to follow is not a true follower at all.

We have missed the point...

Today in class, I realized how messed up Catholics and Protestants are. I feel like many of these churches walked away from what Jesus meant in the Bible. The whole point of going to church is to experience a spiritual growth. Unfortunately, these churches have distorted the Gospel, so spiritual growth is basically nonexistent.

Catholics want everything to follow a pattern. People have to stand up, pray, sit down, listen, pray again, sing, and walk away. Some people do not grow spiritually because Christianity is not about following a pattern, but to stand up against a sinful world and gain people for Christ.

Protestants have so many denominations within Christianity such us Calvinism, Lutherans, Baptists, Evangelism and more. Perhaps, the most dangerous denomination is the Pentecostal movement because they offer an empty spiritual growth and a distorted gospel which affects those who do not fully understand Christianity. It is more about emotions than a pure life offered to God. Their prosperity gospel consists on gaining material prosperity instead of spiritual prosperity. Because of their preaching, people believe salvation is gain by works causing a shallow faith and a weak relationship with God. These people forget that the true meaning of Christianity is to live according to Christ´s will and not based on how much material things one can get.

I admire those missionaries who left their families, friends, and everything behind in order to follow Jesus. They have taken their crosses and follow Christ besides the circumstances of life and money. They understood that following God is not about following a pattern or screaming "hallelujah" in front of a spiritless audience. They knew better that religion is nothing, and what really matters is a true relationship with God.

Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice is a classic story that has lasted for years. Its beautiful storyline, and well-known characters provide countless opportunities for filmmakers. Today, I'll be talking specifically about the 2005, Joe Wright version of Pride and Prejudice.
Keira Knightly and Matthew MacFadyen portray the classic roles of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy. The tension between the characters constantly builds throughout the film and eventually forms into the romantic bond that most people know between the two. However, while the storyline was obviously developed in the classic novel, I will be focusing on the direct filmmaking it.
This film is so aesthetically beautiful. The wonderful sets, and backdrops are breathtaking and the film cuts are simply wonderful and so well done. I'm not going to pretend that I know much about the logistics or the inner workings of making a film. However, I do know that this film made me appreciate the work and the artistic vision that goes into making a film such as this one.
The vision is so beautiful that it really adds to the film. While the film does not follow the original plot line as closely as other versions, the film itself is so beautiful that it provides a charming new take on this classic story.
Pride and Prejudice is a simply wonderful movie that everyone should at least see for the beauty that it provides.

Animal Farm

In the political satire novel, Animal Farm, George Orwell describes the communist overthrow of the Tsar in Russia and the Stalin Era with anthropomorphic animals. In the story, the boar Old Major is the representation of Karl Marx. His dream, an allusion to the Communist Manifesto, basically says that the humans do nothing, yet are in charge of all the animals. Old Major dies shortly after he reveals his vision. The animals overthrow the farmer, Mr. Jones, and begin to live by the rules that Old Major had in his dream. The pigs are the main intelligence force of this revolution so they take control most of the duties. Of these, Snowball representing Trotsky, and Napoleon representing Stalin, begin to lead most of the operations. All of the animals came up with seven commandments for the new regime. Snowball and Napoleon begin to butt heads, and Snowball is driven away by the dogs Napoleon secretly trained. Like Stalin in Soviet Russia, absolute power corrupts and with his secret dogs and squealer's propaganda, Napoleon is soon the dictator of the farm. The pigs begin to change the commandments and finally change the most important one. "All animals are equal'' was changed to "All animals are equal but some are more equal than others." The animals don't care though because Squealer's propaganda has convinced them that they are still better off then when Mr. Jones was the head. In the end, the pigs slowly become more and more like humans until the other animals cannot tell the difference between them. The others animals struggle is the same, the leader is different. Much like communism would do and did.