Transcedentalism

A transcendentalist is one who takes their own ideas as a life principle. This movement has created new ideas and standings against the normal. Instead of following normal religion, government, and law, they created their own theories. Many stood for their own rights or simply had a new way of thinking. Opening up to a new movement, they believed in self-reliance and power an individual. This empowering movement was inspiring for those to be creative and create their own policies. Without this movement, we never would have created movements of protest or religion.

I agree with being a transcendentalist because it shows a difference in our community. Nothing would ever be protested against or individualized if we all followed the same plan. Throughout everything we do, we need to be the one to stand out. There were many people in this movement that have created a change in our world. Many of the women wrote and took their stance to stand up for women’s rights. If they never would have tried to make a change, we would end up in the same place as before. I think it is important for everyone to take their stance on their own beliefs even if it means rebelling against what it thought to be normal. This is exactly what these people did- imagining independence.

To become a transcendentalist we need to stand out for our own beliefs. I wish I could say I am a transcendentalist, but I haven’t made a strong stance to be individual against religion and our government. Of course I disagree with a lot of things because I am opinionated, but I have no argument to defend for my self-reliance. Everyone could be a transcendentalist, but the ones that are actually considered to be great are the ones that actually go out to speak their stance. I think it is great for everyone to show their own individuality and make a difference in their life and everyone’s around them.

Contemporary Music in a Vintage Film

Using popular music in the film, it gave a complete different effect and tone to the movie. While the movie was placed in a vintage setting, the music made it seem more relatable to our lives. When a pop song came on during on of the large party scenes, it blended perfectly because that it the type of music our generation would listen to at parties as well. Sometimes that affect worked great with the scene, but at other times it just seemed like it was stuck in place. I first expected the movie to have completely different music, but since the overall hype of the movie was to be modern, it worked well most of the time.

I did however think that the music would have been better if it was more vintage instead of modern. Of course we listen to mostly hip hop and pop, but incorporation this type of music somewhat distracted from the setting. I would have also enjoyed the film if had popular music from that time frame. Because the two generations do not correlate, the music sometimes would clash with the picture. From the scene of viewing the downtown city, it was too overwhelming having a popular song on the radio. Watching the movie, I sometimes got irritated that the director tried too hard to make the movie appeal to teens. The overall movie would have flowed much better if the music was mixed from the older generation to now. Various songs should be chosen to fit best with the scenes instead of squeezing in a bunch of popular hits to make the movie seem more popular. Because of the distinct differences in time, I did not think our generations music generally fit well with the movie.

The music helped the viewer understand the movie better by giving emotion. When the director wanted the party seems to seem wild and crazy, the movie would feature an energetic song. When Gatsby and Daisy were talking romantically, a slow and beautiful song would play. I think this is critical for all movies to do so to add a deeper meaning. Without music, the overall movie would seem boring. I believe that the director intentionally used popular hits to try to target teens more than the older crowd. Most teens do not actually read The Great Gatsby unless told to in school. Since the movie was marketed with better music, it probably helped the movie do well in theaters. Without the appeal to our generation and casting Leonardo, the movie would have been a bust. Even though I disagree with having all popular music from our time in the movie, it probably helped with the success of the movie.

Columbine Gun Law Debate

What is Moore trying to say about American identity and value?  

 

Throughout the entire movie, Moore is constantly getting point of view of what American’s think about the guns laws. The point of views show  that America is very divided between the second Amendment. According to this amendment, we have the right to bear arms. The Columbine and Flint incident made America question the leeway that we have from this right. Most American’s believe that this right should be protected and not be tampered with. From the incidents, Moore is trying to convince others that the gun laws should be much stricter to avoid any radical accidents or murders. It is evident from the high amount of murders in our country that our freedoms may be misused.

Referring to the Atlantic article, Japan has a much stricter policy in order for one to obtain a gun. Through vigorous classwork, background checks, documentation, and continual tests, finally they are allowed to own a gun. While this seems a lot safer than the policies America has, some would argue that the right to own a gun shouldn't be monitored as highly as Japan does. From my personal belief, I agree with Japan’s strict policies to prevent any radicals to gain power of a weapon. Moore also is trying to point out this idea as he interviews many people to get perspective on what the town overall believes. Many people were still all for the original gun policies even after the shootings. With American's identity, he believed that we do not regulate the law as much as we should be and take the second Amendment to be as flexible as possible. Concerning our justice for freedom, Americans need to be more aware of the benefits of stricter policies would do for our safety.

Using statistics from other countries, we can understand that even though we do not have strict gun laws, we have the highest amount of murders. This is outrageous that these types of murders are not common, but still seem to be happening. Comparing our numbers to Canada, there are about 7 million guns present in 10 million homes. They have been accounted for only a few murders each year opposed to our strikingly high murder rate. Unlike Canada, not every American even owns a gun for hunter or protection purposes. What could be the cause of our high statistic? From one of the interviewees point of view, he made it clear that it was how our culture is raised. America does have a past of multiple wars unlike Canada. Growing up in a new century without a worry about war, this is not the case anymore. These few criminals cannot be determined by simply stereotype. From the Flint incident, a 6 year old boy was capable of murdering another 6 year old girl. At any age this type of violence is possible. What can draw the line to determine what America should be doing about this? Our values should shift to keep the protection and safety of the citizens over allowing simply anyone to access a weapon.