The house was average size sitting at the entrance to the cul-de-sac with a smelly creek and a small wooded area to the left side and a grassy yard beside that. A long cement driveway lined the left side of the house and attached to a patio that wrapped around to the back. Just off the driveway, a jagged brick pathway lead to a small staircase that ascended to the front door.
There was nothing special about the inside of the house. A good size living room sat to the right of the entrance opposite a wall of book selves full of books that were purchased and maybe never read. The living room had an unused fireplace to one side and two couches, a coffee table and a TV on the other. In the middle of the room was an open space that housed many fashion and gymnastic shows whose only attendants where supportive parents. Through a wide doorway beyond the living room came the dinning room with its table big enough for six and its piano that was just learning to be played.
A doorway on the left lead to the kitchen while an open arch in the front of the room would take you to the computer room. A long makeshift desk took up one wall of this very thin room. Sitting on the desk where two clunky desktop computer monitors. Two chairs were left to roll around the room as they pleased and a cabinet full of junk sat at the end of the desk. In this tiny room there was a very small bathroom. This half bath, nicknamed "the fart gallery", housed the best leaf etchings in town. Its grand opening was christened with the ceremonial cutting of the toilet paper and was full of guests in no time at all.
Across from the bathroom was a door that lead outside where another small staircase would need to be descended to reach the cement patio. To the right of the back door stool a big gazebo that on occasion, would be all lit up and filled with family and adventurous foods. On the edge of the large concrete patio stood a small shabby looking shed. This shed came with the house and was mostly used for storage, but it also seemed to be a hotel for cockroaches and not a place that was occupied by people as long as the need to enter it could be avoided.
As you continue to walk along the large concrete slab you'd see a small grassy lawn that had the assorted lawn chair and a round chicken wire fence, about knee height that was used to give pet rabbits exercise. At the end of the patio and the beginning of the driveway stood a homemade bunny hutch which housed about twenty rabbits when they were not going binky around the round pen.
Back inside the house and through the kitchen was a short hallway which lead to three bedrooms and a full bathroom. The room straight at the end of the hall was a crowded room that was half doll house half bunk bed. During the night a cheap metal frame trundle bed would be rolled out from under the the bed becoming the third bunk and leaving a very slim maneuvering space around the room.
Across the hall form the bunk bed room was the small master bedroom with its big bed that took up most of the room. A glider that became the prime spot for "talking to mom time" sat to the left of the bed. On the wall across from the bed stood two miss matched wooden dressers one with a TV on top. On the wall next to the bed were two matching closets that were probably sure where often used as hiding spot during riveting games of hid and go seek.
Out the door and to the right was a boys room. It was not entered often by the girls of the house and therefore difficult to describe. It did contain a bed to one wall that had a metal frame that if carelessly bumped into would make even the toughest person cry. The shin buster was it's nickname and it defeated many a bypassing shin.
As you go back down the hall you'd see a string hanging from a white door that almost blended in with the ceiling. When pulled the white door would open reviling a steep wooden staircase that ascended into a dark musky attic. The attack stored boxes upon boxes of christmas decorations, stuff that somehow stayed packed move after move, and just plain junk. The attic was creepy and mysterious enough that it was rarely occupied, by people that is. If you listen carefully you'd hear bats squeaking against the grate on the back wall, where they could fly in and out on their leisure. This left the attic smelling strange and added to the spookiness.
Back out the front door, down the steps and across the path to the left side of the house stood a small patch of forest separated form the side yard by a thin swampy creek. This creek was just slightly too big to jump across, as was found out by an attempt gone disastrously wrong. A little wooden bridge was eventually built that would allow safe access to the forest on the other side. In a cool shady patch of trees just across the bride was a small clearing where a bench had been placed by a pervious owner. This spot seemed magical to a kid who could ignore the smell of the disgusting creek and the sound of cars rushing by just on the other side of the trees and became the setting for many make believe games. Many hours were spent in this spot day dreaming and avoiding school work. Past the enchanted clearing the trees became much thicker and harder to maneuver with out ending up with many scratches on your arms and legs, but that doesn't mean that exploration was not attempted.
This small house was not the cleanest, fanciest house. With its bats and bugs and junk it was not always the most welcoming house, but it did hold a lot of memories and stories. Memories like its front lawn being turned into a parking lot for people attending the local football game. Sold at five dollars a spot, it was probably the cheapest place in town. This house that was a homeschool for the children that lived there where many things would be learned most of which now is probably long forgotten. This house may have been nothing special, but the people and the memories made it a home. A home that was missed when moved away from. That will always lie in the memories of those who lived there as the small, underwhelming yet wonderful home it was.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Week 5: The Great American Novel
Although I didn't think True Grit was the most well written book with all its "He said...and then I said...and then he said's" and its "Now I'm going to tell you about....", I found the story of a spunky headstrong girl adventuring with two tough men to be entreating and a good representation of the Great American novel.
One of the first things I notice about this book that makes me think of America is that people act like they can do whatever they want even if it may be below the law. This book is a lot about people's rights and feeling justified to get something they want. A good example of this is how Mattie feels she has the right to Tom Chaney's life because he killer her father. You also see this same general idea later in the story when Rooster is telling Mattie about his life story. He has done some pretty unlawful things and yet he has still managed to become a US marshal.
Another thing that I noticed about the book and the movies is that they talk a lot about money. Mattie shows up and is just shelling out money right and left to get what she wants. There is a big section where she is negotiating with the man who sells horses and how she won't take less then $300. Then there is the amount of money she promises to pay Rooster. It's just a lot about money and thinking that you can use it to get people to do what you want. In this story money is power.
True Grit has a good guys vs bad guys theme in that I think is very American. The good guys in this case Mattie, Rooster, and LaBoeuf are on a quest to get revenge on the bad guys, Tom Chaney, Lucky Ned Pepper and his gang of criminals. In the end of the book the good guys are victorious but that victory comes with a price. Mattie looses her hand from a snakebite and doesn't get Chaney taken back and hung in her town. The fact that not all the main characters came out on top in the end contradicted the usual hero vs villain story and made this one seem more realistic and believable.
I liked that True Grit had a strong female male character. Mattie Ross was determined and would not take no for an answer, which I thought made her an interesting character. She seemed to have the power and even when she didn't have the power she would bring up her lawyer and scare people into giving her her way. Although Mattie can be commended for her bravery and determination she can also be reprimanded for her scary thirst for revenge.
To me westerns are very American and this book is very much a classic western with its setting, characters, and themes. It takes place in Arkansas where everyone is very southern. The characters are dressed like cowboys and everyone rides a horse and owns a gun. Basically everything
Overall I thought True Grit definitely exemplifies the Great American Novel because its characters are trying to gain justice and revenge even if they have to go against the law. They are always discussing money and how much things cost and paying people to get things done for you. It is a story about good vs bad and the main characters don't come out whole in the end. There is a strong female character and it is a classic western.
One of the first things I notice about this book that makes me think of America is that people act like they can do whatever they want even if it may be below the law. This book is a lot about people's rights and feeling justified to get something they want. A good example of this is how Mattie feels she has the right to Tom Chaney's life because he killer her father. You also see this same general idea later in the story when Rooster is telling Mattie about his life story. He has done some pretty unlawful things and yet he has still managed to become a US marshal.
Another thing that I noticed about the book and the movies is that they talk a lot about money. Mattie shows up and is just shelling out money right and left to get what she wants. There is a big section where she is negotiating with the man who sells horses and how she won't take less then $300. Then there is the amount of money she promises to pay Rooster. It's just a lot about money and thinking that you can use it to get people to do what you want. In this story money is power.
True Grit has a good guys vs bad guys theme in that I think is very American. The good guys in this case Mattie, Rooster, and LaBoeuf are on a quest to get revenge on the bad guys, Tom Chaney, Lucky Ned Pepper and his gang of criminals. In the end of the book the good guys are victorious but that victory comes with a price. Mattie looses her hand from a snakebite and doesn't get Chaney taken back and hung in her town. The fact that not all the main characters came out on top in the end contradicted the usual hero vs villain story and made this one seem more realistic and believable.
I liked that True Grit had a strong female male character. Mattie Ross was determined and would not take no for an answer, which I thought made her an interesting character. She seemed to have the power and even when she didn't have the power she would bring up her lawyer and scare people into giving her her way. Although Mattie can be commended for her bravery and determination she can also be reprimanded for her scary thirst for revenge.
To me westerns are very American and this book is very much a classic western with its setting, characters, and themes. It takes place in Arkansas where everyone is very southern. The characters are dressed like cowboys and everyone rides a horse and owns a gun. Basically everything
Overall I thought True Grit definitely exemplifies the Great American Novel because its characters are trying to gain justice and revenge even if they have to go against the law. They are always discussing money and how much things cost and paying people to get things done for you. It is a story about good vs bad and the main characters don't come out whole in the end. There is a strong female character and it is a classic western.
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Week 4: Zweig & Anderson
I read Stefan Zweig's short story Letter from an Unknown Women. I thought it was a very interesting read that really got me engaged in the dying women's story. I found a lot of similarities between Zweig's story and Grand Budapest Hotel.
The first thing I noticed about these artists is that they both start their stories without any introduction. Letter from an Unknown Women starts by jumping right into the main characters day with little information given as to who this R. man is. The beginning of Grant Budapest is just the women walking to the statue where she places a key and looks down at her book. We do not know who this woman is or why she is placing a key on this statue. I think in both stories this method gets the reader or watcher engaged instantly. The feeling of confusion and wondering it creates makes you want to keep reading to find out what the story is all about.
The second big similarity I noticed is that both stories have multiple layers. They are both basically a story within a story. In the case of Grand Budapest one could argue that it is a story with in a story with in a story. The women is reading the story written by the author who is telling the story that was told to him by Zero the bell hop. Even then the Zero is mostly telling the story of M. Gustave. Basically Zweig's entire story is about R. reading the letter written to tell the story of the unknown women. This method of story telling has potential to be confusing but in both cases you have a clear understanding or where in the story you are and who is telling it.
A third similarity I saw was in the main characters of each story. R. in Letter from an Unknown Women was a lot like M. Gustave in the sense that they were both ladies men who had multiple lovers and from what the women in the letter described, both had a certain air about them that people seemed to be drawn towards them.
A fourth way I found they were alike was in some of the descriptions. In Letter from an Unknown Women, the unknown woman describes the place where she gave birth in pretty gruesome detail. When I read this I thought of the scene in Grand Budapest where the men escaping from jail are seen by the room of guard and moments later you see they have all be stabbed to death by one of the prisoners. I believe that this passage in the short story and this scene from the movie share the same gruesome, descriptive language. They aren't censored. The women writing the later goes very into detail basically saying the place was a living hell and in the movie you see all the blood and gore of the dead prison guards sort of out of the blue. Both authors were able to stick this random, creepy, uncensored scene into their work without it seeming out of place and still keeping the audience interested. Over all I could see how both works had a similar language and style that I found both interesting and entertaining.
The first thing I noticed about these artists is that they both start their stories without any introduction. Letter from an Unknown Women starts by jumping right into the main characters day with little information given as to who this R. man is. The beginning of Grant Budapest is just the women walking to the statue where she places a key and looks down at her book. We do not know who this woman is or why she is placing a key on this statue. I think in both stories this method gets the reader or watcher engaged instantly. The feeling of confusion and wondering it creates makes you want to keep reading to find out what the story is all about.
The second big similarity I noticed is that both stories have multiple layers. They are both basically a story within a story. In the case of Grand Budapest one could argue that it is a story with in a story with in a story. The women is reading the story written by the author who is telling the story that was told to him by Zero the bell hop. Even then the Zero is mostly telling the story of M. Gustave. Basically Zweig's entire story is about R. reading the letter written to tell the story of the unknown women. This method of story telling has potential to be confusing but in both cases you have a clear understanding or where in the story you are and who is telling it.
A third similarity I saw was in the main characters of each story. R. in Letter from an Unknown Women was a lot like M. Gustave in the sense that they were both ladies men who had multiple lovers and from what the women in the letter described, both had a certain air about them that people seemed to be drawn towards them.
A fourth way I found they were alike was in some of the descriptions. In Letter from an Unknown Women, the unknown woman describes the place where she gave birth in pretty gruesome detail. When I read this I thought of the scene in Grand Budapest where the men escaping from jail are seen by the room of guard and moments later you see they have all be stabbed to death by one of the prisoners. I believe that this passage in the short story and this scene from the movie share the same gruesome, descriptive language. They aren't censored. The women writing the later goes very into detail basically saying the place was a living hell and in the movie you see all the blood and gore of the dead prison guards sort of out of the blue. Both authors were able to stick this random, creepy, uncensored scene into their work without it seeming out of place and still keeping the audience interested. Over all I could see how both works had a similar language and style that I found both interesting and entertaining.
Monday, September 14, 2015
Response to Screenplay
Ed Wood
As director of this movie I would choose to make it almost like a horror comedy. I think it has great potential to be creepy and funny. With characters such as Bela Lugosi and Vampira it is like behind the scenes of an old horror film. I would film this movie in black and white because it is set in 1952 and it would give it the old creepy feeling I'm going for.
I like the opening of the narrator in the coffin but I would make it seem more like Criswell is telling the story for example instead of saying "we are bringing you the full story of what happened..." he would say something more like "Let me tell you the full story of what happened..." Then when we entered into the story he was telling it would have a fuzzy sort of foggy quality at first to show that we were now in the story.
When reading the screenplay I got the idea that the movie would be broken up into short segments. The whole movie would consist of short scenes that end abruptly and cut into the next scene quickly. I think that way the movie would have a certain rhythm and would go alone with the story telling theme.
When casting the main character, Ed, I would find someone that can play a really spunky character, but can also have deep emotions. I would also stress that they act completely comfortable when they are dressed in women's clothing. As far as giving him a backstory I would just try to get the point across that he is a struggling director with a deep secret. He has ambition and drive and wont let anything stop him from doing what he wants.
As far as coaching Bela's character I would remind him that he is portraying a broken man. A has been actor that is addicted to drugs and doesn't have a lot of hope. Then when Ed takes interest in him he is reminded of the amazing actor he once was and is encouraged.
I think one of the more interesting parts of this story is that Ed is trying so hard to make these films that in the end don't end up very good at all. And yet you still find yourself cheering for him to succeed. He is an underdog and as the director I'd really like to show that.
Overall this is a story of friendship, over coming hardship, and being who you truly are portrayed in a strange and comedic way. I feel like it is suppose to be creepy and strange and to keep you rooting for the underdogs. You become attached to this odd assortment of characters that create poorly made films and can't seem to catch a break.
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Important values and how they relate to my favorite cultural work
Five of my most important values:
1. my faith
2. family
3. friends
4. honesty
5. kindness
The Harry Potter series is very important to me. I read the series in high school, sense then they have remained by favorite books. I would say that the value of family, friends, honesty and kindness are all embedded in the Harry Potter series. A running theme in the book is that Harry has no family, but is basically adopted by the people around him. The Wesley's, Lupin, Serious, Hagrid, Dumbledore are all there to protect him and play that parenting roll. The value of friendship is also very important in this series. Everything Harry accomplishes is a team effort with is friends. He doesn't really do anything alone because his friends won't let him. Honesty and kindness are portrayed in the sense that the good win and the bad don't. Another way we see kindness is that Harry is such a famous kid, but he isn't affected by that. He is just a normal guy even though he has all this responsibility and attention thrust upon him. I like that although Harry is good and kind he is still a human and gets mad and has a hard time understanding why everything is happening to him.
1. my faith
2. family
3. friends
4. honesty
5. kindness
The Harry Potter series is very important to me. I read the series in high school, sense then they have remained by favorite books. I would say that the value of family, friends, honesty and kindness are all embedded in the Harry Potter series. A running theme in the book is that Harry has no family, but is basically adopted by the people around him. The Wesley's, Lupin, Serious, Hagrid, Dumbledore are all there to protect him and play that parenting roll. The value of friendship is also very important in this series. Everything Harry accomplishes is a team effort with is friends. He doesn't really do anything alone because his friends won't let him. Honesty and kindness are portrayed in the sense that the good win and the bad don't. Another way we see kindness is that Harry is such a famous kid, but he isn't affected by that. He is just a normal guy even though he has all this responsibility and attention thrust upon him. I like that although Harry is good and kind he is still a human and gets mad and has a hard time understanding why everything is happening to him.
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