Land Of The Dead

I like horror films but for some odd reason I've never finish watching this film. No matter how many time I watch it, I always end up only seeing the beginning and the ending.

Watching Land of The Dead in class then again at home, I realize things I've never realize before. If I remember correctly there are only two African American who you actually see in the film; one is the butler and the other is "Big Daddy." Most of the characters in Land of The Dead are mainly Caucasian and Mexican. (And of course there was that big Asian guy toward the end who only got so many lines.)

While paying close attention to the zombies on the film I realize that you do not really see any other zombies other then "Big Daddy" and these two (or three) zombies who are always beside him. Those zombies are Caucasian. Another factor I realize while watching this is that all the zombies seem to be middle class citizen. There were not any high class.

Another something that I realize is how "Big Daddy" seem to learn new things. I see that he learns things due to what he sees. For example something I saw that caught my eyes today in class that did not at home while I was watching it, was when someone was tossing propane tank that lights fires and the zombie (who just came out of the water and are wet) caught on fire. He then use that act against Mr. K.

I am not sure what I am going to write about for my final essay, but I am going to try to re-watch the film to see if there is anything that will catch my attention. However at the moment, I'm thinking about doing race/gender or horror movies.

Goong S

Episode two is just too FUNNY!

Everyone know how kings and queens, princes and princess are suppose to stereotypically act like. Well, in episode two of Goong S, Kang Hoo was being to his training to become a prince, or king in this matter. Kang Hoo like many teenagers do not like studying. Who in there right mind will? When he was asked to memorize a chart of previous kings and their importance he found reply, "I suddenly feel pain in my stomach." Sounds familiar? I know it do, because my younger sibling uses that excuse to try and get out of studying all the time. However in this case it was just funny because Kang Hoo was twenty-year-old. The key factor is that if your a upper class you have to be proper. How proper? You have to eat a certain way, speak a certain way, and even drink a certain way, in a high class fancy like way.

Another factor that this episode brought about is how woman are looked down upon. The queen who was holding Kang Hoo seats for him, wants him to hurry, learn and take his place as soon as possible because she says she could not handle it anymore. Why? Because she's a woman a everyone looks down on her, thinking that she could not do anything as well as a king would. This makes it really hard on her, especially when the prime minster is pressing all this hardship on her so she would give up and give the crowd to his son, a "suitable" king.

This episode also shows how advance technology has improve. Take for example when the queen's mother (I believe) was examining Kang Hoo cell phone. She could not see anything like it and thought it was the latest model. However when it was shown to the prime minster's son (who I have yet to remember his name, I believe it's Joon) he say it was not. This episode showed a lot of technology. How so? There were not just cell phone flying about in this episode but Kang Hoo even found himself a PSP (a white, limited edition, extremely RARE) lying on his counter. Apart from that while he was learning to be proper and memorize kings and what not, you can see the advance technology that is used to help him study. There were laptop (can not remember what brand), over head and even those little ear piece device things.

Apart from all this things that I have notice I must say Kang Hoo have a extremely neat ring tone!

Goong S (Prince Hours)

PREVIEW

Title: 궁 (宮) S / Goong (Gung) Season S
Also known as: Palace S / Prince Hours / Imperial Household / Goong Special
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Episodes: 20
Broadcast network: MBC
Broadcast period: 2007-Jan-10 to 2007-Mar-15
Air time: Wednesdays & Thursdays 21.55

Cast
Choi Dong Wook (a.k.a. Se7en) as Lee Hoo (Kang Hoo)
Heo Yi Jae as Yang Soon Ae
Park Shin Hye as Shin Sae Ryung
Kang Doo as Lee Joon
Myung Se Bin as the Queen
Lee Gi Young as Jo Sang Ki
Oh Min Hee as the Queen's mother
Yoon Ye Hee as Jang Yoon Hee (Lee Joon's mother)
Chun Ho Jin as Joon's father
Ha Jae Young as Lee Hoo's and Queen's uncle
Cha Hyun Jung as Lee Joon's bodyguard
Ye Soo Jung as person in charge of Lee Hoo's education
Song Baek Kyung as Bulbam
Jung Hye Young as Hoo's mother

Synopsis

The Empress (Myung Se Bin) is in her early 30s, but she is still not married. Since, the 1st successor to the throne died, the royal family is in search for a new successor. Incidentally, they come to know of a young man who was in fact a son of the prince to a woman who left the Palace for her to be able to keep her pregnancy a secret. The young man's name was Lee Hoo (Se7en), more commonly known to his friends as Kang Hoo. Lee Hoo worked as a delivery boy at a Chinese restaurant, and was known for his 7-minute maximum delivery time. Lee Hoo had been brought up as more of a punk than a prince so his habits and his way of conversing were very different from the people of royal blood. Although he had never dreamt of living in the Palace, he one day finds himself immersing himself in its grandeur and improving himself to prove that he indeed deserves to be called the Successor to the throne. He soon finds out that not only will he be facing lessons to the path of royalty, and dilemmas of love and of stature, but he will also learn to compete for the position he had been, first
and foremostly, called for.

------------------------------

Watching episode one of this drama I realize how carefree middle class people are portrayed to be. We are not all always carefree, however most of us do act like a bunch of crazy animal trying to beat our competitor.

Se7en, or Kang Hoo as he is called in the drama, used bits of English in this first episode. This proves that English have influences a lot of culture and many culture have learn it. It is a good thing for communication, however is it always good that other countries learn our language and we not there? How long will the English language be global? Se7en speaking English, to me, shows me that we must learn other language beside our owns and our neighboring countries. Se7en being a great singer, and I being a fan of his, he speaks fluent Korean and Japanese, conversational English and Chinese, and even a little bit of Thai. Not taking his real background into consideration, Se7en plays a mid-class teenager who speaks English, meaning that students in Asia no matter middle or upper class knows some sort of foreign language. A shorter way to put this is, Asia is getting more advance pretty fast.

This episode also show honor and family. When his "uncle" told him that he was the Prince he was surprise, but show his respects and took up his place. His "uncle" showed honor because he hid him for 20 years because of his promise to Kang Hoo's mother.

The strange thing was that the queen was awfully young. She was in her thirty, which was suppose to be ten years Kang Hoo's senior. Not to mention that during a showcase Kang Hoo met some from his grade school that did not like him and she was proud that she was working for the palace, even if it was to be part of the working staffs. This first episode is still pretty confusing but things will clear up, I hope.

drama info (i.e. Synopsis & Cast) credits: DramaWiki

Reading and Writing About Movies

I do not think much when it comes to something visual. Most of the time I just go along with it without even knowing it. I never knew that whenever I watched a preview I determine the genre of it, but I do know that I determined the genre when I watched the preview. Confusing? It's probably true to most people like me. We are just too use to it that we just do not think about it any more.

Horror, romance, thriller, etc a preview of a film lets you know what to expect from it. This expectation gives way to what the viewer will be excited about. If a viewer is about love stories, they will in fact go for the loving happy couple preview promising of a romantic love story apart from the terrified dark horror. This is also an example of how we genre movies and we do not get the outcome we expect we get disappointed. I have experienced a lot of this. For example when I went out to watch "The Messenger," I was expecting to get the scare of a life time, however was disappointed when the horror was not what I assume it would be.

Movies have genres and they do teaches moral (some of them). I agree with this introduction to the chapter about moving teaching us how we are to be in the world. Movies does play a big role in our society. Most girls dreams of a fairy tale wedding, a handsome prince charming, a honeymoon in Hawaii and romantic walks on the sun setting beaches, that is because that's how every happy couple were made out to do/be like by the media.

Reality Essay

I learn a lot from this essay. One thing I learn for sure is never to believe what your ink level says and to always have an extra ink at hand just in case your printer turns evil on you.

On the other hand. I thought for sure that this essay would be a lot easier then the first essay. I got an outline set up and everything. However when I actually went to the writing I realize just how hard it is to write it out. It seems easy to write draw an outline off the top of you head but when it comes time to writing it out. . .that was a whole completely new story. I learn to have a better outline next time.

When I say I learn a lot from this essay, I really did. I learn to look at reality television in a whole new way. I used to just watch a show, but now I can see just how stereotypical they are all. I guess it's not always the greatest to think about something when your watching it, but it is interesting when you do.

An example of what I learn is of Fear Factor. I barely, hardly think about why the women always get more time, but doing this essay I finally realize it was to make women seem weaker. While watching the game show it never even occur to me that women gets more time. It just seem, overall to me, as natural. Having to think and because of this essay, it made me see just how, not only television program, but reality program too stereotype genders.

Maybe this world is all about stereotyping?

America’s Next Top Model Cycle 8

While watching the first episode of America’s Next Top Model last week I got really excited that there was someone from Detroit, Michigan. I, too, was really happy when the annoying girl Kathleen was kick off the show. Why? She was just to preppy with her “Tyra you’re so beautiful” dumb and confusing talk. However after watching episode two I realize how much I wanted to slap Jaslene. Then later after I think about it, I realize how annoying everyone of them were.

On episode two Jaslene who was on last season but did not make it claims everyone is just jealous of her because she has the full package. She even told her mother on the phone that all the girls were after her because she has her signature walk. It annoys the heck out of me when she started crying. Come on this is a completion right? Your tears mean nothing to anyone. Crying after losing to a challenge after you acted all that. What a pity. Better learn next time not to be such a hot head but I doubt she will take the advice. Not after telling the judges about how the girls were all already on her because she was a great model. VOTE HER OFF PLEASE!

After being excited about having someone from Detroit being on the show my excitement when down the drain. What a disgrace to our city. I hope nobody think Detroiter acts like Jael, who’s from Detroit and is half-black. Being half-black you can not really tell, why, because like the judges say her “father must have had some strong genes.” Jael seem really fun and loving, but how she acts on the show, it really was a pain. Walking around the house almost nude. That is just ridiculous! How she wants everyone to be nice to her and be her friends. This just makes me think about how Detroit acted like when the Super Bowl was here. I am not saying that Detroiters are not nice but Detroiters got to stop acting fake most of the time. Jael looks like someone The Real World would cast

Bad Family

Episode 7 to Ending

Once you get to know a group of people it is extremely hard to let them go. These last few episodes show how the stage family starting to develop real family bonds. The stage family took us from being strangers to being a real family. In one of the last episode Dal Gun, the fake uncle who is an orphan, finally found his in father in Hang Gu, the fake grandfather who had never marry and never had a son. Also in the episode it shows the discovery that Hang Gu has lung cancer. The family worry about him as if he was really their true grandfather and beg that he go to the hospital for operation.

The last few episodes also include the climax in which Na Rim regains her full memory. Na Rim seem to experience an after shock after Dal Gun and Yang Ah told her about her family accident. Na Rim seem to under go denial which is common among people who have lost someone special in their live. However being a child you can see how harder it is and even worst when it’s her whole family.

At the end the stage family became so close that they could not leave each other. Na Rim although she have regain her memory could not see the family she have lived with go. She was attach to them, they were like a family to her now. Although she seemed against them after she have regained her memory she realize how much the family have done for her and how they have treated her, therefore she loved them like her own.

What I saw that is really "unreal" is how everything was solve at the end and they ended up living happily ever after. To tell step by step as to how everything happen and was solve would take forever, but what is really unbelievable is how Na Rim got her dairy publish. In real life a child could not get a diary of picture and little fact publish, even if it’s a children book. Or could they?

SEVIS

I think the GEOC meeting was pretty interesting. When we were told that international students have to pay an addition fifty dollar I was surprise. I never knew about this situation until now. I think it is extremely unfair for those students because we are all students so why should they have to pay more when they already have to pay for their visa.

At the meeting, I think the speakers did not do all that great of a job. They lack a lot of information and even though they say that they have done many research there wasn’t much proof of it. An example is when one of the student as if they have asked about the SEVIS from other university that have repel it. Their answer was unclear. The student speakers seem to have expected two of the WSU administrates to show up and they to do the answers so that’s why they seem pretty unprepared. WSU administrate brought up a even worst example by not showing up.

Apart from the unclear answers, it was really hard to heard two out of the four speakers. Although the room was pretty small I think a microphone could have helped. Other then that, the fact that most of the students who attended the meeting seem to be Undergraduate they should have instead of kept using WSU "Graduate" student eliminated the Graduate part because the fee not only affect them but all WSU international students. I think they would have gain more support if they have just eliminated the whole graduate thing, because by using graduate many undergraduate would think it doesn’t apply to them or their peers.

Nonetheless I really hope that WSU repel the fee and tell us what it is for. I would really go to the next meeting, but it’s held during one of my classes, but I hope all goes well for them because how WSU is treating its international students really rots.