The Cove

     Dolphins are one of the most intelligent creatures in the world.  They migrate throughout the world every year including Japan.  However, for most dolphins that migrate here, their journey ends drastically.  It is in a city named Taiji where thousands and thousands of dolphins are slaughtered every year.  The Cove (2009), directed by Louie Psihoyos, is a documentary that shows the horrible secret of the cove in the city of Taiji.  In the beginning of the movie, they show the city as what seems to be a whale and dolphin loving community, but the city has a secret that not even the citizens know about.  They are the main suppliers of performing dolphins and dolphin meat that are shipped throughout the world.  Though the director does show both sides of the story, he fails to go into more detail with the opposing side.

     

     First, the documentary shows that Richard O’Barry, the trainer for Flipper from the popular 1960s television series, has a personal experience that changed his views on captive dolphins.  After Flipper committed suicide in his arms, he has been fighting for the freedom of dolphins throughout the world.  His eyes were on one specific location to help dolphins: Taiji, Japan.   Though he does interview the people that are involved with “the cove,” he never gets the full story behind “the cove.”  The livelihoods of the Japanese workers come from “the cove.”  Without “the cove,” the entire city would be low in money and almost be unable to sustain itself.  Though it is very cruel and inhumane how the dolphins are killed, it is how the workers live their life.

     Second, the people that knew and were involved with “the cove” that were interviewed did not give the entire truth.  Even while being filmed, they were hiding something.  Also, when showed the video that they obtained from “the cove” that showed the slaughtering of the dolphins, one asked where they obtained the video.  Even though the videos showed what happened on the outside of “the cove,” they never were able to show what was happening on the inside.

         

     Though the movie does show amazing and life changing scenes of massacre and death of so many dolphins.  Probably the most life changing scene was when the underwater camera captured the transition of the water from clear to bloody after the dolphins were slaughtered.  This film has changed the views of many people.  However, though I do support animal rights, I believe that we should not interfere with what the Japanese are doing with dolphins.  If you think about it, it’s like the United States with cows and other livestock, but no other counties are interfering with our jobs.

Koyaanisqatsi

In the movie Koyaanisqatsi (1982), directed by Godfrey Reggio, doesn’t tell a story, but rather shows a story.  Unlike most movies, this movie has no words and no action that draws the viewers away from the scenery.  This technique allows the audience to appreciate the beauty of the real world without the distraction of explosions and other special effects.  The way this film transitions from nature and technology allows the viewer to compare them and see the true beauty that is everywhere.

Not many people actually stop to look at the true beauty of the city life.  For example, in the scene where the city life was being filmed, one may view it as just the city in its natural beauty and another may compare it to something else like, as Luke said, a microchip.  The fast motion of the cars represents the data that flows and sends information across the computer that is the city.  The way the Moonlight reflects against a skyscraper shows the beauty of the night in the city.

At first glance the sea and clouds look nothing alike.  The sea is flowing and can be calm or ravenous at times, and clouds are slow moving and seem less flowing.   However, when the film of the clouds fast forwards, it actually shows that clouds and the sea are actually alike.  The way the sea and clouds flow also compares to the cars on the highway: how it creates the illusion of an elegant river.

Beauty can also be hidden within the most horrifying events.  For example, in the film, it showed a scene of the tragedy of the space shuttle The Challenger from lift off to the explosion.  It was beautiful watching how the graceful the lift off was thinking nothing could go wrong, until the entire shuttle combusts into a burst of flames.  After the explosion, the camera keeps its view on a single piece of the remaining shuttle in free fall.  Though many people died because of this horrible event, beauty can still be seen among the sadness.

It is amazing how technology has changed throughout the course of history.  The way we show beauty in the world has changed as well.  It all started with cave paintings and has evolved and become hidden within the simplest objects.  Instead of being told what to think, this film actually gives the audience a chance to think for themselves and allows them to see the true beauty in nature and technology.

Apocalypse Now

      In the movie Apocalypse Now, a soldier in Vietnam, named Willard, must go on a top secret mission to find and assassinate General Kurtz because his methods were considered unfit for the army and he allegedly murdered his fellow subordinates.  While searching for Kurtz, Willard went through different camps and noticed that the soldiers were starting to act stranger and stranger the farther they went up the river.  The soldiers in the camps were becoming more and more possessed by the darkness of the jungle.  For example, when Willard stopped at the final camp, there was chaos throughout the entire camp.  Soldiers were shooting at nothing or their own men, and no one knew who was in command.  Finally, after a few attacks from the natives, they made it to where Kurtz was residing.
     Outside the village, there were hanging bodies, decapitated heads, and skulls on stakes everywhere.  After entering Kurtz’s “house,” Willard was asked questions by Kurtz.  His voice was calm, in a sadistic kind of way, and the way the light was hitting his face made him look even more terrifying.  He knew that Willard was sent to kill him, but as Willard talked with him more he became more influenced by his views on the darkness.  Later in the movie, as Willard is tied up and sitting in a prison, Kurtz visits him, but he is different.  His entire face is covered in black and green paint, normally used for camouflage, and he just stares at Willard at different angles, almost provokingly.  Then after leaving for a few seconds, he places the head of the chef, one of Willard’s comrades from the journey, on Willard's lap.  The head showed the emotion of fear and Willard tried his best to get it off him as quickly as possible.  Later, after Willard is set free, he searches through Kurtz’s room, he noticed he had a small collection of books, including the Holy Bible!  How frightening: a murderer that reads the Holy Bible!
     In the end, Willard became just as frightening as Kurtz and became part of the darkness himself.  He later kills Kurtz and completes his mission.

Blog Assignment #3

      For the past five weeks I have been following events that have been occurring throughout the world.  For example, I've been following how the world's obese rate is continuing to increase as time progresses.

     Have you ever gone to a McDonald's and ordered a Big Mac and wondered how much fat is in that delicious burger?  Or how about all the other things like sodium content, calories, and carbohydrates? What about the soda, packed with sugar, that comes with the meal?  Not everyone has asked themselves those questions, all they do is scarf it all down and leave it at that. "Until 1980, fewer than one in 10 people in industrialized countries like the United States were obese.  Today, these rates have doubled or tripled.  In almost half of developed countries, one out of every two people is overweight or obese" (Rampell).  This is all because of all these fast food restaurants that are being built like Burger King, McDonald's, KFC, etc.  If restaurants keep serving food like burgers and fatty foods, everywhere you look there will be at least one person who is obese.  Some people go to fast food restaurants every single day and as a result, they are killing themselves from the insde-out.
     A few years ago, there was a documentary named "Super Size Me," that showed what eating fast food everyday did to your body after a few months.  In the end, the guy that was performing the experiment was on the border line of liver failure and gained more than fifty pounds.  As a result of this documentary, the McDonald's corperation removed the "Super Size" from their menu.
     Instead of going to a fast food restaurant, and risk getting a heart attack, go to a place where they have healthier choices on the menu like a salad.

Works Cited
Rampell, C. (2010, September). The World is Fat. Retrieved October 7, 2010, from The New York Times: http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/the-world-is-fat/?scp=1&sq=the%20world%20is%20fat&st=cse

Blog Assignment #2

Dale Daniels, Jr.

Timmons

English 105

September 29, 2010

     After reading the essays of Chinua Achebe and J. Hills Miller, I noticed that both essays had an argument about Conrad's Heart of Darkness.

     Achebe's essay, "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness," was mainly about the hidden racism in Conrad's novella.  He points out that the novella actually reinforces the stereotypes about the natives of Africa.  Throughout Achebe's essay, he does give good "concessions" about the novella.  He said that, " it was the desire...in Western psychology to set Africa up as a foil to Europe."  He actually praises Conrad for his style of writing!  The foil between Africa and Europe: Europe is civilized and "good" but Africa is savage and "bad."  Not only that but Achebe uses a strong tone while addressing counter arguments.  However, when there are good "concessions" there are also criticisms.  Even though Conrad's novella is a work of Fiction, Achebe's essay seems to turn the novella into a work of Non-fiction.  He even down right says that "Joseph Conrad was a bloody racist" (Achebe 343).  Achebe himself is an African native from Nigeria.  He seems to take a personal offence to the novella.  Therefore, it seems that he is biased throughout his essay.

     Miller's essay, "Should We Read "Heart of Darkness"?" is mainly about his argument about if we should read the novella or not.  He does not mean just read it for fun but what he really means is "perform a reading in the strong sense, and active responsible response that renders justice to a book" (Miller 463).  Millers states that Conrad's novella provides important information about Conrad's life and his journey to Africa that helps the reader understand more about the history in the novella.  But he wonders how Heart of Darkness considers itself as literature rather than a book about history.  Why must we really read Heart of Darkness?

     In the end, both writers had great arguments that made me question the novella myself.  

Works Cited:

Achebe, Chinua. "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness." Armstrong 336-349.

Armstrong, Paul B., ed. Heart of Darkness. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2006.

Miller, J. Hills. "Should We Read "Heart of Darkness?". Armstrong 463-474

The Heart of Darkness

Daniels 1

Dale Daniels, Jr.

Professor Timmons

English 105

7 September 2010

The Europeans versus the Natives

          Imagine yourself as a European in 1899 on a jungle cruise: full of trees, wildlife, and natives to the land are all around you.  There are many similarities and differences between the Europeans and the natives in the novella "Heart of Darkness."

          The first thing that caught my eye were the differences between the Europeans and the natives.  Obviously, the Europeans were more advanced in technology than the natives; for example, the Europeans had Martini-Henry's, a rifle used by the British military, while the natives only had arrows.  On the other hand, even though the Europeans were more advanced, it seemed that the natives were better trained for battle.  The Europeans were well dressed; when Marlow first meets the Company's chief accountant, he was wearing "a high, starched collar, white cuffs, a light alpaca jacket, snowy trousers, a clean necktie, and varnished boots" (Conrad 18).  The natives however, were practically naked except for maybe a piece of cloth and except for that one woman that appeared before Marlow while he was on the outside of Mr. Kurtz's tent.  According to Marlow she was draped in striped and fringed cloths, treading the earth proudly with a slight jingle and flash of barbarous ornaments, her hair was in the shape of a helmet and she had jewelry everywhere: on her legs, around her arms, and around her neck.

          There are not that many similarities within the novella.  When the cannibals were hired to help Marlow on his journey, they proved to have respect for him, the captain.  They worked hard, they were reasonable, and they were respectful to others as well.  They were "fine fellows. . .and, after all, they did not eat each other before [the captain's] face" (Conrad 34-35).  Since the cannibals were so respectful to the captain, they gained his respect in return.  This shows that, like Europeans, the cannibals have proved that they are respectful to others in some way or another.  How would you feel if you saw someone being eaten right in front of you?

          Throughout the novella "Heart of Darkness," there are many comparisons between the Europeans and the natives.  They both have their own technologies and cultures, as different as they may be, they still have some similarities in the end.

Works Cited:

Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Ed. Paul B. Armstrong. W.W. Norton: New York, 2005