The West Bank Story

This was definitely something new and refreshing for the class. Although short, the movie clip was very funny and, I think, able to get its point across. Like its maker said, it was not about presenting a solution; it was more about looking at things from a brighter perspective. Last semester, for my final essay I wrote about believing in the power of smiling. This, as well as a good sense of humor, can go a long way. Of course some people will be offended, but that's okay because that was not the movie's intention. Groggy people with a sour sense of humor will be the only ones not satisfied with this work of art. The movie definitely helped me become more familiar with inter text as it was just a different remaking of "The West Side Story" which further was just a remaking of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." I now realize that nothing is really brand new, but just based off of something that was already created in the past. It will be interesting to work with inter texts and creating something not new but different. Performing it makes it even better :)

WALKING

When I think of walking, I thinking of breathing. It is done so automatically, no one ever stops and thinks about it; so to see a video made on that was just a bit strange. I realize that when people dedicate a lot of time to creating something, it has to contain some meaning. Unfortunately, even after re-watching the video, I was not able to discover it exactly. However, I do have a few guesses. As previously discussed in class, in some way the theme of "defamiliarizing" is present. When we walk, we usually have a destination to get to or a purpose. The "walkers" in the video were just walking, what seemed to be, without a point. Also, some of the angles "walking" was taped from is interesting. At one point, the huge feet walking make it seem very important. The music that accompanied the walking gave it a beat; it probably would have been different watching it without the music. The video also revealed different types of walking. In some way, that probably reflects a person's personality. For example, someone who walks up straight seems confident, like the girl, swaying her hips. She can also be viewed as cocky. Now, someone who walks slouched over may come off as lazy or shy. Whatever the point is, the video was interesting.

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Charater Contest Dramatizations

Although my heart was pounding all throughout, the character contest dramatizations were a lot of fun. With the short amount of time we had, I felt everyone was really good and creative. Better yet, the discussions afterward were very helpful because, honestly, I found these "character contests" very difficult to understand. I now realize that they exist in everyday life and I am encountering them more and more with the people around me. For example, I fight with my 13-year-old brother all the time about whose turn it is to wash the dishes. I am older, go to school and work so I feel he should at least take care of the sink since he does not have as much responsibility as I do. But he thinks I should do it because I am the girl. None of us ever really wins because my dad steps in and makes him do half and I do the other half. I am glad because I get pretty competitive and can not deal with losing especially to my much younger brother and over silly dishes.

Story Time!

It has been hinted that this writing will be based on the personal anecdotes we did, but I was never expecting to work on somebody else's paper. I am definitely looking forward to this assignment, as curiosity of what will become of my story is eating me up. Besides all the excitement, I am a little worried as well because the paper I am working on is already really good. It is well written and very descriptive so it will be difficult to turn it into a story format when that format is already present.