Fall arrives in the city with cool, crisp winds that brush leaves from the ground into the air in a slow churning whirlwind causing them to dance about, descending to the moist ground. A yellow cab is patiently circling the neighborhood in search of fares, which has been a twenty-year practice of Max – a stout, older man with a protruding belly that strains the buttons of his faded, much-wrinkled shirt. He slowly drinks a cup of lukewarm coffee singing “my mama told me you better shop around…” He looks up at the sky at dark, overcast clouds, “Looks like rain today” he says. Max knows the streets of his hometown better than anyone around. He typically works on the east side of the city around the old Elmhurst Cemetery. Most people don’t venture close to the cemetery claiming that they often see a young woman walking through it. They are convinced she is a ghost looking for revenge, but these stories never bother Max nor had he ever seen this ghostly young woman.
Drops of rain begin to tap his windshield, but not enough for Max to engage his wipers. He continues to drive, sip on his coffee, singing until the rain begins to violently pound his cab prompting him to slam on his brakes. The cab swerves, his coffee spills on his chest and runs down his belly, “Crap!” Max exclaims in frustration. With his cab still swerving, he comes close to hitting a young woman crossing the street near the cemetery just before he stops short of hitting her left leg. He was shocked to see someone
It was a regular sunday morning around 6 a.m. when Mrs. Robinson was taking her daily run in the morning. She jogged around the perimeter of the neighborhood at a fair speed while she pondered her plans for the day. Would she go grocery shopping, would she go out with some friends, or would she just stay at home and continue to grade papers, as she was a school teacher. These thoughts were brought to an abrupt halt when she saw something very peculiar in the corner of her eye. She approached what appeared to be a hunched over figure next to one of the rose bushes that lined the fence of the neighborhood. As she got closer, she realized what it was.
The Crash Reel is a documentary that was created in 2013 and directed by Lucy Walker. It covers the life of Kevin Pearce, a legendary snowboarder. The documentary focuses on the life changing accident that occurred to Kevin in Park City, Utah while training for the Olympics trials. The feature shows Kevin’s life and his recovery process after the horrifying incident. In the film, we see Kevin battle for his life with the support from his family and friends.
I called a taxi and asked the driver to speed to the Buchanan’s residence, but the Valley of Ashes was crowded with mourners so my arrival was delayed. Staring out the window I spotted Mr. Wilson continuing to sob over his beloved wife, Myrtle’s sudden death. If only others could know Daisy’s hand in the grief or Tom’s in trying to cover it up. I began to notice how fragile New York had become with the Old Money types contorting its natural order. I wondered how many more people had to die or be lied to in order for Tom and Daisy to feel safe. With my frustration beginning to intensify I barely waited for the taxi to stop before exiting. I rushed straight passed all of of Tom’s glittering servants to get to the kitchen. What I saws next made my heart drop and left me
Paul Haggis directed an Oscar winning film in 2004 called “Crash”, this movie basically talks about racism and the impact it has on the lives of people in Los Angeles. This movie got a good response from the viewers, as it concentrated on some real harsh realities of racism and asked some hard questions which are generally avoided in movies. This movie clearly promotes the a very delicate issue, and hence requires some detailed assessment. I personally feel the movie was good and it portrayed some very common events of racism, I think “Crash” shows realities, but in a not-so-realistic way.
The movie Before Night Falls directed by Julian Schnabel offers viewers a glimpse of how the homosexual community in Cuba was being mistreated under Fidel Castro’s regime. The true story is told in the eyes of Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas. The film depicts Arenas life in Cuba and all of the awful experiences that he had to deal with as a homosexual. Eventually he was arrested for false accusations of being a molester, however, he was actually under arrest for being a homosexual. Between the 1930s and 1990s, the Communist Cuba was abusive to the LGBT community as shown in their actions of harassment towards homosexuals, imprisoning the homosexuals, or sending them to re-education camps.
The reason behind why I picked the movie “Snow on Tha Bluff” to be my culture is because I wanted to understand and watch how their lifestyle of living and what they had to do in their culture. Also, I wanted to understand what was their reason why they wanted to hurt each other, sell drugs, and wanted to stay in the living lifestyle that they were in.
The Civil War devastated families all across the United States. Hundreds of thousands of people died and for many years after, the nation was still divided and trying to figure out how to move forward. Irene Hunt learned of stories of the Civil War from her grandfather who served in the Civil War. Hunt’s book, Across Five Aprils, relates to her childhood because this novel is nothing but a story of the war from one family. This book hit home hard and revealed concepts of realism by examining the effects the war had on everyday life.
Empire Falls, written by Richard Russo, encompasses several concepts of the American identity and what it means to be an American. Russo focuses on the small town life in New England, illustrating a compelling story while narrating the lives of several different characters. While these characters seem to be different at the surface, they actually share several similarities. The characters of Empire Falls share the same outlook of life. Despite the American freedom they have, they will typically follow the path of life that they were born into and never question why. Overall, Empire Falls is a town of acceptance, accepting ones place in society as it is. The citizens of Empire Falls do not question their path of life and simply accept the basic truth of their lives. This speaks volumes for our country. Are we a country that will simply accept our set path of life? Or rather fight for what we believe in, despite the negative connotations it may bring. Through extensive analysis of the protagonist Miles Roby and other important characters in the novel, we will begin to what it means to be an American through a different perspective.
The protagonists and social conflicts in the film The Visitor presented living experience to explore that are different to my personal history. The four actors in the film are all unique from one another, but they possess a universal understanding and awareness that are not different from the life that I know. Walter Vale is a single white male, a widowed and a father who is at the end of his professional career as an academic professor. Walter adult son lives in London and he pretends to be happy with his work, but the truth is he felt unsatisfied, this was expressed at the end of the film. You also saw in the beginning of the movie Walter also didn’t enjoy his piano lessons he took from an elderly woman. Walter found meaning in life the
Film can be a very useful catalyst in teaching how not to treat patients. In Analyze This and Analyze That, we see very extensive examples of this throughout the film. Through farce and lampoon, we see the in this disjunctive way what proper CBT, criminal therapy and combating recidivism is all about.
Roald Dahl uses various writing techniques in the horror short story, “The Landlady,” to build suspense, or the uncertainty or anxiety that a reader will feel about what may happen next in a story, novel, or drama. In this short story, the protagonist, Billy Weaver, a young, handsome seventeen-year-old, traveled from London to Bath, due to work, and looks for accommodation. Eventually, he came across a quaint bed and breakfast owned by a landlady who appeared to be generous. The landlady portrayed herself as a kind, innocent soul, but her intentions spoke otherwise. As the tale continued, Billy realizes that things are not what they initially appeared to be at the bed and breakfast. Through the use of foreshadowing and characterization, the author, Roald Dahl, of the horror short story, “The Landlady,” effectively builds suspense for the reader in the thread of the plot.
The movie Falling Down portrays many examples of the movie reflecting, influencing, and changing society. The movie reflects society's many flaws such as inflation of prices and unneeded budget spending. The movie also influences others to point out society’s flaws by using force. Finally, the movie changes society by showing the movie in the point of view of a person that is classified as a realist.
The street was eerily quiet as I crossed. So was Mike. Staring at me unwaveringly, he said nothing as I approached. The crow's feet framing his eyes, the ridges in his forehead, and the crinkles in his cheeks still stand out in my mind. How many nights had he lain on that bench, covering his face as the wind whipped against it? Now he hugged his body tightly. He was wearing an old pair of tan khakis, a shirt that I couldn't see clearly, and a light multi-colored jacket, its sleeves ending above his pale wrists, that was just slightly too small and clung to his body. As I gave him the money in my wallet, he took it--slowly--and stared at it for a second in disbelief. Although the street in front of the library is usually an amalgam of car horns, headlights, whining engines throughout the night, nothing--not
The mystery and adventurous movie The Fall is directed by Tarsem Singh in 2006. This movie is based on the screenplay of the 1981 Bulgarian film Yo Ho Ho by Valeri Petrov. The film was released to theaters in 2008 and earned $3.2 million worldwide. The Fall is a movie that full of mystery, sad and a little bit confusing. There are many plots that confused audiences in some way, such as the little girl Alexandria appears in the story that Roy tells her, or Roy becomes Alexandria’s father in the story. The movie shows both friendships and treachery between friends and lover. It has happiness, sadness and desperation all in the story. The mystery plots make audiences guess a lot about the continuing evolution.
In the movie Crash, the director Paul Haggis interweaves multiple connected stories about race, class, family, and gender in Los Angeles, California after the 9/11 event. All the characters are shown to have life changing experiences with their conflicts of stereotypes, prejudice, and racism within a span of 36 hours. This movie has won three Oscars and was deemed “expertly written” and “Best Picture Oscar-winner … sprawling and ambitious, episodic and contrived” by Cynthia Fuchs, a professional movie critic. So, how did this movie become so well-known and popular in the U.S., even though there are already so many movies with similar themes?