Ringu

This week i watched Ringu for my research paper. I gotta say it was pretty predictable and not at all scary. It should be interesting when I watch the American version. I watched it with my friend Allyssa so she could help me decipher some of the different aspects of the two films. Before i go into that i guess i should tell the basic story. There's a video tape that kills people. The tape is still pretty screwed up when you watch it but it is much more tame then the American version. As to be expected the Japanese ring video was more about superstition and featured some cultural scenes that would be lost on most American viewers. One such clip from the video is the scene where you see many men crawling across the ground almost in pain. One man is int the foreground crawling forward, another backward. All of the men in the clip seem to be in some sort of pain. My theory as to why this is is that it's a symbol of yin yang. I don't know how wide spread the concept of causality and the symbolic yin yang is in Japan but being that Americans adopted this symbol from the Japanese I think it is safe to say that this is what the Japanese meant. This same clip is not in the Americans ring video. It could be because in Japan leprosy was a major epidemic and one that scared the nation for quite some time. Leprosy is a quite nasty disease where a person gets sores on their skin and their skin eventually falls off (this is possibly where the Japanese zombie comes from), it is very painful and a very horrific way to go. With this in mind it is easy to see why the Japanese chose this clip for their video. When such a scary plague is still fresh in most peoples history books an image of it can chill you to the bone.

Scrubs and other things

In this episode of scrubs JD was asked to be turks best man. Of course he said yes but he later found out that turk had already asked his brother. Feeling like a second choice JD was mad. I would be too if I was second best I know what that feels like. While this is going on Kelso had to close down a wing of the hospital to save money. Cox decided to change this while on the Janitors epiphany toilet. After Kelso made Cox get a bed for Kelso’s gardner Cox at first refused because there were simply no beds available. Until of course he found a room, Dr. Kelso’s office. I love how everything works out in this show. Even with Elliot’s intubation fear she was able to solve her problems on the epiphany toilet. I gotta get me one of those. The essays coming along to be honest I am actually not entirely dreading writing it. I think it’ll be fun. BUT I still don’t want to write it. I rented the ring and ringu I have yet to watch them though, mostly cause im scared and because I don’t want to watch a scary movie at 3 o’clock in the morning. I thought all my ghosthunting experience I wouldnt be afraid. I mean I never usually am in a haunted house. I guess its something about that dam girl.*shutters*. Wellp I am off to my first day at my new job. I hope this one goes well. I hope

Batman's gay?

Since when has wearing tight shorts, spandex and taking in underage kids to become your partner considered gay? In all honesty I always could tell the queer undertones of the Batman franchise but I always assumed it was just me being immature. I guess the mere basis of superheroes could be construed as gay. A guy with a secret identity, always have a “partner”, usually wearing tights, always buff, most of the time have trouble with women or just no heterosexual romantic relationships. How are they not gay? With Batman Forever especially, I must say I did not realize all the gay things in that movie. Such as Jim Carry’s spandex or tiara, or the towel scene or the thousands of other scenes that have a lot of gay iconography. Personally I don’t care if Batman’s gay let him be gay. I just find it ironic that in the cartoon series when Batman and Superman had a cross-over, Lois Lane (Superman’s girlfriend) was in love with Bruce Wayne (gay batman). Ironic don’t you think? But I guess you put a piece of visual out there ten different people are going to take it 10 different ways. I guess that goes with anything. I mean, I never thought there was any actual evidence of Batman being gay or any other superhero for that matter, course I have not done the research to prove or disprove that point. I’ve never been a big comic book fan. I know the basic stories of the major superheroes but beyond that I am at a loss.

Scrubs

Ok so I am officially JD from scrubs. Why? I don't know, all I do know is that there is no other person on t.v. right now that better describes me then JD. On this last episode the moral of the story was about listening. I've always notice that there are usually three different storylines in each episode that correlate with the theme of the episode. This installment had Dr. Kelso had his ear drums popped by a pair of tight stethoscope, JD and Dr. Cox didn't only listened to a patient for fifteen seconds at a time( they said that is all they need), this however turns out poorly when they realize that in those fifteen seconds you can miss a lot, even a patients clear signs of depression. In addition to this Elliot and Carla had a dispute about what medicine to give a patient, and while Elliot (the doctor) chose Carla’s (the nurse) opinion over her own Elliot learned that experience doesn’t always dictate the best choice. Overall again the moral was listening. We take for granted the fact that our eardrum can transmit sound waves into audible speech. Most of the time we just don’t care. Either from years of caring too much or just having to much on our mind to care. The thing we don’t realize is that listening is actually what brings us closer together. Anything from listening to your girlfriend complain about her day or the sounds of Detroit on a busy afternoon. I’ll admit I used to take a lot for granted in this world because I always thought “it’ll still be there in the morning”. The thing is though.....it may not be

Deciphering I, Robot

I feel bad for the movie. It was good movie, with a good story, but somewhere along the way it got lost. It is sad how nowadays all movie studios care about is money but at the same time it is understandable. When you make a movie you want money. And to do that your going to make movies that get you money and lots of it. Me? I personally loved I, Robot but, I am a geek, I, Robot is made for geeks. The special effects and futuristic setting only personify that. However the more philosophical aspects of the human-technology relationship were something that I thought was dumped down a lot. Instead of spending time on in-depth dialogue and thoughtful satire, the producers and director decided to have intense chase scenes and witty repertoire`. When did film become so materialistic? I thought this was supposed to be art filmmakers are making. I guess everyone has to make a buck somehow. But still I can understand making a film that has no possibility for anything remotely philospical or thought provoking, but still why can’t art and the commercially driven media coexist in harmony? Why does my intellectual film need to be muddied up by burger king ads? Such is life I suppose. My only wish is that the media would stop being so concerned with money, money, money and start making films that express life, love and anything that makes us stop and think about who we are as human beings.

The F Word

I know we're supposed to write about whatever television program we watched this week but on the independent film channel was a movie title "The F Word" with a very intrigueing premise. The story goes that in New York, Joe (the radio announcer of "The F word") is being shut down by the FCC because of this obcene remarks. Now instead of having a "best of" show for his last broadcast he decides to go out to the streets of New York and find out what people think about what is going in this country. This film is taped like a documentary style but is instead a drama and takes place during the week that the Republican Nation Convention is in town for the 2004 election and the day that Bush is going to accept his nomination for president. The documentary style of the film oftentimes makes it hard to see when something is real and is not. After watching the movie I must say that I was mortified. It made me just think "Why did I not do anything?" At the time this movie takes place I was still in high school. I worked a meiger job as a busboy at an italian restaurant but I still knew what was going on then and still know what is going on now. The world is changing. America is changing and it's not for the better. In the film you see all the different viewpoints of the political scene. From anti-bush democrats participating in the march against Bush rally with over five hundred thousand attendees, to the five or six republicans that honestly wanted to march right along side the democrats in a peaceful protest, to the single mom who did not attend the protest for fear that it would endanger her only child. It really gives you a spectrum of things. I must say that the most poinent part of the film is when the mayor of New York is addressing the RNC. In his speech he says "Welcome to my New York" after he utters these words it cuts to a biker being arrested for just crossing the street "This is you New York" again the same biker is almost vicisausly beaten by the cops. This is the better America? This is the great society Bush has brought? Well over one thousand people were arrested that day (actual fact), most were just wanting to express there opinions as. I mean that is what America is all about right? That's what makes us special if we have a problem with the government or how it is run we can protest and change it.....right? Yes there a lot of sides to this issue, and yes we are dealing with arguments and paradigms that stretch FAR beyond the years of our lives or even those of our parents. But at the end of the day what are we? Yes we're americans but what does being an american mean? Does it mean that we should bend over, accept and even trust our government and it's actions? Or is it instead a fear and hate of this system that our founding fathers created. Maybe it's neither. Maybe being an american is expressing yourself and how you feel or what you think. Be it with words or actions, or neither I think the point, the real truth, is to just do it. Go out and express yourself in whatever way you feel fit. And if the government has a problem with that .......THEN FUCK THEM.

Scrubs.....

So you know that episode where those two people that your just routing for to get together FINALLY hook up? Yea that was this episode. Elliot and J.D. had some mad lovin goin on all day. I am pretty sure they liked each other since the show started. Everytime I saw them together in a scene all I could think was "Why don't they just get it on already?!" This was lead up to by the following series of events. J.D. started dating the hospital psychologist. but when perchaset starts missing Elliot (obviously jealous at J.D.'s relationship) accuses therapy lady. J.D. takes this as jealousy when Elliot confronts him with her suspicions, shrugs her off and says "You had your chance". Later when therapy lady and him are about to do it J.D. reaches into her purse to fetch a mint and instead finds the missing Perchaset. He confronts his pill popping girlfriend and they break up. J.D. apologizes to Elliot and to everyones surprise Elliot confesses her jealousy and longing for J.D. by ravaging him. this episode picks up where that one leaves off with Elliot and JD in a relationship. But as they soon find out sometimes relationships aren't as easy as people make it seem. And sometimes two people can love each other more than the world but just aren't meant to be. I have my own personal reasons for liking this episode, but i thought this episode showed how unique Scrubs really is. Instead of showing the happy couple getting together you see that relationships arent all flowers and candy. They take work and they have problems. It was a very real approach the show took to relationships and for that I commend them.