What Happened to the Weather?

I found Jessie's article The Climate of Man -- I; Annals of Science really interesting. It discusses the impact that global warming is having on the world. For example, because temperatures have been increasing dramatically (especially over the summer when it reaches a hundred degrees), we can mostly blame global warming for that.
This article does a good job of providing examples of global warming really impacting the world. The author uses anecdotes to address how harmful global warming has impacted society. For instance, in Alaska, there are people who depend on the icy weather to survive. Thanks to global warming, their sources (and homes) are disappearing, forcing them to flee. Global warming is also inconsistent. One day, the weather will be freezing cold; Another day, the weather will be scorching hot. What I learned from this article is the impact it is having on other parts of the world. Here, we don't really think about global warming as a huge concern because we just assume that the weather changes is typical "Chicago weather." Also, in this area, the impact of global warming isn't very extreme. When it did go to a hundred degrees over the summer, we were actually kind of glad because it gave us an excuse to go to the beach. Anyway, the anecdote about how much their society depends so much on the icy weather because this environment has been surviving for years, and it is traditionally what their ancestors followed. It never really occured to me that these people have to change their way of life just because of global warming.
It is important for this issue to be addressed to society so the audience can understand how it is impacting us. By us, I mean our society and other people in the world. Documenting this idea is important because it spreads awareness of what is really going on in the world. Because we are causing global warming to occur, it is our job to stop what we're doing so we can provide a safer and healthier environment for everyone else.

The Typical Underdog Stories

Steve Jobs never really completed college, and despite that he still became one of the most successful people in the world thanks to Apple. Michael Oher was a student who barely graduated out of high school and became a great football player (I know this thanks to John Lee Hancock's The Blind Side). Albert Einstein had dyslexia and failed his college entrance exam. Yet, he is a physicist that the world will remember forever.

What do all of these people have in common? They all had a pretty rough past that seem to relate back to education. However, the results were great because they all became successful. These stories would be considered "real world" stories because it is something that we, the audience, can relate to. When we hear about these kind of people, we tend to think that we, too, have the potential to be as great as them because we all came from a similar background as them. For example, we have all had our ups and downs when it comes to school. I think that's why we become intrigued into these kinds of stories. We believe that we also have the potential to achieve success just as much as Steve Jobs, Michael Oher, or even Albert Einstein.

The stories that we typically don't hear about are the ones where someone became successful as a result of living in an enriched childhood. These kind of people are so common, we don't regard it as a "stand-out."

The real difference between these two stories may be the amount of work the person put in to reaching their goal. For those with a rougher past, the audience feels more sympathy towards them because they have to go the extra mile to match up to the rest of the people. Whereas the people who achieve success with a pretty stable past don't have to exert as much work because they are already a step ahead of the others.

The Right Thing To Do

These stills comes from Do the Right Thing, and  Crimes and Misdemeanors. Both of these stills are juxtaposed because they present two different ways to deal with a problem. These shots also show moral ambiguity because it doesn’t tell the audience how to approach a problem. Instead, it gives us our options for dealing with a difficult situation. That way, the audience must use their interpretation in the director's choices to understand our options.

                The first still is a medium shot of Radio Raheem. In this shot, Radio Raheem is directly talking to Mookie, but the camera shifts so that it seems like he is also directly talking to the audience. The rings love and hate are centered in the frame, which makes it the focal point. Radio Raheem explains the difference between love and hate with a story about how they are always fighting against each other. Yet, in the end, love will always conquer. I think what Radio Raheem wants to tell us is that we can learn to either love or hate something. If we love something, we are ultimately doing the right thing. However, if we hate something, then problems will start to develop.

Something else I noticed in this shot is the car on the left. Throughout the movie, we rarely see any cars that are driven by African Americans. The cars that we do see are owned by white people, which is a sign of wealth. Because the car is positioned by the side of love, this may imply that if the African Americans and whites learn to love each other, they can appreciate each other’s differences. Then, everybody can call a car of their own and there will be fewer problems.

                The second shot is a medium close up shot of Judah and Ben. Judah is alone on a stormy night, and he imagines Ben there too. At this point, Judah is contemplating what to do with his relationship with Miriam and Dolores. Ben reminds Judah that people are forgiving and that people should always do what is right. Compared to the still from Do the Right Thing, this shot is much darker in terms of lighting. This choice makes the audience wonder what Judah will decide to do, because it foreshadows the unlikeliness of Judah listening to Ben’s advice. In addition, you can see Ben looking directly at Judah, while Judah is looking out in the distance. This may imply that Ben’s view on forgiveness is clear, while Judah is still unsure about what he believes. Something else I noticed is that Ben is wearing glasses, while Judah isn’t. Again, this may imply that Ben sees the solution to this problem clearly, and Judah doesn’t know if he should listen to Ben’s advice or not.

Kids Are Growing Up Way Too Fast

As the oldest daughter of the family, I can see things that my two little sisters can't. One of my sisters is a sophomore right now, and she tells me what kind of drama her friends are having. Sometimes it's really funny, and other times it's ridiculous. For instance, she once told me about how one of her friends dated this guy, he cheated with her, and were reunited awkwardly at turnabout. Listening to this story, I was so shocked to see what her friends are going through because I have never experienced this much drama myself. So I don't know what it's like. And then I have to remember that these kids are two years younger than me.
Something else to consider is the fact that they are airing shows like Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant. It's scary to think about because the girls are practically the same age as us. So I can't imagine having to go through the same obstacles with them, considering school, colleges, and more. Since MTV started showing this, there have been much controversy about whether or not they should air it because many parents are outraged by it.
I even consider the kind of lifestyle my parents had when they were teenagers. Much has changed since the time they were in high school. I think their lifestyle is definitely much more old-fashioned. However, I also think it was much more innocent.
Obviously, these kids are not as mature as I am now. But I can't imagine how and why they would involve themselves in these kinds of situations. It's like they put themselves there to gain attention, because they care about what others think about them, or because they are just plain ignorant. Whatever it is, I just don't understand why kids think they have to do these things that they aren't ready for, and put themselves at a lot of risk for losing their innocent charm.