tori johnson rough draft : 2001

“A Space Odyssey” is a very important scientific fiction film from the late 1960’s. The film was the first of many to be created to show us viewers the evolution we have been through. The film was a collaborative project between Stanley Kubrick and sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke.  “A Space Odyssey” is considered by many as the best film ever made. It is a story of discoveries made, of potentials realized, of obstacles overcome, and of ends opening doorways to new beginnings. It has set the standard for many science fiction films that followed.  This film shows the viewers what humankind has been able to do and discover through evolution and defies traditional expectations.  The film seems to be very inspiring, but is definitely not a thrill ride. The lack of dialogue creates much more boredom than other films.

            Early in the film Kubrick shows the first of what he believes to have lived on the earth before humans, apes. These apes represent the beginning of the earth as the first creatures to live. These apes slowly evolved from animal to man. This is the idea of evolution and many people now a day are skeptical as to whether or not this is true. Thinking this idea is a bit ridiculous; I did not find this part of the film very interesting. As the movie progresses so does mankind, and being able to fly to the moon is a huge accomplishment for humans. When a large black monolith is found beneath the surface of the moon, the initial reaction is that someone buried it there. Then is when Dr. Bowman discovers more about the monoliths.

Along with humans, technology is slowly increasing. According to Larry Cousins, now there is a race between computers (HAL) and human (Dr. Bowman).  Having such an advanced computer seems good at first, with no problems or glitches in its records, until it slowly starts to try and take over. By doing things like not unlocking the door for Dr. Bowman and his fellow space mate to trying to control the entire flight, its starts to worry the astronauts. With this part of the film I think Kubrick was trying to show the audience what could potentially happen if computers were so advanced they could take over.

            With that the end of the movie comes into play. A life style and home controlled totally on technology speeds up Dr. Bowman’s aging process faster than the normal human. He is totally and completely alone and is slowly dying. The thought of this is not very appealing to me because I can’t imagine a life based largely on technology. According to Rob Humanick from Slant Magazine, “in all films, a climactic, organized sequence of alien landscapes, exploding nebulae, and wafting tides of organic space that practically leaps off the screen. Putting to shame the comparatively shallow thrills of virtually every blockbuster ever made.”  Although most critics and people find this film extravagant and outstanding I would have to disagree. To me the film was very slow and not very amusing. The music was very old and was very general, not standing out to me.

            

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

This chapter helped me out a lot. It showed me how to put together a good portfolio. By doing helpful things like gathering information and trying to make your portfolio stand out and look creative.  These tips have helped me to understand the need for a good and interesting portfolio. Having a good portfolio can help you with things like getting a job or a good grade in a class. I will definitely use these tips for further use when making a portfolio. 

group project

My group is making a video. We have been working on putting everything together and finding out who is doing what. Our video is going to be about underaged drink in college. Persuading people not to drink. We will be using different things like sarcasm, facts and a serious outlook. Hoping to make people more aware of what alcohol actually does to young adults, and how it affects their lives. 

chapters 30-32

When analyzing causes and effects you have to consider the proposals, memoirs or arguing what we consider to be plausible. Determining if it is plausible can be difficult. We can use different ways like listing, clustering or outlining information to find evidence to support your analysis.  When considering situations you have to remember who your audience is, what genre are you working with, your stance, and media or design. Chapter 31 helps a lot with letting us know how to classify and divide our information. Giving us helpful tips like creating and highlighting distinct categories. We also have to compare and contrast in your writing.  By writing a proposal or an evaluation you can improve your writing. I will be able to use all of these helpful tips from chapter 30-32 to help improve my writing and make my papers more interesting.

chapter 38

this was a very helpful chapter. it showed me how to read things and actually get information out of them. it taught me helpful hints like highlighting important facts and finding things like the purpose, audience, genre, stance an design.  also doing things like rewriting what you think the writer said into your own words so that you understand it better. outlining would also be a good tool to use. so that u have all your points down and know what your going to talk about before you start typing.  summarizing can give the reader an idea of what you are talking about without making the writing so long. it also helps what you are writing become your own.

chapter 24

To help you start assessing your own writing, you can do small things like freewriting, journal writing, listing, and cubing. It is good to try and assess your own writing before others do such as teachers or supervisors. When writing you have consider the rhetorical situation. You have to find a purpose for your writing and stick to that purpose. When you figure out what your writing about then you must realize who you are writing to. Make sure that you believe in what you are writing about otherwise it wont seem that way to the audience. You also have to make sure you have reason and evidence that support your thesis. You might try to do things such as define terms, give a detailed description, or include how this topic is relevant to your point. Outlining will help you out a lot by helping you find your main ideas of what you will be writing about.  At the end make sure you are checking for clarity. Making sure the reader understands what they are reading is the most important part of the paper. 

After reading i have found out how to organize and begin to write a paper. You can do different things like make a web or research on the internet. All the tips the book gives you are very helpful, although i dont know how to do every single thing on there. Showing me how to set up papers will help me start in mine soon. 

chptr 1-5

After reading the chapters one through five, I have learned to appreciate all of the writing elements in english. It was very helpful to me and gave me lots of information about all elements. This is definitely something I can look back on and it will help me alot when I am writing or reading.

 Thats me...on the left.

hii.