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Showing posts from November, 2021

Death of a Salesman and a Rebirth of my Anxiety

 Films hold the power to make or break a story. This statement especially holds true to film adaptations based off of iconic works of literature and the famous Mr. Arthur Miller is no different.  The film adaptation of Miller's Death of a Salesman is nonetheless a work of art and is a great example of literature translating into a film adaptation. Released in the mid-1980s, the film closely follows the plot of the novel and brings to life the characters we love (or hate) in the best way. Dustin Hoffman's performance as "Willy Loman" is unbelievable. His ongoing ambition masked by his declining mental state is powerful and incredibly depressing. When reading the literary adaptation, I panned Willy as a sad, older man; broken and torn by the capitalistic systems in our country-- that still very much exist today might I add. Although, Hoffman's performance portrayed Willy farther gone and way angrier than I initially read him to be. Truthfully, his performance sparke

Honest Publishing and Why I'm Not Doing it

 My goal with this post is to take a bold step and post a VERY honest reflection that I have written but, I will instead explain why I have decided not to do so. Writing is a vulnerable activity nonetheless but, is powerful when driven with emotion and honesty. I have always loved writing and as scholars, we are always encouraged to share our work and put ourselves out there. But, what happens when you're too honest and observant? A humorous example that comes to mind when I think about honest writing is an instance in the beloved television show Gilmore Girls. In the eighth episode of the fourth season titled Die Jerk , our revered mother and daughter duo are in attendance at a Yale ballet performance to which Rory is assigned to review. With great inputs from Lorelai, she encourages her kind-hearted daughter to write a brutally honest review which comes with brutal repercussions from the performer.  My point?  I don't want the same thing to happen to me. While my entire perso

What Film Teaches Us About Human Nature: Rear Window

This blog is a sample of my in-class essay on Hitchcock's iconic film--  Rear Window. "Curiosity is the lust of the mind," as once quoted by the great English Philosopher Thomas Hobbs. It is natural for humans to be naturally curious about the unknown and what is presented in front of us with no context. In modern society, one always wants to be in touch with what is happening around oneself. When a scandal occurs, it is human nature that we are curious to know why something happened. Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 film Rear Window presents a classic example of the oldest known type of curiosity in modern society-- how much do we know about our neighbors?  Rear Window has become a revered film of the 20th century. The film tells the story of L.B "Jeff" Jefferis (played by James Stewart), a renowned photographer who is wheelchair-bound following a tragic fall during one of his assignments. While bound to his New York City apartment, Jefferies spends much of his t