I don’t have a gym membership nor do I ever have the motivation to work out. However, this event was perfect. As we got closer to finals, the stress levels peaked. I was excited to go with my fellow rose scholars to work out. The spin class was a fun experience. I never did one before. We had a dark room with a screen simulating a path as we biked our way through it. Although I consistently had low resistance on, I felt like the work out helped me relieve stress and I felt more in shape afterwards.
Author Archives: el746
Self Acceptance
Jungen followed a young 15 year old boy named Sieger. He was given “masculine” qualities such as being athletic and participating in many outdoor activities. However, there was scene within the movie in which he was in a lake with one of his friends and they kissed. The kiss was a defining moment for Sieger who began to deny his feelings for his friend by saying “I’m not gay.” He was not only bottling up his emotions, but also lying to himself about his sexual preference. Accepting yourself is one of the most important things you can do in your life. Society has laid out what is “normal” and what isn’t, but instead society should teach everyone to accept themselves for who they are. This movie was touching because that it depicts many people’s dilemmas, but it also shows viewers the importance of knowing who they are and embracing themselves.
Industrialism Creates Spirits
Spirited Away is one of my favorite animes. The imagery and story are always attention grabbing regardless how many times I watch the movie. However, this time I noticed messages that I’ve overlooked prevously. The biggest message I noticed was industrialism. Haku was the spirit of a river who was “killed” when people built over it to make a railroad. The train was a huge accelerator in industrialism, allowing products and materials to transport throughout a nation within days. People are out of touch with nature as they continously build over it and Miyazaki is utilizing this message through Haku. Haku is only one spirit we know of who is part of nature, but the others could also have been rivers, meadows, or rainforests.
Going Through The Motions
There is a lot to discuss within the movie Us, but the scene that stuck out to me the most was when they were showing young Adelaide Wilson’s and her thethered soul’s fates align. The scene followed the underworld version of Adelaide walk through the tunnel as the Adelaide in the real world was going through an amusement park. The comparison showed the people in the real world on a roller coaster ride, but the people in the tunnel merely made the motion of being on a roller coaster. My first thought was how weird the people in the tunnel looked making pointless motions like putting their hands to their mouths repeatedly and then it made sense when the screen showed the people at the carnival eating. This made me question whether this scene is telling us that we are just going through the motions of life like the people in the tunnel without any purpose. Our meaning in this world is unknown, but as Albert Camus would argue, it is our mission to assign an essence to the things we do.
Margot Tenebaum
This offbeat comedy is centered on a family. The family is eccentric and a bit dysfunctional, and each person had their own conflict. The most interesting character to me was Margot. Out of all the members, she was adopted and the only one not blood related. Royal made many slights during the movie at her status. When she mentioned that she’s never met Royal’s mother, he responded with “she wasn’t your real grandmother”. She was a secret smoker since age 12 and ran away from home when she was 14. No one knew where she went until she mentioned it to her nephews. Additionally, she has been married to a man who doesn’t even know her. She is closed off as a character, rarely smiling, and dressed in conservative clothing. For a character that smokes, drinks, and is promiscuous it was interesting to see her dressed in conservative outfits. She had the elegant country club look and yet her personality didn’t fit the role.
Caring for Cancer
My grandfather died from cancer and I watched it first ruin his body and then his mind. From a fit, healthy man he turned into a skeletal version of himself. He was thin, pale, and had dark bags under his eyes. This transformation occured in only a few months. His once positive disposition turned into a cynical one. He refused to leave the house other than for medical trips. We didn’t want to aggregate him anymore than he was so we left it be.
I didn’t realize until today how wonderful a network of support from other cancer patients can be. The walkathon opened my eyes to support groups not only for cancer patients but also to surivors and caretakers. It’s a little bittersweet to see how such a treacherous disease can do unexpected good in bringing people together.
People who have never met each other before were able to congregate for a common cause. We walked as one to show our support for the brave people who fought and are fighting the awful disease. I wish that we were able to go back in time and take my grandfather to the support groups. It might have lifted up his spirits to know people who were going through the same thing he was. It’s great to spread awareness about the importance of support networks available to people so they can share experiences, advice, and make friends.
Making a Change
There is a huge issue in Burma (or Myanmar). Girl as young as ten are stuck on overcrowded buses with men who rub themselves against the girls. These females are too young to understand what is happening and just how violated they are. This is such a ubiquitous problem that one of the women in the documentary said she didn’t have any friends who haven’t experienced this. And so a group of brave women volunteered to hand out whistles and information sheets to women at bus stops so they can be informed and protect themselves. This was a dangerous act given that the government could intervene and punish the volunteers. I found this to be very moving because I often questioned how change happens. Usually people complain about an issue, but its left as a complaint. In rare situations are actions taken and even rarer for actions to make impacts. These brave volunteers handed out over 30,000 whistles and information sheets. I was in awe of how these women had taken matters into their own hands and let women know that they are in charge of their own bodies. The victims often questioned if it was their fault and this is a common phenomena in America as well. It is never the victim’s fault. Men point their fingers at women like Adam pointed his finger at Eve in blame is something that needs to stop. So as these brave volunteers have, we too should make a change.