We have started the trilogy The Lord Of The Rings. The first part is titled The Fellowship Of The Ring. The trilogy is inspired the book series written by J.J.R Tolkien and tells about the exciting adventure the main character, Froddo, takes in hopes of destroying an evil ring. In the first part, the team that will be assigned to help Froddo destroy the ring was established. The team is made up of an elf that is an expert in archery, three other hobbits, a ranger and a troll. The plot is packed with mythological creatures and action. Saramon, an evil wizard, makes sure he does everything he can to impede Froddo from reaching success. The nail biting conflict although is not whether or not Froddo will reached his destination but whether or not Froddo will be consumed by the greed to power the ring causes people to have. The theme of the trilogy is along the lines of this topic. It's human nature to want power even though we perfectly know no on is capable of handling excessive power. 

I think that this trilogy has amazing trailers and graphics. Check out the trailer of this movie. It's EPIC.


Jose. 

I don't really watch a lot of science fiction movies except for movies like Twilight and The Hunger Games. In class we watched The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, the movie version of the book series by Douglas Adams. The movie was funny and entertaining but I found it to be hard to follow. I think its because so many creatures were introduced that I got kind of lost. Regardless, I learned a really important literary term. The literary term is satire, which means using humor, exaggeration, and irony to ridicule a topic in society. Now the term sounds like a powerful tool that an author could use to voice his/her opinions but I don't think the movie got the point across. I appreciate although the opportunity of exposing me to this type of movie but it's not my favorite. 

What was your least favorite movie? 


Jose.

The poetics of Aristotle are distinct from any other. Along with an assigned group, I took notes of the key ideas and concepts Artistotle kept in mind when reading. Our chapters were 10 to 15.  

In Plots, Aristotle thought that there were two types: Complex and Simple. He believed there were only two types because he though real life actions showed this distinction and as literature works were meant to imitate life than these two categories were needed to take into account when writing. In Simple Plots, the change of fortune takes place without any form of irony or reversal of situation with no recognition of it. In Complex Plots, the changed is accompanied by a reversal of situation and/or a recognition. I even learned the following latin phrase:  


Post hoc ergo propter ego means after this, therefore because of this, iis a phrase that is used to think about the probable causes and results of actions. 


In my notes, there were a few key terms. 

- Reversal of Situation
- Recognition 
- The Scene of Suffering

Reversal of Situation refers to a change by which action veers round to its opposite according to the rule of necessity. I think or reversal as the same to situational irony. Recognition is a change from ignorance to knowledge, like an epiphany. The recognition produces whether or not you'll love the person destined by the poet for good or bad fortune. The Scene of Suffering is probably my favorite only because they are the most fun to act out. It's a destructive or painful action, such as deaths on stage. A good example is Jocasta's suicide in Oedipus Rex. 

Characters also have certain requirements. They must aim for a constant speech and actions that maintain the moral purpose of their characterization. If the character is bad, then only bad actions the character will commit. Characters must also be accepted by the standards or morals of society. They must be true to life and at above all must be consistent to their nature. The authors should aim to avoid any Deus ex Machina, which means events that lie beyond the range of human knowledge. 

It's really fun to learn about what authors go through when writing a story. It's tough work. 

P.S Aristotle was about that life!

Jose. 

The Joy Luck Club is a touching movie. The plot inspired by the book written by Amy Tan follows the life of Chinese families in America and shows the conflicts their second generation encounters. I believe this is probably the most important movie we have seen so far just because it educates us in a culture that is very unique and rare. Chinese culture is one of those that you don't get the chance to experience or come across with but it is just as important as all of the others. In the movie, there 4 main characters named June, Waverly, Rose and Lena. They are all daughters of mothers raised in China. The four main characters have conflicts that primarily start because the American culture clashes with the traditional Chinese culture. Their mothers lived a tough life in China. They had to respect and learn the value of honor and sacrifice in a way much tougher. In America, there are not such strong emphasis on these values. So the second generation has it a bit easier yet at the same time a lot harder because it is up to them to find a balance between two worlds.

Coming from a Latino-Hispanic background, I too was raised to understand the meaning of respect, sacrifice, honor, and family. They are strong values of my culture as well. When Waverly was trying to break the news she was living with her soon-to-be husband, you could see that her mother's opinion was taken very seriously and even though she hated her mother's way of showing her love at that moment, she wanted to please her because she respected her. This example shows every single aspect of this movie. Waverly fell in love with an American man. This meant that her family would be fused with other people with different cultures. The mother felt that the man Waverly liked was not good enough for her partly because he was ignorant of their culture and she has experienced personally hardships that she promised herself her daughter will not go through them. It's really important for a person, no matter of what ethnicity, to be educated and civil. It tears my heart how people make horrible comments about cultures they don't know about. In the movie, Rose was at social event where her boyfriend's mother told her she could not be with him because of the way she looked. I was disgusted. The biggest irony of the movie was the situations the mothers wanted to avoid, unfortunately, happened in America. When balancing two cultures, it's easy to loose your identity and until you find it, you'll be in control of your life.

I am very glad I watched this movie. I feel I know more about myself and other cultures. I applaud Amy Tan for picking such profound themes such as the strength of a mother-daughter relationship is strongest connection of all, the sacrifices taken help you find yourself, and the mixture of cultures causes a person to be stronger. 

Do you consider yourself to be educated about other cultures? 
I have a lot more to learn.

Jose.