appendix

Guys…I saved my appendix on my other flash drive that I cannot find…I will retype and post asap!

Appendix Materials

Keely Boulton

Appendix—Rough Draft

ENGL 121

April 14, 2008

Source 1: Mr. Holland’s Opus (Film, 1995)

“Mr. Holland’s Opus is a 1995 drama film in which Richard Dreyfuss plays Glenn Holland, a musician and composer who takes a teaching job to pay the rent while trying to compose one memorable piece of music to make him famous. The plot follows his teaching career over a thirty year span. The film features American history from the 1960s to the 1990s, including the Vietnam War, assassination of John Lennon, and the Watergate scandal. The story also deals with the issues of attitudes towards the deaf and the cutting of arts programs in public schools across the United States” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Holland’s_Opus).

From this film I really want to show the reader that music communicates the American Spirit of music and shows the way music can reach all people no matter what disability or problem they may have. The music does a great job of showing how important music is, and should remain, in education. I will be analyzing how effective the film is at convincing the audience that music should infact stay in school education.

Character List:

Glenn Holland

Iris Holland

Bill Meister

Vice Principal Gene Wolters

Principal Helen Jacobs

Cole Holland

Rowena Morgan

Gertrude Lang

Louis Russ

Bobby Tidd

Source 2: Music of the Heart (Film, 1999)

“This is the true story of Roberta Guaspari Demetras (Streep). By bringing the violin into the lives of children in the New York City public school system, she hopes to brighten their difficult lives. It’s a story of both struggle and hope.

Described in the opening credits as being ‘inspired by a documentary’, the film opens with Roberta having been deserted by her husband and feeling devastated and almost suicidal. Encouraged by her mother, she attempts to rebuild her life and a friend recommends her to the head teacher of a school in the tough New York area of East Harlem. Despite a degree in music education, she has little experience in actual music teaching, but she’s taken on as a substitute violin teacher. With a combination of toughness and determination, she manages to inspire a group of kids, and their initially very skeptical parents. The program slowly develops and attracts publicity.

Ten years later, the string program is still running successfully, but suddenly the school budget is cut and Roberta is out of a job. Determined to fight the cuts, she enlists the support of former pupils, parents and teachers and plans a grand fund-raising concert ‘Fiddlefest’, to raise money so that the program can continue. But with a few weeks to go and all participants furiously rehearsing, they lose the venue. Fortunately,the husband of a publicist friend is a violinist in a string quartet, and he enlists the support of other well-known musicians, including Isaac Stern and Itzhak Perlman. They arrange for the concert to be mounted at Carnegie Hall. Other famous musicians join in the performance, which is a resounding success” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_the_Heart).

Through this film I want to analyze the way it portrays the importance of music as a part of education. The text is a journey of the way music is ingrained in every heart. Even against surmountable odds the characters are able to become closer and pull through because of music. I think this text is an excellent example of why music is not a waste of time and especially not a waste of school’s money.

Character List:

Roberta Guaspari

Janet Williams

Brian Turner

Assunta Guaspari

Isabel Vasquez

Dorothea von Haeften

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cultural Text – Atonement

Carley Buttelman

English 121

April14, 2008

Appendix Materials

I will be wring my final paper based on some of the keys ideas of the movie, Atonement. There are many ideas in this movie that relate to what we are talking and reading about in class. I can use texts from Plato and Achebe. My appendix material will be the plot of the movie:

“In England in 1935, precocious 13-year-old Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan) lives on her family’s country estate with her mother and sister, Cecilia (Keira Knightley). Cecilia is home for the summer from Cambrige where she had been studying with the housekeeper’s son, Robbie (James McAvoy). She and Robbie have an uncertain relationship; neither is willing to act on it but a certain romantic chemistry exists between them. One day, Briony sees from her bedroom window an argument between Cecilia and Robbie at the fountain. Robbie accidentally broke an antique vase and a piece of it fell into the fountain. Angrily, Cecilia stripped to her underwear and dove into the fountain to retrieve it. Briony is confused about the sexual tension between the two of them.

The Tallises are being visited by young relatives from the north — the twins Pierrot and Jackson (Felix and Charlie von Simsin) and their 15-year-old sister, Lola (Juno Temple), whose parents are in the process of divorcing. Leon Tallis (Patrick Kennedy) brings his friend Paul (Benedict Cumberbatch) for dinner. Paul keenly follows Hitler’s political advance and predicts war. He plans to sell chocolate bars to the British military to give to their soldiers. While he tries to amuse Pierrot and Jackson, Paul and Lola flirt.

Embarrassed by his behavior earlier in the day, Robbie tries to write an apology note to Cecilia. One of the drafts includes a sexually charged declaration of his love for her. He then writes a more formal apology he intends to deliver to her. However, he accidentally gives the sexual note to Briony while walking to dinner at the Tallises that night; he gives her the note because he believes it will be less embarrassing if it comes from Briony instead of him. When he realizes what he has done, he calls out to Briony but she is too far away to hear him. Back in the house, she reads the note and is scandalized. She gives the note to Cecilia but later confides to Lola that she believes Robbie is a dangerous sex maniac. Lola has come to her with arm bruises that she accuses her twin brothers of giving to her but Briony ignores them.

Robbie arrives for dinner. He and Cecilia discuss the note and admit their love for one another. They make passionate love in the library but are discovered by Briony. At dinner, it is discovered that Pierrot and Jackson have run away. Everyone looks for them. While looking for them by a creek, Briony stumbles on Lola being raped by someone. He runs away into the darkness. Briony insists to first Lola and then the police that Robbie was the culprit and brandishes the sexual letter to Cecilia as evidence. Only Cecilia protests his innocence. When Robbie returns with the twins, he is arrested for rape. Tried and convicted, he is sent to prison. Four years later he is released into the British army and makes up part of the British Expeditionary Force that is sent to northern France in an attempt to halt the Nazi advance.

In northern France, Robbie and two fellow soldiers attempt to make their way to Dunkirk, where the remnants of the BEF are to be evacuated after the Nazis rout their forces and the French. He has a shrapnel wound in his chest. Several weeks earlier, before he left London, he saw Cecilia again. She remained true to him for four years and begs him to come back to her. She reveals that she has broken contact with her family over her love for Robbie and belief in his innocence. She gives him a photograph of a seaside cottage near Dover that they can retire to. It will give him strength as he struggles towards Dunkirk. Cecilia is a nurse in London. She learns that Briony, now 18 (Romola Garai) has decided not to study at Cambridge and is training to be a nurse herself. Briony knows that Robbie did not rape Lola, that it was Paul — to whom Lola is now engaged and who has become a millionaire selling his candy to the British army. Briony goes to see Cecilia to admit her guilt and state her willingness to do whatever it takes to atone for her sins and clear Robbie’s name. Robbie is in Cecilia’s apartment when she gets there. Although they are angry with her, they tell her what she needs to do to make things right. She agrees, then leaves as Cecilia and Robbie are intimate for one last time before he is shipped to France with the BEF.

In 1999, Briony (Vanessa Redgrave), now in her late seventies and dying of vascular dementia, is a famous novelist. Her new book, __Atonement__, will be published on her birthday. The foregoing narrative had been one she created for her book, as an act of atonement for what she did to Robbie and Cecilia. In real life, she never saw Cecilia after she left the family, and Cecilia and Robbie never had a last tender moment in her apartment before he left with the BEF. Instead, he died at Dunkirk of septicemia, waiting to be evacuated. Cecilia died a few months later when a German bomb burst a water main and flooded the subway tunnel in which she and other Londoners had taken refuge during the Blitz. Briony hopes that, by reuniting them, she gives them the happy conclusion to their lives that they deserved and her readers the hope that everyone needs to survive.

Robbie and Cecilia walk down the beach on a bright, beautiful day. On the steps of the seaside cottage, they look at the beautiful white cliffs, then disappear inside.”

Work Cited

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0783233/synopsis

appendix

“           “”The Biggest Loser: Couples”

An all-new twist shakes up the fifth season of “The Biggest Loser,” heightening the emotion and tension in the competition. For the first time ever in the history of the show, teams of two will compete against each other rather than individuals. Nine of the ten teams – including a mother and son, husband and wife, a divorced couple, best friends, brothers and former football teammates — already have a special bond so they’re playing not only for themselves, but also for their loved one. One team, however, will be made up of two complete strangers who don’t meet until they are surprised with the news they’re being paired together.

Alison Sweeney (NBC’s “Days of our Lives”) hosts the popular weight loss series, and contestants work out under the supervision of professional trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels.

The first reality series in which everybody “loses,” “The Biggest Loser” challenges and encourages overweight participants to undergo physical makeovers, without any kind of surgery, in a safe and recommended manner through comprehensive diet and exercise as they compete for a grand prize of $250,000.

The series has become a worldwide hit airing in over 90 countries and produced in 25 countries. It has produced a New York Times best-selling book series with four titles currently and a fifth book slated to hit stands in March 2008. The show also has two #1 selling fitness DVDs, with two more DVDs available on December 18, 2007, as well as a burgeoning online lifestyle club www.thebiggestloserclub.com.”

-http://www.nbc.com/The_Biggest_Loser_5/about/

Thank You For Smoking

 

Felix J Grobler

Ariana Paliobagis

English 121

Appendix Materials

14^th of March 2008

The cultural text that I will be using for this essay is the movie Thank You For Smoking. I am going to explore the rhetoric used in the movie. I am going to tie in some of the ideas of rhetoric from Plato’s Gorgias. Rhetoric represents the art or technique of using language effectively in order to persuade. Socrates believed it to be more important to “win a debate…than discover the truth” (Plato 539), Nick Naylor, the main character of Thank You For Smoking, seems to live by this philosophy. The use of language is an important aspect of culture today. Proper use of rhetoric allows us to persuade people in the way that we want. For example, the media uses rhetoric in advertising everyday, in order to persuade us into buying the advertised product.

 

Plot Summary:

The chief spokesperson and lobbyist Nick Naylor is the Vice-President of the Academy of Tobacco Studies. He uses his talents in public speaking and debate to defend the tobacco industry in the most difficult situations. His task, of promoting the tobacco industry in a time when the health hazards of the activity have become too great to ignore, seems nearly impossible. He is friends with two fellow lobbyists, they are Polly Bailey, who works in the Moderation Council defending the alcohol industry, and Bobby Jay Bliss, who represents the gun manufacturers’ own advisory group S.A.F.E.T.Y. Together they make up the Mod Squad a.k.a. Merchants of Death. They frequently meet and discuss the current issues affecting their line of work. Vermont’s Senator Finistirre represents Nick’s greatest opposition, he is proposing a law that would feature an image of a skull and cross bone and the inscription “Poison” on every pack of cigarettes sold in the United States. Nick’s son, Joey Naylor, lives with his mother and her boyfriend doctor. It is important to Nick for his son to understand the intricacies of his job. In order to do this Nick takes his son along on several of his business trips. The reporter Heather Holloway ends up betraying Nick by disclosing certain information about him in an article, which she had coerced out of him during sex. At first his world seems to be in danger of collapsing and he becomes depressed. But then his son comes and visits. This is an excerpt of their conversation, which ends up inspiring Nick to quit feeling sorry for himself and start fighting back again:

Joey Naylor: Why are you hiding from everyone?

 

Nick Naylor: It has something to do with being generally hated right now.

 

Joey Naylor: But it’s your job to be generally hated.

 

Nick Naylor: It’s more complicated then that, Joey.

 

Joey Naylor: You’re just making it more complicated so that you can feel sorry for yourself.

 

                      Like you always said, “If you want an easy job, go work for the Red Cross.”

 

At this point in the movie Nick returns to his “A” game. He goes ahead and meets the Vermont senator in the congressional meeting on the law that would relabel cigarette packages as poison. As usual Nick is able to hold his ground well with his immense skills of spin control. He even is labeled as the Sultan of Spin during the movie. The movie ends with him working for a new industry and introducing the present executives to the beauty of spin control. After Nick gives them a statement that they can respond with to their aggressors the three executives sigh in relief. This marks the end of the movie, his final quote is quite memorable:

Nick Naylor: Michael Jordan plays ball. Charles Manson kills people. I talk. Everyone has a talent.

Another one of Nick’s favorite sayings, mentioned throughout the movie, is that ninety percent of what is done in this world is done in order to pay for a mortgage of some kind.

Work Cited:

Achebe. “Language and the Destiny of Man.” Reading the World: Ideas That Matter. Ed. Michael Austin. New York: Norton, 2006. 592-600.

IMDb: The Internet Movie Database. Memorable Quotes for Thank You For Smoking.

13 April 2008. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427944/quotes>.

Movie: Thank You For Smoking. (2005) FOX Studios.

Plato. “Gorgias.” Reading the World: Ideas That Matter. Ed. Michael Austin. New York: Norton, 2006. 539-548.

 

Appendix

Family Guy is an animated television show about a family with many problems that lives in the made up town of Quahog, Rhode Island. It came into existence at the hands of Seth McFarlane for Fox Broadcasting Company in 1999, but it hasn’t gained popularity until more recently, in the past few years. It was actually aired and then cancelled several times until it caught on in the last few years. It may not have come back, but its DVD sales were so large that the producers saw the demand and put it back on the air.

The main character is the dad, Peter Griffin, who may have good intentions but has a hard time getting anything done or doing anything right. He is depicted as an Irish American Catholic, and has a strong Rhode Island accent. His wife, Lois, stays at the house to take care of the kids and to teach the piano, and she has a New York accent. The three kids each have distinct personalities. The daughter Meg is made fun of because she is plain looking and not very popular. The son Chris is fat, not smart, and is kind of considered to be like his dad when his dad was younger. Then there is Stewie, the baby. He is a diabolical child who thinks and speaks like an adult, always planning and scheming things. Finally, there is the dog Brian, who is characterized as a person, walking on two legs and talking, although he is still the family pet.

Overall, I think that Family Guy is a show that pushes the boundaries of what is appropriate on television. This show uses comedy to try and slide this inappropriate material through by saying that since it is funny, they can say whatever they want. It is full of all kinds of innuendos and things that normally wouldn’t be said, but for the point of comedy, it is flaunted. It is just an odd show with a bad scheming baby and a dog that is portrayed as a human.

 

Antonette Lininger

04-14-08

Appendix Materials

So I want to explore human sexuality and the part it plays in society today and how it has transpired over time. Sexuality, and its role in development and why it is a necessity and instinctual. I want to discover why it is looked down upon and discriminated against, and what part of the social contract it violates and why. I what to urge my reader to believe in the value of expressing yourself and the fact that being comfortable with your sexuality is important in the forming of a balanced person. Hopefully to encourage expression, while realizing the way that rhetoric is used and how to recognize it, and why sexuality should not be uncomfortable or odd. I am playing with the idea because of the way we have evolved. Our human interaction has diminished greatly in quantity, and the lack of such is starving the soul of animalistic instinct, and it can not express itself. Creating disorder and harm or turning sexuality and the need of expression into a secret, were the need to conceal and personalize is the way of expression. There has been a sexual revolution.

Exploration is what humans do.

 

At what cost do we conceal sexuality, and what is the cost of flaunting in a society like ours today. Does prostitution hold the role of a solution. Are they enough reasons for legalization, who and why would it upset. Is there any difference from denying Americans the rights of assembly and free speech, or the right of happiness than the right to do what they want with there bodies. Are there programs that could create a sexual environment that is designed for the release of pleasure and stress. Sex is the aid in channeling this instinctual energy, that is felt by all, into a system that is victimless. Taxation and frequent health exams a socialized environment that is controlled and purposeful.

Different Values

Samantha Kujala

4/13/08

Appendix Materials

 

           For my essay I will discuss the different values everyone has. Starting off with Mo Tzu how he believes the most important things in life are working to have food, shelter, and clothing. Mo Tzu believed there was no room in life for entertainment. But today, our society thinks very different from this, entertainment is a necessity for us and it is everywhere. What I believe may be the secret to life is these simple pleasures we have of listening to your favorite song and feeling happy. When Mo Tzu would probably feel the secret to life would be working to keep yourself alive.

            Then I will tie in Achebe’s ideas that language is of great value and interpreting it right. I do believe language is of great value, but I do not believe it is the most important thing we have. Same with Plato, persuasion is not something to dwell on about forever. There are many more important things in life. Both of these writers seem to be valuing language and writing when they should be valuing the simple pleasures in life and the friends and family they have. Everyone has such different ideas about what is important to them and what matters most in life. I am not sure there is one exact secret to life, because the secret to life may just be individually each persons own values. I feel the secret to life is most of the things in life that bring us joy and happiness and those are the things that should not be taken away from us. So part of my main focus will probably be on arguing Mo Tzu’s ideas.

            The last thing I hope to tie in would be a picture that represents well the things I find are valuable in life. This may be a family spending time together, someone enjoying listening to music, or a picture of my favorite movie that makes me happy every time I watch it. From this I would discuss how valuable happiness is and how just writing and languages do not simply by themselves bring happiness. I may also use the some of the others texts we will also read.

 

Sources

Mo Tzu reading, pages 283-288

Plato reading, pages 539-549

Achebe reading, pages 592-600

(Picture yet to be found)

Bethany’s Appendix Materials

Bethany Van Dyke

English 121-31

Appendix Materials

April 14, 2008

 

                The cultural piece I will be using is a magazine cover from Cosmopolitan magazine.  The reason I chose this is because a picture, such as the one on the cover of this magazine, conveys a message and can be interpreted in many different ways.  This specific magazine cover has a picture of a beautiful actress along with many interesting headlines.  The headlines may seen inappropriate to some, but completely normal to others.  I am interested in the way people interpret the pictures and headlines and what that says about our culture.  Also, people are very impressionable; especially young people.  They may look at the magazine cover and think that “normal” or “beautiful” is represented by the picture; or they may see the headlines and begin to believe that what they see or read is reality.  I want to further investigate the way that the media portrays women and how it affects teenage girls and their perception of beauty and normalcy.

                In addition to the magazine cover, I want to tie in some of the ideas of rhetoric from Plato’s Gorgias.  As I understand it, rhetoric is a method of persuasion and I think this ties in perfectly with my subject.  Rhetoric is exactly what the media uses to persuade their readers.  Just as Socrates believed that it is more important to “win a debate…than discover the truth”, I believe the media feels it is acceptable to represent things as they do, even if it is not realistic or truthful (Plato 539).

                For my last text, I am going try to use ideas from Mo Tzu’s Against Music.  In his piece, he talks about music as if it is an unattainable thing, or at least for most people.  This is the same type of situation that goes on with looking at specific magazine covers.  The picture with the beautiful girl almost represents a look and lifestyle that is unattainable to most girls.  With both texts, the situations are unrealistic and most of the time misinterpreted.   In Against Music, it not the music itself that is bad, but more so what it represents.  The same is true for the magazine cover.  The model herself, or the image in general, is not bad or evil but the message it conveys can be inappropriate.  Mo Tzu’s ideas do not fit in extremely well with my ideas, but I think they will work.  We still have a few more texts to read before writing the first draft of our essay, so if one of the new texts fits in better I may choose to not include Mo Tzu’s piece.

 

SOURCES:

COSMOPOLITAN.  Hearst Magazines. Vol. 244, No. 4. Apr.  2008.

Plato. “Gorgias.” Reading the World: Ideas That Matter. Ed. Michael Austin. New York: Norton, 2006. 539-48.

Tzu, Mo. “Against Music.” Reading the World: Ideas That Matter. Ed. Michael Austin. New York: Norton, 2006.  283-87.