If there are multiple helping verbs, then the last helping verb determines the form of the main verb
"to finish"
They should finish soon.
They should have finished soon.
Regular and Irregular Verbs
Forms of Verbs
Base Present Past Past Participle -ing Form
ask ask ask(s) asked asked asking
When to use the forms
--"to+verb"
I want 'to go' to Asia World.
Base: Use after "can, may, shall, will, could, might, should, would, must, do, does"
--You can play piano if you pay money for lessons.
--I could ask him to come to my office.
--I can see clearly.
--I may travel to America later this week.
--I shall yell at the sleeping student.
--I will study more.
--I could study more, but I won't.
--I might go to the movie next week.
--I should take out the trash.
--I would like to buy a CD for my boyfriend.
--I must study harder.
--I do like to listen to music.
--He does think about our relationship.
--He did ask me to go with him to the concert last week.
Present
I ask, you ask, he asks, we ask, you all ask, they ask
--He plays soccer every day.
Past
asked
--He played soccer for many years.
I asked, you asked, he asked, we asked, you all asked, they asked
Past Participle: Use after "have, has, had"; some are used after forms of "be."
--I have gone shopping....
--She had played piano well when she still had her hands.
asked
--I have asked him for help before, but he always has said, "No."
habitual (regular) action set in the past
-- -ing form
Use after forms of "to be"
--He is going to eat lunch after class.
--Her husband is playing for her.
--I am asking you nicely to stop beating [noun] me up.
--Common Irregular Verbs--
be
become
begin
break
bring
buy
build
catch
choose
come
do
draw
drink
drive
eat
fall
feel
fight
find
forget
forgive
freeze
get
give
go
grow
have
hear
hold
keep
know
lay (to put) laid
lead led
leave
lie (to rest) lay lain lying
lose
make
meet
pay
read
ride ridden
ring
rise
run
say
see
sell
shake shaken
shine (give light) shone
shine (polish) shined
sing
sleep
speak
spend
stand
steal
strike
swin swum
swing swung
take
teach
tear tore torn --I had torn up all of his letters.
tell
think
throw
wea wornr
win
write
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Sunday, October 21, 2007
"When pigs fly"
"When pigs fly" means "never". It is sarcastic. "I will clean my room every day...when pigs fly." "I will give him the money that I owe him...when pigs fly."
In the show, Mr. Burns jokes that he will donate a million dollars to an orphanage when pigs fly. He laughs because he knows that he will never give the orphanage the money. However, he sees a flying pig. His assistant asks Mr. Burns if he should get the money ready for the orphanage. Mr. Burns says, "Now, I'd still prefer not [to give the money." This is funny because it shows that "when pigs fly" literally means "never."
In the show, Mr. Burns jokes that he will donate a million dollars to an orphanage when pigs fly. He laughs because he knows that he will never give the orphanage the money. However, he sees a flying pig. His assistant asks Mr. Burns if he should get the money ready for the orphanage. Mr. Burns says, "Now, I'd still prefer not [to give the money." This is funny because it shows that "when pigs fly" literally means "never."
Itinerary for Weeks 6-15
Sean Allan’s “English for Non-Majors”
--The grading standard has changed. The weight of each course component is now equal.
Participation: 25%
Writing: 25%
Grammar Exams: 25%
Oral/Aural: 25%
Itinerary for Weeks 6-15
If class is canceled for one of the weeks, have the work prepared the next week. (If there is no class for you on Week 10, then complete both the Week 10 and Week 11 assignments for Week 11)
Week 6
Patterns Plus
“The Jeaning of America…” 36-40
“Daughter’s Doll…” 40-43
“The Delhi” 43-46
Way Ahead
End of Unit 3: Suggestions and Politeness
--Listening Drill
Due: Paper 1 Analysis and Conclusion
Grammar: Subject/Verb Agreement
Week 7
Exam, except for Monday’s class (Monday’s class: do the reading for Week 8)
The Exam will cover the following: Independent and dependent clauses; coordinating conjunctions; prepositional phrases; fragments; run-on sentences; parts of speech; doubling the final letter; commas; semicolons; colons.
Due: Paper 1 Rewrite (typed and correctly formatted)
Week 8
Patterns Plus
“The Hiroshima Museum”
“Mail”
“My Father”
“Overindulgence” 53-61
Monday class: Exam
Way Ahead
Unit 4: Shopping and Spending Habits
--Listening Drill
Due: Paper 2 Introduction
Grammar: Standard English Verbs; Regular and Irregular Verbs
Week 9
Patterns Plus
“Hush, Timmy…” 61-65
“The Sounds of the City” 72-75
Way Ahead
Unit 4: Suggestions
--Listening Drill
Due: Paper 2 Observation
Grammar: Shifts in Time; Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers
Week 10
Patterns Plus
“Trash Talk” 83-85
“Boomtown, U.S.A.” 87-89
Way Ahead
Unit 5: The Airport, Directions, Requests
--Listening Drill
Due: Paper 2 Analysis and Conclusion
Grammar: Verbal Phrases; Parallel structure
Week 11
Patterns Plus
“The Internet Instills Family Values—Really” 94-97
“My Mother Never Worked” 105-110
Way Ahead
Listening Exam (Different from the one in the book)
Grammar: Words Often Confused
Week 12
Patterns Plus
“Brain Power” 122-124
“Eggs, Twinkies and Ethnic Stereotypes” 134-137
Way Ahead
Unit 7: Jobs
--Listening Drill
Due: Paper 3 Introduction
Grammar: Sentence Patterns; Shifts in Person
Week 13
Patterns Plus
“Secrets of Man’s Unspoken Language” 140-145
“Dogs and Cats” 151-153
“Good Girl, Bad Girl” 155-157
Way Ahead
Unit 8: In My Opinion (*important for oral exam)
--Listening Drill
Due: Paper 3 Summary
Grammar: Dash, Punctuation Marks, Underlining, Exclamation Point
Week 14
Patterns Plus
“Neat People vs. Sloppy People” 159-162
“Conversational Ballgames” 162-167
Way Ahead
Unit 8: In My Opinion
--Listening Drill
Due: Paper 3 Analysis and Conclusion
Grammar: Shifts in Time; Review
Week 15
Patterns Plus
“Brewing Beer” 181-183
“The Right Way to Eat and Ice-Cream Cone” 185-187
“The Cook” 187-188
Oral and Aural Exams
Grammar: Clichés, Wordiness, Etc.; Review
Paper 2: Observation and Analysis
--For Paper 2 you will look at something that interests you. If you are interested in how children play, you could observe children at a playground. If you are interested in the night markets, you could observe how people behave at a night market. If you are interested in how people behave in public transportation, you could observe people in a bus or on the MRT.
In the first part of the paper, the introduction, you will explain what you decided to observe. Tell the reader what you will observe and why you will observe it.
In the second part of the paper, you will describe what you saw. “Some children shared their toys; some did not.” Be specific about what you see and hear. Are the night market vendors nicer to some people than others? Do young people remember to give up their seats to the elderly on the subway? Do people on the bus talk to strangers?
In the final part of the paper, you will analyze what you saw. What did it mean? If you observed that people on the bus do not look each other in the face, here you would try to explain why you think people do not look each other in the face. After the analysis, you will write one short paragraph in which you explain why your observation and analysis is important. “It is important to watch children play because if we understand children better we can help them grow up to become healthy adults.”
Paper 3: An Analysis of Gender
--For Paper 3 you will discuss some aspect of gender—what it means to be a man or a woman—at length. It could be something basic, like “Why do women talk more than men?” It could be something very sophisticated, like “What does androgyny say about gender?” It could look at the division between what is “male” and what is “female”: “Why is it wrong for a man to ‘act’ like a woman?” “Why are gay men considered ‘not men’ and gay women considered ‘not women’”?
The paper should be an expression of your informed opinion, and the paper should concentrate on a social science perspective. No one wants to read you write, “It’s wrong to be gay because it makes other people feel uncomfortable;” you could write, “Homosexuality makes heterosexual people uncomfortable because….” You will talk about your experience with the topic, what you think about the topic, and what questions other people should ask about the topic.
In the introduction, you will describe your topic and explain why you chose it. In the summary of the paper, you will describe your thoughts and your observations about the topic. In the analysis of the paper, you will talk about the importance of the topic and the questions that the topic raises (e.g. “Are men born to act like men, or are they taught to act like men?”)
You are free to discuss your own experience with the topic, and you are free to interview people. If you were made fun of in school because you weren’t “manly” enough, you could talk about your experiences. If you want to interview a gay or straight friend about topics in homosexuality or heterosexuality, you may discuss the interview in your paper.
Only I will read your paper, so if you want to talk about a topic that you wouldn’t want to share with other students, you don’t have to worry.
--The grading standard has changed. The weight of each course component is now equal.
Participation: 25%
Writing: 25%
Grammar Exams: 25%
Oral/Aural: 25%
Itinerary for Weeks 6-15
If class is canceled for one of the weeks, have the work prepared the next week. (If there is no class for you on Week 10, then complete both the Week 10 and Week 11 assignments for Week 11)
Week 6
Patterns Plus
“The Jeaning of America…” 36-40
“Daughter’s Doll…” 40-43
“The Delhi” 43-46
Way Ahead
End of Unit 3: Suggestions and Politeness
--Listening Drill
Due: Paper 1 Analysis and Conclusion
Grammar: Subject/Verb Agreement
Week 7
Exam, except for Monday’s class (Monday’s class: do the reading for Week 8)
The Exam will cover the following: Independent and dependent clauses; coordinating conjunctions; prepositional phrases; fragments; run-on sentences; parts of speech; doubling the final letter; commas; semicolons; colons.
Due: Paper 1 Rewrite (typed and correctly formatted)
Week 8
Patterns Plus
“The Hiroshima Museum”
“Mail”
“My Father”
“Overindulgence” 53-61
Monday class: Exam
Way Ahead
Unit 4: Shopping and Spending Habits
--Listening Drill
Due: Paper 2 Introduction
Grammar: Standard English Verbs; Regular and Irregular Verbs
Week 9
Patterns Plus
“Hush, Timmy…” 61-65
“The Sounds of the City” 72-75
Way Ahead
Unit 4: Suggestions
--Listening Drill
Due: Paper 2 Observation
Grammar: Shifts in Time; Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers
Week 10
Patterns Plus
“Trash Talk” 83-85
“Boomtown, U.S.A.” 87-89
Way Ahead
Unit 5: The Airport, Directions, Requests
--Listening Drill
Due: Paper 2 Analysis and Conclusion
Grammar: Verbal Phrases; Parallel structure
Week 11
Patterns Plus
“The Internet Instills Family Values—Really” 94-97
“My Mother Never Worked” 105-110
Way Ahead
Listening Exam (Different from the one in the book)
Grammar: Words Often Confused
Week 12
Patterns Plus
“Brain Power” 122-124
“Eggs, Twinkies and Ethnic Stereotypes” 134-137
Way Ahead
Unit 7: Jobs
--Listening Drill
Due: Paper 3 Introduction
Grammar: Sentence Patterns; Shifts in Person
Week 13
Patterns Plus
“Secrets of Man’s Unspoken Language” 140-145
“Dogs and Cats” 151-153
“Good Girl, Bad Girl” 155-157
Way Ahead
Unit 8: In My Opinion (*important for oral exam)
--Listening Drill
Due: Paper 3 Summary
Grammar: Dash, Punctuation Marks, Underlining, Exclamation Point
Week 14
Patterns Plus
“Neat People vs. Sloppy People” 159-162
“Conversational Ballgames” 162-167
Way Ahead
Unit 8: In My Opinion
--Listening Drill
Due: Paper 3 Analysis and Conclusion
Grammar: Shifts in Time; Review
Week 15
Patterns Plus
“Brewing Beer” 181-183
“The Right Way to Eat and Ice-Cream Cone” 185-187
“The Cook” 187-188
Oral and Aural Exams
Grammar: Clichés, Wordiness, Etc.; Review
Paper 2: Observation and Analysis
--For Paper 2 you will look at something that interests you. If you are interested in how children play, you could observe children at a playground. If you are interested in the night markets, you could observe how people behave at a night market. If you are interested in how people behave in public transportation, you could observe people in a bus or on the MRT.
In the first part of the paper, the introduction, you will explain what you decided to observe. Tell the reader what you will observe and why you will observe it.
In the second part of the paper, you will describe what you saw. “Some children shared their toys; some did not.” Be specific about what you see and hear. Are the night market vendors nicer to some people than others? Do young people remember to give up their seats to the elderly on the subway? Do people on the bus talk to strangers?
In the final part of the paper, you will analyze what you saw. What did it mean? If you observed that people on the bus do not look each other in the face, here you would try to explain why you think people do not look each other in the face. After the analysis, you will write one short paragraph in which you explain why your observation and analysis is important. “It is important to watch children play because if we understand children better we can help them grow up to become healthy adults.”
Paper 3: An Analysis of Gender
--For Paper 3 you will discuss some aspect of gender—what it means to be a man or a woman—at length. It could be something basic, like “Why do women talk more than men?” It could be something very sophisticated, like “What does androgyny say about gender?” It could look at the division between what is “male” and what is “female”: “Why is it wrong for a man to ‘act’ like a woman?” “Why are gay men considered ‘not men’ and gay women considered ‘not women’”?
The paper should be an expression of your informed opinion, and the paper should concentrate on a social science perspective. No one wants to read you write, “It’s wrong to be gay because it makes other people feel uncomfortable;” you could write, “Homosexuality makes heterosexual people uncomfortable because….” You will talk about your experience with the topic, what you think about the topic, and what questions other people should ask about the topic.
In the introduction, you will describe your topic and explain why you chose it. In the summary of the paper, you will describe your thoughts and your observations about the topic. In the analysis of the paper, you will talk about the importance of the topic and the questions that the topic raises (e.g. “Are men born to act like men, or are they taught to act like men?”)
You are free to discuss your own experience with the topic, and you are free to interview people. If you were made fun of in school because you weren’t “manly” enough, you could talk about your experiences. If you want to interview a gay or straight friend about topics in homosexuality or heterosexuality, you may discuss the interview in your paper.
Only I will read your paper, so if you want to talk about a topic that you wouldn’t want to share with other students, you don’t have to worry.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Using Secondary Sources
I asked you to use a secondary source in your movie paper. I haven't talked about it lately, so I won't require you to do it. However, if you'd like to try to use a secondary source, here is how to use one.
Jamie Russell at BBC Films writes, "Now a classic, it's easy to forget how radical this once was. Capturing the youth subculture like no one before, Rebel's tale of gangs, chicken races and the burgeoning sexuality of adolescence points a wagging finger of blame not at the kids but at society itself." This is a good point, for the movie does a good job portraying parents' inability to understand their children. Jim's father thinks he is being fair when he is really indecisive. Judy's father thinks he is being firm when he really is just distancing himself from Judy.
--You should name the author of your secondary source. Notice that you use quotes. You can use a comma to set up a quote. Also, you should always talk about a quote. Tell the reader why you agree or disagree with the other person's idea. Also, when you quote or describe a scene from the movie, you should tell the reader why the quote or the scene is important.
Jamie Russell at BBC Films writes, "Now a classic, it's easy to forget how radical this once was. Capturing the youth subculture like no one before, Rebel's tale of gangs, chicken races and the burgeoning sexuality of adolescence points a wagging finger of blame not at the kids but at society itself." This is a good point, for the movie does a good job portraying parents' inability to understand their children. Jim's father thinks he is being fair when he is really indecisive. Judy's father thinks he is being firm when he really is just distancing himself from Judy.
--You should name the author of your secondary source. Notice that you use quotes. You can use a comma to set up a quote. Also, you should always talk about a quote. Tell the reader why you agree or disagree with the other person's idea. Also, when you quote or describe a scene from the movie, you should tell the reader why the quote or the scene is important.
New Policy on Grading
Classes:
I need you to keep your written work short. Here is my policy starting with next week's work.
--Your assignment should only be one double-spaced, 12 point font page (300 or so words).
--If your assignment is two pages long, I will read the second page and grade the paper, but I will only correct the mistakes on the first page.
--If your assignment is over two pages, I will not accept it.
I will look at any assignment, no matter how long it is, if you bring it to my office hours, but I won't accept more than two pages to grade alone from now on.
I need you to keep your written work short. Here is my policy starting with next week's work.
--Your assignment should only be one double-spaced, 12 point font page (300 or so words).
--If your assignment is two pages long, I will read the second page and grade the paper, but I will only correct the mistakes on the first page.
--If your assignment is over two pages, I will not accept it.
I will look at any assignment, no matter how long it is, if you bring it to my office hours, but I won't accept more than two pages to grade alone from now on.
Monday, October 15, 2007
A Few Notes on Usage and Talking
--Remember that in a list you have to put "and" before the last item: "The movie stars Antonio Banderas, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, and Mike Meyers." <--A lot of you have been leaving out the 'and'.
--Remember that "however" implies that something unexpected happens. "Sammo Hung (洪金寶) is fat. However, he is a great martial artist." "The movie is bad. However, the acting is good." We think a large person would not be a great martial artist, and we think that a bad movie usually has nothing good in it. Many of you are writing things like, "Pretty Woman is a great romantic movie. However, it is great that the man and the woman get together at the end." "However" doesn't work here because it is normal for the man and the woman to get together at the end of a romantic movie.
--You have to be able to speak for this class, and you have to be able to speak to get anywhere with your English. Practice if you have to. I understand that people are shy; you have to be ready to talk even if you are shy. Perhaps to make people feel better about talking in class, I will do something difficult in front of all of you, maybe sing a Chinese song (something by 莫文蔚).
You are getting lots of practice listening to me; try to practice listening to English language radio, etc. if you are able, and speak English with your friends for a few hours a week. If you can't understand what I am saying and cannot speak complete sentences without difficulty, you might want to consider taking this class later or getting a lot of help from me and the tutoring services at the school and in the city.
--Sean
--Remember that "however" implies that something unexpected happens. "Sammo Hung (洪金寶) is fat. However, he is a great martial artist." "The movie is bad. However, the acting is good." We think a large person would not be a great martial artist, and we think that a bad movie usually has nothing good in it. Many of you are writing things like, "Pretty Woman is a great romantic movie. However, it is great that the man and the woman get together at the end." "However" doesn't work here because it is normal for the man and the woman to get together at the end of a romantic movie.
--You have to be able to speak for this class, and you have to be able to speak to get anywhere with your English. Practice if you have to. I understand that people are shy; you have to be ready to talk even if you are shy. Perhaps to make people feel better about talking in class, I will do something difficult in front of all of you, maybe sing a Chinese song (something by 莫文蔚).
You are getting lots of practice listening to me; try to practice listening to English language radio, etc. if you are able, and speak English with your friends for a few hours a week. If you can't understand what I am saying and cannot speak complete sentences without difficulty, you might want to consider taking this class later or getting a lot of help from me and the tutoring services at the school and in the city.
--Sean
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Parts of Speech
From the lecture: (part of speech in italics)
Noun: person, place, thing or idea
Sean is a teacher.
Pronoun: A replacement word for a noun
I love all of you.
Adjective: Adds information to a noun.
The great teacher posts another blog entry.
Verb: An action or "state of being"
He ran.
Adverb: Adds information to a verb, adjective, adverb or an entire sentence.
Yesterday a very nice man effectively taught me how to whistle.
Preposition: positions something in space and time
I will be in class before the bell rings.
Conjunction: connects two things or starts a dependent clause
Because I love to learn, my books and I are always in the library.
Interjection: a strong statement of emotion; not usually written down.
Aaah! The Indians won!
Noun: person, place, thing or idea
Sean is a teacher.
Pronoun: A replacement word for a noun
I love all of you.
Adjective: Adds information to a noun.
The great teacher posts another blog entry.
Verb: An action or "state of being"
He ran.
Adverb: Adds information to a verb, adjective, adverb or an entire sentence.
Yesterday a very nice man effectively taught me how to whistle.
Preposition: positions something in space and time
I will be in class before the bell rings.
Conjunction: connects two things or starts a dependent clause
Because I love to learn, my books and I are always in the library.
Interjection: a strong statement of emotion; not usually written down.
Aaah! The Indians won!
Fragments, Run-ons and There and Here
A fragment is a sentence that is missing a subject or verb, or it is a dependent clause that does not have an accompanying independent clause.
"While some of us wrote in our notebooks."--is a fragment because it's a dependent clause. Change it to "Some of us wrote in our notebooks," or add an independent clause.
--Here is a common fragment mistake.---
"I love stinky tofu. Which is great because I live in Taiwan."
The second sentence is actually a fragment. Just because it is obvious what you are saying doesn't mean that the sentence is okay. Get rid of the "which" to make the idea complete. For example, you could write: "This is great because I live in Taiwan." 'This' would be your subject because it means "My love for stinky tofu".
A run-on sentence tries to make more than one independent clause into one sentence incorrectly. Only a semicolon or coordinating conjunction can connect two independent clauses in one sentence.
"Rap music is great, I listen to it everyday." is a run-on sentence. Here is how to fix it:
"Rap music is great, so I listen to it every day." (coordinating conjunction)
"Rap music is great. I listen to it every day." (Two sentences)
"Rap music is great; I listen to it every day." (semicolon)
"I listen to rap music every day because rap music is great." (Independent clause plus dependent clause)
'There" and "Here" are NOT subjects.
If I write, "There is a lot of good stinky tofu in Taiwan," the subject is not "There"; the subject is "stinky tofu".
There and here "point to something". The above sentence says "Stinky tofu is prevalent in Taiwan."
Similarly, "Here are your test scores." The subject is "your test scores"; the sentence is saying "Your test scores are here."
"While some of us wrote in our notebooks."--is a fragment because it's a dependent clause. Change it to "Some of us wrote in our notebooks," or add an independent clause.
--Here is a common fragment mistake.---
"I love stinky tofu. Which is great because I live in Taiwan."
The second sentence is actually a fragment. Just because it is obvious what you are saying doesn't mean that the sentence is okay. Get rid of the "which" to make the idea complete. For example, you could write: "This is great because I live in Taiwan." 'This' would be your subject because it means "My love for stinky tofu".
A run-on sentence tries to make more than one independent clause into one sentence incorrectly. Only a semicolon or coordinating conjunction can connect two independent clauses in one sentence.
"Rap music is great, I listen to it everyday." is a run-on sentence. Here is how to fix it:
"Rap music is great, so I listen to it every day." (coordinating conjunction)
"Rap music is great. I listen to it every day." (Two sentences)
"Rap music is great; I listen to it every day." (semicolon)
"I listen to rap music every day because rap music is great." (Independent clause plus dependent clause)
'There" and "Here" are NOT subjects.
If I write, "There is a lot of good stinky tofu in Taiwan," the subject is not "There"; the subject is "stinky tofu".
There and here "point to something". The above sentence says "Stinky tofu is prevalent in Taiwan."
Similarly, "Here are your test scores." The subject is "your test scores"; the sentence is saying "Your test scores are here."
Spelling Words With -ing, -ed, and -er endings
Why does "begin" become "beginning" and "beginner"? Here is the rule for doubling a letter:
If all three of the following are true, then double the final letter before adding -ing, -ed, or -er.
1. The word ends in a single consonant.
2. The single consonant is preceded by a single vowel (a,e,i,o,u)
3. The accent (stress) is on the last syllable.
--Think about "begin". Do we stress the "be" or the "gin"? We stress the "gin": we say be-GIN, no BE-gin. So we double the final letter before adding -ing, -ed, or -er.
Two examples:
keep: number 1 and 3 are true, but #2 is not: there are two vowels before the single consonant. So we write "keeping".
wed: All three are true (ends in "d," one vowel before "d", and stress on the last (only) syllable), so we write "wedding".
If all three of the following are true, then double the final letter before adding -ing, -ed, or -er.
1. The word ends in a single consonant.
2. The single consonant is preceded by a single vowel (a,e,i,o,u)
3. The accent (stress) is on the last syllable.
--Think about "begin". Do we stress the "be" or the "gin"? We stress the "gin": we say be-GIN, no BE-gin. So we double the final letter before adding -ing, -ed, or -er.
Two examples:
keep: number 1 and 3 are true, but #2 is not: there are two vowels before the single consonant. So we write "keeping".
wed: All three are true (ends in "d," one vowel before "d", and stress on the last (only) syllable), so we write "wedding".
Write Less
Please keep your written assignments at a reasonable length. Try to write better and write less; some of you do not edit carefully enough and write a lot of sentences, all of which have severe mistakes in them. If I need an hour for each of your papers, I would have to work ten days without sleep. If this continues to be a problem, I will have to punish students for writing too much.
All of your paper one assignment should add up to 2-3 pages.
Also, please format you papers correctly. The font should be 12 point in size. Use a font like Times New Roman or Ariel. Double space the paper. If you do not understand these terms, ask someone. Perhaps a student could put the Chinese terms in the comments section. That would be great, thank you.
Finally, a lot of you were lazy with the introduction. I asked for a paper, not a list. "Tom Cruise and Meg Ryan star in the movie," not
Cast:
Meg Ryan
Tom Cruise.
--Some of you copied information from online. That is okay; we don't always remember people's names. However, if you cut and paste internet information, change the format so that it isn't obvious that you just copied off of the computer. You can use information from on-line, but do not have the online site do all of the work for you.
All of your paper one assignment should add up to 2-3 pages.
Also, please format you papers correctly. The font should be 12 point in size. Use a font like Times New Roman or Ariel. Double space the paper. If you do not understand these terms, ask someone. Perhaps a student could put the Chinese terms in the comments section. That would be great, thank you.
Finally, a lot of you were lazy with the introduction. I asked for a paper, not a list. "Tom Cruise and Meg Ryan star in the movie," not
Cast:
Meg Ryan
Tom Cruise.
--Some of you copied information from online. That is okay; we don't always remember people's names. However, if you cut and paste internet information, change the format so that it isn't obvious that you just copied off of the computer. You can use information from on-line, but do not have the online site do all of the work for you.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Talking About Sound
Diegetic sound is sound that occurs within the story. Dialgue is diegetic. If a character's alarm clock goes off, the sound of the alarm is diegetic. In Rebel..., when Jim turns on the radio and hears the song dedicated to him "from Buzz," the radio and the song are diegetic. Diegetic sound is part of the action of the film.
Can the characters in the movie hear the sound? If yes, then it is diegetic sound.
Nondiegetic sound is sound that occurs outside of the story. If there is a narrator, then the narration is nondiegetic (because the people in the movie cannot hear the narrator). Music that the characters cannot hear is nondiegetic. At the beginning of Rebel..., when Jim is playing with the monkey, he cannot hear the music that we (the audience) can here.
Can the characters in the movie not hear the sound? If yes, then the sound is nondiegetic.
"The movie uses nondiegetic sound well. The music that plays during certain scenes helps to make the scenes more emotionally powerful."
"The movie uses diegetic and nondiegetic sound for humor. The nondiegetic narrator will say something, then a character in the movie will say the same thing."
Can the characters in the movie hear the sound? If yes, then it is diegetic sound.
Nondiegetic sound is sound that occurs outside of the story. If there is a narrator, then the narration is nondiegetic (because the people in the movie cannot hear the narrator). Music that the characters cannot hear is nondiegetic. At the beginning of Rebel..., when Jim is playing with the monkey, he cannot hear the music that we (the audience) can here.
Can the characters in the movie not hear the sound? If yes, then the sound is nondiegetic.
"The movie uses nondiegetic sound well. The music that plays during certain scenes helps to make the scenes more emotionally powerful."
"The movie uses diegetic and nondiegetic sound for humor. The nondiegetic narrator will say something, then a character in the movie will say the same thing."
Out-of-Class Group Work
I would like all of you to start an account on www.facebook.com. Sign up on the Taiwan network. You should be able to find my account if you search the name "Sean Allan." Enjoy the pictures of my beautiful daughter.
Request me as a friend. I will create a group for each class. Each student should make one post per week to talk about writing or the assignments for class. I will tell you more about the assignment in class this week. If you read this, go to the facebook site, make an account, and add me as a friend.
Sean
Request me as a friend. I will create a group for each class. Each student should make one post per week to talk about writing or the assignments for class. I will tell you more about the assignment in class this week. If you read this, go to the facebook site, make an account, and add me as a friend.
Sean
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
A Note on Cheating, and a Note for the Tuesday and Wednesday Classes
I'm disappointed to find that some of you are cheating by copying someone else's paper. A lot of the cheating is very obvious. If you do not want to write your own work, you do not have to take this class. If you are caught cheating, you will receive a grade of "zero" on your paper.
I asked that you write the introduction and the thesis statement for this week. Because of the cheating, I ask that you do not write anything more than what I ask you to write. If your paper does not fulfill the assignment, I will not accept it.
Also, for the classes that I have not met this week: remember to write out the introduction. Do not put:
Rebel Without a Cause
Director: Nicholas Ray
Stars: James Dead
Write complete sentences: Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 American film. Nicholas Ray directed the film. The film stars James Dean.
Wednesday Students: If you read this, please write the "summary" for your paper for next week. If you want to turn in your introduction and thesis statement this week, bring it to my Thursday or Friday office hour. I will give it back to you next week.
Tuesday Students: I assigned a lot of work to you. If you find it is too much work, just write the Movie paper introduction, thesis statement, and summary; don't write the Rebel Without a Cause response.
I asked that you write the introduction and the thesis statement for this week. Because of the cheating, I ask that you do not write anything more than what I ask you to write. If your paper does not fulfill the assignment, I will not accept it.
Also, for the classes that I have not met this week: remember to write out the introduction. Do not put:
Rebel Without a Cause
Director: Nicholas Ray
Stars: James Dead
Write complete sentences: Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 American film. Nicholas Ray directed the film. The film stars James Dean.
Wednesday Students: If you read this, please write the "summary" for your paper for next week. If you want to turn in your introduction and thesis statement this week, bring it to my Thursday or Friday office hour. I will give it back to you next week.
Tuesday Students: I assigned a lot of work to you. If you find it is too much work, just write the Movie paper introduction, thesis statement, and summary; don't write the Rebel Without a Cause response.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Summary
Don't worry, I don't expect your summary to be as long as my Rebel Without a Cause summary. I wrote a long paper to help you practice your reading comprehension.
Rebel Without a Cause Paper
Sean Allan
Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 American film. It stars James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, and Jim Backus. Nicholas Ray directed the film. Rebel Without a Cause is a good film because it is a positive look at the emotional problems of teenagers. Furthermore, it is a positive movie without being too positive or sentimental.
The movie is set in Los Angeles. The movie begins with a drunk Jim Stark (James Dean) finding a toy monkey on the sidewalk. Because it is very late at night and Jim is drunk, Jim decides to lie down to sleep. He takes the toy monkey and puts the monkey to bed, too, as if the monkey were his son.
After this scene, we see Jim in a Police Station. The police let Jim keep the monkey. Jim has to wait for his parents; he is drunk and obnoxious. Meanwhile, Judy (Natalie Wood) is talking to an officer. Judy has bright lipstick and is wearing a bright red coat. The police think she might have been out soliciting men for prostitution. Judy explains that she believes her father hates her, and she says that she went outside after her father rubbed off her lipstick and called her a dirty tramp. It seems that Judy dressed as a tramp because she thinks that is what her father thinks she is, so she might as well act like one.
In the same Police Station is Plato (Sal Mineo). Plato’s caretaker, a black maid, asks him if he is cold. Jim hears this and tries to give Plato his coat. Plato refuses. We learn later that Plato’s parents are gone—his father lives in another part of the States, and his mother is simply not around. It’s Plato’s birthday. Because his parents are not around, Plato celebrates his birthday by killing puppies with a gun. Plato does not know why he does bad things and does not know how to feel better about his life.
Jim’s parents and grandmother (father’s mother) come to the station to get Jim. Jim says, “Happy Easter” to all of them. The parents are more interested in yelling at each other than in punishing or comforting Jim. Jim yells at them that they do not ever accomplish anything because their arguments never end. A sympathetic cop takes Jim away from his family. The cop forgives Jim for an attempted assault, an assault which the cop easily prevents. The cop is the best kind of “real man” in a movie that is about “becoming a man.” After the cop stops Jim from hitting him, he takes off his jacket. The audience sees his gun, and perhaps the audience thinks that Jim will soon be hurt because taking off one’s jacket is usually a sign that one is about to fight. Instead, we see the cop take off his gun and place it in the drawer. Jim likes this cop because the cop shows that he is tough, and the cop also shows that he doesn’t have to be violent or mean. The cop lets Jim beat up his desk, and he lets Jim know that most people survive families that argue all the time. Jim goes home; he takes a compact that he found in the station with him. The compact is Judy’s.
Jim is excited about the first day of school. He sees Judy and tries to talk to her, but she is rude to him. Jim goes to school; he is confused, but people seem to be friendly, except for a gang of which Judy is part. Plato sees Jim at school and seems to be excited.
The Juniors and Seniors visit the Planetarium that afternoon. The Planetarium presentation emphasizes that the Earth will one day be destroyed and that people are insignificant. This presentation reflects the feelings that many young people have, feelings that they are insignificant. The presentation also shows how adults are not very sympathetic to younger people. If children are afraid of a world that has no meaning, why should adults teach them that the world is meaningless because it will soon end?
Jim likes the presentation. Plato tries to talk to Jim. Buzz (Corey Allen), the leader of a gang and Judy’s boyfriend, makes a stupid joke about a constellation. Jim laughs at the joke, and he tries to make a similar joke about the constellation Taurus by making a “Moo” sound. The gang does not laugh at the joke; instead, they use it as an excuse to pick a fight with Jim after the presentation.
Plato stays with Jim when it looks like Jim will have to face the gang. Buzz cuts one of the tires on Jim’s car. Jim does a good job acting “like a man.” He walks to the car and tries to change the tire without doing anything to the gang. He keeps telling the gang, “I don’t want any trouble.” However, Jim is still insecure. When Buzz calls Jim “chicken,” Jim is willing to knife fight with Buzz. The knife fight is excitingly filmed, but it keeps using medium, focused shots during the fight, a style that is used in almost all of the film.
Buzz doesn’t really take the fight seriously, so Jim is able to win. He puts the knife to Buzz’ throat, then drops the knife. Buzz insists on a new competition. Jim agrees to a chickee run, and he pretends that he knows what it is when he really doesn’t. Jim is happy that Plato supported him, so he and Plato talk after the gang leaves. He asks Plato what a chickee run is. Jim shows that he is a good friend but is still insecure. He is insecure because he has to keep fighting with this gang.
At home, Jim sees his father (Jim Backus) in an apron. He wants his father to be a man, but his father doesn’t ever want to argue with anyone. The apron makes the dad look more like a woman, so visually the father “can’t” be a man. Jim is still insecure, but he knows that he shouldn’t go to the chickee run, so he tries to get his father to tell him not to go. It is not in the father’s nature to say, “No” to Jim; in fact, the father asks Jim, “Son, have I ever said, ‘No’ to you about anything?” The father thinks that that is a good thing, but Jim wants his father to tell him ‘No’; that’s what a father does.
Judy’s father says “No” too much. Judy is at the dinner table; she wants to kiss her father good evening, but her father thinks she is too old. She assures her father that it’s still okay for her to show affection to him, like a young child would. Her father slaps her when she tries to kiss him again. Because Judy’s father can’t let Judy be a girl, and because they cannot talk about it, Judy feels that she is not part of the family. Perhaps she wasn’t going to go to the chickee run, but now she leaves the dinner table and her home.
Plato goes to the chickee run to support Jim. Judy asks Plato about Jim, and Plato pretends to know Jim a lot better than he does, noting for example that very close friends can call Jim “Jamie”. Plato also says, “I wish he were my father.” Buzz and Jim pick cars for the chickee run. Buzz is very friendly, but he says to Jim, “You’ve got to do something.” They may like one another, but teenagers still feel that they have to do something exciting, and gang leaders still feel that they have to show that they are tough.
The chickee run is a race to the edge of a cliff. The first person to jump out of the car is a chicken. The movie has quick cuts during the race. We see a close-up of Buzz, then a close-up of Jim, then a middle shot of the two cars driving toward the camera. It is exciting in a different way than the knife fight is exciting. Jim waits a long time before jumping. Buzz gets his jacket caught on the door, so he fails to get out before the car goes of the cliff.
The gang leaves after Buzz’s death. Plato stays with Jim; no one took Judy when the gang left, so Jim reaches out to her.
Jim drops Judy off. He gives her back a compact and says, “Want to see a monkey?” This refers back to the toy that Jim took care of. He is telling Judy that he cares about her. Plato is excited and wants to hang out with Jim all night. Jim tells him to go home and that they’ll see each other tomorrow. Plato leaves reluctantly.
Jim’s parents confront him. Jim tells them what he did. He wants them to tell him to go to the police, but they won’t. Jim even attacks his dad because the dad will not give him an answer. Jim leaves the house again, stopping to kick a painting of grandma as a way to show that he rejects his family.
Jim goes to the police station, but the friendly cop is not there. The cops are more interested in being friendly to an adult that they are booking for “assault with a deadly weapon”; they don’t care about Jim’s problems because he’s a kid. The gang sees Jim and thinks he is telling the police that the gang is involved.
Jim goes home and sees that Judy is waiting for him. Judy calls Jim “Jamie”. Jim is confused. Judy asks Jim how long he has known Plato. We see Jim think and wrinkle his forehead after Judy asks him the question; he seems to know that Plato lies and fantasizes a lot. “This morning,” he answers quietly.
Jim takes Judy to the abandoned house that Plato told Jim about. Plato meets them there. They pretend to be adults. They talk about how much they hate children. Plato is happy, and he starts to pretend to be Jim and Judy’s son. Plato falls to sleep; Jim and Judy dote over him like two parents looking over their sleeping child. They laugh at Plato having two different colored socks, but they don’t laugh to make fun of him. They laugh because they understand what it means to be nervous.
After Plato goes to sleep, Jim and Judy go to another room to make out. Judy tells Jim that she loves him, and she is surprised that it is “so easy” to love someone. While they talk, though, three gang members enter the house. Plato wakes up to find Jim and Judy gone and three gang members surrounding him.
Plato fights valiantly against the three gang members, and eventually he gets his gun from his jacket. He shoots one gang member. Jim opens the door to see what Plato is doing, and Plato almost shoots Jim. Plato yells to Jim, “You’re not my father!” Plato’s sense that he has been abandoned again has made him go crazy.
Plato goes from the house to the Planetarium. There are cops after Plato now. Jim tells Judy that they have to help Plato. Jim’s parents arrive at the Planetarium with the friendly cop. Jim goes into the Planetarium. Plato asks Jim if the world will end at night; Jim says, “No, at dawn.” Jim gives Plato his jacket, which Plato holds like a child. Jim takes the bullets out of Plato’s gun, but he has to give the gun back.
Jim goes outside to show the police that he has the bullets, but the police turn on bright lights again. This scares Plato. He runs out, and the police shoot him because they think that he still has bullets. Jim cries over Plato’s body. He zips up his jacket on Plato’s corpse. Jim’s father finally is the man that he needs to be. He tells Jim to stand up with him. Jim introduces his parents to Judy. The camera pans up to the Planetarium. The sun is coming up. Jim and Judy are in love, and they have learned something, yet Plato’s world has ended at dawn.
The movie does an excellent job showing how teenagers don’t understand and can’t control their feelings. After Jim drops off Judy, he tries to flirt with her. He asks Judy if she is okay. He gets out of the car and grabs the knot on Judy’s head wrap, a knot that is just below her chin. He wants to touch Judy, but he isn’t sure that he should. Judy tells Jim that she will be fine. Jim then pushes her away with his hand holding the knot. He seems slightly angry that Judy doesn’t need him. After Jim gets in the car, he calls Judy over and gives her her compact. Jim knows that giving the compact to Judy will have an effect on her. Judy looks at the compact for some time, and Jim doesn’t know what to do. He looks around, and then he looks back at Judy and quickly winks at her before driving away. Judy puts the compact up to her face and caresses it. This is a great scene because it shows that both Jim and Judy can’t control or understand their feelings. Judy isn’t sure what to do with her feelings for Jim. She tells him she is okay, but she might want him to stay but doesn’t want to say it. She holds the compact to her face as if it was Jim’s hand, but she’s too scared to tell Jim about her feelings. Jim knows that he likes Judy, but he doesn’t know what to do. He is so anxious to be with her that he almost hurts her when she says that she will be fine. He knows that giving her the compact will make her like him more, but he doesn’t know what to do after she takes it. The wink is cute, but Jim knows that winking at someone right after her boyfriend has died is probably not a good thing to do. The scene is very well made because it shows how teenagers don’t know how to show their feelings and don’t know how to control their bodies when they have strong feelings.
The movie also effectively shows what it means for a father to be a man. The movie is wrong about the differences between men and women, but at the end, when Jim’s father holds Jim and promises to stand up with Jim, the audience sees real love and emotional support. The end of the film is a moving display of fatherly love, and earlier, the film shows many examples of a father who thinks he is doing the right thing, but he isn’t. For example, Judy’s father thinks he needs to be more distant from Judy so that she can grow up more easily; he doesn’t understand that she needs him still to show that he loves her.
Finally, the film is good because the ending is not completely positive. Plato dies. Jim shows he is a man, but he fails to save Plato. Jim is probably facing legal trouble. In a bad movie, the Plato character would live, and the characters would seem to have all of their problems solved. In Rebel Without a Cause, there are still many struggles for Jim, Judy, and Jim’s father. We know that Jim and Judy’s love will help them get over their problems. A bad movie simply solves everyone’s problems, and people live “happily ever after”.
Rebel Without a Cause is a great film about teenagers. Why do people watch films about teenagers? It seems American movies are interested in ‘outsiders’. A teenager is a type of outsider. A teenager is outside of the adult world, and he is outside of the world of children. Furthermore, everyone has been a teenager, so everyone understands how a teenager is an outsider. Movies like this make an effort to help people understand people that are normally ignored or put down.
Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 American film. It stars James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, and Jim Backus. Nicholas Ray directed the film. Rebel Without a Cause is a good film because it is a positive look at the emotional problems of teenagers. Furthermore, it is a positive movie without being too positive or sentimental.
The movie is set in Los Angeles. The movie begins with a drunk Jim Stark (James Dean) finding a toy monkey on the sidewalk. Because it is very late at night and Jim is drunk, Jim decides to lie down to sleep. He takes the toy monkey and puts the monkey to bed, too, as if the monkey were his son.
After this scene, we see Jim in a Police Station. The police let Jim keep the monkey. Jim has to wait for his parents; he is drunk and obnoxious. Meanwhile, Judy (Natalie Wood) is talking to an officer. Judy has bright lipstick and is wearing a bright red coat. The police think she might have been out soliciting men for prostitution. Judy explains that she believes her father hates her, and she says that she went outside after her father rubbed off her lipstick and called her a dirty tramp. It seems that Judy dressed as a tramp because she thinks that is what her father thinks she is, so she might as well act like one.
In the same Police Station is Plato (Sal Mineo). Plato’s caretaker, a black maid, asks him if he is cold. Jim hears this and tries to give Plato his coat. Plato refuses. We learn later that Plato’s parents are gone—his father lives in another part of the States, and his mother is simply not around. It’s Plato’s birthday. Because his parents are not around, Plato celebrates his birthday by killing puppies with a gun. Plato does not know why he does bad things and does not know how to feel better about his life.
Jim’s parents and grandmother (father’s mother) come to the station to get Jim. Jim says, “Happy Easter” to all of them. The parents are more interested in yelling at each other than in punishing or comforting Jim. Jim yells at them that they do not ever accomplish anything because their arguments never end. A sympathetic cop takes Jim away from his family. The cop forgives Jim for an attempted assault, an assault which the cop easily prevents. The cop is the best kind of “real man” in a movie that is about “becoming a man.” After the cop stops Jim from hitting him, he takes off his jacket. The audience sees his gun, and perhaps the audience thinks that Jim will soon be hurt because taking off one’s jacket is usually a sign that one is about to fight. Instead, we see the cop take off his gun and place it in the drawer. Jim likes this cop because the cop shows that he is tough, and the cop also shows that he doesn’t have to be violent or mean. The cop lets Jim beat up his desk, and he lets Jim know that most people survive families that argue all the time. Jim goes home; he takes a compact that he found in the station with him. The compact is Judy’s.
Jim is excited about the first day of school. He sees Judy and tries to talk to her, but she is rude to him. Jim goes to school; he is confused, but people seem to be friendly, except for a gang of which Judy is part. Plato sees Jim at school and seems to be excited.
The Juniors and Seniors visit the Planetarium that afternoon. The Planetarium presentation emphasizes that the Earth will one day be destroyed and that people are insignificant. This presentation reflects the feelings that many young people have, feelings that they are insignificant. The presentation also shows how adults are not very sympathetic to younger people. If children are afraid of a world that has no meaning, why should adults teach them that the world is meaningless because it will soon end?
Jim likes the presentation. Plato tries to talk to Jim. Buzz (Corey Allen), the leader of a gang and Judy’s boyfriend, makes a stupid joke about a constellation. Jim laughs at the joke, and he tries to make a similar joke about the constellation Taurus by making a “Moo” sound. The gang does not laugh at the joke; instead, they use it as an excuse to pick a fight with Jim after the presentation.
Plato stays with Jim when it looks like Jim will have to face the gang. Buzz cuts one of the tires on Jim’s car. Jim does a good job acting “like a man.” He walks to the car and tries to change the tire without doing anything to the gang. He keeps telling the gang, “I don’t want any trouble.” However, Jim is still insecure. When Buzz calls Jim “chicken,” Jim is willing to knife fight with Buzz. The knife fight is excitingly filmed, but it keeps using medium, focused shots during the fight, a style that is used in almost all of the film.
Buzz doesn’t really take the fight seriously, so Jim is able to win. He puts the knife to Buzz’ throat, then drops the knife. Buzz insists on a new competition. Jim agrees to a chickee run, and he pretends that he knows what it is when he really doesn’t. Jim is happy that Plato supported him, so he and Plato talk after the gang leaves. He asks Plato what a chickee run is. Jim shows that he is a good friend but is still insecure. He is insecure because he has to keep fighting with this gang.
At home, Jim sees his father (Jim Backus) in an apron. He wants his father to be a man, but his father doesn’t ever want to argue with anyone. The apron makes the dad look more like a woman, so visually the father “can’t” be a man. Jim is still insecure, but he knows that he shouldn’t go to the chickee run, so he tries to get his father to tell him not to go. It is not in the father’s nature to say, “No” to Jim; in fact, the father asks Jim, “Son, have I ever said, ‘No’ to you about anything?” The father thinks that that is a good thing, but Jim wants his father to tell him ‘No’; that’s what a father does.
Judy’s father says “No” too much. Judy is at the dinner table; she wants to kiss her father good evening, but her father thinks she is too old. She assures her father that it’s still okay for her to show affection to him, like a young child would. Her father slaps her when she tries to kiss him again. Because Judy’s father can’t let Judy be a girl, and because they cannot talk about it, Judy feels that she is not part of the family. Perhaps she wasn’t going to go to the chickee run, but now she leaves the dinner table and her home.
Plato goes to the chickee run to support Jim. Judy asks Plato about Jim, and Plato pretends to know Jim a lot better than he does, noting for example that very close friends can call Jim “Jamie”. Plato also says, “I wish he were my father.” Buzz and Jim pick cars for the chickee run. Buzz is very friendly, but he says to Jim, “You’ve got to do something.” They may like one another, but teenagers still feel that they have to do something exciting, and gang leaders still feel that they have to show that they are tough.
The chickee run is a race to the edge of a cliff. The first person to jump out of the car is a chicken. The movie has quick cuts during the race. We see a close-up of Buzz, then a close-up of Jim, then a middle shot of the two cars driving toward the camera. It is exciting in a different way than the knife fight is exciting. Jim waits a long time before jumping. Buzz gets his jacket caught on the door, so he fails to get out before the car goes of the cliff.
The gang leaves after Buzz’s death. Plato stays with Jim; no one took Judy when the gang left, so Jim reaches out to her.
Jim drops Judy off. He gives her back a compact and says, “Want to see a monkey?” This refers back to the toy that Jim took care of. He is telling Judy that he cares about her. Plato is excited and wants to hang out with Jim all night. Jim tells him to go home and that they’ll see each other tomorrow. Plato leaves reluctantly.
Jim’s parents confront him. Jim tells them what he did. He wants them to tell him to go to the police, but they won’t. Jim even attacks his dad because the dad will not give him an answer. Jim leaves the house again, stopping to kick a painting of grandma as a way to show that he rejects his family.
Jim goes to the police station, but the friendly cop is not there. The cops are more interested in being friendly to an adult that they are booking for “assault with a deadly weapon”; they don’t care about Jim’s problems because he’s a kid. The gang sees Jim and thinks he is telling the police that the gang is involved.
Jim goes home and sees that Judy is waiting for him. Judy calls Jim “Jamie”. Jim is confused. Judy asks Jim how long he has known Plato. We see Jim think and wrinkle his forehead after Judy asks him the question; he seems to know that Plato lies and fantasizes a lot. “This morning,” he answers quietly.
Jim takes Judy to the abandoned house that Plato told Jim about. Plato meets them there. They pretend to be adults. They talk about how much they hate children. Plato is happy, and he starts to pretend to be Jim and Judy’s son. Plato falls to sleep; Jim and Judy dote over him like two parents looking over their sleeping child. They laugh at Plato having two different colored socks, but they don’t laugh to make fun of him. They laugh because they understand what it means to be nervous.
After Plato goes to sleep, Jim and Judy go to another room to make out. Judy tells Jim that she loves him, and she is surprised that it is “so easy” to love someone. While they talk, though, three gang members enter the house. Plato wakes up to find Jim and Judy gone and three gang members surrounding him.
Plato fights valiantly against the three gang members, and eventually he gets his gun from his jacket. He shoots one gang member. Jim opens the door to see what Plato is doing, and Plato almost shoots Jim. Plato yells to Jim, “You’re not my father!” Plato’s sense that he has been abandoned again has made him go crazy.
Plato goes from the house to the Planetarium. There are cops after Plato now. Jim tells Judy that they have to help Plato. Jim’s parents arrive at the Planetarium with the friendly cop. Jim goes into the Planetarium. Plato asks Jim if the world will end at night; Jim says, “No, at dawn.” Jim gives Plato his jacket, which Plato holds like a child. Jim takes the bullets out of Plato’s gun, but he has to give the gun back.
Jim goes outside to show the police that he has the bullets, but the police turn on bright lights again. This scares Plato. He runs out, and the police shoot him because they think that he still has bullets. Jim cries over Plato’s body. He zips up his jacket on Plato’s corpse. Jim’s father finally is the man that he needs to be. He tells Jim to stand up with him. Jim introduces his parents to Judy. The camera pans up to the Planetarium. The sun is coming up. Jim and Judy are in love, and they have learned something, yet Plato’s world has ended at dawn.
The movie does an excellent job showing how teenagers don’t understand and can’t control their feelings. After Jim drops off Judy, he tries to flirt with her. He asks Judy if she is okay. He gets out of the car and grabs the knot on Judy’s head wrap, a knot that is just below her chin. He wants to touch Judy, but he isn’t sure that he should. Judy tells Jim that she will be fine. Jim then pushes her away with his hand holding the knot. He seems slightly angry that Judy doesn’t need him. After Jim gets in the car, he calls Judy over and gives her her compact. Jim knows that giving the compact to Judy will have an effect on her. Judy looks at the compact for some time, and Jim doesn’t know what to do. He looks around, and then he looks back at Judy and quickly winks at her before driving away. Judy puts the compact up to her face and caresses it. This is a great scene because it shows that both Jim and Judy can’t control or understand their feelings. Judy isn’t sure what to do with her feelings for Jim. She tells him she is okay, but she might want him to stay but doesn’t want to say it. She holds the compact to her face as if it was Jim’s hand, but she’s too scared to tell Jim about her feelings. Jim knows that he likes Judy, but he doesn’t know what to do. He is so anxious to be with her that he almost hurts her when she says that she will be fine. He knows that giving her the compact will make her like him more, but he doesn’t know what to do after she takes it. The wink is cute, but Jim knows that winking at someone right after her boyfriend has died is probably not a good thing to do. The scene is very well made because it shows how teenagers don’t know how to show their feelings and don’t know how to control their bodies when they have strong feelings.
The movie also effectively shows what it means for a father to be a man. The movie is wrong about the differences between men and women, but at the end, when Jim’s father holds Jim and promises to stand up with Jim, the audience sees real love and emotional support. The end of the film is a moving display of fatherly love, and earlier, the film shows many examples of a father who thinks he is doing the right thing, but he isn’t. For example, Judy’s father thinks he needs to be more distant from Judy so that she can grow up more easily; he doesn’t understand that she needs him still to show that he loves her.
Finally, the film is good because the ending is not completely positive. Plato dies. Jim shows he is a man, but he fails to save Plato. Jim is probably facing legal trouble. In a bad movie, the Plato character would live, and the characters would seem to have all of their problems solved. In Rebel Without a Cause, there are still many struggles for Jim, Judy, and Jim’s father. We know that Jim and Judy’s love will help them get over their problems. A bad movie simply solves everyone’s problems, and people live “happily ever after”.
Rebel Without a Cause is a great film about teenagers. Why do people watch films about teenagers? It seems American movies are interested in ‘outsiders’. A teenager is a type of outsider. A teenager is outside of the adult world, and he is outside of the world of children. Furthermore, everyone has been a teenager, so everyone understands how a teenager is an outsider. Movies like this make an effort to help people understand people that are normally ignored or put down.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Talking About Focus
Movies use "focus" for effect. When an object on the screen is "in focus," the viewer can see the details of the object. When an object is "out of focus," the viewer cannot see the details of the object--a face will look like a blur, for example. When you are very tired, or when you rub your eyes very hard, your eyesight will go out of focus.
Look at this example. The valve (the red thing) is in focus; behind the valve is out of focus.
http://dragonballyee.com/archives/photos/2006/03Mar/0379/0379.jpg
"Deep focus" is when everything on the screen is in focus. Here is an example from "The Best Years of Our Lives."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Best_Years_of_Our_Lives_01_bar.jpg
"Shallow focus" is when only the image in the foreground is in focus. Here is a short vocabulary.
Foreground: The object closest to the screen.
Middle ground: the objects in the middle of the screen.
Background: The objects far away.
Here is an example of shallow focus. Only the boy's face is in focus.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/172/427807020_0ce14b8469.jpg
--A lot of movies change the focus in a scene for effect. For example, a lot of you have seen the movie "Lust, Caution." In the Mahjong game scenes, the women will often say mean things to one another. Many times, one woman will say something mean to another; right after that, the woman who just spoke will go "out of focus," and the woman who was just insulted will go "in focus."
"Rack focus" changes the focus from the foreground to the middle ground, or from the middle ground to the background, or from one person's face to another. Many movies will use "rack focus" when two people are talking. The person talking will be in focus, and the person listening will be out of focus. (Sometimes the person listening will be in focus, and the person talking out of focus.)
Here's an example of "rack focus." There is a camera looking through an airplane window. In the picture on the left, the focus is on the objects outside; the "rack focus" changes the focus to the airplane window glass (and now the objects outside are out of focus). In "rack focus," the focus will change from the outside to the window, and back again.
Look at this example. The valve (the red thing) is in focus; behind the valve is out of focus.
http://dragonballyee.com/archives/photos/2006/03Mar/0379/0379.jpg
"Deep focus" is when everything on the screen is in focus. Here is an example from "The Best Years of Our Lives."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Best_Years_of_Our_Lives_01_bar.jpg
"Shallow focus" is when only the image in the foreground is in focus. Here is a short vocabulary.
Foreground: The object closest to the screen.
Middle ground: the objects in the middle of the screen.
Background: The objects far away.
Here is an example of shallow focus. Only the boy's face is in focus.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/172/427807020_0ce14b8469.jpg
--A lot of movies change the focus in a scene for effect. For example, a lot of you have seen the movie "Lust, Caution." In the Mahjong game scenes, the women will often say mean things to one another. Many times, one woman will say something mean to another; right after that, the woman who just spoke will go "out of focus," and the woman who was just insulted will go "in focus."
"Rack focus" changes the focus from the foreground to the middle ground, or from the middle ground to the background, or from one person's face to another. Many movies will use "rack focus" when two people are talking. The person talking will be in focus, and the person listening will be out of focus. (Sometimes the person listening will be in focus, and the person talking out of focus.)
Here's an example of "rack focus." There is a camera looking through an airplane window. In the picture on the left, the focus is on the objects outside; the "rack focus" changes the focus to the airplane window glass (and now the objects outside are out of focus). In "rack focus," the focus will change from the outside to the window, and back again.
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