Friday, December 6, 2013
The 11th Commandment
Thou Shalt Not Degrade The Likes Of Others.
If offered, I would add an 11th commandment to never allow a man or woman to degrade another. Too often, we are placed in the midst of heartbreak and hurt because of our words and actions. Especially in an age where social controls our lives and we can begin conversation in seconds from behind a screen, we need to be protected from the little. This should not be a law, it should be a commandment from our God. Words hurt and the combination of most all of the seven deadly sins can result into the degrading of another. This commandment would keep those from happening when it comes to affecting other individuals.
Thou shalt not degrade the likes of others.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
My Coloring Box Life Colors
These crayon colors are what comprise me. Begin with music, family and work. Sprinkle in some bluntness and hopeful grammar. Bring in some more music with a hint of laughter and Tootsie Rolls. Read some Lean In with a Chai Tea and you then... Have me!
Welcome to the rainbow of misfit colors.
Monday, November 18, 2013
Silly me. Buy the shirt!
I've cursed every city I've gone to for the past eight years. It all started when I visited Seattle on an annual family vacation when I was barely a teenager, hoping to find some cool souvenir to show off to my friends. I roamed through every store and street car until I finally came across a really cool Seattle Seahawks Tshirt, which would suffice for me. Side note - I grew up loving sports and always watched every game on TV, even as a little girl, so this wasn't weird for me to be this excited to buy a NFL shirt as a souvenir. After the trip to Seattle, I decided I'd make it a "thing" to buy a Tshirt of the major sports team of every city I visit in my annual family vacation. Basketball, football, baseball, basically whatever the city was known for. Well, little did I know that after buying that damned Seahawks Tshirt, I would curse every city I'd walk into for the rest of my life.
That year, shortly after I bought that Tshirt, the Seahawks went to Super Bowl. Cool, right? Well, the Seahawks lost in an embarrassing defeat against the Pittsburg Steelers. That same year I also went to St. Louis to visit some family members. I unfortunately didn't get a shirt that time. Well, good news for the Cardinals, they won the World Series! This would continue to 2012, when I went to San Francisco for the PRSSA National Conference. I shopped around for a shirt, but didn't find one I like. What happened that year? Oh, just the San Francisco giants winning the World Series and the SF 49ers going to the Super Bowl. Ugh.
One - how incredibly weird and creepy is it that every city I went to went to the championship the same year I visited? Two - if I didn't buy their dang Tshirt they'd win a freaking national title? This happened EVERY YEAR. 2006, 2007, 2008, to now. You better believe I've been careful since that trip to Seattle. I'm cursed by a Tshirt. Freaking ridiculous.
Silly me.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Intertextuality Within Across The Universe
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE (2007) - Genre: Film
FOUR HORIZONTAL INTERTEXTUAL CONNECTIONS:
Forest Gump (1994) - Genre: Film
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109830/
Set in the 1960s, Forest Gump and Across The Universe cover some of the same - extremely moving - historical events happening at that time. The Vietnam War as well as the protests surrounding it are two main part in both movies.
Rent (2005) - Genre: Film
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0294870/
In both Rent and Across The Universe, the cast members begin from separate lives and through a series of events, their story lines become one. Diversity of personal, sexual, economical and social statuses play a large role in the eclectic atmosphere each director has set their cast.
Burlesque (2010) - Genre: Film
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1126591/
From a more theatrical perspective, Burlesque shows great resemblance to the numbers in Across The Universe. Further than that, the songs chosen for each film complements the storyline well.
Pink Floyd The Wall (1982) - Genre: Film
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084503/
The Wall and Across The Universe's soundtrack stem from one single musical talent. Completed well before Across The Universe, the director of Pink Floyd The Wall, Alan Parker, began the concept of high production value, musical substance and a pride for art of all kinds.
FOUR VERTICAL INTERTEXTUAL CONNECTIONS:
The Beatles - Genre: Music
Considering the entire soundtrack is composed of reinterpreted covers of their original work, The Beatles are an obvious vertical text of Across The Universe. Using 33 perfectly chosen songs, Director Julie Taymor created the entire film based on the director their songs would take her story. Every song from "Revolution" to "I've Just Seen A Face" (my favorite piece) has a specific reason for their placement and message.
Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix - Genre: Music
Each song and each scene in Across The Universe has meaning to it, just as the characters. In this instance, the characters of Jo-Jo and Sadie are actually a representation of Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. Their relationship of Jo -Jo and Sadie in this movie is reflective of the actual relationship Hendrix and Joplin at the time this is set. They have their ups and downs and fallings outs, then they rise to the top, together. On top of that, they brought their diverse group of misfits and dropouts along with them as stand in parental figures.
Acid Trip - Genre: Hallucinogenic Drug
A tip to watching Across The Universe is to watch for the loopy, colorful, swirled around parts of their journey. Every time you see this, the characters are indulging in LSD, Acid or other kinds of hallucinogenic drug use. Drugs are a big part of this movie as it determines their choices and carries their stories. As a form of relaxation or to think differently, the characters see the world in an acid trip of technicolor.
The Ringling Brothers - Genre: Theater
In another scene begun with drug use, the characters find themselves across the universe at a circus with the resemblance of The Ringling Brothers' shows. Just as The Ringling Brothers marketed their show to be the "world's greatest," the ringmaster medics that same announcement. Just a little preview of the show and you are wishing you could go back in time to experience the Ringling Circus.
TWO PUBLIC TERTIARY TEXTS:
Peter Travers - Film Critic, Rolling Stones
http://m.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/across-the-universe-20071018
"Somehow Taymor blends this story with puppets, 3-D animation, the Columbia student riots, Eddie Izzard as Mr. Kite and Bono finding the LSD beat in "I Am the Walrus." To call it trippy would be an understatement. Your head might explode. Just don't accuse Taymor of playing it safe."
Roger Ebert - Film Critic, RogerEbert.com
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/across-the-universe-2007
"Here is a bold, beautiful, visually enchanting musical where we walk into the theater humming the songs. Julie Taymor's "Across the Universe" is an audacious marriage of cutting-edge visual techniques, heart-warming performances, 1960s history and the Beatles songbook. Sounds like a concept that might be behind its time, but I believe in yesterday."
ONE PERSONAL TERTIARY TEXTS:
BriGuy7783 via IMDb User Reviews
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0445922/reviews
Monday, October 28, 2013
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