1984: Literature in Film #3

I didn't know that they made not one but two movies about 1984, which was one of the books that I enjoyed getting into. In the movie, I feel that they made the character what I kind of pictured, like Winston and Julia. With seeing Winston throughout the portion of the movie that I watched, you could see that he was tired with the bags under his eyes by the Party and Big Brother basically running his life. Julia was quite beautiful and she didn't seem seductive like how she was betrayed in the book. It's funny that they released the movie in 1984, and how realistic is seemed to how it was in the book as well. 1980's movies are sort of different then how they are now. You could tell that it was quite old because of the picture. I've always liked books better then movies though, you actually get to know the character better then in a movie. You can feel and visualize the emotions of the character, and their thoughts which you can't see in a movie.

Precious: Literature in Film #2

I didn't really like the movie Precious. They are not the type of movies that I enjoy watching even though it's based about someone's experience that happened to them. When talking to some people they said that the book was better then the movie but how could it have been better when it was based off of true life? What can be more realistic then how the movie was? It was about rape and an abusive relationship not only between her father but between the protagonist and the mother. I enjoyed that some could feel connected towards the character by her feeling isolated and humiliated by the world, and towards her experience as a single mother in a bad community. Other then the bad things that happened, it turned out to be positive for her because she went back to school and got help. I like how she had supporting teachers like Blu Rain and Ms. Weiss who wanted to help her in her situation, and stood up for her when no one else even believed her. It's sad that no one would believe her, she had 2 kids from her father but no one believing her because she is a black single mother, which makes her less dominent and not powerful to the men even though it was made in the 21st century where we have equal rights with race and gender. Yeah the movie was a touchy subject, but I just don't like movie that have to do with rape or abuse for matter of family experiences.

Rebel. Literature in Film #1

When watching the film Rebel, even though it was a student film I was fascinated in the story line. The actors did an amazing job with filming it at the school and also how realistic they made it to be. I really enjoyed the part where Steinberg and Dan were talking about killing kittens in his paper. We later got told that that part was improvised which I thought was awesome! It was so realistic, that it was scripted. The sound was great, you could feel the tension between some characters. Also, you could see the love interest between the characters that you could tell aren't supposed to be together. Kind of like Romeo and Juliet. The film shows us about teenage rebellion, which is why its called Rebel, (duh). Not only do we see the obvious, main character rebel against his parents, but the other characters throughout the short film. The love interest with the two seemed that the girl was trying to get away from her boyfriend and date him. But why couldn't she just leave? He wasn't abusing her, and yeah we're in the 21st century where woman do have their own rights so why did she have to sneak around if she knows her boyfriend doesn't treat her the way she wants to be treated. Overall, this was a great film to watch. I enjoyed it the most because people our age can relate to it, not just by the characters but the background of it too.

Sonnet 29: When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes - Poem #8

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

I all alone beweep my outcast state,

And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,

And look upon myself and curse my fate,

Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,

Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,

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

With what I most enjoy contented least;

Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,

Haply I think on thee, and then my state,

(Like to the lark at break of day arising

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

   For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings

   That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

I don’t seem to know who is speaking in the poem but it is in first person, and it’s hard to interpret Shakespeare because I don’t understand his type of writing. In my mind, it seems that Shakespeare is saying about the troubles and woes of the perfect person. Nobody is perfect but in this poem, it seems to say that the author idolizes the perfect person. He wants to become like that person with their perfect life and perfect friends and wealth and happiness, but he is always left in the dust. Unable to regain his strength and rise to the challenges of life. Life is challenging but it all depends on how you look at it. Life is what you make out of it and this poem seems to portray the author as a sad, lonely man who blames everyone else for his trouble and longs for a better days. However, he seems to give us a clue in saying that he will regain his wealth someday and that wealth will bring upon his happiness. It is kind of sad that he needs money to be happy because money can buy happiness but you won’t find happiness within that money. Money is just an object and happiness is something that you can’t hold but have. Hopefully money will bring upon other desires for the author so that they can find true happiness in other objects of affection. It seems that everyone else, in the eyes of the author, are people who are blessed with the “perfect” life but that is not true because those people are just content with life. Life is what you make out of it and that is a lesson the author had to learn.

The Youngest Daughter - Poem #7

The sky has been dark

for many years.

My skin has become as damp

and pale as rice paper

and feels the way

mother’s used to before the drying sun   

parched it out there in the fields.

     Lately, when I touch my eyelids,

my hands react as if

I had just touched something

hot enough to burn.

My skin, aspirin colored,   

tingles with migraine. Mother

has been massaging the left side of my face   

especially in the evenings   

when the pain flares up.

This morning

her breathing was graveled,

her voice gruff with affection   

when I wheeled her into the bath.   

She was in a good humor,

making jokes about her great breasts,   

floating in the milky water

like two walruses,

flaccid and whiskered around the nipples.   

I scrubbed them with a sour taste   

in my mouth, thinking:

six children and an old man

have sucked from these brown nipples.

I was almost tender

when I came to the blue bruises

that freckle her body,

places where she has been injecting insulin   

for thirty years. I soaped her slowly,

she sighed deeply, her eyes closed.

It seems it has always

been like this: the two of us

in this sunless room,

the splashing of the bathwater.

In the afternoons

when she has rested,

she prepares our ritual of tea and rice,   

garnished with a shred of gingered fish,

a slice of pickled turnip,

a token for my white body.   

We eat in the familiar silence.

She knows I am not to be trusted,   

even now planning my escape.   

As I toast to her health

with the tea she has poured,

a thousand cranes curtain the window,

fly up in a sudden breeze.

This poem turned out to be a bit confusing for me the first read through, I say this because I know that it’s in the perspective of the daughter but that’s all we know. What has happened to the father or the family? I ask because the sentence ‘It seems it has always been like this: the two of us’ is what made me feel that something has had to occur for it to be just the two of them , so what happened? I enjoy reading the bond between the mother and daughter that is being talked about here because it reminds me of the relationship I have with my mother and step mother. Two different relationships but both have a lot of meaning to me. But anyway, this poem seems that they are taking care of each other. The daughter seems to be having migraines from situation which is why her mother is rubbing her temples, trying to make her feel better. Then after that it talks about how the daughter is trying to help the mother take a bath, but that is all that it says. Is there something wrong with the mother? We don’t seem to know the relationship if it’s even good or bad. All we seem to know is that there is a mother and a daughter, there is a bond and there is nothing being said about a family or what has happened. This seems to be a free verse poem, but it seems to be written more as a story then a poem, why? Overall, this poem seems to have so little information, but we can interpret it however we see it.

In Just- Poem #6

in Just-

spring       when the world is mud-

luscious the little

lame balloonman

whistles       far       and wee

and eddieandbill come

running from marbles and

piracies and it's

spring

when the world is puddle-wonderful

the queer

old balloonman whistles

far       and          wee

and bettyandisbel come dancing

from hop-scotch and jump-rope and

it's

spring

and

        the

                 goat-footed

balloonMan       whistles

far

and

wee

The poem was very flowing. The structure of the poem is what I enjoyed the most and the way it was written out is what E. E Cummings is known for. Also being known for  I didn’t understand why the poem was like this but you just get a better feel from it. When I say that, I mean that it’s easier to understand and interpret the poem. It’s like looking at a painting, you can’t look once, you need to concentrate and actually see the detail that’s in, just like this poem. There’s so many things you can find in this poem, like how it’s written as a sonnet, he barely uses capital letters and also that there’s syntax involved. There is a meaning to not only the poem itself but how the poem is set up and I really enjoyed that when reading through. Some of the words like ‘eddieandbill’ and ‘bettyanddisbel’ are all together but it means just that, that the two come as one. Reading like this is better for me because I can feel why E. E Cummings did this and it’s brilliant! Who would have thought to write a poem like this? This poem has to do with being happy and how Spring has finally sprung which is relevant because that’s how it is now. Spring makes everyone enjoy the fresh air and finally come out of hiding (Winter). If you read the poem allowed, you can literally see what is going on (imagery).

To My Dear and Loving Husband -Poem #5

If ever two were one, then surely we.

If ever man were loved by wife, then thee.

If ever wife was happy in a man,

Compare with me, ye women, if you can.

I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold,

Or all the riches that the East doth hold.

My love is such that rivers cannot quench,

Nor ought but love from thee give recompense.

Thy love is such I can no way repay;

The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.

Then while we live, in love let’s so persever,

That when we live no more, we may live ever.

When reading this I would say this is in Iambic Pentameter, which is cool that I could recognize that when we just learned it. Other then that, I enjoyed the poem because it shows the true meaning of what a happy marriage is. You can see that this woman values her husband and shows how much he means to her. I love the use of description and imagery she uses to describe her love for him. This poem reminds me of the meaning of "love is like the wind, you can't see it but you can feel it." And that is how it is in this poem, it's one of those poems that move you. I love the stanza, "Thy love is such I can no way repay; The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray." It is quite beautiful that she thinks of him so highly, that he is such a great piece of her.  And this is how marriage is supposed to be. Why would you want to be with someone that you hate or makes you unhappy. This poem isn't modernized but more romantic, which is why it makes it such a beautiful poem. You can tell throughout the poem that is it a couplet where every last word of each two lines rhyme, but does this make a difference in the poem? What if it didn't rhyme, would it be just as beautiful? Perhaps so. I could say that when describing love, whatever your feelings are, it could still sound as amazing because love is amazing. There is more then one type of love which this poem discusses like romantic love. It discusses for the love of a friendship like when she says "Then while we live, in love so persever, That when we live no more, we may live ever." A friend is always there for you, which is what a soul mate is... everything. A soul mate is a best friend, family, significant other, and all of the above because that's what happens when you connect with someone. The poem made what the true meaning of love was.