Othello's "Brightside"

The soundtrack in the youtube video, "Othello Music Video" is called "Mr Brightside" by The Killers. The song itself is very modern, yet perfect for the plot of the play. "The film is about Othello, a general for the Venetian army in Renaissance Italy. He falls in love with a Venetian senator's daughter, Desdemona. The two are secretly wed, and then move to Cyprus when Othello is promoted. Othello assigns Cassio to be his lieutenant, over Iago (Kenneth Brannagh.) Othello cares about Iago but thought that Cassio would be better for the position" CelestialNM (youtube commentor) writes. This is an accurate description which ties into the choice selection of clips that the author of the video made. However, it is easier to choose clips to fit a song, rather than a song to fit an entire movie. There may be other scenes in Othello which do not fit the lyrics of the song. 

The soundtrack in the youtube video, "Othello Music Video" is called "Mr Brightside" by The Killers. The song itself is very modern, yet perfect for the plot of the play. "The film is about Othello, a general for the Venetian army in Renaissance Italy. He falls in love with a Venetian senator's daughter, Desdemona. The two are secretly wed, and then move to Cyprus when Othello is promoted. Othello assigns Cassio to be his lieutenant, over Iago (Kenneth Brannagh.) Othello cares about Iago but thought that Cassio would be better for the position" CelestialNM (youtube commentor) writes. This is an accurate description which ties into the choice selection of clips that the author of the video made. However, it is easier to choose clips to fit a song, rather than a song to fit an entire movie. There may be other scenes in Othello which do not fit the lyrics of the song. 

Truffles or Trifles? Truffles and Trifles?

Throughout society, men and women are stereotypically thought of as acting a certain way, or looking a part to their specific gender roles. One of the most important themes in the play, "Trifles", is the difference between men and women. The recreation of the play in video form helps to portray this message more clearly. Its music gives off a type of eerie effect, and the viewers can feel and see the dramatic theme of the play better. The video shows flashbacks of who killed the bird, and you find out if Mrs. Wright really did kill her husband. The video shows a belt around Wright's neck, where in the text it said a rope was around his neck. It is somewhat unclear in the text, however the video makes it very clear that "knotting it" is how Mrs. Wright killed her husband. The video makes it easier to understand the theme of the play and people can see what is actually going on. The two sexes are distinguished by the roles they play in society. Men are supposed to be things like aggressive, rough, meaty and self-centered. Women are more circumspect, deliberative, intuitive, and sensitive to the needs of others. It is these differences that allows Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale to find the clues needed to solve the crime, while their husbands miss the same clues.

Poems: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.

 

As the world turns on, things like culture, language, people, and other factors are constantly changing. This is also no exception when it comes to poetry. Many years ago, when people spoke in "old english", works that were in forms of 'sonnets' were frequently written. Nowadays, contemporary poets will use the same type of writing style or sequence, but the language is very different. You also see the context of poems changing with time. During specific periods of what a country is going through, you will hear and read poems reflecting its time. It is very interested to compare all these different types of poems as they paint a bigger poem refelecting an ever-changing world.

"Not waving, but revolving"

People suffer from severe depression and mental disease every day. It is so hard to cope with depression, and some people end up feeling totally lost and infatuated with trying to make everyone believe they are actually happy. The poem “Not Waving But Drowning” by Stevie Smith' s overall theme is that the dead man was lost his entire life. As he waved his arms around, struggling between life and death, death was ultimately what he chose as long as people still believed that the reason he died was not because he was depressed, he simply drowned. He was never waving to the people the people that passed in and out of his life, but crying for help all along. 30 Seconds To Mars's song, Revolve, also portrays a similar theme.

"To find yourself just look inside the wreckage of your past
To lose it all you have to do is lie
The policy is set and we are never turning back
It’s time for execution; time to execute
Time for execution; time to execute!"

These lyrics could explain just how the person in the poem was feeling. People sometimes overlook suffering, and this poem and song emphasize the fact that many people may seem cheerful on the outside, but on the inside they are truly depressed.


Revolve - 30 Seconds to Mars

America, I am Waiting..

It is sometimes difficult to live in a country filled with racism, or a country where one may feel like there is nothing left to be discovered. During the 1920's and on, our country continued to go through series of  oppression, renaissance, and other new beginnings. Claude McKay's poem,  "America" as well as Lawrence Ferlinghetti's, "I Am Waiting" show just how people may have reacted to all of these changes. McKay's speaker, who could be an immigrant, or some type of minority clearly still loves America because it makes him grow to be a stronger person. He explains how his dramatic hate for the country gives him strength. He believes that although america is a huge country, he is still willing to put up a fight against it like "a rebel fronts a king in a state." He is not afraid of it and simply looks toward the future. He sees how strong and great America is and he appreciates it for all its beauty, knowing that with hard work comes great benefits. Ferlinghetti's poem is very powerful, using sarcasm and a re-occurance of the phrase, "I am Waiting", to illustrate its message. "I am Waiting" talks about social and historical issues that may concern people in America. The speaker in the poem very casually mentions that he is "waiting for the Second Coming." Christians have been expecting the Second Coming for many centuries, so this might suggest that  the Second Coming will never come. Examples like this show that the speaker clearly does not have faith that many things will happen, or perhaps has lost faith in America. The two poems give great insight to two somewhat similar viewpoints of an ever-changing America. Different people may experience America through struggles, hope, or just living the unexpected. 

Just to say, to my hips...

Being rebellious can be defined or seen as going against what other people think, or speaking out on a topic that may make other people feel uncomfortable. Williams Carlos Williams's “This Is Just To Say” and  Lucille Clifton’s “Homage To My Hips” are both poems that can absolutely be described as "rebellious", and it shows in the lines of their rebellious poems.


 Williams's poem can be interpreted in so many different ways, teetering around the team of dysfunctional relationship.   The words “Forgive me,” written as a command, shows that the speaker may be regretful, however he is not sorry. The graphic imagery of the plums suggests innapropriate sexual desires. These are all very deep interpretations, but one can also take it in all its literal terms in that the speaker just happened to have eaten his wive's plums. This, as well, shows an untrustworthy relationship with hopes for forgiveness. Maybe the speaker in the poem just ate her plums from the ice box and wanted to write a small apology. Rebellious is written all over this poem as there is not one answer to what this poem is about, and its content can be very sexual which some may define as rebellious. 


"Homage To My Hips” uses the metaphor “hips” to represent a woman's characteristics. She has powerful, mighty, magic hips and is proud of her body. She is an independent woman not to enslave to anyone even her husband. The whole idea of the poem is based around independence and loving your body, no matter what others think of you. She stands strong and doesn't let anyone tell her about her own body, or spend time worrying about what other people think of her appearance. This is a great example of rebelling against society and realizing that we all are different and pure beauty is not measured by anyone but yourself.

"LeGuin's El Dorado"

"Without Question"- Elton John. From "The Road to El Dorado". This song is about questioning the world the two men are now in..

The concept of a "Utopia" is something very foreign to the real world today, and only heard of in books, myths and story. Achieving a utopia is asking for a type of happiness almost unknown to man.Ursula LeGuin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas,”  shows just this. LeGuin's allegorical tale, featuring a speaker who 'walked away' from Omelas, tells of its Utopian society in which its happiness is made possible by the sacrifice and mistreatment of one innocent child for the sake and prosperity of the entire city. Tthe disney movie, "The Road to El Dorado" sends the same message to viewers as does the story of Omelas. 

The movie, produced by Elton John, takes you on a journey between two swindlers, Miguel and Tulio. The pair is determined to follow a map to El Dorado, where it is rumored that when you find it, all your happiness, dreams, and wishes will come true. They do in fact find El Dorado but quickly realize that the happiness of the city is sustained by flesh-hungry gods and an evil dictator. The two realize that morals and values are more important than all the riches in the world and decide to leave.

 Happiness is something that can never be fully achieved, for there is always something left unspoken. Just like Yin and Yang, there is always some evil in a lot of good. The message that LeGuin and the writers of El Dorado were trying to achieve clearly shows through and teaches a strong lesson of morals and real happiness to everyone. 

Cinceros's "Dreaming Tree".

As children get older, their responsibilities and realizations about the world begin to differ. We always wish for things we don't have, and as a kid you may not really realize as to why you may not have it. These are the same feelings and wishes that young Esperanza in Cisneros's "The House on Mango Street" goes through on a daily basis throughout her childhood. In a passage from the book, Esperanza expresses her dream to one day move away from her old house on Mango Street. This dream remains prominent throughout the book. It is only till the very end when a nun walks by and asks the girl about her house, that Esperanza finally realizes that she is poor. And that she is not like the other children who can get all the nice things. You cannot just win the lottery by asking nicely. Esperanza longs for a better life, but the harsh reality of the "real world".

"Beneath his dreaming tree
Conquered fear to climb
A moment froze in time"

-Dave Matthews Band - "The Dreaming Tree"

 It is only till the very end when a nun walks by and asks Esperanza about her house, that she finally realizes that she is poor. She is not like the other children who can get all the nicer things in life. You cannot just win her concept of "the lottery" by asking nicely.

"No matter what the world
You'll always be my baby
Mommy come quick
The dreaming tree has died"

One of the themes of the book is "a loss of innocence". Esperanza's dreaming tree of her childhood has died, and it is now time for her to explore the harsh realities of the real world. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpONTlO6r8w&feature=related

My dreaming tree. (Caumsett State Park, NY via Horseback)

Cisneros's Dreaming Tree.

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Jamaica Kincaid's, "Girl"

"Girl", by Jamaica Kincaid is written as a one sentence dialogue between a mother and daughter. Kincaid's choice to write this story in such a way creates a very strong tone which serves to be of great importance in the message of the short story. As the Mother is telling her daughter a long series of instructions and warnings, the daughter may respond, yet they seem to go unnoticed by her mother. During the time period of "girl" women were going through great oppression and it seems that the Mother is very imminent on informing her daughter of what to do in order to live the "right" life as she develops into a woman. This story truly is a philosophy about how to become a woman who is successful in the current culture of the world. 

Kincaids one-sentence dialogue is truly amazing; resulting a feeling that is is even stronger to a reader, rather than reading the same story as individual sentences. 

The Appointment

Death is inevitable, yet many people believe they can escape. The truth is we all have a destiny, and no matter what we do, our time to leave this earth will be there waiting for us. William Somerset Maugham's "The Appointment in Sammara" tells just this with a clear and eerie feel that is constant as one reads. However, if you watched the MySpace video "The Appointment", viewers may feel unclear as to how the clip ends. The message of "you cannot escape death" is stated by an old woman who reads the word "Death" off a tarot card to a cowboy, who in turn runs away in fear. At the end of the clip, you see the Cowboy run to the trailer, followed by someone else chasing him. You do not see what has happened inside, yet one can only assume death has come. It is all very confusing and without reading Maugham's flash-fiction story, viewers will not get the right type of message or appreciate the moral of the story.

Lindsay R's "ENG 102 SPACE"

Welcome to my blog! I will be posting several things pertaining to my English 102 class at Nassau Community college, as well as other exciting things going on throughout my first year.

I attended my first year of college at UMass Amherst, pursuing a BS in Equine Science, but realized that I wanted to have a steadier job so I have transferred back home to Nassau Community College and have switched my major to Physical Education. I am currently on the volleyball team here and in the future I am hoping to transfer out again to SUNY Cortland or Manhattan College and continue my Volleyball playing and Physical Education Degree.

I love going to the beach, hanging out with friends and my horse, HD. Have a huge passion for animals, singing, modeling and acting, I hope that one day I can explore careers in every field. I am a member of a Sketch Comedy group and perform in NYC doing things like improvisation and skits. I have also been in several musicals through school, and love to write and compose my own songs.

In the future I hope to be a Phys Ed teacher, and work at a school that offers Equestrian activities, therefore I am teaching what I love and have the summers off to pursue my other passions.

I cannot wait for the school year to start!