Sunday, December 7, 2014

a TON of netflix recommendaTIONs for us three HUNs

Macbeth was his name,
He died with shame,
because he was to blame,
for the murderous game.

Although it was our prophecy,
He had no right to bodily,
Harm the others ill-modestly,
And it was no comedy.

But since he is gone,
We must try to move on.
Now we have more time to sit back and yawn,
and watch Netflix until the morning dawn.

"What do three witches watch?" you ask,
Well... finding the right show is large task,
(That's one of many definite facts)
But it's worth the time, so we can relax.

Below you'll find a list,
Of movie recommendations kissed,
By the genius's working with Netflix, and it consists,
Of movie recommendations for us that we never resist.


1.) The Witches of Eastwick
This movie is about the lives of three women living in the town of Eastwick. They all recently became single in the film, they are bored, can't seem to find a man worthy enough for them, and are unaware that they are witches. However, when a man named Daryl comes into town, he causes them to understand witchcraft. He is first able to seduce not just one woman... but all three of them! And eventually he has a reason to use his powers of witchcraft against the girls. When the women reach an understanding to how he achieved this, they begin experimenting with their own, newly known powers, because the only way to make Daryl leave is to use witchcraft. In the end, they outsmart him and banish him.  

This movie has been recommended for us, and we would choose to watch it for several reasons:
1. It involves three women that turn out to be witches, and the three of us are witches too.
2. It greatly involves one male figure, Daryl, which would be the equivalent to Macbeth in the play because they both have a direct relationship with three witches.
3. In both this movie, and the play that we are in, the main male characters (Daryl and Macbeth) end up dying whether it is directly or indirectly from their relationship with witches. In the movie Daryl dies by the hand of the witches, and in the play Macbeth is killed by Macduff but their reason for fighting could be traced back to Macbeth's interaction with the three of us. 


2.) The Prophecy
This movie is about Angels coming to Earth so that they can find a human soul to take with them to aid in ending the war that is occurring in heaven. Some of the angels are angry since God has allowed humans into heaven, so they also go down to Earth to find a worthy soul, but an evil one that will defeat the others. 

This movie has been recommended for us, and we would choose to watch it since it has to do with the idea of a "prophecy" because someone is destined to be chosen as the perfect soul to help both sides of the battle of angles. This movie is also interesting to us because, as seen in the play, knowing ones' prophecy often ends with violence and asking for God's forgiveness. But in this movie, the mortal humans were unaware of their prophecy that leads them to their fates, and God is actually allowing for the help of humans to end the violence.


3.) That's so Raven
This television series available on Netflix is about a girl named whose name is Raven, and she can see the future in small bursts. She can not see exactly how, or even why, she is to achieve what her visions show her, she can only see the final "product." This often causes problems, or not-so-good-situations, but her visions are eventually reached in reality. 

When Raven has a vision, she tries to take her fate into her own hands since she can see what is going to happen. She either tries to avoid what she sees, or she diligently tries to make sure that it happens (which is why problems are caused). This television series has been recommended for us because it relates directly to the actions of Macbeth in the play, in relation to his knowledge of our prophecy.When Macbeth knows his fate, like Raven does, he makes sure that it happens by taking it upon himself to do anything that he thinks will lead him there, instead of letting fate just follow its course. We would choose to watch this show because we can better understand how seeing a glimpse of the future, or giving a prophecy, influences a persons actions and decisions. As witches, we can also rethink our prophecy giving "business."


4.) Hercules
This is a movie about the life of the Greek God Zeus, and his son Hercules, and how Hercules surpassed the event of being turned into a half-mortal, half-god as a baby by the God of the Underworld, Hades. Since Hercules was changed as a baby, he grew up on Earth with all the other mortals, but was extremely strong like a God. Throughout his life, he encountered the horse Pegasus, and the satyr Phil who became his friends, and he went into battle against several-headed monsters, the vicious Titans, and Hades himself. But in the end, his truest act of heroism is when he risked his life to try to save the love of his life, Meg.

This movie has been recommended for us three witches because the movie is revolved around three sisters who share one single eye, and this shared eyed gives them the power to see the future. In other words, these three sisters represent the three fates. Together they know all of the past, all of the present, and all of the future. We would choose to watch this movie because we can personally relate to understanding fates, since we give the prophecies shown in the play, 'Macbeth.'

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Welcome to the Dark Side, Macbeth

Evil is a harsh word that can describe someone who is not doing the right thing, and not abiding by particular morals (assuming we all agree on what is "right" and that we have similar morals). Evil people are considered dishonorable, corrupt, and wrong, but people are not just born "evil"... people who are labeled evil have their own reasons for choosing that path, whether it was out of curiosity, internal pressures and wants, or external pressures. The picture below is a humorous example of this. Someone seeing this photo would be curious of how good the cookies are on the dark side (because I mean, who doesn't like cookies). The viewer would have the internal want of wishing they had a cookie, and the external pressures would be Darth Vader, who is luring the viewer into the dark side by eating one of the cookies.
http://www.animationshops.com/images/animationshops/product/large/SW54-DVCOOK_1.jpg
In the case of Macbeth, I think that his first step "down the primrose path to the everlasting bonfire" (Macbeth, 2.3) was when he committed his first murder of Duncan. But, this murder was not just a spontaneous action to gain the internal pleasure of power. Macbeth was greatly influenced by the prophecy told to him by the three witches. Once Macbeth made the decision to take the path of evil to follow the prophecy told to him, he began facing internal consequences. He was constantly paranoid, and at first he couldn't even, "...say 'Amen,' when [two men] did say 'God bless us!'" (Macbeth 2.2). As the play progressed further, Macbeth fell deeper into this "evil" character, he reached point of no return. "...All causes shall give way: I am in blood stepp'd in so far that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o'er..." (Macbeth 3.4). Macbeth realizes that if he goes back from this evil, life would be just as hard as if he kept moving forwards on his evil path. He realizes that the only way to keep his power now is by threatening and killing those who stand in his way.
Everyday people choose evil for different reasons, but they did not start out their life as evil. How long a person stays on their evil path influences the extent of their evil actions, and affects how large the consequences are for them. Evil shouldn't be the path that people feel they need to take to get what they want in life, but it is always around us in many different forms. 

Monday, November 3, 2014

IB Fam Takes on CAM

Just over a week ago, I visited the Contemporary Art Museum (CAM) in Downtown Raleigh with my fellow students in the IB programme. When stepping foot into the museum, I didn't see what I was expecting. Although, I'm not quite sure what I was expecting.. the art seemed like anyone could do it, but I loved the variety and thought behind each piece, and the beauty that came with it. Each piece in the museum had a different story or meaning behind it, and that's is why it can be considered art.


Visual Analysis:
 One piece of art that caught my attention was the 'Temple of One Thousand Bells' which is shown below. This piece was on the far wall on the upper floor of the museum, and I loved that is was simple yet beautiful. 


Temple of One Thousand Bells

My sketch of the Temple of One Thousand Bells. 
Title: Temple of One Thousand Bells
Artist: Laura Belem
Date: 2010
Medium: 1,000 Glass bells, attached by string to the platform that forms a ceiling, with an 8:02 minute audio to tell the story of the bells. 
Size: ~6 feet wide and ~12 feet long 

Stylistic Period/Culture/Context:
The 'Temple of One Thousand Bells' is a piece of contemporary art originating in Latin America- as was every other piece of work in the Limited Visibility exhibit. Each bell in this piece was created by many different artists over a period of time, but the completion of the artwork was in 2010.

Subject/Iconography:
This piece by Laura Belem is representational art that is representing the bells in an old sailors story that was told throughout Latin America. As the story goes, there was a temple with bells on an island that sank into the sea; if one were to listen hard enough, then one could hear the bells. So, then came a sailor wanting to hear the bells. At first, the only thing that he heard was the sea, followed by a mermaid song which left him in a trance. Upon awaking from the trance, he returned to the village with the help of the wind. He blocked out the sea sound, and gave up on hearing the bells. Then, as the sailor surrendered to sound and listened effortlessly to the ocean,  he was absorbed in the silence and was able to hear the bells.  

Style/Technique:
The style of this particular piece is simple, yet sophisticated; plain, yet beautiful. The entire piece was either white or transparent, which allowed for almost a mystical feeling while staring up at the swaying bells. The white backdrop allowed for shadows to be created when the light comes through the window that was above the art work, and this created more art within the piece. The shape of all of the bells is very similar if not exactly the same, so even though they are hung at different lengths it adds to the organization of it, so it does not look cluttered.
Since there is not a center to any of the bells, just the outer "frame" to every bell, this adds to the meaning and story behind the art- one can't expect to hear the bells, one must allow the silence to bring the sound. 

Significance/Function/Purpose:
The significance of the 'Temple of One Thousand Bells' is to resemble an old tale from Latin America. This piece also has the interpretive meaning of: one must not expect things, it is through their disbelieve, and almost humbled attitude that they will receive the things they wish for. Also, the purpose behind the 'Temple of One Thousand Bells'  is to convey the value of story telling in Latin America 





Sunday, October 19, 2014

Gucci Guilty

http://thescentedhound.files.wordpress.com
/2012/05/guilty-male-kv2-sp.jpg
http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/img-thing?.out=jpg&size=l&tid=40628344

The two pictures above are advertising a fragrance for men and women that is called Gucci Guilty, by the brand Gucci. The advertisement on the left shows a women being craved or desired, and not only depicts the deadly sin of lust, but also shows that she has power over him. This advertisement even creates an image for the viewer that women who decide to use this fragrance will be young and beautiful, and this also creates the idea that women who use this will get the same reaction from men they are with. The advertisement on the right shows the same image and ideas, but the man is wearing the fragrance instead of the woman. So he is young, handsome, being desired, and has power over her.

The intended audience for the advertisement on the left is women, and the intended audience for the advertisement on the left is men. But because of the models that are used in these advertisements, the intended audience shrinks to the people who are both young and considered beautiful or handsome. Also, based upon both the man and woman's appearance- the man is wearing a nice necklace, with a trimmed beard, and the woman is wearing makeup, has died hair, and also a tattoo on her left shoulder blade- the intended audience shrinks down even further to the people who are in-style and "trendy." The stereotypical idea of people who are in-style and trendy often have a higher social and economic background, so this stereotype further shrinks the intended audience to those specific people.

In the advertisements, when either the man or woman is wearing the Gucci Guilty fragrance, they are presented as both sexual and strong. Since the model in each advertisement is making eye contact with the camera, it also shows their power and confidence they have when wearing the specific Gucci fragrance. Also, since both the male and female advertisement for the Gucci Guilty fragrance is practically identical-only the male and female models switched places- it shows that Gucci is a brand that is acceptable for both genders and that both genders will be treated the same way when wearing it.




Sunday, September 21, 2014

Ashli with an 'i'

My name is Ashli; not Ashley, not Ashlea, or Ashleigh. Just Ashli with an 'i', and I was given this spelling to the name because my moms best friend is Andi with an 'i'. Out of the 300+ million people living in the United States, there are only 3,189 people with the first name Ashli according to howmanyofme.com, and I have never met someone who spells Ashli the same way that I do. The name Ashli has the meaning of ash meadow, because it, "originated as a surname derived from the Old English elements [such as] aesc (ash trees), and leah (wood, clearing, meadow, enclosures)," ("Origin of the name Ashli"). I think that my name can define me because it shows that I'm not afraid to be different, and since I love my name and the spelling of it I think that in a way it shows that I am a creative and confident person. The chart shown below is a survey that I found with the "Origin of the name Ashli" article, about how people think the name Ashli sounds.



71
No Way
Definitely

  Smart?

80
No Way
Definitely

  Sexy?

70
No Way
Definitely

  Friendl

y?

69
No Way
Definitely

 Creative?

67
No Way
Definitely

 Strong?

72
No Way
Definitely

  Young?

            


Sophisticated?

66 
No Way
Definitely













   
   My last name, Keyser, dates back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain ("Keyser Surname History"). It is derived from the ancient German word 'kaiser' which means 'emperor', and the name Keyser has also been recorded with many different spellings such as: Kaiser, Kayser, Kaeser, Cayser, and even Kesser ("Keyser Surname History"). These different ways of spelling the same word are due to the fact that, "spelling variations [were] common among early Anglo-Saxon names,"("Keyser Surname History"). And according to the website howmanyofme.com there are only 9,027 people in the United States with the last name Keyser, and it also states that there is only one person living in the United States with the full name Ashli Keyser. Having this name makes me different, and have a more individual identity.

With my individual identity, there have been times where I am "two." The "first" me is Ashli Keyser, while the "second" me is the Ashli Keyser who interacts and competes with others in society. But being an individual and, at the same time, a part of a larger whole produces a dilemma. For example, applying for college. I am Ashli Keyser who is nice, eager, confident, athletic, dedicated, and friendly. That is the "first" me; the me that shows my personality and that I define myself as. But the "second" me is the me that is just another person in a stack of applications at a college. It is the me that one see's just when looking at me; it's the me that is defined by a GPA and test scores that are good/bad based upon others' scores. The "second" me must not only fit in with society, but also surpass its standards and have additional responsibilities as a citizen. While the "first" me is simply how I can express who I am and what I enjoy to do. The dilemma is trying to find a way to intertwine the two "me's" so that everyone I meet can understand who I really am in order to, "have the best of both worlds."

 Citations:
  1. "Ashli Keyser" How Many of Me. Auron Technologies, LLC, 1 Jan. 2009. Web. 21 Sept. 2014. <howmanyofme.com>.
  2. "Origin of the Name Ashli." Baby Name Wizard. CMI Marketing, Inc., 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 21 Sept. 2014. <http://www.babynamewizard.com/baby-name/girl/ashli#node-name-sound-results>.
  3. "Keyser Surname History." House of Names. Swyrich Corporation, 15 Oct. 2013. Web. 21 Sept. 2014. <http://www.houseofnames.com/keyser-history/English>.

     

Sunday, September 7, 2014

We are the Other

We are the Other- 38th Street & Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis, MN. By Wing Young Huie (2012)


In the first examination of this photograph by Wing Young Huie, it features a run down street corner in Minneapolis. There is an old restaurant that sold wings & something else that is illegible because the yellow restaurant sign is torn, and on the left corner of this sign there is a buck-toothed Chinese man. The small restaurant has no customers, and also has graffiti on the front window. This abandoned restaurant matches the overall scenery of this town in Minneapolis because the small shops across the street also appear to be old, weathered, and with no visible customers. There is also only one woman standing by the curb waiting for a bus. 

However, by looking deeper into this photograph we can discover the real meanings behind symbols such as the buck-toothed Chinese man, and the restaurant in general. The cartoon Chinese man that is shown on the front sign of the restaurant is the stereotypical way that people used to view the Chinese. This view is now seen as offensive and often goes unused. And also, based upon the appearance of the small restaurant and this street corner as a whole,  it can be assumed that this small town has few inhabitants and is most likely home to people with lower incomes. 

This photo by Wing Young Hui can be connected to Margaret Atwood's book The Handmaid's Tale because both present the concept of "othering". In Wing Young Hui's photograph he presents this concept within the buck-toothed Chinese man. The angles of his picture cause the viewer the immediately look at the cartoon man, and it is drawn in an old stereotypical way that represented the Chinese. In Margaret Atwood's writing she used language in a way that formed different social classes that had different roles in society, and also the use of colors in her book- such as red for the handmaids- further enhanced the differences between the people in that society.