“The Third Man” by Carol Reed. I chose to see this movie not because it was considered one of the greatest film noir at all times but simply because it was starring Orson Welles. Orson was a persona and I thought it would be great to see him again. Certainly the role he played as ‘dirty’ Harry with brilliant monologues and sharp humor was simply fabulous. At first glance the movie made me think that I am watching a predictable criminal story. The opening shoot of the close up of that unique instrument was brilliant. Scenes were played in few sets that seemed to repeat every now and then. Music choice was closer to a happy comedy than building a tension. Such as shiny cobblestone street at night, that picture was used quiet few times during the movie. One of the best moments was when we could see the shadow on the wall that was slowly making its way towards the audience. Another moment that made me smile was a shoot of the cat that magically change its whole appearance within seconds transforming itself into a totally new cat. I wondered what happened with can number one? Most likely fury little creature quit his/hers acting career and left into deep Vienna. The man with balloons was another remarkable character that managed to sale his goods to a police officer during intense police action. Harry’s first appearance was another clever scene, with that smile he sold the story we knew already that “it’s alive” moment. Filming after the World War II in post
A Few Good Men portrays the importance of military orders, the reality of the ranking system and how much military leader’s authority can cloud their judgement. Former psychology professor at Yale, Stanley Milgram sought the reasoning behind the blindness of individuals when ordered to perform a task for someone who seems to be an authority figure. His infamous experiment was and is currently being dug through and examined thoroughly. Milgram’s research caught the attention of fellow psychologist Philip Zimbardo. Zimbardo conducted an experiment with similar interests in mind. He collected 21 men from newspaper advertisements to live in a false prison and live in the prison for two weeks. The experiment lasted six days due to how quickly the experiment escalated and transformed the “prisoners” and “guards” (Zimbardo 116). Their conclusions from both experiments are that power and stress can transform even the strongest willed people. Zimbardo and Milgram discuss the same sort of entitlement Colonel Jessup presumes to order an illegal code red due to his position on the base at Guantanamo Bay; also the entitlement Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee had over the case due to the position his father once had.
Pamela Colloff’s “The Innocent Man,” is an eye-opening, gut-wrenching essay in which Colloff beautifully takes a high complexity prejudiced case of a guilty murder verdict and successfully brings to light her inspiring character Michael Morton’s true innocence in a flawed justice system. Suspense, sadness and frustration are effectively provoked from the reader about Michael’s tragic nightmare which persists for over two decades of time. A nightmare which begins when Michael returns home from work on August 13, 1986, to find out his dead wife was beaten to death in their bed. This is only the beginning of what Colloff unfolds in her writing of Michael’s twenty-five-year agonizing battle behind bars. Step by step Colloff’s marvelous writing
In the She’s The Man (2006), Viola Hastings (Amanda Bynes) cross dresses for the majority of the film, pretending to be her twin brother Sebastian. She does this in order to play for Illyria’s men’s soccer team as her school, Cornwall, cut the women’s soccer team and wouldn’t allow her to play for the men’s team. Her main motivation is to beat her former schools team and prove to them that even though she is a girl, she can play on the same field as the boys. While pretending to be Sebastian, Viola initially struggles to hide her femininity, such as when it is discovered that she has tampons in her bag. As the movie progresses her ability to hide this femininity and express masculinity becomes easier. Her cross dressing has an effect on everything and everyone around her and it pushes the line on the comfort people feel when stereotypical gender norms are challenged/ She becomes interested in her roommate, Duke (Channing Tatum) and throughout the movie the two become closer on an intimate level even though Viola is still masked as Sebastian. Duke is obviously uncomfortable with this as made evident by the end of the movie, when it is revealed that Viola was pretending to be Sebastian the entire time. His look of relief reinforces this idea of stereotypical, heterosexual gender roles, as now that Viola is revealed as a female, it is socially acceptable to be attracted to her. She’s The Man reinforces the stereotypical gender roles that society expects out of
Discuss how your investigation of the generic conventions of poetry has influenced your understanding of at least one poem that you have studied in this unit.
It originally seemed like Harry Wade was going to be some callous, angry man obsessed with death and with hanging people. I was proved wrong when Harry says: “Gentlemen? A toast…The End… of hanging.” (35). I was truly shocked at Harry’s seemingly nonchalant attitude about the abolition of the thing around which he has made his livelihood. I immediately felt uneasy when Mooney entered the scene, especially when he avoids the group at the bar and just takes a seat at a side table. In true McDonagh fashion, there were moments where I felt creeped out, yet amused, especially when Harry says: “Guillotine’s quick, but guillotine’s messy and French.” (36). As well as when he says: “…I’d’ve been happy to hang some Germans…I never liked them before the war, let alone during. The accent alone…” (37). In both occasions, Harry managed to take his serious interview and turn it into an opportunity to insult and make fun of someone else.
A famous short story, “The Quiet Man,” by Maurice Walsh, tells the tale of the protagonist, Shawn Kelvin, who must come to a resolution both internally and externally throughout the story. Shawn experiences a rollercoaster of up and downs during the story, around the 1950’s in Ireland. Shawn finds the women of his dreams and he marries her, but her brother, Big Liam O’Grady, is the man of the town. Traditionally, dowry is given from the bride’s family to the groom's family. Shawn has no respect from Big Liam O’Grady, or the town. Shawn wants to receive his respect from Big Liam O’Grady and love from Ellen. Shawn is willing to do anything for her, even it comes down to a fight. Shawn fights himself and others, internally and externally, to
In the short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor, the old south is perfectly represented. The short story occurs in Georgia where a family is traveling to Florida. While on their way, the family has a car accident near an old plantation because of a distraction by their grandmother 's cat. Due to this, the family encounters a man who the grandmother recognizes from the newspapers as a man called "The Misfit." This man is famous for being on a killing spree. In spite of this knowledge, the family 's good-hearted grandmother still tries to assure The Misfit that he is good man. The Misfit challenges the faith of the old southern woman but she never gives an inch. After the partners of The Misfit kill the entire family except for the grandmother, The Misfit then shoots the grandmother in the chest three times. This action ends her life instantly. The old south mindset is presented in several different occasions throughout this story but especially on pages 362 through 368. These pages tell about the family 's encounter of The Misfit and the incidents that took place thee. This story illustrates the old south primarily in three different ways, which include religion, racism, and respect.
Everyone is burden with pain. No one can escape emotional, physical or mental misery because it is part of what makes us human. Without pain we would live in a world of sameness. Although there is no way we can escape this reality, what if there existed a utopian society in which everyone could live peacefully without the burden of pain? Would everyone be better off or would living in ignorance be a burden for someone else? Lois Lowry gives us a glimpse into what life would be like in a world where conflict does not exist and shows us what this type of world would do to our humanity. In The Giver, she introduces us to Jonas, an eleven-year-old boy who starts off as an oblivious member of his
“But, I 'm already resigned to this fate / Looking over my life, I recall / If it hadn 't been / for the loneliness / I 'd have no companion at all. ” This stanza from “Loneliness”, by Lora Colon evokes the negative impact a lonely fate has on a person. Words like “resigned” and “loneliness” establish a sense of depression and resignation. During the times of the Great Depression, many people felt similar feelings of melancholy and stoicism. Jobs were hard to come by, and realistic dreams of success were scarce. John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, allows readers to see the life of the Great Depression. The two main characters, George and Lennie, search for jobs, like many other migrant workers. They dream of owning their own land, however, Lennie’s habit of getting in trouble prevents their dream from being reality. After he accidentally causes more trouble at their new job, George is forced to kill him out of mercy. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck shows that even if one meticulously plans out the road to their American Dream, fate will inevitably intervene and lead one to desolation and loneliness.
The small city of Brownsville is small in both population and mind. Even though there are individuals who commute morning and night from country to country, there is no unity. Growing up, I had never experienced a “diverse” city. In the city of Brownsville, Hispanics are the majority. As a result, individuals who saw somebody of a different race or ethnicity would make negative and offensive comments towards them. At times, these offensive comments were accidental. Other times, the offensive comments were on purpose and intended to appear humorous to friends. Apart from discriminatory remarks to outsiders, this happened amongst people of my Hispanic community.
In 1994, a conflict the US couldn't understand, between clans and tribes it didn't know, in a country where there were no national interests, occurred. The Rwandan War of 1994 did not deserve US intervention. There are four contentions on why the US should not have gotten involved in this Rwandan war. The Black Hawk Down incident, how the UN was there previously there, there being no Possible Gain, and having nothing to do with us. Through the examination of the novel, An Ordinary Man by Paul Rusesabagina, it is Obvious that these key points are valid.
This film, over-all, was actually very entertaining and humourous. The interaction between both Harry and Sally had me laughing more than once over the duration of the film and it had clear visuals of two people bonding and forming a friendship, and eventually a relationship, from the
In the article “The End of Men,” Hanna Rosin offers several examples of women overpowering men. The inequality between men and women has become a critical issue in today’s society. According to Rosin, women are slowly surging ahead in the workforce and family life while men are left behind struggling to meet expectations. Rosin argues that this role reversal is taking place because women are simply better suited for postindustrial society.
Through our society we are all raised up to be independent and unique individuals such as being ourselves and expressing who each of us are to the world. However, in the book The Giver by Lois Lowry, everyone is raised to count on one another and everyone must look and act the same. Our society differs from Jonas’s in many ways, such as the family units, birthdays, and the way we each learn about our past.
Comment: I found this film very tough going- it is undoubtedly a well made film and has some clever and quirky moments. However I lost interest around halfway through the film and could not engage with the film and its clunky style. A lighter touch would have made a huge difference to the viewing experience. Perhaps as an artistic statement it deserves more than three stars but as a movie going experience it was only a little bit better than average.