ENG 2100: The Known and Unknown

“We all go a little mad sometimes,” says Norman Bates in Psycho, suggesting a creepy story behind these words. The movie Psycho, released in 1960, is about Marion, an independent woman who steals $40,000 and runs away. On her way, a storm started and she had no other option than to spend the night in some place. She ends up at an old motel which was ran by Norman Bates. The same night she stayed at the motel, she was  murdered by some old lady which seemed to be Norman’s mother, the owner of the motel. Some days passed and Marion’s sister and boyfriend started to investigate Marion’s disappearance with the help of the Detective Milton Arbogast. It turns out that Mrs. Bates, Norman’s mother, was murdered along with her lover by his own son time ago because Norman feared that her mother’s new lover would take her away from him. After Norman murdered his mother, he kept her corpse and began to develop a “mother half” in his mind, eventually, becoming a split personality. He started to dress up like her, speak like her, and act like her. The mother half of Norman’s mind, induced him to murder all the young ladies that stayed at the motel. I really recommend to watch this movie, although some people don’t like watching old movies, especially the black and white ones. But, this one is an exception. The director Alfred Hitchcock, also known as the “Master of Suspense”, uses variety of visual effects such as shadows, quick changes of camera angles, and great suspense music in the background. This movie is a MUST-WATCH!

Scum Fuck Flower Boy is a studio produced album by the very controversial artist known as Tyler, The Creator. An extremely personal album that marks his growth as a human being, and his acceptance of who he truly is. This album, whilst only being released quite recently, has been already noted as his chef d’oeuvre. One of my favorite songs on this album (which is the reason for this analysis) is called “See You Again,” a particularly relatable love song about being in love, and not knowing whether or not he will ever reunite with his lover again. This song also has a “light and darkness” feeling to it. Whilst most of this song is soft spoken and almost too sweet for Tyler’s known gruesome and strange flow, it has a small rap verse that in a way has an empowering tone, possibly hinting that love is both empowering and depressing. An interesting lyrics for me is when he says, “I wonder if you look both ways when you cross my mind.” He is, by saying this, bringing up the parallel of looking both ways before crossing the street with hoping his lover isn’t being careless about the way they treat Tyler’s mind. “Can I get a kiss? And can you make it last forever? I said I’m ’bout to go to war and I don’t know if I’ma see you again.” In my opinion, this is the most hitting part of the song. Using the voice of the talented Kali Uchis, Tyler is asking for a sense, or feel, of affection because of he is about to go to “war” with the impending emotional trauma that he’s about to suffer. This song is very heartbreaking to listen to if you can relate to the events that Tyler seemingly went through. For many people, heartbreaks and the sense of falling in love is a vicious cycle that feels like it never ends until you find someone new who makes you give love another chance. “One more time?”

Reference:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZE62LpaqHg

https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/tylerthecreator/seeyouagain.html

I’m gonna get right to it. I simply adore the Manic Pixie Dream Girl (MPDG). The MPDG is a stock character used in film and literature who is usually this quirky, lively, girl with an amazing personality who “exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries”. I strongly disagree with that statement. Yes, in most films where the MPDG is present she is the secondary character who some how helps the male lead. However, it’s the writer’s fault for making her the secondary character instead of the protagonist. Why should the MPDG be berated for following a script? If writers wrote her as the protagonist people would hate her less. I say less because there is always hate in the world. The reason I love the MPDG so much is because of her personality. She has a such an interesting outlook on life. Some MPDGs in the movie world we all might know are Belle from Beauty and the Beast and Holly Golightly played by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. As you can see all these characters are extremely different but were dubbed a bad representation of women simply because of the role they played in helping sad boring men find themselves. However, if the story was written in a way where the MPDG was the protagonist and we got to see life from her point of view she will most likely be loved by feminists who say her only purpose is to be the muse or second to a man. Her purpose isn’t the muse or to be second, her purpose is for her to be her.

1. Schwyzer, H. (2013, July 9). The Real-World Consequences of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl Cliché. Retrieved from //www.theatlantic.com

One of the best experiences that I have ever had is the first time I watched Hamilton: The musical on Broadway. It is a hip-hop musical that tells the story of the American founding father, Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton, America’s first secretary of treasure, was an immigrant born in Charlestown (Nevis Island) who dedicated his life to the revolution and to the overall process of creating the foundation of the United States. Started by Lin-Manuel Miranda in mid-2009, it is now one of the most famous Broadway musicals ever. It has been nominated for 16 Tony awards and won 11 of them. It started in New York, but you can find it in California, Chicago, and even London. Watching this musical is an unforgettable experience for all kinds of audience. However, Hamilton tickets can be costly. They can go from $457 to $2,443 or even more. Unfortunately, most students like me can not afford to buy those tickets. On the other hand, those who can not afford the tickets can participate in the Hamilton ticket lottery, paying 20 dollars you get the chance to win two tickets for the next show they would offer. If you watched the show and loved it as much I do, or you have never watched it and would like to see at a comfortable price, I would love to share this link with you where can participate in the lottery. Good luck! And if you get to watch it, please share the experience with me, I’ll love to hear it.

Hamilton Musical lottery Link: http://www.hamiltonbroadway.com/lotto

References:

http://www.hamiltonbroadway.com/#newyork

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/what-is-hamilton-a-12-step-guide-to-your-new-musical-obsession/

Learn from past mistakes and grow.

In extending our thinking about Susan Sontag, you might want to consider how we can connect the ideas in “In Plato’s Cave” to our own photo obsessed, social-media saturated world.  In “Instagram’s Instant Nostalgia”   Ian Crouch connects contemporary Instagram culture to Susan Sontag’s ideas about the meaning and uses of photography.  Anna Khoury created a whole blog called “Susan Sontag vs. Instagram” to explore what Sontag might have made of instagram culture.  What do you think Sontag would have had to say about Instagram?

I aspired lovingly, and got crushed.

Failed once, got up, failed again

Memories don’t change, the people do