2011년 9월 28일 수요일

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest - reflection 1.



I have not finished the story yet, but even so, there were a lot to think about.
At first, the novel was hard to understand because of the unstable nature of the narrator: Chief Bromden. His narratives were mostly confusing but interesting because he showed the story well as an observant mental patient. I could see how Bromden is an unreliable narrator. Sometimes, I forgot how he was a mental patient but Bromden often talks about unreliable contents such as people shrinking or growing.

Once I got over the shock I got from Bromden, I tried to think about the big picture that the author Ken Kesey wanted to paint. As this novel was wrote in 1962, the height of government oppression, I thought that the hospital in the novel is an allusion to the society at that time. Also, the patients and the nurse seemed like normal citizens and powers which tried to oppress them. It was interesting to see that the nurse and the guards were women and African Americans who were considered comparatively week at that time.

Lastly, I noticed how McMurphy was an interesting character inside this novel. Although I have not finished the novel yet, I got the impression that McMurphy was not insane, at least not like the patients confined in the hospital. Maybe that was why he was frustrated when the nurse tried to keep him oppressed just like other patients. Until now his rebellions(?) have been successful, but I wonder whether it would be so in the back of the novel. Oppression and atmosphere might change McMurphy as time goes on.

2011년 9월 22일 목요일

Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption - reflection




After reading the novella and watching the movie, I have felt that hope is one of the most important theme discussed in both of them. Several symbols by Stephen King showed how hope was very important in the story.

Brooks and the library


Andy's library is one of those symbols which suggests hope. Unlike other prisoners who were living passive lives, Andy keeps his hope by several attempts, such as tunneling his way through his concrete wall. One of those is the library which is one of Andy's ambitious plans. Andy tried to change Shawshank into a better place but it seems as if he was becoming institutionalized just like Brooks. However, everything changed when Tommy Williams tried to prove Andy's innocence and gets killed while doing so. This act revived the hope inside Andy and prompted his escape.

Rita Hayworth, along with other women, is the symbol of hope for the prisoners in Shawshank and even more for Andy because he was making a tunnel behind the posters. Rita Hayworth and the tunnel were the reasons for him not getting hopeless as others. The fact that he had a way out of the prison made his prison-life more tolerable.

When I first read the story I did not think much about the rocks that Andy was sculpting. However, apart from the fact that he was able to build a tunnel with the rock hammer, he felt normal because he was pursuing a normal hobby which was not what other prisoners did and thus lacked the hope that Andy had. The rocks were something which connected him with the society and helped him maintain his calm.

Many symbolism in the story have helped the author's message, but I thought that these three have expressed hope particularly well in the novella.

2011년 9월 3일 토요일

Hero's Journey- High School Musical


High School Musical








Group: Wildcats 

Our Film: High School Musical 

Why we chose it: It happens to be the one of the few films that all three of us watched. Jesik is a big fan of this film!!






ACT I 

1. Ordinary World: Before Gabriel transfers to East High 

2. Call to Adventure: the audition 

3. Refusal of the Call: Taylor and Chad want their teammates to focus on their upcoming competitions rather than the musical, so they try to prevent Troy from participating in the audition 

4. Meeting the Mentor: Gabriela helps Troy gain confidence 

5. Crossing the Threshold: Troy realizes his passion for music. 


ACT II 

6. Tests, Allies, Enemies: Chad and the basketball team trick Troy into saying that Gabriella is not important while she watches through computer screen that her science team has set up. 

7. Approach to the Innermost Cave: Gabriella is hurt and she refuses to talk to Troy. Gabriella tells Troy that she has decided not to audition for the musical. 

8. Ordeal: Sharpay convinces Ms. Darbus to change the callback time so the basketball championship and the scholastic decathlon overlaps. 

9. Reward: Troy’s friends feel guilty for what they have done and go to Gabriel to confess. After Chad and the basketball team tell Troy what they did and offer to support him in callbacks, Troy goes to Gabriella's house and they make up. 


ACT III 

10. The Road Back: On the day of the competitions, Taylor and Gabriella use the schools computers to cause a series of mishaps that delay the big game and the decathlon. 

11. Resurrection: Troy and Gabriella makes it to the audition. Troy and Gabriella gets the lead roles. 

12. Return With the Elixir: The entire school gather and celebrate in the gym.