Cut-up RATS

Postmodernism in Cut-up Technique

By looking at the video you may realize that there is not only one chronologically ordered sequence of events that takes the viewer from the beginning to the end of a specific story. On the contrary, the video shows pieces of movies brought together in a repetitive but interesting way in which there is a desorganized presentation of different events that seem not to have any relationship between themselves but that, as a whole, can be interpreted in a number of ways. Anyhow, the viewer has to take an active role while watching the video, and this is one of the most important characteristics of a postmodern structure. At the same time, it is evident that the sequence of events is not chronological from beginning to end, which is also another very important characteristic that differentiates the Aristotelic narrative style from the postmodern one.

Comparative Essay

How to write a comparative essay? Ask Wikihow or UToronto:
http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Comparative-Essay "The Comparative Essay." Writing at the University of Toronto. Web. 15 Nov. 2011. <http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific-types-of-writing/comparative-essay>.
http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific-types-of-writing/comparative-essay
"How to Write a Comparative Essay - WikiHow." WikiHow - The How-to Manual That You Can Edit. Web. 15 Nov. 2011. <http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Comparative-Essay>.

Reading Schedule: I plan to finish reading The Invention of Solitude by Monday, November 21. And, I plan to finish reading Franz Kafka by Monday, November 28. Then, I can start writing the essay.

Topics: 
The loss of a beloved relative.
Memory.
Chance and the changes it produces in one's life

Chance

"We are continually shaped by the forces of coincidence," he said. "Our lifelong certainties about the world can be demolished in a single second." (Paul Auster)

I think Paul Auster is such an important writer precisely because of his views about life and chance. While he writes, he tacitly states, one time after the other, that chance is the driving force of human life. The possibility of drawing conlcusions from events occured because of pure luck is essential for his literary style. In fact, my personal view about chance is very similar to what Auster expresses in his novel The Invention of Solitude. 

I believe that, many times, our life is driven by an autopilot. There are circumstances that we are not able to control, that end up affecting the development of our daily lifes. Nontheless, I think that this autopilot is not controled by "luck" itself. I think that, most of the times, God´s influence is what produces different types of events or circumstances that change our life´s route. 

Maybe, to say that God is the power behing changes and coincidences is just a way of being calmed and not to think that your life is just like a sailing ship in the middle of a storm. But, anyways, I do think that our free will and judgement capacity is limited by these events that happen out of our rational control.

For example, while I was presenting the SAT, alongside with hundreds of other young guys, it was pure luck what made a very good friend of mine, that I hadn´t seen in years because she was living on the other side of the globe, to be sitted besides me while presenting the exam. Thinking about all the coincidences in one´s life, I come up to a concluison that I believe is applicable for me and for many others: Chance (or God´s hand) is the deepest influence that causes changes in our life.

Why do Writers Write

When there is something to talk about, you talk about it for others to know what you are feeling, what life has brought upon you. The same happens to writers, if you have something to say and you want everybody to know it, you write. Or, perhaps, when you are so isolated from the outside world that you only want a sheet of paper to know what you are thinking. 

In conclusion, writing is a way of expressing feelings or thoughts in paper. If you want to get rid of some experiences but want them to "stay there" forever until a lonely voyager, who maybe is feeling in a similar way, finds them, reads them and ends up remembering you, then what you have to do is simply to use a pen and start writing.

Memento

Usually, I watch movies to have fun. Usually, I understand what movies say. Usually, movies are made for people to understand them. MEMENTO (Christopher Nolan, 2000) is definitely not done for people to understand it. Still, we could say it is a good and fun movie to watch (perhaps because its real climax takes place inside the confused viewer´s mind when he tries to find blurry matching dots inside his head).

Anyway, MEMENTO deals with a disease called Amnesia, which prevents the central character from remembering short-term events. He loses his memory and has to rely on notes that he writes while he is counscious. During the whole movie, Leonard tries to find a guy whose name is "John G." This man killed Leonard´s wife and escaped the scene. Therefore, Leonard wants to find him and kill him. 

Leonard meets a man called Teddy and they become good friends. But Leonard has a Polaroid camera and he wrote a note on it saying that he shouldn´t trust Teddy. Therefore, their friendship never really works and at the end of the movie Leonard ends up killing Teddy when he realises that Teddy is "John G." 

So, during the whole movie, Nolan plays with the viewer until a feeling of amnesia is virtually produced inside the viewer´s mind. That is what makes the movie so interesting. At the end, I can tell you, Nolan´s work is so great that I don´t even remember some parts of the movie, and looking at the movie´s plot in the Internet I finally realized that the black-white images in the movie actually make sense and present a chronologically ordered story.

In conclusion, if you want someone to play with your short term memory and to show you something really difficult to understand... watch MEMENTO.

The Father Figure

When you look at Michelangelo´s "The Creation Of Adam" you see an image of the Holy Father that is much closer to the human race than it was ever before. Although there isn´t direct contact between God and Man, there is a tacit link, a spiritual connection between Father and Son. So, thanks to this painting, done circa 1511, the Father figure started to be seen as a close and active one rather that an authoritarian and enthronized figure.

On the other hand, there is a very important aspect about this picture which is the red-pink clothing that God uses. This feminine clothing seems almost absurd becuase it places God in a "pseudo-gay" position. Nevertheless, I would say that, far away from this childish interpretation, the red-pink color represents the tender and soft face that every human being has. Yes, even God, the supreme authority, the King of kings, has a tender and soft side, a side that cares for others and gives everything to us humans without expecting anything in exchange. That is, for me, the perfect image -the real meaning- of the Father figure. Far from being rigid and distant, the Father figure has to be active, close and underestanding of its son´s situation.

Three types of death

In Tibet ...
Budhists believe that there is life after death and that death is just one part of the ongoing circle of life. Therefore, people shouldn´t worry about death. Accordint to Tibetan´s tradition, there are three moments in the process of death or "life". First, there is the moment of the person´s physical death "Chikhai Bardo". Then, there is the experiencing reality in which deceased persons see visions of Buddha "Chonyid Bardo". Finally, there is the rebirth "Sidpa Bardo" in which new life begins for the individual.

Talking about the death ritual itself, there are two ways to do it. The first one is simply to cremate the person´s body, since there isn´t too much space for burials in Tibet´s small land surface.
The second one, and the most interesting one, is called the Sky Burial in which the person´s body is left for animals to eat it. The reason why this process is not desrespectful towards the deceased one or his family is that Buddhists believe that the body is just an "empty vessel" that should be useful for other animals after death.

In New Zeland ...
Maoris have an elaborate death ritual. When a person dies his hut is burned. Then, the body is taken care of and it is dressed with beautiful clothes to be viewed in public. While the body is exposed, mourners cry and wear green leaves around their necks. While praises are chanted in order to honour the dead, close friends of the death person´s family have a feast where they give the dead´s relatives various gifts. After some years, the deceased person´s bones are cleaned and covered in red earth.

In Muslim Countries ...
First, the body must be bathed while a piece of linen covers it´s private parts. Next, the body must be enshrouded in a white cloth, called Kafan, so that it´s dignity and privacy is preserved. Then, the body is displayed for the deceased person´s relatives to gather and show their condolences. After that, there is a prayer called the Salat al-Janazah which must be said so that the death person´s negative actions are forgiven. Finally, the body is buried in a grave and the head of the deceased is positioned so that it faces Mecca.

Death is the End

Usually when I hear about death, specially in literature or philosophy, there are always conclusions that try to highlight the importance of death as a "new beginning" or a "simple step in a person's process". Well, for me that is simply too idealistic to be true. In fact, I think that the people who wrote these kinds of conclusions are too coward to accept death as the end of life -which should be obvious-, or want to give themselves too much importance as the ones who see things in a different way.

So, if you ask me what is death, I will give you a short answer: Death is the end of material life. In my Catholic view, I strongly believe in Heaven, but I do not think that we are entering a "new life" after death. Life is over, that's all.

People shouldn't be scared about death. We are all going towards that same final destiny and no one can escape from it. Therefore, I think that people should worry about what they do in life, and how they share with other people here, in this world. Make your life pleasant and leave a good impression in this world. That´s all.

Its The Gangster Its The Legend Its Capone

Nando, I was a little inspired while doing the video. That's why it is a bit long.

Hope you like it

Final Note: The Great Gatsby

During this unit I learned the relationship between Fitzgerald's novel and the concept of the American Dream. Also, I underestood the way in which the author uses purely American language in order to describe the social and economic phenomena that were happening during the 1920's in the U.S.

On the other hand, I learned about the importance of certain events and persons during the 1920's. For example, prohibition, bootlegging, construction of skyscrapers, Louis Armstrong, Al Capone, etc. Every one of this persons was a result and at the same time a builder of the history of the United States.

In my opinion, The Great Gatsby is not such a great novel. It has historical importance, yes, but at the same time it lacks strong emotions and complex relationships between characters. It's based on a love story between Gatsby and Daisy, which is a very simple argument.

In conclusion, although The Great Gatsby is a faithful representation of what was going on during the 1920's, it is very simple when one analyzes its psychological aspects. For me, it wasn't the worst novel I have read, but it certainly wasn't the best.

Al Capone

If you think about a prominent gangster, the inevitable image that comes to your mind is the one of Alphonse Capone, wearing an elegant black or dark blue suit and a tilted fedora.

Capone was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Italian immigrants that came to the U.S. seeking a better future. He was a very smart boy at school, but he had trouble following the strict discipline codes of his Catholic school. That's why, when he turned 14, he was expelled for hitting a teacher on her face.

From that moment on, Capone started his career as a gang member. He was part of the Five Points Gang in which he met his mentor, the Mafia Don Johnny Torrio. He continued working with Torrio, building a vast criminal empire with its base in Chicago, called the Chicago Outfit.

Capone's life in Illinois was luxurious and at the same time dangerous. After enemy gangs made an attempt to kill Torrio, in which he was wounded, the Italian mobster decided to go back to his homeland, leaving the whole operations of the Chicago crime syndicate in Capone's hands. Thereafter, Capone dedicated his efforts to consolidate his criminal empire. He was involved in the bootlegging business as well as in running rackets and prostitution cabarets.

A few years later, around the end of the 1920's, Capone was regarded as a celebrity. He said that his business was just about "giving people what they wanted". In 1929, an obscure fact was the starting point of the decline of Capone's career: The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre, in which he ordered the murder of seven members of a rival gang led by Bugs Moran. The massacre was a response to an attempt of killing Capone in a drive-by shooting.

After several pictures of the massacre showed everywhere, Capone's reputation began to deteriorate and the police made more attempts to capture him. Finally, agent Elliot Ness led a team that caught Capone. The mobster was indicted for tax evasion and sentenced to eleven years of prison confinement.

Capone's life came to an end in 1947 after having lived many years tormented by syphilis. Nontheless, Capone's legend never died. He represents the spirit of the 1920's in the United States; a continuous search for opportunities and wealth. When you think about Capone, you think about earning $100 million per year in revenue and about having a huge black, bulletproof Cadillac that was later on used as President Franklin D. Roosevelt's  limousine.

Capone symbolizes richness, influence and power. On the other hand, he is an icon for crime and violence. But, if there is something true about the 1920's is that they gave birth to the best (or worst) gangster of all times. He will stay in our memories forever.

When someone doesn't hear what I have to say
When there is no Internet... that is, always
When there are 3 or more quizzes the next day
Lots of homework
When I run out of gas
The old and ugly school bus
The locker  padlocks
Very fat people
Arriving home after vacations
Thursdays
School food
Dizziness in airplanes or cars
Rainy mornings
Long waiting lines
Long waiting lines in the school food store
Borussia Dortmund
When FC Bayern looses a soccer match
A baby crying in a closed place
Bad smell in the bathroom
People who criticize a lot
Insecurity

Paraphrasing

-While the Sears Tower is arguably the greatest achievement in skyscraper engineering so far, it's unlikely that architects and engineers have abandoned the quest for the world's tallest building. The question is: Just how high can a building go? Structural engineer William LeMessurier has designed a skyscraper nearly one-half mile high, twice as tall as the Sears Tower. And architect Robert Sobel claims that existing technology could produce a 500-story building. From Ron Bachman, "Reaching for the Sky." Dial (May 1990): 15-

Paraphrased :  Nowadays, the Sears (Willis) Tower is the highest exponent of skyscraper’s engineering. Nontheless, engineers won’t abandon the quest to build even taller skyscrapers. Several experts believe in the possibility that today’s technology is enough to produce very tall buildings, taller than the ones done before (Bachman 15).

Reading Great Gatsby 141-147

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CbgsEHHy9Y

Jazz Song Analysis

The entire spirit of the novel Great Gatsby is captured in the jazz song When You´re Smiling by Louis Armstrong. All the merrymaking that Jay Gatsby does during the novel is destined to catch Daisy´s attention. He really loves her and he is passionate about her. The Green Light that Gatsby stares at, in one of the book´s early chapters, represents his love for Daisy and his obsession about her.

In the same way, Louis Armstrong transmits a strong feeling of love through this song. The song says that when she smiles the whole world smiles with her and that is exactly what Jay Gatsby feels for Daisy. When she smiles he even forgets that Nick is around.

Therefore, Louis Armstrong´s song definitely represents all the romantic spirit of the Great Gatsby.

When You´re Smiling

David Murcia Guzman

Just like Jay Gastsby, David Murcia was an enterpreneur. He was creative, he had an attractive personality and he was admired by others. Both Murcia and Gatsby somehow reached one of their objectives in life: They were rich and poweful after being lower-class and even abhorrent members of society.

Murcia was the founder and CEO of a group called DMG Holdings Co., that was a pyramid-scheme company. That means, if any person invested X money in the company, DMG promised to give the investor not X money but X*10 or X*100 money. At the end, authorities discovered that the profit was coming from money laundering and DMG was closed. Nowadays, David Murcia is in jail.

That illicit way of obtaining money was also present in Gatsby's case. Although he wasn't a money launderer, he was active in the bootlegging business in a time when alcohol consumption, selling and distribution was prohibited in the U.S.

It's just a matter of time until Jay Gatsby's destiny resembles Murcia's one, perhaps at the end of the novel.  Moreover, it could be that Murcia's destiny is heaven compared to such tragic events that could happen to Gatsby as the novel goes on.

The American Dream

The American Dream is a common desire between persons outside the United States, especially in third world countries, and immigrants who already live inside the U.S. territory. They all want to go to the U.S. and to take advantage of the economic opportunities available at that country. Every single one of the individuals who believe in the American Dream have one purpose in mind: To make easy money so that they can improve their lives and the ones of their relatives.

The term “American Dream” is used in a number of ways, but essentially the American Dream is an idea which suggests that all people can succeed through hard work, and that all people have the potential to live happy, successful lives. Many people have expanded upon or refined the definition of the American Dream, and this concept has also been subject to a fair amount of criticism. Many people believe that the structure of American society belies the idealistic goal of the American Dream, pointing to examples of inequality rooted in class, race, and ethnic origin which suggest that the American Dream is not attainable for all.

WiseGeeks.com

It is a dream of success, fame and wealth through thrift and hard work that has been widely spread through American and International culture.

Americansc.org.uk

The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States in which freedom includes a promise of the possibility of prosperity and success. In the definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams in 1931, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" regardless of social class or circumstances of birth.^[1] The idea of the American Dream is rooted in the United States Declaration of Independence which proclaims that "all men are created equal" and that they are "endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights" including "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Wikipedia.org

A cop talking against prohibition in the 1920's

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pSk32li3U0

The Roaring 20's

American Dream = 1920's.

If you want to find a place in which industrialization, progress and opportunities are available to everyone, look at North America during the 1920's.

After winning the World War I, the American patriotism was higher than ever before. Ford's Model T was just one of many examples of how progress was now available for common people. Technological improvements and a streghtened economy were the basis for a time in which people were simply happy; happy about being Americans and joyful about working for their country. 

During this decade, imperial projects such as the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building were starting to come true. Such monumental projects all represented the effort of thousands of Americans and, moreover, of thousands of immigrants, all of them working toward one goal: Building a true Land of Opportunities.

The best of the world's creative spirit was living in America. Even the mobsters, for example, developed such a solid and progress-based structure, that today we remember that decade as Capone's golden era.

In conclusion, even though the 1920's gave birth to devastating events such as the Great Depression and the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre, the spirit of a new, modern and capitalist America was carved deep inside people's minds and that same spirit is what guides the U.S. now and what will be guiding the private and public iniciatives for years and years to come.

The United States of America

The U.S. is the land of opportunity, the capitalist paradise, the apex of democracy, and at the same time the land of consumerism, savage economics, and mass production of weapons.
Everything  can be found in the States... it´s just like eating a big and tasty McDonald´s burger. Literally anything can be found between the thick slice of cheddar cheese and the greasy piece of meat.

America

America: It is a young continent in which the best of all cultures is together, giving as a result a land full of contrasts, brimming with happiness and opportunities.
Wait a second... maybe that´s too idealistic. Nowadays America is brimming with social and economic inequalities more than with opportunities...
The important thing is that, although our continent still has problems to be solved by its people, America´s time has finally come. We are here at the right place at the right time. Soon enough we will start seeing more and more opportunities and progress.
Europe is too old, Asia is too crowded, Africa is so poor, Oceania is so far away from the rest of the world; America, your time is now.

Somos Mas Americanos

America is a continent. That is this song's truth and direct message to the audience. Beyond its nationalistic nature, and the exagerated patriotism that the song shows via expressions such as "somos mas americanos que todititos los gringos", the real matter here is about the concept of America and the way it is linked to another important concept: The one of power.

The question is the following: 

Think about an average mexican guy...

Now think about a typical North American person...

I bet when you thought about a mexican guy the first thing that came to your mind was some kind of Ranchero or Charro Mexicano, maybe with a gun hanging from his belt. A bit uncivilized or even poor.

Now, I suppose when you did the same exercise with the North American person you saw the image of a civilized and  strongly capitalist (consumerist) person, perhaps driving a huge SUV.

The difference is evident. Due to the way in which historical events took place, right now Mexicans are struggling for survival in the areas close to the U.S. border, while North American "gringos" are enjoying a fairly good living standard.

Imaginary lines or frontiers have always been present in the world, from the moment states were invented. The paradox here is how some Mexicans think that North Americans stole their lands and at the same time they  seek a better future in the U.S. They blame the U.S. for their tragedy and at the same time are "begging" for U.S. help.

On the other hand, there is one thing that is rescuable from this song and it is the way in which North Americans usurped and appropriated the word "Americans" for their own benefit. Remember something: America is a CONTINENT, with different countries in it. So, please, whenever you refer to a U.S. citizen, don't call him American.

Midnight in Paris

If you want to see a movie that has a mixture of craziness and talent, this one is the perfect film for you: Midnight in Paris. Since decades ago, Woody Allen has been the perfect type of director for strange, romantic and "intellectual" movies. Midnight in Paris could be easily considered the pinnacle of Allen´s creations.

The movie´s plot is basically about a Hollywood director, Gil Owen, who goes to Paris with his fiancée, Inez. Gil doesn´t like his life in the United States and he sees Paris as the perfect city for him to live in because he wants to be a novelist. Of course, his fiancée does not agree with them staying for a lifetime in Paris, so their relationship starts to be more and more tense. Later on, while walking through the small and antique Parisian streets during midnight, Gil starts to live a French time travel that takes him to the 1920´s, a time that he loves and idolizes in the novel he is writing. During his trip, Gil finds himself in the middle of the everyday life of important characters such as Picasso, Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein.

Thanks to this type of adventures into the past, Gil finally finds a new romance and the inspiration he is looking for, lighting his path as a writer. Besides that, he ends up enjoying his unique passion: Walking while the rain falls romantically on the shady, grey-coloured Parisian streets.

Another fact that adds up to the movie´s overall success is that Gil´s behaviour almost perfectly reflects  Woody Allen´s own fascinations and, perhaps, even his personal feelings as a Hollywood film director.

So, go and see the movie -- Satisfaction guaranteed if you like a more "European film style".  If the question is where to watch it, I would definitely recommend Cinema Paraiso at Usaquén. If you are lucky enough, when you get out of the cinema, around 6:30 or 7pm, you will find yourself as if you were walking in the streets of Paris, with rain pouring heavily over your head or with a very nice and dusky vista of a great part of Bogotá.