This past Wednesday I went to my first ever Rose Cafe and I can say that I am disappointed that it took me this long to go to one. I thoroughly enjoyed the conversational tone that the event had and the way that ideas were bounced around from everyone in the room. It was great hearing Professor Blalock talk about the Rose Scholars program and how it started. The idea of the Rose Scholars program came from trying to fix a system that could ultimately lead to unfair results, which made me think of the program in a new light. Not only did Professor Blalock encourage discussion about the current program and its origins, the discussion largely revolved around how the program could be improved. I believe that this is a prim example of the way that Rose House is different from some of the other West Campus dorms. This discussion of improvement and communication between scholars shows that the program that was set in motion is in fact working. Although there are some things that we would like to see changed, the program at its core is promoting the intellectual conversations that it hoped to achieve. My only regret from that resulted from this even is that it is the only chance at a cafe that I had this year, and that it was the only cafe that i will experience with Professor Blalock as House Professor. However, I look forward to the new experiences that await with Professor Avery in the upcoming school year.
Author Archives: kv237
The Boston Community
Patriot’s Day was most likely the film that I enjoyed watching the most this semester. It was powerful, engaging, and left me keeping back tears at the end. The Boston marathon bombing was an event that was heard nationwide, and one that has continued to come up in conversations in the present day. The film itself shows why this is so. Throughout the movie, the stories of each of the character’s are shown so that you can connect to or simply see their backgrounds. This continues to the very end of the film, when the real-life accounts of the characters are added in and they are able to speak about their experiences. The film never forgets the victims of the attack and is able to incorporate their stories into the narrative.
I believe that the film especially shows the unity of the Boston community. The accounts of the different victims elaborates this idea, as they use their own experiences after the bombing. I found this idea of community and support incredibly impactful, since it is woven into the movie itself and explicitly brought up once the actual film is over. The film also brought up other attacks on big cities and how these communities rallied within themselves to heal.
Language as a Tool
I can say with a certain amount of confidence that I am not a big fan of the sci-fi genre. I think it’s surprising since I find the actual premise of science fiction interesting. However, when it comes to the movies and the books, my interest tends to fade.
Arrival is somewhat different than other sci-fi movies. The emphasis that is placed on language is refreshing when compared to the never-ending science fiction films that are primarily action-based. While this film did have explosions of it’s own, they were never at the core of the film. Language played the largest role. This was set up in the movie from the very beginning, when it was seen to revolve around a linguist. The film’s emphasis on language showed the importance that it has on everyday lives and the way that we communicate. Although the film did place some extra qualities to language (it is science fiction), just the communication among the countries in the film when tensions were the most high show how a few simple words can change an outcome. The movie showed the importance of language as a way of reaching people and being able to empathize with others in a way that promotes better relations.
The Barkley Marathons
Previously to watching this film, I had never heard of the Barkley Marathon. To be fair, I didn’t fully understand the actual race while I was watching it, which caused me to look it up after the film was over. However, I did take away the difficulty of the race, and the toll it took on the bodies of the participants.
If not the images of the participants themselves, the low number of people that have actually completed the Barkley Marathon proves that it is not an activity to be taken lightly. The physical toll on the body was clearly shown by the roughed up feet of the different participants when they would take a break at the camp. As the movie said, some view finishing the entire race as the goal, others just certain parts of it, and some even just participating in it at all.
An aspect of the race that I found very interesting was the way that those coordinating the race kept track of whether the racers had completed the entire loop. Each racer had to take certain pages out of a book and bring the pages back with them once they completed the loop. While the race in and of itself isn’t particularly formal, these checkpoints still ensure that they truly completed the course.
Jenny?
The film Forrest Gump seems to get better every time that I’ve watched it. Granted, the first time I watched it was with my friends at home who, throughout the entire film, were attempting their impersonation of Forrest Gump’s Southern drawl saying Jenny’s name. This last time I watched was the first I have watched the complete film again.
There is a reason why the movie received so many awards when it was released- it’s a great movie. While I enjoyed the movie the first time, my memory of it was clouded by my friends’ voices. This time, I was able to actually appreciate the film in its entirety. I was able to catch some details that I hadn’t before, adding onto what makes the movie special.
The simplicity with which Forrest views the world around him is most likely the best part of the film. His nonchalant manner of walking around the world provide a new perspective on historic world/national events. I personally consider this aspect of the movie to be the standout factor and what makes the film particularly memorable. I believe that this is a large message of the film as well, that although there are large historical events that have occurred, it does not necessarily have to affect the quality of life of a person. Rather than having these events hold society/a person down, people can take the cue from Forrest Gump, who continues to pursue his goals and doesn’t let events in his life prevent him from having a fulfilling life. Although he had moments of grief and hardship, he let these experiences have a space in his memory for when he needed guidance. In the words of his mother, “Life is a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get”.
Mental Health Awareness
The return of the the massages at Rose this semester was a very welcome one. I went to the event last semester and found that it was one of the event that I most enjoyed, and it’s very likely that the same can be said for this semester.
I appreciate that this event was an option again this semester. I think it really shows the way that the school, and more specifically Rose House, takes into consideration the mental health of students. I believe that this is one of the ways, even if it is for a smaller group of students, that shows the progress towards higher awareness of the different mental health issues that are just starting to become more publicly recognized.
The ten minutes that are set aside for this event make it easily accessible for students to take a short break. It is a moment to relax and be mindful, which is something few students take into consideration regarding mental health. These few minutes offer a way to de-stress from what may be occurring in their personal and/or academic lives.
While some may say that 10 minutes would inconsequential in the goal of mental health, I believe that it can make the entire difference for the way a person feels on a certain day. Taking the time to relax, despite the time frame, is essential to the well-being of a person. I think that Rose is making the effort to ensure that students are getting a break through events such as these.
Teamwork May Not Make the Dream Work
I have always been a sucker for sports movies. I will never understand why, since I don’t understand most sports, and most of these movies are about football, which is even more confusing to me. I’ve only played kiddie soccer until I realized that I didn’t like it, and then I was on my high school’s crew team as a coxswain. Although the four years that I spent on the crew team had a large impact on the way that I view sports, I had a liking for sports movies long before I joined the team.
The struggles that are portrayed in sports movies are some that can affect any viewer. The issues of teamwork, endurance, and stress to perform are some that people encounter everyday. In this way, Friday Night Lights is very much like the other sports movies. The conflicts that occur in the film are some that are recurring among the genre. However, unlike other sports movies, the film had less than satisfactory outcomes for many of the characters. Although in some way they were able to come together, in the end many were still unable to move on from their town or succeed in the way that they wished to. Held down by a system that does not work for them, if they are not able to achieve through sports, they will not be able to achieve their long-term goals. It is a systematically perpetuated oppression that can make it difficult for people of low socioeconomic status to succeed. I believe that this is the way that the film differs from many of the other films in the sports genre. Instead of coming out with a happy ending or decent ending for the characters, viewers are left somewhat unsatisfied with the outcomes of the characters. It makes a statement about the difficulties that can arise from not having the resources that are lacking among lower socioeconomic statuses.