The Book Vs. The Movie

 Cuckoo's Nest Book                          vs.                                                     Cuckoo's Nest Movie

Between the book and the movie, i see a lot of similarities. To start, i definitely pictured RP as how he is portrayed in the movie. He is that smooth, arrogant kind of "bad-ass" who takes on his role as the savior of the ward. Also, I would have pictured harding exactly how he is: that sophisticated "wanna-be" who gets picked on by the rest of the patients. However, a few things stood out to me that i had a different outlook on when i watched the movie. First, the scene where RP takes the patients out to the boat on the fishing trip... they never showed in the movie that the nurse was not okay with that at first. They just showed him stealing the van and them going off right away. Also, the whole life jacket dilemma did not seen to be present in the movie. Second, and also the main thing that was different to me, was none other than Nurse Ratched. She seems waaaay worse in the book than in real life, and i think that has to do with chief being the narrater in the book and not in the movie. And her looks are not appealing to me as i thought they would be as described in the book. Other than that, the book and movie are both very similar, great stories on the challenges RP and the gang face against the evil nurse ratched. Oscar worthy and winning for sure. 

Video Project

We have become a tired society. People aren't getting enough sleep in one night. Schools are doing nothing to help this problem, with schools starting earlier and giving out more homework each night, keeping their students up way too late and forcing them to get up early the next morning. There is a science behind high school students needing more sleep and going to bed later and waking up later, yet high schools continually start earlier than elementary and middle schools, whose students don't need to sleep in an much as high schoolers. Here is the science behind it . High schools should start later because the lifestyle of high schoolers demands it and the science behind it proves that high schoolers need more sleep compared to middle and elementary schoolers. ""http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/hot-topics/backgrounder-later-school-start-times""

http://www.dailytitan.com/2010/10/cuckoo’s-nest-rev/

I can relate with the review given in the second to last paragraph. I felt so attached to all the characters. It was great to see Chief come out of his shell for awhile and it was sad to see McMurphy go the way he did because along with all the mischief he brought to the ward, he brought out the best in all the characters.

Cuckoo's Nest and Cool Hand Luke

Both the book One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and the movie Cool Hand Luke highlight the behavioral traits of the two most outgoing characters. The book and movie are similar and different in more ways than one. Some of these similarities include the sort of prison setting both and the "hero" traits that both main characters possess. The plans of the two men differ in that one intends to stay where he is and the other is constantly trying to escape. Both men are shot down at every turn. R.P. McMurphy when he tries to change things in the institution and Luke when he is constantly caught while escaping. So why do these men continue getting back up to only be shot back down?

Super Size Me

 Fast food has become a regular for Americans and their children's meals. High fat, high sodium, and high sugar content is what is to be expected when eating these for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It is widely known to Americans: fast food is bad for your health. So why do we continue to scarf down tons upon tons of burgers and french fries per year.

Video Productions

       The ultimate class at Groves High School. Every single person has taken it and it's loved by all. The Video Productions class, taught by Mr. McLaren is informational, fun, and interesting.  It is very interesting to learn about the different types of equipment and also the different computer programs used to edit and produce the videos.  We produce the school news show and make funny videos that are later presented to the rest of the class.  I believe that Video Productions should be taken by students all over the country due to the fact that it is a great learning experience for high school, but also for later in life.  Mr. McLaren is a major reason definitely a prime reason why the class is so enjoyable. This is why Video Productions is an incredible class.

Groves vs. Seaholm... THE MATCH

Preview Of the Game MIPREPZONE

I have seen Groves through it all... from the days of playoff-contending Divison 3 QB Joe "The Show" Mayone and RB NMU Commit Keon Collier, to the losing streak days of QB Nick Kizy. Never in my entire four years of high school, or ever in the history of Birmingham sports, have I heard of a more anticipating, nail-biting match than this one. For the first time in HISTORY, both Groves and Seaholm have undefeated, loaded squads that are competing for the gloating and bragging rights of the OAA Division title. The hype has already started with a new bleacher put in as the attendance is expected to be at ablazing 5,000 fans. The game is previewed for the Game of the Week on FOX TV and Mi Prep zone is writing gracious articles on this matchup for the ages (See Hyperlink above). Seaholm student section has been preparing heavily as they try to pressure the home field advantage with a "white-out" theme. The Groves student section will be repping the "black-out" theme with using neon shirts as their "playoff towels." If you think this game doesnt have enough hype already, listen to this. Many scouts I can promise you will be an attendance from big schools such as Big Ten conferences and ACC, something along those lines. Super-star all state projected RB Ross Williams has been lighting up the competition with 7+ 100 yard rushing games and averaging around 245 yards per game. I have been told from a Seaholm souce that they too have division one prospects. Don't forget to count out the beast himself Bryce Anderson. He is a 6-2 205 pound OLB/FB who has been seeing heavy interest from Eastern Michigan and even Purdue. This game is one for the ages, and I highly assure you to attend no matter what the weather looks like. My Prediction: Groves takes home the gold to the falcon's nest with a gut-wrenching 34-28 victory as Ross Williams will exceed the expectations and have 2 rushing touchdowns on the game. Don't be surprised when you try and show up at 6:30 and the lot is full. CANT WAIT.

Advertising (Product Placement)

I think that product placement is a poor attempt at advertising. It is never disguised well enough not to take away from the show/movie and make it sound corny. Here is an example from the TV show "Shark Tank."

As you can see, the attempt at trying to advertise for T-Mobile completely distracts the viewer from the show, and is awkwardly forced into the script.

Mean Girls Sum-Up

I thought that watching Mean Girls was a good way to end the gender unit. The movie did a good job of portraying the extremes of gender stereotypes. I think that schools definitely have a group of people that are more well-known, popular, than others, but I think that the portrayal of the "plastics" is over-dramatized. The want for attention and popularity, though, is accurate to high school life. Also, the "backstabbing" of friends and talking behind friends backs is something you see a lot in high school.

PowderPuff Football

Senior year spirit week is one of the biggest events of the last year of highschool. Costume days, decorated hallways, and ridiculous events are what make this week so special to so many seniors. One of these crazy events is known as the "PowderPuff  Football Game"
      The PowderPuff football game is the chance that the female population of the highschool gets a chance to represent their grade and class to the rest of the student body. I find this event of spirit week is a good way to keep the female student body present and attentive in the weeks festivities that could otherwise be dominated by male activities (such as the homecoming varsity football game)
      This tradition is also a way for the school to really get excited for this week of festivities that are out of the ordinary from the natural school week. It increases school pride while giving students an extra night of the year to spend time with class mates and a break from the constant barrage of homework and studies.
      The powderpuff football game pits the junior class against the senior class which also creates a healthy rivalry to bring classes together at the end of the week. Post powderpuff game, I believe that the classes have actually bonded closer than diverged apart and really sets the stage for the rest of the week.

Gender Differences seen through Celebrities and Media

 

(Pictures Won't Move, Sorry on placement)

As a child growing up, you experience different sides of your gender, whether you're a boy or a girl. As a kid, you watch TV and see your favorite celebrities playing the stereotypical "man" or "woman"; such as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as a WWE wrestler showing off his masculinity through violence or actresses portraying the typical female girl in high school. These things, I believe, influence what decisions we make as kids growing up and how we play out our genders. If a kid watches Wrestling growing up, they may become more violent as adults and so on. These celebrities are seen as role models to these kids, and if they are doing these stereotypical things that defines their genders, then kids will act upon it as well. 

I think that nurture has a bigger impact than nature. A lot of good things were said during the class discussion and I agree with all of them. Before kids are even born, parents begin to force gender stereotypes on their kids. Parents teach kids to associate the color blue with boys and that pink is for girls. Parents also give boys sports equipment and assume that they will play sports. Parents give girls dolls and let them play dress up. We don't usually see girls playing "manly" sports like football and hockey because that isn't how they are brought up. A lot of todays sitcoms also portray many gender stereotypes, like, women are meant to be in the kitchen and men are meant to out working providing for the family. I think that gender behavior is mainly nurture.

Fahrenheit 9/11

     Michael Moore's controversial film about 9/11 and President Bush's failure to anticipate and respond to the events was solely an attack on President Bush and his administration.
     The lack of precaution to the terrorist attacks of 9/11 were not to be placed solely on President Bush's shoulders. This was something prior presidents and Bush should have prepared against for many years.
     Moore's attacks against Bush were unjustified and felt like Moore had a personal vendetta against the president.

9/11 Blog

I found the lack of awareness and the lack of urgency by the FAA during the attacks really frustrating. They were fully aware that the attacks were under way, but for some reason kept waiting for something before they took action. In the movie, I remember hearing that an FAA worker was trying to report the second hijacking to her superior officers, but they dismissed her because they were trying to  figure out what to do about the first hijacking. I also remember listening to the recording of a phone call between a flight attendant and the FAA and there were spans of 10 or 15 minutes where the FAA wasn't saying anything to the flight attendant on a hijacked plane. The flight attendant was asked to repeat the same basic information several times because of the lack of understanding from the FAA. I also found it hard to believe that the military couldn't bypass the FAA. The Air Force kept waiting for clearance from the FAA, but when they realized that the FAA wasn't going to do something they should have scrambled the jets and taken the initiative. Overall, I can't even comprehend the lack of urgency and awareness from the FAA.