Fahrenheit 451 part II

Another part of Fahrenheit 451 that annoyed me was at the beginning of the book, Guy was a devoted fireman who did not question his job. However after one talk with Clarisse, he changes his entire way of thinking. He begins to question his job, his wife and the way the world runs just from the observations of a teenager. Guy ends up killing Beatty which he would have never done before his chats with Clarisse. To me it just seems very improbable that a grown man would totally change his life around after only a few talks with a teenage girl.

Fahrenheit 451

In reading Fahrenheit 451 the reader caught a glimpse of a society that is scared of books because of the ideas they pose. That is not what people are told however. They are told books were banned because people were always offended by books and the stereotypes created by them. This society was also scared of people who thought differently. An example of this was Clarisse. Clarisse was a free thinker who asked questions that made people uncomfortable like Guy. She asked Guy if he knew that at one point in history firemen were used to put fires out not start fires. That question got Guy thinking and reexamining his life so far. He decides that books are not as bad as everyone thinks and completely changes his life.

All in all I was not a fan of Fahrenheit 451. The story did not capture my interest and I also did not like the disappearance of Clarisse. She was the person who got Guy to examine his life and she just vanished. She could have played a much bigger part in the story but was reduced to just a minor character.

The Talented Mr. Ripley

So far most of the movies I like are the romantic comedies that really do not require a lot of thought. However The Talented Mr. Ripley is not not one of those movies at all. It is a thriller that keeps the audience guessing until the end. The plot is about Tom Ripley, who is a social climber who wants to be in the elite. He gets his chance when he is sent off to Italy to retrieve a young playboy named Dickie Greenleaf. Tom becomes entranced with Dickie's lifestyle and over time decides he wants Dickie's lifestyle for himself. He ends up assuming Dickie's identity and must keep one step ahead of everyone. The movie has many twists in it and it keeps the plot going. It is one of my favorite movies even though it is not the type I usually watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CfVgcSltjc- the trailer

He's Just Not That Into You

He's Just Not That Into is one of the movies you watch with a group of girls becuase it is a chick flick. It is about a group of people from Baltimore and how their relationships interact with each other. The movie has a sweet side that is relatable for every single girl who has wondered if a guy liked her or not. A person can feel for the main character as she tries to navigate her way through the minds of men and say to themselves, "I know the feeling," or, "I did that too." There are the feel good scences like this one when the girl finally gets the guy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Kzc6znIxMg- This is my favorite scene in the entire movie and I am sorry for the Spanish subtitles. All in all this is the perfect movie to watch with a group of girls or even a boyfriend for the romantic story.

Grease

Today I watched a classic-Grease. Well it might not be a real classic but it is a movie that almost every girl has seen. I have seen it many times over the years and I can recite it. While the acting might not be the best, the energy is there and it is infectious. As I watch this movie as an adult there are the sexual references in the movie that I missed when I was little, such as in the song, "Grease Lightning." Here's the link for the song- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oWeaujOWXc. It's pretty amazing the stuff I missed as a child that seem obvious to me now.

Superbad

Today I watched Superbad just for fun. This movie is mainly about the adventures of two high school kids trying to get alcohol for a party. I find this movie hilarious because it was written by Seth Rogan. However I also think that the way that the cops are portrayed is scary because they are drunk driving and acting irresponsibly. In spite of this, the movie is very fuuny and good to watch with friends.

Media Writing Blog- Movies

I love watching movies and spend lots of time doing so. I just recently watched Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen. I like that movie because I feel that it makes Jane Austen easy to understand and accessible to audiences. While the movie is true to the book, the way it is presented feels modern. It is also the timeless love story and as a girl, I love the love stories.

Thoreau's Deliberate Life

When Thoreau decided to live deliberately, he went out into the woods to live in a one room cabin that was not well insulated. By going out to live in the woods, he was going to, "Simplify, Simplify," his affairs and to actually live his life. Thoreau said that he did not want to wake up one day and find out that he had not lived. While I can understand that point, it is something I believe in as well, I think he might have gone to extremes. To him there seemed to be so much technology when compared to today's standard there was very little at that time. In class someone brought up the point that even though Thoreau seemed like he was making a great sacrifice, it actuality there were people who lived without the technology everyday. So this made his "sacrifice" seem insignificant in light of these people. He did have good intentions but in the end he really did not make that much of a difference.

Mark Bauerlein

In Mark Baurerlien's new book, "The Dumbest Generation" he crowns my generation as being the dumbest generation. While Bauerlein does have some valid points, I believe he is wrong. Our generation does have its faults but I feel that he is out of touch. He criticizes our generation for being on our cell phones twenty four/ seven, especially after classes. What I do not think he realizes that we are talking to friends and/or family and in his day he was doing the same thing but without the technology. He complains about our technology usage but we did not invent the technology. His generation made it possible for us to stay this connected with people. If he needs someone to blame he can blame Bill Gates and Steve Jobs for being the technology geniuses that they are.

Our generation has different focuses than his does. We are more connected to our technology, music and movies than to literature and ancient cultures. I personally love to read and do know a lot about literature. If Jay Leno would have asked me those questions, I would have been able to answer all of them. Not every person in my generation knows it but there are a few of us who do. Literature and culture are not emphasized in our culture and I believe that part of the blame should go to his generation. I realize that we do hold part of the blame for mot taking the initiative but his generation should have made a point of putting more a an emphasis on these classics.

The Media, bell hooks and "Killing Us Softly"

This week we discussed many different ways the media influences us as a society. In the lecture "Killing Us Softly", Jean Kilbourne spoke about how the media is objectifying women in advertising. She made some very good points and examples that still seemed relevant to today's culture and did not seem dated. Also she was good to listen to and easy to understand.



In contrast to her was bell hooks. I listened to Ms. hooks last semester and did not agree with her at all. Ms. hooks contradicts herself many times. For example in her piece about O.J Simpson, she speaks about how she has no opinion about Simpson's guilt but throughout the piece she makes it quite clear that she believes he is guilty. She also seems hypocritical when she speaks about her students Harlem versus her students at Yale. Ms. hooks speaks about her Yale students having a "sense of entitlement" whereas her Harlem students do not and she also speaks about the stereotypes between the two. However she then goes on to stereotype the two groups. My other problem with bell hooks is that when she is trying to prove a point, she seems shrill and is trying to force her opinion on others. The point that is called to mind is when she is trying to prove that mass media is trying to move society back to a patriarchal society. I do not think that is the case. I believe that advertisers are showing the public images that sell and she does not like that.Now this is just my interpretation of her and it could be inferred differently by someone else. However I do not like bell hooks or agree with her.



In my opinion, I believe that advertisers are using these sexually provocative images because they are using the adage "sex sells" and it is working. People do not like to admit it but it must because advertisers are still using this technique. If people stopped buying products from places that use these sexual images,then the advertisers will need to come up with a new strategy.

Media and Life Today

The media and technology have evolved from being a luxury in life to a necessity. When newer technology is released, no matter what it is or if people even need it, people will go out and buy it just to keep up with the Jones'. Society is obsessed with having that newest toy to show off to their friends.
I also believe that people and society are so obsessed with technology that they are sacrificing their friends and relationships. People do not know how to act without their technology. For our society to succeed, we need to stop buying the newest "toys" and to actually have a face to face conversation with our friends. We can have the technology but we also cannot lose our personal relationships. If we lose our technology and do not have our personal relationships, then we will have problems succeeding as a society.

Intro.

Hi I'm Gillian. I am a Comm./Journ. major with an emphasis in Public Relations. I'm from Bloomsburg which is 2 and 1/2 hours north of here. I like to dance and listen to music in my spare time.