Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard 02/29/2016

After watching "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" and hearing something that our professor said, I've come to the conclusion that this was literally the process of minor characters within the play "Hamlet" and their existence in the play, every scene jump being the moments in which they are not on stage for "Hamlet", and this explain why they can't remember what has happened to them. In "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" we get to see the play "Hamlet" through their eyes and their eyes only. Every time they are not on stage the world did not exist, and I feel like this plays on the concept of how we can never truly know about the lives of the people around us and the people we know when we are not around them. We go around with the subconscious thought that the world around us only exist because we see it. Another thing that comes to mind is how the characters talked at the end when they're about to be hung, they mention how they will get to do it all over again and how they would know better next time around, as if they knew that they were in a play, as if they knew that after they were hung they would just get back up, clean up their surrounding, and literally start the exact same journey again. It reminded me of the belief in reincarnation, that once you are dead that isn't the end, that once you are dead you will get another shot at life; however, usually when speaking of reincarnation you think of coming back as something or someone else. That was not the case with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, they spoke as though they would come back and they would come back exactly the same person. I feel like that was a very interesting thing to have in there, as well as the addition of the coin toss at the very beginning of the play and how they continually flip the coin and it lands on heads over a hundred times. Something that is virtually impossible in reality and yet it is happening to them, and no matter how many times they toss the coin in the air to try and get tails it still lands on heads, and this creates the illusion that we have no choice in the path we take like everything is planned out for us, the path is laid out for us.

"Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid 02/29/2016

In the short story "Girl" we see the relationship between mother and daughter, and the role in society that has been forced on the young girl as her mother tells her how to cook and clean and sew. As I was not present for class on the day we presented and discussed this I do not know what the views of my fellow peers are toward this story, however, I hope they fall along the lines as I feel about this in terms of this not being the proper way in which a young girl should be raised or anyone for that matter. While growing my parents did not truly teach me right from wrong much less what place in society I have. I am the middle child in my family, I have an older sister and a younger brother, and while yes we were treated differently but it was never because of our gender. We were treated differently because of our age, which within a group of children can become sometimes an even more detrimental thing in the development of their youth. However, this is not the case in some families, there are families who do indeed treat their children differently based on gender, that which is a ridiculous thing of the past that has continuously haunted on our present and I fear will continue in our future unless people come to realize that a person's value does not come from what genitalia they have or the sexuality they are.

The Grand Budapest Hotel by Wes Anderson (2014) 02/08/2016

The film by Wes Anderson is a beautiful movie, with great usage of color, music, and brilliant actors. The movie itself takes place as a flashback of a flashback. The way in which each character works is what really makes the movie, he makes each character feel so real and they are what make the movie for me. It holds a treasure within its story, the way it communicates the way in which humanity works is unique in its own way. To say whether it is important or not is not something one person can do. It is importance on a personal level; it changes from person to person. For a person who is more in touch with their emotions, it is probably more important than it would be to someone who has this one track mind and isn't in touch with their emotions. When watching a movie by Wes Anderson you have to go in with an open mindset, if not you lose all the beauty that is happening. What makes a good story, whether it be a book, movie, video games, etc., it's the story! The magic is in the story, not the effects. I don't need big fancy effects and loud explosions and fancy cars, this doesn't make an important movie; it makes for a "cool" one. But The Grand Budapest Hotel is all about the story, the characters, and the emotion. They are meant to be an emotional journey filled with nostalgia. They take on this view of humanity that is not usually seen in movies now of days, it holds this sort of innocence while still not ignoring the small evils in the world. They are in their own world and that's a beauty in themselves.

True Grit, Maddie Ross 02/01/2016

True Grit is a novel set in the Old West, interestingly enough it isn't about some big tough sheriff who comes and saves the day and gets the girl. True Grit is about a young fourteen-year-old girl, Maddie Ross, who is determined to seek revenge on the man, Tom Chaney, who killed her father, Frank Ross. She faces many struggles during the story line that arise on the main basis of her being a fourteen-year-old, but to be honest, she would've been doubted on the fact that she is a woman alone, the fact that she's fourteen is like the stories way of trying to validate the fact that nobody takes her seriously. The representation of Maddie Ross I feel was spot on for how women should act, strong-minded and quick-witted, with no fear of being honest. Maddie Ross is a demanding, kick ass woman. She understands her position and what society believes her position in society should be and she refuses to take it sitting down. She places herself in these different situations in which she could become badly injured or even killed, however, the way she sees it is that she is just as strong as anyone else. She hires Rooster this huge man who is considered to be the best marshal in the town and while he is stubborn at first he later agrees to help her but then refuses to let her come along because he believes she is a small feeble girl, but she still doesn't take it, she states that this is her mission and she hired him so he has to do what she says, and while she is young she speaks with great strength behind her voice. She's a survivor.