I felt the movie US was trying so hard to teach me something that, for me, it became labored and boring. There seemed to be holes in the story, and by the end I had more questions than answers. No doubt there was some deep symbolism that I was supposed to work hard to grasp and appreciate, but who wants to work so hard when watching a horror movie? I watch horror movies to have fun and unwind, not to feel like I will not be regarded as a good person anymore if I don’t fully understand the story’s finely crafted inner meaning. At the end of the movie, I found myself a little confused, sort of like trying to accept the Back to the Future trilogy or the Terminator movies. Judging from the questions asked by others at the end of the movie, I was not alone in being confused. The plot twist at the end was the best part of the movie, but for me it was too little too late. On the positive side, I really liked the movie Get Out.
Author Archives: si259
Royal Tenenbaums Second Chance
The Royal Tenenbaums is a sometimes fun, sometimes sad, thought provoking movie with eccentric characters. The movie centered around the Tenenbaum family, the father of which was Royal Tenenbaum. Royal was completely self-centered, insensitive to his children, and an all-around bad father. Royal did not realize, and probably would not have cared anyway, that the way Royal treated the kids would negatively affect them for many years to come. At one point, Royal went to prison and was estranged from the family, but the psychological damage done to the children lasted. After the children grew up and Royal realized the mess he had made, he looked to reconnect with the kids to make amends. At times the movie was sad because the characters were so messed up that they did not even know how messed up they really were. What made the movie even more sad, was that the characters were so likeable. You were rooting for them to overcome their past and succeed. Royal had limited success undoing the damage he had caused, but he did manage to get back into the lives of the children. Royal secured himself a second chance at doing the right thing. This is a gift we could all appreciate. The movie made me think about my life and reflect on the choices I have made. It also made me think about how one life can have a significant effect on the lives of others. The Royal Tenenbaums really made me feel, think, and reflect. I appreciate that in a movie.
Cancer Walkathon: An uplifting event
When I arrived at the walkathon I was surprised by how happy the mood was. I had thought a walk for individuals with cancer might be sad and depressing. I mean these people have cancer, how could the walk be a happy event. But the mood seemed not to be centered around getting cancer, but instead focused on living a good life in spite of it. With donations received through events like this walkathon, research has extended and bettered the lives of so many people. There is considerable reason to be happy with the progress scientists have made toward people living with cancer, but we must commit to doing more. Our generation must make it a priority to end cancer in our life time. I was happy to be a part of the walkathon and seeing so many good people taking action to make a difference in the lives of total strangers. Isn’t that what life is all about? Helping others, not just because they are family or friends, but because they are fellow human beings.
Helping to Feed Starving Children
I had the opportunity to volunteer at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Ithaca to help the Feed My Starving Children non-profit organization pack meals for under privileged children in the Dominican Republic. Last year, I participated in this event and I really enjoyed it. The organization members have devised a very efficient and motivating system in which the food is quickly packed by volunteers in a fun working environment. I enjoyed how everybody was really enthusiastic about the volunteer work, making the food packing not seem like a chore but rather a fun experience. It was an upbeat atmosphere with the music playing loud and people running all over moving boxes and replenishing the ingredients at different stations. Everyone was working so hard, and at the same time, having a good time. Everyone’s motivation and enthusiasm resulted in a lot of meals being prepared in a very short amount of time. Our efforts ultimately paid off as we were able to yield enough boxes of food to feed 99 starving children for a year! It feels good to contribute and make a difference. The experience in its entirety made for an enjoyable and fulfilling Friday night.
Community Activism in Myanmar
The Friday night movie series showed three (3) short documentaries about women’s rights. The documentaries were Myanmar: Whistle For Help, She, and Women’s Desire. The one that I found to be the most interesting was Myanmar: Whistle for help. This film highlighted how young girls and women are frequently sexually assaulted by middle age men on crowded buses in Myanmar. I found it incredible that many women in Myanmar described these assaults as something they just had to live with and accept. Many of the women blamed themselves for the assaults. Myanmar was described as a very religious society and yet these middle age men think that sexually assaulting a girl as young as 10 years old is somehow ok. It’s obviously completely disgusting. And just as unbelievable, the government did not do anything of substance to stop it. Fortunately, a small group of women started a campaign to make people understand that what these men were doing is wrong, and that everyone could help to stop it. This small group of women started handing out whistles to both men and women on buses, and told them to blow the whistle if they observe a man acting inappropriately on the bus. Unbelievably, the group was worried that the government may arrest them for handing out the whistles even though they are trying to stop this disgusting behavior against innocent young girls. The women handing out the whistles also worried that men would physically retaliate against the women for speaking out about the behavior. Fortunately, the government did not arrest the group, and no retaliation was taken. I really like the whistle campaign and the community activism.
Rent – The characters sing every word!
The movie of a live performance of the Broadway show Rent was a moving betrayal of life in Alphabet City in 1980’s New York City. With a backdrop of drug use, poverty, and HIV, the story revolved around the ups and downs in relationships between a group of 20 something characters. The characters sung every word of the dialogue. This definitely is not my go to genre. However, the story was strong, and the acting was exceptional. I was able to really feel the emotions characters were trying to convey. The viewer experienced an emotional roller-coaster that went from the feeling of true love to the feeling of complete despair. I am mostly into action movies so this was definitely way outside my comfort zone. But I am glad I tried something different and watched Rent.