Blog #3

I would first love to start out this blog post by saying how great it is that we have watched 2 parts of films with Johnny Depp.  Watching the clip of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie was thrilling and the Lone Ranger movie we started is fantastic too.  One of the aspects I love about the Lone Ranger movie is that it combines humor, violence, politics, racial issues, and Western action all into the one movie.  Each scene keeps you on edge, especially the scene with the workers building the railroads.  When John and Tonto are chained together on top of the railroad car, I was holding onto my seat not sure of what was going to happen next.  When they fly off of the train car together and then almost get slammed by the sliding railroad car, I really thought that both of them were going to die.

After the ambush scene, I found it very interesting that Tonto started to bury the dead. I was thinking to myself, why would a Native-American Indian bury White men? I would have thought that he would have been upset with White people, not wanting to bury them.  It’s also interesting that Tonto thought that John was a spiritwalker since the magical white horse knew he was special.  I also loved that scene when John climbs down from the high tower and looks like he is about to kill Tonto but does not.  Tonto seems completely confident that he is not going to be killed, standing there just carrying on with what he was doing.  The two of them seem to have a bonding moment there, since from that point on they agree to fight for justice.  I can’t wait to see what happens next! I’m looking forward to the next class and hopefully we can watch the rest of it! If we don’t finish it in class, I definitely will watch the rest of it on my own!

Blog Post #2

In class this week, we compared the Spiderman and Brer Rabbit, as both are very confident and fun characters.  One of the discussions in class that I really loved was our discussion about Spiderman and his character.  In the comic, although he is a superhero, he runs around his basement in his underwear and seems to be slightly naive.  I really like that he does have a fun childish side.  I feel like with todays male superhero characters, directors feel pressured to make them seem macho and extremely built.  Showing them having a feminine or childish side would not even be considered.

I think the best characters are those that people can relate to in their own life.  In the spiderman comic, he makes his own mistakes and slowly starts to learn to understand his powers.  He learns that with practice, he can become stronger and more knowledgeable.  In our own lives as human beings without superpowers,  I think we can all still relate to Spiderman.  We all eventually mature and gain more knowledge with age.  In the short video we watched in class, Spiderman tried to prevent a guy from getting into his own car because he thought that the man was stealing another person’s car.  Spiderman may have his powers, but he is still learning to distinguish who is evil vs. good.  I really love his character and I hope we can watch more clips of him!

Blog Post 1: The Impact of Stories

In class, we discussed how mythology plays a role in culture.   In history, Greek mythology was a major part of beliefs and everyday practices. Citizens worshiped the heavenly gods, believing that their fate and good fortune depended on their prayers and offerings. In class, we learned about the story of Icarus and his father Daedalus. Daedalus invented wings so he and Icarus could fly, but Icarus, too enthralled with his new freedom, soared away from his father and up into the sky. As a result, the wax in between the feathers melted and Icarus fell to his death. The story goes to show that with new freedom comes greater responsibility. I think the story is great for teaching both young and older generations.

I also wanted to elaborate more on why I think stories are so vital in culture. Today, us millennials have an incredible access to new media. I can barely keep track of how many shows my friends and I love to watch. I think that the stories in these shows truly have a tremendous impact on me and the way I live my life. For example, one of my favorite shows of all time is Grey’s Anatomy. In the show, the character Cristina Yang is different from many of the other doctors, as she puts lets emphasis on her career than on her romantic relationships. She accepts an extraordinary opportunity to work at a cardiac research center in Europe. Despite being in a relationship in the United States, she jumps on the opportunity to further her own career, since she believes that is the most important aspect of her life. I respect her greatly, because for myself, I was going through a difficult relationship last year. I am striving for veterinary school, and as cheesy as this sounds, I did think of Christina and what she would do in my situation. I ended up ending the relationship and focusing on school because I hopefully will be attending vet school next year. She taught me to focus on priorities. I truly believe that the stories in our culture do help shape us as individuals.