Review on Frozen

You know that a movie is amazing when you walk into the theatre, and the seats are full 2 months after its release date.  I fell in love with the characters in the movie, "Frozen", after seeing it with my best friend and my cousin.  Now I know what you all might be thinking, "That's a movie for children," "I don't like animated movies".  Well, to all of responses I simply advocate that you give Frozen a chance.

Despite its appeal to younger generations, the movie does an admirable job relating to older audiences; there are several layers to the characters that portray the real pain that sisters Anna and Elsa both experience from opposite sides of the spectrum.  While Anna lives a lonely life, ignored and casted away by her sister, she still holds onto the fond memory she shared with Elsa when they were children; the song "Do you want to build a snowman" was upbeat and on the surface shallow, but if you look deeper into the tone and emotion of the song, you can uncover the truth behind the lyrics.  The only real memory Anna has with her sister is of building a snowman, and it may seem like a simple activity, but to Anna it represents her entire relationship with Elsa.  Anna holds onto this for years, hoping that one day her sister and her can rebuild their relationship from the bottom up.

Elsa faces her own struggle in containing her "inner storm"; this struggle is not something she can hide forever, and her loose grip over control of her problem causes her to be exiled into the mountains, where ironically, she has never felt more free.  Elsa's character has faced an entire life feeling like a threat to everyone she loves, as well as her own worst nightmare.  Although it is not really clear if she is the antagonist in the story, I felt that she could have easily been the protagonist.  Her part in the story was all about the theme: person vs. self.  She was born with the gift of magic, until it grew into a curse, and it was up to her to get a grip on her abilities.  I connected the most with her character because she is just like any other girl, (except for the whole ice powers thing), she just wanted to make her parents proud, and be the "good girl" she was always meant to be.  All that pressure was soon to need release at some point, and who else can help tip the iceberg besides a sister?  Am I right?  Anna triggers Elsa's downfall, (although this is not a tragedy, and disney never fails when it comes to providing a happy ending),  the animosity between the sisters can only be poetic for every relationship between siblings.  

Overall, I believe this movie was one of Disney's finest, and I couldn't help but see it twice in theaters.  I definitely recommend anyone of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy the film, definitely bring your family!

The heart does not lie

I can pretend when u are gone

But when you are in my arms I cannot deny

I will always have feelings for you

Whether these feelings are called 'love' 

I will never know

Because in order to understand love

It has to be both ways

Graphic Design

Fun times in Graphic Design:D

Theme: Hunger Games

Silhouette: Natalie Davis

Damaged memories

We were never really that close.  So why does it hurt so much to think about the moments we had together.  Why does it cut so deep to hear your voice?  Why am I drawn to reach out to you, knowing that all I will receive are more burns.  I push the memories deep into the realm where they can only surface in my dreams.  Haunted.  I do not dare speak about how I miss you, because I  don't want to miss something so dysfunctional.  So I will turn off my emotions.  All you will ever be is a memory, that in time will fade and lose value like a damaged photograph.  I hope that in years to come, I will smile back on the picture and only remember the happier moments.  I hope the pain will disappear as distance pulls us further and further apart.

The girl with Glasses

The girl who walks with her head down, she is the girl who carries the weight of the world on her shoulders.  She hides behind her lenses like there are walls that have been built to protect her.  She is guarded, her walls run internal, they stand firm in front of her heart and keep her captive as a prisoner.  But she is strong, she does not know her ability to conquer, and she keeps herself from exploring new opportunities by hiding behind her walls.  She doesn't want the world to see her for who she truly is.  Beautiful.  She has been blinded by pain that has accumulated over the years, forcing her to construct her walls.  The pain is the cement that has hardened her heart, and once that cement is removed, her heart will be raw and light.  But the girl with glasses cannot see past the pain, she can not see that love is worth the heart ache, that there are some people who can be trusted with your most sacred feelings.  She will be safe behind her walls, but she will be condemned to a life where she is alone.

Johnny Got his Gun

Natalie Davis

Period 2

Argument essay

November 20, 2013

The famous war novel, Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo, depicts the unfiltered thoughts of a World War I soldier, Joe Bonham.    Dalton Trumbo uses this character, Joe Bonham, to give a voice to the individual soldier.  During a time of war, the individual is lost among the masses, and the importance of a single life is diluted.  The writing style switches from first person to third person omniscient, which allows the audience to experience the raw and unfiltered perspective that Joe has on his participation in the war, and how he has been affected by it.  By signing away his life to the government’s disposal, he gives away all of his rights and becomes a prisoner of war.  

Through Joe’s eyes, he has been used by the government as a pawn in a game, disposable.  He feels betrayed by those who were supposed to hold his best intentions at heart, those who held his fate in their hands.  “You plan the wars you masters of men plans the wars and point the way and we will point the gun.”  (Trumbo.  243).  He directs the blame for his current condition to the “masters of men”, cowards who hide from the battlegrounds and call the shots from far away.   

It is the government who had convinced Joe to join the war efforts, tricking him by using propaganda and peer pressure.  Joe feels betrayed and used as he realizes that  his leaders have decided that Joe’s life is worth sacrificing in order to preserve democracy.  Although the propaganda influenced men to believe that they were fighting for liberty, only in pure silence and isolation does Joe truly understand what he was fighting for.  “A man doesn't say I will starve myself to death to keep from starving, or that he'd spend all of his money to save money. Why should he be willing to die for the privilege of living?”  A word.  He was fighting for something that was intangible, was of no direct use to him on an individual level.  Joe was never fighting for himself, he was fighting for something that was out of his control.  Joe was sent out to be slaughtered, along with many other soldiers, for a cause that never represented him or what he wanted.  

The rat enters the story as a way to remind Joe that he is helpless, and that he has lost all control over his life.  The rat eats away at Joe’s flesh in his dreams, representing the benefactors of war.  The rat is the enemy on both sides of the war; it reaps the benefits of the discarded bodies, and only takes from those who gave their lives for a cause.  Joe realizes that the men who he fought against were never the enemy, only men who were in the same condition as him, reflecting his fate.  

The men who declared the war, who held the lives of thousands at their disposal, were the true enemies.  In a similar situation, the novel, Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, depicts the same scenario of representing the government as the true enemy.  Before the battle takes place, protagonist Katniss Everdeen is reminded that while she is in the arena, she is fighting against contestants who have all been selected against their will, acting as pawns in the Hunger Games.   It is President snow that is the epitome of evil and holds their lives in his hands, and it is President Snow who has turned these contestants against one another.  

The aftermath of war has left Joe senseless, limbless, and trapped in his own mind, his body represents the jail cell that he has been condemned to.  In his darkest moments, he turns to something that gives him some form of hope: God.  “So he jumped out of the train right through the window and started running toward Christ” (page 193).  The mention of Christ in this passage is crucial to the transition in character that Joe takes.  Hope materializes for Joe as he cries out to God, to bring him back into the world of the living.  In desperation he begs for a miracle, he turns to prayer as his last resort, and in this moment of complete fear and hope, a breakthrough occurs.  

The only relationship that Joe has had while he is in the hospital is with the nurse; she is the only thing that Joe can count on.  After years of dealing with nurses who have ignored Joe’s tapping movements, on Christmas, he receives a new nurse.  He realizes right away that this nurse is distinct from the others, she is the first to make an effort to communicate with him by writing “Merry Christmas” on his chest.  It is symbolic that on the day of Christmas, Joe would be blessed with this new opportunity to communicate through morse code.   Joe begins to view himself as Christ, that he is being born on this day, brought out of the “womb” and exposed to the outside world.  He also resembles Christ in his motives to become a symbol for all the soldiers who have died and suffered from war.  He sees that his mission is to warn the other “little guys” from falling into the trap that is set up by their leaders to be pulled into the slaughter.  

In conclusion, Joe sees that his participation in World War I took everything from him, and he finds that he could hold the power to prevent more men from following in his footsteps.  Joe has the power to speak for the fallen soldiers,  metaphorically giving a voice to the silent.  Once again, he finds himself sacrificing his life for a cause, but this time it is a cause that he believes in, a cause that will protect lives instead of take them.  

Crumble

All I want to do is find myself.  I don't want to speak in cryptic code anymore, I want to be honest to who I am.  All I do everyday is plan for tomoro; I do my homework so I keep up with the class, I plan my schedule in advance.  I want spontaneity; I want love and excitement.  I want to dream and explore the depths of what is out there, I want to discover and go invent, to be creative.  But I am scared and hold myself back because I can't imagine a life that is outside the lines, a life that doesn't have guarantees of what tomoro will bring.  I feel like sometimes I am hiding behind a wall that I built myself, that would protect me and contain me from ever getting hurt.  Sometimes you want to hurt, sometimes that is the only thing that lets you know for sure that you are alive.  Sometimes to gain happiness, you have to lose something, and maybe that something is my wall.