Iron Man Movie Review (600+ Word Post)

Iron Man (Movie Review) - Writ 1301

Iron Man by John Favereau captures the life and feeling of the marvel comic series, and furthermore succeeds in spearheading the phase one marvel cinematic series which plans to extend into the late 2010’s. Through excellent casting from top to bottom. Along with an outstanding script built and reinforced by the numerous precursor comics on which this movie capitalizes on and brings to life on the big screen.

The cast of the movie is outstanding, including the likes of Robery Downey Jr., Don Cheedle, Jeff Bridges, and Gweneth Paltrow.  But the most crucial and biggest successes of any of the cast is Robert Downey Jr. who plays Tony Stark. Downey Jr. was meant to play this role, he plays a genius playboy, that runs the largest privatized weapons company in the world out of his luxurious Malibu home. Furthermore the casting of Jeff Bridges as the main antagonist and eventual villain in the film was equally as successfu. He provides and actual threat to what Tony is standing for, and also fits the mold of a villain in this movie perfectly, in the way he acts and communicates with others even from the onset of the movie.

The CGI and props in this movie are also outstanding, it puts you into real life scenarios that make you forget your in a theatre watching something that will never happen. Everything is lifelike and extremely vivid. The CGI for this time period is out of this world... CGI nowadays is rarely as lifelike and detailed as the CGI work on Iron Man's actual suit was throughout this movie. Furthermore the locations throughout the movie are simple but lifelike and for each and every situation and don't seem out of place, they all have a place and aren't just thrown. Finally the actual weapons and equipment Tony sells and characters wear throughout the movie could pass for real weapons and look like they could actually explode and shoot. Which overall makes the movie even more realistic and lifelike than you would expect from an early 2000’s superhero movie.

The soundtrack and audio of this movie is also outstanding, which primarily just includes AC-DC. But, furthermore the voices of the actors to the sound of vehicles and weapons. It all hits the nail right on the head and engages you and once again brings you out of the theatre and into a lifelike real scenario. The movie is synchronized and balanced in a way where you don't notice it unless the movie precisely intended you to do so. Furthermore the movie has a great way of making you actually listen, the audio isn't just being projected at you, you have to actively listen or you may miss something, which is a great feature to keep the audience engaged in such a dense sometimes overwhelming movie.

Finally the writing, it accomplishes the two major challenges when creating a superhero movie, enjoyable, and grounded. Throughout the movie humor and laughs are inserted. But the movie all remains in the realm of possibility which allows you to further connect to the situations and challenges presented throughout the movie. Also the movie succeeds in sticking to the comics but also making it into a movie, if you stick to close to the comics the movie can become boring and long, but if you just make a movie, you won't be using the excellent source material and lose focus and make something that doesn't need to be made since it's all in front of you.

Overall this movie is a resounding success from top to bottom, and will definitely set the precedent for movies, not just superhero movies for a long time to come. The CGI, Casting, Script, Audio were all revolutionary and will be hard to top by movies releasing in the near future which hope to compete with this gem.

Review of Moana

“Moana” has a couple big-name voice actors: Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson and Lin Manuel Miranda. Moana’s voice actress, Auli’i Cravalho, caught her big break in this movie, and has since starred in the TV show “Rise.” The costumes, hair, and makeup for the human characters are very traditional to Samoan culture, which is important because there has never been a traditional Samoan Disney princess for children to identify with. For example, Maui and his voice actor Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson both have traditional Polynesian tattoos called pe’a. The name Moana even translates to “ocean” in Samoan.
The writing in “Moana” is pretty unique. The plot is almost entirely centered around the history of colonizing Polynesia, and of its traditional fables. A few thousand years ago, Polynesians built boats and voyaged almost the entire Pacific ocean, finding many islands to inhabit by wayfinding (using the stars as navigational guides). Then, for another few hundred years, there was a break from traditional voyaging and wayfinding, until it started back up again around a thousand years ago. In “Moana,” after she restores the Heart of Te Fiti, her people find the courage to start voyaging again. Wayfinding and voyaging are the focus of “Moana”’s most popular songs, “We Know the Way,” and “How Far I’ll Go.” The character Maui is a demigod in Polynesian mythology, who helped shape and create the Polynesian islands, which is represented in the song “You’re Welcome.” Although some of the culture is altered to fit the plot, most of it rings true to tradition. The structure of the writing is chronological so it’s easy for the audience, including children, to follow along. Most noticeably, unlike most Disney princess movies, the main character does not have a love interest; she simply follows her own heart instead of some man. The writing, from the Samoan culture and the lack of a love interest, is both refreshing and impressive coming from Disney.
“Moana” is a story that anyone with an undying passion can relate to. Moana is a determined, confident young lady who follows her instincts and does what she thinks is best. She doesn’t take no for an answer, but still stays loyal to her culture and duties to her community. She even overcomes weakness and overwhelming doubt, which is very human side of her animated character. Overall, “Moana” has raised the bar for cultural representation and emotionally moving movies. All ages can gain knowledge and inspiration from this Disney masterpiece.

Response to article

Article essay

Recently, world news was filled with concern following the failed launch of the Soyuz. A detailed report of the accident is recorded in a recent BBC article. Based on the information within the article, international space programs need to prioritize safety precautions over rapid advancement in exploration technology.

On october 11th, 2018, a Russian astronaut and an american astronaut had to make an emergency evacuation from their flight due to a malfunction. Luckily, both astronauts survived, but the circumstances of the accident are concerning. As of now, it is unclear what the Rocket’s malfunction was, which is a problem. The malfunction raises many questions: Should NASA be evaluating the Russian space program for safety? Should space programs in general invest more money into safety features? Should NASA continue working with the Russian space program?? These are all questions our nation should be asking after a close call like this. Although the article is purely news, and no claims or opinions are stated, it remains open to discussion for the aforementioned safety concerns. The U.S should definitely abstain from cooperative space efforts with Russia until they can prove that the malfunction was somehow a fluke. Despite all this, Russia isn’t the only space program to have issues. The U.S has definitely had their fair share of disasters, but those mistakes we’ve learned from. Rocket launching in 2018 shouldn’t have any casualties. It should also be noted that the article mentioned possible damage between U.S and Russian relations, which is expected. Hopefully this means that the U.S and Russia won’t be launching a rocket together anytime soon.

In recent years, space programs throughout the world have been so focused on technological advancement related to exploration, that safety features have been left in the dust. Unless something changes, we’re going to have to put our foot down on space travel. Evidently the russians had no intention of an accident, but next time the U.S launches a rocket into space, hopefully it’s from our home turf.

Personal reflection

  Personal narrative

The Boundary Waters is a beautiful, but dangerous place. My friends and I learned that the hard way last summer during our trip up north. During my trip in the Boundary Waters, I overcame my fear of hornets, proving that one can make significant progress when given the right situation.

We had a fun day planned on the water, finally having some free time for once. We had just arrived in the BWCA, and we’d spent the previous day canoeing and portaging nonstop. After a long rest, it was time for some action. The six of us set out on an adventure, hoping to discover a nice place to eat and swim. Eventually, we paddled past an island that looked like a fun spot. Paddling closer, we beached our canoes. Before we swam, we had to eat lunch, so we gathered around the firepit to grab a bite. “We don’t have too much time, it’s going to rain in 3 hours” noted my friend David. He was right, we eventually had to get back to our campsite.

Everything was going good, bellies full, my friends and I were about to swim. Just one more thing, we had to set up the water filter in order to refill our drinks. So david moseyed on down to the beach to set it up, just a little bag with a clip to attach it around a tree branch. *Click*, the filter was in place. None of us saw David set it up, but we for sure saw him when he was running back up yelling. “RUN!!” he yelled as he sprinted away from the menacing hornets chasing him. We all laughed, not knowing where the hornets were coming from. Then, we looked back at the filter and saw the hornets nest right next to it. Uh oh.

After shaming David for his shortsighted actions, it was time to come up with a plan. We all took off most of our clothes to create what we dubbed a “supersuit”. David was first to suit up, with two jackets tied around his legs to cover them, his hood tightly covering his face, and gloves. He rushed down to try to grab the filter, but got stung instead. Each person took a turn with the suit, without success. It finally came to me, and I was really scared. Hornets have always scared me throughout my life, even since I got stung at a young age. I hadn’t touched a hornet since. That was about to chance. I suited up, mentally and physically, I began the dreaded walk down towards the nest. The closer I walked towards the hornet nest, the more nervous I became. The hornets’ buzzing grew louder by the second, as if they could sense my fear. Maybe they could hear my heart pounding, the sound of my soggy boots crunching against the leaves, or perhaps they could see me approaching. Losing my composure, I step back to access my surroundings. The island is relatively small, surrounded by trees and rotting fish carcasses. The dead fish gave off a thick stench, which wasn’t a problem for the birds preying on them. The atmosphere was getting darker, as the clouds spread across the sky. The rest of my friends on the island worried about the incoming rain, and we only had a matter of time, no one wanted to paddle back to the campsite drenched. With the clock against us, I realized I had to focus on the objective, retrieve the water filter, and get back to camp. I took another step towards the tree, I could almost touch the filter. Reaching my fingers towards the clip, I grit my teeth. 3….2…..1.. Go! I grabbed onto the clip and squeezed. *Click* the filter dropped down, and I raced back to the site victoriously. I didn’t even care that the hornets were behind me, because I was overcome with joy. All my friends cheered and jumped up in the air, surely heard by anyone within 600 rods. Everyone was in shock that I, the biggest coward in the group, overcame my fear and saved the afternoon. We barely missed the rain on the way back to camp. The rest of the night was filled with laughter and stargazing.

When I traveled up to the Boundary Waters, I didn’t know what I was going for exactly. Possibly an escape from reality, a chance to live in nature, or just a fun outing with my friends. Truthfully, it ended up being a trip of self discovery. I had no idea I would enter the boundary waters as a boy, and exit as a boy who’s no longer scared of bees. Moral of the story is, no matter how much armor you put on your body, it’s the mental armor that matters most when getting the job done. When one is backed against the wall with no choice but to come to terms with what they’ve been running away from, significant growth is always the outcome.

Movie reveiw

Moana was a great film and a prime example of what Disney is known for and is capable of. In certain respects, it’s typical princess movie songs, big bad problem, brave heroine, and funny sidekick. That being said, the movie doesn’t feel forced or cliche, it has powerful messages of family and self identity.

Although there are only two or three main characters, their voice acting was executed. Auli’i did an amazing job as Moana she was a perfect teenage protagonist, her performance brought real life to Moana and made her very relatable. At times she was sarcastic, funny, loving, clever and of course brave. There were certain moments that I felt she especially genuine like when she manipulates Maui into helping her. Maui himself was well played as well initially he seems like a mere Arrogant, selfish, people pleaser. But as the movie progresses, we sympathize with him and understand that he is actually willing to make sacrifices to help and support Moana’s quest.

The transitions in the film were well done. In action filled scenes the focus followed the action without changing shots overwhelmingly, although the majority of the stores are on a small canoe, it still feels plenty large enough to hold the characters and their actions. One of the beginning songs  shows Moana’s island and how everyone belongs and has a clear role. During the song Moana grows from a curious toddler into a determined future chief, a montage of her learning all the different roles of her people and how to lead them shows how she grows physically and emotionally.

The sound and score is fantastic in its emotions and realism. Throughout the movie the sounds of water seem incredibly real but not overwhelming. The score is used very well to convince the audience of certain emotions. During one scene the grandma character falls ill and when the characters find out the sound effects of the island and dialogue are silent but the score becomes very emotional.

Although this is animated film the direction is clear. The directors worked previously on other similar movies for Disney, like The little mermaid. The characters’ movements seem very realistic and not programmed, even the ocean itself is a believable character with clear opinions and personality without any true body or dialogue.

The animation/special effects were stunning in typical Disney fashion. The majority of the film is three dimensional and feels almost palpable, the characters move in realistic ways and are incredibly detailed. There is also some traditional two dimensional animation Maui’s tattoos and the introduction were both clear differences, but didn’t distract from the main style. It’s the combination of the two styles that works so well in one scene the animation is 2d but with voice over by the 3D characters to show the scene is imagined and not real when the scene switches back to the main 3D animation it shows the break of the daydream back to reality.

Two main themes of the movie are family and being loved, and the difference between self identify and societal norms. Moana know everyone on her island and everyone is like a giant family working together. Maui was rejected by his parents, but performs various acts of heroism to gain the love and admiration of humanity. By the end of the film, Moana is ready to lead her people and Maui has gained a true friend rather than just a fan. Moana has issues with fulfilling her role as future chief and struggles with her fascination of the ocean that her grandma encourages. She feels unable to follow either path, but eventually finds a way to combine the parts of her identity. She leads her people as chief on the ocean showing them how to sail.

Two repeated symbols are dances and self decorations. The dances of the island people are very orderly and young Moana has difficulty fitting in, however as she gets older and becomes more comfortable leading her people she learns the dance well enough to teach the children of the village. The grandma’s dance is very different from the others her dance is more flowing and water like representing the ocean.  After the village moves to the ocean, they create a new dance that reflects their new identity. The dances are visual representations of the people’s beliefs and feelings. The tattoos of the village people and grandma are of an animal that represents them and the animals they will become after death. The grandma chooses a ray to explore the ocean and stay with Moana. Maui’s tattoos have a different meaning. He didn’t pick them out instead they show the important parts of his life which is why it’s very meaningful that his adventure with Moana becomes a new tattoo. Tomatoa decorates himself with treasure to show off how rich he is and to appear more beautiful.  Although the tattoos and treasure have different meanings they are still a form of self expression.

Shrek Review

Shrek review

Shrek is a comedic, fairy tale that follows Shrek an ogre, Princess Fiona, and Donkey, that challenges your expectations of a fairy tale, but also has a positive underlying message that tells everyone that they are beautiful. The movie opens by reading a fairy tale that roughly explains the overarching plot of a knight rescuing a cursed princess from a castle that's guarded by a dragon and she can only be cured of her curse by “true love's first kiss.” At the end of the scene Shrek’s hand rips the page of the book and he mocks the story. From the start of the film it continually subverts the viewer’s expectations by making the main character an ogre which are usually the antagonists of the story. More examples of these differences include: the dragon that guards Fiona's castle falling in love with Donkey, The king wearing stilt legs to appear taller, The kingdom being closer to an amusement park than a castle, and even the ending of the film.

The characters in Shrek are well written and well developed and add a lot to the enjoyment of this movie. Each of the main characters are well established in the movie and have unexpected qualities that are outside the norms for these types of characters. An example of this comes from the second act, when the group coming from the castle is ambushed by Robin Hood and his Merry Men who believe they are saving the princess from an ogre. Robin Hood and his men sing a song that explains who they are, but Fiona interrupts them by fighting them showing her to be a capable independent character. This trait of Fiona’s character is in stark opposition to the traditional role of the helpless princess who needs to be rescued.

The writing in Shrek takes advantage of its animation by creating visuals to match the facial expressions of the characters to convey the emotion of the scene. These scenes are most common at the end of the movie when it is revealed that Fiona is cursed to turn into an ogre at night and when the curse is lifted by Shrek she becomes an ogre at all times. The character development in this story depends on these scenes to be able to show the viewer how the characters feel. Along with the visuals the soundtrack plays upbeat classics such as Smash Mouth’s All Star and emotional like Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah that really assist in setting the mood of each scene.

At the end of the movie Shrek bursts through the doors of a church to stop the wedding, and ends up lifting Fiona’s curse with a kiss. She looks surprised when she realized that she is still and ogre and asks why she isn't beautiful. Shrek then tells her she is beautiful and the movie ends. This ending challenges the traditional narrative where a curse being lifted would turn her into a human full time. This ending tells the viewer that all people are beautiful and that people should love themselves for who they are. 8/10

Response to News Article

Max Brissett

Clara Biesel

WRIT 1301 University Writing

16 October 2018

Response to a News Article

Hurricane Michael’s powerful winds and rain swept across six states, killed more than a dozen people, caused flash flooding and left at least one million people without power. In the past few days rescue teams have been scavenging through ruins from Hurricane Michael to discover more deaths. The death toll rose to 16 and is expected to rise as emergency workers search through the rubble. Several people have drowned including a firefighter who was responding to an emergency call. An 11 year old girl was killed when a car part was torn away and went flying into a home. At least 1.5 million people were without electricity in states stretching from Florida to Virginia.  Government officials are racing to find a way to get food and water to the increasingly desperate people of the Florida Panhandle. In the immediate aftermath of the storm, it was becoming clear that many residents were not only left without a habitable home, but also without adequate supplies and food. The estimated damage of the storm is around 4.5 billion dollars. Throughout the past years, many devastating storms have hit the U.S. causing a lot of damage and deaths which raises many questions about how we can prevent all of these casualties and better protect the civilians in these storm areas.

When a storm as big as Hurricane Michael is headed towards the United States, it is the government's responsibility as well of the citizens living in the area to get out of there and prevent getting hurt from the storm. Many people do get out of the area and get out of harm's way but there are still too many people that do not get out in time and stay in the area of the storm. Some people just do not find the need to leave and that is when people get hurt. So how do we prevent people from getting hurt from the storm? Simple, you get them out of there. But how de we get them out of there? That is a bit more complicated. The government can’t just come in to people's homes and drag them out of there. If people want to stay in their homes and if they feel safe they will even though they shouldn’t because when a storm like Hurricane Michael is coming, they are not safe anywhere near it. In order to get people to leave before the storm comes, the government needs to make it very clear that the storm is coming as soon as they know and they need to make sure they can get the news out to everyone. When they do warn the citizens they need to help them get out of there by doing things such as implementing an escape plan by directing traffic in a way to make it move faster and getting people the transportation they need to get out of there if they do not have their own car. The government can’t control every citizen’s decision but they can give as much help as they can and encourage people to leave. One death from a storm like this is one too many, so the government needs to change something in the way they handle these natural disasters and they need to do it quick.

Response to News Article

New Zealand is undoubtedly a beautiful country, but it has a “darker side”, claims BBC reporter Phil Mercer in a new article titled “How New Zealand is trying to take on child poverty”. For being a first world country, New Zealand has a shockingly high rate of child poverty- about 27% of all children to be exact. However, New Zealand’s newly elected prime minister, Jacinta Adern, has “promised to halve child poverty over the next ten years” (Mercer), and sets an example that the United States, another country with high child poverty, should follow.
Some changes to address this issue have already been enacted in New Zealand, such as “cash and housing assistance… a winter energy payment, and new benefits for newborns” (Mercer) to families in need. In the article, Mercer quotes a low-income single mother, who reports “within the first six months my income already went up”; she continues by praising how much positive work the government has done in such a short amount of time. In this example, it is clear Adern's crusade to aid children already appears effective, and begs the question: if New Zealand can do it, can the same ideas be applied in the United States?
However, a few criticisms of the new policies have been emerged. One of the challenges of this “monumental task” (Mercer) is how child poverty is even defined, a problem the previous government could not agree on. While there is not an official definition for New Zealand, a household income 50-60% below the average household income is generally accepted internationally. Because of this, the effects of the new policies toward “halving” child poverty will be difficult to measure. And while some families have evidently seen positive change, Mercer also hears from political commentator and associate professor Grant Duncan, and his reluctance “to give them credit for any results because we’re still waiting for statistics… we’ve got no evidence”.  A spokeswoman from the Child Poverty Action Group, Susan St John, seconds this hesitation, as she expected to see more change at a faster rate. In addition to these concerns, the impact on the country’s budget may also pose challenges.
These same problems are likely to arise in the U.S. if further policies to aid children and the poor are enacted. In this political climate, the government is extremely reluctant to give added benefits or welfare to the poor due its effect on the national budget and the ideal of personal responsibility. Trying to enact more policies to aid children would certainly be a slow and difficult process. However, this attitude fails to consider the children of lower-class families, who by no fault of their own feel the devastating affects of poverty. In a country with such wealth, there is no reason that our children should be going hungry or homeless. Caring for our most vulnerable citizens and the future of our country- our children, should be a top priority regardless of political party; the U.S. government should take a more drastic stand in the way New Zealand has.
As with any political issue, making lasting change is a long and difficult road to follow, with plenty of political disagreement regarding how to make such change. As Mercer reported, some New Zealander’s are skeptical about how effective the new policies are, and how quickly the impact will be seen. On the other hand, plenty of low-income families claim to be benefiting already, and even the skeptics are still hopeful, including Susan St John, who told Mercer “this is the best chance children have had for a long time”. So, despite difficulties in reducing child poverty, the quality of our children’s lives here in America needs to be supported by any means possible, and we need politicians to take a stand like Jacinta Arden.

Works Cited
Mercer, Phil. “How New Zealand Is Trying to Take on Child Poverty.” BBC News, BBC, 16 Oct. 2018, www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-45819681.

The definition of art in the modern era

On Friday, October 5th, at Slothby’s auction in London, the famous art piece “Girl with Balloon” by Bansky self destructed after being sold for $1.4 million. Once the gavel fell, the picture fed itself through a hidden shredder in its frame, causing the bidders to collectively gasp and sending the Slothby’s staff into a state of panic. The painting was still sold “as is” to the buyer for the final stated price. The device was built into the frame by Bansky himself, and he shows how he made the shredder in an Instagram post that has since then been deleted.

This public display is not only humorous and slightly outrageous, but is also trying to share a message about art today and how we as a society value art. Since he primarily creates street art and graffiti, it is clear that Bansky doesn’t care about the money that he could be making by selling his art. Also, his constant anonymous and mysterious persona show that he doesn’t care about the fame either. Bansky wanted to make a statement about the current art climate. He wants to share a message, which has always been his primary goal and is mirrored in his art.

Today, art is primarily viewed as a valuable commodity, often devoid of any meaning other than who made it. Paintings are bought if they have been created by renowned artists, and painting that are filled with raw emotion and meaning are often forgotten if the artist isn't in the spotlight. Bansky wants to fight against this view of “valuable” art and shift the paradigm towards art being valued by how it impacts people and makes them think about life. Also, Bansky is showing that art cannot be bought or owned. He normally paints graffiti art on public walls, which doesn’t allow him to gain a profit, yet allows anyone to access his art and appreciate it. By shredding his own art, he is trying to defy the ideas of privatized art and art for profit. As an artist, he cares more for his art and how it affects people than for all of the money and fame that commonly comes with it. In his Instagram post about the unexpected shredding, Bansky said “The urge to destroy is also a creative urge”, a quote commonly attributed to Pablo Picasso. This amount of destructive creativity that Bansky shows in this exhibit is not only a piece of visual painting, but pushes the boundaries of the event into an art experience.

Although many people speculate that the painting, now being called “Love is in the Bin”, will greatly increase in value because of the new found fame, this was certainly not Bansky’s intention. He was promoting an idea and a different perspective of what art is, not just trying to get more money or popularity for himself. No matter what the public opinion towards this strange art auction is, it will surely go down in history as one of the greatest pieces of art in the modern era.

Theo Walther

ESPM 1011

Path Homework #1: Air Pollution Issues and Solutions

General Description

The Earth has many environmental issues that are harmful to humans, animals and the environment around us. Air pollution, is the presence of unwanted chemicals and compounds that lower the quality of the air and cause an imbalance of gases in our atmosphere. These imbalances have direct effect on global warming and the depletion of the ozone layer.1 Due to the large impact and side effects that air pollution has on the Earth and living life, it is ranked as one of the top environmental issues the Earth is facing.2 Human activity and industrialization are the main causes of air pollution and if change does not occur, the consequences we have readily observed will only get worse.

In-Depth Description

Human activity is the main contributor to air pollution but there are also other factors that add up to create the large air pollution problem the earth faces. The earth’s atmosphere is made up of 78% nitrogen gas, 21% oxygen gas, and the remaining 1% consists of trace gases like argon and carbon dioxide. The balance of these chemicals are vital to life on Earth, so the addition of pollutants can have detrimental effects.3 Natural causes and anthropogenic causes can both have damaging effects on air quality. Anthropogenic, created by humans, has much larger effects on air pollution than those of natural causes. The use of fossil fuels in industry, transportation, and energy creation are the main source of pollutants that cause imbalance in the atmosphere.4 Natural causes such as volcanic activity and wildfires can lower air quality but the effects are mostly seen locally rather than globally. These events, in addition, happen periodically where as human activity occurs daily.4

There have been many studies done on the negative effects that come with air pollution. There are direct impacts on human health and the impacts are very concerning. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 4.2 million people die prematurely every year due to the air pollution they have been exposed to. The deaths can be linked to various illnesses such as lung cancer, stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and respiratory infections in children.5 Even more startling, 29% of all lung cancer related deaths in the world are due to exposure of air pollution and 24% of all stroke related deaths are caused by air pollution.5 It is estimated that 91% of people in the world live in places where the air quality does not meet the World Health Organization’s guidelines. The guideline of air quality is 10µg/m3 and in these places it exceeds that.6 If humans continue to contribute to the air pollution problem and don’t change, they will experience the consequences firsthand.

A question that is often debated when analyzing air pollution is if economics outweigh clean air. One side of the argument would claim that clean air is a public good and should be available to all. This side would also claim that it is important to regulate industries and the amount of emissions that they are allowed to release. On the other hand, putting regulations in place could potentially decrease the productivity of industries and therefore hurt our economy. The answer to the this question is not easy and can vary depending on who is asked and their ideals.

Although air pollution is still a large problem there have been efforts in order to prevent the matter from getting worse. The clean air act of 1963 was put in place to monitor and control  emissions and other causes of air pollution. Also, new technology advances in transportation and industries have been created to reduce the amount of pollution caused.7

New laws and technology advances have benefitted the Earth in terms of pollution but it is still a big problem. Many countries still don’t have regulations or the resources for this technology, therefore they still experience a large amount of air pollution. Another problem that humans still face is how to reverse the damage that has already been done.

Possible Solutions

One way to solve the problem of air pollution that the earth faces today is by using economic forces. These would help discourage companies from continuing the way they operate if problematic to the environment. Economic forces include discentives like taxes and incentives such as subsidies and tax credits. One large discentive that has already been put in place is carbon tax which taxes companies and people for their use of fossil fuels. If this discentive is set high enough it can discourage companies to continue using fossil fuels and rather switch to fuel alternatives that are more eco-friendly.8 If more discentives like carbon tax are implemented on companies and consumers they will feel pressured to find more environment friendly fuel alternatives. When companies and consumers start utilizing these alternatives less emissions will be created and the damage the companies create will be reduced. Another discentive that could be put in place to encourage companies to be more clean towards the environment is more strict and larger pollution charges. This would mean a company would have to pay a certain amount of money if they went over a certain amount of pollution within a given time period.

When incentives are given to companies and humans they will be more driven to make a difference and reach these incentives. One incentive is being able to trade emissions with other companies. This means that if a company produced less emissions than the limit they are allowed to trade them to another company who may be exceeding their emission limit. Most of the time emissions are traded for money which is why it is an incentive to be more environmentally friendly.

Another approach that can be taken in order to combat this issue could be education and outreach. Humans do not always recognize that what they are doing has a large impact on the Earth. Therefore, as a society we need to become more educated about the environment and specifically air pollution. By educating humans about air pollution they will gain awareness on the issue, be more thoughtful about their actions, and increase concern about the future of the planet. Educating society can be done in various way and some are more effective than others. By implementing environmental classes in schools at a young age, kids will have an understanding of the environment and it gives them a reason to practice good behaviors in their following years. In order to educate more than just kids, there could be advertisements on social media and other platforms. This would include information that would persuade people to become more environmentally friendly and change the way they live their lives. If people were exposed to this information on a daily basis on social media platforms, it will stick with them and cause change. The changes in behavior could include buying a electric car, using public transportation, renewable energy, etc. All these changes will add up to ultimately bettering the environment and air quality on Earth.

Synthesis

Air pollution is difficult to reverse and efforts to prevent the issue from getting worse have been hard to implement. It is human’s responsibility to allow future generations to be exposed to clean air like many generations ago. If humans and industries continue to pollute the air there could be many negative consequences such as ozone layer depletion and increasing climate change. These consequences would have a direct toll on humans and all other living life on Earth. How do we ensure that clean air will be around many generations from now? Is there a way to reverse the damage done? There is only one Earth, it is the duty of all to protect and preserve it for future generations and it starts by solving the air pollution problem.

Work Cited

1. Rinkesh. What is Air Pollution.

https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-effects-solutions-of-air-pollution.php (accessed October 3rd, 2018)

2. Rinkesh. Environmental Concerns.

https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/top-25-environmental-concerns.php (accessed October 3rd, 2018)

3. Williams, M. What Causes Air Pollution? https://phys.org/news/2016-04-air-pollution.html (accessed on October 4th, 2018)

4. Environmental Pollutions Center. Air Pollution Causes.

https://www.environmentalpollutioncenters.org/air/causes/  (accessed October 4th, 2018)

5. WHO. Ambient air pollution: Health impacts.

http://www.who.int/airpollution/ambient/health-impacts/en/ (accessed October 8th, 2018)

6. WHO. Air pollution and health: Summary.

http://www.who.int/airpollution/ambient/about/en/ (accessed October 8th, 2018)

7. EPA. Progress Cleaning the Air and Improving People’s Health.

https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/progress-cleaning-air-and-improving-peoples-health (accessed October 8th, 2018)

8. CTC. What’s a Carbon Tax? https://www.carbontax.org/whats-a-carbon-tax/ (accessed October 8th, 2018)

Blog Post #2 - Nicotine's addictive properties

Nicotine contains many addictive qualities, including stimulation of dopamine receptors, encouragement to use more stimulative drugs, and ability to make non-drug activities more enjoyable. We as a modern society have developed new ways in which to ingest nicotine, and as a result we find more and more people falling to the deadly power of addiction.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse released studies on September 30th further explaining nicotine’s addictive properties and why more and more teens and adults are becoming dependent on these products. Studies were also conducted at Columbia University, comparing the addictive qualities of nicotine to those of cocaine. These studies were done and released in order to enlighten the public on the destructive properties nicotine addiction can have on the body, as well as explain its ability to guide users down a path of more severe drug use. The article claims that the measure of a drugs addictiveness isn not based on how much pleasure or reward is obtained from using, but it is instead based on the drugs ability to “reinforce” or create a repeated cycle of use. This reinforcement is done in the brain, as nicotine releases dopamine in neurons that connects the nucleus accumbens with the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, and other brain regions. Furthermore This dopamine signal “teaches” the brain the action of repeating the behavior of using the nicotine. The article continues, explaining that tobacco is one the leading killer out of drugs, simply from the lung and heart related diseases that arise due to smoking. These diseases are of course preventable, as simply choosing not to smoke cigarettes will prevent you from dealing developing these serious health complications, but the nicotine that comes with smoking makes it hard for smokers to quit, repeating their use and slowly exposing them to the negative effects. Furthermore, with the recent boom in e-cigarette popularity, we find that more and more people are becoming addicted to nicotine as it becomes easier to use these devices, and the flavors become more appealing to the tastes and desires of the public. The article closes out by explaining the “gateway effect”, which explains that the use of nicotine may lead down a path that entices a user to try more immediately harmful drugs. The audience that this article is directed at seems to be the general public, but more specifically it targets people who are nearing, reached, or above the legal smoking age. The article is informative in the sense that it explains addiction and its negative aspects, but it also explains the science of addiction and compares it to feelings that a non-addict can relate to, which allows non-addicts to relate to the feelings that an addict may feel. I personally think that this article differs from other studies on nicotine and drugs because even though it is mostly fact based, it also contains an attitude that doesn’t shame addicts, which may be reassuring and helpful to an addict trying to handle or discover more about their addiction. I personally have never felt an urge or desire to use nicotine products. With that being said I always found it confusing as to why some many people feel the urge to use them, or develop an addiction. After reading this article and finding out that being addicted to nicotine is more than just feeling that urge, but it is combined with reinforcement of use, and its heightened performance during social or luxury events gave me an inside look at the reasons why so many of my peers have succumb to addiction.

The movie review of the Hunger Games

The Hunger games is about an unchanging courageous and resourceful heroine by the name of Katniss Everdeen. Out of 12 districts, a boy and a girl must be drawn under a raffle known as “the reaping” to fight to the death on television with one winner. Upon drawing the name of her beloved younger sister, Primrose Everdeen, emotion is spurred through the audience as the scene silenced. During the hunger games, Katniss has nothing to rely on but her mastery in archery and hunting so that she can see her loved ones once again. Gary Ross utilizes the quality of realism and precise effects in order to maintain the audience’s attention through the long precarious journey of Katniss Everdeen. 

In a scene where Katniss painfully suffers through a hallucination in which the camera evades the field of view of the characters, portraying a “tired” effect of Katniss. In concurrence, sound is muffled, and delayed screaming and echoing is heard throughout. Both of these tools of filmmaking emphasize the quality of realism and precise effects the director is utilizing in the movie. The same audio effects are used when a flashback of her father’s death in a coal mine explosion is played. This unforgettable haunting scene in Katniss’ dream plays perfectly in with visual design in conjunction with audio effects: with rubble on the ground from an obliterated home, it is built back together with the use of reverse playback in pair with a slow, sorrow music.

The emotions run high throughout the movie as Katniss yearns to see her younger sister again. Katniss professes her love during the hunger games for her district twelve partner, Peeta, earning tools for her crucial survival. Later revealing that her partner had an undisclosed crush on her the whole time, the thought that only one of them could live had the audience on their seat. At the beginning the movie, district twelve’s mentor, Haymitch, and winner of a hunger games, seemed snobby, lazy, and willing to help. But throughout the games, Haymitch’s emotions come out as he watches his tributes suffer through the certain vulnerability of death. In a scene, the audience’s emotion, in conjunction with the calming guitar music, brings a ray of hope when a care package is dropped to Katniss’ suffering image with the help of Haymitch.

Throughout the movie, the visual aspects of the movie convey a sense of a first-person style. The shaky cameras move as if the audience itself is a part of the action, stumbling around in first person go-pro style. The scenes escalate from the poor slums-like district twelve, the lavish life of the capitol (the ones controlling the game), and finally to the perilous wilderness arena for a free-for-all. The Characters’ talents represent the status of their origin as we see well-fed, strong tributes from another wealthy district. Similarly, the wealthiest citizens of this world come from the Capitol, as we see the bejeweled, not starving, colored-haired citizens that kind of in a sense rule over the people of the poor districts. The people of the capitol are the kings, while the districts must provide characters to be put into a gladiator arena to fight to each others' deaths.

Furthermore, Ross directs the movie so that the story moves so swiftly that the audience is on their seat the whole time, even though the actual games do not start until over halfway through the movie. In the beginning of the games, the muted characters paired in junction with a scene of spine-chilling murder and eerie music exemplifies the realism of the emotions they go through. It really draws the audience's attention to the scene compared to a for example boring scene where people's thoughts will wander away or they will be on their phone.

A Timeless Retelling of a Chinese Legend: Mulan(1998)

Although Mulan was released in 1998, this Walt Disney film is truly timeless, incorporating elements of feminism, romance, and war. Most recent Disney movies incorporate some level of defiance to society’s norms such as Beauty and the Beast(2017) and Moana; however, this movie was a complete defiance to a society that did not respect women as equals.

In that time period of the movie, it was clear that upholding the families honor as a women meant impressing the matchmaker and abiding to the matchmaker’s plans of marriage. Unfortunately, a series of unfortunate events occured anytime she tried to uphold her family’s order. She arrived late to the matchmaker, didn’t spend the time to memorize her recitation, and lost focus when pouring tea. All of these events reminded her that everything she did to play her role as a women was not truly her. The beautiful song “Reflection” constantly forced her to asked the question: “When will my reflection show, who I am inside?”. Her father, previously a war hero, was injured and was required to volunteer to fight alongside the Chinese Army against The Huns, who were lead by Shan Yu.

The night before, she saw her father’s weakening health and took his place in the war, dressed as a man. Her ancestors tried to prevent her from reaching to the campground, so they sent Mushu, a tiny dragon and a disgraced former guardian, to send the stone dragon to protect her. He broke the statue instead and decided to aid Mulan on her journey, despite his initial attempts to dissuade her from joining the army. He terribly advised her on how to act like a man when training under the command of Captain Li Shang. Considering her initially lacking military skills as well, Mulan was the most hated soldier throughout the beginning of training. However, she found strength and developed intelligence through persistence, and slowly became a role model for the rest of the men. She even developed an interest in Captain Li Shang.

Musho creates false order that commanded Shang to follow the imperial army into the mountains. They found everyone dead, including Shang’s father, a true hero. After herds of Huns appear on the edges of the white mountains, Captain Li Shang orders the last missile to be shot at  Shan Yue, however, before that happened, Mulan cleverly aimed the missile at the tip of a mountain directly above the entire army, wiping almost the entire army in one blow. After this occured, Mulan was wounded and all the soldiers discovered she was a woman. Captain Li Shang and the rest of the army ignored her when she told them, at the large celebration, the Huns were alive and intended to capture the emperor. Mulan saved China and the emperor from the ruthless Huns, and as a result, became one of the most respected woman and hero of all time.

       In an era where women were quite frankly not respected as people who had the ability to make decisions, Mulan found the courage to follow her heart and become who she really was for the sake of herself despite what was expected of her. This empowering and much needed message, even today, leads me to give a rating of 4.5/5.

Movie Review

Hush Movie Review

In the terrifying movie Hush, a deaf woman living alone in her house in the woods is being hunted by a murderer. The main character, Penny, must fight for her life in silence while the murderer sneaks around her house. This movie encompasses all of the great characteristics of visual design, character, audio, and writing which are used to enhance the film.

The visual design in this movie is fantastic. The movie catches your attention right away with creepy music and a panoramic view of the woods that leads to Penny’s house in the woods. The film work is great throughout the whole movie. Because the main character is deaf, she didn’t hear the murderer when he first came. He was on her deck banging on her screen door and stabbing her neighbor over and over. The camera work was great here. It switched back and forth from showing it from behind the murderer so you could see what he is doing and him watching Penny cook through the window. Then it would switch and show penny cooking and just carrying on with her day while her neighbor is being murdered right next to her. The switches in views throughout the whole movie create suspense and fear and make you anxious to keep watching. The location of her house in the middle of the woods also adds to the creepiness of the film.

The use of audio in this movie was great. Because the main character is deaf, there isn’t a lot of verbal conversations taking place. When she facetimes or talks to people, they speak, but she signs. The important audio that they used was the background music and noises. The music was spooky and created fear. Every noise that a person would hear was made. When she was cooking, we could hear the food sizzling, but with dead silence in the background. When she would type, we would only hear the keys. The mixture of noise and silence and using everyday noises that we forget about added more drama. When we first found out she was deaf in the movie, the background music faded to nothing and the noises of her cooking disappeared. The movie was silent, and we just watched her living her life. It was a great way to show that she was deaf because it set the stage for the rest of the movie, showing that she cannot hear anything, even the sounds we hear everyday. .

Although the use of writing and dialogue was minimal in this movie because she was deaf, the conversations that she had in sign language and the messages on her phone and computer really enhanced the movie. She even used lipstick and wrote on her door, “Didn’t see face, won’t tell. Boyfriend coming home.” I think the fact that there was so little conversation and dialogue in this movie caused more fear.

Overall the characters did a fantastic job. The tone in the murderer’s voice and his body language were consistent and scary throughout the entire movie. The main character did a great job pretending to be deaf and didn’t look like she was faking. Although I couldn’t tell that the main character was faking, it still might have enhanced the film if the actor was deaf in real life. I thought all of the characters did a great job playing their roles, and the personalities of their characters seemed to come naturally to them.

Throughout the entire movie, the important characteristics of sound, characters, visual design, and writing were used very well. The use of background music and sounds of background objects, the great camera work, the portrayal of characters, and the text messages and sign language for conversation really enhanced the plot and overall appeal of this movie.