Hunger Games

Hunger Games, the movie everyone has been talking about, hit theaters last Friday. As a fan of the books, I joined a few of my friends at the midnight showing. Since the hype over these books and movie as been compared to that of the Twilight series, I was afraid I would be seated among a sea of squealing pre-teens. While, this was to an extent true, there were also a smattering of male moviegoers, which made me feel slightly better about my choice in books.

Just in case you didn't know. The Hunger Games is set in the dystopian Panem (formerly known as North America). Panem was originally 13 Districts, ruled over by the Capitol, but sometime in the past, the districts rebelled and were defeated.  District 13 was obliterated and the remaining districts are forced each year to give a boy and a girl between the ages of 12-18, to compete in a televised fight to the death. The story focuses on Katniss, a young woman who hunts for her family's food in the poor and desolate District 12. She volunteers herself for the Hunger Games when her 12 year old sister is picked and is sent to the Capitol with Peeta, a boy who has secretly harbored a crush on Katniss. The pair are set loose with 22 other tributes in a forest like environment, and the games begin. 

I, overall, enjoyed the movie. The film had the right combination of old Hollywood talent and fresh new faces. Donald Sutherland played a subtle but threatening President Snow, leader of the Capitol. Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss) managed to portray her as both tough and vulnerable, reminding us that Katniss is only a teenager, forced to live in a violent and unfair world. 

My only problem with the movie, which maybe Hollywood wouldn't let it avoid, was the romanticization of the ending. The question throughout the entire book is whether Katniss actually loves Peeta or is just pretending for the sake of the cameras. The movie ignores this and lets the pair return home as smiling lovers, holding hands. Even Gale, Katniss's other suitor who was left at home, is smiling as Katniss and Peeta hold hands on their return. 

I think the main reason that I liked this movie was because I was already a fan of the books. The movie doesn't stray too far from the books, satisfying the fans in that respect. The acting is well done but the storyline becomes a bit contrived in parts, making this more a movie for the readers. The story itself serves as a warning to the worst possible future for reality of television. This idea as been approached before by other sci fi writers (i.e Running Man, Stephen King), but the use of younger characters allows this book to draw in the younger crowds, just as Harry Potter did to fantasy, and regrettably Twilight did to vampires. 

Coming Home

I have a pretty big family. All together there are 7 kids, ranging in ages from 7-30. As much as I adore them, coming home for Spring Break becomes a bit hectic. I was sitting on the couch yesterday, tightly wedged between my siblings, and began a Pro and Cons list about coming home:

Pro: Coming home means you get to sleep in your on bed, which is much bigger and more comfortable than your university provided bed.

Con: You end up either on the couch or worse, sharing a bed with a kicking prone sister, because your older siblings use the age card and swipe your bed from you.  

Pro: Mom makes a huge 6-course dinner, including at least 2 different kinds of desserts, in honor of the homecoming of yourself and others who have been away for the majority of the year.

Con: The merciless war that ensues as everyone scrambles to get more of the potato casserole and less of the steamed broccoli.

Pro: Being able to do your laundry for free and not have to pay two dollars a load.

Con: As payback for wrangling the washer first, your siblings sabotage your laundry by either stealing socks from the dryer or tinting the pure white clothing into a lovely shade of pink.

Pro: Being able to sleep in with no early classes to wake for.

Con: Having an early rising 7 year old to come jolt you out of bed better than any alarm clock ever could.

Pro: Being able to TIVO all of your favorite shows you missed while away at school.

Con: Feeling extremely disappointed when you realize that they never actually recorded because your technological savvy 7-year-old brother knows how to delete the shows and make room for SpongeBob.

To name a few. Don’t get me wrong. I love my family. It’s just funny how a two story house can feel just as small as a dorm room.

I am looking forward to voting for the first time in a presidential election. I find, however, that much of my political knowledge comes from articles such as this one (Huffington Post: Romney vs Mr. Burns). If only real political articles were as simple and colorful as this.  

Wild Bunch Redux

As I try to find inspiration for writing, I begin sifting through all the papers I've written over the last 3 years. Name the subject, and I've probably got a paper for it: Ethics, English, History, Philosophy, Business....and Math. Yes, I have a paper on mathematics.....It hurts my eyes to look at this one.

In this heap of essays, I found a film analysis paper I did for Ron Hansen's class a couple years ago on Sam Peckinpah's Wild Bunch and I decided to completely re-write it. I want to take out all of the technical mumbo jumbo I was required to put in it and just focus on why this movie is so great. I am really excited to re-write this. 

Part of the problem with my writing habits is that I feel everything I write has to be about something that everyone cares about or wants to read. While writing for money, this may be crucial, I just need to develop my writing habits, and I am going to start with this (albeit dated) film review. I realize not everyone cares about this kind of thing, but it matters to me so to hell with everyone.  

Meryl and the Oscar

After winning so many, Meryl herself is actually physically morphing into an Oscar

The Final Procrastination

All of my housemates are getting excited. Near the end of the quarter, without fail, our place is always spotlessly clean, organized, and smelling of freshly baked goods. This is my form of procrastination. Instead of studying for the final or writing that last paper, I take it upon myself to do all the things that I normally avoid. An unmade bed or a Lean Cuisine meal usually are enough for me. During finals week, I will try reorganizing the kitchen and make a four course meal. It's like the dread of doing any of the things I need to do turns me into this different person. Procrastination is weird in that way.

Everyone has a story about procrastination. This recently came to my attention when I finally went to an overdue meeting with my advisor and all that I learned was that she was suffering of an addiction to Angry Birds. While some of these stories are more extreme than others, procrastination is something that unites us all. It's not really that surprising with websites such as Stumbleupon or Tumbler that practically encourage procrastination. Everyone is told how bad procrastination really is. The countless proverbs and bumper stickers that encourage carpe diem, doing today instead of putting off until tomorrow etc, further emphasize how bad procrastination is. In my experience, however, procrastination, while stifling to what needs to be done, actually accomplishes more than we think. 

Smash: Hit or Miss

Spielberg's newest enterprise, "Smash" a television show on the behind the scenes drama of Broadway, has been getting a lot of hype lately. Some call the show Glee for adults, while others have nothing but praise. After watching the first two episodes, I have to say that the show falls somewhere in between the two. The plot focuses on the development of a new Broadway musical about Marilyn Monroe and the people involved in the productrion. Although the original songs about Marilyn are enjoyable, the show itself is fairly predictable. One of the major plotlines is the fierce competition for the main role of Marilyn between seasoned blonde Broadway veteran, Ivy, and green but talented waitress, Karen. This show would be a lot better if the character of Karen wasn't such a cliche. Hailing from some small Midwestern town, she is hoping to make it on Broadway using her waifish charm and talented voice. While Katherine McPhee (Karen) can sing reasonable well, her acting skills pale in comparison to her co-stars. I can already picture the rest of the season: Karen and Ivy will continuously try to upstage one another in hopes of keeping the main role. At least one of them, if not both, will at some point sleep with the stern British director. In the end, some internal/personal issue will hinder one enough for the other to take the lead and become a new star on Broadway. This is the basic plotline for most musical dramas such as this.The show failed to entice me to tune in for the rest of the season.
This is not to say that the show doesn't have some really great things going for it. Academy Award winner, Anjelica Huston, is entertaining to watch as newly divorced producer. Debra Messing and Christian Borle play the hit-making writers of the show whose own personal dramas are more frankly more interesting than the predictable compeition between Karen and Ivy.

I am pretty disappointed at the lack of originality in the show but the premise of a Marilyn musical is enough to entice any theater junkie. Rather than the interest in the shows original plot and characters, the fascination with the Marilyn Musical is what will bring viewers back to this show every week.

To All Cat Owners

To all the cat people out there.....you have been warned


Day 983 of My Captivity

Madonna, Romans, Cheerleaders, Oh My

I just witnessed Madonna's halftime show for the Super Bowl. I don't even know if it could classify as a "show". Usually a half time show has a consistent theme or color scheme or something that ties it together. To me, it seemed like Madonna tried to cram a thousand different allusions, themes, and ideas into 10-15 minutes of music as she attempted to do dance moves that no 53 year old should attempt. There were Romans, vikings, cheerleaders, Cee-Lo, acrobats, a marching band, Nicki Minaj, a church choir, and LMAFO, to name a few. The whole things was just ridiculous. From the beginning when Madonna, dressed as some sort of Roman-Viking hybrid, pulled in by a myriad of Roman soldiers, to the end, as the words "World Peace" flashed on the stage, all I could do was tilt my head in confusion. In my opinion, the Super Bowl curse of the half time show carries on. 

Party Animals

Just got hooked onto a new BBC show, "Party Animals". It's about some 20 something year old research assistants working for MP's in UK's Parliament. After studying abroad in London, watching the fictionalization of ever day events in an MP's office is really entertaining. Watching Congress interact and debate in CSPAN is slightly less exciting than watching paint dry. Watching Parliament, however, is rarely boring. The House of Commons is full of well dressed Brits who yell, laugh at, and insult each other at every chance.in order to diminish the credibility of the opposing party. The TV show focuses on the lives of these research assistants and the drama that continues behind the scenes of Parliament. I've only seen one episode but the dry British humour set against the backdrop of the unstable nature of politics makes for an entertaining show. 

Midnight in Paris

I recently just watched Midnight in Paris, at the urging of my friends and family. I really enjoyed the movie overall, not because of the main lead played by Owen Wilson, but because of the other characters, Ernest Hemingway, Zelda Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein etc. Woody Allen tried to recreate all the glamorous parts of Paris in the 1920's and he succeeded, perhaps a little too much. The message of the entire movie ended up being something along the lines of "We belong in our own time" or something but by the end of it Allen had just convinced me that the place to be is Paris in the 1920's.  Watching a drunk and belligerent Ernest Hemingway talk about real experiences and war was the best part for me. I have been reading Hemingway for years and I've realized the one thing that I enjoy more than his writing is the character of Hemingway himself.

To End All Wars

For a history class, we were instructed to read from Adam Hochschild's book To End All Wars. Coming back from a quarter abroad in London, I have been reading and seeing a lot of history centering around Britain's involvement in the World War I. The names such as Churchill and Kitchner pop frequently in typical approaches to World War I history, creating an image of strength and solidarity for Britain during the time of the war. In stark contrast to this, Hochschild presents two opposite images of Britain during the war. One was of the trials of the strong British people, people who kept calm and carried on. The other was of those who opposed the war, who demanded that peace be established. This latter perspective is often ignored by historians, or at the very least is the part that is diminshed in the classroom. Perhaps this is because the side of the anti war activist was not victorious. The fact is that World War I did occur, despite the protests from this group of British men and women. Hochschild's book is intriguing and thought provoking, not only because it sheds light on the hidden stories of the first World War, but explains how these stories are connected to one another.

The first story that Hochschild presents is one of the contrasting stories of John French, a man of the British calvary and Charlotte Despard. French was charming and well-liked among the British upperclass and his career in the military helped with his popularity. Like most upper class young men, he looked forward to the glories of war. Set against the backdrop of the British Empire, warfare was looked upon as a game, a means for displaying courage and tenacity. Hochschild goes on the describe the troubles and downfall of French, through financial problems and marital strains. This initial image of French, a typical British pre-war young upperclass man, isn't particularly interesting. Both in American and foreign accounts and histories of the Great War, this picture of young, dashing, and brave men gladly marching off to war is quite common. It wasn't until the account of Charlotte Despard that Hochschild takes up a unique take on World War I British society.

Charlotte was also of the upper class but rejected, rather than embracing, the glorious image of war. She was appalled by the treatment of the poor in the late Victorian society. She moved to Battersea and opened a community center in order to help the less fortunate. In addition, she was a vocal anti-war activist, often ignoring the rules that society had for upper class women.

It is clear that Despard and French were of polar opposite opinions when it came to the issue of war. However, at the end of this chapter, Hochschild revealed the most amazing aspect of these two stories: French and Despard were brother and sister. This connective piece of information is what really made Hochschild's approach to World War I unique and thought provoking. As he describes the loving relationship that French and Despard maintained, despite their clear differences, it makes the reader consider all of the things that they know about the events and people of World War I. This image of solidarity and unification is somewhat broken after learning of the story of French and Despard. For me, Hochschild made me rethink and ponder everything I knew about British morale during the war. This approach, looking to individuals and their stories, in my opinion is a innovative way to study history, looking at the individuals who were part of a greater event, rather than just the event itself.

Upon taking a non-fiction writing class, I was instructed to create a blog. As I already have neglected both of my existing blogs, I will try to continue with this one, hopefully giving it the attention that I had initially began with. The problem before was deciding what I would write about and when I would write. I tried waiting around for inspiration but that happen once in a blue moon. I am going to try reviewing and critiquing the things that I am constantly surrounded with: TV, books, movies, news etc. Hopefully this approach will lead to more frequent samples of writing which is an important step on the road to improvement.