The Cove

             In the 2009 film The Cove directed by Louie Psyhoyos, the slaughtering of dolphins in Taiji, Japan was brought to national attention. The film starred Richard O’Barry, who was the first to train dolphins and learn their special bonds. Dolphins were put into captivity because of him and his work in the renowned television series, Flipper. After the ten years that was put into training dolphins and using them for entertainment, O’Barry shared with the viewers that he has spent the past thirty years trying to shut it all down. O’Barry realized that dolphins do not belong in captivity, and he blames himself for the actions happening in Taji today.

 The film did a fantastic job in finding the evidence to prove that the slaughtering of dolphins was actually happening, however, It did not adequately present the Japanese side. I feel that the Japanese side wasn’t presented because according to the film, the slaughtering of dolphins is an unethical, terrible, and inexcusable thing to be a part of. If we had heard the other side of the story, viewers may have had the opportunity to either feel sympathetic for the Japanese, or even agree with them. This was something that Psyhoyos did not want to be an option.

            In most cases, both sides of an argument are presented so that you can get the full understanding of a situation. I believe that because this particular situation was so disturbing and wrong, that the Japanese side wasn’t even worth hearing. Seeing how upset the characters were, and how emotional the film was in general, made it very hard to see how slaughtering dolphins could be acceptable in any way, shape, or form.

            I really enjoyed The Cove, it was the most interesting documentary I have ever seen, and I found myself taking it very personally by the end. I was not aware that dolphins were being slaughtered, especially 23,000 a year in one place. The whole concept is disgusting and I can’t believe that the men that kill the dolphins don’t agree. There are other ways to make money and to put food on the table, so I have no sympathy for any of the men involved, and I do hope that someday in the near future they will be penalized. As for the fact that the Japanese side was not adequately presented in the film, I know that I am not alone when I say, “I could care less”.

Koyaanisqatsi

            

                                                          The Experience of Silent Films

           

            The film Koyaanisqatsi is a 1983 silent film directed by Godfrey Reggio. The film forces one out of their ordinary viewing habits due to the fact that it requires you to really watch instead of relying on dialogue. The film forces people out of their ordinary viewing habits because ordinarily, one is required to listen to the dialogue in the film and not just watch the cinematography.  Although it’s easier to watch movies with dialogue, the film Koyaanisqatsi proves that silent films can be just as powerful.

            Koyaanisqatsi showed through a series of pictures and videos, that humans have destroyed nature and will continue to over time. The film begins by focusing on elements of the earth and their beauty, untouched by humans. It then slowly starts introducing destruction and how humans have been its primary source.

            The fact that Koyaanisqatsi is a silent film, it has the effect to make one uncomfortable, especially if they don’t know what to expect. Viewing a silent film like Koyaanisqatsi is just an opportunity to experience something new and different. It makes people uncomfortable only because it isn’t what we watch for movies and entertainment in today’s society.

The film was incredibly well produced and thought out. It was different to watch because one had to focus so much on little details in order to understand the importance of the film.  For example, the film de-familiarizes ones perspective through the shifts in colors and its unique use of straight lines. The film had a way of manipulating ones mind to see images other than what was actually photographed. The clouds were sped up to a point where one couldn’t tell if they were looking at clouds or waves, and also in the beginning a rocket was shown taking off, but all it looked like was some form of destruction. It was incredibly important to take the minute details into serious consideration, because it was the only way to fully understand the main points of the film. Overall, the film was surprisingly interesting and made a lot of good points about humans and nature combined on planet earth.  Koyaanisqantsi was the first silent film I had ever seen and at first it made me very uncomfortable because I wasn’t willing to give it a chance, and just assumed it would be boring. I learned that not only was it really interesting, but it proved that dialogue isn’t always needed to get the point across.

Blog #4

                                         The Fearsomeness of Brando's Kurtz

In the 1979 film Apocalypse Now, the story of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness novella was revised and retold from a different view. Many concepts between the film and the novella were similar, for example the character’s names, their role in the story, and the location of where the story took place. Although there were multiple smaller similarities, like the few previously described, there was one that was captured perfectly in the film. The similarity was the fearsomeness of Marlon Brando’s character, Colonel Kurtz.

            One concept from the film that made Brando’s Kurtz so frightening was his physical features. Brando was a heavier set, tall, man who was very good with his facial features. He pulled off looking angry all of the time, which over time made the viewers understand the importance of his character, knowing that he was something more than insane. It was obvious that he had all the power just by watching the way the other characters looked at him and followed him, even though they all knew he was deathly ill. In the scene where the viewers first meet Kurtz, it is plausible to assume that Kurtz is going to be a big, dangerous, and crazy man, which I believe was performed well in the film.

            Another concept that made Brando’s Kurtz so frightening, and possibly the most important concept, was the lighting involved in the film. The lighting was used in a unique way. It was used to accentuate the different sides of Kurtz. The light would hit half of his face so that the other half would be completely dark, giving the viewers a literal black and white concept. The usage of this kind of lighting was so important because it made the viewers really think of the fact if Kurtz was actually insane or not.

            Overall the film was very interesting and I thought that it was a well-done revision of Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. The cast was perfect and the main points from the novella, like the darkness of the jungle and the loss of morality was portrayed very well. The physical features of Brando’s Kurtz and the way the lighting was used, were two very significant ways of showing how frightening Kurtz really was. The film gave me a different perspective of the novella, and actually helped me understand it a little bit better due to the fact that Conrad’s Heart of Darkness was a very difficult novella to read and comprehend.

           

           

           

           

Portfolio Essay #2

                                              Achebe’s Views on Conrad’s Heart of Darkness

            Chinua Achebe’s essay “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness,” was originally delivered as a chancellor’s lecture at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, on February 18, 1975. After the speech was delivered, it was soon published under the title “An Image in Africa” in the Massachusetts Review.

 Achebe wrote about the western desire, and its need to set up Africa as a foil to Europe. What Achebe means by this is that everything bad about Africa was shown so Europe could be highlighted.

“Quite simply it is the desire-one might indeed say the need- In western psychology to set Africa up as a foil to Europe, as a place of negations at once remote and vaguely familiar, in comparison with which Europe’s own state of spiritual grace will be manifest.” (337)

Achebe also wrote about the dehumanization of Africa and Africans in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Achebe suggests that the dehumanization that occurs decreases the goodness of the book.

“The real question is the dehumanization of Africa and Africans which this age-long attitude has fostered and continues to foster in the world. And the question is whether a novel which celebrates this dehumanization, which depersonalizes a portion of the human race, can be called a great work of art. My answer is” No, it cannot.” (344)

            Although Achebe’s essay made strong, straight-forward points, had biographical facts of racism, and positive tone pathos; it also showed issues with fairness, focus and a biased outlook.

Achebe was able to create an essay that was not only well written, but easy and interesting to

read. He was able to do this because of several important features inserted in his essay. Each of these features range from a variety of concepts, but piece the essay together.

One of these features is the fact that Achebe used strong and straight-forward phrases to get his point across. There was not much interpretation involved when he used these phrases, and it also made the essay more interesting. An example of one of Achebe’s straight-forward phrases was when he stated what the ultimate questions were.

“The real question is the dehumanization of Africa and Africans which this age-long attitude has fostered and continues to foster in the world.” (344)

Another feature that strengthens the essay, are the uses of biographical facts of racism. Achebe suggests that it is not Conrad’s fault that he is racist because he was born in 1857, a time when Africans were not thought highly of. He suggests that he may not be at fault, but his later attitude towards Africans is unacceptable. Achebe’s use of biographical racism is both compelling and damaging to Conrad.

“It was certainly not his (Conrad’s) fault that he lived at a time when the reputation of the black man was at a particularly low level.” (344)

            Another strong feature was that Achebe showed emotion throughout his essay. The tone pathos helped the reader really relate to what he was trying to say. He used certain punctuation, like explanation points. The explanation points let us know how he was feeling when he wrote the essay. It almost seems like Achebe was either angry or very frustrated while writing this essay, because of tone pathos.

“Surely the only native language possible in London is Cockney English. But our writer means something else-something appropriate to the sounds Indians and Africans make!” (349)

      Although Achebe had strong points in his essay, he also had some weaknesses. One of his weaker points argues the fairness of evaluating an earlier culture and its values. Times have changed so much since Conrad wrote The Heart of Darkness. Racism has decreased to a dramatic extent, and slavery has ended with people frowning upon it. So is it fair to accuse someone of being a racist, when that’s the way they were brought up? That is one of Achebe’s ultimate questions.

“His (Conrad’s) obvious racism has, however, not been addressed. And it is high time it was” (344)

      Another weakness in Achebe’s essay is his sense of focus. No counter-arguments were able to be supported because he was so focused on racism. Racism was an obvious issue in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, but it was not the only issue. His focus on racism is Achebe’s biggest weakness in the essay. Achebe’s thoughts on Conrad’s racism were so repetitive throughout the essay, that it was almost impossible to know that the Heart of Darkness is a classic piece of literature.   

“The point of my observations should be quite clear by now, namely that Joseph Conrad was a thoroughgoing racist.” (343)

      The last weakness that was noticed in Achebe’s essay was that he was bias towards the whole subject of racism. Achebe is a native to Africa, which explains why he is so infuriated with Conrad’s racism and his discrimination towards Africa. Most of Achebe’s essay contains evidence that Conrad felt that Africans were sub-human, which is a concept that was probably taken personally by him upon reading Heart of Darkness.

“Africa as a setting and backdrop which eliminates the African as human factor. Africa as a metaphysical battlefield devoid of all recognizable humanity, into which the wandering European enters at his peril.” (344)

Chinua Achebe’s essay was well-written, interesting, and showed significant strengths and weaknesses. Its strengths included the uses of strong, straight-forward points that made the essay more interesting and easier to read. It included biographical facts of racism, which helped the reader understand the main points, like why Africa was being set up as a foil to Europe. It also had a positive tone pathos, which let the reader really feel and relate to what was being said in the story.

 The weaker points included the fairness in evaluating an earlier culture and its values, its focus on only racism, which made supporting counter-examples impossible, and the fact that Achebe is bias because he is African.

 Achebe’s main point of how Africa was used as a foil for Europe was proven

through his thoughts in his essay. It was made clear that Africa was seen as the “other” place, and Europe as the primary. Africans were thought of as sub-human and clearly Achebe was not alright with that concept.

The essay was enjoyable and informative. It took racism in Heart of Darkness to a whole new level, and was able to let the reader relate to Achebe’s thoughts. The essay proposed the perfect arguments against Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.

Works Cited

Achebe, Chinua, “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Armstrong,

336-349.

Blog Assignment #3 "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

Brooke Wilcox

Professor Timmons

English 105

October 4, 2010

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

The “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is a law that was established in 1993. It was created because of the debate over gays in the military. The policy limits the military’s ability to both ask service members of their sexual orientation, and allow gays to refrain from homosexual acts while keeping their sexuality disclosed.

            When President Obama was a candidate for presidency, he vowed to end the policy, but once he was elected, he said it was congress’s role to make the change. The House has voted for repeal, but the full senate has not yet acted.

            Federal Judge Virginia A. Phillips, from California ruled that the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was unconstitutional. The law was challenged under the fifth and first amendments to the constitution. According to the plaintiffs, the policy violated the guarantee of due process under the Fifth Amendment, and violated the free-speech rights under the First Amendment, and Judge Phillips agreed.

            The issue of “Don’t ask, don’t tell” is interesting and important because it is so controversial. Saying that gays are not allowed to serve in the military is discriminative, and has hurt thousands of people.

            There have been quite a few significant events related to this issue. Major Margaret Witt served in the Air Force and Air force reserves for 17 years. She tried to keep a low profile, but was discharged in 2007 under the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. According to the United States Justice Department, “If Major Witt wins and is allowed to serve openly as a lesbian, it will undermine morale in the services by creating two standards of fairness: one for her and another for everyone else.”

            Although the senate republicans voted unanimously to block the bill supporting repeal, President Obama, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff all said they were in favor for repealing the policy.

            The “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is a black and white issue. There are many reasons why an individual would take either side. If you are one of the many gays or lesbians in our society, then you would want to be treated the same as everyone else, and be able to show your true self. On the other hand, if you were brought up with strict morals, and a very religious lifestyle, then you would already have an issue with gays, so allowing them to be in the military might make you hesitant.

Works Cited

Dao, James. “Days After ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Ruling, Another Challenge Heads to Court.” Nytimes.com. The New York Times, 12, Sept. 2010. Web. 14 Sept. 2010

Shwartz, John. “Judge Rules That Military Policy Violates Rights of Gays.” Nytimes.com. New York Times, 9 Sept. 2010. Web. 11 Sept. 2010

Steinhauer, Jennifer. “After Ruling on Gay Policy, New Questions For Obama.” Nytimes.com. New York Times, 11 Sept. 2010. Web. 16 Sept. 2010

Shwartz, John. “California: Plaintiffs Propose Ban in Suit Over Policy on Gays.” Nytimes.com. New York Times, 16 Sept. 2010. Web. 20 Sept. 2010.

Herszenhorn, David. “Move to End ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Stalls in Senate.” Nytimes.com. New York Times, 21 Sept. 2010. Web. 2 Oct. 2010

Blog Assignment #2

Brooke Wilcox

Professor Timmons

English 105                       

September 28, 2010

                                     Achebe’s Views on Conrad’s Heart of Darkness

In Chinua Achebe’s essay titled An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Achebe states his main point as “The need in Western psychology to set Africa up as a foil to Europe.” (337) This in other words means that Africa acting as a foil would be the place where everything bad happened, which is shown to highlight the opposing side, Europe.

            Some of the stronger points in Achebe’s work was the fact that he had a lot of credibility for what he was suggesting. He suggested that Africa was set as the “other” place in the novella, and the Africans inhabiting it were un-humanlike.

“The real question is the dehumanization of Africa and Africans which this age-long attitude has fostered and continues to foster in the world.” (344)

            Another strong concept in Achebe’s work was that he used biographical facts of racism, which were both compelling and damaging to Conrad.

“It was certainly not his fault that he lived his life at a time when the reputation of the black man was at a particularly low level.” (344)

The weaknesses in Achebe’s essay brought forward a very intriguing question; Is it justifiable to level such complaints and accusations towards a piece of literature that was written so long ago?

“Its exploration of the minds of the European characters is often penetrating and full of insight. But all has been more than fully discussed in the last fifty years. His obvious racism has, however, not been addressed. And it is high time it was!” (344)

            It is obvious that times have changed, and racism has come and gone a long way. It may be true that when this novella was written, speaking of Africans in a “racist” way was fine. However, in today’s society, one cannot not read a piece of literature like this without having the thoughts that Conrad was racist.

            Another weakness in Achebe’s work is that he does not adequately address counter-examples because he only focuses on the fact that Conrad is racist.

“The point of my observations should be quite clear by now, namely that Joseph Conrad was a thoroughgoing racist.” (343)

            In conclusion, Achebe’s essay gave examples of some good, interesting points in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, but also showed that not all good essays are perfect. Through the essay’s strengths and weaknesses the reader was able to understand Achebe’s main point and relate to it as well.

Works Cited:

Achebe, Chinua, “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.’ Armstrong, 336-349

Armstrong, Paul B., ed. ­Heart of Darkness. New York: W.W. Norton, 2005

Portfolio Essay #1

Brooke Wilcox                                                                                                

English 105

Professor Timmons

September 23, 2010

Marlow’s Struggle with Racism and Cultural Relativism

Joseph Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness is a novella concerning a man on a journey who ends up finding his true self.  Marlow’s curiosity of Kurtz becomes a fascination of the abomination, and along the way, the reader is able to see Marlow’s true personality through the way he treats the minorities. Also the reader is able to see how morals and good judgment can be lost, and the importance of being able to keep it together. Although Marlow was at times extremely racist by contemporary standards, using derogatory remarks; he was also willing and able to engage in a kind of cultural relativism, which he sees from an African perspective. Early in the novella Conrad writes of how Marlow shows racism towards the minorities, and it sets the tone for the rest of the novella.

“The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much.” (7)

After Marlow acquires a job as a captain on a steamboat in the ivory business, he hears of a man named Kurtz. Kurtz is spoken of very highly in the novella, almost like he is a higher power. Marlow asks the manager who Kurtz is and becomes more and more fascinated.

 “ ‘Who is this Mr. Kurtz?’ ‘He is an emissary of pity, and science, and progress, and devil knows what else’.” (25)

      Marlow and the others on the steamboat set out for Africa, where Kurtz has escaped from reality and life morals. During this time, Marlow’s curiosity increases.The fact that Marlow is willing and able to engage in a kind of cultural relativism, is surprising due to the fact that he seems so permanently racist. Marlow is an interesting character because as soon as he meets Kurtz for the first time, the reader begins to see a change in him.

Cultural relativism matters because through the eyes of the Africans, Kurtz is the most powerful, intelligent man they know. He was able to make the tribes follow him like he was their chief. Marlow was able to notice through the Africans that what Kurtz was doing was wrong. He may even have noticed the way he had been referring to them wasn’t exactly the nicest thing either.

“I looked at him, lost in astonishment. There he was before me in motley as though he had absconded from a troupe of mimes, enthusiastic, fabulous. His very existence was improbable, inexplicable, and altogether bewildering.” (54)

            Marlow comes to realize that Kurtz had raided the country in search for Ivory and has indeed turned into a savage. This is when the reader is able to see that Marlow still has his morals intact, and that he knows the difference between right and wrong.

“ ‘To speak plainly, he raided the country’. ‘Why! He’s mad,’ I said.” (56) The reader is able to see that Marlow doesn’t agree with Kurtz’s lack of morals and that even though he may be racist at times, he doesn’t value Kurtz’s savage-like ways.

            The reason why Marlow is racist by contemporary standards, is because in today’s society, it is politically incorrect to use racial slurs. The use of them may have been just as hurtful in 1899 when The Heart of Darkness was first published, the only difference is that in today’s society, most people understand the harshness and the meanings behind the words. Today, heads turn in shock when they hear the word n***** coming from someone who is not black. Obviously Conrad did not think of this as an issue with Marlow’s character.

            “A n***** was being beaten near by. They said he had caused the fire in some way; be that as it may, he was screeching most horribly.” (23)

            The reason why this is considered racist, is not only because Marlow refers to the man using a derogatory word, but the word is being used with such innocence. The sentence is incredibly violent, yet Marlow addresses it in an innocent, nonchalant tone. It makes the reader feel as if the man isn’t even human. This happens multiple times in the novella.

“He was neither civil nor uncivil. He was quiet. He allowed his ‘boy-an overfed young negro from the coast-to treat the white men, under his very eyes, with provoking insolence’.” (22)

  Marlow has aggressive feelings over the fact that a man would allow his negro servant to address him with “provoking insolence”, but in reality it just proves that Marlow does not consider this boy to be in equilibrium with him. Marlow continues to

use racist slurs and derogatory remarks throughout the novella. He doesn’t just demonstrate racism to the Africans, but to other minorities as well.

           “He was there below me and, upon my word, to look at him was as edifying as seeing a dog in a parody of breeches and a feather hat walking on his hind legs.” (36)

            This quote was one of the most offensive quotes coming from Marlow. He introduced the “savage” as a dog, with only the training that he used to start the boilers for knowledge. Marlow characterized him this way because he did not consider this savage to be human-like, no matter how untrue that may be.

            Early in the novella, Marlow met with the manager of the company in order to get his job on the steamboat. He had to walk a great while before he reached the manager, and once he got there, he expressed to the reader how the manager was different and unfriendly towards him. He uses details in a certain way that makes the reader assume that the manager didn’t ask him to sit down because of the way he looked, not because of  his personality.

              “My first interview with the manager was curious. He did not ask me to sit down after my twenty-mile walk that morning. He was commonplace in complexion, in features, in manners, and in voice.” (21)

 Marlow kept referring to other characters as if they weren’t humans. It was almost like his personal form of racism. He speaks about the pilgrims, and how they aren’t actually human-like, yet they are humans.

“It was unearthly and the men were…No they were not inhuman. Well, you know that was the worst of it-this suspicion of their not being inhuman.” (36)

Another example of racism in The Heart of Darkness is when Marlow spoke about the pilgrims.

“You should have seen the pilgrims stare! They had no heart to grin or even to revile me.” (43)

            Marlow continues to refer to different people as not being human. The pilgrims were on the steamboat to help Marlow keep a look out. They were there for Marlow’s assistance, and he still couldn’t refer to them as his peers or co-workers. They were all non-human, minorities.

            In the end of the novella, after the death of Kurtz, Marlow went to see Kurtz’s “intended”. As Marlow explained her lover’s death, he showed that he could be sentimental, which was pretty much unheard of. She wanted to know what his last words were, and Marlow told her that it was her name. In reality, Kurtz’s last words were “The horror! The horror!” (69). The question is why didn’t Marlow just tell her the truth? After reading the entire novella with very little acts of sympathy or sentiment coming from Marlow, it is interesting to know that he did something to protect the woman, or keep her from getting upset. After Marlow saw Africa and after he met Kurtz, he was a changed person. He came back to civilization despising the arrogance of people, and he still had his morals intact.

            The novella Heart of Darkness was an intriguing piece of literature that was incredibly challenging and full of meaning. Through Joseph Conrad’s work, the reader was able to see the different ways Marlow used racial slurs and other derogatory remarks. Even though Marlow spent most of his time being disrespectful to the minorities, there were times that he showed that he never lost his morals or sense of good judgment. This is so important because it proves that his kind of cultural relativism was real. He was able to see through the Africans perspective and understand that Kurtz was wrong.

Works Cited

Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Ed. Paul B. Armstrong. New York, W.W. Norton: 2005