The Great Interpretive Leap Forward

Picking the song was the easy part, analyzing the song for a deeper meaning was a bit trickier. The song, 'All I Want' by Kodaline, gave me more trouble when I went to look for it in a commercial or movie/TV clip. Since the song isn't very popular (yet), it was a little difficult trying to find that second source. Luckily, it was found in an episode of Grey's Anatomy. After going through each of the sources for the song I found that each illustrated both similarities and differences between themselves. After analyzing the lyrics, I found that the song was discussing “long-lost love” or the “one that got away” in a deep kind f way. The lyrics really hit you deep. Every time I listen to the song, I almost want to cry. Anyway the video portrays a man who is physically disfigured and likes/loves his coworker. The coworker doesn’t see him for who he really is, but only for the disfigured man. The themes of this video are “don’t judge a book by its cover” and giving people a chance to show that they’re not weird or bad people. It is similar to my lyrical analysis through its deepness and depressing vocals and themes. Finally the scene in Grey’s Anatomy where the song is played in the background is quite an emotional scene where it appears that someone important is on the verge of dying in a hospital bed and secrets are being unearthed causing everybody some sort of pain. Now looking at all three sources, the main themes are pain and suffering whether it’s over a lover or someone dying or somebody that they lost or never had a chance with. Each is different, but overall I think I picked a very good song and I can’t wait to start my paper. I think overall the song argues that life isn’t fair and having somebody to love is the key to a happy life. It also argues that everybody will suffer over a significant other at some point in life and the best thing is to stay calm and move on. There is no use in whining about it. This scenario is inevitable, but hopefully it won’t happen to me for a long time.

From Flappers to Rappers

After reading the From Flappers to Rappers article I understand why the revamped version of The Great Gatsby used a blend of contemporary rap music and jazz music. The music advisors for the production of the movie wanted to modernize the story with the contemporary rap music. The rap emphasizes the tone that the movie is attempting to portray.  The guys in charge of the music for the movie were very careful about choosing songs to put into their movie. The songs that were selected emphasize every aspect of the film from the mood, to the setting and the tone. Much of today’s rap and hip-hop music discusses the money, violence, power, and sex. The story of The Great Gatsby illustrates the same aspects as well as betrayal. Jay Gatsby is epitome of power and money. He throws these extravagant parties with his inherited fortune; while doing illegal activities in the background showing is violent side. The story talks a lot about betrayal when Jay is trying to get Daisy to leave her husband, but she is kind of in a sticky situation with her relationship. Anyway the music truly brings out the emotion and the tenseness of these scenes and overall increases the average moviegoer experience. Also the music adds a sort of elegance to the film. The elegance goes along with the classiness of Gatsby’s parties. Remember this is still during the Roaring Twenties Era, so jazz music is very popular. The music advisors put the jazz music in to make the movie a period piece. The setting is everything in this movie. The jazz music helps the overall setting, but doesn’t make the movie too sappy. The jazz enhances the movie through its timelessness and overall classiness. It also improves the experience of the film.

The music in this movie is truly something special. The blend of rap and jazz music demonstrates how much the music can improve the overall movie experience. I know that when I go to see a movie, when the music is top-notch, it improves my overall opinion of the movie. I love a movie with some quality music in it. The music provides this lack of a sense of self-righteousness and this brutality that can only be shown with some awesome music being played. That is where the rap music comes in and enhances each scene. Gatsby utilizes each song to its fullest potential and elevates every scene to the point of making this rendition of The Great Gatsby something special.

Process and Product

Looking back at everything we have done to improve ourselves and ours writing the past few weeks, i feel that there is something missing. Every single one of these processes is having us go through a list of steps telling us to do this and do that. Where is the creativity? Seriously, every single one is too rigid and tedious; its basically like high school all over again. Don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed everything we have done in the class so far. I'm just looking for a change of pace. Something to keep me interested, something that will make me want to write more. I'm just tired of the day after day routine. But I've honestly enjoyed your English class very much. Having the drafts as like check points is very helpful because I would totally procrastinate until the last minute like any other normal person. The blog posts are cool. They're like an informal way to talk about your feelings about the things you want us to post about. It’s different, but still not as creative as I was looking for. The workshops have been fun. I’ve enjoyed talking to kids in my group and getting to know them and learning about their different writing styles. Perhaps my favorite part has been the essay. I’m used to timed, in-class essays about literature that I would typically skim through. I’ve never written one about a commercial. It has been a unique experience analyzing a commercial rather than a piece of text. The difference here is that we have a choice in what we want to write about. In the past, there has been no choice. My teachers would read 30 essays about the exact same thing. I never did any of the things we are doing, like the learning processes and the different blog posts. These have really improved my writing ability and skill and I hope that it will continue to in the future. 

CrossFire Blog

As I watched the Crossfire clip a second time, I noticed that as the bow-tie guy and his partner in crime began to lose their "cool," Jon Stewart remained calm. Watching Jon Stewart belittle the two men was very amusing because no matter how many times the two men tried Jon Stewart was able to continue his train of thought about their show. The two men refused to remain silent as Jon Stewart critiqued their show and their direct approach about asking questions. The two men complained that when Jon Stewart had important people on the Daily Show that Jon wouldn't be asking the right questions. The two men said that Jon Stewart was wasting a perfectly good opportunity to attack his guests. This is where Jon Stewart began his speech directed at the two men and their show on why it is a poor show. Jon Stewart was able to step back and look at the current state of the media and government. He repeated on two different occasions that when politicians come on to shows like Crossfire, they use it to promote themselves. These politicians use the shows' hosts like monkeys because all of the hosts ask similar questions and they can prepare for it. Stewart went on to say that the media is hurting America. He says this twice and politely asks the two men to stop twice as well. At the beginning of the clip, the older of the two men (the balding one) gave some binary oppositions; which include black vs. white, left vs. right, paper vs. plastic, and Red Sox vs. Yankees.

The most important part (in my opinion) was when Jon Stewart goes on a strand about how John Kerry won the primary. He says “the best” three times; he also says “process” three times. The two men repeatedly asked Stewart if John Kerry is the best. Stewart says that Kerry is the best according to the process. Stewart analyzed the situation. However he didn’t give his opinion; which agitated the two men to no end. The two men became emotional (read: hostile) when Stewart didn’t give them the answers they were asking for. Jon Stewart remained professional throughout the entire clip. Although as Crossfire was going to take a break, I could sense that Jon Stewart was about to raise his voice a little bit. He was asking the two men to please stop. He says this several times and each successive time it was slightly more emotional and a little louder. Another ten seconds or so and he would have raised his voice. Jon Stewart almost losing his “cool” was an anomaly because it almost never happens.

Writing Process

Beginning the writing process is like riding a bike. Once someone gets the hang of it, that person can theoretically spit out papers like it's no one's business. When I begin the "writing process," i look at the prompt and the assignment. If i have trouble with understanding the prompt, I ask my teacher for help. Once the prompt is clear to me, i think of examples and how I am going to approach the essay. I think about past books, experiences, movies, pop culture, history, or anything that may be of help. If it's a research paper, i do the research until i have exhausted all of my sources.  Once i have the evidence and examples for the essay I begin writing with an introduction. The introduction usually includes a hook in the beginning, background information, and a thesis to finish it off. I have always had trouble writing a good thesis; it is a weaker point. Once i am satisfied with the intro paragraph, i begin my work on the meat of the paper: the body paragraphs. A dissection of any body paragraph will find a claim, some layered evidence, and layered commentary that ties it back to the claim and thesis. Depending on the page requirement, I may only have to write a few body paragraphs, but that point is irrelevant. I then finish up with the conclusion. In my opinion i think the conclusion kind of narrows the paper down and leaves the reader with a "call to arms" kind of thing. I write a mean conclusion; it is my strongest point. With the conclusion completed, I move on to the revision portion. I read it to myself and edit it for grammatical errors and reword the essay when it is needed. If i am still nervous, I have my mom look over it and she gives me suggestions or I let a friend look it over. I finish any last revisions the night before and print it one final time with a Work Cited (if I needed one). My final paper is stapled and turned in the next day to my English Teacher. With the final paper in the hands of the teacher, I let a sigh of relief and take my seat because the Writing Process is finished!