Supersize Me Analysis

Spurlok's message about fast food is that it is the reason why people (specifically Americans) are so fat.

He tries to prove his message's validity by conducting an unscientific experiment using himself as the subject of the experiment. He also set different rules which he followed throughout his experiment, as well as including facts, examples and explanations which help the audience picture the effects of consuming fast food.

As a director he uses interviews from experts in nutrition and obesity-related experts to make his message more believable.

The flaws that I see in his strategy are:
-He doesn't include the other side of the story. For example from people who work at McDonalds or other fast food companies.
-He didn't include some of the reasons why some people eat fast food everyday- Lack of money coud be an influential factor.

My Metaphors

"Flowers will flourish if you water them, so that later with light they can grow". (You will only prosper in life if you learn from all the suffering and the sorrow; to be able to achieve happiness and growth as a person) "Poverty is a black and painful gas". (Poverty is something that hurts and that drowns) "Fight for you rainbow, your castle, your star, your moon and your sun". (Fight for your dreams)

The Development of Rap and Hip Hop

 The Development of Rap and Hip Hop

Rap

 

A century before Rap Music developed between the American public, West African musicians were developing rhythmical story-telling and folk artists from the Caribbean, known as singing poets, were developing music similar to that of Rap.

 Rap Timeline

1970s- Rapping became popular in the US common within the African American community, were it was known as street music.

1980s- Record producers noticed the emerging musical genre of Rap when Sugarhill Gang released the hit ‘Rapper’s Delight’. Other bands such as Beastie Boys and Salt-n-Pepa flourished.

1990s- Rap underwent a transformation from an old-style with simple lyrics to a new-school-style with complex lyrics. Distinguished artists at the time were: The Notorious B.I.G, Snoop Dogg, Tupac Shakur and Eminem

1990s- Present- Rap artists of present times include: 50 Cent, Ludacris and Jay-Z.

Hip Hop

The key ideas explored in Rap music are mostly sex, drugs, and crime. This is evident in Snoop Dogg’s ‘Gin and Juice’ song, when he says, “Rollin down the street, smokin ENDO, sippin on gin and juice/ Laid back [with my mind on my money and my money on my mind]”

Hip hop culture is a form that flourished from a mixture of graffiti art along with breaking. It developed from the fusion of  American and African rhythms. This is what links Rap closely to Hip Hop culture, because they both emerged from rhythmic story-telling joined with drumming.

Queen Latifah

She was born the 18^th of March 1970 in East Orange, New Jersey. Her birth name is Dana Elaine Owens. She was one of the most influential artists in the rap and hip-hop music, since she was a woman in a male-dominated genre.

She came from a police family, which later influenced in her vision of life and song rhythms. After working as an employee at Burger King, she discovered her like for music and entered into the rap and hip-hop genre.

She is known for her songs:

‘U.N.I.T.Y’

‘Just another day’

‘Ladies First’

‘Go head’

                                  Just Another Day- Queen Latifah (1993)

Opinion

I personally believe that rap music is very good in conveying issues such as that of poverty or drugs or sexism, but recent developments in rap music have been tilted more towards a sex-based vision of everything, that is why I don’t listen to it. Not only the spoken words but also the videos are too sex-related.

References

http://www.plasticlittleraps.com

http://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/67750.html

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/s/snoop+dogg/gin+juice_20127119.html

http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/where-hip-hop-music-originate

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hip-hop

Analysis Island Man poem

Analysis ‘Island Man’

By Grace Nichols

Grace Nichols was born in Guyana in 1950 to parents of Caribbean heritage. Her poem Island Man describes the life of a man, who once lived in the Caribbean but now lives in London, finding it hard to live there. Through her poem, she seeks to make people aware of how Caribbean immigrants feel whilst having to live in London, and what there reality is. Her use of themes is essential in setting a true purpose to the poem, because even though the poem talks about a man's life, allegorically it is able to convey the sad reality African-Caribbeans who lived in London had to bear. There are to key themes being explored in this poem, and these are: cultural identity and difference and the difficulty f belonging or trying to fit into a culture that is completely the opposite to yours.

The use of imagery is very important in adding emotion and feelings to the poem. The poet is able to convey this effectively when she says, "to the sound of blue surf" or "wild seabird". This clearly puts across the fact that the man referred to in the poem is remembering the Caribbean (his home land), or as people called it back in the 1960's, the 'Small Island'. Nichols helps us picture the island as a very beautiful, full of colour and natural atmosphere.is is evident through the colours in the initial stanzas, which are rich and beautiful: “blue surf” and “his small emerald island”. Furthermore, when she says, "to the sound of blue surf", through the use of sound imagery, she gives allusion to the ocean, and the sound of the waves. This can be interpreted as an allegory to represent the fact that Caribbeans, besides having been part of British colonies, where able to move and fight and are now free. The strong use of visual imagery, when describing the Caribbean island, helps us understand how important heritage, tradition and culture are to the African-Caribbean immigrants.

Through the use of phrases such as ‘to the sound of blue surf”, the poet is able to create sensory imagery. The use of language such as this, not only helps us (readers) visualize the island, but in a sense feel as if we were there. Sensory language is essential in engaging the reader in the poem because, through the fact that it makes us use our senses, it helps us focus in the poem, and therefore understand it better.

The poet has very successfully used figurative language in the poem. These, help us understand how African Caribbean immigrants felt in London. The juxtaposition between “Emerald Island” and “North Circular roar” implicitly puts across the fact that not only African Caribbeans were racially discriminated, but also, they were seen as a social problem. This gives allusion to the ‘Commonwealth Immigration Act in 1962’ which restricted the entry of immigrants into the country. This act was a turning point for racism because it prevented immigrants from having important jobs within society, since it claimed immigrants to have work permits. Since the “Empire Windrush” boat was created, the amount of African Caribbean immigrants entering the UK increased, therefore, leading to masses of people living under poverty.  Furthermore, despite the serious issue described in the poem, the choice of language can be considered to be very humorous at times. For instance when she says, “fishermen / pushing / sun / surfacing”. These, create an emphasis on the beauty of the island, in comparison to that of the city in London, giving it a greater importance.

The poet has used rhythm and rhyme in the poem, to emphasize the purpose of her poem. There are rhymes in certain parts of the poem and are usually found in couplets. For example, “a great metallic soar/ dull North circular roar”. This, along with the use of alliteration and sibilance, help give the poem more fluidity. The poet is able to create a Caribbean-like rhythm through the use of repetition. She repeats words such as “groggily” and “muffling”. The rhythm is very important in reinforcing the fact that the African Caribbean immigrants were forced to live a poor and sad life, since the rhythm creates an upsetting tone, other than a vivid one. Maybe the true intention behind the poem is to not only show us how African Caribbean immigrants felt (and feel) like, but also make us feel sorry for them.

The poet uses enjambment (where lines run onto each other with no pause) as a technique on her poem. As shown on Island Man, there are no full-stops or commas in the poem, not even at the end.  This allows the poem to flow, giving it a dream-like quality. Also, this could be considered as a symbolism to highlight the on-going nature of the man’s unhappiness due to living in London.

In conclusion, the poet’s intention through this poem is to bring to the light the issue African Caribbeans lived, and some still do such now, and to make us feel sorry for them. 

Analysis of the poem 'Half-Caste' by John Agard

Analysis ‘Half-Caste’
By John Agard

John Agard was born in Guyana in 1949 to parents of mixed nationality. His poem Half-Caste portrays the attitude close-minded people, he may have met had, who considered people of mixed races to be inferior to them or even less important and called them “half-caste”. Through his poem, John Agard seeks to make those subjected to discrimination feel equal and also to challenge discriminators to change their attitude towards people with racial difference or mixture. His tone is bound to set the true purpose of the poem, because even though it may vary and be sarcastic at times, it is fairly aggressive and shows how Agard is angry at those who call others ‘half-caste’. He wants them to open up their minds. He wants people to be aware of their mistake.

Agard’s use of language is very important in adding feeling and purpose to the poem. The poet is able to convey feelings in the poem effectively using a mixture of both Standard English and Caribbean dialect when he says, “Ah looking at yu wid de keen half/ of mih eye/ an when I’m introduced to yu…” This very clearly puts across the fact that the poet is of mixed heritage. Through the use of words such as ‘I’ or ‘yu’, he is able to establish a direct connection with his reader, which, with the use of argumentative tone emphasizes that those who discriminate people from mixed nationalities, have no foundation to sustain their beliefs(attitude) or to think of them as inferior. Furthermore, despite the aggressive, argumentative tone use, the use of imagery in the poem is very humorous. For instance, “when yu say half-caste/ yu mean Tchaikovsky/ sit down at dah piano/ an mix a black key/ wid a white key/ is a half-caste symphony” This shows us that besides ridiculing the use of the term ‘half-caste’, John Agard uses metaphors as a way to portray his parents and music, the music inside him. This means that the message behind the quote intended to say that even though Tchaikovsky mixed black and white keys, he was still composed beautiful music and people of mixed races are also beautiful. Also, in Half-Caste, the poet uses parallels and contrast to emphasize a point. For example, when he says, “an mix a black/wid a white key” a contrast is made between the keys- this emphasizes the racial split there was between the African Americans and Whites, how the Whites thought of the blacks as lesser beings. (white keys are bigger than black ones)   John Agard’s intention is to challenge his readers, through the use of figurative language (metaphors, imagery, juxtapositions, parallelism) and phonetic spelling (yu, wid) to change their attitude towards people with mixed race or heritage.

The poet has very successfully used rhythm and rhyme in the poem. There are rhymes in certain parts of the poem and are usually in couplets. For example, “wha yu mean/Ah listening to yu wid de keen” This helps give the poem more fluidity. He is able to create a very ‘Caribbean’ rhythm, through the use of repetition. He repeats phrases such as “explain yuself/wha yu mean” or “half-caste”. The rhythm is very important in reinforcing his Caribbean heritage (even though he may have not made it that way on purpose) as well as helping us readers understand that this is a poem that should not be read, but heard. Maybe the true intention behind this poem was not to make people know about how people with mixed heritage feel but also to mock those who discriminate them as well as to encourage people to stand up and go fight for their rights and speak up.

In conclusion, John Agard uses the poem to be able to talk about the closed-mindedness crises the White people who called those with mixed racial heritage have and to encourage people like himself to stand up and fight for equality. This poem very clearly conveys the message behind the poem, by itself. The poet has been very successful in setting his point, through the use of literary tools and devices, which help give the poem lots of emotion, as well as help the reader, comprehend the purpose of the poem. The poem should make us all realize that using racist terms harm other people as well as ourselves- that we should not use racist terms because we are doing no good.

QUOTES ANALYSIS

To what extent does Kesey challenge racial stereotypes?

QUOTE ANALYSIS

“All of them black as telephones. The blacker they are, she learned from that long dark row that came before them, the more time they are likely to devote to cleaning and scrubbing and keeping the ward in order. For instance, all three of these boys’ uniforms are always spotless as snow. White and cold and stiff as their own.” (Page 27) – The juxtaposition between the words black and white connotes racial differences between the two groups of people: African Americans and The Whites. The reference to the uniforms being white as snow and spotless clearly shows how the white people thought of themselves as superior and better [even perfect] back in the 1960s. Like the quote shows, there is use of literary techniques such as simile. The use of simile helps create an image in the readers’ mind, in this case of the black aids being “black as telephones”. From the way Kesey portrays Nurse Ratched’s thoughts and ideas, we can understand that she didn’t only have power and control over everyone but also felt superior when referring to race and gender.

“Look at him: a giant janitor. There’s your Vanishing American, a six-foot-eight sweeping machine, scared of its own shadow.” (Page 62)- This quote can be considered very ironic due to the fact that all across the text, Chief Bromdem is the one who speaks of people as if they were machines, not others of him. The use of the word ´vanishing´ is rather harsh because it connotes to the fact that his tribe was virtually going extinct. In this quote, Kesey alludes to the fact that the patients at the mental institution were forced to live under a system of control and lack of freedom through the use of the word ‘machine’. This can be considered an ironic quote because throughout the novel, the only person who refers to the patients as machinery is Chief Bromdem himself whilst at this point Chief Bromdem is said to be a machine.

“He said, what can you pay for the way a man lives? He said, What can you pay for what a man is? They didn’t understand… The Combine had whipped him. It beats everybody. It’ll beat you too. They can’t have somebody as big as Papa running around unless he’s one of them. You can see that.” (Page 189)-alludes to the fact that they took it all away from the Chief. Because he was a Native American he was inferior to all others and treated as such. When it talks about the combine, it refers to the State and how they took everything away from Chief Bromdem, not only his family, his tribe but also his beliefs, his culture and his rights.

“I think I’ll stop along Columbia on the way. I´d like to check around Portland and Hood River and The Dalles to see if there’s any of the guys I used to know back in the village… I’d like to see what they’ve been doing since the government tried to buy their right to be Indians. I’ve even heard that some of the tribe have took to building their old ramshackle wood scaffolding all over that big million-dollar hydroelectric dam, and are spearing salmon in in the spillway. I’d give something to see that” (Page 280-1)-This quotes refers to how they destroyed tribes and they lost their freedom. This shows how Native Americans were treated as inferiors within one same country where they were the ones who many years ago had helped build a society

Film Scene Analysis

BEDSHAPED

I chose to analyse the scene when Billy talks to Nurse Ratched after having sexual relations with Candy. This is a very important part of the film because it is the moment when Nurse Ratched has the largest amount of power over the men and things suddenly start to degenerate in the mental hospital.



ACTING

 At the start of the scene, we can see Billy arriving to meet Nurse Ratched, half-naked and just wearing his pants, with his hair all over the place and with a smile on his face. His friends applaud at his arrival because they are happy that he was with a girl. Something very significant happens at the moment, we can see that suddenly and unexpectedly Billy speaks to Nurse Ratched and has no problem in pronouncing words clearly and appropriately. This shows us that Billy in fact wasn't so ill or sick, that when he was allowed to be happy, he had no problem in speaking.

Later, after Nurse Ratched says: "You know as very well as me how your mother is going to take this" we can see that Billy suddenly starts to talk all puzzled again. This may be symbolic not only of the power Nurse Ratched has over the mentally-ill but also of how she is not helping Billy make any positive progress with his illness. This part clearly shows us how Nurse Ratched is holding Billy's progress behind instead of helping him get better. Furthermore, at this point, we can see through Nurse Ratched's expression that she is very dissapointed of Billy. When she asks him if he is ashamed for what he had done, he says,"I'm not". At that point, the Nurses expression changes and she looks at Billy in a very serious manner, ready to attack him with her words and make him feel ashamed. She is trying to make Billy feel guilty, by punishing him and threatening him with telling his mother about what he had just done.

Later on, Nurse Ratched asks Billy about who forced him to go and have sexual relations with Candy, at first he says it was everybody but then blames McMurphy. Here, there is a religious symbolism. Because for everyone McMurphy is like the god-like figure or image because he is the one who brings them hope that had long been lost. He is the one who helps cure the mentally-ill through how he is as a person. Interestingly, at the moment when Billy is being taken to Dr. Spivey's office, we can see that suddenly after the treat he had received from Nurse Ratched he goes 'insane'. This shows us how much power Nurse Ratched has, that she can break them apart. We can see that Nurse Ratched is the one who makes Billy ill.

Billy, I believe is the representation of Judas because just like Judas betrayed Christ, Billy betrayed McMurphy by telling Nurse Ratched that it was he the one who forced him to go on and have sexual relations. Also, the rest of the members of the group may be seen as McMurphy's disciples because not only they praise him but also there are exactly 12 other members that form part of the meeting group.

Maybe, all of this religious symbols are there with the intention of making us understand the ending a lot better. As we all know, McMurphy dies at the end. His death may be just like Jesus's death, something needed for the salvation of others. Maybe in this case his death was needed for the curing of others.

CAMERA SHOTS AND SOUND

 The use of camera shots is very clear, when Nurse Ratched is talking to Billy and feels very dissapointed of him, her face is zoomed in to make us, the audience try and decipher what is the Nurse's true feeling about Billy. Also, I believe this is done to be able to make the viewers focus on her and try and feel what Billy is feeling. There is a moment when Nurse Ratched face is zoomed-in in a way that it makes us viewers believe that she is penetrating our souls. Also, when the Nurse's face is zoomed in, we viewers are able to notice that she is pretty much perfect, maybe too much. And we are also able to see how sceptic she is, that she lacks expressionism, that she was almost senseless as if she had no feelings. When the camera is zoomed in on Nurse Ratched and she is talking to Billy, the view is seen from behind Billy's back, and so we can see that during this seen the main focus is pretty much on Nurse Ratched rather than the other characters. What we can see is that even though the cameras focus a lot more on Nurse Ratched, we don't know much about her and her personality is not so explored as that of the text.

Billy's death is also something very shocking in this scene. During the time of the incident, the camera shots change from the body to McMurphy to the Nurse and then to Doctor Spivey. This is to help us viewers understand what their reactions are. From McMurphy's expression during the incident, we were able to understand that he has a caring side too and that he did in fact care for all of the men, including Billy. After Billy's death, Nurse Ratched is trying to accuse McMurphy and trying to make other patients believe that he is the bad guy and she is the good one.