Author Archives: Christine

Morality in Bread and Roses

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Bread and Roses depicted the struggle that immigrants face, shedding light on how painfully unfair and difficult it can be for immigrants to make enough money just to eat or to be treated respectfully.

This movie made me wonder where the boundary lies for when the standards of morality begin to change when there seems to be no other choice? For example, the main character, Maya robbed a bank in order obtain money to pay for her friend’s college tuition. The friend had been working for five years attempting to collect his savings, until he lost his job due to coworkers trying to unionize. Should she have felt the guilt of robbing the bank at all given a system where fairness and justice didn’t seem to apply to her and her fellow janitors?

One of the most impactful scenes to me was when Maya confronted her sister Rosa for betraying her union efforts to the supervisor, and by doing so, becoming supervisor herself. Considering their bond, it seemed unconceivable and harsh that Rosa would not only do something like this, but feel no remorse. However, as the scene develops, the audience experiences the cruelty of the situation along with Maya. As Rosa reveals what she had to do in order to get the family where they were, including prostituting herself, Maya is tormented by the guilt, sadness, and loss of naivety she experiences. She experiences guilt and sadness the naivety to what Rosa had been through to get the family to where they were.

This movie was a reminder that desperate times call for sacrifices to be made, even if that dedication to improving what is wrong requires bending what one considers as right and wrong.

I think, therefore I am

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Last Friday, I attended the showing of the emotional movie A Beautiful Mind, which features the life of John Nash who was celebrated for his genius mathematical theories yet endured the tricks played by his mind. The movie underscores the contrast between the genius of his theories, and the dramatic loss of clarity in his mind. His delusions make him believe fervently and wholeheartedly in things that are not present, immersing them into his world that is real and present. The movie concludes assuringly — through the tremendous support of his wife, medical treatment, and the harnessing of his will to combat his delusions, he was able to return to teach and continue the work that he was so passionate about.

I think that the reason this movie can stir so many emotions stems from the need of self preservation. It scares us that this could happen to anyone, that schizophrenia is a very real and affecting mental illness. John Nash was diagnosed with schizophrenia late, and was given no warning that it would happen. What is to say that it won’t happen to us? It is often said that what makes up who we are must contain how we think, our memories formed, the things in our mind, governed by our mind, empowered by our mind. So then who are we when this mind does things we feel like we can’t control? Are we the same people if our mind is mixing reality and imagination so thoroughly that we can’t tell? What even is it if our mind chooses to live in a different world? If there is a cure to a mental illness, once it’s cured, is someone a different person? It is unsettling to imagine that there are things that we simply have no conscious control over, yet comforting in that like John Nash, with proper help and support, it is possible to live with it.

Please Do Not Touch

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Please do not touch. Please stand at least 10 feet away. No flash photography. All very commanding words that cover museum walls and signs, taunting viewers to take surreptitious glances around before reaching out their little finger to rebel and poke an ancient masterpiece.

At the Johnson for the second time in a week, I found my visit to the Johnson for the sculpting workshop to be enlightening. We took a tour of Pre-Colombian sculptures, of where I made the observation that the Johnson did not have many of these “do not touch” signs around. Instead, the glass walls that encased the pieces of art were more transparent in their messages for nosy students and wandering fingers.

The reason I mention this is because I learned an important fact about making art during the sculpture making portion of the workshop. As obvious as it may sound, working with clay and sculpting is difficult to do well, and I can see that it takes incredible practice. This becomes painfully clear when your piece is not architecturally sound, refuses to stand up properly, or refuses to stick together. At this point in time, the “please do not touch” signs that would surround it if it somehow made it into a museum should be more properly phrased “please do not breathe, sneeze, or cough” since the piece will collapse. Despite my initial frustrations, I did construct a small bowl shaped as a fish, and found this workshop to be incredibly fun and paradoxically relaxing. I find that these events that provide the perfect opportunity to create have been very enjoyable for me in, and hope that they continue.

Imagination: More prevalent in the past or the present?

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Last Saturday, I attended the Rose event at the Johnson Museum that exhibits early imaginative art, featuring videos, etchings, and colorful works. I was most intrigued by the intricate etchings of various styles, including ones of dark yet extravagant prisons, ones that served as political satire, and others of creatures. The foresight and practice required to create the image that the artist desires astounds me. It is difficult enough to create the precision of many tiny lines when drawing; but then having to etch out the negative space so that the print itself becomes the image is quite fascinating to me. While I could never attain this level of skill, I did find it very stress relieving for all of us at the event to create our own pieces of artwork. There is something about being creative and patient at the same time that is very rewarding.

After viewing these images and reading the blurbs that described each themed artwork’s imaginative technique or portrayal of a theme, I began to wonder whether one becomes inspired by imagination theoretically more easily much earlier on, or more presently. If in the past, less ideas have been explored, so a new idea is more likely to be actually novel. However, presently, after much more time has passed, much more precedent is available for new ideas to build off of. I realize, though, that it really isn’t important whether it is easier to be creative in the past or the present, as long as learning continues.

Immunotherapy and Ethical Considerations

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On Monday, I joined a few others at a Table Talk to learn about developments in immunotherapy research and the basic mechanisms of how it works. In essence, there are new treatments that may be more effective and less damaging than the current chemotherapy and radiation treatments. In the most basic explanation, the most notable mechanisms include the following: increasing flagging of cancer cells for immune cells to attack, training our immune cells to better recognize cancerous cells, and using viruses to attack these cells. It was fascinating to learn about immunotherapy, and brings both hope and a sense of reality to the field of cancer research today. While these treatments can be very promising, much more research must be conducted because specific drugs must be developed for different types of cancer. However, this can take years in order for drugs to be approved.

Additionally, as we were discussing the results of a particular study, I thought of the ethical implications that researchers face in conducting these. While not specific to cancer treatment in general, there must always be a very difficult balance between obtaining enough information for analysis and withholding treatment for a group of people in the study. From what I understand,  medical studies often split participants into randomized groups. One patient may receive one drug, and the other may receive the standard treatment in order to compare effectiveness. However, if the new drug appears to be more effective over a period of time, when is the ethical time to switch over these participants? Repeats of experiments are often done in order to confirm results before a drug is approved. But what would make it ethical to subject some people to what appears to be a less effective treatment?

With this in mind, it is a reminder that research can never be perfect, and that science, for all its glory as being rational and concrete, there are a multitude of factors that influence our understandings that come from it.

Cyclic Corruption

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City of God depicts the extreme violence that is present in the favela and how it ubiquitously affects the lives of those in it. I was first introduced to the prevalence of the corruption and violence in Brazil while learning about the topic in high school. However, learning about it through a presentation is very different than seeing the visual aspects and internalizing the effects of continuously seeing dead bodies. The horrors of watching senseless violence become regular and as a result of incomprehensibly minute reasons becomes even worse as we see children cause this themselves. Further, the film depicts how often, the only way of surviving seems to be to participate in the corruption and violence themselves.

While this film was striking and seemed to create a sense of hopelessness, it is not surprising. There are large disparities between cities — a city can be teeming with extravagance while a neighboring city encounters death, corruption, and violence at extreme levels. It becomes more important to realize that these disparities exist so that cities do not become ignored and situations cyclically worsening.

The Little Things

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Last Saturday, Cornell experienced its typical Saturday — the snow was falling, the wind was angry, and there were at least a few students exhausted by the week. Yet for almost an entire two hours, an entire audience laughed nearly continuously at short cat videos compiled by a Will Braden. Going into the event, I expected to fall asleep at least once, because despite my affinity for cute things and natural exclamations when I see them, I hadn’t slept. Additionally, I have never considered myself an animal lover. However, at this event, these two hours brightened my, and I’m sure, many others.

At this event, Cornell Cinema was packed to its max, with a large part of the audience filled with children. As we saw cats make poor decisions, show their fear, pounce continuously on objects, and warm our hearts, it reminded me of how comforting it can be to see the silliness of ourselves in others. In this event, I heard laughs from adults and students as loud as any other laugh from the children. While of course we all strive to maintain our humor through our lives, it can sometimes be strained by the activities that worry us in our daily lives. The carefree ability to laugh uninhibited, and be amused by pets was a reminder of how little things in life can truly make our day better if we let it.

 

Gold Star Learning

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Last week, Cynthia Hill facilitated a discussion on how we interpret the feedback that we receive on papers in both the scientific and humanities field. Whether it is one word comments, gold stars, paragraphs, or checkmarks, feedback can be very valuable. In doing so we, we discovered that there are different motivations and approaches we have to interpreting the feedback. Some of us read the feedback to see how we can improve for the next paper, while others look at the feedback to justify the grade we received. On the flip side, we evaluated the methods of beginning papers and the contrasts we see between when we are given a rubric versus when are given an open topic. Importantly, Hill reminded us that feedback is given ultimately for us to learn and what we do with that feedback, whether it is from teachers, peers, or ourselves, influences what we can gain from our own work.

I appreciated the reminder to make the most of our experiences and learn from the feedback. Yet the discussion about rubrics, grading systems, and writing strategies reminded me about how schooling systems can both inhibit and enhance creativity. For example, giving rubrics and guidelines for what is expected in an essay can limit one’s thought process, and instill the fear to write what is perceived as correct. At the same time, it can ensure detailed thinking of topics that one is unfamiliar with, research and explicate more clearly. In a broader sense, teaching requires presenting a set of guidelines that are expected to be met by all students. Yet just by this small discussion, we have discovered that not everyone brainstorms the same way, or thrives to write with the same guidelines. As a result, it is impossible to cater to everyone’s needs. While this may seem like an unsettling point, we can only assume that the best teachings, the ones that deserve extra gold stars, are the ones that instill the willingness to learn, the curiosity to explore, and the perseverance to excel.

Sew Green and Personal Contributions to Sustainability

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As someone with a mild hoarding problem, I have found that throwing anything out becomes paradoxically more difficult with more stuff. The philosophy is that with more stuff, even the things you don’t use could be used in conjunction with something else you don’t use to suddenly make it more useful. The scrapbook paper you never used can be made into an actual photobook with that twine you also never used. However, some others, are apparently, much better at ridding their houses of extras. In fact, apparently 85% of textiles are thrown out, including old clothing pieces, and fabric scraps from sewers of all kinds of fields.

A local Ithaca non-profit organization, Sew Green, collects donated textiles, knitting materials, and quality clothing to resell. Additionally, it teaches sewing classes to tweens, teens, and adults alike. Serving about an approximate 100 mile radius, the organization serves a twofold purpose — giving new life to potential waste, and providing a cheap source of quality material for interested consumers. For hoarders who can’t bear to offer unneeded items to the landfill find Sew Green the perfect home for their fabric leftovers. And for those who love sewing, the shops perfectly folded and categorized cloths offer high-quality materials for further usage.

Some of the most interesting takeaways, however, were provided by Wendy Skinner, founder of Sew Green, whose perspective on sustainability was both admirable and practical. Ms. Skinner explained that she found her place in this non-profit, by taking her various backgrounds in journalism, business, managing, science, and art and found a niche to inhabit. Importantly, she found a niche that responded to something that was important to her — sustainability. Every person has their own ability to impact sustainability, be it through engineering, repurposing fashion, encouraging a healthy diet, or more. In this way, she showed us how important it is to understand your strengths and utilize them for a purpose you believe in. Whether this is in a field that already exists, or in an area that requires you to create, what is important is that you pursue it. By using this philosophy, Sew Green is nearly entirely self-sustainable through its profits. And most importantly, it provides an area for the community to share what they once had for someone else to create something new, and benefit from learning a handicraft that gives oneself independence and freedom to create. All while helping to decrease waste in the environment.

Perceived and Presented Reality in Fight Club

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Last Friday, I watched Fight Club at Flora’s Film. Having never heard of the movie, I naively expected it to be an overall dry movie with sporadic fight scenes dispersed throughout the movie. However, I was surprised by the depth of themes portrayed within the dialogue and unique cinematography, extending the themes far beyond those typically associated with fighting. Perhaps it was the intention of the film, but I left with my eyebrows cramped into a permanent furrow — feeling utterly rattled and disturbed. Yet, I didn’t seem to observe anyone else’s discomfort. Though I am not someone who particularly enjoys violent films, I have watched them in the past and my overall takeaway has never affected me like it did with this film.

Prior to watching the film, Dr. Hill urged us to look beyond the misogyny and focus on masculinity that is often associated with the film. I would have to say that this was a wise point, as the film covered much more than these themes, especially focusing on self-identification and the difference between the projection of oneself and the ideal of oneself.  I think it is primarily the disconnect between these two and the actions that manifested that made me so disturbed. Without realizing it until the end, the narrator was responsible for making soap out of human fat, pulling a gun on people, forming an amoral, robotic army from humans, and being the ringleader of a group oriented solely to bring mayhem to different places. Until it was revealed at the end, I could not fathom how the narrator willingly worked with Tyler Durden, especially with the narrator’s growing disapproval and understanding of Durden’s actions. Perhaps it is the notion that someone is capable of so much damage yet cannot attribute it to his own responsibility that scares me; the greatest loss of oneself is the loss of control over separating what you believe yourself to be and what you are.

This brings an concept of identity into consideration that is unrelated to the less obvious themes of the movie. Does one’s true self present itself as a combination of who you think you should be and who you think is you? If you adopt entirely different mannerisms, values, and attitudes than those in your past, are you abandoning them or are you merely attempting to hide them with the chance of them escaping?