Ahh, that feeling when your English class reads yet another classic by everyone's favorite English playwright, Shakespeare. This year we are reading Othello, which from our small introduction, I believe to be about love, jealously, and racism. Doesn't everybody love those themes. So there are pretty much three main characters, which are Iago, Othello, and Desdemona (Of course there are other important main characters, I just saw these as the most important). So before the book even starts, Othello, a Christian Moor and Venetian general, has eloped with Desdemona, the daughter of the Venetian senator Brabantio. Another person named Roderigo is in love with Desdemona and before the book starts he had Iago try to court her with all his money. And Iago, the book's villain, is Othello's second-hand man, but was passed over for a promotion to lieutenant, so understandably he wants revenge. Okay enough background information, and on to what I really want to talk about: how I see the book in terms of the Pixar movie, Toy Story. So we have Woody as a blend of Iago and Roderigo and Buzz as Othello. Of course, these aren't perfect character matchings, but they work in a way. Iago and Roderigo, like Woody, probably mostly started out as okay people. However through certain events, they became compelled to embrace the road of evil. For Woody, it was being replaced by Buzz by Andy. For Iago, it was being passed over for a promotion, and for Roderigo, it was not getting the person he loved. While it remains to be seen the actions of Iago and Roderigo, Woody certainly showed the extent he would take for revenge, attempting to make Buzz seem lost to Andy so that he would be the favorite toy once again. So Buzz is supposed to be Othello in our crazy Toy Story/Shakespeare mix. Othello in the beginning of the play certainly seems like a hero, honest, well-respected, and of course he's already gotten the girl! Buzz is also honest in a sense, but he is also naive, a trait that I believe will show in Othello later. Buzz is also manipulated by Woody, as he had replaced him as Andy's favorite toy. I get a feeling Iago is most certainly going to manipulate Othello as the book progresses, although for revenge and not necessarily jealously.
So, why are we putting Othello in terms of Toy Story? Well the inner child in me naively hopes that by the end Iago and Othello will make up and be best friends like Buzz and Woody, but of course that probably isn't Shakespeare's style. No, the real reason we put Othello in terms of Toy Story is to see how certain themes, in this case revenge, transcend time and are often altered to suit the prevailing audience of the time. In addition, being able to compare and contrast characters with totally different characters helps us to obtain an understanding of the characters. Their similarities and differences allow us to make certain insights on how we think they will develop and what the plot may have in store for us. -Kevin One of the most universally strongly disliked type of person is one whom we all have known at one point in our lives. It's not the tyrant. Not the hypocrite or the landlord. Not the liar (well perhaps to some degree...). It isn't even the criminal, no. No no, friends. It is someone who can hurt us far worse than that. It is...
The backstabber. Hey there guys. So, in English class, we are currently reading Shakespeare's play Othello. We aren't that far in the play yet, but a lot has already happened (especially before the play even begins). And OF COURSE one of the things that has to happen before the play is that Desdemona runs off and secretly marries Othello, a man who she "traditionally" is not supposed to fall in love with. Do you know what that makes me think of? It makes me remember so many Disney movies that I've watched in my childhood, such as Aladdin, Pocahontas, Tarzan, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Lady and the Tramp, Gnomeo and Juliet, and many more. In all of these movies, the main female character falls in love with a man who is not accepted by either their "people" or by their culture. Either way they are not meant to fall in love according to society. Princess Jasmine, who is meant to marry a wealthy prince, falls in love with Aladdin, a poor boy begging, stealing, and pretty much just living on the streets. Pocahontas, the daughter of the chief, falls in love with one of the European men who invaded their land in order to dig and take the gold from it. Jane falls for an ape-man. Belle and the Beast, who can only be transformed back by finding true love, fall in love as Belle looks towards the inside rather than his appearance. Ariel, a mermaid, and a human end up falling in love. Lady, who lives with a high-class family, falls for, well, a tramp. Finally, Gnomeo and Juliet is an animated version of Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, except for in the end they do not die. (It's a children's movie, they can't have the main characters die.) Why would anyone go through so much trouble for something as silly as LOVE? Well, it's simple. Love seems silly to everyone except for those who experience it. When in love, people are willing to do anything, go against anyone, and even face some fears to be with that one person. It has been said that when in love, nothing else in the world matters to you other than that one significant person. -Post by Kathleen
just a little mood music....I love Cold Play. "Oh and I don't have a soul to save, Yes, and I sin every single day, We never change, do we? We never learned to leave." A favorite quote of mine goes something like this. " Be the change you wish to see in the world."- Gandhi Now this is a lot easier said, ( liked on Facebook/Tumblr/Pinterest, re-blogged, re-tweeted,re-spammed... etc.) than done. Not many people have the time to think up new ideas to help change the world. Even fewer people have the willpower and courage to nurse those ideas for innovation until they become full fruit-bearing trees; it's a rigorous process. I, unfortunately, feel as though I am stuck in that latter category. I have ideas, so many ideas, yet I've failed time and time again to act on them. Do not fear! I don't think I'm a terrible person because I haven't say found the cure for cancer or miraculously de-polluted our oceans overnight. (I'm working on it though.) There are many things which can block and discourage any innovator's project's. One thing that always got me ever since grade school was something I'll name, The Cruella De Vil Hypothesis. Its basically that feeling you get halfway to halfway through your project. When its 3-am and you're having a meltdown and shouting at a wall "WHO THE **** CARES?!?!? THE WORLD IS NEVER GOING TO CHANGE ANYWAYS!!." It is something which I let prevent my ideas from moving forward. But let me clarify my point in regards to the name. In the Disney movie 102 Dalmatians, Cruella De Vil ( the notorious puppy snatcher of 101 Dalmatians also one of my favorite villains) was put in an experimental behavioral therapy institution in order to fix her tendency toward puppy-slaughter. She emerges after some time utterly changed, almost saint-like and holy with her new found love for dogs. It was so nice to think that even Cruella de vil could change her ways. But after some time it became evident that the psychological work the scientists had done to her could be undone as soon as the subject was exposed to the chimes of Big Ben, London. It was something that left me thinking, "If I can't even fix my sleeping habits, what made me think that I could fix the world?" Growing up I was often overwhelmed pondering the sheer amount of people just alive on planet earth- that's about 7 billion people. And the more problem riddled countries happen to be the most densely populated countries too, Asia stealing 4,140,336,501 of the world's population as of 2011 and Africa with a stunning 994,527,534. That was way too many humans for one girl to help. And what was the point? How much would I help anyway? The answer is I don't know, because I have not tried my absolute best yet. I will not be content with being Cruella, who only managed to change herself temporarily. A complete and permanent change is necessary in order for my ideas to manifest themselves completely and successfully. Like the heroes from 102 Dalmatians Kevin Sheppard (who started his own dog shelter in the movie) and Chloe Simon (who granted Cruella parole! what?), I want to believe in the world and believe in my own capacity to help change it. ~ Tina http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/102_Dalmatians
images from Google search. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZSobH1wiiM So the other day my English teacher told our class that we were going to start a project. While you usually think of an English project as something painful, this was substantially different. He told us that together as a class, we would be creating steps that anyone could use to carry an idea from its genesis to it's full realization, which would be called Idea Farming. In thinking about this whole concept of Idea Farming, I came to see the process as a journey. But not any ordinary journey. More specifically, Rapunzel's journey in the Disney movie, Tangled. Rapunzel has been locked up in a tower for nearly 18 years, and really wants to be go see the outside world, but more specifically, these glowing lights that always appear on her birthday. Unfortunately, her so-called "Mother" Gothel prevents her from going outside the tower, claiming the outside world is to dangerous. You can see the resemblance. In a similar way, our society is much like the tower that Rapunzel is trapped in. Whenever we wish to do something new, or explore an idea that hasn't been followed before, we are often told by society's "Mother Gothel"s that it is too dangerous and we should just stick with what has been established and "safe". Or, as Mother Gothel says, "Skip the drama, stay with Mama!" Of course the problem with sticking with what is safe is that we find that our life becomes dull, and repetitive, and as human beings, we are naturally drawn to exploring new things and ideas. We want to begin our lives, as Rapunzel does in her song, "When Will My Life Begin?" Lucky for us, help can come unexpectedly and turn even the most far-fetched of ideas into a reality. Now if only everyone's help could look like this Flynn Rider, unexpectedly makes his way to Rapunzel's tower and persuades her to leave her tower to go see the lights. Now of course, our help isn't always a person. Oftentimes it is a specific situation which creates the opportunity for an idea to grow. Other times, it just the right inspiration from the right source which gives us the drive to start doing. Now to make a beautiful Disney movie short, although you should definitely see the movie anyway, things turn out well for Rapunzel. She gets to see the glowing lights, but even more so, she realizes her true identity and even gets a very attractive husband out of the deal. Easily the best scene of the movie. Rapunzel was able to realize her dream and even more because of one unexpected event which propelled her from a desire to action. In relation to the concept of Idea Farming mentioned in the beginning, the most important portion of the journey from the seed of an idea to the whole farm could be catalyst in some shape or form that causes the first action in turning an idea to reality. Of course, just as important is being open to the existence of a catalyst. After all, a catalyst certainly worked well in Rapunzel's case. And they lived happily ever after. -Kevin
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