Essay 4: It's a Air Jordan Thing

The Video is cutting off so here is a link where you can watch it online: Youtube Link

The Dry Dr. Strangelove

Unlike some of my classmates I found Dr. Strangelove to be funny. This may be because I like to watch movies that have satire and dry humor in them. This movie had a lot of it and had me laughing randomly the whole time. The main point that I found funny was that although the actors had serious facial expressions, their dialogue didn’t match. What they were saying was random and funny, because they looked so serious saying it. The best example I can think of explaining this, is comparing this movie to the show The Office. How the main character Michael Scott keeps a straight face while he says crazy things.


STILLMAN ARTICLE

I thought both articles gave very good viewpoints on the Dr. Strangelove. The first article read was the most recent one by Grant Stillman. The article brings up many interesting points from the film. One main point of the article is that all the themes from the movie have an origin to them. For example, when the film shows Dr. Strangelove in the wheelchair it could have represented sexual frustration in political leaders. Stillman writes “the wheelchair motif is harder to source with confidence, but it probably has some inspiration in the sexually frustrated, war-scarred, intellectual hus- band of Lady Chatterley in D.H. Lawrence’s novel, which was going through hard-fought obscenity trials for release in the early 1960s” (Stillman 494). He also goes on to say “politically powerful figures were really overcompensating for being im- potent in some hidden way, and that could have been indicated by the wheelchair” (Stillman 494). Like we discussed in class part of the theme of the movie was about sex symbols in the movie. The wheelchair could very well be one. Other symbols in the movie could have been the plane in the beginning of the movie getting fuel from another plane, or how the secretary was dressed as she lay out on her bed.

(Another sex symbol from the movie)

RICHARDSON ARTICLE

The other article that we read in class came out in the summer of 1964. I didn’t really agree with author’s distaste with the humor in the film. Richardson writes about the humor “one feels that those responsible for the film have settled for rather worn gags and bits of political sniping that have become just too fashionable and easily accepted to have a place alongside the work's better moments” (Richardson 251). Although I didn’t agree with the author’s opinion, I do think there were some cheesy moments to the film. One cheesy part was about the coca cola machine. But I did find scenes in the war room to be very funny. I think that’s what made the movie better.

PRODUCTION

(shows the lighting in the war room)

I thought the way the movie was shot and produce was done very well. All of the customs’ and set designs looked very real. This made me believe in the story. I also liked how the director took advantage of the lighting in the film. Richardson describes the lighting in the war room by saying “the use of light and shadow in the "War Room" so that it seems an endless subterranean world where footfalls echo ominously” (Richardson 252). Another aspect I liked about the movie was the shooting scene on the base. All the guns looked very real, and the way the scenes were shot they looked very realistic to what a real fight scene would look like. The only drawback was that I didn’t really see anybody get shot.

(Favorite part from movie)

Work Cited

Kubrick, Stanley, dir. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the

Bomb. 1964. Columbia Pictures, 2009.

Stillman, Grant. "Two of the MaDdest Scientists." Film History. 20 (2008): 487-500.

Web. 17 May. 2010.

Richardson, Jack. "'Strangelove' and 'the Silence.'" The Hudson Review. 17.2 (1964): 250-255.

Web. 17 May. 2010.

Essay 3: Go Green... Legalize Marijuana

Go Green!: The benefits of legalization of marijuana

The Legalization of marijuana in the United States can be valuable to the United States. This has been a topic in the country since the use of medicinal marijuana has gone up in the west, and the country’s economy has gone down. Although there are negative side effects to smoking marijuana such as health and social reasons, there are many other benefits to the drug. Decriminalization of Marijuana can be used for medical purposes, and give a boast to our economy.

Medical Marijuana

Marijuana can be used to help many sick people with their illness. The Institute of Medicine found “that marijuana may be modestly effective for pain relief (particularly nerve pain), appetite stimulation for people with AIDS wasting syndrome, and control of chemotherapy related nausea and vomiting” (Medical marijuana and the mind). Marijuana is now being looked at as a way to help treat those with psychiatric conditions. The main chemical in marijuana that is used to help people is THC. A Harvard article describes the drug, as “THC is the chemical in marijuana primarily responsible for its effects on the central nervous system It stimulates cannabinoid receptors in the brain, triggering other chemical reactions that underlie marijuana’s psychological and physical effects” (Medical marijuana and the mind). Smoking the drug is used more than any other way because the THC gets to the bloodstream faster. The same Harvard article also looks at why people use it to relieve pain. The article states “Part of the reason marijuana works to relieve pain and quell nausea is that, in some people, it reduces anxiety, improves mood, and acts as a sedative” (Medical marijuana and the mind).

Economic Boost

The Legalization of marijuana can also help the United States economy. It’s no secret that a lot of Americans today have or will have smoked marijuana in their lifetime. Like alcohol, and cigarettes, marijuana should be legal and taxed for economic stimulus purposes. The drug has already made its way into America illegally, and we even have citizens who are growing their own personal crops. Citizens of the country already spend part of their tax money to fund task forces to patrol the borders of the country and stop illegal drugs from coming in. But it’s already proven that the drugs have already made its way through the patrolling. With the decriminalizing of marijuana there can be more money generated into the country. According to an article in the Christian Science Monitor, many citizens of California are pushing to put legalization of marijuana on the November ballot (Benefits from a marijuana tax). The main argument to legalize this crop is that it will be an economic success for the state. If the state is able to tax and regulate the drug they could earn 1.4 billion dollars (Benefits from a marijuana tax). Even though marijuana is an illegal drug, it is still the most profitable crop in America today. Jerry Knight of the Washington Post reported, “American Marijuana growers harvested a record crop last year well over 1,000 metric tons of the illegal herb, federal authorities and private marijuana specialist estimate” (Knight F1). He also wrote about the Federal Drug Enforcement findings, “the agency estimates Americans smoked marijuana worth between $15.5 billion and 21.9 Billion” (Knight F1). The crazy part about both of those statics is that they are taken from an article that came out in 1981. Marijuana has become available now, and is grown more inside of the country. Also as I’ve stated earlier there is a rise in the use of Medical Marijuana. Rob Reuteman of USA today wrote an article about the boom in the Medical Marijuana business. He focused his findings from Colorado’s marijuana dispensaries and found out how popular they are becoming. Reuteman writes, “Denver has 250 dispensary storefronts and Boulder, Colo., has more than 100. So far the has issued more than 66,000 cards that allow holders to purchases medical pot. Card demand is so high that there’s a six-month waiting period (Reuteman). Now I know this doesn’t exactly mean that if it works in Colorado or California that it’ll work anywhere, but I do think it’s worth trying since the two states are having success. Our economy is struggling and legalizing marijuana can help put the country’s economy.

Those Opposed

Even though Marijuana has been used to help many sick people deal with their illness, several people believe that the drug still should not be consider as a treatment drug. Voth writes in Dangerous is the path “Smoked marijuana is as toxic as tobacco and has no place in the medical armamentarium” (Voth). In the same article Voth talks about how the drug has been rejected as a reliable type of medicine. “Recently, however, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has ruled that crude marijuana does not meet the criteria required to be considered a medicine” (Voth). After this Voth even took his stance another and looked at what the American Medical Association had to say about the matter “The American Medical Association recently rejected the use of smoked marijuana as a medicine. And a recent survey of 1,500 cancer specialists determined that even if crude marijuana were made available for prescription, it would be the last choice of medicines. Only 9% would prescribe it more than 10 times a year” (Voth). I thought this article gave very good viewpoints on why not to make weed legal in US. But I did also notice the article was from 1995 and that there has been a lot more research and evidence that has came out since then.

Since the first article I found seemed to be a little out dated, I wanted to find another article that was also against the legalization of marijuana. After a few more minutes of research I stumbled upon an editorial from 2002 in the Washington Post. The main point of this article is to let readers know that marijuana is a harmless drug and should not be taken lightly. Walters (the author) describes why the same drug that has been used over the years is more lethal today then it was a few decades ago. Walters write, “Parents are often unaware that today's marijuana is different from that of a generation ago, with potency levels 10 to 20 times stronger than the marijuana with which they were familiar” (Walters A25). Walters’s main concern about the drug is how teenagers in the United States will use it. He talks about how dangerous the drug may be on teens learning abilities by saying “Researchers have learned that it impairs the ability of young people to concentrate and retain information during their peak learning years, and when their brains are still developing” (Walters A25). When looking at long-term effects Walters writes “The THC in marijuana attaches itself to receptors in the hippocampal region of the brain, weakening short-term memory and interfering with the mechanisms that form long-term memory” (Walters A25). Walters makes good use of what researchers have found about the drug and presented in his editorial. He brings up the fact that marijuana has been linked to car accidents, can be now be classified as an addictive drug, and could lead many Americans to get drug treatment (Walters A25).

Myths & Facts

Like most drugs that are prescribed or available over the counter, weed has side effects and could cause harm, however I think people should look more at the facts and not the myths when discussing whether or not the country should legalize it. One main myth about the drug is that marijuana is a gateway drug to more harmful drugs such as cocaine and heroin. McMahon a writer for USA Today found research that discuss how there is no conclusive evidence that marijuana’s effects lead to the usage of any other drug (McMahon 4A). McMahon also talks about how marijuana may be considered a gateway drug only because when youth start to smoke it they are more likely to try other drugs (McMahon 4A). John Morgan and Lynn Zimmer, two professors who work at the Lindesmith Drug Policy Research Centre in New York try to debunk more myths about the illegal substance. When talking about the substance being used as a medicinal purpose (something I will touch on more later), both found that “Marijuana has been shown to be effective in reducing nausea induced by chemotherapy, stimulating appetite in Aids patients. Although a synthetic capsule is available by prescription, for many patients it is not as effective as smoking marijuana” (Brownlee). When looking at if the drug leads to more hard drugs the two say “The vast majority of marijuana users never use another illegal drug. Out of every 100 people who have tried marijuana, only one is a regular user of cocaine” (Brownlee). The two professors never said that the drug couldn’t be addictive, but when asked if the drug could be highly addictive they responded by saying “Marijuana does not cause physical dependence or withdrawal. Experts in the drugs field rank it less addictive than alcohol, tobacco and caffeine” (Brownlee). The last main myth buster that the pair of professors tries to put to rest is about damages to the brain cells. When asked if marijuana kills brain cells, they respond by saying “None of the medical tests currently used to detect brain damage in humans have found harm from marijuana, even from long-term, high-dose use” (Brownlee). After reading this article I was under the assumption that there still needs to be more research done on the effects of the drug before arguments are made about why the substance should never be legalized. Another article I read from the Washington Times also talks about the myths of smoking. One of the myths about legalizing marijuana is that it will make the drug more available and be used more often. Nadleman and Piper say, “close to 100 million Americans have already used marijuana. Half of all teens try marijuana before graduating from high school” (Nadleman, Piper M11). The availability of the drug is already high and can be accessed to anybody who really wants to smoke some.

In Conclusion

I don’t see the legalization of Marijuana in America happening anytime soon. But there is hope that it will happen eventually. With more about this subject in the news everyday, there seems to be more support from US citizens. The drug could help stimulate America’s economy, and also be used as medicine for those that have certain illness. I plan to keep paying very close attention to what happens to many states that are purposing to legalize the drug in the near future. If certain states such as California, Alaska, Maine, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington all get business to sell medical marijuana, there could be a chance we could see a reform to marijuana laws. When it comes to use of Marijuana as a profitable drug, the possibilities are very high. The only thing now is to wait and see who wants to inhale the benefits.

Alien Digest

I enjoyed watching the film Alien for the first time Monday. I had never heard anything about this movie, and didn’t know what to expect when watching. What I really enjoyed about the movie was storyline, and the way the movie was shot. I thought Alien was ahead of it’s time in the basic concepts and imagery.

The Suspense is Killing Me

When watching the film I really like how the filmmakers shot most scenes on the ship. During the whole film I was uncertain of what was going to happen next. I wasn’t sure who was going to die and how they were going to die. From the beginning we don’t know much about the characters on the ship or what their main purpose. Thompson writes “Unlike many of the films that I’ve examined, Alien does not use its credits sequence to introduce much information. We only know that we are somewhere in space” (Thompson 286). This leaves the viewer guessing from the beginning and puts the director in firm control of the audience’s emotions. When watching Alien, I realized I kept getting sucked into the plot because of the way the film was shot. There were a lot of scenes that had dark lighting and wide camera angle shots. This caused me to focus hard about what was happening next. So when something jumped out or happened u I was alarmed. The filmmaker used suspense perfectly. Thompson described how Scott did this with one of the scenes by saying “Sideways tracking shots close to the furniture and equipment reveal a limited amount of space onscreen at any given moment” (Thompson 287). Even with the cheesy special effects and settings, I was still into the movie the whole time.

Dark Lighting help with the suspense

The Female Protagonist

Another interesting part I liked about the movie was how Ripley was the hero of the film. She seemed to be the only one that was thinking logically about certain crucial situations in the movie. When more people were thinking with their heart, she was thinking with her head. For example, when she didn’t want to let Lambert, Dallas, and Kane back into the ship because they could have hurt everybody on board. While Dallas and Lambert were upset she still did the right thing. Mulhall talks about Ripley saying that “she acts consistently from the outset to preserve the physical integrity of the ship she briefly commands because she has understood all along femaleness in the terms that the alien seeks to impose upon the human species, and hence has always understood her body as a vessel whose integrity at all cost must be preserved” (Mulhall 24). Ripley was the one I agreed with the most and felt like she should have been the leader of the ship. Which makes since because she’s the one that survives and kills the alien.

Ripley as the protagonist in the film


Works Cited

Mulhall, Stephen. “Kane's Son, Cain's Daughter.” On Film. London: Routledge, 2002. 12-32.
Print.

Scott, Ridley, dir. Alien. 1979. Twentieth Century Fox, 2009.

Thompson, Kristin. "Alien." Storytelling in the New Hollywood. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1999.
283-306. Print

Work Cited

Work Cited

Edwards, Kim. “Pan’s Labyrinth.” Alice’s Little Sister. Film As Text: 2008. Print.
Smith, Paul. “Pan’s Labyrinth.” El Laberinto Del Fauno. Film Quarterly, 2007. Vol 60. Print.

Our First Film

I found Pan's Labyrinth to be a very eerie and twisted movie. I had no idea what the film was about (except for the e-mail we got) before watching it. I was disappointed that there weren’t that many violent scenes in the movie, because there were so many executions in real life. At the same time I was surprised at the execution, because the movie seemed to be made for children. I also had a feeling that the film had a underlying message about woman in most societies.
Pan's Labyrinth is one of those movies that parents might have trouble letting their younger children go see. The movie seemed to be very dark and had violent elements to it. Most of these scenes had something to do with Captain Vidal. Smith talks about the beginning of the film “Pan’s Labyrinth begins with a blank, black screen. We hear the sound of feverish panting and the humming of Javier Navarrete’s haunting theme” (Smith 4). This is a gloomy way to open a movie. Then Smith goes on to explain another scene by saying “(Ofelia) descends the staircases of a vast fantasy set.
The screen flares up to white and the camera swoops over bombed buildings. A wide shot of a ruined bell tower shows the famously devastated village of Belchite” (Smith 4). This is the first sign that this couldn’t be a film for children. But then at the same time one could be easily confused by the scenes that deal just with Ofelia. Most of these scenes deal with magic and make believe.




The underlying message I got from the film was that women being the hero is more of a fantasy. I don’t agree with this message but it still fits with the movie. Ofelia was only able to be the hero with things that aren’t real. Edwards writes “This merging of the worlds is also an organic and growing phenomenon that begins with the relatively in signify the chalk - for how did Ofelia escape from a guarded room to reach the Captain's study if not for a magic door?” (Edwards 143). Then things are brought back to reality with “Ofelia's mother dismisses fairy-tales as the stuff of childhood and even sympathetic Mercedes says she herself outgrew such fantasies” (Edwards 143). This message is that girls or woman can’t be the hero if only for magic or make believe. I would of like to see Ofelia be the hero with less magical aspects. She did save her brother with her heart and beliefs in right or wrong, but that was it.





Work Cited
Edwards, Kim. “Alice’s Little Sister: Exploring Pan’s Labrinth”. Film As Text:1931- 2008. Print

Smith, Paul. “Pan’s Labyrinth El Laberinto Del Fauno”. Film Quarterly, 2006. Vol 60. Print