Tuesday, 17 May 2016
Monday, 16 May 2016
Sunday, 15 May 2016
Sunday, 8 May 2016
Monday, 2 May 2016
Israeli and Palestinian Issues
Lines of Demarcation
Palestinians have a very dense population. The issue is that the Israelis want a safe place to live in, but the Palestinians are currently living in Palestine but the Israelis want to take over. Soon the Palestinians are kicked out of their country, and aren't allowed to come back in. While Israelis have taken over Palestine.
Palestinian perspective:
The Palestinians believe that the Israelis are treating the Palestinians unfairly and that they should be able to enter back into their homeland.
Israelis perspective:
The Israelis believe that since they had historical and religious stories that connected them to the land, and they had the right to have this land.
The border between Israel and Palestine should be drawn in a place that accommodates both the population of the Israelis and Palestinians. Land should be distributed based on the people in country and in an area where both places/populations have access to the things they need. The border should be able to meet the needs and agreement between both sides.
Housing Settlements: How do you propose settling the unresolved dispute over Israeli Housing Settlements into the West Bank? What should be done about the housing settlements that have already been built?
Palestinian Perspective: We already have very little land and the Israelis are constantly expanding.
Israelis Perspective: We don't condone people creating settlements on Palestinian land. It was in the bible so they can move the border. They justify their actions by saying that it's in their religious beliefs.
Jerusalem: Jerusalem is a Holy City to Jews, Muslims, and Christians. How do you propose to make Jerusalem available and safe to all these groups of people, worldwide?
Palestinian Perspective:It's considered as the holy city. It's their land and it's their holy land and that it was given to them. Jerusalem first belonged to the Palestinians
Israelis Perspective: Considered as the holy city. They think that Jerusalem belongs to them and that it belongs to them due to their religious beliefs. It's one of the biggest city in Israel, in the Tora it says that they should have the land.
Palestinian Refugees: As a result of the military conflicts in 1948 and again in 1967, hundreds of thousands Palestinian people fled out of the borders of Israel to the neighboring Gaza Strip, West Bank, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. They are a people without a country and have not been allowed to become citizens to the countries they fled to. Since 1967, their numbers have increased into the millions because of birthrates. What should their rights be? Should they be allowed to return to their homeland in the West Bank (which is not big enough to handle that many people)? What are some compromises that can be made between Israelis, Palestinians, and the neighboring countries to resolve this issue?
Palestinian Perspective: they got kicked off of the land that they believed that they deserved, and they left the country but came back with weapons. They lost, and now they don't have a place to live and now they're living in places that were in poor condition.
Israelis Perspective: we still want more land and it was offered to us in the Tora and the Palestinians tried to kill us.
Palestinians have a very dense population. The issue is that the Israelis want a safe place to live in, but the Palestinians are currently living in Palestine but the Israelis want to take over. Soon the Palestinians are kicked out of their country, and aren't allowed to come back in. While Israelis have taken over Palestine.
Palestinian perspective:
The Palestinians believe that the Israelis are treating the Palestinians unfairly and that they should be able to enter back into their homeland.
Israelis perspective:
The Israelis believe that since they had historical and religious stories that connected them to the land, and they had the right to have this land.
The border between Israel and Palestine should be drawn in a place that accommodates both the population of the Israelis and Palestinians. Land should be distributed based on the people in country and in an area where both places/populations have access to the things they need. The border should be able to meet the needs and agreement between both sides.
Housing Settlements: How do you propose settling the unresolved dispute over Israeli Housing Settlements into the West Bank? What should be done about the housing settlements that have already been built?
Palestinian Perspective: We already have very little land and the Israelis are constantly expanding.
Israelis Perspective: We don't condone people creating settlements on Palestinian land. It was in the bible so they can move the border. They justify their actions by saying that it's in their religious beliefs.
Jerusalem: Jerusalem is a Holy City to Jews, Muslims, and Christians. How do you propose to make Jerusalem available and safe to all these groups of people, worldwide?
Palestinian Perspective:It's considered as the holy city. It's their land and it's their holy land and that it was given to them. Jerusalem first belonged to the Palestinians
Israelis Perspective: Considered as the holy city. They think that Jerusalem belongs to them and that it belongs to them due to their religious beliefs. It's one of the biggest city in Israel, in the Tora it says that they should have the land.
Palestinian Refugees: As a result of the military conflicts in 1948 and again in 1967, hundreds of thousands Palestinian people fled out of the borders of Israel to the neighboring Gaza Strip, West Bank, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. They are a people without a country and have not been allowed to become citizens to the countries they fled to. Since 1967, their numbers have increased into the millions because of birthrates. What should their rights be? Should they be allowed to return to their homeland in the West Bank (which is not big enough to handle that many people)? What are some compromises that can be made between Israelis, Palestinians, and the neighboring countries to resolve this issue?
Palestinian Perspective: they got kicked off of the land that they believed that they deserved, and they left the country but came back with weapons. They lost, and now they don't have a place to live and now they're living in places that were in poor condition.
Israelis Perspective: we still want more land and it was offered to us in the Tora and the Palestinians tried to kill us.
Understanding Sacrifice
ABMC - American Battle Monument Commission
- In charge for all overseas burial for World War I
- Father or whole progression of who makes the decision of where the soldier gets to be buried
- cemetery was set like a funeral home, where family members could come and grieve
- Max Cleland - wanted to set an educational program for the cemetery
- National History Day//teachers were recruited
- visited soldiers' graves and spoke out/gave a speech
Elms - The Akimotos
- research process - using the ABMC website and listing names of soldiers who he was interested in
- trying to find someone with a personal connection - took him two months
- found a family member
- social media//using National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
- pay attention to little details, if you can't go deeper, everything they're talking about
The Pitch
- This book is important because many don't know about soldiers who have changed American History. It's a unique and influential story. (Makes more people aware)
- story can be used to inspire other organizations
- tell them that others may be interested in Japanese American history
- length of the book (didn't want to be 400 pages, wanted to be around 100 pages)
- there are no young adult books on Japanese American soldiers
- with the memoir, "I knew I had enough of a story to do a book instead of a lesson about WWII"
- book highlighted not only the soldiers of WWII, but the families that supported them
- Books can be passed out at conferences while websites just sort of die and fade away.
- it'll be written by a teacher for students.
Forrest Gump - Scene Analysis
Firstly, this was my first time watching Forrest Gump and it was probably one of the best movies I've seen in a while. Forrest Gump stars Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump. This romance and comedic film tells the story of a kind-hearted, caring, clueless, and courageous man named Forrest. This film follows his journey through defining moments in his life that impacted who he was. The film develops a heart warming story that leaves the audience with a life-changing lesson. Throughout the movie, the audience as well as Forrest are faced with many historic and influential figures that were present in America's history and pop culture. Some include: the Black Panthers, President JFK, Elvis Presley, John Lennon and a lot more others.
Starting off with the film's cinematography. My favorite scene is of young Forrest and Jenny going off onto their own little adventure, climbing on trees and spending time together. In this scene, the cinematographer used a variety of angles and shots. The use of different angles and shots were specifically used and helped portray a message and story beautifully.
In this snippet of the scene, when Jenny and Forrest are running to the tree, the usage of a wide and low angled shot draw emphasis to the characters as well as the tree. This shot was so distinctive and impactful because it depicted the relationship of Jenny and Forrest. It allowed the audience to understand how their friendship grew throughout the whole film, and how this one moment set and built the story up. The use of a wide and low angled shot was to allow the audience to see the setting yet still focus their attention to the characters. The tree was their safe haven, it was where Jenny felt the safest, which was when she was with Forrest. The use of the wide shot allowed the audience understand that they were always in remote and secluded areas where they could be alone together.
Carrying onto the post production process, not only was cinematography techniques precisely used, the editing was used to enhance the meaning of the story. During the tree sitting scene, some shots would go by quickly whereas some would go a lot slower. For example, in the scene of them sitting, holding each other's hand, the scene is a lot slower in order to show how time slows down once they're together. The balance between slow and fast scenes and the cuts between them showed a new day. Each cut showed a change in time or a change in day. The usage of pan starting from a lower angle to a higher angle and the editing allowed the scene to slow down which showed that Forrest would've done anything for Jenny. It showed that everything around him didn't matter so long he had Jenny.
Sound effects as well as the soundtrack really emphasized and enhanced the theme and message of the story. The background music is soothing yet not exactly a slow tempo song. It's calming yet a bit fast paced, the background music would perfectly describe Jenny and Forrest. They can be themselves around each other, yet they can still have fun and go on adventures together. In the scene of Forrest swinging, you can hear the sound of his leg braces squeaking. The volume of the music lowers, and the sound of the squeaking is emphasized. Whereas in the scene of the sun setting, and their tiny silhouettes on the tree, the sound of crickets can be heard in the background. By using the sound of crickets, the audience is able to understand that a change in time had occurred. The audience can also understand that whenever Forrest and Jenny were together, when time passed by they continued on side by side. The soundtrack added onto the idea of time slowing down when they were together. The crickets meant that they sat there until the sun was setting, yet they still wouldn't want to leave each other's company.
Lastly, in my opinion the narrative and the acting was crucial and probably the strongest aspect to the whole scene. Not only in this scene specifically, but in the whole film as well, Tom Hanks does an excellent job in portraying his character and his personality. Specifically in this scene, the narration enhanced the emotion and relationship between the two of them. Tom Hanks more specifically Forrest Gump, narrates the story in a way that builds and tells the audience how their childhood friendship wasn't complicated. "She helped me learn how to read, and I showed her how to swing." This quote, or part of the narration showed how easy their life was together back then, and definitely depicted that they were young children. The usage of different terms and phrases showed the change in time and age. The acting of the female and male actors who played as young Jenny and Forrest showed the friendship and connection between both characters. The relationship, emotion, as well as connection between the two of them applied to when they both grew up. It showed that their relationship grew even stronger (even though there were a couple ups and downs) once they grew up together. As young Jenny says, "Come on Forrest, you can do it!" it shows that no matter how old they were, Jenny continued to encourage Forrest. Whether it was to run from the bullies, or during the war in Vietnam, Jenny encouraged Forrest to be true to himself and to continue "running." Jenny's words were what continued to drive Forrest even if it was just pushing him to climb up that tree.
Starting off with the film's cinematography. My favorite scene is of young Forrest and Jenny going off onto their own little adventure, climbing on trees and spending time together. In this scene, the cinematographer used a variety of angles and shots. The use of different angles and shots were specifically used and helped portray a message and story beautifully.
In this snippet of the scene, when Jenny and Forrest are running to the tree, the usage of a wide and low angled shot draw emphasis to the characters as well as the tree. This shot was so distinctive and impactful because it depicted the relationship of Jenny and Forrest. It allowed the audience to understand how their friendship grew throughout the whole film, and how this one moment set and built the story up. The use of a wide and low angled shot was to allow the audience to see the setting yet still focus their attention to the characters. The tree was their safe haven, it was where Jenny felt the safest, which was when she was with Forrest. The use of the wide shot allowed the audience understand that they were always in remote and secluded areas where they could be alone together.
When Jenny and Forrest are on the tree, Jenny is reading a book while Forrest is hanging and swinging on a tree branch with the use of his legs/leg braces. In this shot, the cinematographer used both a mid shot/pan shot as well as a eye-level angle. The scene starts off with a mid shot of Jenny reading her book, soon it's a pan shot, starting with Jenny and ends off with a shot of Forrest's legs. The camera pans from Jenny to Forrest. The use of an eye-level angled allowed the audience to see them from a better angle. Instead of using a bird's eye view or a low angle, they most likely used an eye-level angle in order to draw more attention and focus onto the two characters. The use of a pan shot allowed the audience to see how different their personalities were. Jenny enjoyed reading whereas Forrest was a lot more outgoing and enjoyed playing around. This scene showed the audience that even though these two had such different personalities, they bonded and loved each other's company. As the angle changes and Forrest's legs are only in shot, Forrest's legs may have been different but Jenny accepted his flaws and found company and comfort from him. In a way, Forrest's legs was what tied/started their friendship. It could symbolize and draw emphasis that his differences and flaws are what pushed him to change everything around him.
Carrying onto the post production process, not only was cinematography techniques precisely used, the editing was used to enhance the meaning of the story. During the tree sitting scene, some shots would go by quickly whereas some would go a lot slower. For example, in the scene of them sitting, holding each other's hand, the scene is a lot slower in order to show how time slows down once they're together. The balance between slow and fast scenes and the cuts between them showed a new day. Each cut showed a change in time or a change in day. The usage of pan starting from a lower angle to a higher angle and the editing allowed the scene to slow down which showed that Forrest would've done anything for Jenny. It showed that everything around him didn't matter so long he had Jenny. 
Sound effects as well as the soundtrack really emphasized and enhanced the theme and message of the story. The background music is soothing yet not exactly a slow tempo song. It's calming yet a bit fast paced, the background music would perfectly describe Jenny and Forrest. They can be themselves around each other, yet they can still have fun and go on adventures together. In the scene of Forrest swinging, you can hear the sound of his leg braces squeaking. The volume of the music lowers, and the sound of the squeaking is emphasized. Whereas in the scene of the sun setting, and their tiny silhouettes on the tree, the sound of crickets can be heard in the background. By using the sound of crickets, the audience is able to understand that a change in time had occurred. The audience can also understand that whenever Forrest and Jenny were together, when time passed by they continued on side by side. The soundtrack added onto the idea of time slowing down when they were together. The crickets meant that they sat there until the sun was setting, yet they still wouldn't want to leave each other's company. 
Lastly, in my opinion the narrative and the acting was crucial and probably the strongest aspect to the whole scene. Not only in this scene specifically, but in the whole film as well, Tom Hanks does an excellent job in portraying his character and his personality. Specifically in this scene, the narration enhanced the emotion and relationship between the two of them. Tom Hanks more specifically Forrest Gump, narrates the story in a way that builds and tells the audience how their childhood friendship wasn't complicated. "She helped me learn how to read, and I showed her how to swing." This quote, or part of the narration showed how easy their life was together back then, and definitely depicted that they were young children. The usage of different terms and phrases showed the change in time and age. The acting of the female and male actors who played as young Jenny and Forrest showed the friendship and connection between both characters. The relationship, emotion, as well as connection between the two of them applied to when they both grew up. It showed that their relationship grew even stronger (even though there were a couple ups and downs) once they grew up together. As young Jenny says, "Come on Forrest, you can do it!" it shows that no matter how old they were, Jenny continued to encourage Forrest. Whether it was to run from the bullies, or during the war in Vietnam, Jenny encouraged Forrest to be true to himself and to continue "running." Jenny's words were what continued to drive Forrest even if it was just pushing him to climb up that tree.
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