Life is but a Netflix queue created by an idiot...

I chose to curate a Netflix reccomendation list for Banquo.
1.Supernatural

Supernatural is about two brothers, Sam and Dean, whose job is to 'hunt the things that go bump in the night'. The show currently has 10 season and has changed a lot since season 1 (the video is a fan made trailer for season 1). However, the theme of religion and brotherhood are stressed throughout the show. There are references to many cultures and religions (Greek, Hindi, American folk lore, Japanese, ect), however Christianity and the bible are the most common source of lore and the larger story arcs. Heaven, hell, purgatory, and the Mark of Cain are all large parts of the plot of the show.
Banquo would love the supernatural references and the biblical references in the story. Angels, deamons, and witches are all shown on the show. His belief in the witches prophecy proves his interest in the supernatural and he would love the detail and variety of 'monsters' that are showcased. He would also enjoy Sam and Dean's relationship throughout the show and their loyalty to each other.
2.Silver Linings Playbook

Silver Linings Playbook is the story of Pat, a guy who struggles with mental illness and has to participate in court ordered rehab. When he gets home, he meets Tiffany. Tiffany lost her husband and subsequently became very depressed. They become friends and slowly help each other manage their respective illnesses.
Banquo would love the friendships that are developed throughout this book. He is very loyal to Macbeth in the beginning of the play (2.1) and promises to help him.  Also, the depiction of Pat's family would probably appeal to Banquo. You can tell that they care about each other, even if they show it in a strange way.
3.Emperor's New Groove

An ambitious person high up in the government gets rid of the King and take control of the government. The kingdom was much better off under the original King. Then, two people who have little to no power under the current ruler conspire  together and have to travel back to the kingdom to put the rightful ruler back in power. Once they return to the castle, the current ruler and the two people fight for the kingdom. At the end, the rightful ruler has power and is a better ruler than they were earlier. Was I talking about Macbeth or the Emperor's New Groove? You'll never know.

Now, I'm not saying that the fierce Banquo would decided to kick back and watch Emperor's New Groove in his free time. But it might be one of the kids movies he wouldn't mind watching with Fleance. Either way, the parallels between Macbeth and Emperor's New Groove would appeal to Banquo. The idea that ambition doesn't have to be linked with murder would validate his actions. Emperor Kuzco's transition from evil, selfish ruler to a King who is loved by all of his subjects would give him hope for Macbeth.

4.Intouchables

This is the most sucessful French movie. Ever. Mostly because it's fantastic. It's about a rich, quadriplegic frenchman named Philippe who needs to hire someone to help him with everyday activities. Instead of hiring someone who is well qualified, he hires Driss, who lives a questionable life in the projects and only was applying so he could continue to receive unemployment. In fact, Philippe bets Driss that he wouldn't last a couple months. Throughout the movie, we learn more about Driss and Philippe's past and see them becoming closer.
Banquo would love the loyalty in this movie. He would also appreciate Driss' character art (sort of similar to Kuzco's), yet again proving that someone 'bad' doesn't remain bad. All in all, I could see Banquo coming back from a war and watching this movie to remind himself that there are good people.
5.Firefly

Firefly is about Captain Max Reynolds and the crew of his ship Firefly. After being on the loosing side of a war, Reynolds and his crew become, for lack of a better term, space cowboys. They are essentially thieves but endearing thieves. But, once River is brought aboard the ship, their entire objective shifts. Now, they must protect River from the Alliance (evil government), while also trying to figure out what happened to her.
This would be Banquo's guilty pleasure. Yet again, loyalty is a large theme here. He would also enjoy the fight scenes in the show and especially the clips from the war against the Alliance (and Reynolds speech to the other soldiers that was shown in the trailer). He would enjoy the faced paced episodes and the many twists and turns.

Witch-slapped: Macbeth's fall from grace

Why do people who are not "evil" take the first step into evil? What, for instance, is involved in taking that first step "down the primrose path to the everlasting bonfire" (Macbeth, 2.3)? What are the consequences of the individual choosing evil (particularly the internal consequences)? Use examples from the text to support your opinion.

The most fitting thing to start off this blog post would in fact be a quote from The Dark Knight:

And during the subsequent fifteen minutes while I searched for other pictures, I came across this Urban Dictionary post (don't worry Ms. G, this one's school appropriate). It outlines three categories of possible first steps, which are:

Falling to the same corruption you sought to eliminate. (Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars, Lois Griffin from Family Guy) 

Prolonged exposure to evil, despite good intentions. (Frodo from Lord of the Rings, Ice King from Adventure Time)  

Narrow minded destruction in belief of a greater goal. (Harvey Dent from "The Dark Knight Rises")

Now, Macbeth falls into a strange combination of the last two categories. On one hand, he is sort of exposed to evil through the witches and then Lady Macbeth who eventually convince him to kill Duncan. And also he is destroyed because of the belief in a goal (to become king). However Macbeth is better suited in a new forth category which could be described as "Succumbs to temptation of power/money/ect" which would include a ton of modern characters. For Macbeth, that first step was the witches. They gave him the idea that started him on his path to villainy. Macbeth does suffer from these actions, which is seen through the comparison of Macbeth's brain and the castle. The hallucination of the dagger is one example of Macbeth's instability (2.1)

A dagger of the mind, a false creation,

Proceeding from the heat oppressed brain? 

I see thee yet, in form as palpable

As this which now I draw. 

Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going;

And such an instrument I was to use.

and the story about the horse eating the other horse is an example of the chaos inside the castle (2.4).

ROSS
       And Duncan's horses—a thing most strange and certain—
             Beauteous and swift, the minions of their race,
       Turn'd wild in nature, broke their stalls, flung out,
       Contending 'gainst obedience, as they would make
       War with mankind.
       Old Man
                                    'Tis said they eat each other.  

Some other characters who exemplify this quote include:
(Duh, he's the one who said it)

(Because running a meth lab is pretty evil, even if it's to support your family after you get diagnosed with cancer)

(You guys started out being one of the most innovative software companies, but somehow you can't design a phone that has a battery that lasts for more than a year?)

(This one is practically the perfect example:Dean dedicates his whole life to fighting demons only to become one)

(This one doesn't fit any of the categories, which necessitates the creation of a fifth "People who are forced into evil"-and yes that was a bit of a Wicked reference)

(I'll just leave this here because something tells me that everyone will have a different opinion on the problems of the US today)

#IBmakingart

The artwork I chose is Permutations Study #2 which was created by Leyla Cardenas in 2014. It was made by printing images onto demolition rubble. There isn't exactly a size, but it's generally a little taller than I am (so around 5 and a half feet) and it's probably around 6 feet wide. She is from Colombia, but this piece was made for the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art (at least, that's what I can understand from these two websites, it's unclear if Permutations is the one for San Jose or if she will be creating one). She modeled the work after historic San Jose, however, due to the nature of the piece, it has a different assembly each time. For instance, here is the picture I took at CAM:

And here is the same piece assembled at the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art:

Notice the difference in organization. At SJICA, there are distinct columns with areas of negative space in between, while the picture from CAM has a more disorganized feeling to it.

This piece is definitely abstract and non traditional. Using rubble as a canvas is a very interesting choice, especially considering that the buildings that are printed on the rubble are all older. The juxtaposition of different buildings also create an interesting harmony in the piece. The roof in the upper right part of the piece seem Italian or Japanese. There is a mixture of stone buildings that could be Greco-Roman (columns?) or more medieval/Gothic. Also in the lower right corner there is a sign that looks more British in design. This combination of the different architectural styles should not create a cohesive work, but this piece somehow makes them all seem like they work together. This is the core idea: the combination of past styles and ideas (represented by the buildings) jumbled together in an odd but connected way.

The artist has a really great grasp on using negative space and light (in this case shadows) to create emphasis in her work.The way the work was lighted was obviously very deliberate. The shadows create a more three dimensional feeling to this work and give value to the lighter columns and textures found in the piece. The composition is very versatile, and, as seen above, can change from exhibition to exhibition. The way the piece is organized obviously changes the negative space, but this space is used effectivley in both cases. It does have a feeling that something is missing (but not "the artist forgot something", more of a 'the artists purposely left this empty")

Also, the name is very interesting: Permutations #2. When you look up the definition of permutations, you get the act of permuting. That's not very helpful unless you know what permuting is. However, upon further research, I found out it meant "the act of changing" which makes a lot of sense. This art piece is about the past, but is also about the transition of the past to the future, which is evident from the fact that the art is printed on rubble.

Here is my sketch, which was honestly more difficult than this post (no offence Ms. Genesky, the prompt was very thought provoking) because of the negative space/shadows. So, to preface the sketch, I will leave this for you to contemplate:


And, without further ado, here is my sketch:

And, without further ado, here is my sketch:

(I should also note that I was focusing on the negative space, so I did not color the squares. Instead, I focused on placement and size)

And the greatest of these is love...I mean pride...

Advertisements are always interesting to look at and analyze. It's easy to find the seven deadly sins in them, because that's usually what they're playing off of. For this post, I'll be looking at a diet coke advertisement that has been mostly aired in Europe (at least I'm pretty sure it's only been aired in Europe, but I can't find that information in writing). It's one of the most recent versions of the "Hunk" ads, and I think the video speaks for itself:

This ad was released by Diet Coke in January, 2013. The ad isn't too complex. There really isn't any hidden or deeper messages. It's a bunch of girls having a picnic near a gardener. They offer him a diet coke and one thing leads to another and he's shirtless. Which could make the subconscious mind think "Hey, maybe if I drink diet coke, I'll see an incredibly attractive gardener (who in real life is actually a male model) and then one thing will lead to another and he's shirtless". Now this is a pretty big leap, but it's definition the subtext that the people were going for with this ad. 

This ads total audience is going to be broad. Coke is an international company, and, although I don't know if this ad was used in TV (probably too long for TV) or on the internet, I do know that it was shared off of YouTube (over 5,200 times) and has almost 2 million views. 

But this ad does have a more specific target audience. Their ideal viewer is a mid 20s to mid 30s woman (or person who is attracted to guys). This ad wasn't made to be much more specific. The women featured in the ad were mostly Caucasian, but there is one (really Coke, just one?) minority. I don't know, I feel like most women would be able to appreciate shirtless male models? 

There isn't really any specific cultural knowledge needed, but I get the feeling that's because the culture needed to understand this video is the culture I've been raised in. It's important to be able to understand what the West considers beautiful. Also, to understand the normal behaviors of gardeners in (what I'm assuming was) a public park. This creates the context for what happened in the video.

Also, an important part of this video is the way lighting is used. Not only does it create really dramatic shots (0:12-0:16), but it also highlights what the advertisers were putting emphasis on (0:25-0:27, 0:38-0:40, 0:45-0:48, and 0:52-0:56) which really is how incredibly gorgeous the gardener is.

There really is no question that the advertisers were using lust to sell their products. The series this ad is from is named "Hunk" and the guys are hired based on how attractive they are. The first "Hunk" ad was released in 1994.

Then there were two more in the 90's-00's:

There are some pretty obvious similarities, mainly being the attractive shirtless guys, but the song is also a constant. It really helps to illustrate the already not-so-subtle meaning with lyrics like:

I want you to be true. I just wanna make love to you.

These earlier ads were some of the first ads that showed working women objectifying men in lower position in society (all the women are in offices working white collar jobs while the men are in blue collar labor intensive jobs). This is something that is still relatively rare today. I can only think of one other ad series that objectifies men. Lust is something we see in ads quite often and it's usually pretty blatant.

Sidenote: I originally wanted to do this ad for this assignment, but decided it to go with the Diet Coke ad because the Diet Coke ad is a) an ad series meaning there would be more to analyze and b) an actual ad. Either way, I feel like everyone needs to experience this SNL skit at least once in their lives.

Can't bury these tales: Canterbury Tales & Jane Eyre

Writes often highlight the values of a culture or a society by using characters who are alienated from that culture or society because of the gender, race, class, or creed. Explain how the author uses various literary devices (such as irony, characterization, and figurative language) to provide social commentary, OR how the character's alienation reveals the surrounding society's assumptions and moral values.   
     I would like to start this blog post with a quick note on the passage: Congratulations Charlotte Bronte, you have made me detest Mr.Brocklehurst in 2684 words. Although, with a name like Brocklehurst, he probably did have an evil disposition. 
      
     Anyhow, the fact that anyone would alienate children like that is pretty horrible. I mean, Mr.Bratwurst is telling some small children that their natural hair makes them a bad person! I'm not even exaggerating like:

"Naturally! Yes, but we are not to conform to nature; I wish these girls to be the children of Grace: and why that abundance? I have again and again intimated that I desire the hair to be arranged closely modestly, plainly. Miss Temple, that girl's hair must be cut off entirely

     It feels like a headline we'd see from the Onion ("Beware:Scientist discover link between curls and sins"). Telling kids that is enough to land them in therapy. I really want to say that this makes society and their morals seem pretty horrible, especially because these are the values of a guy who is running what seems to be an orphanage but I've found that now a days we're still telling kids that they have to change themselves to protect a religion that may or may not be theirs.

     In addition to telling kids that their appearance makes them less holy, Mr. Hes-the-worst, he tells Jane to stand on a stool for a fair amount of time (reminiscent of the punishment Hosking told us about that they used in WWI for deserting soldiers) because he's decided that shes already following the devil and that all other children and teachers should shun her. Because those are two things God and Jesus were for: people judging other people and not forgiving and trying to help people.

    This leads me to the conclusion that people have been using their religion incredibly hypocritically for a long time. The use of a religious text, especially one that is so clear on everyone respecting each other, to excuse their crappy behavior is unacceptable.

What's in a name?

I really don't like my name. Most days it's not too bad, but some days I really hate it. According to a not-so-reliable-but-interesting website called HowManyOfMe.com (make sure your virus protection is working before you go there), there are a ton of people with my first and last name in America. Margaret is the 28th most common first name with 1,224,629 people named Margaret. Smith is the 1st most common last name with 2,809,161 people named Smith. I'm everywhere. Back when we used Facebook people had to look up friends of mine with unique names and go through their profile just to find mine. A name is supposed to identify, but mine just makes me harder to find.

So, chances are, I would change my last name without a thought.

However, my name is definitely one that comes with privileges. It sounds very American with absolutely no hint of any other ethnicity. There has been countless studies that have shown the disadvantage to having a name that isn't Anglo-Saxon. The website BehindTheName.com helps highlight this. When you search a name and click on 'ratings' under the more information section, you can see what people think about each name. Here's a screenshot of the rating for the name John: 

Ratings and impressions for JOHN:

Good Name	72%		28%	Bad Name
Masculine	94%		6%	Feminine
Classic	80%		20%	Modern
Mature	74%		26%	Youthful
Formal	63%		37%	Informal
Upperclass	46%		54%	Common
Urban	29%		71%	Natural
Wholesome	79%		21%	Devious
Strong	84%		16%	Delicate
Refined	59%		41%	Rough
Strange	44%		56%	Boring
Simple	73%		27%	Complex
Serious	67%		33%	Comedic
Nerdy	54%		46%	Unintellectual

Based on the responses of 616 people.

And here are the ratings for Juan

Ratings and impressions for JUAN:

Good Name	60%		40%	Bad Name
Masculine	90%		10%	Feminine
Classic	53%		47%	Modern
Mature	41%		59%	Youthful
Formal	47%		53%	Informal
Upperclass	28%		72%	Common
Urban	58%		42%	Natural
Wholesome	43%		57%	Devious
Strong	78%		22%	Delicate
Refined	37%		63%	Rough
Strange	65%		35%	Boring
Simple	69%		31%	Complex
Serious	43%		57%	Comedic
Nerdy	47%		53%	Unintellectual

Based on the responses of 86 people.

Before I even begin to look at these, we have to take in to account that only 86 people have responded to Juan and 616 have responded to John. However the differences are there.

John is considered a good name by 12% more of the votes. 30% of votes considered John to be more mature. 20% of votes considered John to be more formal. Juan is 20% more common than John. 51% of votes consider Juan to be more devious, while only 21% see John as devious. 63% of people considered Juan to be more rough and strange. People also see John as smarter and funnier than Juan. 

All of those stats were based simply on a name and people's preconceptions of that name.

Buzzfeed Yellow released a video that is very similar to what I just showed.

This example of 'ethnic' names not getting chosen but Anglo-Saxon names getting interviews  is a common theme. The National Bureau of Economic Research released an article that started with the following fact:

"Job applicants with white names needed to send about 10 resumes to get one callback; those with African-American names needed to send around 15 resumes to get one callback."

This problem faces all Americans today. Whether we mean to or not, we often unfairly profile people based on what their name sounds like. 

Ps The website BehindTheName.com has some really cool features that you guys should check out like the name translator. And here's my reaction to my name's rating:

Ratings and impressions for MARGARET:

Good Name	73%		27%	Bad Name
Masculine	5%		95%	Feminine
Classic	89%		11%	Modern
Mature	82%		18%	Youthful
Formal	85%		15%	Informal
Upperclass	78%		22%	Common
Urban	38%		62%	Natural
Wholesome	85%		15%	Devious
Strong	68%		32%	Delicate
Refined	81%		19%	Rough
Strange	56%		44%	Boring
Simple	49%		51%	Complex
Serious	82%		18%	Comedic
Nerdy	70%		30%	Unintellectual

Based on the responses of 342 people.

Not too surprised with the classic/mature/formal considering the name was popular in the early 1900s. Also, I've never met a person named Margaret who was under 50 so there's that. 

Although I take the fact that 44% of people found me boring personally.

And look even my name thinks I'm nerdy.