When it comes to transcendentalism, I believe that it relates to the idea that someone is rebelling against a social norm, creating a sort of situation that doesn't necessarily have to be there; yet, people are speaking about what they truly believe in, so it is a situation that they personally think is worth their time and effort. The mind of an individual is a complex thing and no one has the right to say what is right and what is wrong considering everyone has a different way of thinking about things. I think transcendentalism has both it's strengths and weaknesses, but depending on what side you are taking-- for or against the rebellion-- what you see as strengths may be viewed as weaknesses to someone else. Transcendentalism involves putting yourself out there and getting involved. You can't expect someone to act upon an issue for you, so I think one of the strengths this brings is it makes people show who they truly are due to them expressing their morals, values, and beliefs while taking a stance on an issue. Now, with speaking up against something considered normal, there can come conflict that could potentially lead to a bigger problem, which would show that their are weaknesses that come out because of this.
I think that people taking care of themselves and not letting others tell them what to do or what to believe is something I would agree with when it comes to transcendentalism. I don't like people telling me how to think or what is considered okay and what is not, so it is nice to know that others have those opinions too. On that note, sometimes there are situations where I would rather follow along with what has always been done. I feel there are times were it is not worth the effort to "rebel" and find I would rather stick with the norm. This doesn't mean I would stick with something I feel is morally wrong, it simply means I'd rather take a step back in situations where the outcome wouldn't drastically change depending on which way I went with it.
In the end, I wouldn't consider myself that much of a transcendentalist, which I don't find to be a bad thing. I am not one to express my opinion in such a way that would create conflict, so I wouldn't put myself out there as much as others might. I like to take into consideration how other people feel on an idea before I just take off with my own, which I think goes against what transcendentalism is. Just because I am not as outward with my opinions as others doesn't make me any less of a leader per say, it simply means I take a different type of tone when going about certain things.
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
The Great Gatsby Follow-Up
While reading The Great Gatsby, I found the text to be rather boring and dull due to the fact that I couldn't get fully engaged, but when the movie began, the characters came to life with the help of the colors and music. In class, we would take the text to an entire different level and discuss what little details could somehow make up something totally different; yet, were somehow very rational depictions. During this time, it was hard for me to understand how we were coming to this conclusions, so being able to see the characters come to life with the use different color schemes was rather helpful.
Not only was I able to relate how the colors represented something deeper- something we had discussed in class- but I was able to see first hand how characters were depicted from the actual text. For example, Daisy had blond hair, was rather small, and wore outfits that weren't over the top, but gave us insight about who she was and where she came from. In other words, she was rather innocent looking, which I wouldn't have necessarily thought of from the book due to her indiscretions, but really, from the film, I could see that she wanted to please everyone, which was near impossible. The difficulty of that task was eventually what broke her in the end and I was able to visually see this when it was acted out in front of me.
The music also added an entire different level to my opinion on the book. Not only did I recognize the music because it was so up to date, it was transformed in such a way that made what was being acted out all the more exciting. It changed the way I had pictured scenes from the book in my head, which made me appreciate the actual text a little bit more. An example of this was the shirt scene with Gatsby and Daisy. During an activity, one question was why do you think that Daisy cried during that scene and could it represent something deeper? The music during this scene made me realize that Daisy was in fact happy for most of the time, and then when the music came to an end, I could see that her emotions were changing, which visually helped me.
Not only was I able to relate how the colors represented something deeper- something we had discussed in class- but I was able to see first hand how characters were depicted from the actual text. For example, Daisy had blond hair, was rather small, and wore outfits that weren't over the top, but gave us insight about who she was and where she came from. In other words, she was rather innocent looking, which I wouldn't have necessarily thought of from the book due to her indiscretions, but really, from the film, I could see that she wanted to please everyone, which was near impossible. The difficulty of that task was eventually what broke her in the end and I was able to visually see this when it was acted out in front of me.
The music also added an entire different level to my opinion on the book. Not only did I recognize the music because it was so up to date, it was transformed in such a way that made what was being acted out all the more exciting. It changed the way I had pictured scenes from the book in my head, which made me appreciate the actual text a little bit more. An example of this was the shirt scene with Gatsby and Daisy. During an activity, one question was why do you think that Daisy cried during that scene and could it represent something deeper? The music during this scene made me realize that Daisy was in fact happy for most of the time, and then when the music came to an end, I could see that her emotions were changing, which visually helped me.
Monday, January 26, 2015
Bowling for Columbine
Since 2002, I don't think that our culture and values have changed all that much. And if they were to be any different, I would say that it hasn't changed for the better. Americans are instilled with a certain fear where we expect the worse to happen and that is rarely the case. Yes, there have been numerous tragedies that have occurred, but the likelihood of something happening like that to daily, eventually to everyone, is very slim. Throughout the past decade, crime rates have gone down; yet, the fear of crime has gone up. How does that work? Like Michael Moore said, "people with this much fear should have such easy access to guns and ammo." Why? Because what is truly to fear?
Why are we so fearful of the unknown? Because society has such a strong influence on the people around them. Whether or not you believe that the media affects how you go about your daily life, in the end, it does in fact impact everyone. We are told what is right and what is wrong. We are told who is normal and who is different from the rest of us. We are told what social status is acceptable and what social status is not. Culture and values can change depending on where you are from, but overall how different can they really be when everyone witnesses what is going on in the country they call home.
The documentary showed us that everyone is affected by tragedies in a certain way and everyone has their own way of dealing with them. Nearly everyone interviewed in the documentary believed that gun control doesn't have to be strictly regulated and it is okay, even encouraged, to keep a loaded gun near you at all times. Is that the way to go about your fears though? Who is to say they have the right answer to this question? No one. In the end, people are going to do whatever they need to do in order to feel safe. When it comes down to it, they will protect themselves before anyone else.
Why are we so fearful of the unknown? Because society has such a strong influence on the people around them. Whether or not you believe that the media affects how you go about your daily life, in the end, it does in fact impact everyone. We are told what is right and what is wrong. We are told who is normal and who is different from the rest of us. We are told what social status is acceptable and what social status is not. Culture and values can change depending on where you are from, but overall how different can they really be when everyone witnesses what is going on in the country they call home.
The documentary showed us that everyone is affected by tragedies in a certain way and everyone has their own way of dealing with them. Nearly everyone interviewed in the documentary believed that gun control doesn't have to be strictly regulated and it is okay, even encouraged, to keep a loaded gun near you at all times. Is that the way to go about your fears though? Who is to say they have the right answer to this question? No one. In the end, people are going to do whatever they need to do in order to feel safe. When it comes down to it, they will protect themselves before anyone else.
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