The Mad Ophelia from Hannah F on Vimeo.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Hannah’s Really Long Artist Statement:
For my film project I focused mainly on the scene where Ophelia went mad. I was really interested in the different ways that we watched how those two different films portrayed Ophelia before and leading up to her going crazy, and I wanted to do my own version.
Process/ how I ended up in the dark park talking to snowmen. At first I had tried many different ways of filming those scenes at home, and by myself. I tried switching hats, which was weird. I also tried being the king, queen, Ophelia, and Hamlet all at once. I had a plan to switch hats each time I was a different character, yet I had a hard time holding the camera while doing so. So.. My mom and her best friend had wanted to take me out to a late birthday dinner, a couple days after my birthday at the end of February. I had gotten the idea to have them play characters too, yet I knew what I wanted to do, and I wasn’t sure how to direct them. Tompkins Square Park was very close to there, so we decided that after dinner we should check out the park.
As we walked into the park it was getting dark, and we saw these massive snow creatures. By that time I had already wanted to play just Ophelia, and to cut out the lines that the King and Queen said during that scene. The only problem was that the snow creatures were inside of a huge fence. My mom and I hopped over the fence while her friend held our stuff. I had tried talking to two other snowmen, as Ophelia talking to the King and Queen. But it didn’t work for me to be walking around those two snowmen. Then actual screaming crazy people came into the scene! While I was still trying to talk to the two other snowmen, a group of other people came in, asking how we got over the fence. As I started running around in the snow, they were still trying to get in. I put the beginning of Forever, by Holiday Parade in as the perfect frolicking music. You can also hear one of the people in the background screaming “Take her picture! Take her picture!” And you can hear my mom laughing. I decided to keep the noise in for that because it was actual craziness
I started with the lines:
“How should I your true love know
From another one?
By his cockle hat and staff
And his sandal shoon.” (Act 4, Scene 5, Lines 28- 31). In class we had watched two versions of the play Hamlet: the Kenneth Branagh version, and the Mel Gibson version. What inspired me were the different ways that these films had portrayed Ophelia from when she was sane, leading up to and after she had gone insane. I had taken notes while we were watching both versions of the film, and for the Kenneth Branagh version I had written “So.. Ophelia is in a straight jacket and being observed. She’s seen as crazy. Both Ophelias are crazy and misunderstood. Maybe she’s going crazy because everyone around her is dying. It happens. Or maybe she’s acting crazy because of Hamlet.”
This is the scene where we first see Ophelia in the straight jacket. She was also dancing around saying the lines “Tomorrow is Saint Valentine’s day, All in the morning betime, And I a maid at your window, To be your Valentine.” (Act 4, Scene 5, Lines 53-56) Which was one of my favorite lines and scenes from Hamlet (which I butchered completely in my film, especially by saying ‘bedtime’ instead of ‘betime’ because I saw ‘bedtime’ for some reason.) I loved the way Kate Winslet played Ophelia, as a beautiful woman gone completely mad. I had Ophelia talking to the naked, barefoot, pregnant snow woman because as my mom’s friend Lauren pointed out, she was talking to how she was afraid to be. Naked, alone, and pregnant. At least that was an idea. Or like a heart to heart with another woman who is in a bad place. Then I as Ophelia looked up at the pregnant woman and said “Indeed, without an oath, I’ll make an end on ‘t” (Still Act 4, Scene 5, Line 62.) I felt like Ophelia was promising the pregnant lady that she would end it. I had done a couple more lines near that snow person, but my mom’s friend Lauren had screamed really loudly because a rat had ran over her foot.
Then I closed the book and walked over to the man snowman, which I felt was a perfect spot to say: “By Cock, they are to blame.” (I had said lines 63 through 78, same act and scene by that snowman). I decided to keep in all of me butchering Hamlet, because it added to how ridiculous my version of Hamlet was. The reason I read right off of the book was because I was feeling really shy, but I also really wanted to play out that whole scene. My brother had suggested that I should do a voiceover of that whole scene yet I had spoken loudly in the park on purpose to get it onto the camera, and I liked the final result without changing it.
The reason I had Ophelia run away, and then sit down in the snow is to signify her death. And then I had the idea to walk around where she had been, to show how life was without her there anymore. It was deserted, and quiet. It was really hard for me to walk around slipping in the snow while trying to hold the camera still, which I liked the end result of. I had put the sign “And even through it all, Hamlet’s love for Ophelia lives on.” Because I was convinced that even through it all, Hamlet still loved her. While I had been walking around Tompkins Park I had originally been making up a poem on how Hamlet still loved Ophelia, yet I messed I while I was talking so I decided to mute that clip.
After that sign I had included in my film the whole never doubt I love speech, from “Good madam, stay awhile. I will be faithful. [He reads the letter]
Doubt thou the stars are fire,
Doubt that the sun doth move,
Doubt truth to be a liar,
But never doubt I love.”
To “I love thee best, O most best, believe it. Adieu. Thine evermore, most dear lady, whilst this machine is to him, Hamlet.” (Act 2, Scene 2, Lines 122 through 132, gray book). Hamlet was telling Ophelia “you can doubt that the stars are fire, doubt that the sun does move, doubt that truth lies, but never doubt that I love.. (you?)” I felt like Hamlet was trying to tell Ophelia that whatever happens, she should never doubt that he loves her. Maybe because he knew that he was going to start acting crazy, and that he doesn’t ever want her to think that he doesn’t love her. I purposely put the ‘never doubt I love’ speech after the scene with crazy Ophelia in it, because I felt that even after Ophelia went crazy and passed away, Hamlet still loved her.
In my notebook during this scene of the Kenneth Branagh version, I had written: “You can tell that he really loves her. Then she offered his stuff back and she got mad. He’s such a baby. Dramatic. Then he realizes he was being watched I think. He loves her. He wants to save her. He doesn’t want her to get hurt, so he’s trying to drive her away. Using pain and insanity to protect her. He was acting mildly sane, then he all of a sudden went insane. I think because he heard the door slam.” I stubbornly felt like through it all, Hamlet still loved Ophelia. At least in the Kenneth Branagh version, especially if you’re not thinking about him jumping his mother. I remember talking in class and saying some of what I wrote in my notebook.
Even from the first time we read the ‘Never Doubt I love’ speech, I had really liked it. I had also written in my notebook during this scene, from 2/8/10: For the “never doubt I love” quote, it’s reminding me of Satin and Christian’s “Come what may”, song in Moulin Rouge, where Christian tells Satin something like “wherever we are, and no matter what, we can just hear this song and know that we love each other.” Anyway, I feel like Hamlet was trying to tell Ophelia that whatever happens, she should never doubt that he loves. Maybe because he knows that he’s going to start acting crazy, and that he doesn’t ever want her to think that he doesn’t love her. Moulin Rouge is one of my favorite movies, and that scene is one of my favorite scenes. I felt like that letter of Hamlet’s is his own version of the secret lover’s song in Moulin Rouge.
I used the song “Forever”, by Holiday Parade, because it went with how I felt like Hamlet loved Ophelia, forever. (Hamlet’s love for Ophelia lives on.) Some of the lines in that song are “..I could do this forever.. Make or break, we'll take this together.. You'll be my change for the better.. Maybe for a while.. Scratch that, forever” as well as “And how long is forever? How long? How long? How long is forever?” Because however long forever is, in my head, I could see Hamlet loving Ophelia forever.
Some other things I wanted to say.. I kept in the “stay with me” thing that I said to my mom, because I wasn’t sure how to mute just that without destroying that whole part of the clip. I also decided to make and use decorated signs like the “Please silence your pagers and beepers and enjoy the show!” to make it seem more old fashioned. I also used the door of my dad’s apartment, because it seems old and sold metal. It was plain, and not fancy. Another reason is that I had no idea how to make the computer typed versions of those signs, and I didn’t want to. I felt like on the computer it was less personal and more modern. And then.. I included my dad in the scene! It said extra points for including a mom, but I thought “What about a dad?!”
So before, I had the idea to just have him open and close the door for me, but then I was like “wait dad, can you stay in the shot and wave at the camera please?” and he was saying “goodbye!’ and he mouthed ‘the end!’ I had my dad film me winking at the camera, to show me normally, as the person behind some of the scenes that I filmed. I didn’t know that he was still filming when I smiled, so we had tried a couple other versions of that yet the more natural one came through. Then I bowed, like actors do, at the end.
I had a really great time doing this project. Even though I was camera shy, and frustrated at times, I’m glad that I did it. I had never put together a movie like this before, and I had also never used iMovie. But I’m glad that I stuck with it until the end.
Process/ how I ended up in the dark park talking to snowmen. At first I had tried many different ways of filming those scenes at home, and by myself. I tried switching hats, which was weird. I also tried being the king, queen, Ophelia, and Hamlet all at once. I had a plan to switch hats each time I was a different character, yet I had a hard time holding the camera while doing so. So.. My mom and her best friend had wanted to take me out to a late birthday dinner, a couple days after my birthday at the end of February. I had gotten the idea to have them play characters too, yet I knew what I wanted to do, and I wasn’t sure how to direct them. Tompkins Square Park was very close to there, so we decided that after dinner we should check out the park.
As we walked into the park it was getting dark, and we saw these massive snow creatures. By that time I had already wanted to play just Ophelia, and to cut out the lines that the King and Queen said during that scene. The only problem was that the snow creatures were inside of a huge fence. My mom and I hopped over the fence while her friend held our stuff. I had tried talking to two other snowmen, as Ophelia talking to the King and Queen. But it didn’t work for me to be walking around those two snowmen. Then actual screaming crazy people came into the scene! While I was still trying to talk to the two other snowmen, a group of other people came in, asking how we got over the fence. As I started running around in the snow, they were still trying to get in. I put the beginning of Forever, by Holiday Parade in as the perfect frolicking music. You can also hear one of the people in the background screaming “Take her picture! Take her picture!” And you can hear my mom laughing. I decided to keep the noise in for that because it was actual craziness
I started with the lines:
“How should I your true love know
From another one?
By his cockle hat and staff
And his sandal shoon.” (Act 4, Scene 5, Lines 28- 31). In class we had watched two versions of the play Hamlet: the Kenneth Branagh version, and the Mel Gibson version. What inspired me were the different ways that these films had portrayed Ophelia from when she was sane, leading up to and after she had gone insane. I had taken notes while we were watching both versions of the film, and for the Kenneth Branagh version I had written “So.. Ophelia is in a straight jacket and being observed. She’s seen as crazy. Both Ophelias are crazy and misunderstood. Maybe she’s going crazy because everyone around her is dying. It happens. Or maybe she’s acting crazy because of Hamlet.”
This is the scene where we first see Ophelia in the straight jacket. She was also dancing around saying the lines “Tomorrow is Saint Valentine’s day, All in the morning betime, And I a maid at your window, To be your Valentine.” (Act 4, Scene 5, Lines 53-56) Which was one of my favorite lines and scenes from Hamlet (which I butchered completely in my film, especially by saying ‘bedtime’ instead of ‘betime’ because I saw ‘bedtime’ for some reason.) I loved the way Kate Winslet played Ophelia, as a beautiful woman gone completely mad. I had Ophelia talking to the naked, barefoot, pregnant snow woman because as my mom’s friend Lauren pointed out, she was talking to how she was afraid to be. Naked, alone, and pregnant. At least that was an idea. Or like a heart to heart with another woman who is in a bad place. Then I as Ophelia looked up at the pregnant woman and said “Indeed, without an oath, I’ll make an end on ‘t” (Still Act 4, Scene 5, Line 62.) I felt like Ophelia was promising the pregnant lady that she would end it. I had done a couple more lines near that snow person, but my mom’s friend Lauren had screamed really loudly because a rat had ran over her foot.
Then I closed the book and walked over to the man snowman, which I felt was a perfect spot to say: “By Cock, they are to blame.” (I had said lines 63 through 78, same act and scene by that snowman). I decided to keep in all of me butchering Hamlet, because it added to how ridiculous my version of Hamlet was. The reason I read right off of the book was because I was feeling really shy, but I also really wanted to play out that whole scene. My brother had suggested that I should do a voiceover of that whole scene yet I had spoken loudly in the park on purpose to get it onto the camera, and I liked the final result without changing it.
The reason I had Ophelia run away, and then sit down in the snow is to signify her death. And then I had the idea to walk around where she had been, to show how life was without her there anymore. It was deserted, and quiet. It was really hard for me to walk around slipping in the snow while trying to hold the camera still, which I liked the end result of. I had put the sign “And even through it all, Hamlet’s love for Ophelia lives on.” Because I was convinced that even through it all, Hamlet still loved her. While I had been walking around Tompkins Park I had originally been making up a poem on how Hamlet still loved Ophelia, yet I messed I while I was talking so I decided to mute that clip.
After that sign I had included in my film the whole never doubt I love speech, from “Good madam, stay awhile. I will be faithful. [He reads the letter]
Doubt thou the stars are fire,
Doubt that the sun doth move,
Doubt truth to be a liar,
But never doubt I love.”
To “I love thee best, O most best, believe it. Adieu. Thine evermore, most dear lady, whilst this machine is to him, Hamlet.” (Act 2, Scene 2, Lines 122 through 132, gray book). Hamlet was telling Ophelia “you can doubt that the stars are fire, doubt that the sun does move, doubt that truth lies, but never doubt that I love.. (you?)” I felt like Hamlet was trying to tell Ophelia that whatever happens, she should never doubt that he loves her. Maybe because he knew that he was going to start acting crazy, and that he doesn’t ever want her to think that he doesn’t love her. I purposely put the ‘never doubt I love’ speech after the scene with crazy Ophelia in it, because I felt that even after Ophelia went crazy and passed away, Hamlet still loved her.
In my notebook during this scene of the Kenneth Branagh version, I had written: “You can tell that he really loves her. Then she offered his stuff back and she got mad. He’s such a baby. Dramatic. Then he realizes he was being watched I think. He loves her. He wants to save her. He doesn’t want her to get hurt, so he’s trying to drive her away. Using pain and insanity to protect her. He was acting mildly sane, then he all of a sudden went insane. I think because he heard the door slam.” I stubbornly felt like through it all, Hamlet still loved Ophelia. At least in the Kenneth Branagh version, especially if you’re not thinking about him jumping his mother. I remember talking in class and saying some of what I wrote in my notebook.
Even from the first time we read the ‘Never Doubt I love’ speech, I had really liked it. I had also written in my notebook during this scene, from 2/8/10: For the “never doubt I love” quote, it’s reminding me of Satin and Christian’s “Come what may”, song in Moulin Rouge, where Christian tells Satin something like “wherever we are, and no matter what, we can just hear this song and know that we love each other.” Anyway, I feel like Hamlet was trying to tell Ophelia that whatever happens, she should never doubt that he loves. Maybe because he knows that he’s going to start acting crazy, and that he doesn’t ever want her to think that he doesn’t love her. Moulin Rouge is one of my favorite movies, and that scene is one of my favorite scenes. I felt like that letter of Hamlet’s is his own version of the secret lover’s song in Moulin Rouge.
I used the song “Forever”, by Holiday Parade, because it went with how I felt like Hamlet loved Ophelia, forever. (Hamlet’s love for Ophelia lives on.) Some of the lines in that song are “..I could do this forever.. Make or break, we'll take this together.. You'll be my change for the better.. Maybe for a while.. Scratch that, forever” as well as “And how long is forever? How long? How long? How long is forever?” Because however long forever is, in my head, I could see Hamlet loving Ophelia forever.
Some other things I wanted to say.. I kept in the “stay with me” thing that I said to my mom, because I wasn’t sure how to mute just that without destroying that whole part of the clip. I also decided to make and use decorated signs like the “Please silence your pagers and beepers and enjoy the show!” to make it seem more old fashioned. I also used the door of my dad’s apartment, because it seems old and sold metal. It was plain, and not fancy. Another reason is that I had no idea how to make the computer typed versions of those signs, and I didn’t want to. I felt like on the computer it was less personal and more modern. And then.. I included my dad in the scene! It said extra points for including a mom, but I thought “What about a dad?!”
So before, I had the idea to just have him open and close the door for me, but then I was like “wait dad, can you stay in the shot and wave at the camera please?” and he was saying “goodbye!’ and he mouthed ‘the end!’ I had my dad film me winking at the camera, to show me normally, as the person behind some of the scenes that I filmed. I didn’t know that he was still filming when I smiled, so we had tried a couple other versions of that yet the more natural one came through. Then I bowed, like actors do, at the end.
I had a really great time doing this project. Even though I was camera shy, and frustrated at times, I’m glad that I did it. I had never put together a movie like this before, and I had also never used iMovie. But I’m glad that I stuck with it until the end.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
The Stranger
At this point in time, I have just finished reading The Stranger, by Albert Camus, which in my opinion is a very strange little book. The way Meursault's character acts has bothered me from the start of the book, to the very end of the book. I feel like his attitude at first glance is very distanced and uncaring, and that he was supposed to be described that way. Every time he acted with indifference, it made me feel irritated that he wasn't acting differently. I feel like I acted more because he wasn't feeling at all, and that that was what Albert Camus' goal was. If you look at the other characters in the book, they also seem to feel a lot to make up for or to show the contrast between themselves and Meursault. Deep under the surface though, I feel like Meursault may have actually cared about things, but that even he did not acknowledge his own emotions.
Meursault started to change in part one of the book, right before he and Marie went with his friends to the beach. Jacara had pointed out the scene from chapter six, where he said "My cigarette tasted bitter" (top of page 47). Before this scene Meursault had constantly chain smoked without complaining about the taste of the cigarettes. At the time when I was reading this chapter I didn't think much of this quote, but I can now see that this was foreshadowing that something different was going to happen in the chapters to come. So much happened in chapter six, and very quickly. They arrived, they ate, they swam, the 'Arab' man cut Raymond, the women cried, then.. Meursault killed a man. That scene on the beach from page 57 to page 59 was very confusing, and packed with many similes. "The cymbals of sunlight crashing on my forehead", the sunlight reflecting off the blade ("the scorching blade slashed at my eyelashes and stabbed at my stinging eyes"), and after he fired the last four bullets, how he said "and it was like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness." This scene was very difficult to understand because it moved so quickly and some people may not of known that these were similes. I know that some readers thought the blade really did slash at his face -I can admit that I had to read that sentence over again once myself- while Meursault was actually talking about the sunlight attacking his senses. My favorite of the similes was the one about knocking on the door of unhappiness, because of wording, as well as because it described what was to come in the second part of the book.
Somewhere in the last few chapters, I remember predicting that Meursault would start thinking and feeling right before it is too late. It said "It was only after Marie's first and last visit that it all started.. from that day on I felt that I was at home in my cell and that my life was coming to a standstill."(page 72) Some reason when I read this I felt like his life was changing from there on, in a positive way. Last week I can admit to reading a chapter ahead -I read chapter five- because chapter four ended with so much suspense that I just had to read the next chapter. As predicted, the last few chapters showed a turning point in Meursault's life; at the wrong time. He kept laying around, thinking, hearing his heart beating and staring at the clouds. I thought it was weird how Marie said "you'll get out and we'll get married!"(page 74). I know that some people may refuse to acknowledge what is really going to happen. I read a lot of murder mysteries, and whenever the homicide detectives have to notify the next-of-kin the family members or lovers always say something like "no you've got to be wrong. Maybe it was someone else that got killed", when really, they know the detectives are professionals and have not mistaken who got killed. Even though Meursault was in jail, Marie still thought they were going to have their own happy ending. At this time there was a possibility that he could be bailed out of jail (maybe).
The chaplain had a very bad approach to Meursault. He was heaping his beliefs onto Meursault and feeling like only his beliefs were the correct ones. Just because I may believe something different from what you believe, doesn't necessarily mean that one of us is wrong. It just means that we have different views and different opinions. Like Meursault, I got really annoyed with the chaplain. I don't think there was a big deal that Meursault was a non-believer, and that he didn't care for what the chaplain said. I know I didn't see what the big problem was when the chaplain constantly got angry and upset. Especially at the very end of the book, Meursault is about to be executed and what does the chaplain tell him? He tells him to pray. Like that is going to save Meursault when his death sentence is already written in stone.
I feel like the whole courtroom was set up wrong. The judge didn't really listen to Meursault, and Meursault didn't really say anything to begin with. I found the days of Meursault's trial to be very frustrating. The judge said that Meursault had committed first degree murder, meaning that he had planned ahead to kill the man who had cut Raymond. This is because Meursault had the gun in his pocket already, and that he was walking along the beach "looking" for that man. Even though I feel like Meursault just hadn't given Raymond back the gun after Raymond gave it to him before because everything had happened so quickly. The reason he had ended up with the gun in the first place though was to make sure Raymond didn't kill the guy. But then the guy cut him, and they rushed him to the doctor. I think Meursault committed murder in the second degree, meaning that while he was walking on the beach, he happened to still have the gun and he killed the man that hurt Raymond. I'm not even sure if it was an intentional murder. Meursault was walking, and all of a sudden he killed the guy. I'm not sure what year this book was supposed to take place in, but I know that sometimes people can be bailed out of jail, or do hard work to make up for their 'sins'.
When the witnesses testified, it made me wonder if something was wrong with me because I didn't think the way the judge was thinking. I did not notice that the day after Meursult's mom had passed away, he was starting his "affair" with Marie. I know that I would of spent the day after a loved one's death in my room crying, or with other family members. But maybe Meursault was so upset that he needed to be cheered up, and that could of been the reason he went with Marie to the movies. Or maybe that's just the way he is. For some reason I can't find a great wrong in what he did. The judge did not consider that maybe Meursault is just an emotionless person, and that his emotions do not ever come to the surface. Instead the judge said that Meursault does not have a soul and that he is evil because it seems like he doesn't feel anything. Sometimes I may seem like I don't feel anything, while I am thinking and feeling a lot inside. Like when I have gotten my ears pierced, in the past I am so scared at the time that all I say is "oww" really softly right after it has happened. Just because of those short moments where it does not seem like I'm feeling anything, it does not mean I am heartless. I know that I am anything but heartless, I care about people, and I feel emotions; because I am human.
For definitions of first and second degree murder, I looked at these websites:
http://criminal.findlaw.com/crimes/a-z/murder_first_degree.html
http://criminal.findlaw.com/crimes/a-z/murder_second_degree.html
Meursault started to change in part one of the book, right before he and Marie went with his friends to the beach. Jacara had pointed out the scene from chapter six, where he said "My cigarette tasted bitter" (top of page 47). Before this scene Meursault had constantly chain smoked without complaining about the taste of the cigarettes. At the time when I was reading this chapter I didn't think much of this quote, but I can now see that this was foreshadowing that something different was going to happen in the chapters to come. So much happened in chapter six, and very quickly. They arrived, they ate, they swam, the 'Arab' man cut Raymond, the women cried, then.. Meursault killed a man. That scene on the beach from page 57 to page 59 was very confusing, and packed with many similes. "The cymbals of sunlight crashing on my forehead", the sunlight reflecting off the blade ("the scorching blade slashed at my eyelashes and stabbed at my stinging eyes"), and after he fired the last four bullets, how he said "and it was like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness." This scene was very difficult to understand because it moved so quickly and some people may not of known that these were similes. I know that some readers thought the blade really did slash at his face -I can admit that I had to read that sentence over again once myself- while Meursault was actually talking about the sunlight attacking his senses. My favorite of the similes was the one about knocking on the door of unhappiness, because of wording, as well as because it described what was to come in the second part of the book.
Somewhere in the last few chapters, I remember predicting that Meursault would start thinking and feeling right before it is too late. It said "It was only after Marie's first and last visit that it all started.. from that day on I felt that I was at home in my cell and that my life was coming to a standstill."(page 72) Some reason when I read this I felt like his life was changing from there on, in a positive way. Last week I can admit to reading a chapter ahead -I read chapter five- because chapter four ended with so much suspense that I just had to read the next chapter. As predicted, the last few chapters showed a turning point in Meursault's life; at the wrong time. He kept laying around, thinking, hearing his heart beating and staring at the clouds. I thought it was weird how Marie said "you'll get out and we'll get married!"(page 74). I know that some people may refuse to acknowledge what is really going to happen. I read a lot of murder mysteries, and whenever the homicide detectives have to notify the next-of-kin the family members or lovers always say something like "no you've got to be wrong. Maybe it was someone else that got killed", when really, they know the detectives are professionals and have not mistaken who got killed. Even though Meursault was in jail, Marie still thought they were going to have their own happy ending. At this time there was a possibility that he could be bailed out of jail (maybe).
The chaplain had a very bad approach to Meursault. He was heaping his beliefs onto Meursault and feeling like only his beliefs were the correct ones. Just because I may believe something different from what you believe, doesn't necessarily mean that one of us is wrong. It just means that we have different views and different opinions. Like Meursault, I got really annoyed with the chaplain. I don't think there was a big deal that Meursault was a non-believer, and that he didn't care for what the chaplain said. I know I didn't see what the big problem was when the chaplain constantly got angry and upset. Especially at the very end of the book, Meursault is about to be executed and what does the chaplain tell him? He tells him to pray. Like that is going to save Meursault when his death sentence is already written in stone.
I feel like the whole courtroom was set up wrong. The judge didn't really listen to Meursault, and Meursault didn't really say anything to begin with. I found the days of Meursault's trial to be very frustrating. The judge said that Meursault had committed first degree murder, meaning that he had planned ahead to kill the man who had cut Raymond. This is because Meursault had the gun in his pocket already, and that he was walking along the beach "looking" for that man. Even though I feel like Meursault just hadn't given Raymond back the gun after Raymond gave it to him before because everything had happened so quickly. The reason he had ended up with the gun in the first place though was to make sure Raymond didn't kill the guy. But then the guy cut him, and they rushed him to the doctor. I think Meursault committed murder in the second degree, meaning that while he was walking on the beach, he happened to still have the gun and he killed the man that hurt Raymond. I'm not even sure if it was an intentional murder. Meursault was walking, and all of a sudden he killed the guy. I'm not sure what year this book was supposed to take place in, but I know that sometimes people can be bailed out of jail, or do hard work to make up for their 'sins'.
When the witnesses testified, it made me wonder if something was wrong with me because I didn't think the way the judge was thinking. I did not notice that the day after Meursult's mom had passed away, he was starting his "affair" with Marie. I know that I would of spent the day after a loved one's death in my room crying, or with other family members. But maybe Meursault was so upset that he needed to be cheered up, and that could of been the reason he went with Marie to the movies. Or maybe that's just the way he is. For some reason I can't find a great wrong in what he did. The judge did not consider that maybe Meursault is just an emotionless person, and that his emotions do not ever come to the surface. Instead the judge said that Meursault does not have a soul and that he is evil because it seems like he doesn't feel anything. Sometimes I may seem like I don't feel anything, while I am thinking and feeling a lot inside. Like when I have gotten my ears pierced, in the past I am so scared at the time that all I say is "oww" really softly right after it has happened. Just because of those short moments where it does not seem like I'm feeling anything, it does not mean I am heartless. I know that I am anything but heartless, I care about people, and I feel emotions; because I am human.
For definitions of first and second degree murder, I looked at these websites:
http://criminal.findlaw.com/crimes/a-z/murder_first_degree.html
http://criminal.findlaw.com/crimes/a-z/murder_second_degree.html
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Mystery Man
While reading The Stranger, by Albert Camus, the main character Meursault seems very distant. The first scene where he finds out his mom died, he seems not to care. I think that he is trying to put up a shield, and portraying this uncaring person. He is trying to act like an emotionless man that is all by himself, and he is supposed to seem careless. Yet underneath all that, I feel like he really is upset. I know if I was in his shoes I would be a mess. My mom and I are very close, and we are also best friends. In the beginning of the book when he kept saying "it's not my fault", I feel like he was feeling really guilty. Maybe he felt like he had abandoned his mom, like he should of worked harder to take care of her and provide better care for her. When he was asked if he wanted to see inside the coffin, he said no. I feel like either he felt like she was still alive, or that he wanted his last memories of her to be from when she was alive, instead of her lying cold inside a wooden box.
At this point in the book he seemed very unmoved, alone. He kept falling asleep, and smoking, doing anything but acknowledging that his mother passed away. Then Meursault was standing outside under the tree, he was just thinking about how nice it was to get outside in nature for a while. All that seemed to be going through his head was how glad he was to have extra time off from work. The scene that I'm mainly focused on though, is how he spent his sunday standing next to the window, observing people. The whole day he chain-smoked, and started out the window. Even then he seemed withdrawn, but I feel like this showed something about himself. I feel like he was standing there, and thinking about how everyone walking on the sidewalk are alive, while his mom had just passed away. The way Meursault reacts to things is sort of surprising to me: "it occurred to me that anyway one more Sunday was over, Maman was buried now, that I was going back to work, and that, really, nothing had changed."(page 24) I would expect from someone that they would be really distraught if one of their family members passed away. He seemed to have had a close relationship with his mom, so I don't know why he is so aloof.
There are conversations with some people where he seems to hold back his opinion, and to just say what people want to hear. When he was talking to Raymond and he (the neighbor) wanted to teach his mistress a lesson, Meursault wasn't thinking anything, and he didn't seem to be feeling anything on the outside either. When he is with Marie though, he seems to express at least a little bit of feeling. While they are swimming around they seem like a happy couple in a romantic setting. Yet when she asks if he loves her, and he said "I answered the same way I had the last time, that it didn't mean anything but that I probably didn't love her." Maybe he is incapable of loving anymore, and that he has purposely distanced himself from everyone else, yet I feel like he should feel something. After this, Marie had asked him if he would marry her; and he said he would, because he didn't feel like it is a serious thing. There are times when he is interacting with individuals where he seems to care, and other times where he is indifferent. When he was at the beach with his friend and Marie, I feel like this showed the inside of him a little bit more. He was concerned when Raymond got hurt, he seemed to love Marie when they were lying on the beach together.
I feel like Albert Camus made Meursault the way he is-detached- to make his readers feel something. Because Meursault is acting so distanced, I feel like it is making me react even more than if he was upset, or showing any other emotion because it bothers me when he does not seem to care. Or maybe he acts so disconnected because he really does feel like a stranger. After all, we have all felt this way at least once in our lives.
At this point in the book he seemed very unmoved, alone. He kept falling asleep, and smoking, doing anything but acknowledging that his mother passed away. Then Meursault was standing outside under the tree, he was just thinking about how nice it was to get outside in nature for a while. All that seemed to be going through his head was how glad he was to have extra time off from work. The scene that I'm mainly focused on though, is how he spent his sunday standing next to the window, observing people. The whole day he chain-smoked, and started out the window. Even then he seemed withdrawn, but I feel like this showed something about himself. I feel like he was standing there, and thinking about how everyone walking on the sidewalk are alive, while his mom had just passed away. The way Meursault reacts to things is sort of surprising to me: "it occurred to me that anyway one more Sunday was over, Maman was buried now, that I was going back to work, and that, really, nothing had changed."(page 24) I would expect from someone that they would be really distraught if one of their family members passed away. He seemed to have had a close relationship with his mom, so I don't know why he is so aloof.
There are conversations with some people where he seems to hold back his opinion, and to just say what people want to hear. When he was talking to Raymond and he (the neighbor) wanted to teach his mistress a lesson, Meursault wasn't thinking anything, and he didn't seem to be feeling anything on the outside either. When he is with Marie though, he seems to express at least a little bit of feeling. While they are swimming around they seem like a happy couple in a romantic setting. Yet when she asks if he loves her, and he said "I answered the same way I had the last time, that it didn't mean anything but that I probably didn't love her." Maybe he is incapable of loving anymore, and that he has purposely distanced himself from everyone else, yet I feel like he should feel something. After this, Marie had asked him if he would marry her; and he said he would, because he didn't feel like it is a serious thing. There are times when he is interacting with individuals where he seems to care, and other times where he is indifferent. When he was at the beach with his friend and Marie, I feel like this showed the inside of him a little bit more. He was concerned when Raymond got hurt, he seemed to love Marie when they were lying on the beach together.
I feel like Albert Camus made Meursault the way he is-detached- to make his readers feel something. Because Meursault is acting so distanced, I feel like it is making me react even more than if he was upset, or showing any other emotion because it bothers me when he does not seem to care. Or maybe he acts so disconnected because he really does feel like a stranger. After all, we have all felt this way at least once in our lives.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
“[Two] Overlapping, Fractured Philosophies.” In I <3 Huckabees
I <3 Huckabees is an enjoyable movie, that makes you think. It is a combination of a negative view on life, and a positive view on life or in Albert’s words two “overlapping, fractured philosophies.” Bernard believes that we are all the same, and that we are connected like “the blanket”. He demonstrated that we are all on different places of the blanket, yet we are all still part of the blanket: “Everything is the same, even if it’s different.” At first it seems like Bernard and his wife are trying to lend Albert and Tommy a positive way of thinking about life. I cannot remember Bernard’s wife’s name, as well as her view. I believe she was on the positive side as well since she was with Bernard, yet her main job seemed to be snooping around and spying on Albert.
The character Caterine had a more negative view on life, she felt like everything in the universe is meaningless. That is like the philosophy of nihilism, which I talked about in another of my posts: where whatever we do doesn’t make a difference because we are still going to die anyway. When Albert met Tommy, chaos slowly began to break loose. Tommy had gotten a hold of Caterine’s book, which led to Tommy’s wife (or girlfriend) and kid leaving. The wife had said to Tommy: “If nothing matters, how can I matter?” Tommy was in a major state of confusion and denial, so he was unable to answer her question.
The face placed on Huckabees is a model named Dawn who was Ken Doll’s (Brad’s) girlfriend. She acted like one of Brad’s groupies, acting stupid and being his cheerleader basically. In the commercials she would follow the director’s instructions and act like everyone expected her to act. Brad was trying to tell his girlfriend that she had a choice who to be, even while he was telling her to be pretty at the same time. Dawn responded, “it’s not a choice, I have to be pretty”. Brad was also a pretty boy who only cared about his image, and did not understand that he was not being himself.
Dawn was Huckabees Barbie Doll up until the scene where she came in wearing and bonnet and overalls, and Brad told her to leave through the back door so no one would see her. Dawn was acting who she is and wanted to be, which reminds me of the quote that Bernard said: “everything you ever want to be, you already are”. I found this a little bit confusing at first but it means that you have potential to be what you want to be because it is already in you. There is also a quote from when Tommy and Albert were hitting each other in the face; where Albert said: “I don’t feel like anything. I could be whatever is around me. I could be a rock, or I could be gold.” He did not feel like himself at that moment, which made him more aware of his surroundings. Tommy and Albert felt like the ball trick was brilliant because it cleared out their minds and helped them think about other things. Of course this is where Caterine says “you can’t just go that with the ball over and over again. It’s inevitable.. Then back to drama and suffering”. She was trying to tell them that you cannot escape for long, because no matter what drama and suffering comes back.
At the very end of the movie Albert and Tommy are sitting on the rock, and making faces at Bernard, Bernard’s wife, and Caterine. Bernard says, “I think we solved a case!” It seemed like they were pretending to be on negative and positive sides, when they were really all working together the whole time. In the end, Albert and Tommy seemed to find a meaning to their lives.
The character Caterine had a more negative view on life, she felt like everything in the universe is meaningless. That is like the philosophy of nihilism, which I talked about in another of my posts: where whatever we do doesn’t make a difference because we are still going to die anyway. When Albert met Tommy, chaos slowly began to break loose. Tommy had gotten a hold of Caterine’s book, which led to Tommy’s wife (or girlfriend) and kid leaving. The wife had said to Tommy: “If nothing matters, how can I matter?” Tommy was in a major state of confusion and denial, so he was unable to answer her question.
The face placed on Huckabees is a model named Dawn who was Ken Doll’s (Brad’s) girlfriend. She acted like one of Brad’s groupies, acting stupid and being his cheerleader basically. In the commercials she would follow the director’s instructions and act like everyone expected her to act. Brad was trying to tell his girlfriend that she had a choice who to be, even while he was telling her to be pretty at the same time. Dawn responded, “it’s not a choice, I have to be pretty”. Brad was also a pretty boy who only cared about his image, and did not understand that he was not being himself.
Dawn was Huckabees Barbie Doll up until the scene where she came in wearing and bonnet and overalls, and Brad told her to leave through the back door so no one would see her. Dawn was acting who she is and wanted to be, which reminds me of the quote that Bernard said: “everything you ever want to be, you already are”. I found this a little bit confusing at first but it means that you have potential to be what you want to be because it is already in you. There is also a quote from when Tommy and Albert were hitting each other in the face; where Albert said: “I don’t feel like anything. I could be whatever is around me. I could be a rock, or I could be gold.” He did not feel like himself at that moment, which made him more aware of his surroundings. Tommy and Albert felt like the ball trick was brilliant because it cleared out their minds and helped them think about other things. Of course this is where Caterine says “you can’t just go that with the ball over and over again. It’s inevitable.. Then back to drama and suffering”. She was trying to tell them that you cannot escape for long, because no matter what drama and suffering comes back.
At the very end of the movie Albert and Tommy are sitting on the rock, and making faces at Bernard, Bernard’s wife, and Caterine. Bernard says, “I think we solved a case!” It seemed like they were pretending to be on negative and positive sides, when they were really all working together the whole time. In the end, Albert and Tommy seemed to find a meaning to their lives.
Monday, October 12, 2009
This I Believe
I strongly believe in being my own individual. I like to dress how I want to dress, and I try not to fit in with everyone else. Even if I may have the same bits of clothing as other individuals, I try to put them together in my own unique way. On the first day of school I was a little worried to dress “out there” before meeting my classmates. I remember wearing the same shirt as this girl in my class, yet I was glad to have mine be a little bit different from hers. Even though we had the same prints on our shirts, I had cut the neck of my shirt to fit differently from hers. I also realized that I had put my outfit together differently from how her outfit was. I like to stand out in a crowd, not just with the clothes I wear, but how I look.
Juan had posted this comment on one of my responses to David Banach’s lecture: “you mention that if people do not like what your wear, then ‘it's too bad for them’. This shows that you have personality and you are not trying to be somebody else in order to fit in.” (Juan S.) I can admit that there are times where I want to dress a certain way for certain individuals, yet I learned a long time ago to dress for myself. I do not believe in dressing or acting like everybody else to try and fit in. I really like this quote Juan said about me, because he extracted it from my text without it even being there to begin with. I wrote about the way I dress, and Juan took it to the next level, talking about my personality.
I know we are supposed to use “sprinkling”, but I really like this whole quote:
“Our freedom is, thus, a freedom of synthesis. It is the freedom to pull ourselves together into the type of coherent whole that we will ourselves to be. Even if the raw materials from which we construct ourselves are determined (just a the materials of the artist are determined), what we make ourselves out of these materials is up to us alone (just as what the artist makes of her subject is up to her alone.)"
David Banach compares us to artists and discusses us as individuals like a big piece of artwork. I can relate to this example because I am a painter, and I often work off of pictures. Yet I take pictures and do my own version of the painting, using different colors and ways of painting what I see to make it mine. Banach was talking about how we take things that we see in the world, yet we make them into ourselves.
One day my mom told me that there are only three or four plots to a book, so I decided to look up this quote: “there are only three or four ‘simple plots’ according to most books”. I read a lot of books, and realize sometimes that I have read similar plots even though the books are by completely different authors. This quote seems similar to how Mr. Banach feels that we can take related resources, and make them into ourselves. Though people have many more variations than books do, I still feel like there are certain building blocks that people may work off of to create themselves.
I believe, in being myself. Some people are scared to be themselves, and hide behind personalities that they have created. I do not understand why some individuals put up a “front” for what they really are. A ‘front’ is to “put on a fake or false personality; not keeping it real.” Say as a make-believe scenario, that there is a boy who is constantly putting up an act to impress a girl. Yet the whole time he is putting on this act, (if the girl falls in love with him,) his goal has not really been achieved. The guy has not won, because the girl has fallen for the act of the guy, not who he really is.
I feel like it is wrong when guys think of girls as objects. I read a book by Nora Roberts where these two characters were saying how it was their right to use girls how they wanted to, and since it was a murder mystery the guys felt like they were allowed to dispose of the women once they were done with them. I believe that we are all humans, and that no one should feel like they can use and then cast away (kill) anyone else. Just like the quote from Mr. Banach’s lecture, “Can I choose to be a murder, a thief, or an exploiter of humanity?” I believe that it is wrong to take someone else’s life away from them, before the person is done with their life. In class I connected this quote to One Flew Over A Cuckoo’s Nest and an example with the main character: Randle McMurphy. At first Randle McMurphy was a very lively individual, with his own unique personality. Towards the end of the movie the doctors took him to another floor, and did some brain surgery on him. McMurphy comes back, as a walking vegetable. This scene was very disturbing, and in my opinion wrong, because they took away his personality and eventually his life without his permission. I found that to be unjustifiable.
I believe that everyone has the opportunity to make their own decisions, and that no one else can make those decisions for you. I also feel like everyone is accountable for their actions, and that they should take responsibility for those actions. Something that I really agree with David Banach on is that “we [all] attempt to deceive ourselves and act as if we weren't free, as if we were really determined by our nature, our body, or the expectations of other people." Some people let others make the decisions for them, while some are also too weak or scared to make the decisions for themselves. It's like those cliques that have one leader, and the rest of the people follow the leader without questioning anything that the leader is saying. Even though I do not feel this way, some people may feel safer having someone tell them step by step what to do in their lives. Yet life does not come with an instruction booklet, and people have to learn for themselves how to live.
I believe there is more to being a teenager than doing drugs and drinking. I don’t really agree with getting drunk to be wasted, or so high you can’t function. I like being in control of my body, and would not like some other force to be controlling me instead. One of my friends once said to me something along the lines of “you don’t smoke? What do you do with your life? Oh my God you’re an Angel!” My friend was so surprised, which I found a good example of how teenagers can be today. I feel like it is pathetic how dependent on drugs some kids are. How trashed they get just because it’s “cool”. I think it’s sad how some friendships are made where kids are just using other kids for drugs and alcohol.
I believe that it is bad to try and possess another individual, and that “if I attempt to enslave others or use them as objects, I make myself a slave and an object”, that “the person who uses other people as objects to satisfy his desires makes himself an object” and that “the manipulator, who attempts to buy and sell other people for his own ends, finds that he has sold his soul as well by seeing himself merely as his desires.” To summarize this quote, and connect it to a quote that I really like there is this quote: “Then you will find your servant is your master” (Wrapped Around Your Finger, By The Police) I like this idea that if a person holds someone else as a servant, they will find the servant to be their master. If you try to control another individual, you may find the roles to be reversed, and that they end up controlling you instead of the other way round.
While David Banach feels like we are alone, and that “no one else can feel what we feel, and we cannot feel what is going on in anyone else’s minds”, I believe that there are times where we can share each other’s thoughts. Sometimes, you really can hear and think someone else’s thoughts. It just depends who the person is and the relationship that you have with them. For example, I am very close to my best friend Yasmin J. We have known each other since sixth grade, and can in a way share each other’s thoughts. We cannot have a conversation without echoing each other at least once. We have such a strong connection, that we can be talking about one topic, and then I could say something like “eww” and Yasmin would be like “what, are you talking about (insert name here)?” She knows my thoughts, without me having to say them sometimes.
There is the ongoing debate whether “existence precedes essence” (“We exist first and determine our essence by means of choice.” We exist and determine how we are after), or if “essence precedes existence” (our spirit comes before we exist.) These concepts remind me of the lyrics “how many years can a mountain exist, before it's washed to the sea? Yes, 'n' how many years can some people exist, before they're allowed to be free?” (Blowin’ In The Wind, by Bob Dylan) How many years can the idea of a person exist, after they are gone? This reminds me of how famous artists are known so many years after they have passed away. I believe that we are born, and we create ourselves how we are going to be. I do not find it possible for us to be born and already have some magical force directing our lives.
To come to a closure, I’d just like to say not to fall into the cookie cutter mold, but to try and be as unique as you possibly can. Yet if that is not possible, just try to be yourself.
References:
-David Banach’s lecture
-For the book quote: http://www.tameri.com/write/plotnstory.html
-Definition of “Front”: Urbandictionary.com
-The Lyrics to Wrapped Around Your Finger, by The Police: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/s/sting+&+police/wrapped+around+your+finger_20132153.html
-Existence precedes essence: http://philosophy.lander.edu/intro/sartre.html
-Blowin’ In The Wind, by Bob Dylan: http://www.bobdylan.com/#/songs/blowin-wind
Juan had posted this comment on one of my responses to David Banach’s lecture: “you mention that if people do not like what your wear, then ‘it's too bad for them’. This shows that you have personality and you are not trying to be somebody else in order to fit in.” (Juan S.) I can admit that there are times where I want to dress a certain way for certain individuals, yet I learned a long time ago to dress for myself. I do not believe in dressing or acting like everybody else to try and fit in. I really like this quote Juan said about me, because he extracted it from my text without it even being there to begin with. I wrote about the way I dress, and Juan took it to the next level, talking about my personality.
I know we are supposed to use “sprinkling”, but I really like this whole quote:
“Our freedom is, thus, a freedom of synthesis. It is the freedom to pull ourselves together into the type of coherent whole that we will ourselves to be. Even if the raw materials from which we construct ourselves are determined (just a the materials of the artist are determined), what we make ourselves out of these materials is up to us alone (just as what the artist makes of her subject is up to her alone.)"
David Banach compares us to artists and discusses us as individuals like a big piece of artwork. I can relate to this example because I am a painter, and I often work off of pictures. Yet I take pictures and do my own version of the painting, using different colors and ways of painting what I see to make it mine. Banach was talking about how we take things that we see in the world, yet we make them into ourselves.
One day my mom told me that there are only three or four plots to a book, so I decided to look up this quote: “there are only three or four ‘simple plots’ according to most books”. I read a lot of books, and realize sometimes that I have read similar plots even though the books are by completely different authors. This quote seems similar to how Mr. Banach feels that we can take related resources, and make them into ourselves. Though people have many more variations than books do, I still feel like there are certain building blocks that people may work off of to create themselves.
I believe, in being myself. Some people are scared to be themselves, and hide behind personalities that they have created. I do not understand why some individuals put up a “front” for what they really are. A ‘front’ is to “put on a fake or false personality; not keeping it real.” Say as a make-believe scenario, that there is a boy who is constantly putting up an act to impress a girl. Yet the whole time he is putting on this act, (if the girl falls in love with him,) his goal has not really been achieved. The guy has not won, because the girl has fallen for the act of the guy, not who he really is.
I feel like it is wrong when guys think of girls as objects. I read a book by Nora Roberts where these two characters were saying how it was their right to use girls how they wanted to, and since it was a murder mystery the guys felt like they were allowed to dispose of the women once they were done with them. I believe that we are all humans, and that no one should feel like they can use and then cast away (kill) anyone else. Just like the quote from Mr. Banach’s lecture, “Can I choose to be a murder, a thief, or an exploiter of humanity?” I believe that it is wrong to take someone else’s life away from them, before the person is done with their life. In class I connected this quote to One Flew Over A Cuckoo’s Nest and an example with the main character: Randle McMurphy. At first Randle McMurphy was a very lively individual, with his own unique personality. Towards the end of the movie the doctors took him to another floor, and did some brain surgery on him. McMurphy comes back, as a walking vegetable. This scene was very disturbing, and in my opinion wrong, because they took away his personality and eventually his life without his permission. I found that to be unjustifiable.
I believe that everyone has the opportunity to make their own decisions, and that no one else can make those decisions for you. I also feel like everyone is accountable for their actions, and that they should take responsibility for those actions. Something that I really agree with David Banach on is that “we [all] attempt to deceive ourselves and act as if we weren't free, as if we were really determined by our nature, our body, or the expectations of other people." Some people let others make the decisions for them, while some are also too weak or scared to make the decisions for themselves. It's like those cliques that have one leader, and the rest of the people follow the leader without questioning anything that the leader is saying. Even though I do not feel this way, some people may feel safer having someone tell them step by step what to do in their lives. Yet life does not come with an instruction booklet, and people have to learn for themselves how to live.
I believe there is more to being a teenager than doing drugs and drinking. I don’t really agree with getting drunk to be wasted, or so high you can’t function. I like being in control of my body, and would not like some other force to be controlling me instead. One of my friends once said to me something along the lines of “you don’t smoke? What do you do with your life? Oh my God you’re an Angel!” My friend was so surprised, which I found a good example of how teenagers can be today. I feel like it is pathetic how dependent on drugs some kids are. How trashed they get just because it’s “cool”. I think it’s sad how some friendships are made where kids are just using other kids for drugs and alcohol.
I believe that it is bad to try and possess another individual, and that “if I attempt to enslave others or use them as objects, I make myself a slave and an object”, that “the person who uses other people as objects to satisfy his desires makes himself an object” and that “the manipulator, who attempts to buy and sell other people for his own ends, finds that he has sold his soul as well by seeing himself merely as his desires.” To summarize this quote, and connect it to a quote that I really like there is this quote: “Then you will find your servant is your master” (Wrapped Around Your Finger, By The Police) I like this idea that if a person holds someone else as a servant, they will find the servant to be their master. If you try to control another individual, you may find the roles to be reversed, and that they end up controlling you instead of the other way round.
While David Banach feels like we are alone, and that “no one else can feel what we feel, and we cannot feel what is going on in anyone else’s minds”, I believe that there are times where we can share each other’s thoughts. Sometimes, you really can hear and think someone else’s thoughts. It just depends who the person is and the relationship that you have with them. For example, I am very close to my best friend Yasmin J. We have known each other since sixth grade, and can in a way share each other’s thoughts. We cannot have a conversation without echoing each other at least once. We have such a strong connection, that we can be talking about one topic, and then I could say something like “eww” and Yasmin would be like “what, are you talking about (insert name here)?” She knows my thoughts, without me having to say them sometimes.
There is the ongoing debate whether “existence precedes essence” (“We exist first and determine our essence by means of choice.” We exist and determine how we are after), or if “essence precedes existence” (our spirit comes before we exist.) These concepts remind me of the lyrics “how many years can a mountain exist, before it's washed to the sea? Yes, 'n' how many years can some people exist, before they're allowed to be free?” (Blowin’ In The Wind, by Bob Dylan) How many years can the idea of a person exist, after they are gone? This reminds me of how famous artists are known so many years after they have passed away. I believe that we are born, and we create ourselves how we are going to be. I do not find it possible for us to be born and already have some magical force directing our lives.
To come to a closure, I’d just like to say not to fall into the cookie cutter mold, but to try and be as unique as you possibly can. Yet if that is not possible, just try to be yourself.
References:
-David Banach’s lecture
-For the book quote: http://www.tameri.com/write/plotnstory.html
-Definition of “Front”: Urbandictionary.com
-The Lyrics to Wrapped Around Your Finger, by The Police: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/s/sting+&+police/wrapped+around+your+finger_20132153.html
-Existence precedes essence: http://philosophy.lander.edu/intro/sartre.html
-Blowin’ In The Wind, by Bob Dylan: http://www.bobdylan.com/#/songs/blowin-wind
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Comments To Partner's Blog Posts, #3
Jace, I feel like you have brilliant ideas, and are capable of pushing yourself so much more than you are doing in your posts. I know this comment is late, because I just found out we had to do a third comment. Whenever you are commenting on my blog posts, I see that you understand, and you can connect to the things I write about. Yet when I look at your posts, they're really short, basically saying "I agree". In the future, try talking about parts that you agree with and why.
I'm still looking forward to working with you in the near future.
-Hannah
___________________________________________________
Kareem didn't have a third post on the Banach lecture.
I'm still looking forward to working with you in the near future.
-Hannah
___________________________________________________
Kareem didn't have a third post on the Banach lecture.
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