Exercise 1, Ch 5

After the first quote she uses, she jumps right into her own views.  By her using the phrase, "if only that were true,..."  It pretty much is a good indicator that she is going to share her ideas.  There was another phrase when she uses, "it seems".  This, for me, signaled that it isn't her ideas.  Then there is an entire paragraph were the reader knows that it's only her talking and expressing herself throught the use of "I".  

Ch 4 Exercise 1

After reading the passage, I think she disagrees with the authors.  She said that there has been little to no attempt to investigate the differences of school knowledge in England, France, and the United States of America.  She says that the article only looks into the differences in student work in the classroom.

7.j

To me, the layout resembles an essay with pictures embedded in it.  The font of the essay is typical, Times New Roman.  The pictures help draw in people to read it, by providing colorful pictures.  In fact, when I first opened up to the reading the first thing I noticed was the picture and then the title.  I feel the audience will spend more time skimming the reading then actually reading it because there is so much text.  I feel like I spent more time finding how the pictures connected with the reading more than actually finding the point of the essay.  Without any of the pictures, I think it would hurt the paper.  It would look bland and have no appeal at all.

Rough Draft Review

If you are into the graphic novel Percsepolis, you may not like the movie that followed it.  Percsepolis is about a girl and her family and how the deal with the government as it seeps into turmoil.  As a little girl she learns what life is like under a dictator and how horrible it can be.  She and her family are very close and they live pretty well in their country.  The novel captured many moments in her life where the reader could feel like (s)he is in her shoes.  To me, I think the movie wasn’t as that great.

            The movie moves at a rapid pace.  If a person misses any scene of the movie, (s)he will be lost until the end.  I think the movie should have been longer.  It had the main idea of the novel, but it could have put in more scenes to slow it down.  The movie is possible to watch without having read the comic, but it skips out on details.  Comic book readers will be disappointed in this aspect because it deletes many of the scenes from the comic.  Even though it skipped out on some scenes, the way the movie was illustrated was right on key.

            The characters in the movie looked exactly like the characters in the book.  Even the character’s actions were identical to the scenes in the book which was a major plus.  Having the characters talk was an added bonus for the reader, because now they know what the characters sound like.  Having the animation can be good and bad though.  It’s good having the animations because it gives the viewer a good idea how the director saw the image out of the book.  It’s bad for any comic book reader because it throws away their idea on what the scene was in their head.  For example, in between gutters, the reader can make up what happens.  In the movie (s)he doesn’t have as much freedom.  Whatever is in the movie goes whether it is liked or disliked.  The movie also did not seem as emotional.

            When I was reading the comic, there were scenes where I couldn’t believe what was going on.  Whenever I was in shock or disbelief, I would stop reading and absorb the information I just read.  Stopping and reflecting can be powerful and bring out emotion.  The movie doesn’t give the viewer time to reflect because (s)he needs to pay attention to what is going on in the movie.  Some strips in the comic didn’t even have words, but the reader can get the idea just be looking.  The movie never had a moment like that at all and it’s important to have a moment like that because it can be more powerful and persuading.

            In all, the movie wasn’t that bad, but I certainly think it could have been longer to please both audiences, like the comic book reader.  The movie will never out shine the book to me because the book can just do more.  The book can move at any pace.  You have more control of what is going on than you do in a movie.  There are also pictures in the book that require no words to describe.  Movies are very limited in this area which is why I was disappointed.  If movie had more scenes from the comic, I think it would be better.  However the fact that I’m watching a movie, which is someone else’s thoughts, isn’t the same as my own thoughts and how it should be played out in my head.   

Todd Gilchrist vs. Roger Ebert

The two critics obviously differ in opinion for the movie "Spiderman 2"  Todd Gilchrist found the movie to be good, but he found flaws to it.  He mentioned how there are scenes in the movie that don't really need to be there.  He found it was a waste of time.  He also thought that some things in the movie were belabored.  All in all, he thought it was a good movie.  He mentioned that comic book readers would like the movie more because it stays close to the comic.  That's where Roger Ebert comes in.

Roger Ebert must have been a comic book reader because he didn't really find any flaws to the movie.  He thought it was one of the best movies.  He said that it doesn't matter if a person reads comics or not, he or she will like the movie regardless.  He said that every scene was exciting, no matter if it was an action scene or a dialogue scene.  

In all Gilchirist liked the movie, but thought that that it was weak in some areas.  Ebert thought the movie was great and found no flaws.

Persepolis The Comic and Movie

After finishing the comic I noticed huge differences between the two.  The movie moves at a rapid pace.  You really need to follow it or else you'll be lost.  The comic you can take time to stop and reflect.  I did this a lot and would go into deep thought about my own life.  I realized how fortunate I was a child and lucky to never go through the hardships as those did in the comic.  When I was watching the movie, I didn't really have that opportunity.  I had to pay close attention so I would be sure not to miss anything.  The movie keeps straight to the point.  It doesn't ever go into much detail.  I know we haven't finished the movie yet, but I think the comic was much better.  Since it gives the reader more time to reflect, it becomes more emotional and allows the reader to be more attached.

Off topic

I don't know what the HW was, but I'm noticing a lot of people putting up off topic blogs.

For my off topic blog I will briefly discuss why teens find suicide the answer to there problems.  During my summer my best friend decided to commit suicide.  It put my life on hold for awhile.  He had everything going for him.  He was second in the nation for the 800m.  He was liked by everyone and his parents were loving.  Well on July 22, 2008 I heard the tragic news.  I was in disbelief.  'Why?' is the only question running through my head.  Apparently the people who decide to kill themselves find it to be the only way out of their problems.  They find life to terrible and they feel like they're suffering and it needs to end.  Others feel lonely and have no one to talk to and some are just depressed.

I'm guessing at that moment he was suffering from something; I know he wasn't depressed, but I still think right before the train hit him, he really did not want to die.  I don't think he realized how his death would impact the entire community and his friends' lives.