The Perspective of a Netflix Newbie

I feel extremely inadequate for this blog post because I highly doubt any of the characters in MacBeth would fancy One Tree Hill or How I Met Your Mother, but I will try..

Lady MacBeth's most recommended:

1. Orange is the New Black: Netflix's summary of OITNB says "a privileged New Yorker ends up in a women's prison when a past crime catches up with her..." Lady MacBeth begins to watch this show when she starts to feel the guilt of her husband's and her crimes. She is worried that her actions will come back to her and she will be incarcerated. Lady MacBeth watches this show in apprehension of her future as well as to know what to expect if she is given similar consequences. She sees the horrors done in the show which drives her to commit suicide to avoid ever having to experience the same things that the characters do.
2. Scandal: This show is about a group of people who work to get high profile people out of trouble by covering up their crimes and scandals(summary creds to my personal television expert, Kristin Heyward). When Lady MacBeth decides she's going to trick her husband into killing King Duncan, she realizes that she needs to know how to cover up the deed. She begins to watch this show originally to analyze how the characters cover up the scandals they encounter. As she watches, she begins to realize more and more the kind of life this road will take her on and begins to be a little paranoid.
3. Criminal Minds: Netflix defines this show as an "intense police procedural follows a group of extraordinary FBI profilers who spend their days getting into the minds of psychopathic criminals." This show interests Lady MacBeth because they say "it takes one to know one," but the opposite is also true: "to be one, you have to know one." Lady MacBeth derives some of her manipulative tactics based off of the psychopaths she witnesses on the show. She uses these to convince MacBeth to change his whole life to fit what she wants.
4. Dexter: Dexter is a show about a well-mannered man who works for the Miami police but works as a serial killer by night, killing other serial killers. Lady MacBeth adores this show because she relates highly to the character of Dexter. They both have a need to appear proper during the day, but when they are alone, they commit evil deeds that they see as justified. Lady MacBeth believes that her crimes are justified because she's meant to have this immense power. She also knows that if she can convince her husband that his actions would be justified by the supernatural, she can get him to agree to going through with killing King Duncan.

...just realized I could've done movies too... woops. Oh well. Just goes to show I need to watch more television.

A Hell of a Consequence

At first when I read this prompt (prompt number 1), I immediately thought of musicals. Kind of an odd pair, but they do correlate more than you would think(I also am currently listening to show tunes so that might have something to do with it..). Specifically, I thought of Jekyll and Hyde (little teaser for what's coming later in the course) and Dr. Jekyll's battle with figuring out the human desire to commit evil crimes. I also thought about the extremely philosophical Glinda the Good from Wicked's question: "Are people born wicked? Or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?" I haven't really given thought to this issue before now, but I would say that there is probably psychological reasoning behind why people do evil things.
I remember last year in TOK we talked about how we know what is "good" and what is "bad." As a class, we seemed to settle on it not being fair for us to say something is good or bad, and that there are essentially no universal morals. I, personally, completely disagree with this. Even if you aren't a religious person, there seems to be an understanding of the basic "right" and "wrong." For instance, it's hard to argue that murder is a good thing.
With this in mind, why do people do bad things? I would say it's because the person is insecure, unstable, or wants attention. Or a combination of the three. After experiencing all the stress that is typical to the average human mind, I could see where some personalities would just break under pressure and forget this implied rule of what is right and what is wrong. Or someone could purposely go against this because they are so miserable with their lives and tired of trying. As Lucy says in the musical version of Jekyll and Hyde, "It's easier by far, from the way that things are, to remain good 'n evil than try to be evil and good." It's much easier by human nature to lie, cheat, steal, and do things that most people consider wrong to protect or please themselves. It seems this selfishness is imbedded in our human genes; therefore, remaining good is hard work.
In MacBeth, we see MacBeth crack under the pressure of the people around him. He is inherently a good person, but the witches and Lady MacBeth manipulate him to the breaking point. Lady MacBeth especially does this while trying to convince MacBeth to kill King Duncan. She knows her husband so well that she knows exactly what to say and how to say it to get him to do what she wants.
Evil has a domino effect. Once a good person commits a serious evil deed, they must continue with their evil streak to avoid the consequences of their original crime. However, there really is no way to make these consequences disappear. They just pile up on top of each other and give the accuser a whole lot to deal with, adding to their already unstable mindset. I imagine these piling consequences would cause an endless misery in the individual's mind. Eventually, the person could end up having extreme consequences such as jail, being sent to an insane asylum, or death.
In many religions, the idea of "hell", or a place for the evil to be eternally tortured in the afterlife, is the ultimate, inevitable consequence for the wicked. I believe this hell begins while the individual is still alive. In my opinion, hell can be a mindset. The weight of evil deeds taxes the human mind heavily. People are not meant to be evil, even if it seems easier. This is a complicated contradiction, but the struggle of fighting to be good ends up, literally, saving you a hell of a consequence.

Birthday Blues

Hey Mrs. Genesky and my random 3 followers (shoutout to you)

So today is my birthday, and it's the week of the fall play, and I have a ton of homework and tests and such, and the SAT this Saturday, and college auditions by next week, and have to speak at a church event on Wednesday, and yeah it's my birthday. So I'm gonna have to use a pass on blog post #5.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Lustburger

(Hardees franchise, source: http://www.thekarachivoice.net/business--charity/category/hardees, 9/8/2013, TheKarachiVoice blog)

This Hardee's advertisement features a scandly-clad Paris Hilton in front of a car seductively holding a hamburger, with the same hamburger enlarged to the left. The ad says "She'll tell you size doesn't matter. She's lying."
This ad implies a couple of contradictory things: one, that skinny, sexy girls like Paris Hilton eat enormous hamburgers, and enjoy them extremely. The lustful expression on Paris' face implies that she has more than the normal feelings associated with eating a hamburger, but is more sensually affected by the hamburger. Which I'm pretty positive isn't true; if it is, I am more concerned about Paris Hilton than I thought I was.
The larger-than-life hamburger has been perfected and edited about the same amount as Paris herself was in this ad. If you were to go to Hardee's and order this same burger right now, you would receive a burger that does not resemble this one at all.
The words above the burger can be interpreted through a couple of ways. The first interpretation is a play off of a popular saying that supports women's rights and rejects the idea of objectifying women. By saying "size doesn't matter" but then contradicting it with the words "she's lying," it states that size really does matter. With this interpretation, the author of this advertisement is telling women everywhere that it really does matter what body shape they have, which is a concept that most of the world has been fighting to destroy for a while now.
Another interpretation is more likely, the sexual interpretation. Based off of Paris' lustful look, the audience can infer that when the advertisement says that she'll tell you "size doesn't matter," she is commenting on male genitalia. When it says that "she's lying," the advertisement suggests that men must be appropriately sized for women to want them, and for sexual reasons. There is also the undertone that since size does matter, Paris chooses the large hamburger over the male audience member's man parts because it's too small for her liking. This is extremely demeaning towards Paris herself as well as the audience.
In either situation, the author is directing this advertisement towards the male audience, and the shallow ones at that. He grasps the audience's attention through the lovely Paris Hilton, caters to their inner teenage-boy pervert with the "size doesn't matter," and then directs their attention to a juicy hamburger that they might actually enjoy, the reason behind the ad in the first place. This audience is probably in the United States, or a similar country, because many countries would not allow for the sexuality of this ad. I imagine that this ad probably wouldn't go over well in more conservative countries like those in the Middle East. Culturally, they must be accustomed to sexual innuendos such as those in the United States, or be familiar with the fight against objectifying women. If the first situation is the intended message, then the audience is meant to be anti-feminists or men who don't think the objectification of women is an issue. The audience is socially attracted to girls, not disturbed by public sexuality or semi-pornographic images, and is probably economically well-off. This can be deduced from the nice car behind Paris, if the audience even notices that at all.
The author obviously uses the image to entice men with Paris' seductive look, but he or she also uses color to make the hamburger stand out. Paris is in all black with a black car behind her, and really the only bright colors are those used in the hamburger. Also, ironically, the thing you would naturally see first in this ad would be the hamburger because most people read left to right, but by having so much shown on Paris, it's hard to determine what would capture the attention first. The author is trying to almost even out how much Paris and the hamburger stand out by having the hamburger on the left and in bright colors. This advertisement is to persuade men to buy hamburgers from Hardee's by appealing to their dirty comedy side.

Jaunty Bronte

Charlotte Bronte uses a variety of figurative language, irony and characterization to create tension in the group setting of chapter 7 of Jane Eyre. She uses these elements to develop Mr. Brocklehurst's character and introduce his view of society.
"the same black column which had frowned on me so ominously from the hearthrug of Gateshead." - Bronte uses this metaphor to create a vision of Mr. Brocklehurst for the audience; he is seen as an emotionless, inhumane "black column."
"...a judicious instructor would take the opportunity of referring to the sufferings of the primitive Christians; to the torments of martyrs; to the exhortations of our blessed Lord Himself, calling upon His disciples to take up their cross and follow Him; to His warnings that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God; to His divine consolations, "If ye suffer hunger or thirst for My sake, happy are ye." Oh, madam, when you put bread and cheese, instead of burnt porridge, into these children's mouths, you may indeed feed their vile bodies, but you little think how you starve their immortal souls!" - Bronte writes this speech for Mr. Brocklehurst to justify his treatment of the girls. She uses Christian allusions, some of which referring to the Bible, in order to establish Mr. Brocklehurst's minimalist views and, in turn, his disgust with society to crave anything more.
"Madam," he pursued, "I have a Master to serve whose kingdom is not of this world: my mission is to mortify in these girls the lusts of the flesh; to teach them to clothe themselves with shame-facedness and sobriety, not with braided hair and costly apparel; and each of the young persons before us has a string of hair twisted in plaits which vanity itself might have woven; these, I repeat, must be cut off; think of the time wasted, of--" - Bronte uses more Christian allusions as well as the personification of the trait of vanity to heighten Mr. Brocklehurst's extremity of opinion when it comes to society. He strives to create uniformity, equality, and plainness in the girls and justifies it with religion. Ironically, right after this speech about braided hair and costly apparel, three women walk in the room who are extremely elaborately dressed. However, Mr. Brocklehurst makes no comment on the women but rather snaps on Jane when she breaks a slate on accident. He then preaches to the girls that they must make Jane an outcast and make life hard for her because of what she has done and to teach her a lesson.

Not only is Bronte creating Mr. Brocklehurst's social commentary in this passage through what he says and how he treats the girls, but she also is providing her own social commentary. Bronte shows this exaggerated character of Mr. Brocklehurst to state her opinion on those who believe that the delicacies of the world are to be avoided. She implies that even the smallest of things can be regarded as a "worldly pleasure," and that such things really are harmless. She looks down upon people like Mr. Brocklehurst and shows this by presenting him as the villain and over-exaggerating his opinions to make the audience disagree with him and dislike him.

White Girl Irony

When first reading this assignment, I was excited because I had an excuse to look up what my name meant, something that I never have done before. I've heard of people's names meaning "princess" or "kindness" and stuff like that, but when I searched the name "Melanie," here's what I got:

Melanie; "From the French form of the Latin name Melania, derived from Greek...meaning 'black, dark.'"

Well, that explains a lot. The whitest white girl in the world was literally named "black."

I read on. The name "Melanie" was the name of a Roman saint who donated all of her wealth to charity, as legend tells. This connects to me because I have always seen the importance of kindness. No, I am not perfectly kind one hundred percent of the time. But I do try to be. When I was younger, I wouldn't want to tell my mom that I didn't like the clothes she was picking out for me because I didn't want to hurt her feelings. So naturally, I did the kinder thing and let her buy them anyways and then never wear them. I also need to be more charitable through monetary means. I often get so caught up in what I need that I forget the much more important needs of others. I could provide food for a starving family, and I'm here worried about getting a dress for homecoming.

The conflict between living up to two names is that the individual is never the same as the whole. I, personally, see myself as an outgoing, extroverted person when I am not with my family. However, I am pretty much the complete opposite with my family. In a family of six strongly opinionated people, it is hard to voice your thoughts. So naturally, I step back to allow room for others.
Consequently, I am two completely different people depending on the environment in which you interact with me. Those who know me through church or have met me through my family see me as a more quiet and reserved individual. If you were to describe this version of me to my friends and others, they wouldn't think you were talking about the same person.
In this dual personality, I guess there lies the issue of which person is really me. I guess I have to settle with being both; the fact that I morph into my environment is part of who I am. I try to allow for others to voice their opinions when they need to and when there are less extreme personalities in a situation, I step up to fill their place. I guess, in that way, I am charitable.

Religious Dopplegangers

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We are the Other - Easter Sunday, 38th & Chicago Bus Stop, Minneapolis, Minnesota (2012)

Jaymie, who this morning was on his way to Word of Grace Baptist Church, grew up a block from the bus stop. After I asked him what his favorite word was he told me a story about his mom. He was with her when she was on her deathbed, a picture of Jesus hanging over her. “I thought she was gone,” he said, “but then her eyes opened and her face started to glow.” He told me that people don’t believe him when he says that her face glowed.

When he was nine his mom had a nervous breakdown and she was sent to a state hospital. His father wasn’t around so he and his two brothers and sister were separated, ending up at various orphanages and foster homes. One brother he never got to know, who was a baby when this all happened, called him out of the blue ten years ago. Some sixty years had passed. He said his name was Steve and that he now lived in Cleveland.

He has no idea what happened to his other brother who had polio and an iron lung. “Maybe he was adopted,” he said. I was going to ask him about his sister but then his bus came.

Jaymie worked at grain mills most of his life and made decent money. Keeping up with his expenses was always a problem though. When I asked him for his contact information so I could give him a photo he said that he’s homeless and is at a Catholic shelter. “I gambled too much last year”.

--Written by Wing Young Huie, 2012 --http://know.wingyounghuie.com/tagged/We+are+the+Other/page/2

Upon first examination, this picture features an old man on a bus stop bench, holding a small chalkboard sign that says "salvation."  He has a tote bag of belongings and is holding what looks to be a bible. He is dressed for colder weather.

However, when you look closer in on the picture, the story of this man comes to life. He has very religious roots, as Huie explains in his back story. Huie implies that "salvation" is the man's favorite word. The man's face looks confused, like he doesn't know quite what is going on. Nevertheless, he maintains a tight grip on the bible in his hand, demonstrating a deep connection to Christianity within the man. We see the simplicity of the man's life by his lack of belongings as he awaits his bus to who knows where.

I picked this picture because this man is a doppelganger of a man in my church. To me, this man represents the "other" version of the man I know, if he were in a complete different financial situation and had experienced the hardships that this man has. Both of these men have a strong belief in Christian religion and center their lives around it. Huie represents the "other" in this picture as those who are less fortunate and homeless. He shows this by the meekness of the man awaiting his bus with his small bag of belongings. The man could have been a beggar, as he is homeless, but instead Huie chose a man who is just trying to go along with his life although he does not have much. His tight grip on the bible and the word on the chalkboard represent the things he finds most important in his life: both of which are rooted in God.

Atwood's depiction of the "others" is also through the lower class, but via the handmaids. She uses language to develop the difference in social classes. This is seen in how the handmaids communicate with others. Offred is even more alienated because she goes against the language of the "others" when she is in a comfortable environment. 

Both of these sources show a foundation of religious belief in relation to the "others" and how it influences their lives. While Huie's photo is more positively based upon religion, Atwood shows the negative misuse of biblical teachings and how they can restrict the "others."