IRJ #22

One’s  True Identity?: The Color of One’s Skin

While writing my Pacific Rim paper on the Australian Film Industry, I learned that Aboriginal people were not used in movies until 1955. Aborigines, the people who first inhabited the land, were not seen on screen until 1955, and when they did it was highly controversial. But somehow this didn’t shock me. It should shock me or at least make me angry to know that they were denied the right to act solely because of the color of their skin but I didn’t feel anything. But then I realized that this is because I, like so many others, have become so accustomed to hearing these acts of racism and sexism that now to be it just seems like the norm. But now that I’m being forced to think about it, I wonder: what causes people to be racist or sexist in the first place? Today even, when we know that all the races are equal, what causes someone to discriminate people solely because of their race. But thinking about it, I begin to understand how someone could. Fear of the unknown. If every single person was one color or one thing, then  when someone that is different comes along, it is scary. This fear causes the person to discriminate or want to get rid of the thing that is different. As horrible as it is, it makes sense.  However, people argue why are people still racist today, when we know of different cultures and need not be afraid of them? Although we know and understand other cultures, the fact of the matter is there are statistics showing that certain races have higher crime rates or jail sentences. Although, it is sad that everyone of a race must be fit into one category, this does provide a logical reason to fear one race more than the other. Also, in our society we are raised seeing these stereotypes in movies, radio, and television forcing our minds to believe them. I am not saying racism is okay in anyway, but I see how it came about and why it still exists today.

IRJ Reflection #21

In Genesis Chapter 27, Isaac is going to die and calls upon to Esau to bring him savory food so he can bless him before he dies. Rebekah hears of this and tells Jacob to pretend to be his brother so that Isaac will bless him. When Esau finds out what Jacob has done, he plans to kill him out of his hatred for his brother.

Esau and Jacob were born fighting and have grown up constantly competing for the upper hand. Although not all brothers have always had conflict or it might not be as pronounced, all brothers have some sort of brotherly conflict.

Men are naturally dominating and unconsciously are striving for power to be the “man of the house.” There cannot be two men of the house, so consequently brothers have some sort of conflict throughout in their lives.

What makes the brotherly conflict between Esau and Jacob even worse, is how different they are. Esau is a skillful hunter and is more rugged than Jacob. Jacob is sweet, quiet and kind. This causes conflict to emerge over whose qualities are more “valuable.”

Although brothers can love each other and be friends, no matter who the people are, there will always be some sort of conflict which can not be prevented.

IRJ Reflection #20

“And the Winner Goes To…”

Yesterday I read an article in the Entertainment section of the Los Angeles Times stating that the Oscar’s change fromfive to ten best picture nominees is a desperate attempt to raise the ratings after a record low last year. The writer of the article, Kenneth Turban, argues that expanding the number of nominees does absolutely nothing, as it is still clear which movies the top five would be.

As I look at the nominated movies and ones that have been nominated in previous years, I ask myself; who exactly is on this “Oscar committee?” Who are these people who sit above us telling us which movies are the “best”? It’s not that I did not enjoy the movies on the list that I have seen, I just wonder who are the ones deciding what is good and what is bad.

I believe that the ratings drop has nothing to do with the number of nominees or the host, but with the disappointment of the “best”? The article jokes “Would (bite your tongue at the very thought) something like ‘“The Hangover” get one of the coveted slots,” as if the very thought of a comedy winning is horrendous.

From what I’ve heard, everyone I’ve talked to has enjoyed this movie. So maybe it doesn’t have a deeper meaning or symbol or relation to the world or a bigger picture, but who cares? Isn’t the purpose of a movie to be something that someone enjoys?

One of predictions for winner of the award is Avatar, which I personally loved, but I have talked to many saying the storyline is unoriginal which is a valid point. And this “unoriginal but pretty” movie is one of the top contenders.

So whose deciding what is “good” or “bad”? And whose deciding what type of movie is the “right” kind? No one

person or one committee should decide what’s the “best”, so they shouldn’t. If they want the ratings to raise then the “best” should be what everyone believes not just one group.

Image Credit: http://abview.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/oscar.jpg

IRJ Reflection #19

Knowledge, Ignorance, Power, Sense of Strength: What’s Worth Striving For?

Introduction: Eve’s poem on God and his affect on her.

Why give me eyes, if you’re not going to let me see out of them?

Why give me the gift of hearing, if I’m not allowed to listen?

Although you have resisted my knowledge out of your fear and insecurities

I am smart enough to choose knowledge and be in danger over ignorance

For the danger of not knowing far exceeds the danger of knowing

And if you must take these away from me, then at least leave me with my people

Do not spread my people and stop us from spreading what knowledge we do have

And what is your excuse for this treatment?—Protection?

Or fear of the loss of your Power?

For if you must protect me, protect me from those trying to take away my knowledge

And if you fear losing your power, then fight for it and gain true power

Because after taking away so much from me, I do not look up to you

I look down upon you for you are not a true leader

Yes, you lead over me because of your lies and betrayal

But you are not a true hero

I, for one, rather be of the lowest rank and have my dignity,

Than the highest, and know what I have done to be standing there

So, yes, you do rule over me,

But you and I both know you are not a true leader

IRJ Reflection #18

God has always been looked upon as a powerful, strong, invincible figure whose motivation is the happiness of His people. But after reading the beginning of Genesis, it has become clearer that He, like many others, really just strives for power and will do whatever it takes to gain it.

In Genesis Chapter 2, he deceives Adam and Eve by telling them that if they eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil they will die, when really it will open their eyes and rid them of their ignorance of the world. However, God knows that once their eyes are opened, he will lose his power over them, as they will then be able to make their own decisions and rebel against what they are told.

If God really had Adam and Eve’s best intentions in mind, he would have rid them of their ignorance, for even though ignorance can at times protect one, knowledge is power. If one is knowledgeable, they can make their own informed decisions and have power over their own lives. This is what God feared most, for he wanted to create and have power over everything on Earth.

Many people, like myself, have ignorantly looked to God as a great, powerful, invincible figure but after reading more, I’m forced to ask myself; does He truly unconditionally love his people or do all his motives derive from the quest for power?

QR # 17

The Greatness of the Poodle: A Life Full of Gratitude

Lyra, a curious, intelligent girl, inquires with a nearby seaman why daemons have to settle eventually and what happens if they settle into a shape you dislike. The seaman tells her, “There’s plenty of folk as’d like to have a lion as a daemon and they ended up with a poodle. And till they learn to be satisfied with what they are, they’re going to be fretful about it. Waste of feeling, that is” (Pullman 167).

 

The seaman also advises Lyra that a person’s daemon settles into a shape which represents the kind of person they are. Therefore, when your daemon settles you know the sort of person you truly are. However, what is more important than the type of person you are is learning to be satisfied with what you have, whatever that may be. Grieving over the things we do not have is sincerely a waste of emotion. Until one learns to appreciate what they have, they will never truly be happy.

 

The seaman says some people would like to have a lion but end up with a poodle. This portrays the message that people usually wish for great things and the fact of the matter is, many times they do not achieve them. What is important is to love and be thankful for whatever you have. A life full of regret is a life full of sorrow. On the other hand, a life constantly expressing gratitude is a life full of abundance and happiness.

 

Proposition: Although what one has might not be what they wished for, we must learn to live our lives with gratitude.

CP # 16

The Ultimate Goal: A Life Worth Living

The clock ticked 12:00 AM, another day had passed. This small, cheap alarm clock seemed to be the only thing that separated one day from the next. They all blended together into one tiresome, dreary blur. Each day appeared to be exactly like the last as if someone had been rewinding the same day over and over. He had gotten the job that others had only dreamed of, but it was not enough. He had worked his entire life to be exactly where he was now but he did not possess the feeling he thought he would have when he reached this point. Had he wasted his entire life trying to achieve this one goal and forgotten about everything else? He did not want to admit to this because how do you deal with the fact that you have wasted your entire life and cannot go back. So instead, he tried to avoid looking back on his life because he knew this would only lead to denial and regret.

In college, he had chosen to live his life detached from everyone else afraid they would destroy his career goal. There was only one person who he ever truly cared about, Beth Callahan, and he had ruined this to. One summer she had asked him to be spontaneous and accompany her to travel to Europe. She had no exact destination in mind, she just wanted to get away. He, being a man who needed definitude, decided to take an internship at a small publication. This turned out to be the biggest mistake of his life.

And so the clock ticked 12:00 and he lie awake in his bed thinking of what could have been. Why did he choose for his life goal to be pursuing a career? Why did he not hope for love or happiness? Because what really is the point of pursuing your goal if when you get there you are not truly happy?

OP #15

The Grass is Always Green: Learning to Want What We Have

Meridith Grey, a character and the narrator of the medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, at the end of the episode “Desire” narrates, “Too often, the thing you want most is the one thing you can’t have. Desire leaves us heartbroken, it wears us out. Desire can wreck your life. And as tough as wanting something can be, the people who suffer the most are those who don’t know what they want.” Meredith’s relationship with Derek is ending and she comes to the realization that she, like most, wants what she can’t have instead of enjoying the things she does have.

Episode Summary

Grey’s Anatomy Summary

Wanting What We Cannot Have

“The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” This simple quote has so much underneath it and is one of society’s biggest problems. No matter where you are the grass always seems to be greener on the other side, meaning the situation always seems better somewhere else. Instead of focusing on how blessed we are for what we do have, we choose to envy others who have what we do not. This is not something only some struggle with but humans have always seemed to have this problem.

Do the people who do not know what they want really suffer the most? In some ways yes, but in others they do not. Yes, it is good to know what you want and pursue it as long as what you want is attainable. But sometimes not knowing is better than knowing. Too often people want one thing and forget about everything else. They forget to enjoy the things they have because they do not have that one thing they truly want. This ties back to people wanting what they cannot have. We must learn to desire what we have no matter how much or how little this is, because desiring what we cannot have never turns out well.

Proposition: People must learn to love what they have and know they are blessed for having it rather than wanting the things they cannot have.

IRJ – CP # 14

The End of the Beginning Part 3

May 3, 2054

‘This is a not a column defining the meaning of life. It is not going to teach you how to live your life the “right way” or instruct you step by step how to go through life. Because the fact of the matter is, I do not know how to live my life myself. No one does, which is why there is no “right” or “wrong” way to do it. All I can do is tell what you what I have learned and give my personal opinion. From there you can choose to skim through it disdainfully or avoid acceptance in an act of obstinacy or you can listen.

 

Although, no one knows how to live their life, everyone has some idea of what they are trying to accomplish. Maybe you have never really thought about it or confronted yourself about it but somewhere in the back of your head, it’s there. Some people yearn for a life full of ostentation and sumptuousness, thinking they will gain people’s acceptance by showing off their superiority. Other people wish for a different type of superiority, they yearn for sanctimony. They do their best always trying to do the ethical thing. Some want a life full of lark and choose to live their life desultorily without any planning, while others yearn for something deeper. No matter what you aspire to do or be; do it with conviction. Do not try to be something you are not.’

 

-John E. Higgins

Columnist

IRJ – CP # 12

Setting ~Underneath It All

At first sight, one would see the bedroom and instantly know that the owner of it didn’t have much money. The bed had been together from four wood posts each attached together with a single nail. The mattress was about one inch thick or thin, in this case, with the springs clearly visible underneath. It is impossible to fathom how anyone would ver get any sleep on this bed. In addition, the bed was lumpy, but this was not due to the bed itself. Underneath the bed lay six books all on life and physical sciences.

Besides from the bed, there stood a desk with a single drawer. Inside the drawer lay a makeshift box witha  lock. Only the owner of this bedroom knew the key was stragecially tucked beneath the thirty-sixth page of the Holt Science & Technology book. Inside this box lay $247.90, a map of the east coast, a brochure to the East Providence Rhode Island Science School, and a picture of a boy. The money was dirty, crumpled, and made up of lots of small change. The map had a big, red star on Rhode Island. However, on the wall hung a cheap looking world map with no red stars. Inside of the desk drawer one would also find numerous pages of graph paper with complex physics equations written.

On top of the desk lay a schedule whose header read Gardening and listed names of families and appointment times. Next to this paper was a list of chores including sweep the kitchen, help Dad garden the Smith’s lawn, babysit Sean. However, hidden underneath these two pieces of paper was another list whose header read Tutoring and listed different people’s names and appointment times. Also sticking to the desk was a post it note with a grocery list containing items such as meat, bred, beans, and other essential items.

There was no closet in this bedroom, but there was a small wooden box which somewhat resembled a dresser. Inside the dresser lay one long sleeved shirt, one short sleeved shirt, one pair of pants. and two pairs of underwear all neatly folded. By the door lay shoes whose soles seemed to be peeling off.

At first sight, the room was a sad sight, but looking deeper into the room lie much, much more than one would catch at first glance.