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jad110 · 3 years

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Jane Doe

I would like to introduce you to a new superhero, Jane Doe. She grew up like any other girl in New York City. Jane is a street and book smart young girl who is kind to all. Well except the part when she was a part of an underground experiment. She does not know her real name and they gave her the name Jane Doe at the hospital when they finally saved her from her captor. Let’s back up a little bit. Jane was born in Manhattan, New York, the city of dreams, by her parents Lynn and Michael Newport on July 11, 1999. Although her parents were not very interested in keeping the baby so she was put up for adoption. Unfortunately, she was never adopted into a home with a family to love her. Instead, she bounced from foster home to foster home for years until she turned 18. Some were great people but some were the worst people she has met. There were the ones that fostered just for the money with minimal care for the children like Shelia Gallagher. Then there were the ones with pristine homes with many valuables and a lot of money. The gay couple who took her in when she was 10 was so nice but they thought she was stealing their possessions and kicked her out. She has been placed in 10 different homes her whole life. She never knew her real family or her history. She never felt that she belonged anywhere. This was very hard for her growing up not having any stability or anyone that she felt that she could trust.

Jane had been living with a foster family for a while but life changed in a blink of an eye. She was placed in a home when she was 15. The man in charge of the home’s name was Dr. Franklin Murphy. He was a very irresponsible and terrible person. He would take in many children of teenage age and perform experiments on them. Unfortunately due to overcrowding in the foster care system, his treatment of children went unnoticed in many cases. When Jane was 15 she was taken out of her old home with Old Lady Beatrice because she passes away in her sleep one night. She was a great foster parent well more like a grandparent to Jane. She would make her delicious food and love her unconditionally. She was then placed with The Doctor...and Jane’s world was flipped upside down. The Doctor has a devious ideology. He was once a very knowledgeable brain surgeon who operated and performed miracles on people every day. But soon he took the job too far. He started to perform unorthodox surgeries. Performing surgeries without authorization or compliance. He was fired from his work but that did not stop him from completing his experiments. He purchased an old foreclosed hospital to do this. He would prowl the streets looking for people to perform his surgeries on and kidnap them. His surgeries included injecting a person’s brain with a concoction he made in his lab that was supposed to make a person extremely intelligent and have hyperactive senses.

Many of his experiments turned south very fast. Injecting into a person’s brain with a foreign liquid is never going to work when trying to change the makeup of a person. He had many failed experiments and the people fatally die from them. But The Doctor made advances in his testing and found the problem with the experiments. He was choosing just anyone he could find. He needed someone that already had those features that could be enhanced. When Jane was randomly placed in The Doctor’s home he knew that she was the right person to experiment on. She fit the criteria that he had been looking for for the last 3 years. She just was delivered to him in a government-issued Toyota Camry. At first, he was a great host. He had enough money to make dinner every night and a hot shower. This was enough for Jane. she figured she would stay there until she was forced out or old enough to live on her own I mean she only had 2 more years in the system. After the first year, his demeanor changed from the loving caretaker to an evil scientist. There were 3 other children under The Doctor’s care during this time and Jane was trying to protect them when she found out what he was. She walked in on The Doctor injecting Molly her foster sister in the brain. She was so freaked out and did not know what to do. She jumped him and threw the needle to the ground. They tried to run but The Doctor caught up to them fast. He captured Jane and held her against her will. She was tied down to an operating table. He said to her, “I guess it is your time to shine. Tenth time the charm.” She freaked out and was squirmed all over the place. This was no use when The Doctor started sedation. He begins his procedure and cuts open her scalp. He then begins to inject her and empties the syringe into her brain. He does this and weirdly throws his head back with an evil laugh… evil scientist… get it. Okay moving on, he treats he post-operation. She was unconscious for three days after the operation. She woke up on the third night alone in a hospital bed. She thought that the police had rescued her from The Doctor. Unfortunately, this was not the case, she realized that she was still under the roof of The Doctor still. She was so disoriented but realized this would be the only time that she would be able to escape and getaway. She ripped the IV out of her arm and ran out of the room searching for an exit. She remembered the other children under his care and ran toward them and finally got free.

She walked out of the door with the two other children and began yelling for help. Finally, she makes it to a local hospital… a real hospital. She is frantic and has two younger children with her. They can not get any answers to what happened to them because she becomes unconscious after the first question… “What’s your name?” She was unconscious for six weeks before she woke up. And when she does she can not remember anything and all the children that were with The Doctor were already gone and in different foster homes. No memories of her past or even her name. In the hospital, they called her Jane Doe which a name that is given to an unknown person in care. She was 18 years old now and out of the system. After getting out of the hospital Jane just did not feel right and did not have anywhere to go. She found her feet and got a waitress and rents a small apartment in the lower end of NYC. She began to feel some differences in her body and how she feels. Suddenly her mind seems to always be working, she can hear people coming from miles away and can run faster than a cheetah. She was so scared and confused she did not tell anyone. One day Jane is walking to her job and she sees a man stealing a car. She runs up to him and punches him and he flies ten feet. She is so horrified by herself and what has happened she runs over to the police station and reports what happened. They arrest her and she is questioned by two men in suits. They ask her a bunch of questions about herself and her abilities. She was reluctant to tell them because she did not want to end up in the lab being tested like a rat. They assure her that life can be normal for her but they need to know for the safety of herself and others. She tells them. They urge her to join them. The SOA (Superheroes Of America). She decides that this may be where she belongs finally and having a real family. She went from having nothing to actually having people who care about her. Jane meets a girl named Dawn Love and a boy named Lincoln Forest who had become like siblings to her. She also under the care of a well-known superhero Captain America. At the SOA they are taught to control their abilities and how to use them for good. She learns a lot about herself and is finally happy. She works together with the SOA to help with a crime in the city. She is able to help people with her abilities. Soon she is called Blaze Jane. She is the hero of the city that they did not know they wanted or needed. She is smart and compassionate of all at 21 years old. She advocates for the underdog. All her life she was an underdog and decided it was time for the underdog to live the life they want. She began working with children in the foster care system. She volunteers her time and efforts to these children helping them have a better life. She hopes that foster homes are not bad places for the children. She is successful in helping the people of the city and saving the lives of those in need. Blaze Jane and goals are to lower the need for superheroes in the city but always being ready when one is needed.

In terms of other superheroes, I think that Jane is like Deadpool because he also underwent a medical procedure that changed him and gave him his powers. He also is looking out for the underdog. In terms of her personality, I think that Jane is similar to Captain America. He is always wanting to do the right thing with the law and the thought of other people’s feelings in mind. Captain America mentored Jane and taught her everything she knows about being a superhero. She looks up to him as a father figure. After not having anyone to be the person to look up to she finally found a person. Blaze Jane is still alive today and is thriving in her new environment. She has made a name for herself in the community and wants people to believe in kindness and safety. She has gotten tested by the doctors and specialists at SOA. They have been trying to find out what happened to her and more about her past. She wants to understand why the experiment worked on her and how it was able to change her life forever. When the SOA was able to track down The Doctor he would not tell them anything about the experiment. He wanted to see Jane. He wanted to see his prodigy. Jane talks to him and begs him for answers. He tells her that he injected her with a cell enhancement drug. He actually said that he never thought that his experiments would succeed until Jane… he then also says that after her he injected five more of his foster children. And two were in a vegetative state but three of them also developed abilities just like Jane. He still had the three children with abilities in his care so they were taken in by the SOA. The Doctor was taken and put into the custody of the SOA and was never released. Jane also was able to dive into the history of her parents. She learned that her parents Lynn and Michael Newport were people she did not want to know anyway. They were people that did not care for the world as Jane did. Her father was an alcoholic and an addict and her mother was a foreign immigrant who moved back to Italy. Jane actually went out to Italy to find her mother but when she found her Lynn denied being her mother at all. These people hurt Jane when they gave her up as a child and were a disappointment when she found out about them. For many years Jane did not have anyone no family and no love. She finally had a family in the SOA and people that care about her. Her goal in life and in being a superhero is to make the world a better place. Even though her powers are physical she also has developed intelligence and a higher understanding of others.

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jad110 · 3 years

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Violence in Media Movie Review: Irreversible

There is so much violence in media today. Violence is spread across the screens of many homes that it has become the usual and become accustomed to the actions on the screen. In the film “Irreversible” there is no question of violence and cruelty. This film is a 2002 French romance/crime film directed by Gaspar Noe. This film depicts extreme violence in very specific scenes. This film is told in a very interesting way, the watcher gets the story in reverse order. This has been done in the past by other directors like “Memento” (2000) directed by Christopher Nolan. “Irreversible” is said to have been very controversial when it was released. Many critics say that people were so horrified by the film that they walked out of the theater unable to continue watching. This is believable because the film shows very violent pictures. Despite this, I think that the film brings the viewer into the eyes of extreme revenge and anger.

To be honest I was pretty confused at the beginning of this film. The film begins with the closing credits running down the screen. I was like “What’s going on?” “Did I skip the movie on accident?” But then realized how the movie was set up. This way of filming makes the watcher very intrigued and interested in the film and story. Usually, films will give the watcher a story in chronological order which allows the viewer to understand the plot better. Gasper Noe tells the story of a woman, Alex (Monica Bellucci) who is sexually and physically assaulted, and the two men, Marcus and Pierre (Vincent Cassel, and Albert Dupontel) who are avenging her assault. The film starts off with the camera spinning in circles and feels unsteady for the first thirty minutes. I believe that Gasper Noe does this in order to show the viewer the disorientation that Marcus and Pierre were going through during this search for La Tenia in the gay S&M club, The Rectum. This made me feel disorientated. In this scene, the two men are searching the club that is filled with naked men and it is dark and they are ever unsure of who they are looking for. The men find a man who they believe is La Tenia and get into a fight with him. The man breaks Marcus’s arm and begins to try and rape him. Before doing so Pierre begins to start beating him in the head with a fire extinguisher. This is the beginning of the violence in this film. The man at the end of the beating is unrecognizable (22:10-24:02). Although the viewer does not know why this man is being beat and is confused about this situation. This scene was hard for me to watch as the man’s face is more and more damaged. The viewer then gets the story of what happened up to that point. They see a commotion and suddenly their life was changed when they see a beaten Alex on a stretcher (39:30-40:55). They begin searching for answers to what had happened to Alex and who was responsible for the assault in order to get revenge.

Cutting then to Alex walking alone at night and takes the “safer” route through the tunnel. Unfortunately, it was not safer for her. La Tenia was in the tunnel with a working girl having an argument. Alex witnesses this and is then a victim of a horrible crime. This scene is the most horrific and violent scene in the film. There are ten minutes...yes ten minutes showing Alex being assaulted. I am not sure why Gasper Noe wanted to include this other than to show the gruesome truth of rape and sexual assault. The scene is meant to make the viewer feel uncomfortable and shows the amount of violence involved in sexual attacks. The scene shows La Tenia holding Alex down and raping her and holding her mouth shut. The camera does not move off of Alex forcing the viewer to watch for what felt like an eternity. After the sexual assault, La Tenia brutally beats Alex until she is unrecognizable (43:38-53:48). This scene reminds everyone that in the United States alone approximately 1 in 5 women have reported that they were the victim of sexual assault. At the party, we see the actions of a careless boyfriend who does not care much for his girlfriend’s feelings. He is drunk, on drugs, and making advances at other women. This makes him not liked in my book. First, his girlfriend is assaulted and then we find out what his actions were during that evening (54:11-58:11). Throughout the night Alex dances and is having fun then she decided to go home because she was unhappy with the way Marcus was acting. She is offered an accompany home by both men. In my head, I was screaming for her to take the company as the viewer knows what has happened to her. The conversation before the party was all talk about sex, relationships, and slight jealousy. The viewer finds out that Marcus is Alex’s current lover while Pierre is one of Alex’s ex-lovers and still good friends. We learn the dynamics of this trio relationship.

The last scene is showing the real relationship between Marcus and Alex. Marcus acted like a jerk at the party but just hours before Alex and Marcus were cuddling naked in bed very contently. I think that this shows who he really was when he was with Alex. They talk about their relationship and can not keep their hands off each other in love. She gets dressed in a silky short dress that does not shy of her good body and beauty. We learn that Alex is pregnant which makes her attack all that more brutal. She mentions that she might be pregnant to Marcus but never confirms that she really was (1:26:35-1:30:20). This is heartbreaking that Marcus was never told about this and with the attack that she endured, I do not think the pregnancy would be successful.

If this story was told in chronological order we would see a happy couple who is expecting a child go to a party with one of their friends. They dance and have fun until Marcus takes fun to another level getting drunk and high and advancing with other women. Then tragedy hits and Alex walks home alone that night and is assaulted and raped. Then we would see the story of revenge of the two men around the city. Until finally the men end up in the S&M club beating who they think is La Tenia. The audience gets this in reverse order which gives them less information until the last minute of the film. The way that Gasper Noe delivers this film makes the viewer more focused on the beginning scenes of the film and allows them to think more about them.

If I were to review “Irreversible” I would give it three and a half stars out of five. I think that the film gives an interesting point of view with the film being in reverse order. This did confuse me a little at the beginning of the film but then after the first scenes, I understood and enjoyed the film. I also think that the way the camera is manipulated in some scenes. The way the camera moves like someone is holding it in their hands makes the viewer feel like they are watching a home movie. The characters in this film also portray their character’s personalities. The portrayal of cinematography and the way that the film was edited were very well presented. I think that the name of the film “Irreversible” is a element that shows that once actions occur they are irreversible. The actions that happened to Alex will change her forever and are irreversible. TIME RUINS EVERYTHING was on the screen in the end. I think that this is a flashback to the story because time did ruin Alex, Marcus, and Pierre. They had the lives ruined in one day.

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jad110 · 3 years

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LGBTQ and BIPOC in Media Blog #3

In this unit, we watched five films that involve LGBTQ and BIOPIC themes. I believe that these films can be considered “Queer” style films. In my opinion, a film can be considered “queer” when it shows the challenges and hardships of the LGBTQ community. The representation of characters in the community through a stylistic or aesthetic approach. Each of these films shows different LGBTQ stories that present differently. Queer films involve unique editing and other visual details to show the characters. These different elements help show the audience the message and represent the LGBTQ community. I believe that in “queer” style films there is a lot of emphasis on nature and natural beauty. In “Brokeback Mountain” the setting for the majority of the film is in the beautiful mountains surrounded by wildlife and greens. “Call Me By Your Name” takes place in the beautiful countryside of Italy with natural lakes and lots of trees with colorful flowers and fruits. The environment in “Moonlight” shows how rough life can be but also how beauty can be revealed. “Mysterious Skin” and “Boy’s Don’t Cry” show the beauty in a small town with secrets. Truthfully, I have never seen any of these films and probably would never pick out these films to watch, but I enjoyed all of them in different ways.

Queer-style stories show challenges and breakthroughs of who you really are. The film “Moonlight” is an excellent movie and I think that it represents the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) very well. This movie had a full cast of POC. This movie shows the struggle that Chiron, a quiet black kid who had a very troubling life. Throughout Chiron’s life, he had been bullied and neglected by his parents. Chiron ran away from his bullies right into Juan’s life. ( 3:50-5:40). Juan is a local honest man who also happens to be a drug dealer. This film showed the emotional trauma that many black men go through. Black men are expected to be tough and not very sensitive. Because Chiron was smaller than the other kids and quiet he made for a target for other kids in his town. I believe that Chiron’s race had a big impact on his coming out and how he found his identity. “Moonlight” included many images that are cinematography beautiful and have a queer style to them. Including when Kevin and Chiron find each other together at the beach at night (49:15-56:20). In this scene under the moonlight on the beach, Chiron and Kevin share an intimate experience and were able to show each other their identities. The editing during this scene gives the watcher a mix of nature and touch. Many people who are LGBTQ have trouble finding their identity growing up. I feel that his story is like many others especially for people of color. I feel that these people are less accepted by the public and family.

“Boy’s Don’t Cry” and “Moonlight” share the struggles of finding your masculinity and self-expression. Although Brandon did not have to worry about race expression he did have to worry about gender expression like Chiron. Brandon Teena identified as a male but did not want to tell his new group of friends who treated him as one of their own. Brandon tries to conform to the social norms of how men are supposed to act and look. Specifically, Brandon changed how his body looked in order for it to look more masculine. He taped up his breasts and adds socks to his underwear (31:45-32:21). Unfortunately, things are not allowed as we plan them. Brandon and Lana fall of each other and begin a romantic relationship. When Tom and John find out that Brandon is not biologically male they turn to extreme violence and torture. They exposed his female part to Lana and everyone as a form of torture then they brought him to an abandoned parking lot where they beat and raped him. This action was to disintegrate Brandon’s gender as a male and his identity (1:22:10-1:30:18). The way the visual elements were displayed the watcher really feels for Brandon and allows the watcher to think twice about how we treat people in the LGBTQ community.

“Brokeback Mountain” shared a powerful movie about lovers who did not take their chance for one another. This film showed the way nature will show someone’s true nature. Ennis and Jack worked together for the summer and formed an unexpected relationship. Neither man identified as LGBTQ when they both say that they are not “queer” but formed a love for the other man. They had a bond that they could not explain and that they have never felt before. Even four-plus years later they shared the same feel like the beginning of their relationship. In the end, Jack had died and when Ennis finds out he is completely heartbroken. They had talked about living together and starting a farm but never did because of the time and how the LGBTQ people were treated. Ennis recalls a story to Jack about his dad showing him what happened to a gay man who was beaten and mutilated (1:11:22-1:12:25). Ennis was shown by his father the consequences of being gay and what would happen if he were to be gay. Later when Jack had died his wife says that there was an accident when Jack was changing a tire. Although we see that Jack was a victim of a hate crime just like the man Ennis’s father showed him. Beaten and mutilated to death (1:53:02-1:55:13). I believe that the treatment that Jack went through is similar to Brandon in “Boy’s Don’t Cry.” Both men were killed by people who discriminated against people of the LGBTQ community and the people in it. They were killed as a hate crime to show a message. This way of presenting films shows the gruesome truth of how some LGBTQ are treated.

“Call Me By Your Name” shows a beautiful relationship between two men that blossoms over the summer in Italy. Elio and Oliver both have trouble speaking up about their feelings. Elio is a young teenager and has not experienced love like how he feels for Oliver. Oliver is not sure that Elio likes him at all. Once they both knew about their feelings for one another they only had a number of days left (2:06:33-2:07:00). They had a very special relationship where they were they were closer than regular friends, more intimate than loves, and have a bond that will change their lives forever. These men were also not characterized as gay in the film. This movie is what I would think about when talking about a “queer” style. The way the characters are represented and the scenery made them seem “perfect”. This movie shows the perfect scenario even though they do not end up together. Their lives were pretty perfect and unattainable. I enjoyed the movie because of the story but in terms of realism, it does not feel like it. In the film, they shared a lot of passion. On their first night together the camera shows the bed they share and then moves outside onto the trees swaying in the summer night. All their passion is surrounded by nature.

“Mysterious Skin” shows how sexual abuse at a young age can change a person drastically. The coach of a little league took advantage of at least two of his young players, Brian and Neil. Because the boys were so young and not able to really understand the extent of what had happened to them. Neil was abused for a whole summer and believed that his coach actually loved him and thought he was special. He says ”No one ever made me feel that way before or since. I was special.”... “Yeah, but he really loved me. I mean, there were other kids sometimes, but I was his prize.”(1:11:24-1:11:49) He believed that Coach loved him and what he felt during the abuse was the peak of love. I think his willingness to subject himself to abuse in his adult years shows how the abuse followed him. His coach was a father figure in his life and because of this, he grew the compulsion of pleasing older men. He had been “groomed” by his abuser. While Brian was abused by his coach twice but he “blacked out” both times and configures the story of being abducted by aliens. I believe that he came up with this story in order to protect his own mind. Unfortunately, his mind caught up with him and started showing him a different story. He needed answers but only could get them from Neil. I think that this story does not relate to the other films because of the molestation and different consequences.

I feel that many people learn about sexuality and gender from media and films. Films give people different perspectives and learn more about what people are feeling. Although it is good for the representation of the LGBTQ community in films, it is also important for the representation to be correct and accurate. Watching films in Hollywood can influence the minds of young people. More and more shows and movies include someone of the LGBTQ community. The inclusion of them allows more people to be educated.

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jad110 · 3 years

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Mental Health in Media Blog #2

In this assignment, we watched five films that showed the way a mental illness can affect the way a person lives their life. The characters in these films portray many different types of mental illness and the different ways of copping. In media mental illness has been a topic that is experiencing more and more attention as it has become an important topic in the everyday lives of people across the world. In the film “Black Swan” the main character Nina is experiencing a Psychological break in which she can not differentiate reality from imagination. She obsesses over perfecting her dance to a point of insanity. In the amazing film “Parasite” the watcher follows the Kim family sneak their way into the lives of the Parks, learning all of the secrets and past of the home. I enjoyed the endings of both of these films as they allow the watcher to interpret them how they see them.

In the film “Black Swan” we are getting a first-hand look at Nina going through her psychotic break. Throughout the film, the watcher is unable to know which scenes have actually occurred due to her skewed look at reality. In her final break, she is told she will not be able to dance by her mother. She becomes enraged and demands that she dance. All the while she is suffering from hallucinations and believes that she has gotten into a physical altercation with Lily. she believes that she has stabbed her fellow dancer and stuffs her in the bathroom to finish her dance. She performs beautifully and I believe that this heinous act gave her the power of the Black Swan and allowed her to dance better than she has ever done in the past. After performing and going back to her dressing room she realizes that she did not stab Lily but rather she had stabbed herself in the stomach. She then was able to realize that she was her own worst enemy and caused the majority of her own pain. Realizing that this would be her last dance and she would suffer the same as the white swan, she goes out and performs. Nina danced the piece beautifully but when she jumps off the “cliff” she begins to bleed out. Thomas comes over and confronts the injury and calls her his little princess as he once called Beth. In the end, Nina says, “I felt it. Perfect. I was Perfect,” then it goes dark allowing the water to believe that she had passed away. At the end of the film, I believe that Nina was living out the story of Swan Lake. I believe that when Nina smashed the mirror in her dressing room it symbolized her freedom. Every time she looked in the mirror she saw a dark version of herself and now that the mirror was broken she did not have to see this dark part of herself. Although in the end, Nina needed this darkness in order for her performance to be perfect just like she wanted. I liked the ending of this film because it really showed how perfection is a disease and it can push people off the edge and hurt their mental health. In every story, I root for the main character and want them to succeed in their story. I, of course, did not want Nina to die but I think it helps the story become more intense and emphasizes the problem with mental health, and connects it with media.

In the film, “Parasite” the end shows the watcher that hope is a very dangerous parasite for people. The Kim family is seen as a parasite to the Park family. They snuck their ways into their lives one by one working hard to keep this a secret. I believe that this ending is kind of open to the interpretation of the viewer. In the end, the Kim family was only Ki-woo and Mun-Kwang left because Ki-Jung has passed away and Ki-taek had disappeared. Ki-woo would sit at the mountainside and watch the old Park family house and imagine living in it. He watches as life there continues even after the Park family moves away. He quickly realizes that his father has been hiding out in the secret bunker under the home. There will always be another rich family to live in the luxurious mansion while another poor family to live in a position beneath them. The end is narrated by Ki-woo writing a letter saying that he has a plan to go to college and get a job and make a lot more money. He will make so much money he will buy the house and all he will have to do is walk up the stairs into his own home. In this case, Ki-woo is delusional, unfortunately. He is way out of touch with reality and unable to realize that he will probably never have enough money to own that home even if he goes to school. Hope he is a parasite because he has such a need for success and comfort financially he would try anything. His emotions creep up on him and will suck him dry just like a parasite. At the end of this film, we see Ki-taek living out the rest of his life in the basement of the mansion because he is a wanted man. But we also see the rest of the Kim family back in their old home suck in their economic problems. This shows how hard it is in many places for economic and social mobility. Looking at the movie from a different point of view of the Park family being the parasite. They are parasites who take from the lower class and give little to nothing back. They do not concern themselves to think about the lives of the lower class. For example when the rain flooded the slums and lower class people were forced to pile into a gym and sleep on the floors the Parks were planning an extravagant party. I believe that this film shows the differences between the upper and lower classes and how they are very different from each other. Again I want the main characters to succeed like the Kim family but i believe the twist ending gives it a more believable and interesting film.

These two films are very different from each other but both show the lives of people who are struggling with their identities. Both of the endings to the films have the ability for the watchers to interpreted it. The “Black Swan” allows us to see how Nina is thinking and feeling. The end shows that perfect is dangerous and needing it drove her over the edge. “Parasite” shows us that wanting something you can not have can form an obsession and it can end deadly. I was satisfied with both of the ends I think that it tied the films altogether and gave it an ending you can not forget.

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jad110 · 3 years

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Blog post #1

The character that I would identify with most is Kat in Euphoria. I like her story in the show and believe that in some ways I see myself in her. She is a body-conscious teen who is looking to change her reputation going into the next year of high school. Throughout her years growing up Kat has noticed that she is larger than her friends and should be more careful with what she eats. I am also a mid-sized girl and growing up it was hard to see other young girls have different body types than me. Kat was very self-conscious about her looks and this caused her to push back on the idea of finding love or having a boyfriend. This is something that I still struggle with. I sometimes think of myself as ugly or too fat for someone to like me. After a sexual experience, she has leaked online and gains attention from men she then gains confidence that men could find her attractive. When I entered high school I began to have some more confidence than I did growing up. She begins to have newfound confidence from this male attention. She then has a new persona almost.

Three common themes that are represented in these stories are problems with drugs and alcohol, sexual representation, and living up to society's standards. We see problems with drug use in Euphoria and Mid 90s.In Euphoria we follow the story of Rue, a recovering teenage drug addict. She has just finished rehab and comes back to go to school and is not planning to stay sober. In this season we follow her through the ups and downs of addiction and her love life. I enjoy this series because it shows the truth about drug addiction in teenage years and the dangers of being exposed at young ages to drugs. Unfortunately for Rue, she suffers from multiple mental illnesses. In the show, we learn that Rue suffers from bipolar disorder which is made worse when she is clean. In this show we also see other people using drugs casually, at parties and the carnival. In the show the Mid 90s we see a young boy named Stevie find himself a group of friends to hang out with for the summer. Stevie lives with his neglectful mother and abusive older brother. He follows the group around and learns to skateboard and has friends. In a matter of a couple of months, Stevie had learned to smoke marijuana, get drunk, fight others, and use racist and homophobic slurs. He also had a sexual experience with an older girl. In the movie we see the character “Fuckshit” become only interested in getting high and drunk. He ultimately drunk drives with all the other guys in the car. He is swerving on the road and flips the car onto Stevie’s side of the car and he is injured badly. He was affected by the drugs and alcohol that “Fuckshit” had taken. I think that these stories show that drugs and alcohol affect everyone involved with the people that are taking them.

Sexual representation is present in all of these stories. Euphoria shows the ups and downs of relationships and how sex is prevalent in relationships. The relationship between Maddie and Nate is a very interesting one. In this relationship, we see physical and emotional abuse. In KIDS we follow around Telly who is obsessed with having sex with as many virgins as he can by the end of the summer. We learn from Jenny that he is HIV positive and infecting different young girls. This type of sexual representation is almost menacing from Telly. In The Breakfast Club, the group of students often come back to the topic of sex and whether or not the students are virgins or not. The standards of average high school students and whether or not they have had sex or not seems to be important to each of them.

During this time in a young person's life, all you want to do is to live up to the expectations that are expected of a young person. This includes being a good child to their parents, being a good student in school, being popular, being nice, and so much more. In each of these, there are different expectations but each character wants to live up to them. I believe that these themes are prevalent throughout an adolescent’s life. In my life, I have seen multiple people who have graduated a couple of years above me overdose on drugs and die from them. It is hard to hear about this because they live in the same town, frequenting the same places, graduating from the same high school, and they had to deal with this addiction. There is a lot of pressure dealing with sex and how to represent yourself. In this day and age being a girl and dealing with this is even harder. Many girls believe that they need to have sex by a certain age to be “cool” or to be a “woman”. This definitely affected me and when I had a boyfriend at a young age and I did not feel comfortable but did it anyway. In society, women are seen as objects and this affects a girl and her image of sex. In media, sex is seen as something that everyone does. Societies standards for how someone acts and dresses have affected many girls on how they perceive themselves. I have felt this first hand. In the media, many models and social media influencers are skinny “perfect” girls that do not reflect my body type. It is hard to love yourself when the perfect image does not look like you at all.

I believe that the soundtrack of a film or show is important because it tells the person watching how you should feel at that moment. They will play loud intense music when it is a serious scene or an upbeat happy song when it is supposed to be happy. The soundtrack also can help the audience become more engaged and willing to watch. Music can change how a scene is portrayed by the audience as well. The songs that I have chosen that define my adolescent age are many that I had listened to as a young girl and some more recently have listened to. Many of these songs remind me of a specific time or memory growing up. The first song is “Teenage Dirtbag” by Wheatus. This song speaks a lot about growing up and being different from a lot of the people around you and rather than fitting to the norm, you stand out. “The Middle” by Jimmy Eat World is another song about being yourself and not worrying about others’ thoughts. This song is very comforting to me because it is hard for me to feel as though I belong somewhere. “All The Small Things” by Blink 182 is a song that reminds me of when I used to be babysat and the babysitter used to play Blink 182 the whole time. It kind of reminds me of my youth and growing up. “Our Song” by Taylor Swift was my first favorite song. I used to listen to it so many times and sang it at a talent show. It is a song that reminds me of innocence. “A Place In This World” by Taylor Swift is a song that is about finding your place in the world and how to be successful in that. I was a big Swiftie growing up. “American Boy” by Estelle and Kanye West is another song that reminds me of my childhood. My siblings and I used to sing it and it is very jazzy and catchy. “Nobody’s Perfect” by Hannah Montana was a song that young me needed because I thought that I needed to be perfect but really in reality perfection is not real. “Keep Your Head Up” by Andy Grammer is a song that came out when I was in middle school and it was great to hear that “I am going to turn out fine and to just keep your head up”. I was very hard on myself and needed to hear this from someone. “High School Never Ends” by Bowling For Soup is how I feel during high school and after graduating and learning that in adult life many things are the same. There is always going to be a social ladder and clichés. “Everyone Talks” by Neon Tree is a song that reminds me of high school and life after and people talking about you and gossiping. This song is also very catchy and upbeat.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5iYeanw4wK49RdpewkdMhY?si=3vreHhjzTxubli-AvQ6Bhw

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