Billy Collins- Introduction to Poetry

I liked the way Bill Collins used his words in the Introduction to Poetry. In the poem, Collins was saying that poetry should be treated more delicately and praise. I take it that he also was saying that students should appreciate poetry more. I agree with him when he was saying that the students should take the time to truly look at the poems and experience them for themselves. Instead of just taking the easy way out and just  figuring out what it's about. There's a good lesson in the poem.

Citizen Kane

 
Citizen Kane

Citizen Kane was released September 5, 1941. There were no philosophies or events that influenced the film. The genre of the film is mystery/drama. The ideas of wanting to have everything go your way and to have everything is presented in the film through Charles Kane. The film was not adapted from any other piece of work. The film was received in a very positive way when it was released. It even was nominated for 9 academy awards. When I looked at the title, I thought it meant that there was a citizen they called Kane for some reason. From the title, I expected the film to be mysterious and have crime in it. The film begins with weird music playing in the background and the jumps to a scene where a man with a full grown mustache says the word, ''Rosebud.”  After he said that, you see the man’s hand drop a snow-globe as if the man suddenly dies from something. As a viewer, I’m thinking who is the man and what the heck just happened? I also thought why did he say rosebud? There are three important scenes in the film. The first and main scene is when a man by the name of Mr. Thatcher comes to Charles Kane house while he was a young boy and adopts him from his mom and dad. It’s important because it’s the start of how Charles Kane came out o be after he got adopted. The second scene is when Charles’ second wife Susan leaves him because she is not happy with their lifestyle. That scene is important, because Susan is the first person to stand up to Charles instead of telling him what he wants to hear. The last scene is the scene at the very end of the movie where you see a sled in the burning fire that appears to have the name Rosebud engraved on it.  This scene is the most significant because throughout the entire movie there was a mystery of who or what was rosebud, sir Kane last words before he died in the beginning of the movie. The climax of the movie was when Kane fires his pal Jedediah so he called him, because this is the initiation to when Kane gets lonely by losing the loved people around him. That scene illustrates the main idea by showing Charles ways of trying to contradict everything to go his way no matter who gets hurt. There were no loose ends in this film. The mystery of who or what was rosebud was finally revealed. Citizen Kane concludes on the burning of Kane's sled rosebud because that is what the entire movie was about. Charles Kane’s character was developed from the beginning of the movie when he died and continued to reveal his life through the film. The purpose of Charles in the film is to show how a man could have everything anyone could ask for and still be dissatisfied because of how he wants everything to go exactly his way. Kane wore suits and slacks with button down shirts and suspenders. Kane also did a lot of hateful things to people to show how he felt he was better and above everyone else. Then there is Kane’s colleagues Mr. Bernstein and Jedediah. Both men supported Kane with all of his decisions throughout the film no matter what. That developed their purpose throughout the movie because it showed how loyal they were to Charles.  Then there is Kane’s wife Susan. She was very open-minded and did not mind giving Charles a piece of her mind and a dose of his own medicine. There are a few motifs in this film. One of them is isolation. Kane repeatedly finds himself isolated from the world around him, whether he is young or old, happy or unhappy, alone or surrounded by others, which suggests that his final isolation is inevitable. Another is materialism. Kane is a rapacious collector. At one point, in a newspaper office so filled with statues that the employees can barely move around, Bernstein notes that they have multiple, duplicate statues of Venus. Kane obsessively fills his estate with possessions, and at the end of the movie the camera pans across massive rooms filled with crates to show that he never even unpacked many of his purchases. Kane’s collecting is not that of a discriminating connoisseur—he buys art objects so fervently that his behavior more closely resembles the ravenous actions of a predator.   The director’s purpose of the film was basically to entertain with a film about a man who had everything but died with nothing due to his terrible personality and ways. The message of the film is just because you may have a lot more wealth than others and everything you want doesn’t make it right for you to look down on others and treat people badly for your own happiness. The director does use symbols in this movie. The sleds are used as symbols. Two sleds are in the film, Rosebud, the sled Kane loves as a child, appears at the beginning, during one of Kane’s happiest moments, and at the end, being burned with the rest of Kane’s possessions after Kane dies. “Rosebud” is the last word Kane utters, which not only emphasizes how alone Kane is but also suggests Kane’s inability to relate to people on an adult level. Rosebud is the most potent emblem of Kane’s childhood, and the comfort and importance it represents for him are rooted in the fact that it was the last item he touched before being taken from his home. When Kane meets Thatcher, who has come to take him from his mother, Kane uses his sled to resist Thatcher by shoving it into Thatcher’s body. In this sense, the sled serves as a barrier between his carefree youth and the responsibilities of adulthood and marks a turning point in the development of his character. The snow globe is also a symbol. The snow globe that falls from Kane’s hand when he dies links the end of his life to his childhood. The scene inside the snow globe is simple, peaceful, and orderly, much like Kane’s life with his parents before Thatcher comes along. The snow globe also associates these qualities with Susan. Kane sees the snow globe for the first time when he meets Susan. On that same night, he’s thinking about his mother, and he even speaks of her, one of only two times he mentions her throughout the film. In his mind, Susan and his mother become linked. Susan, like Kane’s mother, is a simple woman, and Kane enjoys their quiet times in her small apartment where he’s free from the demands of his complex life. Susan eventually leaves him, just as his mother did, and her departure likewise devastates him. As Kane trashes Susan’s room in anger, he finds the snow globe, and the already-thin wall between his childhood and adulthood dissolves. Just as his mother abandoned him once, Susan has abandoned him now, and Kane is powerless to bring back either one. Statues are also a symbol in the film. Kane repeatedly fails in his attempts to control the people in his life, which perhaps explains his obsession with collecting statues and the appearance of statues throughout the film, since statues can be easily manipulated.

Death of A Salesman

Death of A Salesman

The movie Death of A Salesman was released September 15^th, 1985. The movie was influenced from issues regarding American national values. Also, it involved traditional thinking of “The American Dream.” The genre of the movie is drama. The film was adapted from the play Death of A Salesman that Arthur Miller wrote. Though the film won over many film critics and received nominations for many awards, it was a box office failure. As I looked at the title, I thought it meant that a man’s that was a salesman was going downhill. So from the title, I expected the film to be showing a salesman dying and probably having a bad life.   The film starts off with the main character Willy Loman driving and then all of a sudden it looks like he started spinning on the road. As a viewer, it made me think what the heck is going on and why is Willy looking so plain? Also what happened that made him start swerving like that. The scene that is the climax is when Biff tells Willy the truth and Willy realizes that his family has been living a lie. Willy also realizes that Biff really does love him. That kind of illustrated the main idea because Willy was stuck on living ‘The American Dream” and when Biff told Willy the truth, it broke his dream of living “The American Dream.” I didn’t really see any loose ends because it was clear what was happening and what was said and done. The movie concludes with Happy following in the footsteps of his father Willy, after Willy commits suicide so that Biff can use the insurance money to start a business. The development of Willy Loman begins from the start of the movie all the way up to his death revealing how his sanity is declining. The purpose of Willy is to show how overworking yourself and betrayal of your family to achieve “The American Dream” can lead you to insanity and unhappiness. Willy wears business suits as well as some casual, not too-flashy clothes throughout the movie. Willy’s wife, Linda Loman comes in the picture when Willy comes home from work. Her purpose in the film is to be supportive and helpful to Willy even when he treats her very poorly. She also tries to get her sons Biff and Happy to help make Willy happier and to keep him from committing suicide. Linda wears casual dresses through the movie. Next is Willy and Linda’s eldest son, Biff Loman. Biff’s purpose in the film is to give the Willy a dose of reality. Biff wears mostly casual clothes throughout the movie. Then, there is the youngest son Happy Loman. Happy’s purpose  in the film is to carry on the dreams Willy had for Biff. Happy wore casual close in the movie. There are a few motifs in the film. First, there are the mythic figures and how willy used them. Willy’s tendency to mythologize people contributes to his deluded understanding of the world. He speaks of Dave Singleman as a legend and imagines that his death must have been beautifully noble. Willy compares Biff and Happy to the mythic Greek figures Adonis and Hercules because he believes that his sons are pinnacles of “personal attractiveness” and power through “well liked”-ness; to him, they seem the very incarnation of the American Dream. Willy’s mythologizing proves quite nearsighted, however. Willy fails to realize the hopelessness of Singleman’s lonely, on-the-job, on-the-road death. Trying to achieve what he considers to be Singleman’s heroic status, Willy commits himself to a pathetic death and meaningless legacy (even if Willy’s life insurance policy ends up paying off, Biff wants nothing to do with Willy’s ambition for him). Similarly, neither Biff nor Happy ends up leading an ideal, godlike life; while Happy does believe in the American Dream, it seems likely that he will end up no better off than the decidedly ungodlike Willy.  Then there is The American West, Alaska, and the African Jungle. Those regions represent the potential of instinct to Biff and Willy. Willy’s father found success in Alaska and his brother, Ben, became rich in Africa; these exotic locales, especially when compared to Willy’s banal Brooklyn neighborhood, crystallize how Willy’s obsession with the commercial world of the city has trapped him in an unpleasant reality. Whereas Alaska and the African jungle symbolize Willy’s failure, the American West, on the other hand, symbolizes Biff’s potential. Biff realizes that he has been content only when working on farms, out in the open. His westward escape from both Willy’s delusions and the commercial world of the eastern United States suggests a nineteenth-century pioneer mentality. Biff, unlike Willy, recognizes the importance of the individual. Miller’s purpose in the film is to inform and expose. There is a theme in the movie. The American Dream is the most prominent theme throughout Death of a Salesman. The main character, Willy, believes in the “promise of the American Dream”. This “promise” is that a “well-liked” and “personally attractive” businessman will be able to attain the “modern American Dream” and all of the wealth and possessions that come with it. Willy’s interpretation of “well-liked” is very shallow. For example, he dislikes Bernard because he considers him a dork. Willy’s childish faith in his corrupted version of the American Dream ultimately leads to his downfall. The director uses many symbols in the film. For instance, seeds represent for Willy the opportunity to prove the worth of his labor, both as a salesman and a father. His desperate, nocturnal attempt to grow vegetables signifies his shame about barely being able to put food on the table and having nothing to leave his children when he passes. Another is Linda’s stockings. Willy’s strange obsession with the condition of Linda’s stockings foreshadows his later flashback to Biff’s discovery of him and The Woman in their Boston hotel room. The teenage Biff accuses Willy of giving away Linda’s stockings to The Woman. Stockings assume a metaphorical weight as the symbol of betrayal and sexual infidelity. New stockings are important for both Willy’s pride in being financially successful and thus able to provide for his family and for Willy’s ability to ease his guilt about, and suppress the memory of, his betrayal of Linda and Biff.

Their Eyes Were Watching God

  

  

Their Eyes Were Watching God

          
     The film Their Eyes Were Watching God was released on March 15, 2005. The strongest inspiration from the film came from Zora Neale Hurston’s own personal love affair that is just like Janie and Teacake’s in the film. The town Eatonville was also based off of Hurston’s own hometown. The genre of the film is drama and romance. The film was adapted by the Zora Neale Hurston novel she published in 1937. When the book was released it received critical responses, such as “Miss Hurston seems to have no desire whatsoever to move in the direction of serious fiction… [She] can write; but her prose is cloaked in that facile sensuality that has dogged Negro expression since the days of Phyllis Wheatley... Her characters eat and laugh and cry and work and kill; they swing like a pendulum eternally in that safe and narrow orbit in which America likes to see the Negro live: between laughter and tears." (Richard Wright). I thought that the title meant that there were people looking to the sky for God's help or something like that. I expected the film to be religious, dramatic and theologically based. The film starts off with Janie (Halle Berry) walking in the sun barefooted wearing dirty overalls saying “There’s two things everybody got to find out for theyselves. They got to find out about love and they got to find out about living.” As a viewer, it affects me in a serious way. When she said that, it made me more interested in watching the movie. As she walks through the town, people are gossiping about her badly. I also began to think what happened to her? Why are they talking about her like that? Why does she look so worn-out and run down. There are three important scenes in the movie. The first one is when Janie was in the water having her own time to herself as she “watched God.” It’s important because she was able to be free of everything and just relax. The second one is when she talks to her husband Logan about how she didn’t like the lifestyle and marriage they had. That was important because Janie was able to reveal how unhappy she truly was in the marriage like she was in her first marriage. The third one is when Janie and Teacake are going by his job to pick up some cucumbers. That was important because it shows the first time Janie is truly happy and in love. The scene that constitutes the film’s climax is when the hurricane comes and Teacake saves Janie from drowning but gets bit by a rabid dog. Then, Janie has to debate on shooting the man she ever truly loved because the bite made him delusional. There were no loose ends because everything was explained and told. The movie concluded with Janie Floating in a body of water because that was her escape throughout the movie; the place where she felt at home and at ease. Janie’s friend Phoebe Watson is introduced in the beginning of the movie when Janie comes back. Her purpose was to be there for Janie when she vents to her. The character Logan Killicks was introduced when Janie's nanny wanted her to marry him because he had money and a lot of acres.  His purpose was to display Janie first piece of unhappiness in her marriage.  Then, Joe Starks was introduced when she met him after setting free the pigs of her husband.  Then, she meets this man he offers her to run away with him, he felt flattered and took his offer.  The purpose for Starks was for Janie to develop as a person and to feel a short piece of happiness before she realizes what she really wants. Then, Teacake was introduced to Janie after Joe Starks died. His purpose was to bring her the happiness and love she really wanted and to drive her towards her goals. Logan Killicks was a bad husband. He left Janie at home to do work all day like a slave and he never even took the time out to actually get to know her, love her or even like her. He wore dirty shirts and pants all the time. Joe Starks was a good husband when it came down to having good finances. He thought he could just buy Janie happiness instead of actually giving it to her himself instead of just with material things. He wore classy wardrobe. Teacake was the best husband to Janie. He gave her the happiness and love she wanted. His wardrobe looked very rundown. There are some motifs in the film, such as how in both Eatonville, and the Everglades, Janie constantly interacts with the community around her. In Eatonville, the novel focuses on the people sitting on the porch gossiping. In the Everglades, Janie wishes to be part of the social life where at times it offers comfort, warmth, and security. Then at other times, Janie finds the gossip that the community does is petty because it is often about her due to jealously because of her independence and strong will. The message in the film was that no matter what life takes you through, you can look to God for serenity. Janie was always watching God and that showed how close her connection was with God and that’s how Janie related to the film. There are also a few symbols in the film like Janie’s hair. It symbolizes her strength and identity in two ways. First, it shows her independence and defiance over the community's standards. Secondly, since Janie's hair is long and straight, it symbolizes whiteness. Mrs. Turner loves Janie because of her hair and the other white qualities that she has. Janie's hair disrupts the normal traditional power (males over females and whites over blacks). Also, there was The Pear Tree and The Horizon. It symbolizes Janie's ideal views about nature. Janie is able to witness a perfect moment of life, full of energy, passion, and harmony. The horizon symbolizes the far off mysterious world that she wants to interact and connect with.