Although I’ve taken cycling classes before, this was my first time experiencing a cycling class with VR. I have to say that the virtual reality aspect makes a huge difference. The visuals and digital rendering of feudal japan and cyberpunk cities made the “bike ride” really fun and enjoyable. Going to this activity also made me realize how important exercise is to one’s mental health. Because after going to this event, I could feel my mood being lifted and I felt much more optimistic about facing the challenges of finals week. Before attending the event, I was contemplating dropping a P.E course that I signed up for, but I don’t think I will now. I think exercise is critical for my own happiness and maintaining productivity when things get too difficult on campus.
Author Archives: cc2583
Generating the feeling of dread
We watched Apollo 13 for Friday’s movie. I really enjoyed the experience. The formula of the movie’s plot is a formula that I’m very familiar with, but not something that I’ve seen in a movie in a long time. From the very beginning of the movie, the director sprinkles ominous hints that something bad is going to happen. When that bad event occurs, the director continuously builds all the reasons why we should expect to be saying goodbye to Tom Hanks and Bill Paxton.
However, one element that was critical for building this atmosphere was the music choice. A lot of the scenes when the astronauts are in space have music that is ominous sounding with sinister tones being part of the main components of the overture. The inclusion of violins and horns almost makes it seem like the songs that they play when a soldier is being laid to bury. This ominous feeling is further compounded by scenes in mission control where it seems that the odds against our main characters keep stacking up. This buildup is what makes the final scene all the more satisfying. Although we’ve only spent two hours with them, I felt myself rooting for them as the scenario grew grimmer.
I think this movie showcases how important each component of a movie is for conveying information in a successful way. Although its scenes aren’t particularly artsy or mind-blowing, the movie shines in its ability to convey the story without seeming overly dramatic or inauthentic. I highly recommend Apollo 13 for anyone who hasn’t seen it.
Destress and Pumpkin Carving.
Carving pumpkins immediately brought me back to when I was eight years old and carving them in class for the first time. It was one of the most interesting experiences. Before coming to the event, I was feeling kind of stressed since I hadn’t gotten that much work done and Monday was quickly approaching. However, as soon as my knife sunk into the skin of the pumpkin, I immediately felt like how I was when I was eight years old and learning about Halloween in elementary school.
It made me think a lot about how much of an effect activities that we may consider “mundane” actually have a profound connection to how we feel and the memories associated with that activity. I wonder how many possible activities could immediately bring back those feelings from memories that I formed so long ago. For example, thinking back to elementary school, I wonder how it would feel to make those thanksgiving turkeys that we formed with paint and our handprints. Would it feel stupid or would it be comforting? It’s definitely something to think about as I get older and those memories seem more and more distant.
Us and the Complexity of Decisions
After having watched both “Us” and “Get Out”, I’ve found Jordan Peele’s inclusion of the complexity behind decision making to be particularly interesting. At the very end of “Get Out”, the main character has to make a conscious decision of needing to “get out” in any means possible.
Spoilers for everyone who still hasn’t seen “Get Out”, but at the end of the movie the main character has to make the decision to kill his captors in order to finally be free. Although Jordan Peele purposefully excluded the aftermath of the decision, there is a deleted scene on youtube that showcases our main character in jail speaking to his friend about the events prior to his imprisonment. It’s almost like showing the aftermath would have distracted from the audience’s ability to empathize with our main character’s decision-making process. If he had shown the consequences of killing his captors, we could have had the passing thought of “was it worth it? To be labeled as insane for having these theories and never being able to see the light of daylight again?
On the other hand, in “Us”, the ending presents a way of understanding how one decision can be the catalyst for a whole chain reaction of events. It’s almost like in “Get Out”, Jordan Peele presented the lead up to what can cause a person to make a drastic decision, and “Us” is an answer to the question of “what happens when we make these drastic decisions?”
Wes Anderson and Film
Last night, we watched the Royal Tenenbaums directed by Wes Anderson. I’d seen Wes Anderson films before, but I hadn’t seen his really early work. I was really surprised by how much his filming style has evolved, and what elements of his style that he’s chosen to preserve throughout his film career.
One aspect of his filming style that has only grown stronger is his use of colors to create this almost otherworldly atmosphere. The characters he creates are also otherworldly in a way. It’s interesting how he creates the same alien-like feeling to his worlds, but he does it in a very unconventional way. For example, there is a scene in the Royal Tenenbaums that discusses suicide. Although the scene is quite graphic and jarring, he doesn’t play very dramatic music and the characters don’t start bawling when they hear the news. His characters remain consistently quirky and consistent with who we’ve come to know over the course of the movie.
The movie showed me how we’ve come to associate certain emotions with certain elements in film and how weird it feels when we deviate from those elements. I’m looking forward to watching more of Wes Anderson’s films and gaining a deeper understanding of what else can make us seem “alien” even when we’re just being ourselves.
Finding Hope in a Walkathon
When I was in my sophomore year of high school, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Although thankfully it was only stage one, I know that the diagnosis and subsequent treatments affected her in a large way. I know that it still affects her to this day. I think what I didn’t realize until after coming to the Walkathon is how much cancer can affect not only an individual but every single person who cares about the individual who has cancer. At the Walkathon, I noticed that there were at least five people accompanying each cancer survivor. It shocked me to see how many people are actually affected by cancer in their lives.
On the other hand, participating in the Walkathon also allowed me to see how people manage to bounce back from this kind of event, and celebrate their victories together. I was really surprised by how happy everyone was and friendly they were. People were dancing, eating pancakes together, and they were laughing. It makes me want to take my mom to one of these walkathons and to see her own reaction. The last walkathon I participated in was for Autism speaks when I was much younger. I’m thankful that I had the opportunity to participate in a walkathon that is a little closer to home. Especially because it’s prelim season, this event was a good break from studying and a good refresher on what’s outside of Cornell’s doors.
A Crash Course in NY in the 80s
Tonight, we watched Rent, the musical. The musical itself touched on multiple topics, such as sexuality, the HIV/AIDs crisis, and drug usage. All of these themes were extremely prominent during the 80s in NY. It reminded me of my dad telling me about living in New York City in the 80s and how dangerous the streets were.
This made me think a lot about how quickly time passes, and how the worries of today might not even be relevant 30 years from now. For example, the poliovirus had a giant outbreak in New York in the early 1900s, but after the creation of its vaccine, it remained fairly quiet in the United States. However, it’s only been recent that the emergence of the anti-vaccination movement that polio has become a serious concern again.
On the other hand, due to the invention of AntiRetroViral Treatment and other insights, we know so much more about HIV/AIDS. We will likely never reach the tragedy of the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 80s. Unlike in Rent, there is a much greater understanding of what AIDS is especially with our younger generation. It’s interesting to think about what future college students will think about a musical based on our current time period entering the 2020s. What will they regard as “solved” that we regard as so threatening to our everyday wellbeing today?