The film North by Northwest is a film which boldly asks the question, “What would a James Bond movie be like, if James Bond didn’t know what was going on around him?” And I ask this question in the most affectionate of ways. North by Northwest is a proto-spy thriller that was made before the age of Jason Bourne, Mission Impossible, and yes even James Bond (North by Northwest was released in 1959, a solid 4 years before the first Bond movie, Dr. No). North by Northwest is in no way the first spy film, it’s structure does hint at what the genre would become in the following decades of movie making. The quick-witted actions of the main character, his flirtatious dialogue with a mysterious woman, the exotic locales (OK, South Dakota isn’t exactly an exotic location, but Hitchcock was on a budget give him a break), and the exciting stunts with cars or planes or trains. All these things are present in North by Northwest, its just that these elements seem boring to the modern eye. Many people who watch the movie don’t believe that it is a thriller since all the parts of the spy thriller are so cliche and slow. But what is important to remember is that this was really one of the first movies to use the classic spy elements. The filmmakers were trying out new ways of engaging the audience. To us, who have already experienced plane stunts much more exciting than the one in North by Northwest, the protagonist running away from a plane and hiding in corn is very anticlimactic. During the 1950s that scene was a lot more interesting. For me North by Northwest is a fun old movie, the plot and characters are simple in their motivations. Basically, the movie is an easy film to watch, and is a good piece of history to see where the modern spy movie got its start.
Greatest of All Time? Hmm..
I never considered myself much of a movie person, but thanks to Rose Scholars and my friends, I’ve started seeing (and enjoying) some classic films. When I told my parents that the film of the week was North by Northwest, they told me that I would be sure to love it, as it is one of the greatest films ever produced. I did some research and noted that Rotten Tomatoes, a movie database, gave the film a 100% rating. However, as I watched the movie, I never understood what was so great about it.
The film is about an innocent man, Roger Thornhill, who is mistaken for George Kaplan and consequently kidnapped and hunted by Vandamn. The first scene, which features Vandamn trying to get Thornhill to drink himself to death, concludes with Thornhill driving around steep mountain roads while severely intoxicated. I believe that this scene was supposed to be considered to be thrilling, but I found it simply comical. Later, in an exchange between Thornhill and Lester Townsend, a man throws a knife, killing Townsend, which Lester then pulls out of the man, setting himself up as the murderer. This seemed rather dumb to me and a cheesy way to set the plot.
The ending, which clearly is supposed to be the most thrill-inducing part of the film, shows Thornhill and Eve Kendall, a woman who was originally working against him but has since fallen in love with Thornhill, fleeing from Vandamn’s men by climbing Mount Rushmore. The Professor, a man now working to protect Thornhill, kills off the two men and Eve and Roger get away. The two presumably live a happy life in peace.
These “action” scenes just seemed so dry to me, so it left me wondering what made this movie so popular back in the 1950s. I have not seen a lot of movies from that time period, but solely from this movie, I can conclude that cinematography and technology were no way as advanced as they are today. It seems as if this movie was simply far ahead of its time when it was initially created, as to me, it is a rather dull thriller compared to newer movies.
Distrust of American Government
This film was a very interesting viewing experience. This is primarily because I avoid watching older films, and thus, had never before seen anything like it. The poor film quality is often very hard for me to look past so old movies tend to be annoying for me to watch, but this was definitely not the case this time around. North by Northwest managed to be entertaining while still being tastefully suspenseful.
The movie discussed themes of mistaken identity and cold war survival in a time where the former was of great importance. When an innocent man played by Cary Grant is accused of the unspeakable, he has no choice but to run from the villainous spy trying to kill him. The film was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and was a blockbuster hit at the time of its release. It has received many awards.
The film depicted a time of Cold War distress and earnestly represented many of the concerns of American civilians at the time. The film not only draws upon a fear of the Russians to entertain, but also draws upon a fear of the United States government. The characters in the government are portrayed as being just as cold, ruthless, and calculating and the true Russian enemy. This was an interesting way to draw on general american apprehension about what happens behind government closed doors.
Respect to Commercialization
Halloween comes around every year, with costumes and candy galore. Parties are prevalent and everyone gets the opportunity to become someone else for the night. I trick or treated every year for a long time. It became almost like a mission, there were tools and strategies. It took stamina, speed, and determination. At table talk we discussed among many topics, that not everyone has heard of Halloween. In other areas of the world their is no Halloween. Different festivals fall around the same time as Halloween. Mexico’s day of the dead and other harvest festivals just to give an example. There are different traditions around Halloween, but many see it as the day where the dead are closest to this world, which is where the idea of the Halloween festival began with the Celtics. Halloween is far from a festival to remember and protect ourselves from the dead. Commercialization has swept through the holidays, and Halloween was not spared.
Walking in unfamiliar shoes
Most Alfred Hitchcock films are nail-biters, full of tosses and turns that are all too unpredictable. And “North by Northwest” is no different. Roger, just an ordinary man, finds himself lost in a secret battle between government agents and a crime organization. He has nothing to do with it. A few thieves misinterpret him for someone else, and he soon becomes a pawn in their game. I could go on and on about the rest of the plot, but that’s not what makes this movie interesting. It’s that even though Roger is still ordinary Roger, he becomes the figure for which he is mistaken at the beginning of the film. He becomes this adventurous agent who roams around in no particular direction, him versus the bad guys, him trying to win the girl. Not only the audience but also Roger himself forgets who Roger even is. It’s as if he’s this unrealistic agent/spy/hero all along. At first he just wants to be Roger. He doesn’t want to meddle with these crooked people or be a pawn in their game. But then he settles into his new life. This is something that often happens to us on campus. We all go through something unfamiliar or uncomfortable, classes, experiences, decisions alike. We may not be happy with something required, but it’s required. We have to accept it, deal with it, and keep moving. Of course, Roger is wrongfully wanted all over the country, so his situation is much more dramatic. But like many of us he accepts the challenge and plays the game until the end.
North by Northwest: In Which Everyone is Bad at Stuff
The Wikipedia page for North by Northwest describes the film as a “thriller”. I’m not sure how they came to that conclusion. The film is about an advertising executive, Roger Thornhill, who is mistaken for a spy, George Kaplan, and kidnapped by a criminal, Vandamm, who thinks Kaplan is pursuing him. Thornhill then goes on a mission to find Kaplan, and along the way meets Eve Kendall, who is Vandamm’s girlfriend, and a government informant trying to take him down. The film is full of decidedly non-thrilling scenarios: visiting an empty hotel room with your disapproving mother, walking around in public and having no one recognize you, even though you are a fugitive with your picture in all the newspapers, shaving your face with a tiny razor (even though, as above, you are a fugitive, and should probably be trying to look less like the picture in those papers…) For the most part, the moments of peril in the film are so ridiculous as to be comical. After the initial kidnapping, Vandamm tries to kill Thornhill by forcing him to drink an entire bottle of liquor and then putting him in a car and sending him rolling towards the edge of a cliff. Thornhill, of course, regains enough awareness to turn the wheel and avoid the cliff. The tense chase scene that should follow is instead a patently ridiculous sequence of a very drunk man driving (though he does cause real peril to others on the road).
In the second major action scene of the movie, Roger Thornhill is told by Eve Kendall, who he does not realize is working for Vandamm, to meet George Kaplan at a bus stop in the middle of nowhere. After waiting for several minutes, a crop duster plane flies after him, makes several attempts to run him over (fly him over?) and shoots at him. The plane then crashes into an oil tanker on the road and explodes. Again, not thrilling. Why a plane, of all things? If Vandamm is such a sophisticated criminal, why are all his murder plots so nonsensical and logistically complex?
I thought North by Northwest was intended to be a comedy about three people who are all incompetent. The main criminal, Vandamm, spends the entire film trying to kill George Kaplan (or Thornhill, really) but as above, he chooses the worst possible plans. He also fails to realize that his girlfriend is the real spy until an associate literally shoots him with a gun loaded with blanks. How does a man who seems very bad at vetting his associates and eliminating his enemies manage to acquire and sell government secrets?
As for Eve Kendall, she remains with Vandamm as a government informant, to try to find out how he smuggles his information out of the country. We don’t know how long she’s been with Vandamm, but it seems like it’s been a while, and she hasn’t figured it out yet. Thornhill, of course, learns that Vandamm is using art he buys at auctions to smuggle microfilm after just a couple of days of being involved in the whole affair. Kind of embarrassing for Ms. Kendall.
And finally, Thornhill himself. Having been kidnapped because you’ve been mistaken by some criminals for a George Kaplan, why do you go to George Kaplan’s hotel room, and otherwise do things that would convince the casual observer that you are George Kaplan? Thornhill bumbles from one situation to the next, but he’s so lucky you never worry about his safety.
North by Northwest really doesn’t work for me as a thriller. But it’s an enjoyable enough movie if you think about it as a comedy about some incompetent, lucky people.
Healthcare in Today’s Society
This past week, I attended Dr. Rosenthal’s talk, “An American Sickness”. I had never heard of her and was very interested in what she had to say about the current situation of our healthcare system. During the talk, she discussed topics that she talks about much more in-depth in her book. She drew comparisons on how the healthcare system was years ago, when she worked as a medical professional, and how it is today. She talked about her observations on how simple procedures that used to cost close to nothing, now cost thousands of dollars. This talk really got me thinking about what we can do to better our health system. I believe that healthcare is a human right and that no matter who you are or your socioeconomic status, you should have the right to be treated. I’m really interested in health policy and hope that in the future I can make some sort of contribution to this field.
Home Sweet Ithaca
During the Rose Cafe last week, John Schroeder didn’t hold back when it came to talking about the state of housing affordability in Ithaca (which, by the way, is a very emphatic not good). Of course, it also wasn’t unexpected. I mean, does anyone at Cornell feel good about housing? For me, applying to be a Rose Scholar and continue living on West Campus junior year was the best decision for me time-wise, money-wise, and, to be honest, food-wise; however, my housing plans for senior year are still up in the air, and I’d rather not be caught in the headlights when the next lease-signing season rolls around.
Having watched my friends camp out at a rental office earlier this year for a total of 24 hours in order to just claim a room – not even worrying yet about the price – I know firsthand how difficult everything about off-campus housing is. It’s funny, in the most ridiculous sense of the word. In the fourth grade, I was taught that food, water, and a suitable habitat are the three basic needs of all humans by my science teacher…and yet, here I am, ten years later, watching everyone around me struggle to fulfill one of those needs.
Obviously, I’m not a huge fan of the housing situation in Ithaca, but John Schroeder’s presentation brought up a lot more nuanced details than I originally considered. For one, I never considered what he called “Cornell’s complicity,” which is the idea that if Cornell decreased the cost of dorm residence, local landlords would also be forced to lower their prices – an easy concept in theory, but one made more complex by House Professor Blalock’s reminder that Cornell does not pay the same taxes the landlords are forced to pay, and such competition could be considered highly unfair. Another great point brought up was the fact that Cornell is building a Sophomore Village on North Campus, but this notion’s potential was dampened by the corollary that most of the housing would be a swing space for residents displaced from other dorms undergoing renovations. The most eye-opening thing I learned, however, was that most of Cornell’s staff (non-faculty) live outside the county because they can’t afford to live closer to Cornell. These people, who cater to the needs of Ivy League students at one of the country’s richest, most exclusive universities, can’t afford to even live where they want – why is no one else talking more about that?
All in all, I left not feeling significantly better about the affordability, access, and safety of housing in Ithaca, for both students and local residents – but John Schroeder’s reassurance of progress was, at the very least, more comforting than what I’d heard from other, less qualified sources.
I’m not an economics major, nor am I studying urban planning or government; I am an average, anxious student who just wants to have a nice bed, a clean bathroom, and a functioning kitchen to go home to at the end of a grueling day at Cornell. Going to this Rose Cafe expanded my narrow perception of the housing situation, and filled in some of the gaps in my understanding of development in Ithaca. Previously, I’d come up with a slew of “solutions” to the housing issues, and wondered why none of them had ever been implemented – as you can probably guess, those “solutions” weren’t as good at solving problems as I believed in my tunnel vision state. John Schroeder didn’t hold back, but I’m glad he was honest and willing to engage with us.
Plus, my roommate and I managed to snag a cool poster with a sketch of Ithaca in the 19th century before we left, which is now covering up various unsightly blemishes on the wall of our dorm (fun fact: apparently, just the exterior upkeep of our dorm costs upwards of several hundred thousands to one million US dollars, which explains why no one has bothered to remove the old adhesives left on our wall by previous residents).
The Cost of Living
Ask any student here what they think of the rents in College Town, and almost everyone will agree that they are overpriced. While it’s true that the apartments are right next to an Ivy League University, there is not much else to warrant the high prices charged by so many rentals, some of which rival the rent of a New York studio or apartment. This Cafe provided a very interesting point of view on the subject, which is rather personal for all students at Cornell. One interesting fact I found out was that the recent explosion of real estate in college town was approved in order to lower rents, but has so far had the opposite effect. But, when one takes a closer look at the situation, it makes sense. Since a majority of the real estate is owned by a small amount of owners, the normal rules of competition do not apply. Hopefully sometime in the near future there will be a solution to this problem that’ll benefit both students and landowners.
In addition, Cornell is also part to blame for the exorbitant prices of living in College Town. The first reason being how expense its own living costs are. While this cost does cover both lodging and food, it is still rather steep. Due to this, landlords know that they only need to charge a tiny bit less than Cornell does, and they’ll be able to sell to students looking for somewhere bigger than a single room. The second problem lies with how much taxes Cornell pays. None. Yet it’s still being serviced by the surrounding area, so the rest of the county needs to make up for the revenue lost from the University. If Cornell could somehow find a reasonable solution to these problems, perhaps students trying to live in college town will have an easier time finding an affordable home.
Collegetown and Gentrification?
At the Rose Cafe talk last Wednesday I learned a lot about the housing market in Ithaca. There is a kind of monopoly on new construction which allows builders to set their own prices, and as a result, make it more and more expensive to live in the area. New construction made to capitalize on the demand for more off-campus student housing is, essentially, pushing people who live in Ithaca full-time out of their homes. I think that this phenomenon is similar to (or might even be?) gentrification. Gentrification has been a big issue in my home city because tech companies are developing in neighborhoods where the cost is cheaper and the demand for housing for people who work at these companies is driving locals out of their homes. I noticed a lot of parallels between the Ithaca housing market and the housing market at home… I wonder what the solution could be?
Preservation of the Past and Problems of the Present
It was neat to hear a little bit about the history of Ithaca and the effort to preserve historic buildings. I would like to stop by in person and glance at some of the buildings that we discussed. I agree that it’s important to preserve little pieces of the past, and I like the idea of merging something new with a slice of something old. I also enjoyed looking at the old map of Ithaca. It was interesting to see how much has changed since 1882. I wonder what it would be like to live with a host family and walk up to campus for class, as students used to do.
I was surprised to learn about the extent and severity of the housing situation. Although effort has been put forth to lower rent in Collegetown, prices still remain hazardously high. According to Mr. Schroeder, there may now be a “glimmer” of a sign of change, but only time will tell.
Into the Woods
On Saturday, I volunteered in the Ithaca area for the first time ever and it was quite an experience. I honestly didn’t know what to expect going into Into the Streets however, the last thing I did expect was the forest. When I found out we were volunteering at the YMCA, I had assumed that meant the one by Target and we were going to spend the afternoon organizing things or cleaning the gym. no.
As I have mentioned previously, I have a severe phobia of bees. So, when the taxis arrived in a wooded area with no sign of an indoors facility in sight I was not happy. However, after we were assigned to our jobs (my team had vine-hut weaving) and began working, I really wasn’t too concerned with bugs. The challenge was kind of weird and I definitely took more breaks than I should have but overall, it was actually fun. I never stay outdoors in woody areas for long periods of time but the forest air and interesting task was refreshing. We struggled at first and time was moving extremely slowly but at the end, we were all very proud of our vine hut.
Stylist Advice
I attended the Rose Cafè with stylist, Nicholas Carbonaro and it was very interesting. He was obviously extremely passionate about his work as well as extensively trained. He had been working on his portfolio for years before settling in Ithaca, which included working at Madame Tussad’s Wax Museum in the city! I especially enjoyed listening to him talk about his interest in theater because I share that passion with him.
My biggest takeaway about beauty advice from a professional was to care enough to look presentable but don’t overdo it unless you know you can keep it up. College kids are notoriously broke yet always try to have the latest trending hair colors or styles- which are normally extremely expensive to upkeep. I am an example of this phenomena as I dyed my hair bright red last year. It was super time consuming, required lots of maintenance and faded like 3 days after I dyed it anyway. It wasn’t ideal for me personally and color that would fit me AND be easy to keep up with did make my life much easier. Basically, his message was: do what works best for you time-wise, financially and personally satisfying.
History of buildings in Ithaca
It is really great to hear from Mr.Schroeder to talk about the history of buildings in Ithaca. I know some of the names of these buildings, but I do not actually know the history behind them.
It is good to know that every building has its own beautiful story behind. Mr.Schroeder also talked about some interesting facts: For instance, Cornell does not need to pay property tax, because US wants to release the burden of educational institution to motivate the construction of universities. However, as an elite university, Cornell is very rich, so it is worth thinking that whether residents in Ithaca should, to some extent, pay for Cornell’s prosperity.
It is also interesting to know that when approving for the construction of new buildings in CollegeTown, the new building should to some extent consist with old buildings.
Housing on Campus
Last week I went to a Rose cafe where we talked about development in Ithaca. I found it really interesting that Cornell doesn’t pay property taxes. I guess that makes sense since Cornell is an educational institution and it benefits all of NYS. I do think that because we don’t pay property taxes, Cornell could stand to lower housing prices a little bit. This year I was lucky enough to get a single in Rose Main, but last year I lived in Founders. It was terrible: we had to keep the windows open all year long because there was no way to turn down the heat, the bathrooms were just awful, and there were bugs everywhere. One of my professors actually lived in Founders when he was an undergrad and he told me that we have the same problems that they did 50 years ago! I understand that Cornell can’t renovate every dorm because that would get really expensive, but I don’t think that those who live in the gothic should have to pay the same price as someone living in Rose Main! This year I am lucky enough to live in a dorm that has AC (in the hallways), no bugs, nicer bathrooms, a dining hall, tv lounge, piano room, elevator, etc. Obviously the main houses are way better than the gothics, and so this is a potential solution to the problems on West Campus.
A Deadly Chase
Action, adventure, and awkward kisses. North to Northwest is about a man that is mistaken for an assassin and must go on the run to clear his name. It ends with an action filled deadly chase on the the faces of America’s previous leaders, at Mount Rushmore. The movie makes you wonder what you would do if you were mistaken for a world class assassin and had to go on the run. Sometimes I like to think about what would happen if I had to go on the run. There is a clear difference between what would happen today and what occurred in the movie. Now a days, there are cameras everywhere. Everyone has a cell phone, and whether we are aware of it or not, every move we make is cataloged. Privacy has gone away, making going on the run harder than ever. I hope that I am never mistaken for an assassin because I doubt I could hide out with a pair of sunglasses to keep my identity a secret.
Into the Woods
The flora team volunteered as part of the into the streets program. I’ll admit, at first, I thought the program to be unfulfilling– cleaning the woods?? After picking up trash, roping down grape vine, and helping move logs around I realized this was not the instant moral gratification I wanted, but a subtle part of promoting nature. The gift of an idealic nature I received when I was young that made me who I am today: a human being in touch with the natural world. With an increasing indoor society, especially for the younger generations, I think by doing this I helped made the understated inspiration of nature more possible, visible for some kid, and that’s all that matters.
The Real Cost of Care
This Monday I went to a talk given by Dr. Elizabeth Rosenthal about rising healthcare rising costs. This event was about the exorbitant rising costs of healthcare and their impact on patients. Dr. Elizabeth Rosenthal detailed the ways in which our healthcare system in the U.S. differs from other systems of healthcare around the world. She also discussed the ways in which money is being used in the healthcare system for excessive comforts, such as coffee in the waiting room. I was very surprised to learn that rising healthcare costs is currently the number one cause of bankruptcy in the United States! I think this demonstrates that healthcare costs can become a financial burden and cause inequality. Dr. Rosenthal’s career as a medical correspondent was most interesting. I rarely hear about doctors who have delved into other careers that meld their interests outside of medicine with their medical training. It was interesting to see how her two interests manifested themselves in her new book.
I agreed with Dr. Rosenthal because I have personally dealt with medical care costs that seemed to overcharge me for the care I received. I also agree with her advice to patients. I think we really do need to challenge our healthcare providers and insurance agencies to give us the care we want at the price we deserve. Her statements also convinced me that change is not going to come from Washington, D.C. The state level government has people in positions of power that can change things for patients. In addition, I think that this event made me realize that Americans cannot just wait and hope that Congress will pass an acceptable bill. Citizens have to act in order to get the results they want. If other countries don’t deal with exorbitant medical care costs, then why should we?
Although Dr. Rosenthal focuses more on the complex aspects of healthcare that need to be reformed, Irealized that in the big picture, Americans should be more involved in their government. If they were, perhaps the healthcare system would not be where it is today. I think that this demonstrates a failure in our government. People should be able to vote for representatives that can come together and create a plan. The fact that both parties cannot compromise displays a lack of cohesion and divisiveness that we have to fix before we can even begin to think about reforming the healthcare system.
Halloween and Bonding
I had never actually attended a Table Talk before this one and really enjoyed it not only because it was Halloween but, because I got to interact with other Rose Scholars and GRF Seema. Interestingly, I never knew that Halloween was the second most commercialized holiday in the United States. I mean I was aware of the amount shopping that goes with costumes, decorations, candy, and parties but, I wasn’t entirely convinced. It is almost no surprise that Christmas is the most commercialized. Actually, in retrospect, I am kind of surprised that Halloween and Christmas don’t elicit the same amount of spending. Then again, we discussed at the Table Talk how many people do not celebrate Halloween as it was associated with the dead coming back. I personally know several people who wouldn’t let their children Trick or Treat or engage in any Halloween festivities and it was because of this idea that the dead were coming back.
I was aware of the Pagan holiday of Samhain but I didn’t know that there were Roman influences on the holiday. In addition, I found it amazing how the Celtic people would actually make the masks in order to scare the dead or make sure that the dead didn’t recognize them. These beliefs stemmed from the idea that after the harvest everything died for the winter, the times of cold, sickness, and death. Thus, this holiday could be thought of as a coping mechanism to be on terms that there is a dark age coming. The descendants of the Celtic people, the Irish, eventually came to the United States where the Halloween holiday became what it is today. After this Table Talk, I remembered seeing some old school, nightmare worthy costumes and decided to share(http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/creepy-halloween-costumes-gallery-1.2418269?pmSlide=1.2418256).
Halloween and its relevance in today’s society
During Table Talk today, we talked about the history of Halloween and its relevance in today’s world. A tradition originated by the Celtic people 2,000 years ago in Ireland, it’s still a part of today’s traditions. It was interesting to hear of different people’s experiences with it growing up. Some didn’t celebrate it, while others participated in town festivals dedicated to the 31st of October. It was also cool to see how many people relate it to happy memories with family and friends, much like my own experience. Overall, I learned that for years, Halloween has been a celebration that brings people together, in their love for scary things and candy.
Genetically Modified Salmon
Last week I had the chance to sit down with Tyler and a few Rose Scholars to discuss the impact of genetically modified salmon in the Canadian market. Before I walked into the dining hall room, I had read the recommended article and started to formulate my opinion on the topic. Initially, I was not in favor of genetically modifying animals such as salmon. I thought the idea of altering the genetic code of animals is a slippery path, but I was curious to hear others’ opinion.
When I sat down with the group, I heard the different arguments for genetically modified salmon and realized that this food source will be eventually viewed as genetically modified crops. Initially, consumers like myself will have the idea that genetically modified organisms are unnatural. However, it is important to note that animals are currently being injected with chemicals harmful to consumers. I believe that if companies selling genetically modified salmon are priced lower than their natural counterparts, people will respond to the incentives and purchase the salmon.
I enjoyed this discussion with the other Rose Scholars and it was interesting to hear everyone’s opinions. I thought our discussion on the environmental risk of introducing genetically modified salmon was particularly interesting. In conclusion, while genetically modifying animals could present new opportunities, it could also disrupt the natural ecosystem.
Into The Streets
My experience with Into the Streets was surprising, to say the least.
To begin with, I wasn’t entirely sure what the event consisted of when I planned on signing up. I found out that it had to do with volunteering in the community once I was in the process of signing up and trying to complete the paperwork to take part in the event. Some of my friends had also signed up to do the event, so I thought that we might be in the same place to volunteer. In the end, the group I went to was assigned to the YMCA outdoor site, and I was placed in a group of entirely new people.
Having just been told that I would be volunteering at the YMCA, I thought that we would be at a building, possibly clearing up the front of leaves. The farther the bus went, the more we realized that our destination was not what we had expected. Despite the unexpected nature of the event, my group as a whole had a good experience.
We were tasked with cleaning up the “playground”. When we first saw it, we didn’t know that it was the playground that they had been talking about on our walk to the clearing. There were just a few short tree trunks and long branches scattered around. The one that was assigning the tasks to each groups told us that he wanted the playground to look like a sun, which was the extent of the guidelines we received.
As a group, we were able to decide what we wanted to do to accomplish the end that had been established for us. With this goal in mind, we were able to organize the stumps and branches into something that we thought kids would want to play with. We also added our own ideas to the organization of the playground.
While we went through making the playground, I was able to talk to my group members, which was composed of freshman through juniors and even a grad students. We were able to talk about different aspects of living and studying at Cornell, which was a good way for us to feel more comfortable with each other while we went through the process. In the end, we were all very happy with the results, especially since we were able to make something out of what used to look more disorganized. Since we were able to see concrete result, we could see what we were doing to help the community.
The experience was very rewarding. It was great being able to volunteer outside while the weather was still nice and being surrounded by the woods. Not only was I able to see the end results of my time there, I met new people through my group. It was great working with people that were aiming for the same goal, as well as being people that were easy to get along with. I think that I would enjoy being able to be a part of it again in the upcoming years, and look forward to what else I might be able to do.
Friday’s Film!
Dead Poets Society was one of the best films I have seen, and I have seen a lot. It was the perfect time to de-stress after a long day with my fellow Rose peers. A couple of my friends and I went and the movie was so good, I recommend. I do not want to spoil the movie but I loved the English teacher, John Keating as he had reminded me of my senior English teacher, Ms. Marcus. They both used unusual ways of teaching that made you think outside the box and have fun while you learn. The boys John Keating taught were under a lot of pressure and expectations and it made me think of when I was in high school and all I wanted to be was successful in the eyes of my parents and Ms. Marcus helped me realize my potential. Although the ending was sad and many did not think it was a great movie I 10/10 recommend because it brought back good memories of high school.
Into the Streets: An Important Reminder
To be honest, volunteering with Into the Streets was something I was not immediately looking forward to. However, after finally bracing the walk up the slope and meeting my wonderful team, I could already tell that the rest of the day would be an experience to remember.
I wanted to focus this conversation to the aspect of volunteering as a whole. This experience helped me stay in touch with the Ithaca Community and reminded me of the gratification that volunteering can give. You can make friends and learn about the community, and more importantly, you can help change someones life for the better. From now on, I will always be sure to volunteer in my free time, and enjoy doing it!
Into the Streets
This is the second year I have participated in Into the Streets and I loved it. I love volunteering and often go to Loaves and Fishes on Thursdays to help in the soup kitchen. But this was totally out of my element. I am from Queens, New York and although Cornell is surrounded by beautiful gorges and trees our activity was focused on the outdoors. I thought I wasn’t going to enjoy it but as I looked at my peers next to me cleaning the green areas kids play in was truly rewarding. I had a chance to learn about the YMCA’s efforts in trying to get kids to enjoy the outdoors and the benefits of playing outside. Although it felt good helping Ithaca’s community, It also felt wonderful learning something new. I think I will try hiking and going for runs in the outdoors now!
Table Talks: History of Halloween
Table Talk about the History of Halloween came right on time! It was wonderful talking to everyone at the table about the different versions of Halloween in different countries. We learned about the start of Halloween began with the Celtics tribe putting food outside their door to keep the dead from coming into their homes. They would also use masks to go outside to hide from death! During the Medieval Era, people would give homeless beggers food in exchange for them praying on behalf of the person’s dead loved ones. I thought it was so cool to see the transition of beliefs into a holiday that Americans spend roughly 6 billion dollars on every year. I am so excited for Halloween, now that I know the history behind the holiday!
The Rising Costs of Healthcare
As a financial dependent who has not needed anything beyond regular checkups, I’ve have remained largely ignorant to the price of healthcare in this country. I follow the news and I know that many people are struggling, but I was not aware how much of health care costs exist just because someone somewhere wants a bigger profit. I’ve heard about Martin Skhreli and his absurd price hike for one drug, but I was surprised to hear how common big price hikes for life-saving drugs/operations are and the lack of legislation prohibiting such actions.
Some of the price is explained by the cost of facilities, but it is clear that many design choices in hospital construction were not made in order to deliver better care. It’s ridiculous to charge a patient for a fancy chair they’ll never sit in or their families for an experience they clearly didn’t want in the first place.
I’m definitely in agreement with Dr. Rosenthal that the healthcare system is dysfunctional, but I don’t think her tips for patient questions would have quite as big an effect as she hopes. Many patients and their families don’t have time to go looking up any information they might need, and they clearly can’t always rely on their doctors or hospitals to tell them the full truth. Dr. Rosenthal’s advice may spread awareness and get patients and doctors more knowledgeable about pricing, but some kind of reform is necessary on a higher level to punish predatory business practices or else change just won’t happen. As she brought up, individual patients are just not significant enough for insurers or pharmaceutical companies to care.
Mistaken Identity
The film North by Northwest was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Before Stan Lee was doing cameos in the Marvel Universe films, Alfred Hitchcock was making background appearances in his films. As someone who really enjoys films from this era, I was looking forward to watching this film. I had seen many Hitchcock films, such as Psycho and Dial M for Murder, and I also liked films with the actor Cary Grant, who has also acted in His Girl Friday and Charade(with Audrey Hepburn!!!). I enjoyed watching this film because it had numerous unexpected plot twists that made it super entertaining. Every time you thought the path had smoothened for the main character, another twist would occur. I would definitely recommend this film to other people.
How Collegeton Came to Be
Last Wednesday I attended a talk with John Schroeder. The talk documented how Cornell’s housing came to be, from the construction of the first dorms to the construction of apartments in Collegetown. I was not very familiar with the topic before going in; I knew that prices for housing in Ithaca were high and that the student influx had an affect on the greater Ithaca community, but John made it evident that prices were getting out of hand. People who have lived in the area cannot afford to pay their rent, many people who work in Ithaca have to commute from farther places, and prices are still rising.
But John said there was a plan. Realtors are now looking to build more housing to accommodate for the large demand from Cornell students. If the supply goes up, hopefully the prices will go down. But John expressed that though this should happen theoretically, there is no way to ensure that this actually happens. A lot of the land in Ithaca is owned by a few people who have a monopoly, so it is ultimately their decision on whether or not to lower the prices.
A small debate got going on whether or not it was best to build more housing that did not fit Ithaca’s aesthetic to lower prices; some say that giving access to housing is more essential than preserving the authenticity of Ithaca while others say that Ithaca’s small-town feel is what people come for. I personally agree with the latter. Ithaca is Ithaca because of the environment. It would not be fit for skyscrapers and apartment duplexes to line the streets of downtown. Ithaca has a history, and it is important to maintain that history regardless of what may be economically lucrative.
Also, John gave me a cool map of early Ithaca to put on my wall 🙂 Thanks, John!
My Online Persona
After attending a Rose Mini Seminar with GRF Sam, I learned how valuable an online persona would be in a professional setting. Not only does it allow me to advertise myself to potential employers and networks, it allows me to build the image I want people to see me as. Sam went through things such as basics, biographies, usernames, and following patterns. Using all the information he gave us, the class was able to “build” who they wanted to be online.
COnsidering that I do not use social media often and all my social media is private, the session really got me thinking of whether or not I should actually pursue making profiles on various platforms. In the end, I decided not to do it right now because I am too busy to keep up with it; and keeping up with posts is one thing Sam said is essential to successfully creating an online persona.
Remarkable Changes in Housing
Before I heard John Schroeder’s talk on the history of campus and Collegetown housing, I never really understood why housing was built the way it was on both campus and in Collegetown. But when Mr. Schroeder passed around a map from the late 1880s of Cornell and Collegetown and discussed the historical context of these areas, I was very intrigued. One of the points he mentioned that surprised me was that the only way to get to campus from Collegetown was through the path behind Cascadilla Hall since College Avenue did not connect to campus. Every day I walk from Collegetown back to campus through College Avenue. Now when I take this path, I will have an appreciation for what this part of Collegetown used to be like.
Additionally, I learned from the portrait of Ithaca Mr. Schroeder passed around how undeveloped central campus was. On what is the Arts Quad today, there were only a few buildings compared to the plethora of buildings that surround the quad now. This gave me an appreciation for how much we have grown as a community from only a few buildings, to the hundreds of campus structures and thousands of students that make up the school today. This appreciation also extends to how much development has occurred with regard to housing. Back in the late 1880s, Mr. Schroeder described that many students lived in the downtown area as opposed to living in Collegetown, which is far different from now where a large population of students do live in Collegetown and not many students live downtown. Also, the portrait showed how North Campus did not have any buildings. This is completely different from the thousands of students that populate that area today. Thus, it is amazing to me how much Cornell and Collegetown’s layout regarding both buildings and housing has changed over time.
Cornell’s Collegetown Construction
During the Wednesday Café, John Schroeder came in to talk to us about the construction going on around Cornell. He brought in large maps of what Cornell looked like in 1882 for everyone to look at while he discussed housing at Cornell. He talked about how Cornell students at that time did not live in dorms. I learned that the reason the Cornell campus gates are located at the end of Eddy Street is because students used to walk behind Cascadilla to get to classes. He also talked about why the apartments in college town are so expensive. He also touched on when approving the construction of new buildings in college town, they would like the new buildings to match the look of some of the older ones. It was interesting to learn about Cornell’s history and how the apartment prices in college town got to the point at which they are now. Whenever I go to college town, I see the new buildings, which are beautiful and seem like very nice places to live. After attending this Rose Café, I have a better understanding of the construction that is happening in college town and the process behind these new constructions.
GMO Soybeans and Salmon
The world’s population is expected to grow to 9 billion by 2050. A significant challenge in sustaining this population would be ensuring a steady, secure supply of food. Genetically modified organisms have already been proven to be a useful tool in reaching higher levels of agricultural efficiency. Although I am in favour of the use of genetically modified crops, I believe that the management of this technology could be more efficient.
A really popular example would be Roundup Ready soybeans, developed by Monsanto. Farmers originally used herbicides other than glyphosate to manage weeds on their farms, since glyphosate also affected the crops that were grown. However, with roundup ready soybeans, the genome had been modified to include a gene that encoded for a glyphosate-tolerance enzyme. This allowed farmers to use glyphosate, without worrying about the negative consequences it may have on yield. Additionally, glyphosate is considered relatively safer than other herbicides. It also reduced the effort required to manage weeds or prepare fields for crops.
However, the introduction of this technology also had consequences. Naturally, more farmers chose to buy Roundup Ready soybeans, as it was a safer, more efficient alternative. Since Monsanto had patented Roundup Ready soybeans, it was the only supplier of these seeds. This led to a single company having a monopoly of the seed market, for soybeans. The company was able to inflate the prices. Additionally, farmers were not allowed to save seeds for the next growing season, forcing them to buy new ones next year. Another issue would be that since glyphosate would not affect the crops, there might be excessive use of the herbicide to ensure that that there is no growth of weeds.
The issues surrounding transgenic salmon are pretty similar. It would have the benefits of increasing the amount of salmon production, which would meet the current demands more effectively than fishing. There are issues that would have to be resolved/thought about: management of the waste produced by the fish, the ethics of aquaculture and the monopolisation of the salmon industry (Which would affect relatively small-scale businesses).
Overall, genetically modified organisms have the potential to increase the efficiency of food production. However, the management of these crops or animals could be improved or regulated to prevent damage to the environment or the formation of monopolies.
Sustainability
Last Monday, I attended a Table Talk on GMO salmon introduction to Canadian markets involving about eleven people in total. In the Rose dining room, filled with a cacophony of voices, I could not really hear what people were saying, but the bits that I did catch led me to consider the peripheral dangers of GMO salmon. I do not know the nuances of the industries practicing genetic modification on plants nor the ones attempting genetic modification on animals for commercial food sale. I am concerned, however, that only attempting to meet consumer demand for food through biotechnology places too much emphases on meeting demand without restructuring potential underlying forces of unsustainable resource consumption. Also, I fear that this debate over GMO safety, labeling etc. overshadows other, arguably more important, debates surrounding the nature of the modern agriculture industries found in America and other developed countries that rely on CAFOs, confined animal feeding operations, and fish farms for producing animals to be eaten. Regardless if one supports killing an animal for food or not, these industries have undeniable, negative environmental implications and often present hazardous work environments for livestock workers. Thus, this growing GMO debate might overshadow conversations that really should be had about other aspects of global food production.
Drawing in Perspective
I like drawing, though my style is a bit unorthodox. Typically when drawing a scene, you start out with general shapes and then progressively get more detailed. This helps you get the proportion of the objects in your scene right, while allowing you a lot of blank space to add details. For some reason, I always focus on one little thing, like the column of a building, and draw it out in the most detail as I can, then move on the the next object in the scene.
On Saturday, Seema and Sam took me and a few other Rose Scholars out to draw on the Arts Quad. Seema is getting her Ph. D. in the Department of City and Regional Planning, so naturally her drawing turned out well. She demonstrated the difference between two point and one point perspective drawings, which seemed particularly applicable when drawing buildings, like those on the Arts Quad. I drew Goldwin Smith Hall from a one point perspective, with the North side of the building going further back into the page and thus getting a little smaller.
It worked well, but I have to admit I resorted to old habits pretty quickly. I don’t get to draw very often, so when I do, I am prone to doing it in my usual style. Next time I’m drawing buildings, I will try to stick to the way Seema introduced, and hopefully my buildings will look more to scale with all the other parts of the scene. Also, trees. I really need to work on my trees.
GMO Salmon and the Environment
Last Monday I attended the Table Talk about the impact of GMO Animals. Admittedly, this is a topic that I know very little about. I am not very uneducated about the more scientific side of genetically modified foods, but I know enough to hold the opinion that they are a largely positive thing. Upon reading about genetically modified animals, however—specifically salmon—I was immediately a little bit skeptical.
As a self-described environmentalist, my first concern always lies in how something could negatively impact the global ecosystem. Introducing a fish to the environment that grows twice as fast could have potentially devastating effects on the entire food web surrounding it. After voicing this concern, however, I was informed that the company pioneering the effort to make these genetically engineered fish has put in many different precautions to prevent this exact scenario. The eggs are produced in a completely different hemisphere from the farm itself, and they are also triploid which effectively renders them sterile. Additionally, the farm is in central Panama, away from the coast. In the small chance that one were to escape the facility, it wouldn’t be able to reach the ocean anyway.
This fear assuaged, my next concern was for the fish themselves. What are the conditions like at these farms? Are the fish treated fairly? Though information is difficult to find, it seems (to me, at least) safe to assume that the answer is no. The industry standard not just for fish but meat tends to be sub-optimal for the animals. This is less a qualm with the genetically engineered salmon than it is for the food industry as a whole, however.
Despite this, I do hope that the GMO salmon reach the global market. They are a much more sustainable solution for getting protein, as other protein sources (especially beef) come with a huge carbon footprint. If used correctly, this could not only be a win for the reduction of overall emissions, but for the movement to end world hunger too. Unfortunately, the fact that these salmon have taken upwards of twenty years (and counting!) to reach US supermarkets makes me wonder if this might just be wishful thinking on my part.
Why are housing prices so high?
The Rose Cafe chat with John Schroeder on Housing/Buildings in Ithaca was extremely interesting. To begin, John handed out a large drawing of Cornell and the surrounding Ithaca environment that was made even before the Arts Quad was constructed. This drawing really allowed me to see all of the construction that has gone on over the years. After an initial introduction into the infrastructure of Ithaca, students began to ask many questions related to the pricing of housing in Collegetown. John’s response was extremely interesting as he told us that the pricing in Collegetown can be as high as a tenant see fit as students are extremely limited in their housing choices. In addition, Cornell has continued to raise its dormitory housing prices along with Collegetown buildings, thereby not discouraging any reduction of Collegetown prices. The building committee of Ithaca has hypothesized that the creation of more apartments in Collegetown will cause an eventual reduction of prices. However, the expected results have not yet been seen as more and more buildings are built. I sincerely hope that Collegetown apartments will eventually come down in pricing for future students. I believe that the current choices of housing for students is very limited, which is why landlords can get away with charging such high prices. Simple solutions that I have tried to brainstorm include: building more apartments, Cornell lowering its housing prices, or students refusing to rent an apartment with outrageous prices. Obviously all of these solutions have one (if not more) complications. This is a difficult problem to solve, but I do hope that we can all work together to help the situation.
Transgenic Salmon and the Future of Genetic Engineering
Last Monday GRF Tyler Moeller led a discussion about the recent approval of transgenic salmon into the Canadian food supply. The technology behind the salmon is nothing novel, overly innovative, or exceptional with regards to other achievements in the field of biological engineering, and the fish themselves that have been modified to grow at twice the rate as wild type salmon have existed for over 2 decades. Why then are we only just seeing the introduction of these fish in 2017 (and not in the US despite established FDA safety clearance)? To me this is a classic example of the tiring over-regulation and bureaucracy that exist around genetically engineered food that force applied progress in this field to a painstakingly slow crawl. The time, money, and overall process required for regulatory approval is not justified from a scientific standpoint (see Conko et al., 2016 in Nature Biotechnology for an excellent overview on the backward nature of the bureaucracy surrounding regulatory approval of genetically engineered foods in this country), and for me, the salmon we discussed are just another long overdue step in the development of our food system that is increasingly demanding a more diversified, accessible, and economical food supply that in turn must grow and adapt to not just the needs of the consumer but even more so to long-term sustainability.
There is a global shortage of salmon (see report from the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO] for more information) that is causing large increases to the global price of salmon, and as a result, there is now a greater incentive to turn to natural sources of salmon to meet the present demand. Exploiting natural areas that proliferate with wild salmon in an attempt to meet the global demand will not be sustainable in the long term, and as is the case for a variety of other species, over-harvesting will lead to a loss of population biodiversity and overall species vitality. The genetically engineered salmon represent a high-throughput method of salmon production that can help alleviate pressures on wild populations to prevent over-harvesting and the subsequent harm to species biodiversity.
Advances in human civilization have always been met with similar advances in food production to address food security for a species ever-growing in population and complexity. The demand for salmon will not decrease in the near future, and genetically engineered salmon should be seen as the next step in the intensification of our food production system that must occur to satisfy consumer demand in a sustainable manner.
Housing Prices and Changing Architecture
I really enjoyed the discussion we all had with John Schroeder last week. I thought it was really cool to see how the city of Ithaca has changed over time and see how different everything now looks from how it looked 100 years ago. One thing that greatly annoyed me, however, was what I learned about housing prices and how Cornell plans to provide housing for its students forthcoming. I always thought that collegetown housing prices were exorbitant because of landlords hiking up the rent to make as much of a profit as possible, but I never considered the ways in which Cornell significantly contributes to the problem. A lot of houses on Cornell’s campus do not pay property taxes, and Cornell as a whole could charge way less than it does for housing to relieve some of the financial burden students face. In addition, Cornell has a lack of housing, which allows landlords to drive up prices because of supply and demand. The new housing coming to north campus is not going to help in the short term because it is going to be swing housing, used to house students who would usually be living in another dorm but aren’t because those dorms will be under renovation. Cornell needs to fix this problem soon, and fast.
North by Northwest is a Terrible Film
I should preface this by saying that the title is pretty much clickbait and although I don’t feel particularly fond of the film, I’m completely aware that my analysis may be misguided.
I also think part of my sentiment is that the film is heralded as one of the greatest films of all time, so I had really high expectations. Even against other great 50s films such as 12 Angry Men or Singing in the Rain, I feel North by Northwest is lacking in many areas. In short, it didn’t live up to my expectations, so I was immensely disappointed (and I don’t think it came close to the greatness of 12 Angry Men).
I’ll briefly highlight my main concerns.
1. The plot is uninspired.
Notice I didn’t say the plot is cliche. Certainly being cliche is part of being uninspired, but being uninspired is more than just cliche. Note that I also am not merely reflecting the fact that the film is meant to be “fun” and “light-hearted”, but rather that the content of the plot is so uninteresting that it reduces the “fun” component of the film. Perhaps another way to put it is that the plot is pretty thin and artificial.
2. The acting is uninspired.
By this I mean that the acting is largely unconvincing. Many lines seem platitudinous and forced. The viewer is often reminded that what they’re viewing is merely a portrayal rather than an occurrence. Just take the scene of Lester Townsend’s murder. As soon as the knife plunges into Lester’s back, Roger Thornhill’s hand is there to grab it. The scene couldn’t be made more unnatural or awkward. It was so poorly acted, and it was immediately obvious Roger “needed” to grab the knife for the continuation of the artificial plot.
3. The ending is uninspired.
This perhaps goes without explanation. It feels almost like the end of Monty Python and the Holy Grail where the filmmakers just ran out of budget and had to suddenly terminate the film. Only in North by Northwest it’s less funny and more weird. I will grant that the last innuendo of the train going into the tunnel was amusing, but apart from that I believe the transition could have been made much better even if it was meant to occur so quickly.
4. Eve Kendall is uninspired.
I’m convinced that there doesn’t exist any semi-competent human being who’s as helpless as Eve. She’s the only major female character and she pretty much exists solely for the sake of seducing Roger. She cries when she’s separated from Roger, but doesn’t have the willpower to do anything about it (nor does she recognize, or at least do anything about, the fact that she’s being completely used by the FBI for what seems like nonexistent compensation). When a gun is fired in the room next to hers she doesn’t think twice about it. I could go on, but I think the point is clear.
5. The film is uninspired.
The points 1-4 help lead me to this conclusion. I grant that they may not be sufficient, and it is completely fair to quip that my analysis is grossly inadequate, but I leave it as is. I also assume that an uninspired film is a terrible one. One can earnestly dispute this point, but for the sake of space I’ll omit a justification.This post is already too long.
Get Out(side)!
I’ve always enjoyed volunteering and giving back to those less fortunate than I am. Into the Streets seemed like the perfect way for me to do that here in Ithaca. Going into the event, I had no idea what to expect. I figured we would end up playing with kids at the YMCA facility. To my surprise, we arrived at what looked like a hiking site or campground of sorts. It was so interesting to learn about all the different outdoor education programs they provide to the Ithaca community! Spending the day in the woods helping to clean up broken glass so kids don’t fall and get hurt was a lot more rewarding that it might sound. This event has inspired me to want to volunteer and give back more. I think I might try and volunteer at the YMCA regularly!
Enjoying the Arts Quad while Sketching
Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of going to the arts quad to draw some of the buildings and learn more about sketching techniques. When we first got to the arts quad, we were given a brief overview on how to use perspective. Two and one point vanishing point techniques were shown before we picked what we wanted to draw and began. As someone who took a lot of art classes in high school and occasionally paints now in college, I liked having the refresher and tips before I began sketching buildings. For my drawing, I chose to draw the edifice of Goldwin Smith. At the end, it was really interesting to see how different people captured similar parts of the campus in their own style.
The event was a really nice chance to enjoy the fall beauty and to take a few hours to relax during a busy period of the school year. I personally find drawing to be a good way to come to a place of peace because it requires such a focus on technique and the subject. Having the opportunity to enjoy a warm, sunny morning outside getting lost in art was a very enjoyable experience
Inspiration at Into the Streets
While the highlight of today’s event was the actual service we as a Rose House team performed, I want to mention the words of Vice President for Student and Campus Life Ryan Lombardi at the kickoff event for Into the Streets this morning. VP Lombardi shared an anecdote of his own time in college — a Halloween arts & crafts community service event for young, underprivileged children from the surrounding area. He stressed that this event was the turning point for his own views of community service and his career as a whole (he had originally gone to school to become a musician!), and he told us that while he didn’t expect us all to experience the same life-changing effects as he did, he hoped our opportunity to serve today would help us appreciate the community around us as well as our own privilege.
VP Lombardi’s words stuck with me throughout the day, reminding me to stay positive even when the work became challenging or monotonous. His anecdote also reminded me of my own experience interacting with homeless people at a shelter for which I was helping to organize a clothing drive. In either case, privilege is a dangerous blessing — today reminded me that it is incredibly important to keep in touch with my position in the world in order to ensure that I return positive contributions to it in return for the privilege I receive.
The Scapegoat Concept
I was very upset by the film Dead Poet’s Society, mainly because I felt as though I could relate very much to the main character, Neil. I understood the pressure he felt to not disappoint his parents, though maybe not as extremely, and the hope he obtained from extracurricular activities. Yet, I found I disagreed with the way most characters handled one situation or another throughout the film. I was particularly bothered by the perpetuating of such pressure-inducing behaviors through the search of a scapegoat, rather than a search for a remedy to rectify all actions taken that may have contributed to such a tragic event as Neil’s suicide.
Two wrongs do not make a right, and despite the Neil’s father’s pain at losing his only son, I think he continues to influence the pressures other students, particularly other members of the newly restored Dead Poet’s Society, face in coping at such a strict institution with a very oppressive culture. By not owning up to his part in his son’s suicide, he is making the rest of Neil’s friends face the consequences of his death on their own. That pressure is particularly evident in Todd, who wants to speak out but feels he cannot for sake of ruining others’ lives, as well as facing the repercussions of speaking out on his own.
This movie was very eye-opening in terms of realizing that what we do or do not do can have a great impact even on the individuals closest to us. Many people had the opportunity to speak out and to help, many people could have chosen to listen or act on Neil’s behalf for the pressure he was feeling, that he had not failed to communicate to those around him. Yet that inaction, and the closed-minded attitude his parents imparted all had a consequence they never foresaw and refused to own up to. They did not even attempt to speak up for Mr. Keating after they learned what would happen, which I think is very similar to their mistakes leading to Neil’s suicide to begin with.
If people don’t own up to their mistakes, then a vicious cycle of wrong is bound to continue.
Dead Poets Society: Tradition and Revolution
I had the chance to see the Dead Poets Society last week as part of the Friday Rose movies series. For me, this film dealt with the conflict of established tradition and the revolution of free thinking. We are presented with an elite all white male boarding school that prides itself in its ability to prime young men for elite higher education. Tradition and pride in the establishment are rampant and especially marked in all the professors save John Keating played by Robin Williams. Keating advocates for a novel way of looking at poetry that does not adhere to rules set by some academic but rather those that resonate more personally with the reader through individual interpretation. Excessive tradition and dogma hinder the growth of the mind by limiting the way it can branch, grow and develop. Keating advocates for Carpe Diem and for his students to move beyond the limits of the institution to explore the world by their own will and through this to develop an appreciation of literature as a medium for personal expression. While the movie does end in tragedy, the final scene shows the impact Keating has had on his students as they rise in defiance of the institution to give one final salute to their mentor that taught them more than any book ever could.
A Look into the Past and Future of Ithaca
John Schroeder gave this week’s Rose Cafe talk, his presentation mainly focused on the relationship between Ithaca and Cornell over the 150 year history. Being able to learn from an expert on Cornell history was an amazing experience because prior to this I knew very little about the dynamic history of Cornell and Ithaca. This presentation focused on the history of Collegetown and aimed to give some insight to the big question of “Why are the rents so high in Collegetown?” Unfortunately this is such a complex question with so many facets that we could not reach a palpable conclusion. Instead, I felt a thousand new questions spring out of this one question and the new information I had received. I was particularly interested by this topic and John Schroeder’s experience because I am studying Civil Engineering with the intention to work in urban and city planning and found this to be an amazing experience to come into contact with someone in the field.
More About Ithaca
This week in Rose Cafe, John Schroeder shared with us several ongoing development trends in Ithaca and the impacts that these have on students. It was amazing to see the layout of Cornell at its very beginning; it reminds me that we are all treading on a piece of history. Ithaca is special in its geography and culture: before this, I had never thought of the possible limitations architects faced when designing buildings, such as swampy soil that prevents buildings from being more than 9-10 stories tall, or the impact of our university on the otherwise quiet town of Ithaca in economic and social regards. I enjoyed learning more about our school and town from a unique standpoint.
John Schroeder discusses Cornell history
My favorite part of this Rose Cafe was to see look at the maps of the area surrounding Cornell that were sketched in the 1800s. It was also interesting to learn that the founders of Cornell opposed dormitory living. Part of the Rose Cafe involved a discussion about the new building plans for housing on Cornell’s campus. Interestingly most of the new beds won’t be used to accommodate new students but rather to serve as “swingers” for students in dorms such as Balch that need remodeling.
I need a new haircut
Mr. Carbonaro’s talk provided me with new ways to address the problems with my hair — whether it be dry or curly. What I enjoyed most about his talk was how enthusiastic and supportive he appeared to be about hair and styling in general. I’m excited to get my hair cut by him and hear his suggestions!
Gaining Perspective: Saturday Sketching on the Arts Quad
It was a stunning morning on the Hill as a small group of Rose Scholars climbed to the Arts Quad for a sketching expedition. Most of us didn’t have any real art experience, but GRF Seema gave us a crash course in perspective drawing, and we found a comfortable spot in the grass from which to sketch one of the beautiful buildings surrounding the Arts Quad.
From what little I know about sketching, the most complicated images are built of fundamental shapes. This is at least what perspective sketching is all about: giant diamonds are formed when lines connect the furthest forward part of a building with the “vanishing points” far off to the sides. In theory, every 3d object around us has an underlying geometric simplicity. But sitting in front of a building like Goldwin Smith Hall—which you don’t realize is so complicated until you try to draw it—it’s hard to see those simple diamonds behind the columns, the different shapes of windows, the trees that block parts of the building, the many different contours of the roof…
You just can’t get started if you let yourself get distracted by all of the minutia, and you can’t even depict the minutia if you don’t have a stable base. The base was the hardest for me to see, and it took me so long that I only finished half of Goldwin Smith in the time I had to sketch. It did look like Goldwin Smith in the end, though (unfortunately I don’t have a picture of my work; we turned it over to Seema when we left).
Perhaps there’s a wider lesson to be learned from sketching: the patience it takes to see the big picture is how we can perceive the details without them becoming warped. Perhaps this is what a liberal arts education is all about. In my first year and a half here at Cornell, I’ve learned about electric flux, modern Egyptian history, the energy of photons, property law, Gregorian chant, thermodynamics, and the list goes on. Yet I always find myself connecting these classes in the most unlikely of ways so that I achieve an even better understanding of the world around me than I could with full immersion into one of these fields. It’s the perspective that makes the difference.
A Suspenseful Movie
Today, we saw a suspensefulm on Friday movie night. I think a little scary movie, like this, is very Holloween-ish. The film is about a man being kidnaped for being seen as captan which he is not.
This is a film about modern technology. In the early nintennth century, when cars, plane and telephone were new invention, they palyed huge roles in the movies, such as the part when the captan was being kidnaped, and people tried to faked that he was self-killed, they put him in a car. They also tried to killed him by airplane. We can see how much the social development in technology influence the art of movie making and setting, eventhough many times when we watch the temporary movies we don’t feel the frequent use of smart phone, or airplane, or social networks, but after seeing this film, I started to realize how prevalent they are in the movie that we see nowadays.
And of cource, no story could be without a love story, including this movie that we watched. In the movie, the main character falled in love with the FBI agency who was undercovered in the killer group. He saved her at last, which made this film a happy ending. Also, I find it very funny that the character in the film who was mistaken as the captain was pereived so handsome and charming that almost every ladies in the movie was attracted to him. For example, one very interesting scene was at the hospital, when he escaped and jumped in to the room next to the one he was locked, the lady in that room was first terrified and then seeing his face, her word “stop” turned into a very shy and tempting sound, and that’s a little fun sprinkle in the suspense movie, this little laughing point.
The setting of the film was very luxury, and included a lot of famous buildings, such as the united nation building, the luxury hotel at New York and Chicago.
This film has been nominated by three acadamy awards. The name of the film was very confusing and drew people’s attentions to it. As said by the main character of the film, Hitchcock “It’s a fantasy. The whole film is epitomized in the title—there is no such thing as north-by-northwest on the compass.” Even though as seeing from now there are may places in the film that don’t explain well, and seemingly too coincident and not realistic, but I can see that in the standard in 1959 when the film was first came out, the large crowd of audience amazed by its fatasy settings as well as superior acting skills of the actors would be a great support to the film. As described by the hollywood review, at the premier of the film ‘A packed audience at the preview loved every cliff-hanging moment of this Alfred Hitchcock thriller.’
Greatest film of all time?
North by Northwest was certainly an interesting film. I’m a fan of Alfred Hitchcock’s television series and after watching this film, I have to say that I prefer his production of shorter episodes. I think this movie was more action-based than what I consider a psychological thriller, so I was left a little bit disappointed. I didn’t think the movie’s characters were that compelling and I found the plot to be a little bit dry and all over the place. It started off as a typical psychological thriller where you don’t know if they main character has lost his mind or if it is in fact true that the entire world is conspiring against him. Somewhere in the middle, it turned into more of a James Bond spy movie, and by the end it was borderline absurdist. I would definitely hesitate to call it ‘the greatest film of all time’ as others have listed it as.
One thing that I noticed was that a lot of the movie’s thematic and plot elements reminded me of more modern films. This speaks hugely about how influential this work is as an art form and I definitely appreciate that even if it isn’t my favourite movie.
A Historical Perspective of Ithaca Housing
On Wednesday, I attended the Rose Cafe where John Schroder led a discussion about Ithaca’s housing developments from the 1880s to present-day. I learned a lot about Ithaca’s past during this talk. For example, when Cornell was first founded, nearly all students lived with their families in homes rather than in dormitories. Also, College Avenue originally did not connect Cornell to Collegetown; a bridge was later built as enrollment grew and the need to be connected to a fire station emerged.
We explored the housing challenges in recent years, as Cornell enrollment rises and apartment buildings are being built and torn down. Rent rates have skyrocketed since the 1980s with the first big development in Collegetown – the Eddy Gate apartments. People have always hoped that the construction of new apartments would bring new competition and therefore lower rents. However, the housing situation is not really a free market, as most of the real estate is owned by a small number of people, resulting in an oligarchy. In addition, Cornell does not pay property taxes since it is a nonprofit, while still using public services like fire and police departments. As a result, Ithaca residents pay higher property taxes (directly or through higher rents). These high taxes ultimately drive some people away from Ithaca into nearby communities.
A few days before this Rose Cafe, Cornell announced a plan for new on-campus housing on North Campus, with 2,000 new beds being completed by 2021. We analyzed the difficulties of maintaining Cornell’s existing housing, particularly the older Gothic buildings. While 2,000 beds seem like a step in the right direction, Cornell will gradually expand enrollment by 1,000 students and take existing dormitories like Balch Hall offline for much-needed, lengthy repairs. I hope that the housing situation will improve with plans like this one, and I look forward to more events like this Rose Cafe to learn more about Ithaca and our community.
Rose Cafe with Nicholas Carbonaro
Last week, I had the opportunity to attend Nicholas Carbonaro’s discussion on how we can make the best impressions of ourselves with our style. I found this talk interesting because it brought to light the simple ways in which people can take care of themselves to present the best versions of themselves. This could be through using certain conditioners for your hair, or wearing certain clothes that display your personality. I found this discussion interesting, because Nicholas described how certain subtleties in your appearance can depict a lot about your personality and can affect jobs, and future opportunities that people have. For example, I didn’t think that the way in which people presented their hairstyles would depict certain characteristics about yourself such as whether you are a risk taker, an introvert, etc. I also thought it was important how Nicholas said that in order to develop into our “idea professional self” in the future, we have to start preparing for that role in the clothes that we wear, the hairstyles we choose, etc. A lot of times when I imagining the type of “professional” I want to be in the future, I often forget that forming this “persona” of myself is going to be a journey and not a persona that I can immediately acquire over time. This discussion has allowed me to evaluate how I can be the professional that I hope to be in a few years and the steps that I can take to achieve that in evaluating the types of clothes that I wear, how I wear my hear, etc. Although someone hearing this may think that these terms sound superficial, the way Nicholas was explaining these ideas, it didn’t sound that way. Thinking about how you present yourself to the world is a big indication of how you take care of yourself which for me personally is difficult to balance in college. However, I’m realizing that to embody the “persona” I want to be in the future, I will have to start working towards that right now.
Additionally, I was interested by how Nicholas formed his career in hair styling, restoration, painting, wax figures and wardrobe. I thought it was interested hearing how he had formed his career based on taking skills he had in design in a unique context by working in Broadway and working with wax figures. I was fascinated by how Nicholas extended the “traditional” boundaries of what design entails to his current career, because typically when I think of designers they of people working with hardware/software, or in the fashion industry. Nicholas has encompassed, fashion, art, hair-styling, as all interdisciplinary topics that depict him as a designer. As I am also interested in pursing a career in design, this discussion got me thinking about how I can encompass a wide variety of my interdisciplinary passions and still be a designer. In my case, I would tie together my interests in environmental science, health, writing, and game theory. Overall, Nicholas brought to light the importance of changing my daily schedule to accommodate how I want to present myself to the world which was a helpful reminder to me.
Developing Character: Dead Poets Society
I honestly didn’t know what to expect from Dead Poets Society before watching it this past Friday. It was pretty evident what the movies focus would be based on the few opening scenes. The movie opens previewing a preparatory school showing bright students destined for an ivy league education and their parents looming over their heads. The students new English teacher challenges them to think differently, explore the world through poetry and escape from the traditionalism enforced by the school if only for the duration of that one class. The students escalate it to another level though, congregating outside of class, sneaking out of their dormitories and reading verse. After the parents caught wind of their actions things started to go south, and this is what I found most frustrating about the student’s actions.
This conflict between the children and their parents can be seen in every person in the Dead Poets Society in one form or another. Each one of them has not had an opportunity to even develop a personality as their parents loom over them with every waking breath. Only after these meeting were they finally able to mature and grow and be something other than carbon copies of each other. They were all force to go to the school, and knew nothing else other than academics. I kept thinking to myself constantly during the movie, why are they not telling their parents how they really feel? I was lucky enough to have parents who would have been supportive no matter what I decided to pursue. It was just so hard to process for me, being in a situation in which you cannot freely do what you want, with your parents exerting control over every aspect of your life. The parent’s perspective can also be rationalized, and it is depicted by Neil’s father, how he values the financial security of a more orthodox career path for Neil. His father made the decision for Neil that the happiness from money is more important than the happiness of fulfilling his career aspirations. The decision he made for Neil ultimately cost him Neil’s life as he committed suicide because he could not bear the fact of spending the next 10+ years of his life becoming a doctor, and not pursuing his acting aspirations. The blame was placed on Keating, but by then Keating’s job had already been done letting the students find themselves through reading poetry and unlocking its meaning.
North by Northwest wouldn’t make it to South by Southwest
I don’t understand how this movie is considered to be one of ‘the greatest films of all time’.
I don’t know exactly how true this statement is as I’m pulling it from Wikipedia, but that’s irrelevant because this still sums up the film’s integrity to logic: “Lehman would sometimes repeat this story himself, as in the documentary Destination Hitchcock that accompanied the 2001 DVD release of the film. In his 2000 book Which Lie Did I Tell?, screenwriter William Goldman, commenting on the film, insists that it was Lehman who created North by Northwest and that many of Hitchcock’s ideas were not used. Hitchcock had the idea of the hero being stranded in the middle of nowhere, but suggested the villains try to kill him with a tornado. Lehman responded, “but they’re trying to kill him. How are they going to work up a cyclone?” Then, as he told an interviewer; “I just can’t tell you who said what to whom, but somewhere during that afternoon, the cyclone in the sky became the crop-duster plane.”
To summarize this movie, it is a glamorous version of the gif from the Telgu film where a man drifts underneath a train on a horse.
Why am I alive?
Dead Poets Society was one of the better films I’ve seen in quite awhile. There’s a lot to unpack from the movie so I’ll just focus on one specific aspect of the film. Neil Perry wants to follow his dreams of being an actor, but his father doesn’t approve and eventually ships him off to boarding school. Neil is so grief-stricken he commits suicide.
The scene when his father finds him dead is extremely powerful because I don’t believe most viewers expected something like that to happen. It was a deadly shock, just like in real life. Watching a scene like that really made me consider my own mortality. As we go about living our life, we rarely think of the fact that we will die, crumble to dirt, and be completely and utterly forgotten. We can usually stave off this realization with the trivialities of the day and other distractions. This begets people who live their whole life without having really lived at all.
I think the biggest lesson to take away from Dead Poets Society is that you are alive today, but not for long. Your life could end in a snap: there is but a fragile strand holding you here. Live like Robin Williams’ character in the movie: with vivacity and without fear. Obviously this is a tall order, and I don’t expect to be able to achieve such a goal in any real capacity. But I’ll be damned if I don’t try.
North by Northwest- a film for the rich white man
While viewing North by Northwest today, I was struck by how clearly the film catered to wealthy white men (understandably, since they would have been Hitchcock’s customers). Firstly, the “everyman” main character is a white business executive with enough money to go on tipping and bribing pretty much anyone he meets, just from his pocket money (since he wouldn’t have access to a bank as a federal fugitive). Not only that, he’s athletic enough to climb wherever he wants in full business attire, clever (enough to get out of the auction), and supposedly handsome enough to attract at least 4 women (the two instances we see being pretty blondes and apparently at first sight). This is pretty much the standard white male power fantasy.
Then there’s the dismissal of the entire public (composed entirely of white people) as a actual threat to him, with absolutely no one recognizing him and taking action at any point except the main cast and law enforcement (and even the police need prompting outside NYC). And then there’s the fact Roger (the MC) steals a presumably poorer man’s truck (and with it his livelihood) and we’re supposed to root for him anyways. Roger is just generally rude and demanding of everyone the film has marked unimportant, from the various hotel staff he questions to the two policemen who get him out of the auction.
Finally, Roger has ridiculous amounts of plot armor (because of course the ideal rich white man can’t fail). First is his luck avoiding all obstacles driving drunk in the dark. Then there’s the aforementioned failure of the entire public to recognize him. Neither train conductor checks the toilet to ask for tickets. The crop-dusting plane flies over his head in the second pass when the first pass showed it clearly could have flown lower, then crashes into the oil tanker (why does the pilot have no sense of self-preservation? There must have been a pilot because they didn’t have drones.) The oil tanker conveniently doesn’t explode in any direction except up, and there happens to be someone to stop and gape so Roger can steal his truck. Roger’s box of matches manages to survive all his ordeals immaculately enough not to look out of place in Vandamn’s Mt. Rushmore house. The knife-wielding villain (and isn’t it odd none of them have their own guns?) conveniently decides to throw himself at Roger (risking missing and falling) when we know he’s confident in his knife-throwing (since he killed the UN diplomat that way) and he was presented both Roger’s and Eve’s backs as targets. Finally, Roger manages to hold on to the monument after having his hand crushed long enough for rescue despite starting to slip even before getting stepped on. And, of course, the mysterious organization the FBI was so worried about is completely ignored in the end.
If one was willing to turn off one’s brain, I guess the film was enjoyable enough. As is, it was mostly just laughably unrealistic and cringe-worthy.
The Similarities of Welton and Cornell
Last week I had the opportunity to view Dead Poets Society in the Rose Dining Hall Room. The captivating movie illustrates the internal conflict of the protagonist Neil Perry, torn between his true passion of acting and the desires of his father. While his parents wanted him to pursue a stable and widely-respected career, Mr. Keating encouraged Neil to explore his burgeoning interest in theater. It was disappointing to see how this internal conflict led to Neil taking his own life at the conclusion of the movie.
Even though this movie was released in 1989, the theme of external pressures influencing student decisions is still prevalent today. At Cornell, students are expected to compete with their peers for selective internships in hopes of attaining a lucrative career. However, it is sometimes difficult to discern between genuine passion and pressure placed by those close to you. Similar to Neil, many students at Cornell fear the consequence of failing to meet high expectations. While those close to you want what is best for you, they sometimes distract you from pursuing your true passions.
Another similarity I saw between the Welton boarding school and Cornell is the emphasis on tradition and customs. When the students walked through the hallways, there were always pictures of alumni hanging on the walls. Additionally, tradition was one of Welton’s “four pillars”, and I believe that Cornell has certain unique cultural elements as well. From coined terms like “prelim” to symbols like the McGraw clock tower, most students have embraced the Cornell culture and its rich history.
Objectification of women in North by Northwest
So… can we just talk about how the only role of the female main character is to be objectified by the men in the movie and without her looks her character would be useless. Also the way Mr.Thornhill tried to seduce her was really creepy and if anyone every said that to me I would run away. All in all I don’t want to make this blog post longer than it needs to be Alfred Hitchcock needs to do better. Women are not objects or something you just have sex with, we are human beings. The movie also had the auction scene in which Mr.Thornhill said that she had no feelings to hurt. That is absurd. I think he thinks women who engage in one night stands lack emotions. Why is it frowned upon for women to have one night stands but for guys its ok. Like women are supposed to keep their legs closed in society and men are allowed to do whatever they want and have sex with as many people as possible. This movie and society in general needs to realize it is 2017 (yes I realize this movie is old) and that this is not ok.
O Captain! My Captain!
Although Dead Poets Society had some flaws, I thought it was a very good movie. The best part of it to me was the acting of Robin Williams. Even though he was probably best known for his comedy, Robin Williams was cast in a few serious roles: he played an inspiring English teacher in this movie and a psychologist to Matt Damon in the movie Good Will Hunting. His acting was so believable that he moves the viewers to feel the emotion of the characters that he corresponds with in the movie. As a result, we ourselves are inspired to defy convention and to follow our dreams just as Keating tells his students.
I was not expecting the events that happened at the end, which made it more emotionally moving. Since the one student could not follow his dreams of becoming an actor (because his parents were forcing him to go down the path to become a doctor), he committed suicide. As a result, Keating was blamed for the suicide and was fired from the school. The movie ends with the students standing on their desks, yelling “O Captain! My Captain!” to Keating: the students already knew that Keating was wrongly blamed for the suicide, but now they have fully realized the meaning of why he taught the way he did.
Dead Poet’s Society: An Inspiring Classic
Some films get into your skin — they’re stories that remain with you over the years for one reason or another. Dead Poet’s Society isn’t simply a melodrama. Despite some overly dramatic scenes, which critiques have often pointed out, the film is largely regarded as a cinematic masterpiece. For me, like with many, it’s the phenomenal acting of the late Robin Williams that leaves the everlasting impact on the viewer. William’s character of Mr. John Keating, a teacher at the preparatory Welton Academy, is depicted as both charismatic and unorthodox. A Rhodes scholar and former pupil of Welton, Keating makes a significant impression on his students by bringing poetry alive. The sheer passion Williams is able to portray upon Keating makes watching nearly every scene to be a joy. As someone who wasn’t particularly interested in poetry as a high school student, watching this movie definitely changed my perspective on not just poetry, but English literature as a whole. It may not have convinced me to peruse poetry daily, or to work on authentic poetry myself, but it instilled in me a respect and understanding of others’ appreciation for such literature. I’d highly advise for someone who hasn’t watched Dead Poet’s Society to give it a chance.
Cornell and City Planning
At this week’s Rose Cafe, guest speaker John Schroeder talked about city planning and the development of Cornell. It was interesting to hear about the changes that Cornell has gone through in the development of the campus and in housing, since I learned more about how historical events have influenced the current housing situation. First, we were shown a map of Cornell drawn in the 1880s, which showed a very different layout of the campus compared to the way it is now. Seeing the dramatic changes to campus over time was surprising to me and also eye opening to see how much the campus has changed from having Collegetown as the main entrance to Cornell, to the development of West Campus and North Campus.
However, there have also been negative changes that students have to face today. Specifically the housing issues that students have to face with high rent and difficulty in finding good housing options. I previously thought that the simple solution to the problem would be to build more dorms and housing options, however John Schroeder revealed that the solution is not so simple. Some of the dorms and buildings are protected to preserve their historical appearance, which has also made the housing situation more difficult for students. There is a high cost and difficulty in renovating these old buildings to stay in line with the law.
In addition, Schroeder discussed the economics behind the housing problem. In a free market scenario, the increase in housing options would indeed lower the cost of rent, however Schroeder talked about how the market is more of an oligopoly, with many of the housing properties owned by very few owners. In this situation, increasing housing options would not necessarily be able to lower the rent by an appreciable amount.
Although the housing situation is not ideal, Schroeder discusses possible hopes and improvements for the future. Many more housing projects are underway to provide more housing to students and hopefully begin to lower the price of rent in the future. It was interesting to hear about all the considerations and interrelated reasons for why housing is a problem at Cornell. Had I not attended this event, I would not have learned about all the nuances and the complicated reasons behind a seemingly simple housing issue. It definitely gave me a new perspective on why the housing problem exists and how it can be managed in the future. It also helped me realize that many issues that may seem to have a simple solution in my mind are in reality far more complicated, with reasoning and development related to history. This event helped me to realize that looking deeper within a situation or scenario can reveal much more than I previously thought.
Perfection and Privilege
Last Friday, I rewatched the Dead Poets Society with other Rose scholars. The movie follows a group of high school seniors who attend an elite boarding school. The boys are inspired by a new English teacher who helps them pursue their dreams and break out from their parents’ expectations of themselves. As the movie takes place in a prestigious boarding school, some of the themes it explores resonate with some of the problems we face here at Cornell. The boys deal with high expectations from parents and their general social circles. This pressure and suppression of their true dreams reaches an ultimate high when the protagonist Neil commits suicide. This aspect of the movie shows the real ramifications of the high-stakes pressure of chasing perfection. I think this can help ground us as we struggle with the pressure of doing well on prelims and hoping to achieve our goals.
While I appreciate the gravity by which the movie reflects the pursuit of perfection, I do think that it is important to look at the movie in perspective. In a way, it romanticizes the idea of dying for your dreams and art. Neil’s death is not in vain as his friends’ learn to see beyond the mold that society has pressed upon them. However, the struggles that the boys face showcase their privilege. They face problems that straight, white males face and as such the movie neglects to show any characters of other races, sexual orientations and even really gender. The largest female role goes to a Kris, a girl, that one of boys Knox has a large crush on. Knox kisses her while she is intoxicated and Kris is portrayed to be fine with this lack of consent and even falls for him. As a whole, Dead Poets Society has many salient points about societal pressures but does overlook the narratives of more marginalized communities.
Carelessness in Dead Poets Society
The ending of the film we saw this Friday was clearly meant to be an inspiring triumph of free thinking. Students rebelling against the establishment to should a wrongfully persecuted teacher that they still believed in what he showed them. Yet, I was left feeling somewhat troubled with this ending, and with the entire film for that matter. Robin Williams’ character intended to teach his students that making your own decisions is an important skill to have. However, it seems like all he taught these boys is to do whatever you want regardless about the situation around them. They begin to break both societal and personal rules in the name of freedom. One student kisses a girl who has passed out at a party, hardly the epitome of freedom. And another student commits suicide simply because he can’t be an actor for 2 years. The writers of the film clearly tried to address this when Williams’ character reminds his students that taking unnecessary risks and being impatient are not exceptional things to do. I think that his point is that you shouldn’t simply break things or make rash decisions, rather that you should consider all your options in life. So the victorious ending with students flaunting all cares in the world to make a statement lacks any virtue to me. I constantly think of the scene from the Great Gatsby when an incomprehensibly drunk man continues to drive his car after a wheel has fallen off. The students and that drunk man are no different, they make rash decisions because they don’t care about the consequences. There are no consequences for their actions that they can even think of. Therefore, to me this movie completely missed its mark, it reads like a celebration of all the loathsomely spoiled characters from every book in the world.
The Quest For Cheaper Housing in Collegetown
This past Wednesday, I attended John Schroeder’s talk on a variety of topics related to the development of Collegetown. It was really interesting to learn about the history of Collegetown, and how those events led to today’s housing problems. There are apparently numerous reasons that housing is so expensive in the area. For instance, housing costs in Collegetown are not governed by a free market, but rather by an oligarchy. Most of the apartments in Collegetown are only owned by a few people, so even if new housing is added, there is not enough competition to lower prices. However, Schroeder said that he has seen signs that the housing situation in Collegetown is beginning to improve, so it is possible that the new apartments that are being built now may help to lower prices.
Cornell itself also plays a role in the current housing situation. Since Cornell is a not-for-profit university, they do not have to pay the same taxes that everyone else has to pay. While I understand the reason behind this–Cornell is providing a service to the community by educating people–the city of Ithaca should not be forced to bear the burden of paying for all of the public utilities that Cornell utilizes. It is not Ithaca itself that is benefiting from Cornell, after all. It is all of New York State. Yet the rest of the state just gets the benefit without having to pay for it. Since all of that cost is concentrated in one small area, it causes property taxes in Ithaca to be extremely high. Every homeowner in Ithaca is not only paying for their use of public utilities, but also is paying a for a portion of Cornell’s use of public utilities. There just simply is not enough people in Ithaca to cause that portion of Cornell’s cost to be small.
Cornell has been trying to tackle the housing problems by building new on-campus housing. Theoretically this could help lower costs by reducing the number of students who want to live in Collegetown. However, this probably will not be the case. Although Cornell intends to construct new dorms, they also intend to increase enrollment–thereby negating most of the benefits of the new housing. In addition, much of the new housing will be used as “swing space” for the dorms that need to be temporarily shut down for renovation. So Cornell is adding new beds at the same time that it is taking old beds away. So although Cornell’s recent housing master plan is being marketed as a way to help the housing situation, it will probably do little good.
Carpe Diem – Seize the Day!
Dead Poets Society, a film probably familiar to many students, teachers and parents, captures the stories happening in a private school where “successful” parents send their sons to the school to be he successor of their wealth and popularity and a series of changes happening because of the arrival of a new poetry teacher who uses unorthodox method to teach and tell the boys to break the rules.
I’ve watched this film two times before, once in the middle school and once in the high school. While I’ve watched it before, every time I saw it, I developed new understandings and thoughts depending on the situation where I was in and the emotion I had. I remembered at the beginning I really couldn’t get the charm of poetry and thought it might be a little too dramatic for the boys and the teachers to behave. Why there’s a boy so shy that he could barley say a world? Why the teacher is so different and what’s wrong with the other serious ones? Why Neil cannot just talk to his father what he thinks? A couple of questions on whether it is possible for these plots to be true prevents me from focusing on the beauty or attraction of this film.
However, when I watched it last Friday, some of these questions are not unanswerable to me. I think it’s probably because college is a more diverse institution where we can meet more people or because we’re going to face the trade-off choosing what you like or choosing what can make you successful or because we have a lot of courses to choose from which means we can meet hundreds of professors.
It’s great to see the changes in myself when I’m experiencing through different periods of my life and seeing myself to be more mature and more tolerate of the difference and also braver to break the rules.
A Predictive Ending: North by Northwest
Who is Mr.Kaplan? Why is Roger abducted? Who are the people living in the UN official’s house? For a famous suspense movie from Hitchcock, this movie had a surprisingly not surprising ending. Honestly, it is not difficult to predict the double spy nature of Ms Eve, the cliche love story between Roger and Eve, and how the bad guys are always doomed.
Many details in the movie did not make sense. I couldn’t figure out how Roger and Eve could possibly survive in the last scene on the Rushmore, where Vandamm stepped on the only hand Roger had holding onto the cliff. I also was confused why Eve and Roger was talking so loud in Leonard’s house without them suspecting. And how on earth could they be so stupid chasing after the wrong Mr. Kaplan all the time. Like many other superhero movies, American police officers seemed to be useless. Not to mention a UN official can just be approached by a random, armed person and killed by a knife. Don’t people have to go to security that detects metal? The ending scene was abrupt and sudden, left many people’s mouth still open.
After watching this movie, I couldn’t remember anything that was meaningful to my life, any inspirations I could take away, or even lessons I learned. I wasn’t emotionally touched, or intellectually challenged. I hate to compare it with the popcorn movies like Transformers, but this is how I felt. Maybe I lack the life experience to appreciate the hidden implications, but I was disappointed.
Conforming Nonconformists?
Dead Poets Society was everything I expected it to be: a generally upbeat film, with a few of tragic occasions, that ends on a vaguely pleasant note. The movie focuses on individualism, finding your voice and not conforming to the majority. However, the movie had a few issues, one of which was that not every aspect of the movie encapsulated this idea effectively.
The most memorable scenes in the movie were of the teacher, John Keating. The scene that stuck with me in particular was when he encouraged the students to stand on his table, to view the world differently. During this scene, the camera is focused on Keating from a high angle. He is centered in the frame, delivering a monologue about finding your identity and voice, while the students move past at the edges, forming the backdrop. The dialogue and direction indicate that this is a significant point in the movie.
However, the message of this scene and the events leading up to it are somewhat contradictory. At the beginning of this event, Keating stands on his desk and tells the class about how he sees the world differently from up here. To convey his point, he asks the class to do the exact same thing. The form a line, and one by one, walk up onto the desk and walk right off. It was odd to watch characters mechanically perform this task while Keating spoke about individualism.
During the scene, he asked the students not to be walk off the edge like lemmings. When discussing this scene, I later found out that the idea that lemmings ‘mindlessly’ jump off cliffs was a myth (Propagated by a Disney documentary called ‘True-Life Adventure’). The use of a phrase of a popular, yet incorrect, phrase added to the irony of the situation.
Overall, it was a feel-good movie because of the relatable nature of the themes. However, the presence of contradictory instances throughout the movie made it appear like Keating was almost imposing his idea of individualism upon the class.
Drawing Goldwin Smith Hall
This past weekend I attended the “Sketching Event,” where each of us picked a building on the arts quad and attempted to draw it. I was unsure about signing up for this event because (1) I am far from anything that could be considered artistic, and (2) because I have never been one to enjoy at least trying to draw—I simply find it frustrating. However, I’m very glad I decided to attend this event. It was decidedly casual and fun, and it was a very pleasant and relaxing way to start my Homecoming weekend.
Half-jokingly, I asked the GRAs which building was the easiest to draw because of my lack of skill. They suggested drawing the side of Uris Library since it was mostly just boxes. After contemplating this for a few minutes, I ended up choosing to try to draw Goldwin Smith Hall instead; Uris, while simpler, was much less aesthetically interesting, and I thought it would be fun to try to capture the trees and plants around Goldwin Smith, even if the end result didn’t actually look like the scene in real life. I ended up really enjoying myself. In letting go of any expectations of what my drawing both could and should be, I was able to enjoy the process much more. Before I even realized what had happened, and hour and a half had flown by. In this way, I really do think that it’s valuable to students—especially those in entirely unrelated fields—to force themselves to tackle artistic projects every once in awhile. It truly does challenge you in a completely different way from science-heavy classes, and I feel better and more well-rounded as a person for having pushed myself to the event and try something out of my comfort zone.
Another You
Before entering college, my entire online presence consisted of my (rather empty) Facebook profile. I didn’t really see any reason to be an active online citizen, since I preferred in-person or more private means of communication. Even since coming to Cornell, I just barely created a LinkedIn profile. However, after attending this seminar, its clear how important an online personality is. For perspective employers, this is often their first point of contact with you. While it may seem unfair when you can’t talk to these people yourself, there is actually an advantage. That is, you have complete control over your online personality. Aside from keeping everything true, you control the tone and attitude you project online. Therefore, it is extremely important to develop a strong and consistent online personality across multiple platforms, and I plan to do so moving forward.
Carpe Diem: A Lesson in Aiming High Without Selling Yourself Short
I attended Rose’s screening of the ’80s classic, Dead Poets Society, last Friday night. I had been shown a scene from the film years ago, in a high school English class. However, without any context, the scene had very little impact on me. But now having viewed it full-length, I can say that Dead Poets Society is an absolute masterpiece, and, although flawed in some ways, it affected me very deeply. The last time I felt so moved by a film was when I watched Avatar, maybe 7 years ago.
The movie tells the story of an all-boys boarding school that demands intense discipline and exacts corporal punishment against those who don’t comply. The students face pressure from their parents to get into Ivy League schools and pursue typically high-earning careers in business, engineering, and the sciences. In comes Robin Williams’ lovable character, Mr. Keating, the new English teacher who shares his romantic view of life with the students and encourages non-conformity, individualism, and dream-following. Obviously, drama thus ensues.
The film affected me because as a science major aiming for pre-professional school after my undergraduate education, essentially the only courses I take now are science prerequisites and major requirements. I truly do love and am passionate about science, and am happy to be taking these courses. However, the film made me recognize that the arts are also important to study and appreciate — just because you aren’t going to be a writer or an artist does not mean you should not experiment with courses in literature and art history. Therefore, the film has motivated me to add an arts course into my science-heavy schedule. I want to keep the arts in my life, even if they are not my future career.
The movie also encouraged me to get outside more and enjoy the Earth. Often, I think we college students get so conjoined to our schoolwork that we spend all our time sitting at a desk, hunched over whilst reading textbooks and typing on our laptops. Work is important, but the benefits of the outdoors should not be ignored.
Overall, the film teaches us to seize the day, which is continuously repeated in its Latin translation, “carpe diem,” throughout the film. Yes, we should work hard and aim high; but that doesn’t mean we need to eliminate from our lives everything that is not directly synonymous with reaching our career goals.
Dead Poets Society: Don’t rip out the intro!
I abhorred Dead Poet’s Society. There are many things to hate about the film: the disgusting mishandling of one of the film’s only female characters, the maudlin tone and the romanticizing of violence, and the complete lack of diversity in a film which intends to celebrate resistance to conformity, and presumably the diversity of viewpoints which would accompany it.
However, I’d like to speak about what I found most infuriating about the film: it’s celebration of Mr. Keating’s “unconventional” teaching methods. The film presents Mr. Keating as a uniquely inspirational teacher, beloved by his students. I imagine I am not alone, however, in feeling that I would have hated having Mr. Keating as a teacher. Watching the film gave me flashbacks to every high school humanities class I hated with every fiber of my being, every class which made me want to become an engineer. When Keating has the students rip out the introduction of their poetry books, he seems to be suggesting that real literary criticism isn’t important. The class is not going to analyze poetry for its meter, rhyme scheme, and symbolism– they’re going to figure out what poems make them feel. What comes out here is a weirdly anti-intellectual theme for a film which seems to think it is celebrating literature.
One of my high school English teachers, in introducing our unit of poetry, told us that there are wrong answers. There is a correct way to interpret poetry, and there is an incorrect way. That seems like exactly the kind of sentiment Mr. Keating would hate. His general message seems to be that you should find what poetry means to you personally. While that thought seems seductive at first, upon closer inspection, it seems preclude any possibility of real dialogue about what poetry means, or real criticism of an author’s technique or intent. Mr. Keating has essentially taught his students how to feel, at the expense of teaching them how to think. He is exactly the sort of teacher I would have loathed. I attend school to learn how to think, not to be taught how to feel. I can manage the latter on my own.
I should also mention that, given our current political climate, it’s not super fun to watch a high school teacher essentially tell his students that the truth is whatever you feel is true. Also that you should “carpe diem”, which the boys in Dead Poets Society seem to interpret as “Do whatever you want, irrespective of the rights of others.”
Dead Poets Society
Dead Poets Society was a heartbreaking yet inspiring film. There are so many points in the movie when I thought “these are just teenagers, why do they have so much pressure on them?!” One scene that particularly strikes me was when Neil could not talk back to his father about having to drop a club and when he referred to his friends as “future lawyer” and “future banker.” The lack of choice these boys had in their lives is what made Mr. Keating’s emphasis on “carpe diem” really speak out to them. What happened to Neil was devastating and it could have absolutely been prevented. I think it is too easy to just put all the blame on Neil’s parents – yes, their pressure on Neil did cause Neil to believe that he was trapped with nowhere to go. However, they only wanted to best for Neil and they would have never thought that Neil would kill himself. Neil’s parents clearly loved him but they couldn’t let go of their own expectations for their son. I think this film emphasizes the importance of being able to listen.
When I reflect on the film, I think of all the opportunities I have now that these boys would only dream of having – all of which allow me to further explore who I am and who I want to be. My parents have wholeheartedly supported all of my endeavors and I am so thankful for their continuous encouragement. This film definitely reminded me how lucky I am. Moreover, it really made me think about how I want to spend my time at Cornell and what kind of impact I want to have on the people around me.
Hello LinkedIn
So I decided to choose this talk because, honestly, my LinkedIn is a mess and since we’re in college I figured this talk would most definitely address it. And it did! GRF Sam talked about safety and presentation online. He addressed how our profiles should have a consistent presence across social media platforms to promote consistency and a sense of professionalism. When we did get to LinkedIn, as I knew we inevitably would, I learned tips such as once you’ve been established, a little thank you to an event invitation goes a long way. I also learned that apparently, people have personal websites to promote themselves and their social media accounts. I think that’s the most you can do to present yourself professionally. I’m not sure whether I’ll do that yet, but thanks to this talk I’m grateful to have learned of the option!
Dead Poets Society and Romanticism
I first watched Schulman’s “Dead Poet Society” when I was 12 years old, so naturally there was a lot I didn’t remember about the movie walking into the viewing on Friday. But watching the movie again, at this age, was like seeing an entire different film. At that age I didn’t quite understand why professors Keating’s words and actions had such a profound impact on the boys’ outlook on life. The entire concept of the film seemed silly. I had attended very high pressure schools since I was a child and had never been suicidal. Why would anyone kill themselves because they didn’t like the career they were being forced into?
The entire premise of the movie seems much more understandable now. Being better able to empathize with Neil’s death I found the heart wrenching. There is, however, still a lot that the movie gets wrong. Mostly about depression, and just exactly how one gets to the point of suicide. The film also romanticizes the effects of both societal and familial pressure.
For one, we never actually see Neil feeling hopeless. His reaction to his father’s demands are more representative a quiet submission and genuine belief that his father does know what is best for him. The fact that he killed himself so suddenly, without much coming before that scene that would indicate he was suicidal is odd. His death came out of nowhere, and suicides rarely ever do.
There is also something of a glamour about the school they attend. The idea of a select group of elite boys who will become the leaders of the future seems fabulous. We never see them struggle over homework, or feel distress or despair. I know first hand that attending that type of school is not all fun and games. This, also ties into the randomness of Neil’s death.
A Professional Makeover
The Rose Cafe with Nicholas Carbonaro was extremely interesting and was a promise come true. Professor Blalock promised more events on professional development and, through this event, he delivered. Going into the cafe, I was nervous because I thought that it would be an actual physical evaluation but, Nick’s friendly persona easily put me to ease. His easy-going nature and cute presentation was entertaining. I liked how he and the owner of his salon (?) opened up their business as a place where Cornell students could go and get the professional makeover they’re looking for.
Nick’s points about hair and taking care of one’s hair was extremely helpful. He was right in pointing out that, as college students, we shouldn’t be damaging our hair with bizarre colors or costly hair cuts that need to be maintained. It is true that one should get a trim every 6 months but, one should also care for one’s hair through certain products. Growing up in an South Asian family, we traditionally use coconut oil to “hydrate” our hair. I didn’t realize it until Nick mentioned that coconut on hot days actually starts to fry your hair. Now, I remember why I used to argue with my grandma about putting oil in my hair. Another suggestion I found extremely useful was braiding up your damp hair with silk ribbons and night to enhance wavy hair. I have wavy, almost bordering curly hair, and Nick’s suggestions for curly hair helped a lot. I think I’ll definitely pay him a visit for a consultation.
The Future of Ithaca
I entered John Schroeder’s coffee hour ready to learn about upcoming developments impacting the Cornell student body. Fortunately, our discussion was not relegated to just what affects Cornell, as we touched upon topics affecting Ithaca and beyond. Schroeder opened with discussing the rich history of Cornell developments, starting from 1880. Quickly, we dove into the reasons why Cornell developed the way it did, why certain developers become prominent, and which parts of Ithaca served Cornell students. The conversation then took a controversial turn, as students began to contest the validity of zoning laws. However, I am thankful for this contention, because as a group we were able to discuss how and why zoning laws are useful, why buildings are built the way they are, and what the future holds for Ithaca. After this conversation with Schroeder, I can say with confidence that I am excited to see future developments in Ithaca and hope that with this housing boom and modernization, Ithaca is able to entice alumni into staying.
Living in Ithaca?? The evolution
After this week’s very delicious house dinner (my favorite house dinner so far!), I went to my first rose cafe event. John Schroder came prepared with detailed handouts about how Ithaca looked before all the recent development. I think it is very important to know the history behind the land we stand on and the buildings we learn in everyday. The cafe was not focused much about Cornell university, but more about Ithaca as a whole. We learned about the evolution of housing for college students, the urbanization of Ithaca, and issues related to real estate and preservation. One of the most talked about topics was taxes; Cornell isn’t paying taxes and it is hurting not only Ithaca, but it’s students also. By not paying property tax (which would be many millions I assume), Cornell is withholding so many resources that the city would benefit from. This in turns makes the people who live in Ithaca have to increase their own prices in order to meet the cost of living here. Students can all agree that housing is too expensive. Cornell is aware of this problem, but not enough is being done in my opinion. There should be more university housing and Cornell should be contributing to the community. Ithaca does so much for Cornell and yet they aren’t giving back to them. However, I can see the flip side of this argument where Cornell is a big tourist site and attracts many people to the area. Without Cornell, Ithaca would likely be a still rural area. I am still conflicted about how Cornell should address the housing problem, what are your thoughts?
GMOs and public fears
In the table talk, we talked about GMO animals and how that may have more of a place in our lives in the near future now that GMO salmon is officially coming on to the market. I personally don’t eat meat, so I’m not much of a stakeholder in the field of GMO animals, but I can definitely see how this can impact all of us.
The appeal of GMO salmon (and GMO animals in general) is that the animals can be raised fast (they grow faster), and so can be sold cheaper. So, that may mean cheaper/more accessible meat for the public. However, the concerns: some people don’t know if there are any long term side-effects to eating GMO produce, and some worry that it may mess up the livelihood of fish farmers, etc. My own concerns doesn’t really involve either of those–GMO produce can’t possibly be any worse than what we are currently pumping/injecting into our livestock now, and produce farmers, whether it be cattle, fish, or chicken–are usually all employed by one single big corporation anyways–my concern revolves around the environment and how this change can adversely impact it. GMO farming doesn’t make farming livestock any more sustainable, just faster. And faster is not better, it just means more can be produced in less time. GMO farming doesn’t improve the lives of the livestock animals–farmed salmon will still be farmed salmon, living in small, cramped, unclean spaces, but GMO farming would encourage even more of that to happen, because more salmon would be produced. People, motivated by cheap salmon, will buy more salmon (or at least buy the same amount), which doesn’t help the carbon footprint of eating meat at all. In the very end, the big corporations that are creating and distributing these GMO salmons are making a lot of money, but the animals suffer, and the environment suffers. GMO farming can have a lot of potential, but when money is involved, things usually aren’t done in the interests of everyone involved; just in the interest of the person who gets the money. So–maybe it’s a good idea, maybe it’s not–it’s interesting to see where this will take us.
Animal Exploitation for Profit, part 9384758375
At the monday table talk, we discussed the implications of genetically engineered farm animals. Recently, a company has started selling salmon that has been genetically modified to grow twice as quickly as normal salmon. Genetically engineered plants have been on the market for years, but animals have not yet been sold in the United States. According to one of the scholars, the term “GMO” is not a technical term, as even selectively bred plants can be seen as “genetically modified.” We spent a great deal of time discussing whether GMO meat will have to be labeled as such, and whether it should be labeled as such. I agree with the scholar who stated that even if GMO products wouldn’t need to be labeled, anyone producing non-GMO foods will label their own products as “non-GMO” because it is a selling point for them. Of all of the ideas, this made the most sense to me, as you can see it in trends involving current food products. Fruit grown with pesticides aren’t labeled as “pesticide-grown,” but pesticide-free products are labelled as “organic.” Generally foods that appeal to these “conscious” consumers are labeled with whatever unusual selling point – vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, free range – instead of the other way around, due to the financial incentive for the producers. Someone mentioned that all GMO products will be legally required to be labeled as such, but if even QR-codes would suffice as “labels,” I think it is still likely that animal farmers will begin selling their products with GMO-free labels in order to clearly differentiate their food products
One topic that I would have liked to have discussed more is the idea of animal welfare and GMO’s. I am opposed to the creation of genetically engineered farm animals not because of health concerns, but because of the implications for animals’ wellbeings. The creation of GMO farm animals will only make animal agriculture more popular and more prevalent, resulting in more animals suffering and dying for human consumption. In addition, the genetic modifications made will be whatever results in the most profit for the producers, without taking into consideration how they might add to the suffering of the animals. For example, growing at twice their normal rate is likely physically painful and mentally traumatizing for the salmon in the article, but this is irrelevant to the fish farmers, who only care about how this makes their production cheaper.
Online Persona
Last week I went to a seminar where we talked about to to cultivate your online persona. As a premed bio major, I haven’t really had to use websites such as LinkedIn or Handshake because I can find internships/other extracurriculars through other means. Still, I thought that it was really important for me to at least be aware about how I should present myself online, and I’m really glad that I went because I learned a lot! For example, I didn’t know that you could use Twitter/ Facebook professionally. Sometimes in interviews for jobs/internships, employers will ask you questions about relevant topics in your field. You can use Twitter to follow important figures in your field so that you can answer any questions that they might have. Also, I think that social media is a big part of our daily lives, so it makes sense to use it in order to further your career professionally. We hear so many stories of someone posting something terrible on social media and then getting fired because of it, and so it’s really important to make sure that your social media stays professional, at least publicly. This seminar was really useful and I’m really glad that I went!
Romanticized Violence in Dead Poets Society
Dead Poets Society serves as a parcel of a larger movement of the arts romanticizing violence–in this case, suicide. Realistically, a normal boy like Neil would not have undertaken such a permanent solution to a sudden breeze of anger if it were not bolstered by other aspects such as a mental illness. However, I think Neil’s blossoming involvement with the arts, either in poetry or stage acting, was meant to show the audience the correlation between romanticized suffering that many artists pride themselves in. This glorification is deep rooted in artistic culture with many examples, whether it be Van Gogh, Dead Poets Society, or more recently, 13 Reasons Why. I think artistic endeavors such as this movie should be more cautious in portraying violence as something virtuous in order to prevent copycats, as have already been reported in 13 Reasons Why.
See a real life artist first time
Before this rose cafe talk, I thought that artist is very far from my real life. However, after seeing Carbonaro, I realize that artist is actually everywhere in my life, especially in Ithaca, such a small and beautiful town. As a barber, Carbonaro seems a little different: He does not have very strange hair style different from normal people. I was very impressed by his fruitful experience: As a Drama major, he graduated from Ithaca College. He used to work in Broadway, in museum, ect. I totally agree his idea about how people choose their outfitting/hairstyle: According to different budget, we should choose the hairstyle that does not burden us to maintain it. It may not be expensive, but we feel comfortable with it.
Because I am preparing for an interview, I also benefit from his advice: As a student, we devote most of our time studying. However, that does not mean that we do not need to care about our looking. The reason is that we need to present others what we want ourselves to be, so that we can be confident and successful.
Carbonaro is an artist, not only a barber. I love his view about hairstyle and lifestyle.
Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow
Last Wednesday, I had the wonderful opportunity to hear House Fellow Nicholas Carbonaro discuss his experiences in hairstyling, from Donald Trump’s wax figure to Broadway stars to newly-graduated Cornellians. Going in, I was a novice – I’ve never had my hair professionally cut before, and my only knowledge of hairstyling comes from binge-watching Guy Tang’s Youtube videos after every prelim. As such, I was excited to learn more about professional hair treatments, but also mildly terrified that he would recognize the sad state of my hair.
After the event was over, I was still a novice, and only had my novice-ness reaffirmed. The ease and efficiency with which Mr. Carbonaro dealt out treatment plans for everyone who had a question was impressive. One only needs to hear him speak about hair to realize that he is very, very good at what he does – and he knows it.
However, I didn’t leave with just a renewed sense of appreciation for cosmetologists; strangely, I was also left with feelings of self-validation. Throughout the evening, he emphasized that how each person styles their hair should be in accordance with not only their own style preferences, but also with the amount of time and money they want to spend on maintenance, as well as with the space they occupy in society – be it in a college or work setting. While he didn’t hesitate to criticize some of the choices people make about their hair, it wasn’t in a “This is ugly and you should feel bad” kind of way, but in a “This isn’t what you want, so why are you doing it?” kind of way. It was refreshing to realize just how much control I have over my own self, in the middle of a tumultuous prelim season that has been making me feel like a car without a steering wheel swerving on an icy road. At the same time, it was also a bit concerning (enlightening?) for me, because I found myself asking the same kinds of questions about my entire life – why do I do things I know won’t make me happy, or I know won’t work out in the long run? Is one cause of my stress the fact that I’m following a daily routine that doesn’t fit my schedule or my lifestyle?
Overall, I didn’t gain any solid, life-changing insight into styling my hair (except to avoid DIY purple dye at all costs), and I definitely don’t feel a need to invest in professional hairstyling yet, but I did walk out a little more conscious of myself – hair included. Do I present myself in the way that I want to be seen? Do I present myself in a way that’s sustainable and manageable for me? Would I look good with ombre hair?
Actually, maybe I will stop into Julie Stone Salon sometime – not just for the hairstyling tips, but also for an audience to vent to about my newly-developed quarter-life crisis.
The Key to LinkedIn
The main intention of this seminar was to help students recognize the uses of professional online media and give us helpful hints and tricks toward our online presence. For me, LinkedIn is the main site that I think of that is closely connected to a professional online social media. Towards the end of the seminar GRF Sam had everyone write a personal bio for a platform of their choosing and present it to the group. I really enjoyed this portion as I was able to get helpful feedback and encouragement towards my writing. Additionally, I was given inspiration by hearing the statements of other students. This was my first professional advice seminar and I really enjoyed it. GRF Sam made it comfortable to ask questions and voice my opinion out loud. I would definitely recommend a similar seminar to other students looking for a general introduction into the online professional world!
GMOs: The Next Step of Selective Breeding?
This week’s table talk on GMOs in meat was really interesting. This past week I actually had a lecture in FDSC 2000 on regulation of GMOs in food and different methods of gene transfer. With all of the background, both from previous knowledge learned in class and from the suggested reading for the talk, it was interesting how everyone had slightly different opinions on how GMOs should be introduced to general consumers and what it should be used for. I was amazed that some people didn’t think GMOs should be labeled partly because it could hurt their introduction financially and partly because it would be contradictory to label GMOs and not other forms of selective breeding. To me, it had always seemed the obvious choice for GMOs to be labelled for transparency’s sake, so it was really eye-opening to hear why people thought they shouldn’t be labeled.
It was also interesting to talk about all the possible implications of expanding GMOs to animals and not just plants, now that genetically modified salmon are approved by the FDA to be sold in the United States. There are so many recent changes to GMO policy with the introduction of GMO salmon being approved for sale and the requirement of GMOs being labeled in the United States that it was just great to talk about these changes and how people felt about it.
Marketing for the non-major
GRF Sam gave a pretty thorough presentation on the many platforms and methodologies that should be employed to create a market-friendly online persona. After the presentation, I went straight to my LinkedIn and fleshed it out beyond the default grey profile picture and student at x description. I didn’t realize just how valuable social media is, I knew it was a truth of life in the theoretical sense 2+2 = 4 is, but physically attending this seminar helped to make concrete the influence a lack of a proper social media presence can have on my future and goals. In fact, because of this seminar I’m trying to develop more social media for my very lowly idea of a business that I want to develop. A business develops through interest by possible consumers, not simply the capital or technical skills residing in the business it self, which I feel gets lost in the creation of small businesses.
Creating a Online Professional Persona
Last week I attended the mini-seminar on creating an online professional persona. Given that I’m starting to think about applying to graduate schools, I’ve been wanting to develop my online presence to suit this purpose. This seminar was really ideal for what I had in mind.
In the seminar, GRF Sam discussed the ways in which you could use social media for professional purposes, as well as more mainstream professional networking sites like linkedin or academia.edu. He also gave instruction about how to write professional bios, and which kinds of information and phrasing might be appropriate depending on the site. Bio writing is something I always struggle with, so it was great to get some direct tips and feedback from Sam about my content. I also learned that academia.edu is more suited to my needs than linkedin, which was a really valuable piece of information. For me, it was great to get professional advice like this from someone who was more familiar with academia as opposed to other sectors. In this way, the seminar was really suited to my needs.
Overall, I found the seminar helpful, and have been equally satisfied with other seminars on related professional development topics I have attended at Rose in the past. I have found these events to be very valuable and strongly recommend others check them out in the future.
To look and to wear is also to present
Getting ready for the day is something that just, well, happens. It’s subconscious. We have a routine, we have a look, so we stick to them and move on with everything else in life. As students, it takes time to change routines. And time is something we don’t often have. But Nicholas Carbonaro put all this into the context of a world where how we present ourselves sends a message. He talked about a sort of sixth sense that we all have. Whenever we see or meet someone, we often get a sense of who someone is based on the way they present themselves. Sure, an interviewer may see that someone has the skills, which is great. But that person’s hair may still be wet from the shower he or she frantically took a half-hour before the interview started, or it seems like that person is trying to make this style work when it’s really not working. Subtleties like that factor into decisions like, do we want this person at our company? Is this person professional? Is this person put together? This kind of discussion is in sync with what’s coming up in our lives. Carbonaro stressed that he makes these insights about humanity all the time because he encounters all sorts of people every day in the salon. But whether it’s about how we present ourselves or how others present themselves, these insights matter. They can help us to figure out how to best communicate who we are to the world. And they can help us to be comfortable with who we are whenever we go out into the world.
Nicholas Carbonaro gives tips on hair care and presentation
This Rose Cafe was really interesting because it drew attention to a topic that can often be overlooked in college. Nicholas Carbonaro gave useful tips on presentation especially good ways to style hair. His accounts as a hairstylist and working with Cornell students provided useful insights about the importance of physical appearance for giving a good impression at a job interview, etc. It was interesting to talk about this aspect of presentation because one’s physical appearance can definitely play an important roll in giving a good impression even though that may not seem fair.
Song of the Little Road
Pather Panchali (1955), Bengali for “Song of the Little Road,” is an innovative and striking film by Indian director Satyajit Ray. Based on a book by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, the story of a desperately poor Indian family is reminiscent of The Grapes of Wrath in its stark depiction of poverty. It differs from Steinbeck’s classic in that it centers on a child, Apu, and his older sister Durga; their lives are difficult, but they have the small joys of children: a kitten, a foil crown, sugar cane to chew. They still find ways to play and find interest in their surroundings, even when they wear rags for clothes.
The cinematography is exquisite: remarkably the work of just one amateur cinematographer, Subrata Mitra, the film features beautiful lighting and angles that bring home the deeply personal nature of the film. It seems that only half of the film consists of dialogue, its genius resting instead in the visuals. Perhaps it was precisely Mitra’s lack of experience that make this film so unique, freeing it from conventions of cinematography. In any case, the film’s portrayal of India’s strange mix of poverty and rapid modernization during the first half of the twentieth century is art at its finest.
How can a shy person create an online persona??
Through this activity, I started thinking more about the value in creating a strong online persona to connect to academic peers and prospective employers. At the end of the talk everyone who attended wrote and read aloud a short description of themselves that they might use online. I realized through this activity that I am a generally private person, so it’s hard for me to want to share my interests with other people. My description turned out really bland as a result. I think that being a shy person always makes interviews and self-promotion difficult.
After this experience I realized that I need to practice explaining my interests in the hopes that in the future I will be able to express myself both online and offline to peers, colleagues, and potential employers. While it’s important to be humble I also think that I owe it to myself to put my best foot forward. I’m going to try writing a description of my achievements and interests without the intention of ever sharing it as a way of encouraging myself to produce a fuller description of myself. This description could then be modified and used online or in an interview. I also plan on updating my LinkedIn to showcase more of my achievements and to develop my own website to share my work and my perspective.
Cascadilla Hike
Going on the Cascadilla gorge hike last weekend was a great opportunity to learn about the history of the gorge and also information on enjoying nature on campus. I had crossed above the gorge to get from central campus to Collegetown many times, but this was the first time that I actually explored the trail below the bridge. Some things about my trip which stood out to me:
- I was amazed by the way that sections of the gorge look like sets of stairs and that this is actually the work of nature. The gorge is continually formed by natural phenomenon ranging from as old as when the region was covered by a glacier to as recent as strong hurricane activity.
- I was surprised to find that hiking on the gorge trail is a kind of communal activity. I encountered people of all ages engaging with nature in different ways; whether it was by splashing in ankle deep portions of the gorge, taking photographs of the scenery, or going for a brisk walk. It was refreshing to see people enjoy the world around them.
- This experience gave me a better sense of the geography of / around Cornell. For instance, on the way back to my dorm I cut through the Ithaca City Cemetery which I had never realized was right by west. The cemetery is a really interesting place in which participants in the civil war and freed slaves are buried. There is history all around campus which I miss.
Stress Less
Last week I attended my first Rose Table Talk. The topic was stress management. It was helpful to hear management strategies from GRF Seema and many other fellow Cornellians. This event was different from any other event I have attended this semester. There was less structure so I was able get to know some of my fellow rose scholars. The diverse group made for an even more eye opening discussion. We represented many different majors and ethic groups. The more we shared stories I found that we all were a part of different clubs and student organizations on and off campus. Our live were all very different but in some way shape or form all of us kept busy. It’s good we were learning about stress management!
Defining Yourself on Social Media
Last Thursday at the online persona mini-series, Sam gave a thorough description of how to display oneself online whether on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or a personal webpage. I learned the importance of not just sharing too much, but sharing enough. I generally have the fear that my Facebook reveals too much about me, so I tend to post less rather than more. Sam described how this might not be the best route, because a lack of information will still be unhelpful in a job search. If an employer can’t find anything about you online, then you may be too uninteresting to remember amount a slew of other applicants. We also talked about online biographies and how you should adjust your bio for the type of social media. A LinkedIn profile should probably be more in depth, while Twitter profile is generally short and sweet. But above all, don’t forget a defining piece of info that helps a potential employer remember who you are!
Sketching on the Arts Quad
This week’s Rose event that I attended was the sketching event on the Arts Quad. I have previously taken a few drawing lessons in the past, but have not practiced in a while. At the event, we were taught a bit about two point and one point perspective and how it appears on paper. GRF Seema demonstrated a bit on paper how to draw a one and two point perspective before we attempted sketching ourselves. I thought it was interesting to hear about perspectives, since many times while walking on campus, I do not pay attention to how the buildings around me appear to my eye and what the visual effect of perspectives are. Understanding how to draw perspectives also helped me better understand the appearance and visual of the campus around me.
In addition, actually drawing out one of the buildings on the Arts Quad revealed some of the details on the building that I have not noticed before. When I was trying to look carefully at the buildings, there are many details and nuances in the building structure and appearance that usually are not noticed while walking past everyday. I think that this event was able to help me be more aware of my surroundings and be more appreciative of the beautiful architecture that is present on campus. There are many aspects of campus that many seem to take for granted, architecture being one of them. It was also a great experience as a study break and to take some time to revisit an old hobby. It was a good reminder of some drawing skills and visual analysis skills as well, which are not only important in drawing but also in other areas of study. I was glad I was able to learn more about the process of sketching architecture and the details that are present around me.
Sketching on Saturday
Last Saturday, I had the pleasure to join Seema and Sam on a sketching activity in the Arts Quad. Seema, who studies in AAP taught us the basics of one-point and two-point perspective drawing. She managed to make something essentially complicated seem very simple within a five minute explanation.
It was a wonderful time with the weather perfect, providing an opportunity to sit on the grass and hear the marching band in the distance in preparation for Homecoming. The environment repealed any worry and was purely relaxing, my roommate and I had not even a worry about what time it was. Overall, I truly enjoyed this opportunity as it gave me a break I truly needed after another stressful week at Cornell. I hope there can be more like this in the future (even with winter coming ahead!).
Linking In
Last Thursday evening I attended the Rose Seminar about building a professional online profile. I thought this would be an important seminar to attend, as I do spend a lot of time on social media and I might as well look professional as I do it. GRF Sam did a great job of discussing how students should try to be consistent, unique, and professional across different social media platforms. Sam also reminded us about how much we control on each social media page and told us how easy it was to privatize what is publicly viewable on my Facebook page. Sam also did a great job of mentioning that if we do not interact with others on social media and keep up to date, we will not get anything in return. This challenged me to update my LinkedIn and make more connections.
At the end, we each wrote short bios and received feedback from other students. While I don’t use Twitter, I feel as if it would be a great way to share thoughts and interact quickly with others. As I wrote my bio for a potential Twitter, I had to keep in mind that I only had very few characters to get my information out to the public. For my LinkedIn profile biography, I was able to take suggestions from my peers about how I could make the biography more unique so that I am not just any student studying at Cornell University. This was a great seminar and I hope to attend more going forward.
Tips on Hair Care and More
During the Rose Café on Wednesday, Nicholas Carbonaro came to talk to us about how to look our best. He talked about when you are confident in an interview, it will show. He also talked about how everything is connected like when you are stressed, it will show. He also gave individualized tips on what to do with certain hair concerns to people who also attended the café. In the future, I will definitely make sure that I take better care of myself because it is easy to get carried away with prelims and problem sets and forget to take good of myself. I will also try to make sure that I am getting enough sleep and that I am drinking enough water. The next time that I need a hair cut or need tips on how to look good in an interview, I will go to the Julie Stone Salon to see him.
Freedom to Choose
“Dead Poets Society” is not a film without problems. Depicted in it is an unpunished or questioned instance of sexual misconduct, and the film focuses fairly starkly on a straight white male perspective. These things aside, however, “Dead Poets Society” is one of my favorite films. What I love about the movie is the picture it paints about freedom, and how art, particularly romantic art, can serve as a key to this freedom.
The setting of the film is typically claustrophobic – tight dorms, tight classrooms, hallways houses, and even a small cave create a feeling of constriction. However, in the cave, the boys push outwards. On multiple occasions they come flooding out of the cave into the wide expanse of the outdoors – Here, things are bright, and notably movement is freer. Perhaps this reflects Plato’s allegory of the cave. Most certainly I am reading into this too much, but nevertheless we see Professor Keating’s desire to move his students outdoors is demonstrated in the filmography to give a sense of freedom to the students as the grow. And, notably, Neil opens the window before his suicide, furthering what I see as the films connection between the outdoors and this freedom.
And it is this freedom to choose that the film holds as its loftiest ideal. Neil wishes above all else to have the freedom to choose to become an actor. Charlie Dalton is constantly fighting for the freedom to choose to live his life how he sees fit, and Knox Overstreet is fighting for the freedom to choose his ideal romantic relationship. For all of them, though, their desire for this freedom, and their realization of it, comes from art. It is art that inspires Neil to pursue acting, art that inspires Dalton’s rebellious acts, and art that inspires Knox to pursue a relationship with Chris. Importantly, in each case it is art, fundamentally linked with the freedom of the wide exterior shots that gives each character the freedom to make choices.
Ithaca is more than gorges, it’s priceless
I woke up early on this Saturday expecting a super intense hiking workout. The cascadilla gorge hike was anything but that! It was a leisurely walk through the nearby cascadilla gorge. I particularly enjoyed Todd’s sharing his wealth of knowledge with us; I would not have known anything about the gorge unless he had told me. I was shocked to learn that the gorge had so much history with Cornell and how much it has transformed over the years. Students like me who have never seen the gorge damaged or closed are very fortunate. However, I think I would have enjoyed an actual hike too. Since Ithaca has so many natural areas to explore, I thought that it would be a great opportunity for me to hike. Nonetheless, I loved learning about the gorge from Todd and will be back to visit the gorge again. Maybe instead of calling it a “Gorge Hike”, it should be “Gorge Walk”?
Stress Table Talk
I went to the table talk with GRF Seema. This table talk was interesting in the fact that Seema only voiced facts about stress and let us discuss our own opinions based on those facts. We learnt that there is an optimal point for stress and after that point your quality of work starts to rapidly declined. This was interesting to me given that I find that I am my best productive self when I am stressed beyond belief. This left me wondering if the optimal point is different for different for different people. We also discussed how to deal with stress and what helps many people. According to Seema reaching out to people helps us with stress and is also a bi product of stress. This is because when we need help with something we reach out to more people to get help on a problem set for example. In addition, we talked about unhealthy ways to deal with stress and all shared our stress stories. I enjoyed this table talk because it was genuinely helpful and casual enough that everyone was comfortable to talk.
Online Persona Crash Course
On Thursday, I attended the Rose Seminar on building and maintaining a professional or academic online persona. Although I had some experience with this topic since I have a LinkedIn and personal website, this seminar helped me to look back on the online personas I already have and identify ways to improve them. GRF Sam went over some basic principles for online personas while also providing specific tips for the various platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
He emphasized familiarity, consistency, and participation to build an effective online presence. We learned to make sure we understand how our data is used on these sites, to use the same voice/image across multiple platforms, and to participate actively on each platform we use. Regarding Facebook, Sam encouraged us to review our photos and privacy settings to ensure that only the information we want to be visible is viewable by others.
Sam emphasized differentiating yourself from others on LinkedIn especially, since many people are a “[Class Year] [X] Major at Cornell University.” In addition, to ensure consistency across platforms, we should pick a profile URL that is close to our professional names and use this username across all platforms.
One interesting thing I learned was that we can use Google Alerts to be notified when search results for our professional name/email change. Having differentiated online personas will help to bring them to the top of search results for your professional name.
I really enjoyed having the opportunity to write an online bio and receive feedback from Sam and my peers. As we include our name, current position, department, employer/institution, and specific achievements or interests, Sam recommended we keep in mind the context, audience, and purpose of the bio we’re writing. For example, Twitter bios are short and to-the-point. The audience of our bios is colleagues and professionals occupying the jobs or positions we’re pursuing. The bios will give readers a sense of who you are, your background, and the experiences that qualify you as a potential hire.
One of the last points I took away from this seminar was to always respond to personalized emails/messages about career opportunities even if we’re not interested at the moment. A simple thank-you message saying you will keep the information in mind for the future can go a long way and help you get a job in the future. Overall, I really enjoyed this seminar (as well as the seminars from last semester), and I look forward to attending more events like this one later in the semester and sharpening these skills.
Understanding Stress
Last week, I went to the Table Talk where different Rose Scholars as well as the GRF talked about their different experiences with stress. On campus, there a lot of times where people are stressed out due to academic work, things back home, as well as the uncertainty of the future and it can really affect people. I feel as Cornell students we are constantly between peak performance and overworking ourselves due to our stress levels. This is why in my opinion all-nighters are a trend, as a student some of us have jobs or other extracurriculars that take up the already limited times in our day due to going to lectures. So people, decide to sacrifice sleep to obtain the time that they are not able to get. I feel short term there is nothing wrong with this besides fatigue or exhaustion.
However, long term, I think about how this much stress that is usually consistent in a four year, and for some even eight year academic setting can really affect us as this new generation coming into the real world. Sure as Cornellians’, this university prepares us for the real world in terms of knowledge but what about other things that matter such as people skills. I understand that in some majors such as STEM or engineering to name a few, we treat each other as competitors to beat the curve on exams. But in the real world most positions or career paths encourage collaboration and leadership to make sure goals are met. So, as college students I encourage us to make sure that we are taking care of ourselves and not make college a miserable and stressful experience for four years. Health wise, in the future it may affect us more than we would have ever known. Yes grades are important but let me ask you the reader a question.
Ten years from now will your GPA really matter? Another follow up question. Ten years from now will stressing and depriving yourself of sleep be worth it?
Learn to present self in the professional world
The coffee chat this week, we have an amazing stylist Nicholas Carbonaro as the guest, who now is a stylist at Ithaca, to talk with us about learn to present ourselves in the professional world. He has been working in New York city, and his pieces are even in Madame Tussaud’s.
This was a very rewarding and interesting expereince to have hi talk with us because he is so knowledgable about the hair style in the professional settings, and we really need to know this common standard that when we step into the interview or doing an intern, our apearance is the first impression we have on others, no matter we like it or not. It’s so important subconsciously, yet normally when we enter into a career info or advise session, people normally wouldn’t talk about it, and we are expected to know. However, despite we might know what a good looking professional appearance is, we don’t think about the cost and time commitment that comes with it. Stylist Carbonaro told us about to keep a well-done hair style, it takes up to once or twice every two months, to go to the salon, and do the style. This is a very high and expensive commitment that normally, as a college student, we are unable to obtain. Therefore, he introduced to us several hair style that is easy to maintain by ourselves, and gave several individual advises which are super helpful.
He also introduced how to take care of the hair, and the importance of using conditioner. I especially like the advise he gave to us about the simple way to take care of hair, good shampoo and conditioner, and we don’t need all the extra hair product to do the hair. They are too extra, and wouldn’t necessary do the job.
All in all, it was a very nice time, though I think it would be even better if he could give more specific advises for each of us, and I enjoyed it a lot.
Stress is a Superpower
Last Monday, I attended the Table Talk on stress. With such a relatable and ubiquitous topic for Cornell students, it was easy for us to begin the discussion and to share all sorts of anecdotes and experiences. GRF Seema started us off by sharing some of her stresses that come along with being a PhD student, and she encouraged us to share anything that might be on our minds. This Table Talk was probably the most casual I had ever been to; it felt more like a group of people commiserating and sharing advice than a guided discussion. The people who attended had a variety of different majors, so it was interesting for me to see what people outside of my classes found stressful.
We also discussed the benefits of stress; namely, how a certain optimal level of stress is necessary for maximizing your productivity. It seemed as though people had different optimal levels; personally, I find that I am more productive when I am less stressed, but some people shared that they needed a significant amount of stress in order to motivate themselves. It was interesting to see how such a simple and common feeling can manifest itself in so many different ways.
Hair Care
I went to the Cafe event last Wednesday where I learned about hair and how to care for your hair. I know a lot of people think that hair and the way it looks is silly, but that really is not the case. Dress for success and other organizations that help women look their best are super important because a hair style or a certain piece of clothing can make someone feel better about themselves and give them a confidence boost. When I was in high school, my hair was unmanageable and looked messy a large percentage of the time, and I was self conscious about it. I found two or three products (through a lot of experimentation) that I now use regularly that removed my frizz and make my hair look shiny and healthy and it made a huge difference not only with the way I saw the world but with how I felt about myself. Not only did I feel more professional, but I felt that people would take me more seriously. As dumb as it may sound, the hair products and makeup products I use regularly help me feel better because this world is so focused on the way we portray ourselves, that I feel more normal if I look more put together. I enjoyed hearing the advice Nicholas had for us about how to look more professional, and what certain hair products can do for the way we all present ourselves.
Education in nature
What I originally thought would be a simple gorge walk down to the commons and back was actually a very interesting educational session that we had to pleasure to learn about in the field itself. Our instructor was very knowledgeable and I was excited to hear all the specialized information he had to share about not only the gorge history, but about the science behind gorge formations and behind Cornell. I’m very excited to go back to casc and drag my friends to tell them all the information I learned!
Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society
The 1989 American film, Dead Poets Society develops the theme of taking advantage of opportunities by following one’s dreams and desires in the face of strict societal or familial expectations. While these themes were interesting to watch unfold, I thought that the more entertaining aspect of the film was seeing Robin William’s performance. His ability to adapt voices and smile infectiously reminded me of his performance in other classic movies including Mrs. Doubtfire, a movie I have not seen since middle school. I do not normally take time to watch movies, particularly movies from before 2000; thus, this was an engaging change of pace which reminded me of the joy I had watching similar films when I was growing up. Nonetheless, the relatively unexpected suicide of one of the characters and the normalization of sexual exploitation were certainly not reminiscent of those movies of my childhood.
Seize the Day to an Extreme
The Dead Poet’s Society is a perplexing movie that brings up many questions about parents and teenagers. Who has the right to tell you how to live your life? Should we “seize the day?” or pace ourselves and enjoy small victories? I think the movie was shocking and emotionally riveting, but not something I can say I enjoyed.
I think that the main character, Neil, had extremely controlling and brutal parents. This is not to say I did not understand their point of view. Although they were fortunate enough to get Neil into the exclusive boarding school, they seemed to have worked hard and endured much to get to this point. However, they could have let Neil blow off some steam and done at least one thing he wanted. Participating in the play would not have ruined his chances at Harvard and medical school, it would have probably made him more well-rounded and might even have helped his application. These days, even theatre majors can end up going to top medical schools. I feel that the film is unrealistic to this extent.
In addition, I thought the characters took “carpe diem” to an extreme in that they took it to mean doing reckless things such as going to rowdy parties, heavily drinking, and smoking cigarettes. These events were passed off in the film as “normal teenage behavior.” However, I saw it as an unraveling of the characters’ carefully curated lives. Not only are these health risks, but also give them a distorted view of what happiness means and how happy people behave.
Overall, the movie was gripping and I couldn’t look away. The conclusion felt unresolved, though. I felt as if Neil’s death wasn’t fully explained. It left me wondering whether the characters fully understood and processed what he was going through.
Opinions on Parenting in The Dead Poets Society
*Warning Spoiler Alerts for Dead Poets Society*
So with the suicide of Neil it poses the question of why? His parents clearly had planned out his life for him and it seems like he felt trapped. Acting allowed him to be free but being forced into the mold his parents made was too much. I think your parents shape who you are. Having such rigid boundaries I think can be detrimental to a child. Too much structure isn’t a good thing but too little structure is also bad. I think once a child is old enough to make their own decisions you can’t dictate their life. I think you need to have a conversation and try to understand their point of view rather than bark orders. From personal experience my parents have been divorced since I was a little kid so I got to experience two very different parenting styles. I had one parent who didn’t listen or even try to understand my point of view (and doesn’t to this day) and my other parent took the time to have a conversation about things. Having a conversation about things and keeping the lines of communication open is very important in my opinion. It is very beneficial to have a parents point of view explained. If a kid doesn’t understand why they won’t feel inclined to do something. Neil was older and in the case of high school students I think they need guidance but I don’t think they need someone breathing down their neck. If someone is constantly watching you it can be kind of suffocating.
Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall
On Wednesday night, we met in Rose Cafe and listened to artist and cosmetologist Nicholas Carbonaro share practical advice on how we can look and feel our best as college students on a budget and crunch for time. I am still awestruck to have met someone who has previously worked for Madame Tussauds. His story inspires me and is a reminder that I can be anyone or do anything in the future as long as I am passionate in my work. It is easy to get caught up over our physical appearances nowadays, especially when social media is at play, but Nick helped put things in perspective by reminding us that as college students, our priorities should be our academics, and that there will be more time further down the road to experiment with our physical appearances.
Learning History Through Nature
I was initially reluctant to sign up for the tour of the Cascadilla Gorge Trail with Todd Bittner, Cornell Botanic Gardens Director of Natural Areas and Rose House Fellow. Admittedly a large part of that reluctance came from a desire to sleep in (9:30 AM is early for a college student!), but still part of it came from the fact that I had been on the hike before. It was a pretty trial, sure, but what would this hike add to the experience? And why was it going take two hours?
My trepidation was wholly unfounded, however. While I have hiked the trail plenty of times in the past, Mr. Bittner’s input, be it scientific, historical, or anecdotal, truly added to the experience in my eyes. Above all else, my favorite part of the tour was how he was able to teach us about history, both of Cornell and of the earth on a geological timescale, through the environment. Firstly, the creation of the gorge was extremely interesting to me. I have no background in geology, so knowing that some of the rock visible to us was up to four million years old was unfathomable. Additionally, the way that the gorge, especially the lower section, was carved out by glaciers is equally interesting. The way you can see the different layers, alternating hard and soft, was very cool.
I also greatly enjoyed learning about the history of Cornell through the hike. As someone new to the university this semester, it was my first exposure to any of this information. For example, I did not know that Cascadilla Hall was the first building of the university, and that it even predates the establishment of Cornell. Similarly, seeing pictures from the early 1900s was very cool—seeing just how much erosion occurred over that time really spoke to the raw power of water. Without a doubt I feel that learning about our history through nature is far more intriguing than simply sitting in a classroom could ever be.
Commonalities in Different Culture
Pather Panchali is a great Indian Bengali-language drama film.
Although I realized there’s some cultural difference in the film such as dressing, hair style and eating habits, I found the common things between family members and human regardless of culture. I think the director did in a good way to depict each character’s personality and the struggles and sacrifices they made due to the constraint of their economics and the relationship with other people. Therefore, he communicates the emotion and human personalities well through this film.
One of the scenery I was impressed the most is that the mother defended her daughter while she was accused of stealing the necklace form her friend. That is just what any mother will do for her children – the trust and protection. And when she was criticized by the neighbor that her daughter had the ‘experience’ of stealing things, she was mad at the shame her daughter brought and therefore beat her but she regretted doing so in the next minute and asked the son to find his sister. That’s also a normal mother’s behavior – no matter what children does, she will forgive them. Also, it might be possible that the Indians have big beautiful eyes that they could communicate their emotions and thoughts through the eyes. I felt that when Durga starred at me, I almost cried.
I was impressed by the commonalities between human beings and in Cornell where we value the diversity a lot, it is a good start to emphasize the similarities and respect and accept the difference.
The Right Hair Products For Your Needs
This past Wednesday, I attended the Rose Cafe lead by Nicholas Carbonaro. I actually found it to be really interesting, informative, and reassuring. I have never really taken much of an interest in fashion, so I do not really know much about any sort of related industry. In addition, growing up with parents who were always hesitant to spend more money than necessary, I always had the impression that one should always try to get the cheapest version of something that you needed. So I would have never considered trying any hair product that costs more than $10 a bottle–that is, until my mom gave me a bottle of leave-in conditioner that typically costs far more (she had bought it on sale). I noticed the improvement it had on my hair almost immediately. In addition, I have noticed that the cheapest conditioners do not work effectively on me–I have started relying on my own stash, instead of on whatever cheap product my dad happens to have in our shower at the moment. Throughout all of this, I always felt a bit guilty. I always felt like I was wasting so much money. However, last Wednesday’s talk made me realize that certain types of hair have certain needs, and those needs are often only met through more expensive products. I have long hair that tends to dry out fairly easily, and so having an effective conditioner is necessary for me. However, my hair does not have any particular problems when it comes to washing it, so any shampoo works fine. So I should stick with the more expensive conditioning products that work for me, while buying the cheapest shampoo I can find. In fact, I have found that by switching to a higher quality conditioner, I actually use less of it. As a result, the bottle lasts longer. So perhaps it is not that much more expensive after all.
Hairstyles for a Cornellian’s Coming of Age
I found the Rose Cafe with Nicholas Carbonaro particularly interesting because he looked at an issue that many students struggle with – transitioning from student life to life as a young professional – from a very specific point of view – hair styling. This cafe stood out to me from others because this is the first that I have attended where the featured individual had a background primarily in art, not business or academia.
Humans seem to universally apply cultural significance to hairstyles. In every culture, past and present, one’s hairstyle signifies something about oneself. In Qing dynasty China, queues were worn to represent acceptance of the Manchu rule. In modern America, a black woman might choose to maintain her natural hair in a rejection of oppressive white beauty standards.
It’s common for a change in hairstyle to represent a change in one’s own life, such as a coming of age. An iconic example of this in cinema is Mulan cutting her hair before she joins the army in Disney’s Mulan. It’s interesting that Nicholas recommends that students partake in this culturally ubiquitous ritual as well by changing their own hairstyles when moving between life stages.
Nicholas gave some general descriptions of the differences in hairstyles for students and professionals, while still maintaining that his recommendations would vary depending on the individual’s needs. He mentioned that student hairstyles generally needed to be low maintenance, requiring infrequent cuts and little daily care, but could have a lot of variety; bright colors, “hippie” styles, and extremely long hair are all accepted in a college environment. On the other hand, young professionals normally need sharp, clean, natural-looking, conforming hairstyles that demonstrate that they can fit into a company culture. Many professionals have strict maintenance routines for their appearance, and if a new professional wants to impress, they will have to develop their own routine in order to keep up and save time.
What I find interesting about the differences in his recommended styles is how he suggests dealing with limited time. For students, he suggests choosing something that requires little attention and few appointments, while for professionals he suggests picking a style that can be maintained with a strict, invariable routine so they don’t have to spend time thinking about what to do while still obtaining consistent workplace-ready results. He expects students to be worse at making appointments and keeping up a daily routine, which makes sense, because students’ schedules are much more irregular, and they don’t need that same consistent level of presentability that professionals need.
O Captain. My Captain.
Captain! My Captain.
On the evening of homecoming and firework laser night show, we watched Dead Poets Society together in the warm, cozy Rose House dining room. I left with tears in my eyes and on my face. I felt sorry for the boys in the class, who had to challenge their own integrity by not telling the truth to protect themselves. They were forced to make the ethical decision to save their future and Mr Keating’s future. I don’t think anyone of their age should be forced to make that choice. When they were deeply devastated by their best friend’s suicide, and had to post untruthful blame on their favorite teacher, I couldn’t image what that would do to a teenager after they grow up. For those with moral values, they will be regretting this for the rest of their lives. And for those unethical students like Richard, they will get away with no influence on their lives. That is the truly sad part of this story: Students with high moral standards get punished harder. Mr. Keating knows. He understands. He had tears in his eyes, less for being betrayed and blamed for Neil’s death, but for what his best students were forced to do.
His soul is free. And he tries to give freedom to more students. He encouraged Neil to pursue what he loved. He encouraged all the students to stand on the desk to observe from a different perspective. He is truly a mentor, for discovering each of them’s talents. It reminds me of Professor Dumbledore in Harry Potter. Dumbledore’s Army and the Order of Phoenix are in such resemblance with dead poets society. They all represent a positive, free spirit that fought against the dark, suppressing forces. Unfortunately, many parents, teachers, authorities were not able to see the bigger picture as Mr. Keating does. They do not see that they cannot force every student’s dream to be getting into a Ivy League school, or becoming a lawyer or doctor. Some people already died, but they didn’t get buried until 85. It is speaking about people without a freed soul.
Carpe Diem. Living in your own way.
Pather Panchali: The Rocky Road
Watching Pather Panchali, the audience gets a feel for a family which never seems to catch a break. The film follows the lives of a poor family who are scrapping by in rural India. This is the first of a trilogy focusing on Apu, the young boy of the family. The film does not have a particularly happy look on life, as each of Apu’s family members eventually find their hope for a better life crushed in some way. Apu’s mother wanted to simple life without worry, but is stuck raising her children alone while he husband wanders the countryside as a priest. She must also deal with her frustratingly selfish elderly cousin, her judgmental neighbors, and she must deal with all of this while barely having enough money to feed her family. Apu’s sister dreams of various things all children dream of, such as seeing a train for the first time (which she succeeds in doing) and getting married. However, she dies from a lack of medical care, and is thus unable to fulfill her potential. And Apu’s father, the head of the house who is always full of optimism, finds work as a travelling priest. His true passion is to be become a writer of plays, but discovers that putting all his faith in fate has left him without a house, and without a daughter. Apu witnesses the crushing ambivalence of the universe to his family’s problems, and I believe that the message of the film is that trusting only in fate will leave you in an unfortunate place. Apu’s father embodies this the most, as at the end of the film he gives up hope to try and become a great writer and tells his friends that he has tried to live the way he wanted but it has only brought him misery. The only option is to try something new, to move away from the rural area that they are from, and find a better life. Perhaps it is not the life he had always wanted, but at least his family will not be faced with anymore pain and suffering. Sometimes it is necessary to know when to accept defeat. It is better to fail with dignity as a whole, than to be slowly broken down while desperately fighting back without hope. Dreams are good, and it is important to follow those dreams. But you must also be responsible, face facts and do not try to hold back a flood with one bucket.
Optimizing Online Presence
Yesterday night I attended a workshop about creating an online persona hosted by GRF Sam. This was an awesome session because we learned about factors that could be crucial to our professional success. We talked about how managing our privacy on Facebook could be crucial because often times friends can tag you in posts that you don’t necessarily want potential employers to see. Facebook allows extensive opportunities for managing privacy, and if you navigate that correctly it can definitely help out when potential employers are searching for you online. We also talked about the possibility of creating a personal website. This is something I have always wanted to do and we were able to view some examples and talk about what content would be appropriate to post on a personal website.
The best part of the session was constructing potential bios that we could use on our platforms. We practiced varying size and structure depending on what platform it is. For example, Twitter bios are usually short and witty while LinkedIn bios can be long and detailed about your interests and previous experience that is relevant to future positions. We were able to share our bios and get critique from other attendees and Sam (as a graduate student in English, it was extremely helpful.) Overall, I’m so happy I attended this productive session!