The video is about this deaf and mute girl, living in Thailand. She wants to be able to play music the violin, like that one guy in the street she saw when she was little.
She tells her friend about her want to play violin, and her friend immediately blows up on her. I, personally, think that the friend knows that the deaf and mute girl will become better than her at playing the violin so the friend makes fun of her for it and tells her that thet idea of a deaf girl playing a violin is ridiculous.
Deaf and mute girl thinks her friend might be right and starts doubting herself. She goes to the musician, who is also deaf and mute, and talks to him. She tells him her frustrations.. she just wants to be accepted and be like the other kids. The musician asks her why she wants to be accepted. Music, after all, is a personal thing.
So she sets out on her journey to become a great violinist. She practices and practices everyday, but she enjoys it. She closes her eyes and goes to a different world. She starts practicing with the musician and her friend grows angry (and more insecure). She plays the piano and plays it daily. Although, the piece she’s playing now is more angry. She seems to have chosen a piece that reflects the anger she has inside of her. Not only has she chosen an angry piece, she’s also playing the piece in an angry fashion.
The day of the competition has arrived and deaf and mute girl’s friend (or nemisis) has just finished playing her piece (very beautifully). Deaf and mute girl goes up there. She remembers what the musician and her mentor has told her. She closes her eyes and thinks about all the obstactles she has overcame. She goes into a different world, one very plain and grassy, and you see this butterfly coming out of her cocoon. Obviously this symbolizes the deaf and mute girl coming out of her shell and finally being able to shine.
Sorry if you aren’t able to understand some of it. =/
I thought the lyre bird was pretty amazing. It’s like those people who are musically talented and can play a piece of music after hearing it for the first time.
It also reminded me of the Hunger Games series where there are such things as jabberjays, which are creatures who can imitate voices, except lyre birds imitate sounds.
The clip indicated that wildlife is being destroyed around or near the area where the lyre birds live. It’s sad to think before all this happened, these birds probably imitated pretty sounds from nature. Now, though, they’ll just be hearing/making dreadful sounds of machinery cutting away at their home.
The media portays people as fit, tall, and to have perfect teeth and skin. Women are expected to be skinny and to have a chest and to be tan. Men are often expected to be muscular or look like they’ll be able to take care of their women… most men aren’t viewed as “ideal” if they’re really skinny.
And it’s not just body image, it can be in jobs. In movies, or television or whatever, they have the janitor or lunch lady be this unattractive, stingy person who was a loser in high school.
The perfect house is big and well, a house… um, it’s just the media generally will not show a person living in a trailer or an apartment as “ideal”. No offense to those who live in apartments or trailers.
Speaking of trailers, my Economics teacher asked us how old we thought kids started sexual activities. Most people said 12 (that’s what I thought too) and he said at 8 years old. It’s because of the media kids are starting to get exposed to these things so early! Kids learn that sex sells, and you go around seeing girls wearing supershort, tight skirts or shirts.
The elements in this video that set the movie were the barren setting, the music, the creepy-looking pencil, and the even stick-skinny girl. Again, stereotyping, but usually when you watch movies with those kind of girls as the main character, there’s generally a story that’s told about them… something usually tragic.
The lesson I think the video is trying to convey is that there’s going to be a drawback in getting everything you want. First time I watched the video, I thought the pencil was just there *randomly* and didn’t have a clue about what was going on, especially at the end. The second time I watched it, it seemed like the pencil was deceiving the girl so that she could become one of it’s victims. I guess kinda like Hansel and Gretel, but I was thinking more on the lines of genies.
I know genies aren’t real, but in stories, they are known as tricksters. They grant you a certain amount of wishes, no matter what it is. Obviously people would be ecstatic at this, and they would wish whatever they wanted, but they’d later find out that something awful was given up because of that one wish.
The girl in the video got 2 of her wishes/wants, but the third time, she received the consequence of that wish/want.
If I could have a pencil that gave me anything I wanted, with no consequences involved, I would draw a big check with enough to last my family and me for the rest of our lives. And then I would give the pencil to someone else.
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Quote: “You only lose what you cling to.” — Siddhārtha Gautama
I got a 7 on the test. Honestly, it was better than I thought I would have gotten. I’m really bad at these kind of things. ):
I don’t really know what this says about my conceptions of how I view race and ethnicity. I suppose people tend to judge other people by their appearance and assume they are a certain race, but I also think that personality comes into effect (Is that right? I had to look up to see the word to see if I used the correct one.. tell me if I’m wrong. I get so confused with affect and effect sometimes..). Usually when I meet someone, I notice at leasta little bit of their personality, whether it’s in their clothes or their jewelry or whatever… That sounds awful, judging someone on what they wear and thinking you have them figured out already, but growing up in this kind of society where looks are everything, I don’t think you can help sometimes.
I would like to say, I don’t really judge people based on their race, but I know that’s not true. On Sunday, I went to Chinatown (somewhere in Atlanta.. I’m not exactly sure..) and it’s so nice going there sometimes because I feel like I relate more to them. I eat the same food as them and understand the kind of things they’re going through that I’m not sure other ethnic groups would understand. I remember I saw this Hispanic in there and I was thinking, “What the heck is he doing in here?” And then I saw he was married to another Asian in the store, and I realized that judging him based on his race wasn’t fair. I think everyone can get to know and understand different ethnic groups and their cultures.
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I didn’t think it was too difficult. I think if I was just judging people off the street, I might’ve gotten more right. It’s like the pressure of a test (or something) always makes you second guess yourself.. but at the same time, I might not of.
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The criteria I used to judge people is their skin color.. although for Asians, I used their eyes.
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And I think that’s all. I’m running out of time and getting a little nervous! Sorry about the hasty finish!
I don’t know which book I’ll read first to be honest. Whatever one sounds most interesting. I still don’t know what Farewell to Arms and McTeague are about, so when I get those books, I’ll read the summaries.
Don’t have any strategies.. I’m just going to try to finish it before Band Camp finishes (July 28) so my brother can turn it in for me.
I like to read in my room at night, especially when you read into the early morning. It makes me feel so guilty, but at the same time, you know it was a good book if you’re willing to stay all night just for that book.
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In other news, Band concert was tonight! It was so amazing! I was so nervous beforehand but it was probably the best we’ve ever played.
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M wanted to do the tango with me. :/
He’s learning it in Spanish. Ah, he’s so lucky! I want to learn it too. I’m not a very good dancer, but it’s fun to get up and do things you never really thought you would ever do. We learned the waltz in French for Mardi Gras and that was so fun. (:
However, I really don’t want to dance with him since in the tango, you have to dip your partner, and dear lord, he’s so freaking skinny. I’m afraid he’ll drop me.
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Quote: “I wanted to tell the book thief many things, about beauty and brutality. But what could I tell her about those things that she didn’t already know? I wanted to explain that I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race-that rarely do I ever simply estimate it. I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so condemning* and brilliant.” — Markus Zusak (The Book Thief ♥)
*How to change the word. Look up the quote if you want to know what the real word is.
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Hm.. I’ve been meaning to get this site for a while now.. I guess now I finally have a reason to.. I’m so glad they have HTML on here though.. I swear if they didn’t, I’d go crazy. I can’t stand visual.
Anyways, I’ll make a better post later.. and hopefully update my layout.. It’s so ugly..
