Domination

When Mr.Maretzki first started playing the movie Tape I was really concerned because it seemed so boring and anti-climactic what with the entire shoot taking place in a dingy hotel room and the cast totalling a whopping three people. Uma Thurman’s apperance in the movie MADE the movie into a classic story of control and confidence. Anyway, I decided that I want to answer 2.75 of the 4 questions!!

***"As you watched the film, how did you identify each character, did their identity (as you perceived it) change, and why?"
addressed at the same time as "Assuming that in any relationship between two people there is some balance of power, where did you see power shifting, and what caused it?"***

I think that the character, Vince, played by Ethan Hawke, definitely did not change character-wise but did experience a change in his control of the situation. He went from being in total control of the situation to being in trouble and at the mercy of the plot line by the end of the movie. The reason that he wanted Jon Salter to come visit him was so that he could get a confession out of his friend and present a tape recording to the suppossed "victim" Amy Randall. The coyness of his immature character persuaded Jon to come clean with the story of what happened the night of their graduation. Vince was able to nag Jon into confessing a crime that he didn't really commit, showing that he had total control! He dominated the first half of the movie with his trickery as well as his childish, annoyoing, yet captivatingly dangerous lifestyle. Vince did not change in character, grasping at straws when the movie opened and remaining desperate when the movie closed. At one point, it seemed as though the intention of his actions were to screw everyone over and ruin their lives.

Contrary to his plan, the arrival of a strong and resolute Amy Randall spoiled his nefarious scheme. When Amy Randall arrived, you could sense that there was going to be a shift of power, simply by the way she confidently walked, talked, and reasoned. Amy had a very powerful character and you could tell that she was very good at thinking on her feet, often taking command of the conversation by focusing on her opponent, Vince's, weaknesses. She went at him like a starved dog, biting the neck of his argument and bleeding it to death, which would be expected of an attorney general! Even as Jon tried to confess the validity of the suppossed date-rape experience, Amy was unstirred, faithful to her original stance that it had never taken place. Her strength of character helped to lift Jon out of his backed-into-the-corner position and revive his self-respect. I was amazed at her resilience as well as her ability to change the minds of others--her character was unwaning and unaffected by Vince’s silly, pot-headed plot.

In my opinion, Jon was the victim of both Vince and Amy throughout the story, never gaining the upperhand in both his actions and his interactions with his two friends. He did not have enough dignity and self-confidence, falling for Vince's plot, needing Amy to wretch him back to real life by convincing him that what he thought happened did not happen. It appeared as though he gave up fairly easily and was constantly on the defense, even when trying to tell Amy what happened ten (or however long ago) years before. His character change was barely noticeable because I had perceived him as being a weak person from the beginning of the movie. The only evidence of sustainability that I saw in Jon was his willingness to accept his fate after Amy called the police. Once again, Amy was able to take control of both men and expose their character and values. Because of Amy’s convincing act, we were able to get the sense of an identity change in both male characters. Vince, once again, proved himself to be a coward, flushing the drugs he had lived by for too long, while Jon decided to stop running from his guilt and come clean.

***"What does Tape reveal to you about males & females?"***
This may seem like a silly answer but the movie showed me that men are always vulnerable to women. They may think they have the cajones in the beginning, but when the big dance comes, they are often proved wrong. Amy was a great example of a working woman who knew what she was doing and had the means to control the situation. This movie showed me that gender has nothing to do with your control over a situation. The determining factor in whether or not you are able to take control of your life is your inner character. Will you be Vince or will you be Jon in a situation that tests your morals? Anyone who has drive, confidence, and determination will be the one surviving in the end, regardless of your gender.

This movie is also a good representation of the 21st century working woman who is unafraid to challenge her male counterparts. Ever since equality prevailed over laws that discriminated against women, we have seen an influx of women who are willing to beat men for jobs--take Hilary Clinton, for example! The boxing gloves are off, as far as I’m concerned, because women are no longer content with staying home raising a family. Amy was a quintessential example of the “new” generation of working women. Ruthless and confident in her abilities to discern common sense from trash, she paved a way through the movie, unphased by those she cut down mercilessly. Gone are the days of a dominant gender--women are on their way up as far as I’m concerned.

My "Fatsuit" Experience

I organized a fund raising event, this past weekend, in collaboration with Marble Slab Creamery. They offer a 50% cut of total Saturday and Sunday net sales for any nonprofit organization that works in their store. It all came together after three weeks fo planning, poster-making, flier designing, duty delegating, and overall organization. I was very proud of the work I did and my meticulous preparation made Saturday's 3 hour shift seem like 3 minutes. At the end of the day, the store manager told us that we were on track to beat the record set by another club. I went home and created a Marble Slab jingle, wrote two more signs, and went to bed full of confidence.
I arrived at the store early Sunday morning and began to check people in. When 10AM rolled around I had already accumulated 12 people--the number of people who RSVPed their availability. Each person was given their duties and put to work.
If you're going to open an icecream business, let me give you a piece of advice: don't open on Sundays. Not only do people not want to buy icecream on the holiest day of the week but they get extra pissed if you screw up, as I found out soon enough. The lunch crowd started coming to buy icecream at about 12PM so all of our volunteers were forced to step up the pace. In the middle of the rush, a middle aged haole lady of stocky stature came into the store with her equally massive hubby trailing behind. A sophomore girl took her order but, forfeited the job to me because the icecream they wanted was too hard to scoop. She was so flustered from the rush of people that she mixed up the clients' orders--the lady wanted a banana-double-dark-chocolate-with-marshmallows-in-a-peanut-waffle-cone while the man opted for the double-dark-chocolate-with-walnuts-and-sweet-cream-in-a-waffle-bowl. *gasp gasp*. I ended up making two icecream orders that represented somewhere in between what they actually wanted. When I handed the lady her "order" she was furious! I apologized profusely but she responded by telling us that I had to start the order over again. This time I made the order correctly but the lady had words of advice for me before she pouted away. "You people should train your workers before they get started--the service was awful and I didn[‘t appreciate your attitude." It seemed as though the store was at a stand-still because everyone wanted to see what was going on. I apologized again but she turned her head in disgust, waving a “talk to the hand” in my direction, all the while muttering to herself about how rude and inconsiderate I had been.
There is no way to convey the emotions I felt at that moment. It was a cross between embarassment and anger, which I am not sure I was justified to feel. She should have known that we were a bunch of inexperienced high school Red Cross members who just wanted to raise money (there was a ton of signage going on outside the door) so I didn’t understand her strong reaction. My indignant attitude fought my feelings of humility so it was hard for me to grin and bear it. Some people have told me that I have attitude problems when I converse in everyday conversation (justified), but this was different because I had been perfectly courteous all weekend. Then it struck me...hard! I don’t know how it is for most people, but I know that I have been guilty of treating people in the food service industry with less than the respect they deserve. Not as ruthless as the lady had treated me, yet not as nicely as I might treat a friend. This is an ICM because it gave me perspective into the lives of working people who have constant contact with the public. Having never held a job of any kind in my life, it was a pretty shocking and eye-opening experience. I have stood by while my mother complained to our servers at restaurants, sometimes using tones that were less than courteous, but I didn’t have a chance to see it from the perspective of the worker. Sure, I felt sorry for them but nothing compares to experiencing it first hand.
In a way I am both grateful and upset about what happened that day. Grateful that I got a chance to get to know life from a different standpoint, but upset that this kind of thing happens everyday. From that moment on I decided to be more conscious of the way I treat people, whether they stand behind the counter or on duty. A persons identity is more than just their ethnicity or gender, etc. Not having held a job before made me realize that you take on another aspect of your identity when you start working. People can now judge you on your job’s prestige and performance in that job. Remember the Tyra Banks's famous "fat suit" experiment, in which the supermodel mogul “fattened” up for a stroll though New York? She walked away realizing that the grass on the “average people” side of the hill wasn’t as green, or tasty. My day at Marble Slab Creamery was somewhere along those lines though not so embarassing, but just as revealing. :-D

"Nobody Touches You"--Clean(ed up) Version

This post is about the award winning movie, “Crash”!

The 3-time Oscar-winning movie had an awesome screenplay and a slew of super stars in its cast whose talent is the reason that it became so successful. The movie brings us into the heart of Los Angeles, putting us face to face with each character’s struggles in the areas of stereotyping and discrimination.

Here is my favorite line, performed by Don Cheadle in the opening scene of the movie, "It's the sense of touch. In any real city, you walk, you know? You brush past people, people bump into you. In L.A., nobody touches you. We're always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something." This idea circulated over and over as the two class days played out, as we met each character and got a sense, not only of who they were, but, more importantly, what they believed as far as stereotyping is concerned. When they started crashing into each other, we saw their pervading ideas influence their words and actions. The reason the movie was so effective was its realism and the way emotions were framed. It took ordinary L.A. situations—assault, robberies, high jacking, racial preferences--and turned them into a cohesive plot where each character was interrelated with the people they stereotyped the most strongly.

L.A. was the perfect setting for the movie because there are so many different ethnicities crammed into the city. Unlike Hawaii, where we, for the most part, accept and embrace the beauty of diversity, the Los Angeles conveyed by the movie seems to have a lot of trust issues between races. People go about their daily lives, accepting of their ignorance, avoiding each other, blinded by prejudice, so that they never get a chance to understand each other. When they finally make connections, they do it in grand fashion, careening out of control and “crash”-ing in each others' faces. But perhaps being ignorant of their stereotyping is the best way to protect themselves so that they don't have to face each other until the big caboom. The rose-colored world that they lived in did little to prepare them for what came at the end of the movie.

It all goes back to the quote by Don Cheadle. The Oxford Dictionary cites the definition of "city" as "a town or collective body of inhabitants." The Los Angeles portrayed in the movie does not seem to be a collective body of inhabitants because each group of people is at odds with each other. Instead, the "city" seems to be more of a collection of warring villages whose goal is to avoid each other as much as possible. There are no opportunities to "brush past people" or for "people [to] pump into you" because no interactions are made. The metal and glass he is referring to stands for any barrier which separates people--one way mirrors in a police station, stereotyping, or silence. Los Angeles is a place of great industry, but I never thought that its inhabitants would be just as mechanical. One has to wonder how much emotion is exchanged in the crashes that do occur. Are they just a heap of metal and glass or does blood mix with empathy? Crashing is still the only way to feel, and to notice how many layers they've been hiding behind.

I have never lived on the mainland (although I did live in Orange County when I was 1) so I was doubtful as to whether I would understand the stereotyping going on in the movie. To a certain extent I feel that I understand the feelings being exchanged--just not on a personal level. I can see why each “crash” was bound to happen, but I cannot relate to the ideas, the source of the discord. There is no wonder that this was an award-winning movie because it addresses such heavy issues, doing so gracefully, yet truthfully. It encouraged each and every viewer in the audience to address the issues presented and assess their own ideas. We grew with the characters and, perhaps, tried to deny that a crash was imminent so that we cried when they did. But then again, how could I understand it at all? To hate one race with such a passion that you cannot even look at them without thinking about your stereotypical ideas is a foreign concept.

Hawaii does an exceptional job of preparing us for the world where understanding and seeing past stereotypes is a congenital "street smart". Although stereotypes still exist in Hawaii, they are less prevalent in the way our society interacts. We may have deep-rooted traditions—pressure from grandparents to marry people of the same ethnicity, etc.--but feelings of stereotypes have really lessened through the generations and, sort of, faded from our way of life. Tolerance is a skill necessary for the average Hawaii citizen, a habit planted in us because of all the “touching” that we do. In addition, to discriminate against one race is to discriminate against a lot of people because of our large “hapa” (mixed) group. People in Hawaii don’t crash into each other simply because we can’t—we don’t grow up that way and it doesn’t develop later on. If only Los Angeles had a little of Hawaii's cohesiveness, they'd be a lot better off...

Babel Take 2

Hey all! This is my post on the movie, "Babel". Babel is a really interesting movie that has a lot in common with another movie we watched, "Crash". Both addressed stereotypes, only in different ways. Where Crash sought to change the characters' perspectives on racial stereotypes through their forced encounters, Babel kind of enforced its characters’ pervading ideas on stereotypes! Everything I know to be characteristic of "Japanese" or "Mexican" or "American" and "Middle Eastern/Moroccan" was supported in the movie. The characters representing each ethnic group really didn't surprise me at all, in terms of their fashion, choice of language, or even their actions. My perception on "F.O.B.s" was confirmed in every action that Chieko made because she acted, apart from her deaf-mute complications, exactly in the manner presented to us by the media. My idea of "Dirty Mexicans" (not to sound racist or anything) was confirmed in their unlawful actions, rash thinking, and menial social-economic status (as shown by the dirty wedding and status of the city we saw). As most people are aware, Americans don’t come off as the most considerate people. Take Richard (Brad Pitt) for example. He demanded that the Embassy send help and that the police conduct an investigation to find the shooters while simultaneously holding the bus full of scared tourists at bay. Although his actions may be attributed to the highly stressful situation, it still communicated the basic message that Americans can be jerks, especially when dealing with countries of lower social-economic status and perceived lower intelligence. “Middle Easterners/People that look like Middle Easterners” are in our news more than ever so it is quite impossible for anyone NOT to know what kind of tendencies they have. We associate them with terrorism and fanatical religious beliefs and, although Babel did not show these stereotypes, the worldwide media in the movie certainly lived up to their reputations, exerting their power to control the public’s impressions, framing them as terrorists.
At the same time, each situation, which took place in three different areas of the world, had irregularities. These irregularities intensified the movie as far as stereotying was concerned. Each scenario was effective because they pitted our preconceived images of stereotypes with situations we know happen but aren’t typical, and certainly don’t fit in with our schemas. For example, during Spring Break I had the opportunity to go to Japan for ten days. While there, I got a good sense of Japanese pop culture through my observations. In a land as industrialized, highly developed, and dependent on business communication as Japan, it is hard to imagine how life must be for a deaf-mute person. Chieko’s disability must, and is going to, make it hard for her to survive on her own. Although the streets of Japan are relatively devoid of human interaction, the teenage population is all about sounds--music, conversation, and communication are what separate the new Japanese generation with the old. To feel left out of most of society, with the knowledge that there is no way that you’re ever going to belong, must be very disheartening. In this example, when we think about the skills you need to survive, and then think about deaf-mute person like Chieko, the mind is stretched and your stereotypes are never the same again.
Another example of the movie’s mind-expanding situations is the point of view of Adriana Barraza, the Mexican maid who was living in America as an illegal immigrant. Most of us are ill-informed as to the situation with illegal immigrants, only that they come across the border, risking everything and ruining local U.S. economies with their hire-for-nothing mentalities. Adriana’s performance in showing us the thankless, yet dedicated, side of Mexican labor earned her a “Best Supporting Actress” nomination. The only thing separating her from a U.S. citizen was her citizenship status but, in terms of work ethic, it is arguable that she was more dedicated to her job than most people who are born into their citizenship. I found her story the most moving of all because it was such a stark contrast with what I had previously thought of illegal immigrants. Illegal immigrants in the news don’t have faces, only a status, so it is hard to understand where they’re coming from. By presenting her story through her eyes, I realized that what we think of illegal immigrants is made by the few who stand out by committing heinous acts, like her nephew.
Because the film had a sparse amount of verbal interaction, I think the real language of the film was the emotions that the actors were able to convey to the audience. We felt hooked by their tears, torn by their distress, and internally conflicted by the clash between their cultures and our pervading stereotypes. A quote from the “Babel” movie website (http://www.paramountvantage.com/babel/) confirmed my beliefs. About Rinko Kikuchi’s role as Chieko: “There is very little physicality to this role, the performance is all about her eyes and her ability to allow you to feel her suffering. [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu] relied on her to sustain the gravity of the story.” The actors in the movie pulled this concept off and proved that you don’t need words to bridge the gap between peoples.
I think the movie was cleverly and accurately named in reference to the Biblical event in which God endowed different languages and cultures upon the people trying to build a tower to heaven. Ever since He did that, our world has faced challenges because of our inability to understand each other culturally. Each scenario tackled problems in communication. Cheiko couldn’t convey her inner struggles associated with her mother’s death to greater society, the Mexican lady couldn’t convey her struggles and emotional attachments to people threatening her living situation. Brad found himself out of place and in a powerless position in a very dangerous place while politicians argued and the media contorted the magnitude of the accident. In addition, everywhere you looked, there were other communication struggles: interrogators and suspects, Chieko and her father/her friends, Brad and Cate Blanchett, the Mexican lady and her employers. When a movie like Babel focuses on our nonverbal communication, we get in touch with our sensitive, primal side--the side that cries because others are in pain, or feels like they completely understand a stranger from a single interaction.
The one scene that stands out in my mind, because it almost brought me to tears, was the one in which Brad embraced the Moroccan translator, offering him money in thanks. The translator refused the money and, through the flickering of their eyes, I understood the beauty of selflessness and genuine empathy. In that action, the reason he helped the Americans became clear. Through the time they spent together he connected with them on an emotional level--probably due to the fact that he had to repeat everything each to each party involved. The point is that money is in short supply in a third-world country like Morocco so it would have been totally understandable had the translator accepted a fee for his services. By pushing the money away, the man gave us a refreshing look at what the world would be like if people were selfless and cared for one another. This kind of situation rarely happens nowadays because "money makes the world go 'round" and we look for rewards for our efforts, rather than acting out of caring. I appreciate those kinds of situations and I do wish that we could all be as generous as that man.

Babel--NOT Your Typical Biblical Movie

Hey all this is my post on the movie, "Babel"! Babel was a really interesting movie that had a lot in common with Crash. Both addressed stereotypes, only in different ways. Where Crash sought to change the characters' perspectives on racial stereotypes, Babel kind of enforced them! Everything I know to be characteristic of "Japanese" or "Mexican" or "American" and "Middle Eastern/Morroccan" was supported in the movie. The characters representing each ethnic group really didn't surprise me at all, in terms of their fashion, choice of language, or even their actions. My perception on "F.O.B.s" was confirmed in every action that Chieko made...she was SUCH a typical Japanese (the kind of Japanese we know, as projected by the media)! My idea of "Dirty Mexicans" (not to sound racist or anything) was confirmed in their unlawful actions, rash thinking, and menial social-economic status. As most people are aware, Americans aren't exactly the most considerate people--take Richard (Brad Pitt) for example. He demanded that the Embassy send help and that the police conduct an investigation to find the shooters. Although his actions may be attributed to the highly stressful situation, it still communicated the basic message that Americans can be jerks, especially when dealing with countries of lower social-economic status. Middle Easterners/People that look like Middle Easterners are in our news more than ever so it is quite impossible for anyone NOT to know what kind of tendencies they have. We associate them with terrorism and fanatical religious beliefs and, although Babel did not show these stereotypes, the media certainly framed them as terrorists.
Although I did see some connections as far as stereotypes are concerned, it was still very hard for me to understand the movie as a whole. Was the plot as simple as what I thought? I highly doubt that, but I'm not sure if watching the movie again and again will help me to figure stuff out. Because the film had a sparse amount of verbal interaction, I think the real language of the film was the emotions that the actors were able to convey to the audience. We felt hooked by their tears, torn by their distress, and conflicted by their cultures in the context of our personnal stereotypes. I think the movie was cleverly and accurately named in reference to the Biblical event in which God endowed different languages and cultures upon the people trying to build a tower to heaven. Ever since He did that, our world has faced challenges because of our inability to understand each other. When a movie, like Babel, focuses on our nonverbal communication, we get in touch of our sensitive, primal side--the side that cries because others are in pain, or feels like they understand a complete stranger with minimal interaction.
The one scene that stands out in my mind, because it almost brought me to tears, was the one in which Brad embraced the translator, offering him money. The translator refused the money and, through the flickering of their eyes, I understood the beauty of selflessness and genuine empathy. Money is in short supply in a third-world country like Morocco so it would have been totally understandable had the translator accepted the fee for his services. By pushing the money away, the actors gave us a refreshing look at what the world would be like if people were selfless and cared for one another. This kind of situation rarely happens nowadays because "money makes the world go 'round" and we look for rewards for our efforts, rather than acting out of caring. I appreciate those kinds of situations and I do wish that we could all be as generous as that man.

Movie Rating: ***** (five stars)

Icecream Ain't Always Cool

I organized a fund raising event, this past weekend, in collaboration with Marble Slab Creamery. They offer a 50% cut of total Saturday and Sunday net sales for any nonprofit organization that works in their store. It all came together after three weeks fo planning, poster-making, flier designing, duty delegating, and overall organization. I was very proud of the work I did and my meticulous preparation made Saturday's 3 hour shift seem like 3 minutes. At the end of the day, the store manager told us that we were on track to ebat the record set by another club. I went home and created a Marble Slab jingle, wrote two more signs, and went to bed full of confidence. I arrived at the store early and began to check people in. When 10AM rolled around I had already accumulated 12 people--the number of people who RSVPed their availability. Each person was given their duties and put to work. If you're going to open an icecream business, let me give you a piece of advice: don't open on Sundays. Not only do people not want to buy icecream on the holiest day of the week but they get really pissed if you screw up, as I found out soon enough. The lunch crowd started coming to buy icecream at about 12PM so all of our volunteers were forced to step up the pace. In the middle of the rush, a middle aged haole lady of stocky stature came into the store with her equally massive hubby trailing behind. A sophomore girl took her order but, because forfeited the job to me because the icecream they wanted was too hard to scoop. She was so flustered with embarassment that she mixed up the clients' orders--the lady wanted a banana-double-dark-chocolate-with-marshmallows-in-a-peanut-waffle-cone while the man opted with the double-dark-chocolate-with-walnuts-and-sweet-cream-in-a-waffle-bowl. *gasp gasp*...I ended up making two icecream orders that represented somewhere in between what they actually wanted. When I handed the lady her "order" she was furious! I apologized profusely but she responded by telling us that I had to start the order over again. This time I made the order correctly but the lady had words of advice for me before she pouted away. "You people should train your workers before they get started--the service was awful and I didnt appreciate your attitude." It seemed as though the store was at a stand-still because everyone wanted to see what was going on. I apologized again but she turned her head in disgust, waving a hand in my direction, all the while muttering to herself about how rude and inconsiderate I had been. There is no way to convey the emotions I felt at that moment. It was a cross between embarassment and anger, which I am not sure I was justified to feel. She should have known that we were a bunch of inexperienced high school Red Cross members who just wanted to raise money (there was a ton of signage going on outside the door) so I didnt understand her strong reaction. My indignant attitude fought my feelings of sorry-ness so it was hard for me to grin and bear it. Some people have told me that I have attitude problems when I converse in everyday conversation but this was different...I actually tried hard to sound pleasant! Then it struck me...hard! I dont know how it is for most people but I know that I have been guilty of treating food service people with less than the respect they deserve. Not as ruthless as the lady had treated me, yet not as nice as I might treat a friend. This is an ICM because it gave me perspective into the lives of working people who have constant contact with the public. Having never held a job of any kind in my life, it was a pretty shocking experience. I have stood by while my mother complained to our servers at restaurants, sometimes using tones that were less than courteous, but I didnt have a chance to see it from the perspective of the worker. In a way I am both grateful and upset about what happened that day. Grateful that I got a chance to get to know life from a subservient standpoint, but upset that this kind of thing happens everyday. From that moment on I have decided to be more conscious of the way I treat people, whether they stand behind the
counter or in line. A persons identity is more than just their ethnicity or gender, etc. Not having held a job before made me realize that, when you start working, you take on another aspect of your identity. People can now judge you on your job prestige and performance in that job. Remember Tyra Banks's famous "fat suit" experience? My day at Marble Slab Creamery was somewhere along those lines...only not so embarassing. :-D