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The Scarlet Letter/Juno Creative Project
I messed up with this project, and I messed up bad. And this wasn’t because I had difficulty with the source material, or because I didn’t have a viable idea, or anything like that. I was just such an idiot that I beat around the bush so much that when time came to turn something in, I either had next to nothing, or nothing-nothing. Next thing I know, I’m scrambling all over the place, trying to salvage what I thought was going to be a pretty good project, just to end up turning in something subpar.
From the beginning, I had plans to shoot a short movie, which I may or may not still do. I had a concept since day one, and I had ideas shooting through my head like gatling guns. So, I put together a small, little script, got a monologue together, and even had a few shots done right off the bat. It felt like I was on a roll. But then I got lazy. I underestimated the amount of time I had left, and when I did eventually get around to recording the rest, it was all tragically lost due to software issues.
So, with time already gone, and me being too lazy and frustrated to do it all again, I decided to do the one thing I knew I could do best: I wrote a short story. But again, I ended up botching it all up. Because my priorities were terribly out of line, and because I had a truckload of other work waiting for me, I constantly either put off the story for a later date, or forgot about it entirely. It was not a pretty picture. It was a mess through and through.
But then I did eventually find time to write, and write I did. My theme was focused around loss and inner self-destruction, which I feel I (hopefully) represented well, given the story’s actual length. The tone itself was actually pretty experimental. It was one of the few times I’ve actually written a story in a first-person narrative, and the very first time I wrote it using that sort of time. I feel it gave the story as a whole a sort of darkly humorous tone to it, with the narrator being a wreck of man with little left to lose.
Another thing that I really enjoyed was the initial brainstorming. Whenever I write a story, I always spend what could end up being sixty minutes just rambling to myself about what my characters will be, how the plot will progress, things like that. By the time I even sit at my laptop to write, I’d already have over half the story written out in my head. That definitely made writer this even easier.
Now for the not so good parts of this project. Where do I even begin with this one? Like I already said, I completely mishandled what time I had and ended up cobbling something together at the last minute. I mishandled my initial idea of shooting a movie by waiting until the last minute to try recording it. Even after I switched over to making a story, I ended up messing up. I rushed through it and ended up making something more along the lines of an excerpt as opposed to an actual story, which is still bugging me.
Not only that, but I can’t help but feel I lost sight of what I was originally trying to do. What I mean is that I may have lost sight of what I wanted to represent in the story; I was more focused on getting something in rather than focusing on keeping the project relevant to what I was supposed to do. Again, it was just a giant cluster of a mess from beginning to end.
I really hate myself for not treating this project a bit more responsibly, because I know for a fact that if I did, I would have had way more fun whether of not I decided to write a story or shoot a movie. So, I guess if I learned anything, it’s don’t procrastinate. A good lesson to learn, I suppose.
Adivina!
Adivina
1) Amy Poehler
2) Sarah Palin
3) Tina Fey
Scarlet Letter/Juno Reflection
I've been completely oblivious to how the art of tap dancing has changed over time, and which group of people had the biggest set backs and troubles with it. There are racial, social and economic barriers that made the career of tap dancing hard to obtain for African Americans. Of course, there will be some who couldn't afford a pair of tap shoes, but there are others who had a natural talent but were ignored because of the melanin in their skin. However, if one wanted to peruse tap dancing as a career, that person had to accept the conditions that came with it. That point highlights the theme of progression vs regression.
African Americans could tap dance, but only through Blackface (in certain times of American history). So yes, their talent was displayed but only through degrading and humiliating themselves. For the love of tap dancing or economic reasons, one may trump the other. At the end of the day, an African American person could tap dance, just not in the way that's most morally right. The final product was that there were African Americans performing in front of an audience, and talent was clearly expressed. Yet the general picture was another tactic to defeat the overall success of African Americans.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter, there are many characters that show obvious progression and regression throughout the text, due to the course of events. Chillingworth, the ex-husband of Hester Prynne, tries to get revenge on the man that gave way to Hester Prynne's daughter, Pearl. This hunched back Chillingworth spends a great deal of his life trying to find ways to torture the man that fathered his ex-wife's daughter. The man he tries to get revenge on, Dimmesdale, is a minister who tries to redeem himself of the sin he knowingly committed.
Chillingworth progressed by taking complete control of Dimmesdale's life, but lost complete sight of what his purpose in life was. Sure, he was able to slowly torture his enemy, and prevent him from happiness. However, in that process, Chillingworth sacrificed his own happiness and understanding. All of the compassion and drive for life was now put into years of trying to keep Dimmesdale alive - which was really torture for both of them. Chillingworth never fully redeemed himself of the wasted years in spite, so the real progression was gone with the wind.
In the film Juno, directed by Jason Reitman, Juno is a young teenage mother who faces many modern day challenges of motherhood. Specifically, the audience sees the true measure of self analysis, progression and regression. Juno faced her situation head strong, with a plan in front of her to fix the damage she's caused in her life and others. Her self analysis was accurate, she was sure that she didn't want to have a child, and that she wasn't equipped to raise one either. The goal was that her baby would grow up in a household with loving parents. However, her real regression was her way of coping throughout the months of her pregnancy.
One of her least brightest ideas of coping with her pregnancy was spending too much time with Mark, the 'to be father' of her child. Juno found someone who understood her and accepted her even with her scarlet letter growing from under her shirt. The real problem is that a relationship like the one they had cannot exist in a healthy lifestyle. Mark is married to Vanessa, who is so eager to be a mother. In fact, Vanessa believed that's what she was born to do. Juno putting herself in the middle of their relationship instead of like a daughter to both of them caused her to have emotional regression. She began to lose grip on what reality was.
Through it all, Juno managed to develop a new set of visions and beliefs for the life she wanted her son to have. Accepting that Vanessa could be a great mother, even as a single parent was true progression. Juno didn't give up on the dream she had for her son, even if it wasn't a perfect family photo. The emotional progression continued to follow as Juno and Bleeker (father of child and friend) continued to spend time with each other, and heal through music. Time continued to pass, but it was the way she spent the time that passed that made a true difference. Juno made a sacrifice by not being selfish with her decision on the baby. By sacrificing the bond built with her baby, she gave birth to opportunities that she would have never had if she'd raised the baby herself. Another opportunity that grew from the birth of her son was the chance to start fresh with Bleeker. Of course if couldn't be starting fresh in the literal sense, but they both reached milestones in their lives at young ages. Their coping strategies will continue to express progression and regression throughout their lives.
The presentation aspect of my project could have been improved if it were shorter, but in my mind that leaves gaps in my knowledge and content. It was hard for most people to sit through it all, which is why I chose a vibrant song to give them hopes that my project would continue to interest them. The hardest part was transitioning from part to part, for there were times when I felt myself that it was a lot of information. Trying to condense them all into one video was difficult, because I’d have to verbally break down each slide.
The research behind the project was very dense, so that’s why I considered other ways to present the information. ‘Softing’ (dancing barefoot) to my tap dance was an idea given to me by my mother. I definitely didn’t want to perform after Savion Glover - that’s just a disappointment to everyone else. However, there were some technical difficulties that I didn’t want to mention while presenting. The floor itself is very slippery, which makes tap dancing even harder. Without the stage, the moves of my taps couldn’t be picked up by the floor. The wooden stage has give, which allows for a more lucid performance. These things my peers may not have understood, and I surely didn’t want to have a list of excuses as to why I didn’t use tap shoes.
That setback for me was progression, because I was able to make more than one connection through tap dancing. My personal regression was simply that I couldn’t find a way to condense it all in an appealing way. Finding evidence of the things I talked about and being on point with factual information was a lot to do at once. However, I am proud to have a final product that says about my talents. Choreographing the dance alone, performing it and following it with a slide presentation was huge for me. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change anything. The last time I presented in front of a class, I didn’t do so well because of my concussion. Now I’m sure that my problems from before won’t hold me back and that the scale/esteem that I’m held at is level with my peers.
Adivina!
Quin es?
Selena Gomez
Demi Lovato
Victoria Justice
Adivina
Ella tiene el pelo moreno y rizado y largo. Tiene los ojos cafés. Le gusta cocinar y comer.
a. Kristen Stewart
b. Rachel Ray
c. Lauren Hummel
Adivina
1) Adriana Lima
2) Nina Dobrev
3) Kendall Jenner
Adivina!
Adivina
1) Zooey Deschanel
2) Emma Schwingel-Sauer
3) Allison Kelly
Adivina
Megan Fox, Mila Kunis, Nina Dobrev
Adivina
Adivina
Adivina (Guess!)
Guess
Advina
Advina
El tiene moy inteligente. El tiene ls ojos negos y el pelo moreno. El pelo es liso. El tiene madre y papa. El tiene dos amigos.
Adivina (Guess!)
Activida!
Adivina
Adivina (Guess!)
Quin es?
-Su el pelo es corto y moreno. Los ojos marrones. Ella te gusta ir de compras.
2. Amirah
-Su el pelo corto y moreno. Los ojos marrones. Ella te qusta cantar.
3. Cameron
-Su el pelo rizado y moreno. Los ojos marrones. El te gusta practicar deportes.