Thinking about Philadelphia

I thought for the most part the film was about aking a national problem of stigmatizaation and putting a micrscopic lense on the issue.I think this is seen a lot in the beginning of the film. I noticed that the early scenes were of  the life of the people of this city,the murals depicting some history of America, the Liberty Bell and the flags of many nations. I thought it was a little like saying this is who we were as Americans before and look at us now.Lokking at the history of America and looking at present Philadelphia, which  in many respects represents other cities across the nation.The characters in many ways if not totally, represent American citizens.The problems that the main characters face are not isolated in this city alone and I think the title of this film too is a part of an artistic attempt to try and bring stigamtization into a narrow lense while trying to include every American in its message.Trying to talk about a general problem by telling a  very specific story.

When  Joe Miller started yelling out the derogatory words associated with homosexuality, I started to laugh. At the same time I wanted to root him on.This scene could have brought out a feeling of anger but I think that it's different for everyone.Few words are associated with just one thing, one emotion, or effect.For me it was a moment of reflection and familiarity. Some of these words are words we've heard before and worse yet are the type of words we may think or say to each other. I thought it was not only a dramatic scence but one that gave the film an element of honesty.

Scene from the Film

The scene from the film Philadelphia that stood out the most to me was when Andrew Beckett was with his family for their parents wedding anniversary. The home video/camera stops on his mom for a while and we see her face change from a smile, to one of deep concern a minute after hugging Andrew. I think this scene is a  very clear example of pathos because its another example where the film tries to tell you that something is going to happen to Andrew or at least something is wrong. The viewer is made to feel deep concern for Andrew and his family.I think its interesting that the film chooses things that Andrew especially misses, would we have ordinarily noticed this slight and late change in emotion?

Final Paper Topic

The experience I chose for my paper deals with independence. It's safe to say that a majority of people do not like to feel pushed around or be told what to do and there's a wide consensus of this, from children to the elderly. My experience touches on my first taste of  what independence feels like. How it feels to be alone with no authority over your shoulder and how you can do whatever you want to whenever you want to.Yet, is this what independence really is all about? I attempt to try and define what the term 'Independence' means.

My questions will concern the patient and the individuals state of independence while under medical care.There is wide belief and many cases where the patient  is limited in excercising their independence while as a patient. How did it get this way? how did being a patient cause this to happen? What does being a patient really mean? Does it necessarily mean to ignore your personal decisions or views and take precedence over the well established advice of medical professionals?It is no secret that medical professionals are held in high regard but this may be the very thing that endangers something we hold dear.

My 3 Potential Topics

1) When I stayed alone at home for 3 three weeks by myself for the first week

I remeber feeling excited through the whole experience.My mother planned on being out of town for a couple of weeks and had to leave my brother and I at home during the duration of ger trip. Before this I felt there was always adult supervision where ever I was, my life felt so sheltered. This was going to be a chance to prove that I was mature enough without having an adult figure over my shoulder.The three weeks went by pretty normal and smoothly and i was a little disappointedent that the three weeks went by so fast. Unfortunately me and my brother forgot to clean the house and my mother promised this was going to be the last time we were going to be left alone.

 Question: What does it mean to be independent?  An academic audience would be students, researchers, and other individuals heavily involved in the humanities or social sciences.  They would be concerned with people or groups of people andd their pursuit and or definiton of  human freedom or independence.This could be studied in a gender context, racial, religious, or cultural, among other spectrums.

2) When I wnet to the movies with my friends for the first time
It was senior year and my friends ( and teachers) were all shocked that I had never been to the movies. The whole thing made me laugh whenever I tried to explain that my family simply could not respect the value of going to the movies. We went to many social outings but they could not specifically understand and appreciate going to the movies.The day I went out with my friends was an even funnier one. Before going to the movies we went to the mall where we talked and joked around.We then went to watch Iron Man 2 and joked around even more.It was a chance to be loud and just laugh. I remeber feeling anxious at first but it was a new and good feeling just being out with your friends.

Question:  What is the value of spending time with others. The audience could be those students or researchers studying the health benefits of human interaction. Another audience would be those students, researchers, or individuals in the social sciences or humanities studying early human interaction and their beneficial effects to humanity and civilization in general. This could range from religious, class, and gender focused interaction

3) When my grandmother taught me how to dance

That day was like any other when I was younger. My grandmother usually babysitted us and whenever she did she would constantly play music from her home country. She may occassionally play  music from Micheal Jackson or Madonna but those were the only pieces of American music she would play, if I remember correctly.As i was watching t.v. she just came up, told me to turn it off and said she was gonna teach me how to dance. I thought it was a pain at first but as this continued on for weeks I began to enjoy it. I even participated in our schools spanish folk dancing club for a while. I began to appreciate music more, as well as dancing.

Question:Can we describe a cause as a series of random( or ordered) events or are there times where there is just a single cause to an effect?
An academic audience interested in this may be those studying patients and their illnesses, those studying historical events and their origins and meanings.Audience could also be  English students analyzing the origins of a dynamic or even static character in a piece of literary work.

Response to Arthur Franks Tricksters and Truthtellers

What I got from the reading was that its about being able to find yourself, understanding your life by looking at the stories of others.DesDespite being centered around those suffering from illness, specifically, I like how this whole reading and his message can be expanded. It can be said that we are all trying to find and understand ourselves, yet despite the fact that our lives can be viewed as distinct from others we can borrow experiences from others, find similarities and better tell our own stories. There can be no story that can specifically help us with our own life problems or experiences but we can find inspiration from a story that appears drastically different from ours through the awareness that our experiences endow us. I have to disagree with the author in his assertion that illness is different from many other narrative topics in that it gives the  feeling of being threatened. People can feel threatened in many  different situations that others may not see as a threatening situation.
I think the term of reclaiming can really be expanded here and in a way the author does a little by suggesting that stories, even if it is of a  persons specific experience, can inspire us and allow us to understand our own selves.In terms of organized programs and their  own theraputic effects, even though they have been in a way been corrupted, the fact that the narrative has an immortal aspect to it, to me suggests that these may be the better treatment for those trying to understand life.

Confessional Writing

The difference between confession and apology is whether a person  feels any remorse for an action they admit doing. A person could admit to performing an act (confession) but it does not become an apology until they admit they were somehow wrong in performing it.You could admit to doing something and feel you have nothing to apologize for,and an apology may not even be necessary.
Determining when and where confessions are appropriate requires us to look at our audience, our argument, our purpose for dialogue.In writing that requires us to reveal some of our personal truths, the writer needs to be mindful of the fact that the truth may not only support their discourse, but could potentially harm their point, or drive their reader away altogether. The truth is important but some cases it has to be categorized, and distributed unequally among a varying audience, largely because of the unequal relationships we share with the groups or individuals among our audience.It has to be asked if this confession(s) is necesssary for me to write, does my audience really care about what I wanna say here and will support my main idea or point?