Dear Buffalo,
Where do I even begin? How about I start by thanking you for all you've given me. A beautiful home with my family where I've grown up and learned all I know, great friends that I wouldn't trade the world for and, of course, chicken wings. Yum.
You've been there for me through the bad times and the good. Remember the times we had together during fall in the park. The way you paint the trees with red, orange and yellow could make someones heart melt. Then there was the October storm when you gave kids like me the gift of no school for a week, I never got to say thanks for that.
But I have something to admit to you my dear, old friend. Recently I've been seeing someone else. Her name is Florida. It's nothing serious yet but there are some things she has that you don't. Did you know Florida is also called "the sunshine state"? Well now I know why. The warmth you feel by laying poolside is unlike anything else. And if you're feeling a little hot you can cool off by the shade of a palm tree. I know you don't know what they are because you don't have them there in Buffalo but they are the most welcoming, tropical tree I've ever seen. Unlike your trees which are bare for what seems like 3/4 of the year, the trees down here are always green. Flowers are always in bloom, too. The vibrant colors and smells are something I bet you'd love to experience!
My tastes in people and places are slowly changing and they're not the same as they may have been sixteen years ago. As cliché as it may sound, it's not you, it's me. Don't be too hard on yourself, really. Just one last thing, if you'd be so kind as to let me know when it will stop snowing and Spring will finally roll around then please, do.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Monday, January 14, 2013
Spider-Man and Hamlet, say whaaaat?!
Revenge. Oh sweet, sweet revenge. You've heard of it and whether you would like to admit it or not you have probably taken part in some sort of revengeful act. But what exactly is revenge? Well, according to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary revenge can best be defined as to avenge, as oneself, usually by retaliating in kind or degree. What this means is to get "payback" for something, most of the time by extreme means or measures.
Many authors and writers alike use revenge as a basis for plot in a movie or novel. The first thing that pops into my head when I hear the word revenge is Spider-Man. Although I've never read any of the comics I have seen all of the Spider-Man movies (Tobey Maguire I'm a HUGE fan). So for those of you who have seen the movie and want to hear my elaboration on revenge in the movie, continue reading. And for those of you who have never seen the movie you can watch the video clip located below and I think you'll have a pretty good idea.
You know how the movie goes; nerdy boy is at a science laboratory, gets bit by a mutated spider and wakes up with super powers. But what caused Peter Parker to become a super hero and use his powers? Revenge. One night after many nights of perfecting his new powers of strength, Peter decided to go out to a fighting match to try and win himself the cash prize in order to buy himself a car. Before leaving to go out his father figure with whom he lives with, Uncle Ben, and himself got into a bad argument. Peter left the house on bad terms with his uncle. After winning the cash prize and first place at the fight, a thief stole the promoter's money. Peter thinks nothing of this and let's the thief go. As he's on his way home there is a big scene involving police and an ambulance. Peter rushes through the crowd to see what is going on to find his uncle carjacked and murdered. He then discovers that the same thief he let get away earlier is the carjacker and murderer of his Uncle Ben. With rage, Peter goes after the thief and "assists" with his death. After this, Peter Parker takes on the persona of Spider-Man and fights crime in New York City so no one will have to deal with the unfair pain of losing someone you care about.
So, what does this have to do with revenge? Personally, I think it's pretty obvious. Just like Hamlet in the play Hamlet written by William Shakespeare, both men lost someone close to them. Hamlet lost his father by his uncles hand. After finding out the truth about his fathers death, Hamlet sought out revenge on his uncle. Peter Parker and Hamlet are both alike in the way that they will go to extreme measures to "make things right" for the one they loved and lost. Peter and Hamlet choose to go about this with violence by going after the murderer although Peter also decides to continue using his powers for good by protecting others from untimely loss.
Revenge. It's a very powerful thing. There are different levels of extremity for many things, especially revenge. Not only will people act on instinct to protect the ones they love and care about but also seek out a vengeance for someone who can't act for themselves due to something like death. So, what about yourself? Would you go as far as killing someone in order to get "payback" on a death of a loved one? Or would you stand by and not seek revenge at all? It's all up for you to decide.
Many authors and writers alike use revenge as a basis for plot in a movie or novel. The first thing that pops into my head when I hear the word revenge is Spider-Man. Although I've never read any of the comics I have seen all of the Spider-Man movies (Tobey Maguire I'm a HUGE fan). So for those of you who have seen the movie and want to hear my elaboration on revenge in the movie, continue reading. And for those of you who have never seen the movie you can watch the video clip located below and I think you'll have a pretty good idea.
You know how the movie goes; nerdy boy is at a science laboratory, gets bit by a mutated spider and wakes up with super powers. But what caused Peter Parker to become a super hero and use his powers? Revenge. One night after many nights of perfecting his new powers of strength, Peter decided to go out to a fighting match to try and win himself the cash prize in order to buy himself a car. Before leaving to go out his father figure with whom he lives with, Uncle Ben, and himself got into a bad argument. Peter left the house on bad terms with his uncle. After winning the cash prize and first place at the fight, a thief stole the promoter's money. Peter thinks nothing of this and let's the thief go. As he's on his way home there is a big scene involving police and an ambulance. Peter rushes through the crowd to see what is going on to find his uncle carjacked and murdered. He then discovers that the same thief he let get away earlier is the carjacker and murderer of his Uncle Ben. With rage, Peter goes after the thief and "assists" with his death. After this, Peter Parker takes on the persona of Spider-Man and fights crime in New York City so no one will have to deal with the unfair pain of losing someone you care about.
So, what does this have to do with revenge? Personally, I think it's pretty obvious. Just like Hamlet in the play Hamlet written by William Shakespeare, both men lost someone close to them. Hamlet lost his father by his uncles hand. After finding out the truth about his fathers death, Hamlet sought out revenge on his uncle. Peter Parker and Hamlet are both alike in the way that they will go to extreme measures to "make things right" for the one they loved and lost. Peter and Hamlet choose to go about this with violence by going after the murderer although Peter also decides to continue using his powers for good by protecting others from untimely loss.
Revenge. It's a very powerful thing. There are different levels of extremity for many things, especially revenge. Not only will people act on instinct to protect the ones they love and care about but also seek out a vengeance for someone who can't act for themselves due to something like death. So, what about yourself? Would you go as far as killing someone in order to get "payback" on a death of a loved one? Or would you stand by and not seek revenge at all? It's all up for you to decide.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Political Satire and Huck Finn
First let's start with what satire is. According to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary it can best be defined as wit, irony, or sarcasm used to expose and discredit vice or folly. Basically what this means is to make fun of someone (or something) to show how foolish they (or it) really is.
One of my favorite T.V. series of all time would definitely, hands-down, without a doubt have to be Saturday Night Live, SNL for short. I'm sure you've heard of SNL before, and if you haven't please have a talk with my Grandpa he'd be happy to show you a few oldies. Saturday Night is full of satire left and right, I feel as if the roots of this show were built on satire. So when it came to choosing what direction I wanted to go with I had no idea. There are so many different sketches that I could talk about for hours on end (luckily for you this won't take hours).
After watching hours of my favorite SNL sketches I decided what route I was going to take: Political Satire. I know how that sounds if you're anything like me, lame, but the producers and writers make this anything but boring. Recently, the 2012 Presidential election was going on and that was all anyone was talking about... yay. This is a blog on satire, not politics so if you have no idea what happened during the 2012 election you should talk to your U.S. History teacher, not me. Anyway, it was pretty obvious that the two candidates President Obama and Mitt Romney did not like one another. The 3 debates gradually showed the dislike between the two grow. My favorite (and i say this loosely) debate would definitely be the town hall style, debate two. Why? Obama and Romney were in each others faces, what's not to love?! But seriously, not only that but the sketch SNL did on this was not only completely hilarious but strangely accurate. Not joking when I say this 10 minute video makes me die from laughter. If you're trying to tickle your funny bone I suggest you watch the video located below.
So why is this video considered satire? Well if you haven't been reading this blog post you might not realize the obvious. What Jason Sudeikis and Jay Pharoah are doing in this sketch is politely trying to show President Obama and Mitt Romney how rediculous they look (sarcasm).
The same type of satire that is used by the actors and through the writers of Saturday Night Live is also clearly shown in Mark Twain's novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This novel is about a a young boy named Huckleberry Finn who travels down the Mississippi River with a runaway slave named Jim. The duo travel their way through the South as we see them also 'travel' through many different stereotypes of that time. The satire in Huck Finn is a play on the social and political views of slavery. Back in the day it wasn't necessarily accepted to travel down a river on a raft helping a slave to escape. Strangely enough, Huck was okay with that. And there begins the humor in Huck Finn. One prime example that I thought was especially funny about the friendship between Huck and Jim is the conversation between the two about King Solomon and King Louis of France. Huck tries explaining the details of both kings to Jim, and Jim just contradicts him with uniquely logical arguments the entire time. It gets better when Huck tells Jim that King Louis speaks French which makes no sense to Jim, and he asks Huck if a cat is a man, or if a cow is a man. Huck responds no, so Jim says of King Louis being a man, "Dad blame it, why don' he talk like a man? You answer me dat!" (Chapter 14). I find this funny because Jim is made out to be this character who has no idea about anything and relies on Huck (we later see that Jim is a lot smarter then first let off to be). This shows that Twain made Jim's character a pretty narrow stereotypical view of African Americans during that time which is exactly what the writers of Saturday Night Live do to project a certain prospective of the former presidential candidates.
So there you have it, satire. Whether it be political or just simple irony, it can be tied into almost anything you can think of. So go ahead, think about it. What other examples of satire can you think of?
One of my favorite T.V. series of all time would definitely, hands-down, without a doubt have to be Saturday Night Live, SNL for short. I'm sure you've heard of SNL before, and if you haven't please have a talk with my Grandpa he'd be happy to show you a few oldies. Saturday Night is full of satire left and right, I feel as if the roots of this show were built on satire. So when it came to choosing what direction I wanted to go with I had no idea. There are so many different sketches that I could talk about for hours on end (luckily for you this won't take hours).
After watching hours of my favorite SNL sketches I decided what route I was going to take: Political Satire. I know how that sounds if you're anything like me, lame, but the producers and writers make this anything but boring. Recently, the 2012 Presidential election was going on and that was all anyone was talking about... yay. This is a blog on satire, not politics so if you have no idea what happened during the 2012 election you should talk to your U.S. History teacher, not me. Anyway, it was pretty obvious that the two candidates President Obama and Mitt Romney did not like one another. The 3 debates gradually showed the dislike between the two grow. My favorite (and i say this loosely) debate would definitely be the town hall style, debate two. Why? Obama and Romney were in each others faces, what's not to love?! But seriously, not only that but the sketch SNL did on this was not only completely hilarious but strangely accurate. Not joking when I say this 10 minute video makes me die from laughter. If you're trying to tickle your funny bone I suggest you watch the video located below.
So why is this video considered satire? Well if you haven't been reading this blog post you might not realize the obvious. What Jason Sudeikis and Jay Pharoah are doing in this sketch is politely trying to show President Obama and Mitt Romney how rediculous they look (sarcasm).
The same type of satire that is used by the actors and through the writers of Saturday Night Live is also clearly shown in Mark Twain's novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This novel is about a a young boy named Huckleberry Finn who travels down the Mississippi River with a runaway slave named Jim. The duo travel their way through the South as we see them also 'travel' through many different stereotypes of that time. The satire in Huck Finn is a play on the social and political views of slavery. Back in the day it wasn't necessarily accepted to travel down a river on a raft helping a slave to escape. Strangely enough, Huck was okay with that. And there begins the humor in Huck Finn. One prime example that I thought was especially funny about the friendship between Huck and Jim is the conversation between the two about King Solomon and King Louis of France. Huck tries explaining the details of both kings to Jim, and Jim just contradicts him with uniquely logical arguments the entire time. It gets better when Huck tells Jim that King Louis speaks French which makes no sense to Jim, and he asks Huck if a cat is a man, or if a cow is a man. Huck responds no, so Jim says of King Louis being a man, "Dad blame it, why don' he talk like a man? You answer me dat!" (Chapter 14). I find this funny because Jim is made out to be this character who has no idea about anything and relies on Huck (we later see that Jim is a lot smarter then first let off to be). This shows that Twain made Jim's character a pretty narrow stereotypical view of African Americans during that time which is exactly what the writers of Saturday Night Live do to project a certain prospective of the former presidential candidates.
So there you have it, satire. Whether it be political or just simple irony, it can be tied into almost anything you can think of. So go ahead, think about it. What other examples of satire can you think of?
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