Born in Slavery

My favorite is Slave Narratives and the Waning Authority of Racism , which focuses on the rise in popularity of the black culture amongst blacks & whites during the early 1900's. I think it's my favorite because it talks about how racially powered authority had declined some during this time, which is why the African-American influences could come to be known.

Film Shots & Techniques

1. Close-Up, High-Key Lighting

2. High-Angle Lens

3. Pan

4. Tracking

5. Crane

6. Long Shot

7. Bottom Lighting

8. Rear Lighting

9. Superimposition

10. Eye-Line Match

Blog Review

1. Film Techniques
2. Silent Film
3. Censorship
4. Screwball Comedy
5. Method Acting

Right now we're 1940's film and some of the Hollywood events are the ushering in of color to film, enhanced sound and 3-D effects.

Double Indemnity

Sam- Was disappointed with the lack of suspense and Fred McMurray's portrayal of Walter. Thought he and Phyllis lacked chemistry, liked the film, but mostly didn't love it because of actors.

Adam- Really likes the film, one of his top favorites, holds it to a high esteem, praises subtlety of story.

I agree with both of them actually, I agree with Adam when he says it's a great movie and one of the most prominent of its genre, but Sam also makes a good point when he elaborates on what he thinks are the film's cons.

Huck & Jim

Huck's portrayal of Jim- Similar to the '93 movie portrayal, but not as unorthodox in disposition, and Huck seems to have a feeling of revere for Jim.

1993 portrayal of Jim- Voodoo guy, typical Southern black with an accent, eccentric and when talking about his Voodoo he gets very expository and creepy to an extent.

1971 portrayal of Jim- More of a serious character, more soft-spoken and musical; the way he acts makes him look like a kind of underdog in what he wants to achieve.

Method Acting Project

Group- Me, Dillon & Jordan

Movie- Pulp Fiction

Scene- Enter the guy's house and ask him about Marcellus Wallace.

[We have a camera, we'll be filming off campus and we won't be using a green screen.]

Shrek 2 Satire

Exaggeration- representation of something as being larger, greater, better, worse or of more importance than really exists. EX: When Fiona meets Fairy god-mother for the first time, she gives herself an introduction with an over-the-top musical number complete with song & dance.

Incongruity- not being in harmony or keeping with the surroundings or other aspects of something. EX: There are anachronisms during the scene where people are arriving at Fiona & Charming's wedding, there's a paparazzi with cameras taking pictures and Shrek's friends are at home watching the event on the mirror t.v.; these didn't exist in the medieval epoch.

Reversal- a change to an opposite direction, position or course of action; an adverse change of fortune. EX: When the Fairy god-mother finds out that Fiona is already married to Shrek.

Parody- an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect. EX: When Shrek's friends are watching t.v., they view a show called "Knights", which is a medieval version of "Cops".

Kindred Posters

1. "Seconds count when something is trying to kill you. Oh, but I'm talking about suicide. To survive, my ancestors had to put up with more than I ever could." I liked this poem because it's very expository and gives a good view as to how Dana perceives slavery and shows how she respects that they truly did do more than she could ever hope to del with.

2. Christine's group had my favorite picture because it was the most meticulous and had some interesting ideas with the depiction of Dana and the hourglass representing time travel.

3. "I had a new, slowly growing fear." What it tells me about the character of Dana is that she will encounter some predicaments in her travels and that she will need time to adjust to her time traveling.

4. I think the conflict that will present itself among Dana, Kevin and Rufus will be that Kevin will turn out to know more about what's going on than he claims to know, and he will reveal to Dana some kind of profundity.

Slavery Today

Slavery changed America drastically as it left a lasting effect on the country, leaving behind stereotypes and racism that exist today. True that if it weren't for slavery, we might not have become the country we are today. Slavery itself was such an appalling thing and even thinking of it leaves people with a tempestuous feeling after remembering that such a thing actually existed.

Method Acting

Method Acting is a type of acting style where actors delve deep into their emotions and act as if they are the role that they're playing. Stanislavski was a director at the Moscow Art Theater who wrote a number of acting books and innovated his own variation of acting which came to be known as Method Acting. Marlon Brando used a lot of the emotion and taking on the character aspects of the technique in his role.

Favorite Actors

Edward Norton- His acting is collected and dramatic, and can get to the point where he can become his character. I liked his roles in Fight Club and American History X.

Samuel L. Jackson- He is an overall great actor, has great humor and is really dramatic when he acts. I liked his roles in Pulp Fiction and Coach Carter.

Gael García- He really gets into his roles and is expressive and tempestuous when he acts. I liked his roles in Amores Perros and The Motorcycle Diaries.

Satire

A satire uses humor, irony, or exaggeration on people or their actions in order to ridicule them, usually it's used to make fun of what's seen to be serious, such as politics. In other words, one could say a satire is a parody. An example of satire from Family Guy is when Rush Limbaugh is portrayed in a way that he wouldn't be seen in real life and make him self aware of what people see to be his flaws and also of what's wrong in his own beliefs.

Note to a Critical Friend

Dear ______Katarina________,

I would like to persuade _____readers______ to ____recognize the severity of addiction____.

The greatest obstacles to this happening seem to be _______lack of restraint_______.

I am also worried about ______lack of concern toward this topic_________.

What do you think of ______this topic________?

Thanks for your help.

Sincerely,

_____Sebastian Valenzuela______

Survey

1. How do you feel about the environmental situation of the world today?

_I don't care X_Sort of concerned _Very concerned.

1. What do you do when you see someone littering?
   

_Pick it up _Say something to the person X_Do Nothing.

1. What do you do when you have a used paper napkin in your hand on the street?
   

_Throw it on the ground X_Wait until I find a trashcan.

1. Do you use biodegradable products?
   _I don't know what they are _Never _Always X_Sometimes
   

1. Are you conscious of the world's environmental problems today?
   _Yes X_More or less _No, not at all
   

1. Do you think that your habits or way of living negatively affect the environment?
   _Yes _A little X_No
   

1. Have you ever helped in an environmental program?
   _Yes _No, because I didn't want to. X_No, because I never had the chance.
   

1. Which of these do you usually do?
   X_Turn off the lights when I leave a room.

_Take a shower for less than five minutes.

X_Don't leave the water running when I am brushing my teeth

_None of them.

1. Which of these activities would you like to do to help nature?
   _Plant trees

X_Be involved in a recycling project

X_conserve water

X_conserve electricity

X_walk, public transit, or bike to places

_nothing at all

1. What is your stance on Prop 21? (Should the state levy an additional annual $18 vehicle license surcharge to provide funds to operate and maintain California's state parks and wildlife protection programs?)

_yes X_no

1. What is your stance on Prop 23?(SUSPENDS IMPLEMENTATION OF AIR POLLUTION CONTROL LAW (AB 32) REQUIRING MAJOR SOURCES OF EMISSIONS TO REPORT AND REDUCE GREENHOUSE GASEMISSIONS THAT CAUSE GLOBAL WARMING, UNTIL UNEMPLOYMENT DROPS TO 5.5 PERCENT OR LESS FOR FULL YEAR. INITIATIVE STATUTE.)

X_yes _no

1. Do you think that global warming will have a negative impact on you in the near future?

X_yes _no

1. Do you think further destruction of global warming can be stopped by humans?

X_yes _no

1. Are you willing to pay extra in taxes to halt global warming?

X_yes _no

1. Are you willing to give up some of your leisures(activities you enjoy in your free time) to reduce global warming?

X_yes _no

1. Do you believe that global warming is a natural phase that occurs in the cycle of earth?

_yes X_no

1. Do you believe that we, humans are the primary cause of global warming?

X_yes _no

1. Do you think that we should utilize nuclear energy?

Advantage:Nuclear power generation does emit relatively low amounts of carbon dioxide (CO₂). The emissions of green house gases and therefore the contribution of nuclear power plants to global warming is therefore relatively little.

Disadvantage:The problem of radioactive waste is still an unsolved one. The waste from nuclear energy is extremely dangerous and it has to be carefully looked after for several thousand years (10'000 years according to United States Environmental Protection Agency standards).

_yes X_no

Thoreau & Walden

1. He moved there to live in a peaceful environment away from city life so he could write a book about his deceased brother.

2. He was living there solitarily, and experienced the industrial revolution taking place everyday since the railroad was in close proximity of his cabin.

3. What Thoreau criticized about modern life was that people were living lives filled with difficulty and complexity, believing that people should live modest, simple lives, keeping modern technology to a minimum.

4. I have to politely disagree with Thoreau's critique because technology exists to facilitate people's lives, not make them even harder, even though technology does have it's good affects and it's bad ones. He did make a good argument in that people should lead simple lives, but simplicity can result in monotony, aside from increased effort in living.

Roger Ebert Review

Ebert's recurring motif throughout the review is Bobby Fischer, comparing his preeminence in chess to Mark Zuckerberg's phenomenal creation of Facebook. He gives a lot of background on Mark Zuckerburg, the movie's plot, the actors and applies it to things relating to the film, like technology. Ebert doesn't really discuss film techniques, he mainly discusses the film, actors and background story that the film is based on, which is Mark Zuckerberg's creation of Facebook.

Calvin & Hobbes/Music

Nas - "I Can":

I know I can (I know I can)
Be what I wanna be (be what I wanna be)
If I work hard at it (If I work hard at it)
I'll be where I wanna be (I'll be where I wanna be)

Be, B-Boys and girls, listen up
You can be anything in the world, in God we trust
An architect, doctor, maybe an actress
But nothing comes easy it takes much practice
Like, I met a woman who's becoming a star
She was very beautiful, leaving people in awe
Singing songs, Lina Horn, but the younger version
Hung with the wrong person
Got her strung on that
Heroin, cocaine, sniffin up drugs all in her nose...
Coulda died, so young, now looks ugly and old
No fun cause now when she reaches for hugs people hold they breath
Cause she smells of corrosion and death
Watch the company you keep and the crowd you bring
Cause they came to do drugs and you came to sing
So if you gonna be the best, I'ma tell you how,
Put your hands in the air, and take a vow

I know I can (I know I can)
Be what I wanna be (be what I wanna be)
If I work hard at it (If I work hard at it)
I'll be where I wanna be (I'll be where I wanna be)

Be, B-Boys and girls, listen again
This is for grown looking girls who's only ten
The ones who watch videos and do what they see
As cute as can be, up in the club with fake ID
Careful, 'fore you meet a man with HIV
You can host the TV like Oprah Winfrey
Whatever you decide, be careful, some men be
Rapists, so act your age, don't pretend to be
Older than you are, give yourself time to grow
You thinking he can give you wealth, but so
Young boys, you can use a lot of help, you know
You thinkin life's all about smokin weed and ice
You don't wanna be my age and can't read and write
Begging different women for a place to sleep at night
Smart boys turn to men and do whatever they wish
If you believe you can achieve, then say it like this:

I know I can (I know I can)
Be what I wanna be (be what I wanna be)
If I work hard at it (If I work hard at it)
I'll be where I wanna be (I'll be where I wanna be)

Be, be, 'fore we came to this country
We were kings and queens, never porch monkeys
There was empires in Africa called Kush
Timbuktu, where every race came to get books
To learn from black teachers who taught Greeks and Romans
Asian Arabs and gave them gold when
Gold was converted to money it all changed
Money then became empowerment for Europeans
The Persian military invaded
They heard about the gold, the teachings, and everything sacred
Africa was almost robbed naked
Slavery was money, so they began making slave ships
Egypt was the place that Alexander the Great went
He was so shocked at the mountains with black faces
Shot up they nose to impose what basically
Still goes on today, you see?
If the truth is told, the youth can grow
Then learn to survive until they gain control
Nobody says you have to be gangstas, hoes
Read more learn more, change the globe
Ghetto children, do your thing
Hold your head up, little man, you're a king
Young Princess when you get your wedding ring
Your man is saying "She's my queen"

I know I can (I know I can)
Be what I wanna be (be what I wanna be)
If I work hard at it (If I work hard at it)
I'll be where I wanna be (I'll be where I wanna be)

Save the music y'all, save the music y'all
Save the music y'all, save the music y'all
Save the music

Screwball Comedy

Screwball is a variation of comedy that's unorthodox and spontaneous. Characteristics of the genre are comical situations, fast-spoken dialogue mixed with slapstick and plots involving serious circumstances like love and marriage.

American Literary Periods

The style of the Colonial period consisted of sermons, diaries, personal writings and religious poetry, focusing on daily life and ethics, while the Romantic period consisted of character sketches, slave narratives, general poetry and short stories, focusing on the individual and emotions. Aspects of transcendentalism are optimism, intuition, a simple lifestyle, individualism, oversoul and civil disobedience. Historical context affecting these periods dealt with political and social issues happening at those times, such as Romanticism's invocation of strong feeling due to the Civil War.

Casablanca Questions

1. For me, a film should have a good story and good characters, and the character's already present measure up, like Rick, but especially the characters of different ethnicities, the French, Italians, and Germans. The many lines paraphrased and quoted from the characters in the film account for its lasting popularity.

2. World War II had begun the year prior, and the U.S. would enter the year after the set year of the film. A main issue during that time was Nazi Germany, Hitler, and Fascism in Europe. In the film, there's mention of WWI and the Axis Power countries of WWII, Italy and Germany, mentions of the Third Reich and references to some Germans as "gestapos".

3. The different nationalities are portrayed uniquely, the way they act, speak and what they speak about, even how they dress. Some absent groups that I noticed are the Japanese, the third country of the Axis Powers, and also the Jews, who I'd expect to be present in Morocco. The Japanese may not be there because they were being interned and didn't want to promote them on film, and Jews were in Europe, suffering in the Holocaust or fleeing to other countries because of it.

4. I see Rick as just a laid back American man enjoying his time in Casablanca, but can seem to come off as sarcastic, yet maintains diplomacy when talking to the men of the other countries. My opinion didn't change much of him, only a little at the end of the movie when he had Strasser at gunpoint.

5. The past she brings is that she's married and her husband was in a concentration camp and thought he was deceased when she and Rick met and fell in love in Paris. When Ilsa's husband Laszlo does come back, she's left with a hard choice over the man she wants to be with.

6. In Ilsa's marriage, it's good and has benefits as she and Laszlo look good next to each other and others think so as well.

7. In the 40's, when people smoked and drank in film, they did so in a way that made them look lavish and went about doing it in a very non-chaulant manner. In present films, people smoke and drink either in that same way, casually and not necessarily fancy or overdo it and end up looking like drunken idiots.

8. I think he means that they'll soon have a close alliance, both personally and diplomatically. In a sequel, I'd expect to see Rick and Renault in a partnership, owning a business place in Casablanca.

For/Against MPAA

Even though the MPAA exists to help the public by letting them know of a movie's content, the way it's executed and the whole process prior to the final rating of a film makes me have to disagree with it. Some of the reasons why I feel this way towards the board is because I find it unfair how they'll favor directors making big budget movies as opposed to the independent director making films that are still good, but because they won't bring in the biggest revenue they are basically put on the side. Also, probably the biggest reason for my opposition to the MPAA is that their rating process is really shady since the board of raters themselves are a secret group that conduct business on a low key basis.

Civil Disobedience Ideas

The Prison System- http://core.ecu.edu/soci/juskaa/SOCI2110/Prison_Industrial_Complex.htm

The Global Food Crisis- http://ehistory.osu.edu/osu/origins/article.cfm?articleid=38

Youth Violence in Schools- http://youthviolence.edschool.virginia.edu/violence-in-schools/home.html

Hollywood Censorship

Hays code, or the Motion Picture Production Code is the set of guidelines for censorship in movies in the United States. Some of the included situations for censoring were nudity, satirizing of religion and depiction of drugs. I think Hollywood followed these rules to maintain moral values and avoid loss of profit because of the risk of people not watching films because of material the depicted. Movies have changed because nowadays, things censored in Hays code are now uncensored in some films because more toleration has developed for those things.

Common Themes

Common themes shared among all three are the people, man, unity, the world, the government, rights and justice. To me this says that their writing consists of beliefs in equality, justice and righteousness not only in the country, but for all people in the world. All their writings are interconnected by their shared beliefs in these themes.

Teen Suicide

So many teens nowadays commit suicide because of pressures placed upon them by peers, school and even themselves. It comes to a point where they can no longer take the pressure or accept the way their lives are and the inability to cope make them feel as if the only way to escape from it is to take their own lives.

http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/patientcare/healthcare_services/mental_health/mental_health_about/children/suicide/Pages/index.aspx

Silent Film Review Part II

1. The Great Train Robbery: Directed by Edwin S. Porter

-Color

-Close-up

2. Birth of a Nation: Directed by D.W. Griffith

-Iris shot

-Long shot

3. Arrival at a Train Station: Directed by the Lumiere Brothers

-Stationary

-Eye-level shot

Silent Film Review

1

Metropolis: Directed by Fritz Lang

-Chiaroscuro Lighting

-High/Low angle shots

2

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari: Directed by Robert Wiene

-Chiaroscuro Lighting

-Set Design

3

A Trip to the Moon: Directed by Georges Méliès

-Animation

-Special Effects

4

The General: Directed by Buster Keaton & Clyde Bruckman

-Tracking shots

-Train stunts

5

Modern Times: Directed by Charlie Chaplin

-Synchronized sound effects

-Shot fast paced

Favorite Presentation

My favorite presentation was Ranbir, Ruthe, Elizabeth and Tre's presentation. For some reason, I found it the most entertaining, it also had good quotes that I liked. I think my project turned out pretty good, but for improvement, my recording session should be done much better next time.

Project Critiques

James and Raquel: Maybe add a little more to the slides, show more shots/lighting.

Organization- 3

Creativity- 2

Entertainment- 1.5

Sofia, Daniel, Naheely and Albert: Add some more pictures to slides and a little mention to cinema tech.

Organization- 3

Creativity- 2.5

Entertainment- 2

Angelina, Jordan, Danni and Rianna: Videos could have been done a little better, more images on slides.

Organization- 2.5

Creativity- 2.5

Entertainment- 2.5

The Trouble Salem Had

1

From the darkness Salem town

Came the one named Abigail

Presumptuous and ostentatious

2

Placed the witchery unto the minds of others

Victimizing herself

With the help of her friends

Manipulated the court, to satisfy their own ends

3

Remorse was nonexistent

To justice they remained resistant

4

Merely young girls

A group of lost souls

Selfishness and fear

On them had a hold

5

The antithesis of righteousness

Was the Reverend Samuel Parris

His ministry was his sole concern

Matters of more importance he spurned

6

Much pity is felt for the outcasts

Those scapegoated by the girls as easy targets

7

Out of the horizon came Hale rather stray

A reverend come to eliminate witchcraft

Equipped with religious zeal

Then why can he not see the light?

8

He arrives holier than thou

Investigates the cases

When the girls claim to have escaped the devil

He is ecstatic and pleased

A job seemingly well done

9

Now to the main case

Involves the man named Proctor

An affair he had with Abigail

A mental stigmata is what he carries

10

A married man, honors his wife

Over sin, he'd prefer cutting himself with a knife

Abigail lusts after him

Elizabeth is who she seeks revenge against

11

She frames Elizabeth

Now seen as a witch

Advantageously played the role of a victim

The nature of a bitch

12

John takes her to court

Allies Giles and Hale with him

Mary Warren in a bad position

He confesses infidelity

Because of Abigail he is jailed

13

Abigail still loved John, would not accept defeat

Unbeknownst to her, it is in hell where they shall meet

Chaplin vs. Keaton

Chaplin was a director/producer as well as an actor, but in Keaton's case, he'd only direct occasionally, not produce. Chaplin's variation of slapstick was more over the top, while Keaton's technique was more collected, though both were in their own respects ostentatious actors. During action scenes, Chaplin and Keaton both do their own stunts, but Chaplin's scenes are more fast paced with music that's more uptempo, Keaton's scenes are at a regular pace with music that's a bit slower, but still fast enough to keep up with stunt scenes. Chaplin was known to improvise a lot of his material, but Keaton always went with a script. Another difference between the two is that Keaton could act more serious than Chaplin, whose acting was mainly humorous.

Arthur Miller's Quote

I agree with Miller's statement, he makes an understandable argument. It's very true when he says we are responsible for our own behavior, from which I make the assumption that he means actions as well. His main point is when he says that men have limited choices, only a number of things that one is allowed to do or is in any way capable of doing. Aside from this, he brings in the point that it is also possible that our behaviors can give us these limitations, not just our lack of abilities.