2011년 12월 4일 일요일

Synthesis Essay for "30days with minimum wage"

Milton Friedman's remarks on minimum wage


     Milton Friedman blames the Minimum Wage laws that even increases discrimination and unemployment rate and thus, they are ineffective.

 An unknown guy explains why increasing minimum wage is wrong


   The prices of the things will increase in order to pay for employees (inflation). Then, it's gonna stay the same. Also, as more people lose their jobs, (unemployment increases) people cannot buy things much.

WHO IS RIGHT??

For this question, I think the former is right. As seen in the documentary 30days, people simply do not know how poor people live and approach the matter theoratically. An inflation has increased the prices of goods significantly. Yet, the minimum wage is staying at the same level for 10years. THERE MUST BE A CHANGE.

2011년 11월 23일 수요일

An Ode to King Lear


Dear King Lear,


     I hereby confess my love towards thee. I have been reading thee for 3 days and have not finished thee yet. Thou might think that I am lazy and that my affection towards thee is feigned; I say, upon this page where everyone can see and thus no one shall lie, I LOVE THEE!! It took so much time because I went over what thou are saying over and over again!! I was first attracted to thee when I looked into thy structural composition for the AP Literature presentation. The five staged contents - Exposition/ Rising Action/ Climax/ Falling Action/ Conclusion - proved how well written and sophisticatedly contrived thou are; the subtle overlapping and smooth transition between each stage made it easy for me to read through thee and embrace thy messages. In addition, thou are prone to understand human emotions very well. Thou, without any pretense or affectation, vividly portray what characters feel, why they feel such sentiments, and how they react. I especially like thy being so humane and easily apprehensible; THAT IS SO CHARMING!!!
                                             -> honored King Lear
     I hereby confess my resentment towards thee. Why are thou written in old language!! Though my deep love ultimately overcame the obstacle, thou are such a bad person who makes her lover to bury his head into an old English dictionary. Also, whay are thee so fat!! Thou are like 200 pages. Next time, though probably I will never meet anyone so attractive as thee, try to reduce some weight. Thou kill all thy servants who all gather to send thy messages. Lear is dead, Cordelia is dead, Regan is dead, Goneril is dead,... The decisiveness is also what leads me to like thee; yet, the very same cruelty sometimes frighten me. Make sure thou never scare me!!
                                                      -> furious King Lear
                                             -> furious King Lear
                                             -> Death of Cordelia
     I hereby confess my sorriness towards thee. I am deeply sorry for carelessly throwing thee into the school bag and making thy skin crumpled. I am also deeply sorry for carelessly throwing thee onto my bed and folding thy arms and legs as I slept over thy bent body. Though I can never repair and restore thee, I promise thee that I will try my best to keep thee in the finest condition and love thee way more than the magnitude of pain I have given thee.

     I hereby expressed all what I wanted to tell thee. Though I end my letter to thee here, my deepest affection for thee never ends.

2011년 11월 12일 토요일

Movie Review on "Superman Returns (2006)"

Superman Returns (2006)



Genre: SF, Action, Adventure
Release: 2006 .06 .28
Running time: 154 minutes
Director: Bryan Singer
Written by: Daniel Harris, Michael Dougherty
Presented by: Warners Bros. Pictures
Main Actors: Brandon Routh (Superman / Clark Kent), Kate Bosworth (Lois Lane), James Marsden (Richard White), Kevin Spacey (Lex Luthor), Frank Langella (Perry White)


Synopsis:
     After being disappeared from Earth for 5 years to visit his home planet Krypton - where he finds nothing but remnants, Superman returns!! Yet, in the meantime when he was gone, the world has changed a lot; cities are full of criminals and their evil conducts, his former lover Kate Bosworth is engaged to her newspaper company editor's cousin, and the forever villain Lex Luthor is out of prison and is planning to destroy the whole continent of North America and kill billions of people; he tries to use the crystals of Krypton to build a continent that will wipe out most of the continent. 
     To prevent the sinister dream of Luthor's from being achieved, the Man of Steel fights against the psychopathic criminal. Yet, Luthor uses Kryptonite - the lethal substance that is Superman's only weakness - and our Superman gets into a trouble....

Teaser Trailer:


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RATINGS: 4 / 5 ★★★★☆

[Movie Review]


     One of the renowned Hollywood blockbuster movie directors who directed "The Usual Suspects", "X-men" series, Bryan Singer, has come with a new work: the "Superman Returns". How much he wanted to work on this movie can easily be seen from many episodes; for one, Singer refused to direct "X-men3" - unarguably one of the most widely known job in his career that earned him huge fame - and handed the job over other director, Brett Ratner SOLELY in order to work on the Man of Steel! As an enormous fan of "Superman" himself , how Singer would interpret and add variation to the original superman figure has drawn attention of many people.

 - Reflection? Artificiality!
     Though both "X-men" series and "Superman" series come from the same source, comic book series, they come to us in a very different way. "X-men" had never been filmed before Singer and thus, every single characteristic and feature that Singer gave to the characters directly became the true figure of them. In case of "Superman", on the other hand, Singer had to both present new interpretation of characters whild reflecting some of the qualities that Richard D. Doner and Richard Lester had given to it in the original Superman in 1979 and 1980. When he decided to summon Superman back to 21st century from 1980s, Singer must have "fitly" fuse and separate from the original "Superman".
     However, it seems that Singer failed to do so; the movie is tied too much with the past Superman series. The "Superman Returns" excessively sticks to the original version in that it uses classical narrative and exterior of characters. Even the credit sequence that comes at the very beginning of the film and the very ending of the film is the very same credit sequence that Richard Doner had used. Outside of that, astonishingly similar-looking actors as the past version, artificially made place setting at 1970s NYC, the very same places such as the bar, littery offices of Daily Planet building, and jammed streets of NY that had formed the place setting of the previous version coming up again all sum up and make the movie too much tied to the 1979 Superman. What's even more restraining is that for the places which appear in the Doner's Superman but not in his, Singer makes a miniature models of them and displays them in Luthor's home. Trivial episodes reappear just as it was in the past Superman series such as Kent and Olson talking in a bar; even the camera angle is identical. Not only the settings being repeated but camera angles, lines of actors, situations in the film, and scenes of the movie being repeated just the same as the past series causes artificiality. Preservation of the Man of Steel in 1980s as if it was in a vaccuum tube is not a way to connect the Superman series; it should reflect that the audience is living in the 21st century and thus, Superman has "changed" by the time.



 - Interesting Status of Lex Luthor
     During the movie, Lex Luthor compares himself to the Prometheus who in Greek mythology stole fire from Gods and gave it to humans and thereby let human civilization develop. He compares the Man of Steel as God and avows to fight against him.
     In the Greek myth, Prometheus is unrequitedly punished for crossing God's will. Yet, in the Superman Returns, Luthor has coordinative status as does Superman. At this point, an interesting conjecture comes up.
     The very beginning of the movie starts with the story of Lex Luthor. In the scene, Luthor inherits billons of dollars from a dowager - who he married with - and gets a huge power. He then goes to the 'fort of solitude' which is located in Superman's native planet with the money and meets with the illusion of Superman's father, Kal-El. The illusion is deluded that it assumes Luthor to be Superman and gives him the power of Krypton crystal and Luthor steals all the crystals from the planet.
     That the tool that Luthor commits evil deeds with is the source of Superman's power is somehow ridiculous and ironic. However, if we put the relationship in the light of brothers, Luthor seems to be the evil sibling of Superman's, Cain.
     Here, interestingly, the lady who acted the dowager is the very same actor who acted Lois Lane in the original Superman. Therefore, Lex Luthor, who married Lois Lane and was admitted by Kal-El could be intepreted as Superman's id and an evil brother who has to kill Superman.
     Maybe, Luthor is not the Prometheus, but Hades, who is the older brother of Zeus and takes care of the afterlife world.



 - Superman as an extraterrestrial being
     If we see the Superman movies made in 1979 and 1980s, the Man of Steel is described as a humane and assimilative being that saves the world, has weaknesses and "feels" human feelings. However, in the Superman Returns, the Man of Steel is a man of "steel" who is stuck in the space between the human world and the alien world.
     Luthor saying "He's dead" when Kal-El's illusion appears, the editor of Daily Planet preparing two articles titled 'Superman is dead' and 'Superman is alive', Lois Lane writing an article titled 'The reason we donot need Superman anymore', heroic actions of Superman becoming the subject of entertainment of people all show that Superman's existence is not "necessary" for people anymore.
     Superman's costume makes him unnatural and artificial. Bullet getting crushed when it hits Superman's eye makes the Man of Steel a "steel"-like being. Superman is described as an extraterrestrial existence through the film and whereas it sends a social message about how selfish and corrupting human nature is, it disappoints crowd who wants a "hero" and wishes to feel safe with his abilities.




 -After watching...
     In the movie, the assumption that Superman is a savior sent be Kal-El to help people and save them from their inheritant wickedness parallels with the setting of Bible where God sends Jesus Christ to save the people. Whereas Superman is a herioc being who devotes to humankind's salvation and safety and thus must be applauded, as Jesus had to sacrifice himself, the Man of Steel must die.
     Brian Singer seems to have understood the matter of imperfection very well and have expressed it very well throughout the movie.
     It aroused reminiscence that the Man of Steel had made his comeback. Yet, watching the 1979 appearance of him in 2010 was somehow unnatural and artificial.
     Yet, I enjoyed the movie in general, and the fundamental question that the film throws - How innately evil we are and how we should solve the matter out - reminds us of the social problems and filthy crimes going on in our societies. Hope the movie, even a very little bit, helps raising people's moral standards that will ultimately lead us onto trying to solve social problems.





SO LONG SUPERMAN.....

2011년 11월 6일 일요일

In Class Writing -Reflective Essay on "Spring"


     It has long been a dream of mine to travel alone in a "new world" - a world where I have never been to, where I do not have any acquaintance, where I am not at all familiar with the culture, and where I would feel totally isolated and alienated. I always became excited as I imagined meeting with some unknown indigenous tribes and trying my best to converse with them and assimilate to their way of living. The fascination of the dream mainly came from two sources; first, I wanted to be "unique" and have unique experience and second, I wanted to "feel the nature".
     During the last winter vacation, the desire has grown more intense; the only and major reason for the intensification was Walden, written by the famous American writer and theorist, Henry David Thoreau. It is a very well known episode that Thoreau isolated himself from the civilized world for 2 years in order to leave himself, his "existence" and "being", away from all the artificial things and learn the true value of nature.
     Before reading the masterpiece, my awareness toward nature was somewhat indifferent. Truly, I have read and heard a lot of literary works, sayings, and remarks about the value of nature - how peaceful, cozy, and motherly it is. Yet, for they never got into the deepest facet of nature and thus never reflected the truist aspect of it, they were just a trivial and repetitive words ; they never "came to my skin".
     As I flipped the pages of Walden, however, I felt that my heart was beating with excitement, my hands were trembling with astonishment, and my hair was getting sweaty with the fabulous and evident insight of the author. Walden combines both the philosophies of the Eastern thinkers and the Western thinkers; such ideas like Mencius' "Zhung-yong [중용]" - an idea that a wise man should closely observe and realize the value and fundamentals of nature and follow the order without trying to commit extreme conducts that will harm the harmony- are appropriately connected to the author's own experience in the nature; for the Mencius' philosophy, it is combined with the Thoreau's experience with some farmer who had failed to successfully train a dog -because he, foolishly, thought that because dogs run faster than people, dogs could reach everywhere within several hours; becuase he, stupidly, thought that because dogs have more sensitive olfactory senses than people, dogs could smell and distinguish everything.
     Sequence of such evident connection and proof of all the trivial texts I have learned with real life episodes that he himself experienced have led me to revive my old dream and be dominated by the excitement and satisfaction that the experience would give me.

     Having watched the "Spring" part of the director Kim Ki-Duk's film, many of my classmates talked about how cute the boy is, how poor the fish and snake are, and how mysterious some of the scenes are. Throughout the movie, however, I thought of my dream; the dream that I had in my young elementary days, the dream that I reminded of as I was reading Walden, and the dream that I promised myself to achieve before I graduate college.
     The setting of the film rests in some temple in the middle of a lake that is surrounded by mountains and that has no sign of human exploitation. Two Buddist monks - one old and one very young - live in the temple. It was the very setting I dreamed of, except for the fact that there were not much people to contact with.
     Being able to live in the environment is such a fortunate gift for me. As seen in the film, any person would be completely liberated from the civilization and be able to cry at the death of a "small" fish and a "small" snake. These days, more and more I feel the arrogance of humankind - we assume that we are "big" compared to other creatures; we are NOT. I earnestly wish that I could, for one large fraction of my life, be able to find the life-yearned place and reflect myself, my feelings, and my life.

P.S. I wish I had more time..... ;(

2011년 10월 29일 토요일

[METAFICTION STORY WRITING] A Psychology Experiment

     It was a sunny day with dazzling sunlight; so hot that anyone would take their shirts off when nobody's around. I, a painter living at the coastside for some kind of an inspiration that would lead me to draw a "painting of the century", called the host at the hotel to order a breakfast. "Get me a newspaper - California Tribune, if possible - and some toasts with jams and a glass of orange juice." 'What should I do today?' I was running out of money because I didn't have a fixed job yet. Then, a hotel worker brougdht me a newspaper and I naturally searched through the help-warranted ads. A psychology experiment caught my sight - "$200 per day for 3days", the advertisement said. 'Hmm.... that's a fabulous offer', I thought. It was about staying in a large sealed building in which the environment for this experiment was set; "No PHYSICAL HARM ASSURED", it sai. 'All right, I'll go for this'. And that was when my life changed unimaginably.
     After having finished the meal, I headed toward the place mentioned on the newspaper. It was a battered building with 5stories.
I entered.
I entered with expectations.
I entered with expectations without knowing that the event will change me into a whole different being.
I entered a brave new world.
A doctor came and asked me if I came to join the experiment. 'Yes. I am quite interested.' The person made me to sign a contract - it said something like "This experiment may give big shock on your life. If you with to maintain a normal life, you may not participate in this experiment". 'Well, I am a strong person. Besides, I need this money'. And I signed the contract.
     The whole experiment was about staying in a closed room for three days without any social contacts. I was not able to write letters, send e-mails, call my family, and even say hello to the gate keeper of the building. At first, I thought it would be easy - because I basically live a lonely life without much social relationships.
     On the very first day, I sat in the empty room thinking about my past - my school lives, previous job experiences, fight with my parents, and so on. I tried to dig out every single memories in my brain that are memorable. I thought and thought and thought. Surprisingly, only three hours passed. Then, I slept. Only two hours passed. I suddenly found out that there was nothing to do. 'What am I gonna do for the remaining 67 hours?' Oh my God....
     Before the second day, I was already thinking that I might become insane. What in the world should I do.... Then, I thought I may think about pictures. Since thinking was all I could do, I thought about renowned paintings by Da Vinchi, Rafael, and other artists. Then, I thought about how I am gonna draw a fabulous everlasting painting. What are the qualities that define a good painting? What should I draw about? I was turning crazy... Nothing came up and thus I was too lethargic to do anything...
     On the second day, I wished I could die for two days and come back. I just lay on the floor and spent the whold day... thinking, intermittently, about my life's aim; drawing a picture of the century.
     That night in my dream, I became a renowned artist. My paintings were priced higher than those of Da Vinchi's or Pollock's. I saw my drawing in the picture; it was drawn with a blood. At first I was very shocked. Then, I recognized; a drawing that reflects my life and my true feature is the one that would obtain perpetual influence.
     I woke up thinking about the dream. 'It is the last day', I thought. Then, I  suddenly recognized that I was sleeping in the hotel. 'What is happening?', I thought. In my hand, there was a California Tribune and on the table there were toasts and an orange juice. While eating, I knew I've gotten an inspiration.
     That day, I started drawing a picture. That picture is the picture of the century for me. That is the picture of the century both in reality and in the dream world where I underwent the psychology experiment.

2011년 10월 23일 일요일

Chain Writing - A Psychology Experiment


     It was a sunny day with dazzling sunlight; so hot that anyone would take their shirts off when nobody's around. I, a painter living at the coastside for some kind of an inspiration that would lead me to draw a "painting of the century", call the host at the hotel to order a breakfast. "Get me a newspaper - California Tribune, if possible - and some toasts with jams and a glass of orange juice." 'What should I do today?' I am currently running out of money because I don't have a fixed job yet. Then, a hotel worker brings me a newspaper and I naturally search through the help-warranted ads. A psychology experiment catches my sight - "$200 per day for 3days", the advertisement says. 'Hmm.... that's a fabulous offer', I think. It is about staying in a large sealed building in which the environment for this experiment is set; "No PHYSICAL HARM ASSURED", it says. 'All right, I'll go for this'. And that is when my life changed unimaginably. (ME)
     It was not very far away from the hotel, and I went there with few cigarettes and cards, just in case I make a frend there. Ad says that they will provide food and water, so I didn't bring any food with me. There were about 40 people waiting, and I said to a staff that I want to join and he tole me to wait with them for few minutes. After that few minutes, someone - I think it's the supervisor- came and gave few words and said to enter. Inside was not a bad environment. (HARAM)
     "You will gonna live this building for 3days". "Can you please sign this paper for this experiment?" 'Sure, no reason to deny this chance'. There were bunch of warnings regarding the experiment. WE DON'T TAKE CHARGE blahblah~ Ok, I admit and gonna take the experiment. (SUJAE)
     The entire building had a bad smell, I think it's the smell of rotting garbage. The supervisor calls out "There are rooms for sleeping and whasing on the top floor. It's first come - first served! Come quick!!" People started to run to find an elevator. However, I went straight to the stairs instead. I have strong legs. I can go faster than the others taking the elevator. When I stepped on the first stair, I was sucked upward by an invisible force and was immediatedly on the top floor. I got the best room, of course. It didn't even smell bad like the 1st floor. (BOOKYUNG)
     What was that? I was curious and somewhat nervous at the same time, because I could not imagine where the force came from. However, as exotic and delicious cuisine was served, I completely forgot about all my worries, I ate, ate, ate, and ate until  my tummy was about to explode. (CHAERIM)
     And, to my surprise, my tummy really did explode. Oh, my God! I naver thought a stomach could burst the food its taken few minutes ago. (HYUNGSEOK)
     And I died.... guessing what the intention of the experiment was. Was it to experiment whether a person's tummy can explode or to experiment how many idiots apply for experiments if posted an advertisment on it? (ME)

2011년 10월 9일 일요일

Having watched "Jesus Camp"...


Rachael, one of the three main children in the documentary, is crying as she preys
Levi, one of the three main children, smiles just before she leaves her house heading for "Kids on Fire"
Tori, one of the three main children in the documentary


     "Evangelical indoctrination is given an unflinching, even-handed look in this utterly worthwhile documentary."
     The remark is what critics from Rotten Tomatoes  had given about "Jesus Camp" after having watched the film.(http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jesus_camp/)
     "A documentary on kids who attend a summer camp hoping to become the next Billy Graham."
     The remark is what critics from IMDb had given for an explanation of "Jesus Camp". (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486358/)
     "I have to admit that part of me really hoped I would like “Jesus Camp,” the new documentary from Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, before I even saw it. I am, after all, actively involved in the Children’s Ministry at my church, teaching Sunday School every week and having the opportunity to help serve our church’s wonderful children’s pastor. I also had the great opportunity to spend a summer working at an equally wonderful Christian children’s camp in Washington a few years back. So, a movie that follows a children’s pastor and her ministry, as well as takes us on a trip to her Christian summer camp really was something I wanted to be able to get behind."
     The remark is what a critic named Jonathan Rodriguez had written on a christianity-related website after havng watched the film.(http://www.christiananswers.net/spotlight/movies/2006/jesuscamp2006.html)
                                            Becky Fischer, one who hosts "Kids on Fire"

     Having read some of the comments on "Jesus Camp", I now recongnize that there ARE some people who actually like or admire what the documentary is featuring. Some say that they want to join the "Kids on Fire" camp, a summer camp in Devils Lake, N.D. that grooms and brainwashes participant children to become soldiers in “God’s army", some say that the documentary has objectively mirrored bright features of the "Jesus Camp" and some even say that the children will become "Billy Graham"s, an evangelical priest who had gained fame through his profound piety and sincere sermons and who is currently ranked at number seven on Gallup's list of admired people for the 20th century, by participating in the camp.
     My ONLY RESPONSE to these remarks is "Are you people insane?"; the documentary is totally antisocial, agitative and arational. The documentary HARMS the society.
     The overall plot of the documentary revolves around a summer camp named "Kids on Fire". Becky Fischer, a pastor who runs the camp, is a firm believer of the political and moral importance of a Christian presence in America - hence, children in the camp are encouraged to repudiate sin, hate abortion, pray for George Bush and re-dedicate themselves to spreading the word of God. Through out the film, what Becky says are very all of a same sort; for God is the only valid being, you children should seek only after him, not considering what society is like, what is morally wrong or right, and so on. She puts the phrase "- in the name of God" at all her words - even those that are ridiculous. For example, she says "President Bush is a great wise man in the name of God", "We should not eat meal today in the name of God", "You should not go out in the rain in the name of God" - how in the world do the statements make sense? She also says quotes like "Prey urgently so God's will could be done", "God can do anything. Let's fix the world", "Because Muslims train children to be able to sacrifice for Islam religion, we should open campls as well and make children focused solely on Christianity", "Stand up, and take our land back", "God is only possible answer to all questions", and so on. Children at the prey conference perform barbarian like wierd dances as if they are some indians in primitive region. They repeats preyer over and over again which sounds like a magical spell from an Egyptian myth and cries insanely!! Becky might say that the tears are streaming from the children as they are filled with the Holy Spirit, but would anyone cry as he or she davens the Lord's prayer? They are simply affected by the atmosphere - the very ironical atmosphere that "God is giving you His spirit just because you have participated in the camp and now you are His servant and can do anything."
                                              "Jesus Camp" is brainwashing the children
                                            Interviews of children participants in the camp

     The camp is brainwashing the children. No nominal muttering of preyers gives a person to take offense at Muslims, no irrational dismissal of Evolutionism and other scientific advancements gives a person to become God's servants, and no crying carried along by the weird atmosphere of the camp can redeem a person. How in the world being educated to not be shy when talking to strangers, to answer that the reason an object falls is because of its will to return to God, and to worship President Bush and becoming young soldiers for Republican Party have anything to do with Jesus' words?
     Currently 25% of Amerians are Evangelical Christians, and 10% of the American population are in the very same denomination that is featured in "Jesus Camp". They are growing in power and people must become aware of their influence and try to stop such inflammatory camps from being held.
     If any of the Evangelical Christians are reading this text, I suggest you to reconsider whether what God is saying matches with what you are doing; what the Bible says matches with what you are saying. The definition of "good parenting" is another's definition of "abuse."  Some people think spanking a child with a wooden stick was considered a standard tool of child disciplining. In contrast, some consider corporal punishment to be unacceptable. The very same issue looms over "Jesus Camp" - it brigns up a question whether the indoctrination of Levi, Rachel, and Tori - the main children characters who show most extreme bursts of emotions in the camp - falls under the definition of "good parenting" for their parents. I suggest you Evangelicals and all other people to watch over the film again and seriously and objectively think about the issue again.
                                          Bill Maher Discussion about "Jesus Camp"
               Shall the children participating in "Jesus Camp" meet salvation through the camp.......?
I SAY "NO"