I attended Brooklyn Tech’s portrayal of Qui Nguyen’s play, She Kills Monsters today and was surprised by it. Having never gone to a play in this school yet, I did not know exactly what to expect. There were a few aspects that annoyed me, one of which was how the setting was portrayed. A projection screen was used to show the the setting while the stage was relatively empty at times. I felt as if there could have been more ways to make the setting more visually pleasing and realistic. Another annoyance were the fight scenes. There were several times that the fight scenes were disappointing and gave me the urge to laugh. The most disappointing scene was at the end of act 2 in which the protagonist, Agnes Evans fought the final boss which was
supposed to be a five headed dragon. Rather than being an incredible fight, mere shadows were shown of the fight that lasted for a few seconds. Despite my disappointment in the fight scenes, I considered the actors’ portrayals of their character to be captivating. Their acting added powerful emotion to the underlying messages of homophobia, stereotypes, and the lack of a proper sibling relationship. Some actors rose their voice to display anger and hatred towards other characters because they were thought to be gay or presumed to be exactly as their “label” is portrayed. They made it seem as if they were truly experiencing the same thoughts and emotions of their characters; it was a stellar performance.
In Chapter 4, The Cruel Hand, Michelle Alexander does a great job analyzing the issues that many inmates go through when they get out of prison. This chapter was a bit more interesting to read compared to the last one. One passage that stood out to me was when Michelle Alexander stated, “Even if the defendant manages to avoid prison time by accepting a “generous” plea deal, he may discover that the punishment that awaits him outside the courthouse doors is far more severe” (Michelle Alexander Pg. 142). Like I mentioned in the beginning, when inmates are done serving their sentence they usually suffer on the outside world. That is because they’re now being labeled as criminals in our society and corporates/businesses have a little leverage on
If someone had previous knowledge of a crime, are they just as guilty for not reporting that a crime was going to happen as the person(s) that actually perpetrated the crime? This question was a major point of discussion and the major driver of the plot in the book Monster by Walter Dean Myers. In this book, 16 year old Steve Harmon is being tried for felony murder for participating in a robbery perpetrated by James King, Bobo Evans, and Osvaldo Cruz that ended in the death a Alguinaldo Nesbitt. Although the jury found Harmon innocent in the end, the readers still learn that Steve knew that a robbery was going to happen. Also, scattered throughout the book were bits of evidence that alluded to Steve’s involvement in the robbery. Therefore,
There are many ways one can feel alone yet still be part of a group. People can feel independent and still be in a group. Ponyboy from the book The Outsiders and the people from a town called Maple Street from the story “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street” show how this is true.
In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game”, there are two main characters, Sanger Rainsford and General Zaroff. The story starts off with Rainsford and Rainsford’s hunting partner, Whitney, on a yacht heading to Rio de Janiero to hunt big game animals. Rainsford ends up becoming trapped on Ship-Trap Island, and that is where he and the reader are introduced to General Zaroff. Unfortunately for Rainsford, General Zaroff is not your normal General. General Zaroff and Rainsford are similar and different in many ways, and even though Rainsford believes that Zaroff is a sick individual, at the end of the story he becomes more like Zaroff than he realizes.
Women aren’t represented as incompetent, but rather as limited. In “The Woman Precedent Female (Super) Heroism on Trial”, Julie O’Reilly analyzes the distinctions between the ways male and female superheroes are “put to the test” in narratives. She also describes how male superheroes are the ones who are accepted into the world of fighting and protecting against evil; while the females have to go through much more than males in order to be recognized for their efforts. “What really is on trial, then, is a female superhero’s ability to be a fully recognized subject” (O’Reilly 452). The “heroine in her own right” should be acknowledged just like how male superheroes are recognized. Female superheroes deserve the right of being able to do just as much, and possibly even more, than a male superhero can and they should be given the appreciation as well as the acknowledgment that they rightfully deserve. For example, one book written by Stieg Larsson called “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” depicts the life of a very strong female protagonist. The literature illustrates two people who are trying to solve the mystery of the disappearance of a young girl in the 1940’s but the woman isn't getting much credit or motivation as the other characters.
“The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” is an episode from the popular tv series The Twilight Zone. Twilight zone was created by Rod Serling, and first aired in 1959. The series is a dramatic fantasy and science-fiction anthology. The episode “The Monsters are Due on Maple street” is based around aliens. At least from the surface the episode seems to be about aliens. The average viewer would not see that the episode also has a deeper meaning, one that relates to history. This episode is a great example of a term coined in the 1950s, McCarthyism.
The best choices in life are the choices were you and other people know that it is the correct thing to do. The choices we make affect and change our lives for the better or the worst. People should always think about their choices and think about what they will do and how they will affect their self. People make decisions based on what they think and what they care about. In life there are many baffling choices but they can be determined by their conclusion and their opportunity. Steve Harmon was not part of the robbery when it happened.
In “Killing Monsters”, Gerard Jones describes his personal experiences and his work with children to support his claim of violence in media being beneficial to children. He tells of his childhood and how during it, comic characters and violent fantasies helped him deal with his frustrations and problems. He also describes his interactions with different children and how they used violence to empower them and give them strength. Jones uses all this evidence to assert that violence in media helps children in many ways and shouldn’t be criticized the way it is. While I agree with Jones’ claim that violence in the media can be good for children, I think that his evidence is too personal and weak to strongly support an argument.
Beginning in the Romantic Period and shifting in popularity across many years until finally finding a place in current times, the supernatural has been a recurring interest among people throughout the ages. As a result, many stories of old have surpassed their contemporary time and reside within the eyes of the people as classics. Such is the case of the story Frankenstein written by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. In spite of its longevity, it appears many still do not understand the true nature of Frankenstein’s monster—as he is referred throughout the novel. Among those who do comprehend the character of the beast is a man named Martin Tropp who wrote a criticism simply titled “The Monster.” Simply put, Frankenstein’s monster is a villainous
The sound of kids’ laughter, the smell of freshly mown grass, the sight of everyone getting along, the taste of ice cream, and the feeling of grass on your legs. Welcome to Maple Street. “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street” is a teleplay about an ordinary street and how little things can cause big problems. The plot is realistic in “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street” because Mr. Goodman has insomnia, a meteor landed, and the neighbors turned against each other.
Davis uses the word "messiah" in discussing the chupacabra because the chupacabra gave people something to relate to and gave them the feeling of familiarity,it also gave them something/someone to blame the attacks on their livestock and pets. The chupacabra might be considered a savior by the way it was a source of humor to many people of different things like the t-shirts with Salina’s face with the chupacabra's body and the wrestler named El Chupacabra that attended anti government protests. This reveals that the Latino culture attitudes and values have both been taken seriously and as a joke around the world. Another examples of a culture identifying with a negative figure I can find is a disease that has killed many
Hanna Rosin a writer for The Atlantic states in “Mother Inferior” she concentrates on showing how Western style parenting is not considered pathetic as Amy Chau the author of “Battle of the Tiger Mother” assumes. She indicates that the different style of parenting shows how some kids are free willed and take on life learning and making mistakes while others are stuck trying to master one thing without having a choice. She claims that although parents need to push their child to be successful you must give them some control in finding their own likes and dislikes not threatening and belittling the child to motivate them. She gave examples of children who were held to high standards who weren’t comfortable with simply enjoying life. Rosins wanted
The play by “See What I Wanna See” by Michael John LaChiusa was seen at theater B at The City College of New York. This production was directed by Dimo Hyun Jun Kim as “musical” approach to the play. Kim’s set provided a minimalist approach to scenes that took place within a historical and modern environment. Kim’s objective was to show the initial opening of the play in medieval Japan, which then transitioned to the modern interpretation of these events through various individual that apparently witnessed Moriko’s murder in Central park. Throughout all of these events, it is apparent that the black stage, black background curtains, minimal props, and traditional lighting present a focus on acting and text versus that of a accurate account of historical presentation of these locations taking place in the play. Kim’s minimalist approach utilized these aspects of simplicity of presentation to garner more attention to the actors in this minimalist set design.
Saïd Sayrafiezadeh’s “A Brief Encounter with the Enemy,” is a about a man named Luke who is joins the Army looking forward to “a life altering experience.” (1203) Today, Luke was reflecting on the details of the things he experienced while on deployment. Luke recounts the first time he “went up the path” (1198), the day he and his troop “started up the hill” and the fear he felt about the unknown. (1204) He mentions that prior to his deployment his primary concern was “I wouldn’t make it over in time to see any action.” (1199) A year ago, Luke’s life was different, he worked at an office in a cubicle filling in “little empty blocks on a spreadsheet”. (1203) Luke soon realizes that he “joined for the wrong reasons.” (1204) He thinks about his friend Becky and the things they emailed about and eventually she made him feel foolish. He also reflects on the memory of the first time his father taught him to shoot a gun. It not until the evening before flying home when Luke’s dream of “confronting the enemy” came true. (1205) Sayrafiezadeh’s story, reveals that change may not always materialize the way you expect.
‘Fearless Girl’ has quickly become a symbol for women throughout the United States. It has gained such a strong response because of the conversations it is producing. There has never been a time when opening up the conversation on equal rights and wage gaps has been so accepted, and that is why the statue has inspired an entire generation of women to stand up for such an important cause.