Why do they call "Da mayor" the "mayor"?
Who's neighborhood is this?
Is it racist for Sal (the pizzeria owner) to display only photographs of Italian-Americans on the wall of his restaurant?
Why does "da mayor" call everyone "Doctor"?
What purpose does "Radio Raheem" serve in the narrative?
In the movie, we can know "Da mayor" has lived in that community for 18 years. Also, in that period,negros usually live in the same place for their most of life, so he seems know everything about the community and gets his "Mayor" for his much experience and age. What's more, he dresses like a gentle man so he looks like a Mayor too.
All the people live in that community are black or Mexican which are poor and unrespectful by the majority in America. In a short, even he white people are not rich and well educated in that place. Therefore, it seems like chaos place.
I do not think it is a serious racism problem to do that. Because as a white, he certainly wants to put the people he respects on the wall but not the one, which is not related to him. However, if not all of the photographs in the wall are respectable to him; it is a kind of racism because he should also care about the Negro’s mind. He of course knows it is racist to put all whites on the wall in such a Negro community.
In my opinion, from Mayor’s deep mind, he thinks all the Negro is smart and respectful so he calls them “doctor”. Alternatively, maybe all the people live in the same community for their whole life, they seem to know most of things going on, and so they can be experiment too.
"Radio Raheem" is a place even a technique to relieve the pressure and bring some happiness in that movie. Furthermore, it serves as a technique to lead people into the next script in the movie and describe the outlook of movie such as the weather.
2008年2月4日星期一
feb 4
"Do The Right Thing"
At the begining, the women are boxing angrily and dancing strongly. From the lyrics and their actions, I conclude that they are expressing their dissatisfactory with the government and with the white.At that time, the negro were segregated so they were fighting for their rights as well as "the power" in the lyrics. Although it sounds violent, the titles implies the director will make it a right way which is peaceful way for the negro to protest. So,for the rest of the story, i think the director will go on describing what is the example of discrimination and how the negro fighting for their rights in the right way.
At the begining, the women are boxing angrily and dancing strongly. From the lyrics and their actions, I conclude that they are expressing their dissatisfactory with the government and with the white.At that time, the negro were segregated so they were fighting for their rights as well as "the power" in the lyrics. Although it sounds violent, the titles implies the director will make it a right way which is peaceful way for the negro to protest. So,for the rest of the story, i think the director will go on describing what is the example of discrimination and how the negro fighting for their rights in the right way.
2008年1月30日星期三
Jan 30
Even a real man will be afraid of ghosts
My greatest fear is about something scary. Since I was a little child, I was scared about if there were some ghosts around me. Maybe it caused by my watching some scary movies and hearing of some ghosts stories. Even after I grow up as a teenager, I am still afraid of them though they seem not so scared as before. Of course, as a young man, I am a little bit ashamed of being scared of that kind of unreal stuff. So, I often think about how to overcome this dread. I used to force myself to watch much scared movies so that I can be used to it, but it doesn’t work. Actually, besides this, I am also afraid of taking some hazardous games such as roller coaster, spaceship, and bungee jump. Although I became bolder to play such games, I can’t overcome it entirely. So, in the end, I decide just not to try those kinds of activities too much to stay out of the dread……
My greatest fear is about something scary. Since I was a little child, I was scared about if there were some ghosts around me. Maybe it caused by my watching some scary movies and hearing of some ghosts stories. Even after I grow up as a teenager, I am still afraid of them though they seem not so scared as before. Of course, as a young man, I am a little bit ashamed of being scared of that kind of unreal stuff. So, I often think about how to overcome this dread. I used to force myself to watch much scared movies so that I can be used to it, but it doesn’t work. Actually, besides this, I am also afraid of taking some hazardous games such as roller coaster, spaceship, and bungee jump. Although I became bolder to play such games, I can’t overcome it entirely. So, in the end, I decide just not to try those kinds of activities too much to stay out of the dread……
jan 30
What do you think was Whitman's motivation for writing "Leaves of Grass"?
Is his lifestyle threatening to our cultural order?
What does this have to do with the essential questions of our class?
In my opinion, these questions are related. What Whitman wants to do decides what his lifestyle is in the society. If we find out what his motivation is, we can understand what this has to do with the essential questions of our class.
From what he writes, there is a natural feeling in it which is wild and strange. He describes a lot about the nature around us. He describes the sun setting, the weather, the grass on the ground. Beside this, he talks about his life and hope with his people in that kind of nature, which he enjoys. So I think his motivation for writing it is to recall us to find the relationship between human beings and nature. In that period, maybe there were a lot of obstacles for Whitman to enjoy his own life: he must work to go on living; he didn’t have much time spent with people he enjoys being with; he even didn’t have much time spend on the nature. So to enjoy his life, he tries to get out of the cave that the stop him from having a happy life. What is more, he mentions about sex, being naked and live for us; this must be threatening our society because it is out of order. In an extent, I even call him anarchist because his ideas base on human nature but not concern about the other result of it to other people. Everything he describes and advocates seems free and happy, but, people are always concern about themselves. Try to imagine, if everyone does what he says, everyone can have sex anytime anywhere to anyone without thinking about any consequences; Does it sound crazy? So, in conclusion, his motivation has a conflict with our responsibilities to the society. Although his ideas has some good aspects to do with the society now such as being more free from the restriction and approaching the nature, we still worry about other consequences it might happen.
Is his lifestyle threatening to our cultural order?
What does this have to do with the essential questions of our class?
In my opinion, these questions are related. What Whitman wants to do decides what his lifestyle is in the society. If we find out what his motivation is, we can understand what this has to do with the essential questions of our class.
From what he writes, there is a natural feeling in it which is wild and strange. He describes a lot about the nature around us. He describes the sun setting, the weather, the grass on the ground. Beside this, he talks about his life and hope with his people in that kind of nature, which he enjoys. So I think his motivation for writing it is to recall us to find the relationship between human beings and nature. In that period, maybe there were a lot of obstacles for Whitman to enjoy his own life: he must work to go on living; he didn’t have much time spent with people he enjoys being with; he even didn’t have much time spend on the nature. So to enjoy his life, he tries to get out of the cave that the stop him from having a happy life. What is more, he mentions about sex, being naked and live for us; this must be threatening our society because it is out of order. In an extent, I even call him anarchist because his ideas base on human nature but not concern about the other result of it to other people. Everything he describes and advocates seems free and happy, but, people are always concern about themselves. Try to imagine, if everyone does what he says, everyone can have sex anytime anywhere to anyone without thinking about any consequences; Does it sound crazy? So, in conclusion, his motivation has a conflict with our responsibilities to the society. Although his ideas has some good aspects to do with the society now such as being more free from the restriction and approaching the nature, we still worry about other consequences it might happen.
2008年1月29日星期二
JAN 29
Visionary Me
Visionary me, Nature.
The exciting day, the shining sun, the people I am interested in,
The happiness of the people I can not fell,
The warming sun I can not touch, but enjoying,
The calm lake I can not float on, but sitting next by,
The heart of the hot girl I can not own,
Everything in the nature seems escape from me,
like I am visionary to them.
The squirrels are running between the trees, collecting foods for the winter,
The leaves are falling down among the branches, waiting for their new lives,
The trees are still standing strongly, holding for their manliness,
The connections between them are still close,
But I, the visionary me, is separated from them,
It seems like I am the air in the top of the mountain,
It seems that I am the white colon button of the dryer,
It seems that I am the wheat bread in the laundry,
It seems, I should not be in this world,
Stay away in the galaxy,
I love the nature, I must run next to the lake without any decoration,
Now I am jumping out of the mountain, die among you guys,
I am rewriting myself to press button, touched by your dirty fingers
I am repainting myself to bread, feeling the peanut butter put by you guys.
I am no longer separated, I am in the nature now,
Although I will be dead, dirty or shit ,
I am still one of you guys, you can leave me , I am living in you.
Let’s jump of the mountain together,
Let’s become the dirty dryers together,
Let’s become the bread of peanut butter together,
Then you and me, are in the nature.
Visionary me, Nature.
The exciting day, the shining sun, the people I am interested in,
The happiness of the people I can not fell,
The warming sun I can not touch, but enjoying,
The calm lake I can not float on, but sitting next by,
The heart of the hot girl I can not own,
Everything in the nature seems escape from me,
like I am visionary to them.
The squirrels are running between the trees, collecting foods for the winter,
The leaves are falling down among the branches, waiting for their new lives,
The trees are still standing strongly, holding for their manliness,
The connections between them are still close,
But I, the visionary me, is separated from them,
It seems like I am the air in the top of the mountain,
It seems that I am the white colon button of the dryer,
It seems that I am the wheat bread in the laundry,
It seems, I should not be in this world,
Stay away in the galaxy,
I love the nature, I must run next to the lake without any decoration,
Now I am jumping out of the mountain, die among you guys,
I am rewriting myself to press button, touched by your dirty fingers
I am repainting myself to bread, feeling the peanut butter put by you guys.
I am no longer separated, I am in the nature now,
Although I will be dead, dirty or shit ,
I am still one of you guys, you can leave me , I am living in you.
Let’s jump of the mountain together,
Let’s become the dirty dryers together,
Let’s become the bread of peanut butter together,
Then you and me, are in the nature.
2008年1月25日星期五
jan 25
I think Whitman has the same idea with Thoreau and Emerson which is transcendentalism. In these pages, he tries to remind us to look through things with our “own eyes”. We can understand it better through the idea transcendentalism. Bother him and Thoreau went to live near the wood and tried to find the true meaning of life. They suggest that we should live for ourselves which means we can have our own perspectives toward the world. Moreover, Whitman is more active about that. He even advocates us to be naked approaching the nature to find ourselves. Obviously, I think it doesn’t work nowadays. Because of too many restrictions, more importantly, we will get discriminated by others in the society. At present, less and less people will comprehend what Whitman says; even they understand it, they wouldn’t do it either. So I guess when Whitman lived in this time, he would pay much attention to the utilitarianism in the society. People pay too much attention to their benefit so that they miss a lot even their morality.
2008年1月22日星期二
JAN16
How civil disobedience influence the action of Non-cooperation
Thoreau’s civil disobedience means reject to cooperate with governor if you think what he does is wrong. Beside this, it is a gentle action without violence or turbulence. Similarly, Gandhi’s non-cooperation means not to follow what the governor says if you are against them even if they use means to fight against you.
We can understand their ideas when we trace back to their era. During Thoreau’s period, American government was having a war with Mexico although lots of people were against this war within the country. Thoreau used his special action that he didn’t pay the toll tax to show his dissatisfaction to the government although he paid one day in jail as punishment. In colonial India, Ghandi even held a larger action of non-cooperation to protest the colony of British.
Thoreau, who is very close to another famous literature figure Emerson, was influenced by Emerson’s transcendentalism a lot. With the effect of transcendentalism, he made up his own ideas which are called individualism and activism. The ideas of spirit power of human beings courage him to do what he wants without concerning much about the consequences; at the same time, he did those kinds of things by himself for most the time. Ghandi absorbs Thoreau’s civil disobedience to use it as means to protest the British without violence action. Ghandi studied other culture and was impressed their advanced ideas. In that time, British were more advanced than India so that Indian would pay a lot to gain independence from British if they had war with them. To solve that problem peacefully and more efficient, Ghandi mixed Indian ideas and civil disobedience to form his non-cooperation.
“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” --from Ghandi
“The government itself, which is only the mode which the people have chosen to execute their will, is equally liable to be abused and perverted before the people can act through it. Witness the present Mexican war, (2) the work of comparatively a few individuals using the standing government as their tool; for, in the outset, the people would not have consented to this measure.” --– from Civil Disobedience
From the quotes, “an eye for an eye” is similar with “abused”. Both of the phase emphasize that we should not set the law of governing only for punishment with violent action, or it would make the society disordered and disharmonious.
“All men recognize the right of revolution; that is, the right to refuse allegiance to, and to resist, the government, when its tyranny or its inefficiency is great and unendurable. . .
"When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall — think of it, always."
“Fall, tyrants” and “tyranny, unendurable” implied that both of them were not satisfied with their government at that time. In their opinions, these kinds of government must be overthrown early or late. They deeply think it is the tendency of history, so they used their action to realize it.
Thoreau’s civil disobedience means reject to cooperate with governor if you think what he does is wrong. Beside this, it is a gentle action without violence or turbulence. Similarly, Gandhi’s non-cooperation means not to follow what the governor says if you are against them even if they use means to fight against you.
We can understand their ideas when we trace back to their era. During Thoreau’s period, American government was having a war with Mexico although lots of people were against this war within the country. Thoreau used his special action that he didn’t pay the toll tax to show his dissatisfaction to the government although he paid one day in jail as punishment. In colonial India, Ghandi even held a larger action of non-cooperation to protest the colony of British.
Thoreau, who is very close to another famous literature figure Emerson, was influenced by Emerson’s transcendentalism a lot. With the effect of transcendentalism, he made up his own ideas which are called individualism and activism. The ideas of spirit power of human beings courage him to do what he wants without concerning much about the consequences; at the same time, he did those kinds of things by himself for most the time. Ghandi absorbs Thoreau’s civil disobedience to use it as means to protest the British without violence action. Ghandi studied other culture and was impressed their advanced ideas. In that time, British were more advanced than India so that Indian would pay a lot to gain independence from British if they had war with them. To solve that problem peacefully and more efficient, Ghandi mixed Indian ideas and civil disobedience to form his non-cooperation.
“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” --from Ghandi
“The government itself, which is only the mode which the people have chosen to execute their will, is equally liable to be abused and perverted before the people can act through it. Witness the present Mexican war, (2) the work of comparatively a few individuals using the standing government as their tool; for, in the outset, the people would not have consented to this measure.” --– from Civil Disobedience
From the quotes, “an eye for an eye” is similar with “abused”. Both of the phase emphasize that we should not set the law of governing only for punishment with violent action, or it would make the society disordered and disharmonious.
“All men recognize the right of revolution; that is, the right to refuse allegiance to, and to resist, the government, when its tyranny or its inefficiency is great and unendurable. . .
"When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall — think of it, always."
“Fall, tyrants” and “tyranny, unendurable” implied that both of them were not satisfied with their government at that time. In their opinions, these kinds of government must be overthrown early or late. They deeply think it is the tendency of history, so they used their action to realize it.
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