Reflection

To future students in English 110.01,

Feeling a bit hesitant about taking this English Class? It seems that feeling anxious is a normal reaction, especially when you remember that this class is almost two hours long. Falling asleep in lecture is nothing new to me and I can assure you that not once have I ever fallen asleep in my English 110.01 class; I did not even come close to it. It is helpful to keep an open mind, as you will learn in this class.

Writing has always been a challenge for me. I took AP English in high school and I learned how to analyze different pieces of literature. But even after that, I still was not able to think like a writer; I felt that I was only geared for science, which bases a lot of thinking on evidence. At the beginning of Spring Quarter, I was anxious about English 110.01. It has almost been a year since my last English class and I thought I forgot how to write a decent paper as in high school. However, the ARP project showed me that writing could be similar to Science reports. My ARP project was based on a film segment of my choice. Then I analyzed the film segment and made claims based on the message the film conveys. This class has reinforced the writing skills that I learned in high school and helped me improve as a writer, especially through the ARP project. The blogs served as great writing practices because they stimulated me to think more in depth about the class theme, which was the gender roles in film. The word requirements were helpful in other classes as well because most college papers are at least one to two pages in length, unlike the paragraphs in high school.

It was beneficial to be ahead with the writing assignments. It was easier to write and to think more clearly when I was not pressured about time deadlines. Having a rough draft written ahead of time gave me the chance to do some more thinking and to then look over my work again. Take advantage of office hours! I found it very helpful when I talked to my teacher about my papers. Sometimes, I thought my paper was good but after talking to my teacher I found out that I needed to do some more thinking. My teacher also encouraged me to be open to ideas and to look past my first impressions.

Our class theme helped me to look at movies from another perspective. Usually when I watch movies, I just take it in at face value; I do not pay attention to the implicit messages. However, I acquired more analytical skills from this class. For example, I would never have thought that Disney movies had subliminal sexual contents. I have heard some people say Disney movies were not as innocent as they seem but I never believed them. But this class provided me with the skills to change my beliefs and base them on the evidence.

I hope you benefit from this class as much as I did. Remember to keep an open mind. Good luck!

-Angela

Spring 2010

The Twilight Saga

The long-awaited second installment to the Twilight saga was released on November 20, 2009. I was part of the crowd anticipating to see Edward’s glittery chest. For those who are unfamiliar with the series, the movies are adaptations of the books written by Stephenie Meyer. The second book, and the sequel to the film, is titled New Moon. The film opens with the celebration of Bella’s birthday at the Cullens’ residence. Everything was going according to Alice’s plan until Bella started opening her gifts. Bella opened an envelope and got a paper cut. At this point, the frame focused on Bella staring at her finger as blood beaded on her finger. Then the frame focused on Jasper who is the newest member to the Cullen family and has the least control over his appetite for blood. Then the frame shifted to give a full view of all the members of the Cullen family whose shocked stares bounced between Bella and Jasper in slow motion. Edward, of course, was on guard to protect his love and jumped right in front of Bella just before Jasper reached her. Then the rest of the family helped calm Jasper down and Carlisle, Edward’s dad, looked at Bella’s injuries. Edward felt horrible for risking Bella’s life and convinced himself that he is no good for Bella. So Edward and the rest of his family moved away and left Bella all by herself in the gloomy town of Forks.

Bella fell in a deep depression and she started participating in dangerous activities. In one occasion, she started learning how to ride a motorcycle with her friend Jacob. She was accelerating too fast and suddenly a mirage of Edward’s head appeared on the screen telling Bella to stop. Edward’s head floating randomly on the screen ruined the romantic and protective feeling that this part of the story was supposed to evoke. Instead, I found the scene awkward and quite hilarious. I also observed that the best parts of the movie are those that are shown in the trailer. The rest of the movie seemed like fillers to make the movie last for two hours.

The acting in this film was disappointing, though it could be expected from the actors’ performance in the first movie, Twilight. Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson seemed like they were just reading their lines from a cue card. They lacked the emotion and passion that the characters Bella and Edward were supposed to have according to the book. Their facial expressions did not match the emotion that they were supposed to convey in a scene. When Edward was saying goodbye to Bella at the beginning of the movie, Pattinson tried to show his character’s pain by wrinkling his forehead and looking down towards the ground. This did not convince the audience that Edward was solemnly conflicted between leaving Bella forever and endangering her life. Kristen Stewart also lacked the facial expressions throughout the movie. Though I cannot remember specific scenes, most of her acting consisted of shaking her head a little when her character is confused. Both actors played down their roles in the movie; their portrayals of their characters were too nonchalant. But do not forget about Jacob Black played by Taylor Lautner. As many people knew, Lautner gained about twenty pounds of pure muscle for his role as Bella’s friend. If they did not know, then they found out in New Moon. Jacob hardly wore a shirt in this movie and as I recall, half of the audience screamed when they first saw Lautner’s abs. Based on their performances, the casting in the movie was based on the fans the actors were able draw to watch the movie rather than their acting skills. The movie was just trying to sell Steward, Pattinson and Lautner.

I was disappointed when I saw Twilight but I also considered the fact that there was probably not a lot of money to fund the movie. Thus, I was hopeful for New Moon since Twilight seemed like it was successful in the box office. However I decided that the reason the movies are not good is due to the poor performances of the actors. A constant thought in my head while I was watching New Moon was how Pattinson and Stewart needed improvements in their acting. It was very disappointing to see them portray Bella and Edward, characters whom I loved in the book. The film also lacked an intricate plot but this may be due to the book itself. I would recommend New Moon only for lazy summer afternoons when there is nothing good to watch on the television, but I would not recommend lining up outside the theater at midnight to see this film.

Film Score

One of M. Night Shyamalan’s supernatural movies is The Village. The Village is a story about a little village that seems to be set in the late 1800s to the early 1900s. The village is isolated and surrounded by the woods, which is rumored to have monsters. The village has a group of elders who set the rules and one of the most important rules is that no one can leave the village and enter the woods. Suspicions arise when the elders deny the children permission to leave the village to get medicine from elsewhere. Soon enough, the secrets of the elders are unraveled to the audience. This segment of the film contains the score titled “Those We Don’t Speak Of” composed by James Newton Howard; this film score was nominated for best original film score at the Academy Awards.

The film segment opens with a villager who is in charge of the night watch for the monsters who are referred to as “those we don’t speak of”. There is no music but the sounds of insects in the background could be heard. The lack of music emphasizes the watchman’s aloneness because when people are alone and scared, their hearing senses are in full alert and they hear even the most miniscule sound. The silence creates a sense of desertedness and builds up the suspense for the upcoming events. The watchman peeks under the door and a sudden diminuendo of drums and maracas is heard and fades as the monster passes. This acts as a surprising element to make viewers’ hearts race. Afterwards, the low-pitched wind instrument creates a feeling of eeriness and suspense because it brings up to mind The Twilight Zone and aliens. The absence of lyrics helps the audience to focus on the mysteriousness of the scene through their senses rather than images evoked by words.

After the watchman rings the bell, the energy in the scene changes. The music increases in volume and speed to match the panic among the villagers as they hear the ringing of the bell. In the background, drums imitate the sound of a thumping heart to make the viewers’ hearts race. There are short bursts of instruments to create a sense of urgency as people flee to the safety of their homes. In the next scene, everyone seems to have hidden except for Lucius, who initially wanted to get medicine from the other towns. The music stops as he hides at the side of the house and the monster enters the frame from the right. The scene returns to Ivy, the blind girl who is waiting for Lucius at the door. The audience does not know whether or not the monster got to Lucius. Does the pause in the music mean the end of Lucius? Viewers are held at the edge of their seats because Ivy senses that Lucius is outside but her sister says, “He’s inside safe somewhere….” This is a dramatic irony because the audience knows that he might not be safe but Ivy’s sister thinks he is.

The climax of this film segment begins when Ivy extends her hand out for Lucius. On the left side of the frame, the lamp highlights Ivy’s hand while the right side of the frame is completely dark. There are globes of light in the distance spanning across the top of the frame, which serves as a guide for Lucius to Ivy’s hand. The music starts again and the repeating beat of the drums and the string instruments build up the suspense. Throughout the film segment, repetitions of beats and volumes play big roles creating suspense. The speed of the beat also creates suspense; usually suspense increases with an increase in speed. As soon as Lucius grabs Ivy’s hand, string instruments play a repeating, fast-paced beat. In contrast to the earlier parts of the scene, this dramatizes the fact that Lucius came to Ivy at the very last moment. The fast pace is in contrast with the slow motion of the picture. The combination of the string instruments, the fast beat and the slow motion swirl of her skirt and hair makes this scene quiet epic. There is also a romantic tone evoked by the violin and as the frame captures a shot of just Lucius and Ivy’s holding hands. Then the tone of the violin changes after they are all inside the hiding place. A sense of hope is created which matches the characters’ facial expressions. The dark background and the highlighted faces also add to this hopeful tone. Lastly, the scene closes with the two little girls centered in the frame. Which audience would not want hope of survival for these girls?

So there is a reason why “Those We Don’t Speak Of” was nominated for best film score. James Newton Howard did an excellent job in composing the film score to convey to the audience exactly what emotion or tone to feel. Whether it is fear, suspense or romance, the music will sure guide you to your emotions.

A New Neo?

The Last Airbender is M. Night Shyamalan’s latest blockbuster project and is an adaptation from the cartoon aired on the Nickelodeon channel. M. Night Shyamalan is famous for producing supernatural movies that leave the audience on the edge of their seats, such as The Sixth Sense and The Village. So viewers may have an idea of what to expect from The Last Airbender. The story is set in ancient China where the elements of fire, air, water and earth maintain the balance in the world. The Avatar, Aang, is the one who overlooks over all the kingdoms. When he disappeared, the Fire Nation took control over the other kingdoms. Then a century later, the waterbender Katara and her brother Sokka discover Aang suspended in a ball of ice. They help Aang in his journey to master all the elements and to eventually overthrow the Firelord Ozai from power.

The trailer opens with an advertisement of the production companies, Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies, which also serves to attract audiences because of their stable reputation in the film industry. The background is black with white smoke and viewers are given short clips that fade into black after every bell. Already the audience is given a sense of mysteriousness. The short clips hook the audience into the next visual without giving too much information. The gong of the bell creates an image of a mysterious temple and the short pauses add to the tone being set. The low pitch and slow speech of the voice over suggests that the words said should be taken seriously. The colors throughout the trailer are pale blue and black, which evoke a sense of coldness and impending doom.

Then music is introduced in the background but the dialogues and the voice over are still the main focus. The music gradually transitions the trailer into the more up-beat and action-filled segment. Once the music changes into the blood-pumping music of a base guitar, viewers get samples of the action of the movie. Aang’s spinning of a staff, the wind effects, and his sliding on one knee may attract fans of martial arts and action. The bold words “The last of his kind will risk everything for mankind” create a sense of nobility; in a way, those words serve as the lyrics for the background music, which is now more audible. Again, viewers can hear the gong of a bell. In old churches the bell usually rings before the start of Mass to alert lay people. Here the bell is calling people to come and watch Aang in his journey. Then a woman’s voice says, “He will need you. And we all need him.” The woman’s voice creates an image of someone wise with age or a prophet. This is reminiscent of the famous line “He is the one” from The Matrix. It invites people to see the movie and maybe see a new “one”.

This movie definitely has a more serious tone than the cartoon from Nickelodeon. The comedic relief that is characteristic of the cartoon is not evident of this movie from the trailer. Aang is not seen making jokes in the movie and in fact he does not seem to smile at all. There is no evidence of the banters between Katara and Sokka. There is also a shot of a bone yard, which might scare kids. The kissing scene also implies a certain maturity level, although there are now kissing scenes in some cartoons. However, it seems that the movie is only serious up to a certain level to attract older audiences. The movie would make more money if kids and adults go to see the movie.

The combination of casts is interesting; they are mostly fresh faces in Hollywood. Jackson Rathbone plays the character Sokka and Dev Patel plays Zuko. Rathbone is most famous for playing Jasper Cullen in Twilight. Dev Patel stars in Slumdog Millionaire as Jamal Malik. Their casting may attract fans from their previous movie roles. The ethnicities of the casts do not match the ethnicities of the characters in the cartoon version. There is not much evidence that the story takes place in ancient China in the movie, except for the clothes and some clips of buildings similar to Chinese temples. This makes me wonder how much the story in the movie deviates from the story in the cartoon. Although the movie looks interesting, it has not convinced me enough to make me go watch it on opening night. The short flashes of scenes have a negative effect on me. They make me believe that it is the producer’s way of attracting viewers to go see a movie in which the only good parts are the ones seen on the trailer and the rest of the movie just fills in the time. However, for those of you who are interested, the movie comes out on July 2010.

Hello! I'm Angela and I'm in English 110.01 this quarter. I was born on June 13 in Mandaluyong, Philippines. Philippines is a country in Asia made up of thousands of islands. I am from the main island of Luzon and I grew up in the country's capital, Manila. My native language is Tagalog; it has some Spanish words because the Philippines was colonized by Spaniards. The climate is tropical and this is the excuse I always use when I complain about the cold weather during the winter season. Some Filipino food are similar to Chinese food. Usually, Filipinos would eat bread, called pandesal, and drink coffee in the morning, but others eat rice as well. We eat everything with rice! Lunch and dinner would be rice and ulam, which is some kind of dish that we eat with rice. My favorite food from the Philippines are the instant noodles named Pancit Canton, Ube ice cream, which is purple, and Taro Bubble Tea, which is also purple.

Gradeschool in the Philippines start in first grade and end in sixth grade. Class would start around seven in the morning and end around three to five in the afternoon. I started learning how to speak English in kindergarten. I moved to Toledo when I was in fourth grade and I attended St. Patrick's Gradeschool. In 2005, I went to Notre Academy which is an all-girls school. Whenever I told people I went to an all-girls school, they were always shocked. But I thought it was convenient because I was able to roll out of bed in the morning and go to school. I wore a school uniform from the first day I started school when I was four years old until the last day of my senior year in high school.

When I applied for colleges, Kent State University was my first choice. Kent has a six-year program for medicine; I would have loved to finish with school two years early. Unfortunately, I did not get accepted to Kent. The other colleges I applied to was Youngstown State University, the University of Akron and Case Western Reserve University. As you can see, Ohio State was not on the list. I did not want to go to Ohio State but my dad forced me to apply, and I am so thankful that he did! So now I'm here at Ohio State trying to become a doctor. My major is Biochemistry and Pre-medicine. This quarter I'm taking English, Chemistry, Biology and Psychology. No math this quarter!

Basketball is my favorite sport and I watch the NBA. My favorite team used to be the Philadelphia Sixers because Allen Iverson was on the team, but now I do not have a favorite team. I watch movies more than TV series. One of the best movies I've watched is the Bourne Identity. Actually, I like a lot of movies but the Bourne Identity may be the movie I have seen the most. My favorite TV shows are Scrubs and NCIS. I listen to hip hop but I listen to other types of music as long as they sound good.