Cameron Crowe's Film Jerry Maguire
In his movie Jerry Maguire, director
Cameron Crowe illustrates how failures and successes are
all part of life and if you have love and are happy with your
life then you will surely succeed. It is part of life to
experience failure which propels one forward to take risks
and make changes to find the answers on how to succeed
in lives little games. Jerry Maguire is an inspiring movie
based on this theme, demonstrating success and failure with
business endeavors, love relationships, friendships and self
realization. Relationships between characters in this movie
were numerous and were very intense. The relationship
between Jerry and Rod Tidwell was initially one of strong
control exhibited by Tidwell when he asks Jerry to yell
“show me the money!” and when he refuses to complete
the camel car commercial. This in turn adds to Tidwells
failure with company endorsements and extra cash. Jerry
also tries to exhibit control over Tidwell because he
expects him to act in a certain way which he doesn’t
always do. Jerry proves this when he tells Tidwell the truth
about his arrogant actions towards society and the team.
Jerry knows it is in Tidwells best interest to tone down his
arrogance in order to succeed which he does. In the end
both men come to realize their faults and change their
behavior which results in the success of Tidwells career.
The other relationship that drive...
As teenagers, we feel like we know all the complexities of life, and that the changes we experience during puberty are the ultimate variabilities of our lives, but the irony of this is that they still have so much more to learn. The story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” was written by Joyce Carol Oates, an influential, feminist author in the 1960s. The story was inspired by the real-life serial killer, Charles Schmid, also known as the “Pied Piper of Tucson”, who like the antagonist in the story, Arnold Friend, preyed on young girls as his victims (Sharma 5). An important element that influenced the story is that it was written in the 1960's, a period known as the Second-Wave of feminism, this was a time when women across America began to break free from the patriarchal system and assert their rights as citizens outside of the home (The 1960s-70s American Feminist Movement: Breaking Down Barriers
“Operant conditioning is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an association is made between a behavior and a consequence for that behavior” (Cherry). Positive reinforcement which is praising a person for doing something good verses negative reinforcement which is an unpleasant remark a punishment. B.F. Skinner did an experiment on a rat, the rat was taught to push two buttons, one to receive food and the other was a light electric shock. The rat tried both buttons and realized which button was good and which one was bad. This experiment goes to show that upon the rewards and punishment system one can learn their rights from their wrongs through a series of lessons. Kincaid and Hemingway both use operant conditioning to show human behavior under stimulus control.
Have you ever wondered why or how people can manipulate themselves as the devil to receive what they desire? In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, a short fictional story by Joyce Carol Oates, the devil is allegedly hidden as one of the main characters, Arnold Friend. Through characterization, setting, and plot, Joyce Carol Oates successfully portrays Arnold Friend as a symbolic Satan.
Joyce Carol Oates's “Where are you going, Where have you been?” tells the story of a young girl's journey to find her own identity. Along the way she uses her beauty and sexuality to create, in her mind, a feeling of maturity which ultimately becomes her downfall. She believes that by spending her summer days in the mall, dressing in a way that is different than what she would wear at home, and flirting with older boys, while finding pleasure in ignoring boys she knows, she is being her own person and is creating her own identity—one that is different from that of her mother's or sister's. It is not until the end of the story, when Arnold Friend comes into her house, that she begins to realize what is truly important. The title of the story comes into play at the end when she is leaving with Arnold. She does not recognize the town outside; she does not know where she is going. She realizes that all of the time she spent worrying about appearances was meaningless; she could not say where she had been, because her journey was only just beginning.
There are many notorious characters in literature, all with their own menacing qualities and depraved actions. None, however, have struck such a devastatingly creepy chord as Arnold Friend of Joyce Carol Oates "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" Seducer of young girls and embodiment of Lucifer, Arnold Friend is anything but a friend. Arnold Friend is presented through both actions and appearances, and these combine to diminish his likeability, while adding to his devilish persona. Although Arnold Friend's traits are never stated outright, they are presented through his speech and interaction with other characters, which ultimately creates a more impacting effect and lasting impression.
The movie Titus directed by Julie Taymor a well awarded director who has created many visual arts, made countless thought-provoking choices when directing Titus, a movie based off the book Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare. Titus Andronicus is a tragedy highlighting Titus, a roman general that becomes obsessed with getting revenge with Tamora, a previous prisoner of his and the Queen of Goths. When Taymor directed the film Titus she incorporated many aspects from the present (when the movie was made) and the era the book was written in, during Shakespearean times, to relate to the audience at that time and still remain true to the story. She tried her best to stay as close to the book as possible and portray the characters as well as they could be interpreted. In some illustrations she was spot on and in others she was not.
When you think of the word “poverty” or “poor” what comes to mind? Some think of hunger, minorities, dirty areas, women, and homeless people. What about when you hear the term “abuse”? For most people, abuse means physical; getting beat up or hit. Although abuse can mean getting beat up or hit, there is far more that follows. Abuse can take on many forms like physical, emotional or sexual. The film Precious by Lee Daniels, based on the novel Push by Sapphire, encounters not only the obvious sexual abuse but physical and emotional abuse as well. Precious starts off with Claireece Precious Jones, played by Gabourey Sidibe, at her school in Harlem. She is called to the office because the principal has found out she is pregnant…Again. Kicked out of school, Precious now tries to find an alternative when her principal tells her about “Each One Teach One”, an alternative school. Precious enrolls and goes through a journey with her new teacher, who becomes her closest friend, her newborn son, and her abusive mother. This drama film is brutal, hard-hitting, and very emotional.
In “Where are You Going, Where Have you Been?” Joyce Carol Oates uses an allegorical figure of evil to illustrate the theme of temptation. Oates alludes to hell through the character Arnold Friend, as the devil, and his victim Connie, who invites him in by committing the sin of vanity.
Joyce Carol Oates' short story "Where are you going? Where have you been?" 'runneth over' with Biblical allusion and symbolism. The symbols of Arnold Friend, his disguise, and the music that runs through the story contribute to an overall feeling of devilishness, deception, and unease.
The overuse of biblical allusions throughout the story helps to expose the naive nature of Connie that reveals her as a victim of evil which shows that lust often transgresses on an individual’s identity. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” Joyce Carol Oates expressed the subjective ideas by symbolizing Arnold Friend as a devil that tempts a clueless teenage girl Connie, who wanted to experience love.
In Joyce Carol Oates "where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" the reader is left with a chilling feeling as they read it 's haunting content. In this short story, the theme of fantasy vs. reality is explored through the protagonist Connie 's journey of self-realization as she leaves behind her naive self. Though the story follows Connie closely the third person omniscient point of view allows for developed story as Oates writes a warning to young girls everywhere.
Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, shows that real war is indescribable, and is not the usual glorification that you usually see while watching a movie. Saving Private Ryan is set during World War II during the Invasion of Normandy, where a group of soldiers led by Capt. John Miller (played by Tom Hanks) who is sent to find Private James Ryan (played by Matt Damon), the only surviving brother of four servicemen. The original release of this film was July 24th, 1998, and it was a box office success, grossing $216.8 million domestically and $481.8 worldwide. The movie was able to earn the title as of the best war films of all time for many reasons. It is able to capture direction, casting, plot, suspense, and action while maintaining a connection
David Lynch's Blue Velvet is an exploration of things above and below the surface. This surface is really a borderline between not only idyllic suburban America and the dark, perverted corruption that lies underneath but also between good and evil, conscious and subconscious, dream and reality. Although this division seems quite rigid and clean-cut some of the most important implications of the film stem from the transgressions of these borderlines. In the initial scenes of the film Lynch introduces Lumberton, the typical small town in Middle America where the fireman waves at you, the children are well protected, the lawns are green and there is a smile on everybody's face. Naturally, the most important clich?
The Help was a movie about the struggles that black women had as maids working for white families in 1960s Mississippi. Their struggles recorded by a young southern white woman by the name of Skeeter. Gaining the aid of Aibileen Clark who, though reluctant at first, was the first to retell her experiences. The domino effect starting off with the arrest of Yule May Davis--a fellow maid. I was not disappointed in how this movie was executed. It focused well on what they needed to and even threw in a little more about the world around them during the time. The way people acted toward one another felt natural, especially between the two opposing forces.
Shattered Glass starring Hayden Christensen, Peter Sarsgaard, and Steve Zahn, is a movie based on a true story inspired by Stephen Glass. Stephen Glass was a fraudulent journalist based at The New Republic. In 1998 the editor, Chuck Lane, played by Peter Sarsgaard questioned if Glass’ stories were true facts or more for the reader’s entertainment.