jasminecancel

[jasminecancel]

[jasminecancel]

Blog Post #5:  Violent Media &  Its Psychological Effects

Irréversible directed and written by Gaspar Noé is a film following two men named Marcus (Vincent Cassel) and Pierre (Albert Dupontel)  looking for the man that assaulted  Alex (Monica Bellucci) Marcus’s girlfriend and Pierre’s ex. Marcus, Pierre, and Alex all attended a party together then Alex gets annoyed with Marcus because he is high and not acting normal. She leaves the party alone against Pierre's wishes and ends up in a tunnel where she is raped and beaten. Marcus and Pierre find her as she is on a stretcher going to the hospital and then they go and try to find the man who assaulted her because they are out for revenge.  Irréversible is an interesting film because the director chose to have the movie play in reverse, so you see the end of the film at the beginning and see how the characters got to that point. I think the director and writer Gaspar Noé had the film in reverse chronological order because the film is called Irréversible and when you see the film from end to beginning you can see how the character could have made different choices that could have avoided a lot of pain and violence. For example, if Marcus didn’t get high and try to get with other girls and just be with Alex during the party she wouldn’t have left the party alone (54m:44s-1h:06m:19s). But even though the director's choice to show the movie in reverse chronological order was an interesting choice, it also made the film very confusing at the beginning. This is because the movie immediately picks up when all the drama in the film is over and just sees a man on a stretcher and another in handcuffs (8m:27s-10m:00s). I think seeing the movie in reverse chronological order was a great choice by the director because when seeing the film backward I as the audience knew what was going to happen in the film but I couldn’t change it. This film was difficult to watch at some points because of this. I knew what was going to happen to the characters but I also felt like it could have been changed as well. When I watched the film for the first time, at the beginning of the film I was incredibly confused because all I had was questions about what was going on like what happened to these guys, did the man in the handcuffs fight the man on the stretcher and why were they at a place called Rectum.  As a viewer, this film began with a lot of questions that are later answered throughout the film. Once I understood what was going on in the film after watching it a little more. I was able to piece together the story and it helped me enjoy the film a little more. The two main characters of the film Marcus and Pierre are very different throughout the film. Pierre is the calmer of the two and Marcus is a hot head that has blinders on. Marcus wants revenge for what happened to Alex and wants to find the man who did that to her. He is very angry and doesn’t care about what happens to him but Pierre is almost like a voice of reason to Marcus. He is trying very hard to get Marcus to visit Alex in the hospital because he knows that she wouldn’t want Marcus to get hurt or do something worse. But this all changes at the gay club, Rectum, when Pierre jumps into a fight to help Marcus and ends up violently killing the man they’ve been looking for with a fire extinguisher (22m:04s-24m:00s).  With the film being backward it shows these characters at their worst at the beginning of the movie and then they become more light-hearted as the movie continues. Seeing the characters at their lowest point, in the beginning, makes the moments between Alex, Marcus, and Pierre a little more special. Especially the moments at the end of the movie with Alex and Marcus in their apartment together (1h:15m:19s-1h:25m:59s).  This film had a lot of things going on but it was also a sad film. At the end of the movie, it shows Alex taking a pregnancy test which turns out to be positive. But because of the rape and beating that happens later on in the day, it left the audience with questions about the health of the baby and Alex. It also leaves a question on how Marcus will react when he finds out about the pregnancy as well.

I would rate this movie a three out of five stars. This is because for me I thought this movie was very interesting but there were very graphic scenes in the movie. For example the part in the movie where it shows Alex being raped in the tunnel (42m:31s-54m:03s). The way that scene was shot I think made it more graphic because there were no cuts during that scene. It was all one continuous shot. When I was watching the movie that part was the hardest to watch and I had to look away because the scene felt so long and I just wanted the scene to end. I rated the movie a three out of five stars mostly because throughout the movie the camera moves around so much and it was hard to focus on the scene. One example of this would be at the beginning of the movie when Marcus is looking for a man named Tenia in the gay club, Rectum, (12m:27s-21m:56s). It was very hard for me to focus on what was happening in the scene because the camera was moving so much. Other than that the movie was a pretty good movie that had a really interesting style that I liked. The part of the movie that I liked was that it was in reverse chronological order because I never really saw a movie like that before and even though it was confusing at first I thought that it made the story more interesting. Even though it was an interesting story this movie isn’t a film that I would want to watch again.

[jasminecancel]

[jasminecancel]

Blog Post #4: Interview with Samantha

Interviewer: “Hello and welcome to the interview Samatha Baker, how are you doing?”

Samantha: “I'm doing well thank you for having me”

Interviewer: “So let's begin with how this era of #MeToo has affected you?”

Samantha: “To be honest this #MeToo era today is incredibly brave for women to come out against the people who have hurt them. It is incredibly moving to see these women come together like that. Even though I cannot directly relate with these women regarding these matters, I have heard from many people in my life that have gone through something like that. I was in shock when I heard that people I surround myself with have gone through something like this because you just hear all of this stuff in the news and think well nothing like this can happen to someone I love. But hearing these stories from some of my friends and family was very gut-wrenching. But knowing that I have such strong women in my life that have gone through so much in their life is very inspirational. So this era of #MeToo has not affected me directly but it has made me more aware of people's actions not only towards myself but also to my children, family, and friends.”

Interviewer: “During this movement social media has played a huge role, how have you been using social media to help the people who have directly been affected?”

Samantha: “In today's society social media is a big part of life. I remember earlier in life when there wasn’t any social media and just regular phones. God those were the days, it just made things so much easier not having to post and check social media to know what's happening. But social media is also a helpful tool especially right now. I have been posting a lot of articles about the MeToo movement and reposting some women's stories. I think this helps spread more awareness about this problem that women face. Also sharing all these stories that women across the country have experienced just shows that women like me who haven’t experienced something like that realize just how widespread this problem is in society. Social media is an amazing tool that can be used to help so many people around the world and being able to use this tool to help spread awareness about sexual harassment and violence is cool. Social media just makes it easier to spread awareness all around the world and having it allowed for this movement to be as big as it is.”

Interviewer: “What has been the most difficult thing you have faced in your life? It doesn’t have to be related to the #MeToo movement at all.”

Samantha: “I think the most challenging thing I have had to deal with in my life is being a single mother to two children. I was married to Jake Ryan for a long time, ten years in fact. We were very happy, I wanted to be with him since I was sixteen years old and I think after all this time, it just wasn’t the same anymore. We were more like friends than a couple. Me and Jake had an amazing relationship and life, we traveled the world together in our early twenties. We went to Rome, Paris, South Africa, and so many other places. I didn’t think I would be able to travel the world at such a young age, I thought I would be too busy in college and trying to find a job immediately after. But together we were well off and had the freedom to travel. Then later I became a kindergarten teacher and he went into finance. We had two girls together. But when we got divorced it was a very hard time because I just lost the person who I have been with since I was sixteen so I was just a little lost, especially with two little girls. So now being a single mother is very hard because now it is just myself with the girls for the most part and just going to work. Even though Jack still helps out, which I am very grateful for but working all day then to go and pick up the girls and do everything for them, and do it all over again. It is very tiring but I do enjoy every second of it because they are the best thing in my life.”

Interviewer: “You said you had two little girls with your ex-husband Jack. As you watch them grow up, what is the biggest worry you have for them, especially during what is happening right now with this movement we are living through?”

Samantha: “I have many worries for my children like every mother does but right now I hope that they can live in a world where they don’t have to worry about experiencing sexual harassment or violence towards them by anyone. Especially with all that everyone is doing right now so that future generations do not have to deal with this but we won’t ever know if this will help stop harassment or violence towards women for good.  But I can be hopeful for my children's future that I did something to help bring more awareness and helped my children's future no matter how little it was. But these stories that were shared by so many women during this whole movement are very inspirational because it shows women today and future generations that they can get through the trauma and be happy again. That is what I want for my children, to be happy and not go through anything like what those women have been through, but I do worry that even though this movement has brought a lot of awareness to this problem it won't be enough it will continue to happen, I fear that one day it may happen to one of my daughters because I just want to protect them, especially from something like that.”

Interviewer: ”During this movement, people in social media have called out many films that have come out in the ’80s. How do you feel about these films now, then you did when you were growing up?”

Samantha: “I have seen many people tweet about 80’s movies that have some not acceptable scenes in these movies. But when I was younger I saw nothing wrong with the movies because it was all I knew and that was how people were, especially boys. Like when I was younger a kid named Ted or Farmer Ted as I would call him asked if he could have my underwear as proof to his friends that he would have sex with me. All it was back then was stuff like that. At the time I knew it was inappropriate but I didn’t say anything because that's just how it was. But now looking back at movies I watched as a kid and seeing stuff like that makes me rethink why that was okay to show especially to young teens. I agree with people that the 80’s films that I watched had unacceptable parts.”

Interviewer: “These movies have a lot of things that people believe to be wrong, especially in today's society. With cancel culture, today, do you believe that movies that show or talk positively about sexual harassment or violence towards women be “canceled”?”

Samantha: “I think cancel culture is an interesting thing because younger people are now saying that things I have grown up with are now bad and you shouldn’t watch, buy, listen or do things that people deem is not okay and “cancel” it. Sometimes it gets annoying because then if you do something or buy or whatever it is that has been canceled then people just think bad things about you like you support the message that people get from it. Cancel culture is a very confusing thing, I’ll say. Even though cancel culture is a confusing and annoying thing I do think that movies that show or talk positively about sexual harassment or violence towards women be “canceled” because even though that was how it was like then things have changed in today's society. We live in a different world now than when I was younger. So being able to now say that movies that we have watched when we were younger are giving audiences bad examples of how women should be treated. Films like that deserve to be canceled because times have changed and it allows for people to know that these films have scenes that are wrong and shouldn’t be okay for people to think that those kinds of actions and types of things are being said are okay. So canceling films that show sexual harassment or violence are okay should be canceled because it allows for people in today's society to know that things like that shouldn’t happen.”

Interviewer: “Thank you for answering my questions today and for your thoughtful answers. I appreciate your viewpoints on these matters.”

Samantha: “You’re welcome, you had great questions. So thank you for allowing me to answer these questions and allowing me to share my ideas.”

[jasminecancel]

[jasminecancel]

Blog Post #3: LGBTQI & BIPOC Representation In Media

Queer cinema is an interesting topic to define because many people would have many different interpretations of what makes up queer cinema. But for me I define it as portraying LGBTQI relationships and the challenges that come with it with others around them. Films are a very powerful tool that can be used to influence people's opinions on LGBTQI.  In the film Boys Don’t Cry by director Kimberly Pierce in my opinion uses such a thing as a “Queer” visual style. This movie has many scenes that helps show what a queer visual style would look like. For example at the beginning of the movie Brandon a transgender man cuts his hair to fit in public as a man instead of a women (1m:43s-4m:00s). This visual style in the movie shows the beginning of the change in how the main character Brandon perceives himself. Biologically he is a woman but he changes how he dresses, his hair and even deepens his voice to try and help people to treat him as a man instead of a woman. Another example from this movie is later when Brandon is beat and raped by John and Tom (1h:25m:00s-1h:32m:12s) because it shows how society would treat a transgender man when they found out. This helps show one possibility of how people in the LGBTQI community are treated especially transgender men because peolple don’t believe them to be a man since biologically they aren’’t.  Although movies can have a “queer” visual style that can be read by the audience; race, gender, and sexual identities intersect through film.  Race, gender and sexaul idenities are all very important in a film because it's a part of the barebones of the movie. The race of the characters allow for different types of stories to be told from different perspectives. Gender and sexual indetities also allow for many different storylines that a filmaker can chioce from and create which is really interesting since those choices are very important in how the movie is shown/created. For example in the movie Moonlight Chiron is a young black male who lives in the ghetto with his drug addict single mother. He is bullied and called a “fagot” when he is a young boy and is confused about who he is. So he goes to Juan who is like a father figure to him and asks what a fagot is (33m:06-33m:51s). This scene shows how Juan and Teresa are very kind and accept him even if he is gay and want to support him no matter what because they want him to know that their is nothing wrong if he feels something for another boy and he’ll know whether he is gay or not.  This movie is a good representation of finding out where you belong even if you are a part of the LGBTQI community no matter your race or gender and having a good support system will help as well. In the movie after Juan died, Teresa still supported Chiron during his adolescence and even in his adulthood she was there for him like another mom when he couldn’t rely on his own mother (39m:15s-42m:45s). 

Movies are powerful and impactful; they have the power to influence so many people who watch the film. I believe that films can allow the audience to be more comfortable with LGBTQI and be more open with thinking about people with more of an open mind. For example in the film Mysterious Skin shows the story of two boys, Niel McCormick and Brian Lackey, who had a traumatic experience of being molested by their little league coach in their early childhood which led them on two very different paths. This traumatic event leads to McCormick becoming a prostitute because of the abuse he endured was by someone he trusted which had a big effect on his life moving forward like  not openly showing affection towards people in his life. For example when Wendy leaves for New York and gives a hug to Neil (40m:29s-41m:34s) you can see that he is sad that his closest friend is leaving but he tries to not show it and doesn’t hug her back even though he wants to. Movies like Mysterious Skin are very powerful films because of all the emotions that play a huge part in the movie.  This allows the audience to try and make a connection with the characters in their own way and helps the audience learn a lesson that they can take away when they finish the film.

The Longest Ride is a movie adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks novel by the same name. The two main characters named Sophia and Luke are of the couples the movie shows. I think if this movie flipped to be more representative of LGBTQI than it would be a different movie.  If Luke were a gay man than it would make his work life a little more diffuclt because he is a professional bull rider who got into an accident and is now trying to make a comback in the rodeo circuit. If the male lead were to be a gay man than that would make his life in the rodeo circuit a little harder because the rodeo is known as being a “manly mans” sport especially at high stakes (1h:46m:42s-1h:51m:50s). If he were a part of the LGBTQI community it would change the film instead of being a romantic film it would be more about friendship. Especially when Luke wins against the bull that almost ended his career instead of looking around for Sophia he would be more in the moment and really feel the win instead of running away to find Sophia (1h:52m:04s-1h:57m:06s). This film would have started as two people meeting at a rodeo and getting to know each other as friends and supporting each other. Even though they come from two very different worlds they still support each other like Luke going to an art exhibit with Sophia (1h:12m:00s-1h:13m:50s). This film would be very different if there was more of a LGBTQI representation in it.

[jasminecancel]

[jasminecancel]

Blog Post #2: African-American Heroes In Cinema

The movie Django Unchained was a very interesting film to watch. One of the main characters named Django was a slave who was freed by Dr. King Schultz, a dentist turned bounty hunter. Schultz freed him because he was looking for the Brittle brothers so he could kill them and collect their bounty. But Schultz needed Django because he knew who the men were. Once the duo finds the Brittle brothers, Schultz can see that Django has a gift for bounty hunting and continues their partnership traveling and collecting bounties. Django has a very interesting journey throughout the whole film because at the begging of the movie he was a slave turn freeman and goes through a journey of trying to free his wife Broomhilda von Shaft. She is also a slave who now works in the big house of Candyland another slave plantation. But what is most interesting about Django is how different he is because unlike other people who would have been a slave, he isn’t a scared man looking to someone to please since thats what slaves were conditioned to do. If they did what their owner wanted they weren’t hurt but if they disobeyed slaves were whipped, branded and etc. Throughout the movie you can see that Django isn’t like the rest of the slaves. He is a very confident, angry, ruthless and loyal person. From the beginning of the movie you can see that Django is a very confident person especially when he and Schultz ride into Daughtery, Texas (12m:54s-14m:00s). Django doesn’t cower away because of the looks he receives from the townspeople because they never saw a black man ride a horse. He rides into that town proud because now he is a freeman and just because he is receiving dirty looks from people, he is still proud to be himself. His confidence only grows throughout the movie which is really cool to watch because he knows what he wants his endgame to be which is find his wife and free her from slavery. To reach his goal he first needed to get more comfortable handling a weapon so Django practiced shooting on a snowman (55m:29s-56m:31s). This allows him to get more confident handling a weapon and killing people before they have the chance to kill him. Although Django was a confident man he was also very angry and ruthless. But being a slave and being whipped for running away or doing something wrong it would lead anyone to become an angry and ruthless person. Django has an outlet to take all this anger out by finding people and killing them for bounty. Like in the beginning of the movie when he finds the Brittle brothers and kills them (35m:45s-37m:31s). He whipped and shot two of the brothers repeatedly because of the anger he felt towards them for whipping his wife for trying to escape with him (33m:00s- 34m:14s). These scenes also show how loyal he is to his wife because these men hurt his wife and he found them and killed them for what they did to her even though there was also a bounty for them he killed those men for revenge. Even though Django is an angry,confident and loyal person he is also one of the most intelligent people in this whole film. For example at the end of the movie when he is being transported to LeQuint Dicky Mining Company he gets the slave owners to free him with a deal of gaining eleven thousand five hundred dollars from the bounty (2h:23m:29s-2h:28:25s). He later kills these men which free the other slaves that were enroute to the mining company and goes back to Candyland to finally save his wife.These characteristics of Django are very important to know why he is the way he is because Django is only doing what he thinks is right and what will get him to his wife. 

Django is the anti-hero of this film who kills people for the right reasons. Especially at the end of the film when he kills slave owners who killed a slave with a dog and even killed the slave owners of Candyland. By doing so he is also helping slaves be free from these violent slave owners like he did towards the end of the movie freeing three men from facing a harsh future in the LeQuint Dicky Mining Company of working to you can’t work anymore and then die. Django's journey throughout the movie was to get his wife back and he didn’t care what he had to do because his purpose was to find and free Broomhilda from having to be a slave. His motives were just in all his kills throughout the movie but he also enjoyed killing the wanted people along with slave owners because it helped him release the rage he has inside of him. Django journey throughout the whole movie was very interesting to watch because he goes from a lonely slave to a bounty hunter to a free happy man.  During his journey he has flashbacks to his life as a a slave and he fights so hard to not go back to that life because it had a lot of hardships but his fight for his wife keeps him strong throughout this journeys and he doesn’t allow himself to go back to a life as a slave again. Django is not like any other hero we all know who only does the right thing. But to be honest I believe that in some cases the heroes also have to make hard decisions and do things that aren’t right to achieve a goal of something better. Even though that also may sound like what villains do in stories because it’s what they believe is right, so who can really say if someone is a hero or not. It all depends on your point of view of the situation because we all think differently and see situations differently which can lead to many solutions to the same problem.

[jasminecancel]

[jasminecancel]

[jasminecancel]

Blog Post #1: Examining Youth Culture

Which character in any of these stories do you identify with the most and why?’

The character that I connect with the most is Cady because she was an outsider trying to fit in and ultimately when she did she turned into someone she did not like. I connect with this character because when I first moved to Middletown from the Bronx I felt alone and didn’t know anyone there. I then started hanging out with the wrong crowd who would always make fun of people and at the time I thought I had to do the same to fit in.  This is like when Cady wanted to take Regina's place in the popular group and made her eat the “weight loss” bars and it instead did the opposite (42m:40s-43m:12s). As time went on I realized that me making fun of people doesn’t make me fit in at all and it wasn’t the person that I wanted to be. So I started to distance myself from them. I started to apologize to the people who I hurt and to be honest it's a good thing that I made that realization because now I have a good group of friends that are the exact opposite of those I used to hang out with. This is like at the end of the Mean Girls movie when the Plastics all go their different ways and find their group of friends and don’t bully anyone anymore (1h:31m:44s-1h:32m:47). This is why I connect with Cady’s story because we both became people we didn’t want to be and in the end, we both grew to be people who can change and be better. I think growth as a person is one of the most important things someone can do even though it can be hard sometimes and be lonely at times but in the end, it can be so rewarding. Personal growth doesn’t happen overnight and people are constantly changing for the better or the worse, someone just has to decide to try to do better. 

2.Identify three (3) common themes that are present in these stories and elaborate if they are relatable to contemporary youth culture. Draw from your personal experiences and elaborate on how these themes may have impacted your adolescent life.

Three common themes that are present in these stories are drugs, partying, and sex. In most of the movies drugs and partying were a big factor in the way that they represented youth culture. Throughout most of the stories partying, drugs, alcohol, and sex are a big part of story. For example in KIDS by the end of the movie, there's a little party in an apartment where you can see the kids drinking, and smoking (1h:02m:04s-1h:03m:42s). Drinking and doing drugs is a big part of how youth culture is represented. Many teens today drink alcohol and smoke because it’s fun for them. But for me drinking and doing drugs isn’t my idea of fun. I've been around people who like to drink and do drugs especially at parties and it's cool and everything but I don’t want to ever be in a position where I have to drink and do drugs to have fun or function. Partying is also how many people represent youth culture because that wear many people are introduced to alcohol and drugs since there is a lot of peer pressure within youth culture. In the movie KIDS, when Jenni was looking for Telly she goes to a club where she is offered drugs, but she is peer pressured into taking it (59m:52s-1h:00m:23s). Peer pressure is a big part of youth culture because many people are told they should drink, do drugs, and party since that is what everyone else does. But if they don’t follow that then people are looked at differently because they want to do other things or don’t enjoy doing those things. In Euphoria, addiction is a big issue that is prevalent throughout the whole series. In the show, Rue is addicted to drugs because she has all these mental issues and just wants to have a moment of peace and she gets that when she takes drugs. In many party scenes throughout the series sex, partying and drugs are very prevalent. In the first episode of Euphoria Jules goes to Nate’s party after coming from a hotel room where she had sex with his dad and later finds his ex-girlfriend having sex with a college guy in a pool. Another example of sex in Euphoria is that there was a video uploaded to a porn site of Kat and she later in the series uses the same porn site and uploads videos of herself dancing. Then Kat gets messages from random men asking her for a private skype session with her and she does it. She skypes men who want her to be mean to them and sends her money like her first client (ep 3 34m:02s-36m55s). Sex plays a big role in youth culture because they are constantly being shown sexual pictures online whether or not they are looking for them especially at young ages. In my personal experience, I like to stay away from drugs, alcohol, and partying for the most part. Partying once in a while is fun but I don’t need to have alcohol and drugs to have fun.

3. First, explain how a soundtrack of a film/TV series impacts the narrative of a story. Second, create an Apple/Spotify playlist of ten (10) songs that best define your adolescent experience, and embed this playlist onto your blog. Third, briefly explain what each song means to you.

The soundtrack of a film/TV series has an important role to play in the narrative of a story. Music helps convey the emotions of the characters and also helps the viewers stay interested in the film/TV series. The soundtrack also helps progress the character's story because a change in music can help the audience feel a change in a character from having dark music for the villain of the story to having upbeat music later on when the villain becomes a good guy.  Some songs that best define my adolescence experience are “Counting Stars” by OneRepublic, “High Hopes” Panic! At The Disco, “We are young” by fun, “Count on Me” by Bruno Mars, “Don’t stop believing” by Journey,  “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” by Pat Benatar, “You Give Love A Bad Name” by Bon Jovi, “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi, “I Don't Want to Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith,  “Happy” by Pharrell Williams. “Counting Stars” by OneRepublic is one of my absolute favorite songs growing up. I remember when I first listened to this song when I was in my dance class, it was the first song that came on for warmups. Everyone loved the song so it became our warm-up song every day, every time I hear that song I get happy since it reminds me of dance class. “High Hopes” by Panic! At The Disco is the first song I heard of this band and I think it’s a good depiction of how I felt when I finally figured out what I wanted to do in my future. I love how this song is about not giving up and accomplishing your goals. Another song that has the same meaning as “High Hopes” is “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” by Pat Benatar. This is a big motivating song for me because when I hear it, it reminds me no matter what, try your hardest and don’t give up. “We are Young” by Fun is a song that my cousins and I would scream out the lyrics every time we saw each other and we always got in trouble for being loud but we did not care at all it was always fun. “Count On Me” by Bruno Mars is a song that my friends have always said would describe me best since I’m the person in the friend group that everyone comes to for advice or if they're in trouble since they know I’ll always help them out. Another song that had a big impact on my adolescents is “Don’t stop believing” by Journey, I first heard this song in a movie named Rock of Ages and I thought this was a pretty good movie and I sang this song everywhere I went for months, this is one of my favorite songs of all time. Two songs that I have heard a million times throughout my childhood are “You Give Love A Bad Name” by Bon Jovi and “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi because my dad loves his songs so I’ve heard them a lot and they are great songs. “I Don't Want to Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith would be in my soundtrack for my adolescent experience because when I was younger I lost my first dog, he was with me my entire life and was one of my best friends. So when my dog died I started being closer to my family because I didn’t want to lose them either. I was young and it was the first time I lost someone/pet in my life so I was attached to the hip of my parents cause I didn’t want the same thing to happen to them. Last but not least the final song for my adolescent experience soundtrack would be “Happy” by Pharrell Williams because after everything that has happened I am still a very happy person no matter what happens. Here’s a link to my playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4BK28eSoj1tXtOhHaM1VZR

[jasminecancel]

[jasminecancel]

My dogs Buddy and Bear

[jasminecancel]

Blog #1- Intro

Hello everyone my name is Jasmine. I went to Middletown High School for all four years. This is my second semester at SUNY Orange but I hope to be transferring to another school somewhere down south. Right now I am a liber arts major just trying to figure out what I want to do. I’m interested in film and the behind the scenes of movies and television. I would love to learn more about creating content and the producing side of it because I always thought it was so interesting. Some of my interests aside from anything media related is cooking and exercising whether it be in the gym or just going out for a walk or playing a sport. So recently I just started to learn to cook which is a little bit of a struggle cause I either am burning something or overcooking but anyway, the only food I can make and am really good at is breakfast. Breakfast foods are the easiest to make like french toast which is my favorite. The last movie I watched was Encanto yesterday which is a really good movie and the last show that I watched was Lucifer, that show easily became one of my favorites. Lucifer is a hilarious show about the “Devil” working with a LAPD detective solving cases and trying to figure himself out with his daddy issues, it's great and would definitely recommend it. I don’t remember the last game I finished but I did just start a game called Uncharted 4 which I really enjoy (also difficult at some points), but I do want to go back and play the rest of the Uncharted games once I finish this one. Another game I really enjoy playing is FIFA with my friends and family because we get really competitive with the game. The last thing I would have created would have been my breakfast , which was french toast and eggs. If I were to choose my last meal on earth it would be my mom's lasagna and a brownie, they are my favorite. Recently I went down to Florida to visit my grandparents and I have to tell you I did not want to go back, it was so warm. I left before it started snowing and now that I am back I want to leave and go back to Florida. It would be in the sixties and these people would have winter coats on while I'm in shorts and a sweater.  It was GREAT. But anyways some more about me is that I am 18 years old and have two older brothers who are 25 and 19. I also have two dogs named Bear and Buddy. Something I would love to do in the future is travel and explore places I’ve never been to. I would love to go to Italy for the food, Spain for the culture, England and Australia. If I were to live anywhere outside the U.S. I think it would be Spain because from pictures and videos I’ve seen it is just a beautiful and colorful place and I would really like to learn more about culture as well. 

Thanks for reading!