Deconstructing Film

How would this film play out with Real Life consequences ??

Ratatouille is a computer animated comedy film about a scrawny rat named Remy finding his dream of Culinary SuperStardom by stirring up controversy in the kitchen of a Fine French restaurant.

It's hard being a rat with culinary aspirations, but Remy is convinced he has what it takes to break the stereotype and follow in the footsteps of a star chef.     

 After Remy is separated from his family mischief in the sewer directly beneath  Gusteau's elegant restaurant, he teams up with a young chef with little talent named Linguini and together they make some fabulous dishes while living in fear that someone  might find out their secret and strongly object to a rat being in a kitchen, as I suppose I would.



 When Remy's passion for cooking turns the French cuisine upside down, the rat learns important lessons about life, friends and family while questioning whether he should pursue his culinary dream or return to his underground life as a sewer rat.
Now I know this sounds really disgusting.  Who in their right minds would ever dream of a COOKING RAT, let alone eating a meal prepared by one.  If you are like me and have ever encountered a Mouse in your home, Screaming for the Uninvited guest to leave and Never return. Jumping on the furniture... too afraid of the mouse, then there's No Way you would ever find solace in this film.  But being the mom of an active pre-teen, I have had to succumb to many Disney films and Nickelodeon channels, and I just fell in love with this LIttle Guy, and you will too. !!

GOOD OLE' "SOUTHERN CULTURE"

 

It is surprising that how
much of American Culture actually comes from Southern Culture.

 

Southerners have a very well developed culture consisting of food, music, art, dance and religion and even manners that differ from the rest of America.

 

My roots start in the South.  Both my parents, their parents, and so forth were born and raised in South Carolina.  Etiquette is very important in the South.  Southern Hospitality is a phrase used in American English to describe the stereotype of residents of the South as warm, sweet and welcoming of visitors to their homes.  Although I am a native New Yorker, "Southern Hospitality" has been instilled in me since childhood, but I have to say I am extremely cautious about the welcoming certain visitors into my home part.  

  

 Manners have always played an important role in the life of Southerners no matter what status in life one holds. While manners seem to be slipping in our modern society, there is still a place for good manners in the South.  Unfortunately, there is little out there to assist in passing on good manners to future generations, I am adamant on teaching my own son these values to carry him on throughout his lifetime.

 

My mom's part of town was in Charleston, S.C.  Charleston has preserved the culture of African heritage more than any other American city since its 340-year history.  South Carolina has come a long way from it's  Confederacy State.  Confederacy consisted of a  government set up in 1861 by 11 slave states that declared their independence from the Union (the United States) during Abraham Lincoln's election in 1860.  



I remember going down to visit family members as a child & driving along in the car and seeing other passerbyers waving to us.  I found it so strange coming from N.Y.  where no one waves a "Hello" to you or even acknowledges you while walking down the street.

Let's not forget to talk about the Southern Cuisine.  Umm.. Just thinking about the huge dinners that were prepared and devoured after church on Sundays.  Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve were specials on the menus. Not to mention the Turkey, there was traditional fresh collard greens, black eyed peas, red rice, corned bread and everyone's favorite Fried chicken and Mac-n-Cheese. And for dessert Peach Cobbler and Sweet Potato pie with homemade Lemonade.
 

 

 

The Psyche of David Berkowitz f.k.a. "The Son of Sam"

 

“What would your life be like if you weren’t constantly stressed due to conditions and challenges you face on a daily basis?”

 We all have experienced rage at some point, but our ability to lock it up is under control, whereas a serial killer's appetite to serve his beastly hunger is what sets them apart. 

Motivation is the force that initiates, guides and maintains "goal-oriented" behaviors.  It is what causes us to take action.  Evidence of a manifesting personality disorder acted out through behavior is some sort of underlying depression.

Most of us by now were at an age where we can remember that awful summer of 1977 when David Berkowitz, 
the .44 Caliber Serial Killer turned NYC upside down, having one of the biggest manhunts for his capture after killing six people and wounding seven in a year long rampage. 

 

It is known that Early childhood experiences have lasting emotional and psychological effects, as in the childhood of David Berkowitz.  Berkowitz was adopted by Nathan and Pearl Berkowitz only a few days after he was born.  He thought that the reason he was adopted was because his mother died in childbirth with him.  That guilt and anger about what turned out to be completely untrue may have begun his descent into madness.  

Although David admits to a mother and father who gave him lots of love, neighbors and family would say he was "somewhat troubled" with a lot of emotional and mental problems.  Some would say he was spoiled and quite anti-social.  He would just go beserk in the apartment, and they just couldn't control him.    

In fact, even when he met his birth mother at age 18, that still did not stop his decent into an insane serial murder. – See more at:  http://www.thefinertimes.com/Serial-Killers/the-mind-of-son-of-sam.html#sthash.55RSvdQa.dpuf.  She released the details of his illegitimate birth, which greatly disturbed him.  She had given him up days after he was born, confessing to an affair with a married real estate agent who threatened to abandon her if she kept the baby.

After his adoptive mother passed and his father took on a new wife who David disliked,  his feelings of paranoia and madness intensified.  Berkowitz was profiled as being a paranoid schizophrenic believing himself to be the victim of demonic possession and hearing voices to kill from his neighbor, Sam Car’s dog.  After failure with the military and a terrible sexual experience with a prostitute he began turning into the Son of Sam.

Berkowitz is currently serving a 365-year sentence after he plead guilty from a mental evaluation showing he was sane enough to stand trial.  Disturbingly, he showed no signs of remorse.

He later admitted in an interview with FBI veteran Robert Ressler in prison that he had pretended to be insane to get a lighter punishment and that he actually killed out of resentment towards his mother and contempt for women in general.

  

 On an interview with CBN.com:

"DAVID:  One thing that I found out about the devil is that you serve him and he uses you, and when he's done with you he throws you away.  You mean nothing to Satan".

 

The book Loving What Is by Byron Katie teaches how to experience the world around us without being affected by its negativity.  It makes you more self aware so that when a persistent problem shows up in your life, you are able to look at it in a whole new light. 

WHAT IS MARXISM?

The social and economic relations in which people earn their livings is a struggle.  The struggle is between two (2) main classes:  THE CAPITALISTS, who own the productive resources, owned by CAPITALISTS, and THE WORKERS, Proletariat, who must sell their 'LABOR POWER" or ABILITY TO DO WORK in return for a wage in order to survive.

Marxism is just that, a socio-economic worldview of materialism
throughout history. In other words a social transformation of class-relations and conflict within society.

Karl Marx (1818-1883) a theorist and historian believed that capitalism only thrived on the exploitation of the working class, and that there was a real contradiction between Human Nature and that we Must work in a capitalist society.

In capitalist society the capitalist benefits most, ie. those who own and control the means of production receive a disproportionate share of wealth, power, privileges and status.  Also there is important distinction between big business and small
business.  Many small farms and businesses are usually struggling.  These people are not investing capital in order to make profit, so they are not really part of the capitalist class. They are more like peasants who own and work on their own farms.

Harriet Tubman (1820-1913) fought oppression.  She was considered "The Moses" of her time, understanding how the exploitation of slaves was used to gain economic control. 

Harriet was the most well-known of all Underground Railroad "conductors" making 19 trips throughout a 10-year span into the south escorting over 300 slaves to freedom each trip while devising clever techniques to make her journeys more successful.  If slavery were outlawed, the south's economy would have plummeted. Without cotton gin factories and plantations, there wouldn't have been any work done, therefore, no slaves=no money, no money=bad economy.

When people of targeted groups are misinformed, it can cause them to feel not as worthy, not as capable, intelligent or beautiful as people outside their group. 

                                                                                                                            

Marxist do not believe that society is based on value and that it operates to benefit all.  Today, the proletariat are far from burying capitalism, in fact, they're keeping it on life support.  Overworked, underpaid workers remain the sole contributor

 

 

ANTI-SEXISM                                                       

  

Separate is not equal or fair to all.

 Q: How many men does it take to open a beer?
A: None. It should be open when she brings it to you. 

Throughout history women have been brought up to be mothers and have been forced to practice staying home taking care of their children. According to history, women have only begun their battle with sexism. About one hundred years ago women were still claimed as a man's property. They had no right to vote; they could not be part of a jury and could not buy property.

The issue of gender inequality is one which has been publicly reverberating through society for decades.  The problem is inequality in employment being one of the most pressing issues today.  In order to examine this situation one must try to get to the root of the problem and must understand the sociological factors that cause women to have a much more difficult time getting the same benefits, wages, and job opportunities as their male counterparts.                                                            

Where are we today? Has it really improved very much? The society in which we live has been shaped historically by males. The policy-makers have consistently been male, so it is not surprising that our society reflects those existing biases as a result of male-domination. 


But today women can be CEOs, scientists, PhDs, lawyers, doctors, politicians and billionaires, etc. yet chivalry persists.  What for?  Let’s look at the chivalrous double standard in dating:

A man and woman both have the same annual salary.  They go on a date.

-     If he doesn’t pay for her, he’s immediately labeled “cheap” and dumped. 

-     If she doesn’t pay for him, she’s just being a “lady” and letting the man take care of her.  Nobody sees anything wrong with this despite the fact that they both have comparable salaries, jobs and money. 

If a guy always pays for you, he does NOT see you as an equal.  You will forever be inferior.  He might be kind, and polite and affectionate, but inside, he thinks that he’s above you and superior to you.  

When anti-sexism gets too rough, it can lead into rape.  99% of rape cases involve men committing violent acts against women.  Rather than blaming women for getting raped, men should be blamed for perpetrating the act.

 

Another major area were women have been affected in the workplace is sexual harassment.  Sexual harassment is closely linked to sex discrimination.  Sexual discrimination forces women into lower paying jobs, and sexual harassment helps keep them there.                                                      

Anti-sexism is commonly associated with equality for women, but has paved the way for many other movements surrounding equal rights.  Despite the success of passing laws to protect women’s rights and guaranteeing their economic and social needs, discrimination and violence against women still exists today.  Thus, the anti-sexism movement is not over, it is an ongoing process that will not end until women and men have equal rights.

Q: How many men does it take to fix a woman's watch?
A: Why does she need a watch? There's a clock on the oven!

Separate is not equal or fair to all.

Q: How many men does it take to open a beer?
A: None. It should be open when she brings it to you.


Throughout history women have been brought up to be mothers and have been forced to practice staying home taking care of their children. According to history, women have only begun their battle with sexism. About one hundred years ago women were still claimed as a man's property. They had no right to vote; they could not be part of a jury and could not buy property.  


The issue of gender inequality is one which has been publicly reverberating through society for decades.  The problem is inequality in employment being one of the most pressing issues today.  In order to examine this situation one must try to get to the root of the problem and must understand the sociological factors that cause women to have a much more difficult time getting the same benefits, wages, and job opportunities as their male counterparts.

                                                             

Where are we today? Has it really improved very much? The society in which we live has been shaped historically by males. The policy-makers have consistently been male, so it is not surprising that our society reflects those existing biases as a result of male-domination. 

 

But today women can be CEOs, scientists, PhDs, lawyers, doctors, politicians and billionaires, etc. yet chivalry persists.  What for?  Let’s look at the chivalrous double standard in dating:

 

A man and woman both have the same annual salary.  They go on a date.

 

-     If he doesn’t pay for her, he’s immediately labeled “cheap” and dumped. 

-     If she doesn’t pay for him, she’s just being a “lady” and letting the man take care of her.  Nobody sees anything wrong with this despite the fact that they both have comparable salaries, jobs and money. 

 

If a guy always pays for you, he does NOT see you as an equal.  You will forever be inferior.  He might be kind, and polite and affectionate, but inside, he thinks that he’s above you and superior to you. 

 

When anti-sexism gets too rough, it can lead into rape.  99% of rape cases involve men committing violent acts against women.  Rather than blaming women for getting raped, men should be blamed for perpetrating the act. 

 

Another major area were women have been affected in the workplace is sexual harassment.  Sexual harassment is closely linked to sex discrimination.  Sexual discrimination forces women into lower paying jobs, and sexual harassment helps keep them there.

                                                                            

 

Anti-sexism is commonly associated with equality for women, but has paved the way for many other movements surrounding equal rights.  Despite the success of passing laws to protect women’s rights and guaranteeing their economic and social needs, discrimination and violence against women still exists today.  Thus, the anti-sexism movement is not over, it is an ongoing process that will not end until women and men have equal rights.

 

Q: How many men does it take to fix a woman's watch?
A: Why does she need a watch? There's a clock on the oven!

 

My Invisible City - DioMira

 

 

"Cities, like dreams, are made of desires and fears,

even if the thread of their discourse is secret,

their rules are absurd, their perspectives deceitful

and everything conceals something else." - Italo Calvino

 

 

There are certain fears that need to be addressed when you think of visiting a new place for the first time.  There's also a sense of excitement and curiosity that goes along with it.  After traveling 3 long days and arriving at My Invisible city of Diomira, I couldn't wait to explore every angle of it in addition to reading about its' sixty silver domes, bronze statues of Gods and streets paved with lead.  And this was just one section. 

Could you, in your wildest dreams, imagine what the other areas are like?  I could almost feel the anxiety Dorothy felt while following the Yellow Brick Road, on her journey through Emerald City in the Wizard of Oz.  Excitement and fear all rolled up into one.

I am not fond of visiting foreign places.  I generally explore new areas with a partner; my significant other, a girlfriend or family members. Last Friday, we went to the city of Diomira delivering a truck load of gumballs.  Never in my wildest dream would I have imagined the use of those gumballs.  They were used to design street lamps at the end of every road.  It was Magical!!  A vision from Disney World. How simply Yummy, to have street lamp posts made from colorful gumballs.

The roads were full of cars, all lined up, back-to-back to enter the city.  There were small cars, large cars and even 45-seater buses all filled with excited passengers roaring with chatter and laughter. .   

It looks most spectacular at night, much like New York City.  My favourite place in the world.  Diomira is a city that stands alone.  It's truly one-of-a-kind.  I won't forget the fabulous sights:  with it's multi-colored lamps lighting the doors of the food stalls and crystal theaters, but the only way to feel the glory of this remarkable city is to visit.  The trip will give you nothing but joy and amazement.