This weekend, between attending my cousin's wedding, driving to and from Kerrville, and eating too much, I took some time to read one of my favorite film blogs Film School Rejects. One "project" on the site is a film retrospective based upon a nineteenth century work by Georges Polti called The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations. In this work, Polti asserts that dramatic works can be assigned to one of thirty six plot categories. Each posting of this project takes one of Polti's categories and examines a film that they believe epitomizes that category.
I thought that was a brilliant idea, so I am incorporating it into this week's blog posting assignment.
The assignment is to take ONE category, choose ONE dramatic work (literature, cinema, or theater) and tell me how that work fits that category.
I've taken the list from the Wikipedia site so there are links to some of the concepts.
So, for your education, here they are...
The 36 Dramatic Situations
(Polti, Georges (1921) [1916]. The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations. Franklin, Ohio: James Knapp Reeve.)
1. Supplication
A Persecutor; a Supplicant; a Power in authority, whose decision is doubtful.
2. Deliverance
An Unfortunate; a threatener; a Rescuer
A Criminal; an Avenger
4. Vengeance taken for kin upon kin
Guilty Kinsman; an Avenging Kinsman; remembrance of the Victim, a relative of both
5. Pursuit
6. Disaster
A Vanquished Power; a Victorious Enemy or a Messenger
7. Falling prey to cruelty/misfortune
An Unfortunate; a Master or a Misfortune
8. Revolt
A Tyrant; a Conspirator
9. Daring enterprise
10. Abduction
An Abductor; the Abducted; a Guardian
11. The enigma
A Problem; an Interrogator; a Seeker
12. Obtaining
(A Solicitor & an Adversary who is refusing) or (an Arbitrator & Opposing Parties)
13. Enmity of kin
A Malevolent Kinsman; a Hated or a reciprocally-hating Kinsman
14. Rivalry of kin
The Preferred Kinsman; the Rejected Kinsman; the Object of Rivalry
15. Murderous adultery
Two Adulterers; a Betrayed Spouse
16. Madness
A Madman; a Victim
17. Fatal imprudence
The Imprudent; a Victim or an Object Lost
18. Involuntary crimes of love
A Lover; a Beloved; a Revealer
19. Slaying of kin unrecognized
The Slayer; an Unrecognized Victim
20. Self-sacrifice for an ideal
21. Self-sacrifice for kin
A Hero; a Kinsman; a Creditor or a Person/Thing sacrificed
22. All sacrificed for passion
A Lover; an Object of fatal Passion; the Person/Thing sacrificed
23. Necessity of sacrificing loved ones
A Hero; a Beloved Victim; the Necessity for the Sacrifice
24. Rivalry of superior vs. inferior
A Superior Rival; an Inferior Rival; the Object of Rivalry
25. Adultery
Two Adulterers; a Deceived Spouse
26. Crimes of love
A Lover; the Beloved
27. Discovery of the dishonor of a loved one
A Discoverer; the Guilty One
28. Obstacles to love
Two Lovers; an Obstacle
29. An enemy loved
A Lover; the Beloved Enemy; the Hater
30. Ambition
An Ambitious Person; a Thing Coveted; an Adversary
A Mortal; an Immortal
32. Mistaken jealousy
A Jealous One; an Object of whose Possession He is Jealous; a Supposed Accomplice; a Cause or an Author of the Mistake
33. Erroneous judgment
A Mistaken One; a Victim of the Mistake; a Cause or Author of the Mistake; the Guilty One
34. Remorse
A Culprit; a Victim or the Sin; an Interrogator
35. Recovery of a lost one
A Seeker; the One Found
36. Loss of loved ones
A Kinsman Slain; a Kinsman Spectator; an Executioner
I'll start us off with the film I am watching as I write this.
ReplyDelete11. The enigma: A Problem; an Interrogator; a Seeker
"Exam" is a 2009 British film written by Simon Garrity and Stuart Hazeidine, and directed by Hazeidine.
The plot centers on eight job applicants in a room, given eighty minutes to answer one question. However, after the rules of the exam are given (pay special attention here), the applicants find themselves staring at a blank sheet of paper. A clever and taut character study ensues over the next hour and a half.
The obvious connection between this film and the dramatic category is the enigma of the task. What are they supposed to do? How do you answer something when you don't even have a question?
The deeper enigma has to do with the question of existence itself. The room is a metaphor for the world, the world in which we are all thrown into. After being thrown into existence we are all faced with many "exams," becoming progressively more difficult (if you're lucky) until you realize that the only question on the exam is why you exist at all, and what that existence means. "Exam" provides a fiercely entertaining look at the "existential" or "ontological" question in a tight ninety minutes.
31. Conflict with a God: a mortal; an immortal
ReplyDeleteThe 2010 “Clash of the Titans” was written by Lawrence Kasdan, Travic Beacham, Phil Hay, and Matt Manfredi, and directed by Louis Leterrier, the same director of “The Incredible Hulk” in 2008.
This film’s plot is based entirely on Perseus’ life from Greek mythology; however it was made quite factually incorrect from discovered facts. According to the film, Perseus blames Hades for Spyros’s (the fisherman who adopted him) death and wants revenge. Here is an example of a conflict with a God: the mortal (Perseus); and immortal (Hades). He sets forth to take revenge by killing the kraken, which he accomplishes with the help of the head of Medusa. This dramatic category which I place this film in is correct since the main issue in this entire film is the struggle between Perseus and Hades. The struggle with a mortal and an immortal makes it evident that the drama contains the conflict with the God. Perseus is only a demigod, and still defeats the kraken (which the titans couldn’t do), Hades, and rejects Zeus’ offering of a sanctuary proving himself to be a larger than life hero. To a God, it must mean great dishonor to be defeated by a mortal. Perseus’ heroic actions lead him to overpower Hades; a rare occurrence for a mortal to have a conflict with a God and win. “Clash of the Titans” may deviate from the factual mythology, but it’s a good example to see an immortal having a conflict with a God.
19. Slaying of Kin Unrecognized - The Slayer; an unrecognized victim
ReplyDeleteLord of the Flies is a film adaptation by Peter Brook (1963) of a novel by William Golding.
The film's plot follows the adventures of a group of young English students stranded on an Island. The protagonist Ralph is elected leader of the children. The main opposition to Ralph is Jack. Eventually, a schism forms in the group. Jack goes out on his own to hunt and have fun (represents primitive desires). He bases his new group on hunting the Beast, a tale told by some of the children. Ralph's group is centered on preserving the signal fire and getting home. The dramatic category I chose, "Slaying of Kin Unrecognized", applies to a specific scene during the book. Ralph and his group are dancing riotously around a bonfire. The scene is reminiscent of the Bakkhai and their orgiastic rituals. Amidst the chaos and frenzy, Simon, one of Ralph's group members, looks upon the dancing from the woods. One of Jack's boys sees him and yells to his comrades that he sees the Beast. In moments, an uproar arises from the boys and they descend upon Simon who is shrieking. The boys slaughter Simon and only when his body is brought before the fire do they recognize him. This scene is a perfect example of the dramatic category "Slaying of Kin Unrecognized". Jack's hunters do not recognize Simon and in a frenzy they murder him.
-Matt
Self-sacrifice for an ideal
ReplyDeleteA Hero; an Ideal; a Creditor or a Person/Thing sacrificed
All Quiet on the Western Front is a novel written by Erich Maria Remarque, a veteran of the trenches in WWI.
The plot is relatively simple; it details the lives of a group of young German soldiers on the Western Front in WWI. The group includes Paul Baumer, the main protagonist, Stanislaus Katczinsky, an older soldier and Paul's mentor, and other men from Paul's school class; Tjaden, Muller, Kropp, and Kemmerich among them.
The idea of sacrifice is apparent throughout the whole book. At the beginning, Kemmerich lays dying. After him, Haie Westhus dies. Then Kropp gets a leg amputated. Then Muller, the Tjaden, then Katczinsky, and at the end of the novel, Paul himself.In the book, individual events have no significant importance. Rather, the book focuses on the suffering encountered by the men in the trench, still more embodying the idea of sacrifice. All of this sacrifice is for the simple ideal of Germany, and the fatherland, and sacrifice for Germany. This book, and war in general, is a perfect example of sacrifice for an ideal.
Previous comment:
ReplyDelete- Arthur Lee
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ReplyDelete23. Necessity of sacrificing loved ones
ReplyDeleteA Hero; a Beloved Victim; the Necessity for the Sacrifice
"The Mist" (2007)is a horror film based on the book by Stephen King.
In the aftermath of a terrible thunderstorm, a mysterious mist begins advancing on the small town where the main character and his family reside. The family discovers that this mist is home to terrifying long-legged creatures that feed on humans. Too afraid to go home, several families and military officers are trapped in a store together. A series of events occur in the store over a period of several days, including the deaths of several of the store's inhabitants through suicide, murder, or attack from the creatures.Finally, the main character decides to risk everything and take his family out of the store to search for military safety. An older couple goes with them. When they run out of gas in the middle of the mist they know they are as good as dead. The main character pulls out a gun, and everyone in the car knows what is about to happen. Nobody speaks as the main character pulls out a gun and shoots first the old couple, his son, and his wife. "The Mist" is a a movie about human nature under extraordinary circumstances. "Necessity of sacrificing loved ones" is the perfect category for the movie, because the main character sacrifices his family, knowing it would be best for them to die quickly with a shot to the head, rather than become a victim of the creatures of the mist. After shooting the passengers in the car, the main character runs out of bullets. Still determined to die, he runs out of the car hoping to be destroyed by the creatures. Intsead of a creature outside his car, he finds a line of military trucks, waiting to take him to safety. It is already too late, however, for his family. The scene where the character has to sacrifice his family is the most dramatic one in the movie, making the dramatic focus of the movie "necessity of sacrificing loved ones. "The Mist" portrays not only the struggle of sacrificing loved ones, but the the actions of human nature under extrordinary circumstances.
-Luisa Venegoni
6.) Disaster:
ReplyDeleteA Vanquished Power; a Victorious Enemy or a Messenger
“2012” is a 2009 science fiction disaster film directed by Roland Emmerich. The plot is simple: World-wide destruction, the end of the human race and life as we know it. The story is based on the myth that Dooms day would be on 2012, an idea that came from the Mayans long ago. The ancient Mayans, based on star charting, prophesied that December 21, 2012 would be the end of the world or other universal catastrophe. The movie also parallels a story from the bible: Noah’s Ark and the Great flood. This talks about how God saw wickedness in mankind so he decided to flood the world and start fresh. However, one righteous man among all the people of that time, Noah, was given specific instructions from God to build an ark in preparation for a flood that would destroy every living thing on earth. Just like the great flood that is presented in the bible about the flood, 2012 has nearly the same concept. Scientist of the world find the earth’s core is heating up and all these catastrophic events begin to happen like volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and mega tsunamis. World leaders begin to build secret arks that would be able to withstand the flood of dooms day. Within the plot, there is the tension of whether to tell the public or not, or let as many people who can fit on the arks get on, and many other different little stories. Ultimately, the people survive in these arks and are able to continue the human species. The connection between this film and the dramatic category is simple. “Disaster” is the perfect category for the film “2012” because the movie itself is essentially about disaster and mass destruction: the end of the world. Although the film mainly focuses on one family’s, the Curtis’, attempt to survive this catastrophic event, the film also very well portrays humanity as a whole. The film explores how people, in situations like these, tend to act. How people try to continue the human race in the mist of chaos. Some panic, some stay calm in shock, and some take action to survive. But the main plot behind this movie is disaster. Although this film wasn’t one of the best out there, it clearly tells about a global cataclysm: the biggest disaster in human” history” and the story of humanity struggling for survival.
-Daniel Kim
8. Revolt
ReplyDeletea Tyrant; a Conspirator
The movie that I am reference here is the 1938 Marie Antoinette, that was essentially a dramatic interpretation, featuring Norma Sheer. We should all be familiar with the story of Marie Antoinette, the Austrian princess who marries Louie XVI and becomes queen of France. Of course she is queen during the French revolution and is eventually beheaded, which is where the Revolt comes from. In addition to the revolt, there is also a lot of conspiracy, as presented in this interpretation. As one might suspect, her being a foreigner that raised a lot of suspicion and also she doesn't bare children to Louie the XVI for several years after their marriage. Generally she wasn't very popular, especially with the king's wife, and she ends up alienating her two lovers in addition to the king and the majority of her subjects. In addition to it being a tale of revolt you could call it a tale of falling pray to misfortune, loss of loved ones, adultery, and even things like a pursuit or punishment. Essentially, instead of drawing wide conclusions from movies and books, one can draw wide conclusions about life and people in general.
-Blair Creedle Reynolds
1st/2nd period
20. Self-sacrifice for an ideal:
ReplyDeleteA Hero; an Ideal; a Creditor or a Person/Thing sacrificed
"The Dark Knight" is a 2008 film written by Jonathan Nolan (screenplay), Christopher Nolan (screenplay and story), David S. Goyer (story) and Bob Kane (characters). The film was directed by Christopher Nolan also.
With a new villain in town, named Joker, Batman is faced with some of the toughest decisions he has ever faced. Bruce Wayne has already established his-self as the hero Batman, and now he has to maintain that status. Naturally, he thinks that he can just capture the Joker and turn him into the police. The Joker proves to be a much smarter, and much crazier villain than Batman expected.
One of the challenges the Joker poses is an ultimatum where people will start dying if Batman doesn't reveal his true identity. This is where Batman questions his own morals as a hero and an ideal. He was starting to have doubts in himself. He knew that he sacrificed himself to become the masked hero who saves people's lives and keeps the crime in check. Of course, he couldn't stand to know that people would be dying on his behalf. Alfred tells Bruce to endure, because there will be hardships, but you cannot succumb to those hardships, you have to keep fighting. Eventually though, Bruce Wayne thought that his own life was not equal to many other lives, so he was willing to sacrifice his identity to save anyone in danger (until Harvey Dent says that he is Batman, but that's another story...).
Ultimately, the film deals with the choices Batman has to face as a hero. Who is he going to save? What lengths will he be willing to go to to save the people of Gotham? Another trick of Joker's was where he held Harvey Dent and Rachel Dawes (Batman's love interest) in two different locations, which will both blow up at the same time. Batman goes to one location assuming it is Rachel that he is saving, but it ends up being Dent, causing the Joker's trick to be successful.
This relates to natural human lives because we have our important choices in lives too. Who are we going to be as people? How do we want people to view us? Of course there are the other important decisions in life that can alter the way our lives turn out, whether it involves marriage, career, etc. Depending on the choice, there can be many outcomes in this inconsistent world of ours, but you have to live with it, just like Batman had to live with his true love dying.
Previous Comment
ReplyDelete-Abdulkarim Bora 1/2
31. conflict with a God
ReplyDeletePercy Jackson and the Olympians is a well-known series by Rick Riordan. The specific book I'm writing about is "the Lightning Thief"
It has a fairly simple plot. Percy Jackson finds out that his long-lost father is actually the Greek God Poseidon, Lord of the Sea, and he goes to a special summercamp for Demigods. There he meets his romantic interest, Annabeth, who, along with Grover make up his posse. The plot thickens when he finds out he has been wrongly accused of stealing Zeus's lightning bolt, and Percy and his friends must go to Hades (who they believe to have the lightning bolt) to retrieve the it. this brings up the "conflict with a god" or Gods, in Percy's case, as on their adventures they continue to tread on the toes of various immortals.
Clare Lewis, 1st/2nd period
(Sorry about the name, one of my previous teachers used this site as well.)
No one can make fun of me when they see the movie I chose, because it's really the only one I could think of.
ReplyDelete2. Deliverance: An Unfortunate; a threatener; a Rescuer
"Avatar", a film written and directed my James Cameron.
The plot is one that has been used before, according to Pocahontas fans. A threatened race, the attacker, and a man who leads the battle to save them. Let's start from the beginning, where crippled Jake Sully is offered the chance to walk again in the body of a Navi. Of course, he accepts and is soon an "avatar" in the world of Pandora. Quickly, he discovers that his purpose with the natives is to actually convince them to move out of their home, since they happen to be sitting on a large reserve of "unobtainium". Which brings us to "the attackers", AKA the US military. Of course. After a certain amount of time, they waste who knows how much money by deciding to just blow the Navi out of their homes with all sorts of weapons. Jake Sully, in love with one of the natives, decides a little too late to help them out, and becomes "the rescuer" to the "unfortunate" race. So after lots of tears and action, we reach the happy ending with the unfortunate and the rescuer safe and victorious. The end.
- Zoe Obkirchner
1st/2nd period
I choose # 11, the enigma. The movie of choice is "The Usual Suspects", which happens to be one of the best movies on the face of the planet in my opinion. The problem in the movie is that five professional criminals must raid a boat for $91,000,000 worth of cocaine for an elusive criminal named Keyser Soze. The interrogator is Detective Kujan, who interrogates one of the criminals that was part of that job (after it happened), and the seekers are the five criminals who are seeking out the cocaine so they can split the money. But Detective Kujan is a seeker at the same time because he is also trying to find out who is Keyser Soze. This is one of my favorite movies and is credited to have the best movie twist in all of cinema history (and I agree) and I reccommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it.
ReplyDeleteAlec Brown, 1/2 period
9. Daring Enterprise: A bold leader; an object; an adversary
ReplyDeleteJ.R.R. Tolkein's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy is about the adventure of a young hobbit, named Frodo Baggins, as he finds himself embarking on a quest to destroy the One Ring in order to rid Middle Earth of the evil Sauron. Frodo, the protagonist of the story, is the "bold leader," as described in the dramatic type, but most of the time he is not so bold. The One Ring, the ring that "controls them all," is "the object," as it is the driving force of the story; the object that makes the characters take certain actions. The "adversary," is of course, Sauron, who is the lord of evil, and reins over his land which is known as Moridor. Without the ring, though, Sauron is not powerful and needs to retrieve the ring from the hands of the protagonist to replenish his reigning power.
-Zach Krebs, Periods 1/2
20.Self-sacrifice for an ideal
ReplyDeleteA Hero; an Ideal; a Creditor or a Person/Thing sacrificed.
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows is a book by J.K. Rowling about the struggles of one boy's journey to fulfill his prophecy and destroy the evil wizard Voldemort. The Deathly Hallows focuses specifically on destroying the objects that Voldemort has stored part of his soul in (known as Horcruxes) and how the wizarding world is being affected by Voldemort.
Throughout the entire book, Harry Potter and his friends must make sacrifices so that they can either find the Horcruxes to destroy or to figure out where possible Horcruxes may be. Almost every time the characters try to get farther in their quest to defeat Voldemort, they end up getting into serious danger. This is one instance of Self Sacrifice for an ideal, the ideal being that the world will be free of Voldemort. At the very ending, (*SPOILER*) Harry knows that he has to surrender himself to death, self-sacrifice, and he gives up his life to Voldemort because he knows that it will make Voldemort mortal. So even though Harry comes back to life because Voldemort killed the Horcrux inside of Harry, Harry still willingly sacrificed his life for the greater good which is the whole idea behind self-sacrifice for an ideal(*END SPOILER*).
-Kayley Treichel, Period 1/2
15. Murderous Adultery
ReplyDeleteTwo Adulterers; a Betrayed Spouse
I chose the play "Agamemnon" by the Greek playwright Aeschylus to illustrate the dramatic situation of Murderous Adultery. The play begins with a watchman announcing the return of Agamemnon and the Greek army to Sparta after 10 long years fighting the Trojans. Clytemnestra, Agamemnon's wife, has been lonely during those ten years without her husband and has acquired a new lover named Aegisthus. Clytemnestra, wanting to be with her lover instead of Agamemnon, plans to murder her spouse after he returns home. However, as part of the plan to deceive Agamemnon and lull him into a false sense of security, she acts overjoyed to see him and rolls out a red carpet of honor for Agamemnon to walk on. However, Agamemnon has brought back a Trojan princess named Cassandra, who is doomed to prophesy the future but no one will believe her. She foretells the murder of Agamemnon and herself by Clytemnestra, but no one listens to her prediction, so she accepts her death by walking straight into the palace. The two are murdered by Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. This story perfectly illustrates murderous adultery; there are two adulterers, Aegisthus and Clytemnestra who have had an affair behind Agamemnon's back, and Clytemnestra betrays her spouse by eventually murdering him.
Roger Cain, Period 1/2
11.The enigma: A Problem; an Interrogator; a Seeker
ReplyDeleteInception (2010)
The movie inception starts with introducing the concept of taking valuable information not from physical sources, but from peoples' subconscious, in the dream state. Done by tricking their mind to expose valuable information and stealing it without their conscious knowledge. This is a process referred to extraction. However, the bulk of the movie is spent trying to achieve the opposite; trying to put an original idea into someones' mind.
I feel this movie is a good example of the enigma, a problem and a seeker, because the task mentioned earlier, and the name sake of the movie, Inception, are literally posed as a task to the main character Dom Cobb, who spends the bulk of the movie planning and executing the complicated task of inception.
8. A Revolt
ReplyDeleteA Tyrant; a Conspirator
"Crown Duel" is a book by Sherwood Smith that was written in 1997 about the attempts of a young countess named Meliara and her brother to overthrow the tyrannical king in power in their country. The revolt was started by their father when the King, named Galdran, had Meliara's mother killed. Throughout the course of the book Meliara gets captured by the Marquis de Shevraeth and gets taken to the capital where Galdran decides that she will be publicly executed. Of course she escapes but she learns how unprepared her forces are for war against Galdran. On her cross-country dash to get back home she gets captured again, but rescued by the Marquis who has been plotting against the King for longer than Meliara's father. Eventually they band together and kill Galdran but the entire premise of the story is her quest to stop Galdran from staying in power. Galdran is the Tyrant, and Meliara and the Marquis de Shevraeth are the ones trying to overthrow him, although both through very different ways - Meliara from the outside in, and the Marquis from the inside out.
the above was posed by Rebecca Gilson
ReplyDeletePeriods 1/2
33. Erroneous judgment
ReplyDeleteA Mistaken One; a Victim of the Mistake; a Cause or Author of the Mistake; the Guilty One
"Meet the Robinsons" is written by Jon A. Bernstein, Michelle Spritz, Nathan Greno and was directed by Steve Anderson.
In this movie, Lewis, the main protagonist, is a young inventor who was left by his mother when he was an infant. He wants to know who his mother is, so he created a memory-scanning device in hopes of finding her. Since he spends all of his time building this device, during night time as well, he keeps his roomate, Mike Yagoobian, to stay awake for days. Due to the lack of sleep, Mike fell asleep as he was about to catch the ball that would have saved his team (he was playing an important little league game). Due to this, Mike never got adopted and blame Lewis for keeping him awake.
In this situation, Lewis is the author of the mistake as he kept Mike awake for days so he wasn't alert for his little league game. Mike Yagoobian, or later known as the "Bowler Hat Man" is the victim of Lewis's fault. Lewis was sorry for his mistake and changed the past, therefore redeeming himself.
--Kim Pham
Period 5/6
28. Obstacles to love: Two Lovers; an Obstacle
ReplyDelete"Sense and Sensibility" is a novel published in 1811 by writer Jane Austin.
This novel is basically about to sisters, Elinor and Marianne, who because of their low class status and lack of money (obstacle), are having difficulties getting hitched. Their family, the mother and youngest sister, was suddenly forced to move out of the humble abode when their father took ill and died. The system of inheritance ran its course and the money and all property goes to the 1st son of his 1st wife. Him being the spineless man that he is, lets his evil wife, Fanny, convince him that they deserve nothing. Elinor, ironically falls in love with Fanny's brother, but the high class family expects better from him and interrupts their fling(obstacle).At the sisters new home Marianne finds her perfect guy, whom lead her to believe that he planned to wed her. But through a series of unfortunate events he losses his inheritance and has to marry into another wealthy family. So both sisters are left heart broken , but this romance has a happy ending, and both find true love and the problem of finances becomes a thing of the past.
Above comment Jaquice Horton Period 1/2
ReplyDelete8. Revolt: a tyrant, a conspirator
ReplyDeleteJulius Caesar is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare in 1599.
Julius Caesar is a play based on the actual assassination of Roman dictator Julius Caesar. Talks of an overthrow came about when rumors spread that Caesar may attempt to end the Roman Republic and take Rome for his own. The main conspirators were Gaius Cassius and Marcus Brutus, and a large part of the tragedy is that Marcus Brutus was one of Caesar's dearest friends. In fact, Caesar declared that if Marc Antony died before he died himself, Brutus would be the next successor. But with the rumor of Caesar's prospective domination roaming about, even Marcus Brutus was afraid of the possible consequences. On March 15, the Ides of March, Julius Caesar was assassinated, and the betrayal was complete.
One aspect of Shakespeare's play that I find quite thought-provoking is that the only people who didn't like Caesar were the Senators. The people of Rome loved Caesar, quality of life was good, and Rome was flourishing. The only people who wanted anything to change were those who stood to lose their positions of power. The play forced me to observe lawlessness, and how sometimes even those in power, the ones we entrust with so many aspects of our lives, can be driven to it.
Thomas Massad, Odum 1/2
Madness: a madman, a victim
ReplyDelete“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” written by J.K. Rowling
In this book, the madman, Voldemort, attempted to murder the victim, Harry Potter, when he was just an infant. Being wizards as they were, Voldemort attacked with a killing curse. However, to his astonishment the spell rebounded off of Harry and in turn nearly destroyed the madman. Throughout the rest of the novel, Voldemort continued to attempt to return and annihilate Harry Potter.
The obvious relation between the book and the dramatic situation is the character cast of a madman and a victim. It is s typical madness movie where the crazy person attempts, at all costs, to reach his goal of murdering his victim. However it goes deeper than that. The madness spreads from not only one madman and victim, but to the many followers they have obtained as well as the rest of the wizarding community. This demonstrates just how infectious madness is. It shows how one person’s problem can easily become another’s issue as well.
28. Obstacles to Love- two lovers, an obstacle
ReplyDelete"Nights in Rodanthe" is based on the book of the same name by Nicholas Sparks. The screenplay is written by Ann Peacock and John Romano. Directed by George C. Wolfe released in 2008.
Nights in Rodanthe is a movie based on two people who have never met and have very hectic lives and want to get away for a week. The two choose a bed and breakfast on the coast of North Carolina a day before a hurricane hits. Adrienne is the bed/breakfast host for the week accompanying one guest, Paul. The two hit it off and fall in love in a matter of a few days. Adrienne teaches Paul to love his family again after giving his life to be the best doctor to sacrifice his family. She tells Paul to reconnect with his only son who is working in Peru on kids with medical emergencies. So Paul leaves the bed/breakfast to live in Peru and reconnect with his son by doing what they both love-being doctors. Adrienne and Paul promise to be together after he gets to know his son again. Paul is gone for about 6 months and decides to come visit Adrienne in her hometown so they can finally be together forever. But instead of Paul coming home his son comes instead to bring heart dropping news. That Paul was killed trying to save medical equipment(that is sacred in Peru) during a mudslide. Adrienne is devastated and goes into a depression.
This fits the category because Adrienne and Paul are both lovers although not for very long they were meant for eachother. They hope to spend the rest of their lives together once Paul gets back from reconnecting with his son. But the obstacle is Paul leaves to help his son. Then when they can finally be together, Paul dies. Therefore, leaving an obstacle that can never be overcome.
Emily Steger 5/6
31. Conflict with a god. A mortal: an Immortal
ReplyDeleteThe plot of the novel “American gods” by Neil Gaiman exemplifies the above theme in a modern setting. The protagonist, and convict named Shadow, is unknowingly entangled in a massive web of divine usurpation when he takes a job from a puzzling man called Mr.Wednesday. This character is later revealed as the ancient Norse god Odin. Odin and a battery of other Norse deities are engaged in a tenuous political conflict with an emerging pantheon of gods. The new gods are the gods of technology, of television, cell phones, and billboards. Shadow is caught between the old gods, who need to be worshipped to survive, and the immense cast of the new pantheon, thriving on the sacrifices of time and thought they are harvesting from an unaware population of mortals.
Cody Pfund Pulliam
Periods 1/2
2. Deliverance
ReplyDeleteAn Unfortunate; a threatener; a Rescuer
In the 1982 movie, "The Last Unicorn" the last unicorn, later transformed by Schmindrick the Magician into the Lady Almalthea, must rescue her unicorn kin from the clutches of King Lear who has had them all driven into the sea by the Red Bull. In this way, Lady Almalthea, the rescuer, must deliver the rest of the unicorns, an unfortunate from King Lear, a threater. However, as the main effect of the loss of the unicorns is the disappearance of true wildness in the world, the unfortunate could also be the earth itself and the threatner, the race of men.
-Marci McClenon
1. Supplication
ReplyDeleteA Persecutor; a Supplicant; a Power in authority, whose decision is doubtful.
For this I chose to use the film "Office Space," a 1999 film written and directed by Mike Judge.
In "Office Space," the protagonist, Peter, works at a monotonous IT company, where he does software all day (in preparation for Y2K). He is surrounded by his oddball coworkers, such as Samir "Nagheenanajar," who is always frustrated that people can't pronounce his name, Michael Bolton, who shares no relation to the singer and in fact loathes him, and an odd character named Milton, who is shy and covets his red Swingline stapler more than anything in the world.
The group of four is plagued by excessive management, including the strict and rather dry vice president, whom they call "Lumbergh," and the "Two Bills": two people of the same name who are hired to cut costs, mainly by downsizing.
With all this stress, Peter can't stand but to create a software program which slowly steals money from the company in order to better himself and his coworker friends. But will this work, and if it does, will they get caught?
Nate Hattersley
Period 5/6
Rivalry of kin
ReplyDeleteThe Preferred Kinsman; the Rejected Kinsman; the Object of Rivalry
I think this is a good example of Rivalry of Kin because two thought to be best friends go through this story tearing each other apart, both mentally and physically.The theme comes up alot in the book 'A Separate Peace' by John Knowles. In the story Gene and Finny at first appear to be the best of friends. They has always known each other and are now bunking together at 16 in the prep-school, Devon. Finny is the athlete star and has won many of the school's football awards. Gene, the academic master, begins to become suspicions Finny's actions, and starts to wonder if his impulsive trips and made-up games are just a ploy by him to get him from being the top of the class; Gene thinks that Finny is jealous that they are about equal, seeing as Finny has sports and Gene has grades. Gene's suspicions turn into conspiracy, one thing leads to another, and Finny falls out of a tree, breaking his leg, ending his sport career forever. The conflict between the two friends continues as Gene feels horrible about what he might or might not have done, and Finny begins to push Gene to train for the Olympics. The book culminates in a 'trial' played out by their fellow students where Gene is accused of pushing Finny, an action whose guilt is eating away at Gene, and Finny storms from the trial. In his haste, he breaks in broken leg even further, is put through surgery to set the bone, and later dies due to complications. Gene never cries at the lost of his best friend, which leaves us to wonder what the conflict has done to him.
Paul Holmes 12
Madness
ReplyDeleteA Madman; a Victim
“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” written by J.K. Rowling
The book starts out with a scene in which Lord Voldemort (the madman) is telling one of his followers about his plan to kill Harry Potter (the victim). He is telling his follower this in the house in which his family was killed. The man who they thought killed his family, but was later found innocent, happened to have been eavesdropping on this conversation and Lord Voldemort killed him on the spot. In the first book of this series Lord Voltemort attempted to kill Harry Potter and fail, and ever since this point he has been obsessed with attempting to kill Harry. Throughout this book Lord Voldemort tries various ways to kill Harry. He goes as far as having on of his followers pretend to be a teacher and get Harry into a competition he isn’t even eligible for. At the end of the competition Harry faces Lord Voldemort and once again narrowly escapes death. In this book Lord Voldemort tries as hard as he can to kill Harry and is willing to do it at any cost even if he kills others along the way. In this scenario it makes Harry the victim while Lord Voldemort, as well as his followers, the madmen.
Ariel Timkovich
1/2
28.Obstacles to love
ReplyDeleteTwo Lovers; an Obstacle
In the 2004 movie "Troy", directed by Wolfgang Peterson and based of the poem the "iliad" by homer. After a prince named Paris steals a wife of a king "menelaus", they both willingly go to the princes home city, Troy. After the king finds out he asks his brother, "Agamemnon" ruler of most of Greece, to help him destroy the city of Troy in hopes to reclaim his beautiful bride. The couple, Paris and Helen, face the obsticle of a whole army raiding their city because of an affair.
Daniel Maldonado
Period 5/6
7. Revolt: a Tyrant, a Conspirator
ReplyDelete“1984” is a book written by George Orwell in 1948.
1984 is about a man named Winston Smith revolting against the totalitarian society he lives in. The enigma this book relates to is revolt. Winston revolts by having an affair with a woman named Julia which is against the beliefs of the party and can result in being brainwashed by torture or living the rest of one’s life in a camp forced to work. Besides the affair Winston also tries to join a secret group he believes to be against the government. The tyrant in this novel is Big Brother who is a figure that represents the totalitarian society of 1984 and the conspirator is Winston who commits illegal acts.
-Lisa Trejo
Period 5/6
21. Self-sacrifice for kin
ReplyDeleteA Hero; a Kinsman; a Creditor or a Person/Thing sacrificed
The movie “Se7en” was a dark brilliant psychological thriller. The movie involves a veteran cop Detective William Somerset who is retiring, and Detective David Mills, who is his replacement. They become involved in a hunt for a genius religious psychopath serial killer John Doe, who justifies his killings as absolution for the world’s ignorance of the Seven Deadly Sins. The serial killer chooses his victims from seven people who exemplifies one of the each seven deadly sins.
Towards the end of the movie, John Doe has already killed 5 victims each one representing one of the seven deadly sins: Gluttony, Greed, Pride, Lust, and Sloth. The whole movie led to the last scene where both the detectives and John Doe were in the desert with a box. While John Doe was talking to Detective Mills about how he was envious of his life and he wanted to live his life, Detective William was opening the box. The box contained the head of Detective Mill’s wife. When Mills found out, he shot John Doe out of extreme rage. The amazing master plan was then complete. The last two sins were Envy and Rage. John Doe’s sin was Envy and Detective Mills’ sin was Rage.
John Doe sacrificed his life for his ideals. He believed that people will remember always remember what he had done and as a result, preachings will live on. Detective Mills also sacrificed getting put in jail for vengeance.
-Glenn Sampayan
Period 1/2
16. A madman
ReplyDeletea madman; a victim
I think that The Dark Night is the perfect example of a madman and, in this case, multiple victims. Maybe it's because I am a huge Batman nerd, but when i think of a crazy and deranged person i think of the Joker. He is everything that a madman should be: insane, intelligent and has no care for human life. On the other side i think The Dark Night is a perfect example because of Batman. Just because he is "the good guy" doesn't mean he isn't a madman. For a man to run around in a bat suit and act like a hero he must be a little mad. Their conflict create plenty of victims and truly fulfills the category of Madmen.
-Annalee Alston
great ideas 1/2
Madness: a madman, a victim
ReplyDelete“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” written by J.K. Rowling
In this book, the madman, Voldemort, attempted to murder the victim, Harry Potter, when he was just an infant. Being wizards as they were, Voldemort attacked with a killing curse. However, to his astonishment the spell rebounded off of Harry and in turn nearly destroyed the madman. Throughout the rest of the novel, Voldemort continued to attempt to return and annihilate Harry Potter.
The obvious relation between the book and the dramatic situation is the character cast of a madman and a victim. It is s typical madness movie where the crazy person attempts, at all costs, to reach his goal of murdering his victim. However it goes deeper than that. The madness spreads from not only one madman and victim, but to the many followers they have obtained as well as the rest of the wizarding community. This demonstrates just how infectious madness is. It shows how one person’s problem can easily become another’s issue as well.
Emily Tubbs
Great Ideas 1/2
26. Crimes of Love: "Ocean's 11"
ReplyDeleteThis 2001 film was directed by Steven Soderbergh. The story follows a con man named Danny Ocean (George Clooney) after he gets out of prison. He hatches a plan to rob a casino in Las Vegas and assembles a team to assist him. He then finds out that his ex-wife, Tess (Julia Roberts), is now the girlfriend of Terry Benedict, the owner of one of the casinos being considered for the theft. His intentions then change from making money to getting his wife back, or at least getting her to leave Terry, who Danny knows is not a person that deserves Tess. Ocean puts the whole operation at risk through his passion. In the end everyone gets what they set out to accomplish. The other 10 in Ocean's 11 get their money, Tess realizes what a jerk Terry is, and Ocean eventually gets Tess back. Obviously the films connection to crimes of love is the targeting of Terry's casino because Ocean wants Tess back, but there are some deeper undertones in the story. Ocean's crime of love is nearly as much a crime of hate against Terry. This brings up the question, in a theme echoed in the movie, what is love? Is it even real, or is it a desire for an object and the prestige or benefits that may come with it? Love can sometimes be jealousy or the want to attain someone unattainable. In the case of Danny Ocean, this film still leaves many to wonder whether he just wanted Tess back because a man he already despises took her. The two sequels to the film answer that, but so not reveal a truth to that broader question. Is love real. That is just something to think about.
21. Self Sacrifice for Kin: A Hero; a Kinsman; a Creditor or a Person/Thing sacrificed
ReplyDelete"Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope" (1977) directed by George Lucas.
In this movie, Luke Skywalker, a Jedi, is on a mission to save the galaxy, like most heroes. The main way that he tries to save the galaxy is by defeating the emperor and Darth Vader, the one many claimed to have killed Luke’s father, Anakin Skywalker. But little did he know that Darth Vader was Luke’s father and that those on the dark side, can come back to the good side. In the battle against the Emperor, Luke was about to be electrocuted with the Emperor’s dark powers, but Darth Vader sacrificed himself and pushed Luke out of the way, leaving Darth Vader electrocuted and almost dead.
This is a great example of “self sacrifice for kin” because Darth Vader put his long lost son’s life ahead of his own and experienced the pain with the hope that his son might never have to. This shows, also, how powerful kinship is. Even though Darth Vader hardly knew Luke, he still loved him enough to sacrifice his great life as one of the leaders on the “dark side” of the force.
Kendra Faulkner period 5/6
31. Conflict with a god; a mortal; and immortal
ReplyDelete"It" by Stephen King, written in 1980. (Spoiler Alert)
In this book, a group of children, and later adults, living in a small town in Maine called Derry attempt to stop the killing of children by an immortal being most commonly called It or Pennywise the Dancing Clown. The children discover evidence of this creature's interaction with the people of Derry going all the way back to the beginning of the town, in the 1700s. In this instance, the mortality of the children is actually a plot point, as most of their power to fight against It comes from the fact that they are children, making the battle when they are adults all the more difficult. Pennywise or It is clearly put forward as an immortal being or potentially even a god, or at least close enough to a god that mortals could never tell the difference. His counterpart(and equal), the Turtle in fact created the universe as we know it when it got a bellyache. This group of children is attempting to battle against this immortal being. The concept of battle against a god is a literal instance.
-Sam Shook, period 1/2
4.Vengeance taken for kin upon kin
ReplyDeleteGuilty Kinsman; an Avenging Kinsman; remembrance of the Victim, a relative of both
Don't know if anybody else has said this (although, I saw a few mentions for the Dark Night, and decided not to do Batman) but Spider-man (comic by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko) is that, most definitely. Even though he gets his powers before hand, Peter Parker didn't actually think to fight crime--he thought about getting money with it. But it's not until he realizes that the guy he let go kills his uncle, that he decides to avenge him...and one could say he gets carried away taking other dudes down and decides to become a super hero. Peter would have maybe become a super hero in the future, but what really spurred it was the death of his uncle, and the first villain he fought was the guy that killed him.
Batman fits with this too, as he was spurned to fight crime after the Joker killed his parents...but I've seen Batman used here, except not HIS story....
Michi DeSantiago 5/6
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSelf-sacrifice for kin
ReplyDeleteA Hero; a Kinsman; a Creditor or a Person/Thing sacrificed
"The Hunger Games," a novel by Suzanne Collins.
In this book, the main character, Katniss, lives in one of the 12 districts in a dystopian society ruled by the Capitol, and every year, children from the districts are chosen to compete in the Hunger Games, where they are forced to fight to the death. Katniss's sister is chosen for the Games, and she, knowing that her frail sister stands no chance in the Games, volunteers to go instead. In the district where Katniss lives, the children who compete in the Hunger Games usually don't last long before they are killed, and family devotion doesn't usually extend that far. Katniss chooses to go into the arena of the Hunger Games in place of her sister, knowing full well that she will more than likely die. The story follows Katniss during the Games and describes the horrible experiences that Katniss goes through in the arena.
This is a great example of self-sacrifice for kin because Katniss literally saves her sister from death by volunteering herself. In District 12 where Katniss lives, the only family she has is her mother and sister. At one point in the book, which is written in first person, Katniss referrs to Prim, her little sister, as "the only person in the world she is certain she loves." She sacrifices everything for her sister.
Kerry Anderson, 1/2
29. An enemy loved: A Lover; the Beloved Enemy; the Hater
ReplyDeleteEnder's Game (1985) by Orson Scott Card takes place in Earth's future, where sentient aliens (the Formics, commonly referred to as "Buggers" as they resemble large insects) have attacked Earth, and the humans have begun to retaliate. Ender, the main character, is humanity's greatest hope, even though he is only 6 when he goes to Battle School. Ender enters Battle School expecting to learn about what both humans and Buggers did during the previous clashes, but the closest he can get is snippets in propaganda videos. He pieces together many of the clips of the fighting, and discovers that the humans had inferior strategy, so he learns strategy from the Buggers. As Ender gets closer to having to destroy the Formics, he comes to understand them much better, and finally claims that to completely know your enemy, including how to beat them, you must love them. Even though Ender loves the Buggers, he is in the military, and he is required to annihilate them, which he does with brutal efficiency.
Since Ender loved the Buggers, he understood how to take them out, just like in real life: when you love someone/thing, you know just how to destroy them/it, which is why revenge is often better if you've taken the time to understand the target, and know how it will affect them.
Rebekah Pruett
per. 1-2
Deliverance: a Unfortunate, a threatener, a rescuer.
ReplyDeleteDoctor Who is a BBC TV show currently written by Steven Moffat. In the previous season finale, the entire universe is exploding and so existence is shrinking as the universe ceases to exist. In the end, the main character who acts as the rescuer, the Doctor, saves the universe by causing a second big bang while being chased by a hostile alien and having his time machine/ship cause the explosion due to an unidentified external force. Placed in an unfortunate situation, threatened by lack of time and a clear enemy, the Doctor saves all of existence in the nick of time by re-exploding his ship.
This is a wonderful example of deliverance, as the Doctor essentially acts as a creator figure by recreating the universe while throwing in multiple foes, a prison designed to hold him, and a fight across 2,000 years, and the destruction of all he holds dear. Going from utter catastrophe, like all other TV shows, the Doctor saves us all in the nick of time and miraculously returns all to normal. (Much like how I finished this in the nick of time.)
Elie Ferdman
Periods 1+2
Self-Sacrifice for an Ideal.
ReplyDeleteIn the Movie Deep Blue Sea (1999) directed by Renny Harlin, some sharks are being genetically engineered to have a larger brain mass, making them far more intelligent. Not all of the humans on this mid-ocean laboratory are aware of what is being done to the mako sharks however, because not everyone is heavily involved in the science aspect. Later in the movie the whole base of operations floods and the sharks start going after the humans as prey. In the end, the scientist who genetically enhanced the sharks without notifying the others, sacrifices herself in an explosion to ensure that 2 other guys get out alive. Her ideal was to make up for her mistake, and her sacrifice enabled her to die in peace.
-John Gormley
-1st and 2nd period
9. Daring enterprise
ReplyDeleteA Bold Leader; an Object; an Adversary
In the movie trillogy Lord of the Rings (2001, 2002, 2003) directed by Peter Jakson the fellowship must take on the task of distroying the ring that could control them all and keep the people who would use it from doing so. They take on this task with Frodo as their leader, determined to do the right thing. Protecting and then getting rid of the ring is the item that set the quest in to motion. Along the plot of the three movies they must always fight against the dark lord Sauron and his wariors. Just to survive they must be brave and daring people, determined to do what must be done.
Rachel Ballard
Periods 5 and 6
11. The enigma
ReplyDeleteThe Bourne identity (Directed by Doug Liman) is a 2002 spy based movie about a secret government project, Jason bourne. The CIA believes he has gone rogue after a mission goes wrong, and he gets shot and looses his memory of what happens andwho he is. Throughout the movie the CIA tries to capture him because they do not understand what happened. This is an enigma because the CIA tries to hunt him and Jason is trying to find answers. The entire movie is a big misunderstanding, you find out later in the movie series
Tyler period 5/6
I am extremely sorry about the lateness, my computer broke at the last second and i was not able to get access to a computer.
2. Deliverance: An unfortunate; a threatener; a rescuer
ReplyDelete“Schindler’s list”, 1993, is an American made movie, written by Thomas Keneally and Steven Zailian and was directed by Steven Spielberg.
This film’s plot focuses on Oskar Schindler, a successful business man who moves to Krakow during World War II. He plans to use Jews to start up a factory in Poland in hopes of becoming rich and taking advantage of cheap labor to create metal works during the war. However as time progresses Schindler begins to notice the true pain of the Jews and begins to care about them. He then begins to turn the factory into a haven for Jews and as away to prevent them from being murdered. When the concentration camp his workers are from is about to get shut down and they are about to be moved to Auschwitz, Schindler offers Amon Goeth (the main antagonist seen in this film) a great sum of money in order to save as many Jews as he can. In the end Schindler gave up everything he had to save them and was then branded as a criminal, however, he was seen as a hero by the Jews . Deliverance applies to this movie, because there is a “threatener”, the German Nazis, more specifically Amon Goeth, who are punishing and killing the Jews, the “unfortunate”, and Schindler is now stepping in trying to save as many lives as he can, acting as the “rescuer”.
-Mariah Park