"This Blessed House"

Is there a pressure to be one identity or another?
Everyone, including Twinkle and Sanjeev, have to deal with the pressure of identifying with different aspects of our lives. I think in different situations and with different people there is pressure for people to identify with certain identities. I feel that when I am with my dad I have to identify with my sports side and talk about sports where as when I am with my mom I feel the need to identify with my more girlie side that enjoys shopping. People adapt to reveal different aspects of themselves when they are with certain people. I think people can do this unconsciously most of the time as a cooping mechanism to blend into their environment. This can seen as a performance by people to change into something that people expect them to be.

O Movie

After viewing, O, the second time I couldn't get the scene where Oden is bouncing the basketball and looking at Dessie during the dunk contestant. In the scene the focus is just on him and then flashes to Dessie and back and forth. A big importance in the scene is that in the beginning all the audience can hear is the sound of the ball hitting the court. I think at that point Dessie knew that Oden made up his mind that she had cheated on him and that there was no one to persuade him. Also, the significance of the ball bouncing as the only noise relates back to the reason that all this drama and deceitfulness started was because of basketball.

We discussed in class, why have basketball be the main sport in the movie. I still am not sure why it was chosen. One reason could be that basketball only has 15 players and that allows for more emphasis on certain characters. Also, it was said in class that in basketball there is generally a superstar and that is why it was chosen. However, after playing a successfull basketball team in high school who didn't have a superstar I don't necessarily agree with it. Other sports have superstars or people feel the need to have them. Yet, more than half through the movie and I am still not sure the significance of basketball.

Othello Films

Aftering viewing two very different clips of Othello I was amazed on how much people can interpret Shakespeare differently. The 1965 film was staged more like a play, which I liked less than the one that was viewed in class. The creative differences used in Othello films and plays is very diverse and adds new dimensions to the play that I might have overlooked. It was interesting to see the final scenes of Othello played out after having the preconceived notion of what the characters looked like and what they were doing while I was reading it. After watching the films how I now imagine the final scene has changed and gotten more detailed. However, the bed is still significant to the imagery that I have of the final scene, just like the films.

Reputation in Othello

"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are." John Wooden

When reputation as discussed I couldn't help but remember this quote that was used consistently by my basketball coach in high school. He was always talk about how our character is really important and our reputation was insignificant. Our actions would make or break other peoples view of the team. However, Cassio realizes that even if he does have good character his reputation as a drinker effects his life by making him lose his job position. He sees his self and reputation as the same. Also, Iago has bad characteristics but his reputation as honest hinders people from seeing his true self. He does not thing that reputation is important and that can be seen in the John Wooden quote. It makes me question if reputation is important or not important depending on the situation. In basketball the teams reputation as less important than it was for Cassie whose job was his identity.

Girl, Interrupted

"Have you ever confused a dream with life? Or stolen something when you have the cash? Have you ever been blue? Or thought your train moving while sitting still? Maybe I was just crazy. Maybe it was the 60's. Or maybe I was just a girl... interrupted."

In class the question was proposed why was the movie titled Girl, Interrupted? I think it was titled to describe Susanna's life interrupted by her time within the mental hospital and the change within herself that resulted from it. Before entering the mental hospital she lead life without taking responsibilities and she was not in control of her life. Susanna led her life like a child without thinking of the consequences of her actions and not admitting and dealing with the repercussions of them. During her stay at the mental hospital Susanna was confronted with fact that she needed to take charge of her life and decide what she was going to do with it. Susanna was forced to deal with her issues and decide if she was going to keep neglecting them if they didn't exist or overcome them. Her time there allowed her to grow into an adult and let her take control of her life.

Gilman "The Yellow Wallpaper"

Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" made me a reader feel like I was going through a nervous breakdown. I felt "crazy" when her thoughts would shift within the text. It was like I had the disorder and I knew how she felt, which was one of her goals in reading the short story. It made me uneasy and I had to stop and remind myself that I am not going through a nervous breakdown. Also, after discussion in class I realized how "the rest-cure" actually made her worse and affected this book. The rest cure allowed Gilman to be alone with her thoughts and not with people that could have brought sanity into her life. Therefore the doctor's cure for her could have made her worse. I think that her treatment should have included being outside in nature and with family and friends, experiencing life in a positive "normal' way.

Woolf "A Room of One's Own"

Woolf states that "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction." I can see if that in the context of the time that a woman would need some sort of fixed income in order to spend her time writing or thinking about writing free from the worry of money. Also, I agree that a woman would need a place of her own because unless a woman lived and was left alone from the inhibits there would be no place and time to write. However, in the context of today's time I don't think a woman needs to have money to write fiction. As discussed in class, money does provide more freedom, time, and opportunities so it can make writing easier but it is not necessary. Also, I don't think a woman needs a room of her own to write. A woman can write where she choices and can be successful doing it. I do believe that a woman needs a place "mentality" where she can go and get into the mode of writing.