Here's the thing about love:

The conscience thought of the protagonist, Taylor, is constantly running. “It is crazy how one person can change your life. That is the thing about love, at first everything about it seems to make since but the deeper you get the more you realise you know nothing about it. Love teaches you, love changes you, love makes you do things you never thought you could do.” This is the kind of movie that may help open up my mom’s eyes in rethinking the theory she has that: I will never trust my daughter's safety to be in the hands of any guy, because one will never fully know the intentions a guy may have, and guys do crazy stuff for love. You Get Me is a movie where these roles of the "crazy ex boyfriend" are flipped into the "crazy, oversexualized, vengeful, obsessed, murder-y, ex lover/girlfriend", named Holly. Holly, played by Bella Thorne, is portrayed as the sexy free spirited teenager, who becomes extremely fixated on a guy named Taylor. She then proceeds to destroy anyone or anything that stands in the way of their "romance”.

The first thing that I noticed while watching You Get Me was the cinematography. Even in the opening scene I was already in awe as to how beautiful and realistic one could portray the L.A. landscape. In a way all my senses were being put to use. You may think that this is an exaggeration on my part, but I could slightly feel the beachy wind blowing through my hair and whispering in my ears as it whistled on by. The slow piano music playing in the backdrop as Taylor, a teenage boy, (who we suspect to be the main character) begins his monologue about how wonderful his life is and how he met Ali, his wonderful girlfriend. “During the summer before my senior year…. My life became the Californian dream I had always wanted.” He had the great beach side job of bussing tables and things were going pretty well for him, but do not let me even get started on his picture perfect relationship with his girlfriend Ali. Taylor continues into saying something along the lines of: it is like everything had been in black and white and suddenly there was color (after Ali came along). While his monologue continues shots of Ali and him at the beach roll through the screen. I really enjoy this part because every shot looks so clean and precise yet so relaxed at the same time.

The cinematographer really succeeded in this scene because it makes the viewers feel something. First, this whole monologue, intro, scene makes us like we can relate. All the memories of past lovers come floating back into our thoughts, and our minds start to reminisce. The naturalism of You Get Me is unbelievable. This sense of naturalism ables the viewers to experience this extremely intense drama while still being able to find something relatable to Bella Thorne's character, Holly who has a mental illness. The story of teenage lovers combined with the obsession of the convoluted antagonist, Holly, really begins to make an irresistible story for both males and females.

Of course You Get Me was only a movie, but in many ways anyone could learn from the character Holly, and those that surrounded her. The directors use Taylor’s monologue to make the movie end exactly where it started off. In the closing scene, the audience is shown a black screen with Taylor’s voice coming from the backdrop, giving us his deep inner thoughts on life. “It is crazy how one person can change your life. That is the thing about love, at first everything about it seems to make since but the deeper you get the more you realise you know nothing about it. Love teaches you, love changes you, love makes you do things you never thought you could do.”

Hulu Over Netflix This Time: Rick and Morty

Yes this may be the class called Netflix and Quill, but would it hurt to have Hulu in the mix once in a while? What I am saying is yes, I did watch Hulu. Why? Well this is because Netflix does not have every show that I would want to watch. This means that everything I want is not on Netflix so I have to search other places for shows or movies that may interest me. Not only this but, I recently bought a Hulu account so i think it would be good to see whats good in Hulu.

The show that I began watching is Rick and Morty. I will not be only talking about one episode becuase I was so interested that I began to binge alittle and watched a whole season but I had to catch myself because I had assignments to do such as this one that I am typing right now. With that in mind, picture this: a cynical genius, mad, alcoholic scientist who gets his laughs and kicks by dangerously traveling through different dimesnsions and alternate realities with his grandchildren.


Now for the main stuff. Here is a quote from the Pilot episode of Rick and Morty and it goes "Listen to me, Morty. I know that new situations can be intimidating. You're looking around and it's all scary and different , but you know, meeting them head on, charging right into them like a bull... that's how we grow as people." As I heard this in my room I thought "WOW!" I almost thought the show was speaking to me. It kindof applies to me because I have a problem with caring what others think about me so it kindof hit at home. I have to psuh through , speak when I have the opportunity to, and bulldoze my way through my trials and tribulations.

The next episode that struck home again in Rick and Morty is the "Rixty Minutes" episode. In this episode, Rick and Morty goes to another dimesion because the previous one they traveled to, they saw themselves dead after a life of never-loving, not caring, and not caring about their families. So Rick and Morty decide to go to another diminesion in order to help their families in another universe. when they meet their brothers the quote goes "So you're not my brother?" said Morty's alternate brother. "I'm better than your brother. I'm a version of your brother you can trust when he says, 'don't run.' This episode taught me to not only not take others for granted but also care for one another and not let others down for selfish desires. That is all.

Scary for Halloween

Hi Mom and Dad! How are you guys? I think this is very weird, but I just want to say that your son is still fine. Half of the semester has passed, and I somehow still doing okay, and have not been kicked out of the school. I am just kidding because when I write these words to you guys, I really miss you. This week, I have a requirement to write a blog about Netflix's movie to my parents.  I know that this month is an important month for you, Dad; your birthday is on this month. Coincidentally, your birthday is matched with the Halloween, and it gives me an idea for my blog. I decide to write a blog about a Halloween's cartoon because you know that your son still loves cartoon.

 Because, when I was a kid, you and I used to watch Shrek with each other, so I chose to write about scary factors in the movie The Ghost of Lord Farquaad. This movie is from the series DreamWorks Spooky Stories which has three different scary cartoons. At the beginning, the filmmakers start with the sunny scene with a lot of light. How brilliant is that when you start a scary movie with a peaceful, lovely scene. When the audiences watch this scene, their feeling will be steady and enjoyable. Watching a romantic background with some hilarious action of Shrek and Donkey finding the way to the Honeymoon Hotel, the viewer cannot predict what will happen next. Then suddenly, the camera turns quickly to the completely contrasting scene. Shrek finds a shortcut to the Hotel; the way with spooky trees on the two sides of the way and absolutely dark at the end of the road. Have you ever seen a tree with the red devil eyes on it? If an adult has never seen it, how does a child supposed to see it?  Even a teenager like me also feel startled, so this quickly turn must scare the children to death.

            After a breathtaking chasing to recapture Fiona from a kidnapping, Shrek and Donkey enter a deadly graveyard. What is better than a graveyard for a scary Halloween night? Furthermore, this is a graveyard with fog floating around with free-flying ghost. This scene may not scary for a teenager like me, but with the kids, they have to sleep with their parents for a few days. Imagine you are going to the graveyard with your friend in the Halloween. You do not have any equipment to light thing up, and the only light resource which you have is the moonlight. The filmmakers understand the audiences' psychology very well. When people enter the place surrounds with mysterious creatures, they begin to visualize them with their imagination, especially for the kids who have an unlimited creativity. Importantly, the more they imagined the scary creatures, the more frightened they were. Psychology has pointed out that we actually do not afraid anything. The thing we are anxious the most is our imagination.

            When I watch this movie, I really missed you, Dad. Now, I have grown up, gone to the university, suddenly I realize that the time I spend with you and family is one of the best time I have ever had. I know your birthday is coming, and I cannot be there to celebrate with you. However, I still want to tell you: "Happy Birthday, Dad! I love you!"

On BoJack Horseman

I'm not sure if you've heard of BoJack Horseman, but its a Netflix animated series about an anthropomorphic horse who is a washed up TV star from the 90's. I decided to finally watch the show because so many people had seen it and recommended that I watch it. Ultimately I decided it was time to watch it and ended up watching a whole season in around a week or so (granted the seasons aren't terribly long and each episode is only 20 minutes.

Little Evil: An Actually Good Movie Spoof?

In 1974, Mel Brooks took the world by storm with the release of two ultra successful spoof films Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. After the financial and critical successes of these films, the spoof became a popular genre. Shortly after saw the release of three Monty Python films, Airplane!, Top Secret!, Spaceballs, and the Naked Gun trilogy. All of the previously mentioned films have become classics of their own. Arguably on genre was as successful as the spoof was in the 1980s. That success saw a turn for the worse starting in 1995 with Dracula: Dead and Loving It. While there had been bad spoofs before, this one was directed by the master of the genre Mel Brooks. The film was so detrimental to Mr. Brooks that he never returned to the director's chair following the flop. It soon became rare that a spoof would actually be a quality film with the market flooded by the likes of the Scary Movie franchise, Meet the Spartans, Vampires Suck, and the various Movie movies (Disaster Movie, Date Movie, Superhero Movie, etc.). In fact, the last "good" spoof movie was Shrek the Third from 2007, and that was a film that is widely regarded as the worst in the franchise. Ten years later, director Eli Craig of Tucker and Dale vs. Evil fame directed Little Evil, a spoof off of the popular 70s horror film The Omen staring Adam Scott (Parks and Recreation) as Gary, a man who recently married Samantha, played by Evangeline Lily (Lost, The Hobbit Trilogy). Gary soon finds out that Samantha's odd son Lucas may very well be the antichrist.
So, can Little Evil be the first good spoof film in a decade, a streak that has lasted for three presidents? For the most part, yes. The main thing about the film that works is that it actually is pretty funny. Craig also writes the film and infuses it with clever humor and smart horror movies references and callbacks to films like Poltergeist while completely avoiding trash humor such as sex jokes and defecating jokes. Not only is the writing funny and smart, but the actors pull the humorous writing off . especially Bridgett Everett (Trainwreck) as Adam's friend AL, a gay tomboy who loves to drink, curse, and call people "man." This is the kind of character who usually gets really annoying really fast, but Everett really pulls the role off strong. I'm really curious as to see what she does next in film. Adam Scott is also pretty funny in the film, mainly due to his, for the most part, subtle delivery and his everyman appearance. His reactions to the supernatural events are accurate, funny, and probably how most sane, smart people would react to the situations.
The other major strength of the film is that there is some heart and depth to the film. Most spoof films are content with staying with surface level filmmaking, never daring to attempt to dig deeper. This film, however, does. The film really deals with the issues that stepparents have when it comes to raising children that are not of their own. Quite frankly, I didn't expect the film to do this. I mean, when's the last time you've watched a comedy or horror film that also tries to be Terms of Endearment? This is a very welcome change to the genre and one that kept me invested in the film throughout it's length. Even some of the classics like Monty Python and the Holy Grail don't have much below the surface. The difference, though, is that some of those classics are much funnier than Little Evil, even though it is still a pretty funny film. Therefore, the film makes up for it where needed. Even if it hadn't work (which it did), it would at least have been admirable.
Another small plus to the film I wanted to point out is how it dealt with the supernaturalness of the film. Usually films like this find a way to seem insulting to those with religion, whether it be Christians, Jews, or Muslims. This film, however, did avoid this fatal blow that could have undone everything quality in the film. In fact, the film is quite innocent in every way except for the language, which is another rarity for spoofs and comedies in general in this day and age.
Honestly, the only real problems I have regarding the film is that it definitely takes a cliched route through the film. At one point, a certain character actor pops up playing a seemingly good character, however I knew almost instantly that he was evil, which, shock and awe, he was. Very little in the film is unpredictable and much of which has been done better before. Not that this film does these things bad, it's just that they don't compare in quality to how some other films have before. In all fairness, there is one plot twist that did actually sort of surprise me, which definitely caught me off guard.
If you're in the mood to watch a horror film because, hey, it is almost Halloween, but you don't want to watch anything that will scare you into the fetal position, then I think this is a good option for a watch. It's funny, relatively short, and at times even charming. Little Evil is, without question, the best spoof in a very long time.

House of Cards

Dear Mom and Dad,

First of all, I think you’re really going to enjoy helping me with this homework assignment. I know I told you about these sort of assignments before, writing blog posts about Netflix shows. However, sometimes on these posts, we also need to get someone to respond to us. That’s where you come in! My teacher lined this up so that we’d be on break already for this assignment, where we need to get our parents to respond to our post. And, to make this easier on you guys, I decided to watch one of your favorite shows: House of Cards

I know how well you guys know me versus my relationship with politics. I can definitely say I never planned on watching this show, basically ever, despite all the hype that I’ve heard about it. House of Cards is probably the one show you never expected me to watch either, but I knew you’d be able to respond well if I wrote about one of your favorites.

I can honestly say that this show, at least to me, was terribly confusing. I’m not very aware of what’s going on in politics most of the time, I don’t know all the terms, or what office positions do what. I mean, honestly, I couldn’t tell you the main character’s name. However, I can see why you guys would like a show like this so much. I know politics and the way our country is run, as of right now, means more to you than it does to me. In the same way that technology means more to me than it does to you. What I’m getting at is that while I can enjoy a show like Black Mirror for the message it sends about people versus technology, you guys can enjoy seeing the inner workings of government affairs and be somewhat involved with the rivalries of office members.

While I’m happy to know approximately .0154% more about what you guys enjoy watching in your free time, I can’t say that I’ll be continuing with the show. That isn’t to say that I didn’t think it was a good show, or that there’s anything wrong with it. It’s just, you know, me being me, the topic of politics really isn’t my thing. I wasn’t sure most of the time what was really going on, who people were, and whose side I was supposed to be on. Also, I’m sorry, but I can only handle so many white dudes being passive aggressive with each other so much. Continue to love your show, and I can’t wait to see what y’all have to say! Love you guys

-Caroline

Not Your Typical RomCom

Romantic Comedies. We all know of at least one. Chances are, we all have one that we could watch over and over again. But, why? What makes romantic comedies so appealing? Why do so many people like them? The Incredible Jessica James is a romantic comedy, that is also an adult’s coming of age movie, but not your typical one. A typical romcom plays love as an almost insignificantly light hearted joke. While love is still joked about, it isn’t quite as light hearted in The Incredible Jessica James.
When people think of a rom com we typically think of one like: Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, 10 Things I Hate About You, or Pretty in Pink. The Incredible Jessica James doesn’t match up to those movies in a couple of ways. The Incredible Jessica James doesn’t completely shy around the politics of today’s society, it starts off light, but gradually becomes a little more serious, shows the struggles of dating when two people start out not completely over their exes, and is even relatable to some people whose parents have had a rough divorced. Jessica Jones was made to be more relatable than the idealistic, romantic comedy where they always end up together.
Politics; it is everywhere, so why shouldn’t we expect it in our movies? Jessica James is passionate about three things in this movie: her opinions (politics), theater, and honesty. Her political views are showcased in one particular scene: her sister’s baby shower. Her gift while thoughtful is obviously not what her sister wanted. Her gift didn’t conform to the stereotypical suburban living beliefs. You can tell Jessica doesn’t want to be home, is not having a good time, and wanted to make her niece or nephew something that might broaden their horizons and make them more tolerant in today’s world. Her sister starts to read a page of the book Jessica made out loud, and after deciding to stop one of her friends next to her decides to ask something along the lines of why would the baby need this. This prompted a response from Jessica about how it is never too early to start fighting the system. When asked what system Jessica can’t understand how these women don’t understand the society they grew up in that forced gender roles on them. She then proceeds to point out that it influenced them to play a game where they ate things that looked like poop out of baby diapers to try and guess what the food was. (side note: my aunt did this at one of her baby showers, DISGUSTING in every way) Her love for honesty and telling her opinion also feed how the intensity of her love life is.
When meeting men in this movie she is forthright in saying that she isn’t completely over her ex-boyfriend. It makes her go on a terrible tinder date to make him jealous. The surprise comes along in the form of a blind date who isn’t completely over his ex-wife. They start a sort of non committed relationship to help each other get over their exes and somewhere along the way, as most romance storylines go, something changes. Suddenly, Jessica is showing up at his house and getting blindsided. The movie then spirals into the main angst filled finding yourself story. The movie goes from love being this light hearted thing to your main characters realizing that, without knowing, they have gotten over their exes and want to be with each other. While this intensity in their romance is happening, it is further escalated by Jessica finally understanding that life will always be unsure and then finding out again that she has been given the opportunity of a lifetime. But where does it leave her and Boone, her new not boyfriend boyfriend?
Throughout this timeline and her love life, you come to understand that Jessica’s parents got divorced and it wasn’t nice. They have affected the way she interacts with people. To the point where she says, “Nothing works out, people let you down, and you should never trust anybody ever. I’ve known that since I was a kid.” Later, it helps her relate to one of the kids she teaches at a nonprofit. Yet, for so many people they don’t see how those things can and will affect you in mainstream movies. They can relate to the little girl just like Jessica can and it makes them want to root for the home team (i.e. Jessica).
All of these aspects come together to create the story known as The Incredible Jessica James. Without these things things this movie could have been like every other romantic comedy seen today. The effectiveness and increased likelihood that people will like and watch this movie is because it is relatable and sincere to how many people feel. I enjoyed this adult coming of age romantic comedy, but I am a hopeless romantic. What do you think?

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is a show that we both have heard a lot about, and said we should watch but have never done so-until now! This show is different from the ones you normally watch, but I think you will find it cute. The first episode laid out the background of Kimmy’s life and after watching a few more episodes, the first is not my favorite, but still relevant for discussion.

“Escaping is not the same as making it” is a quote that doesn’t arise until the end of the first episode, however it sums up the entire episode and what I want to relate to. Even though Kimmy has physically aged, she in many ways is stuck in her adolescence, for good reason. After she leaves the Today Show (did you catch the part about ambush makeovers, that reminded me of you), we see her decide not to return to Indiana. She realizes she cannot grow in that environment, and will be forever labeled if she returns home. She will have to take a big step outside her comfort zone.

Kimmy does not automatically go out searching for a job or housing, like an adult would expect to do once arriving to a new place. This is probably due to the fact she was secluded for fifteen years and finally has the freedom to live a little. But with this point, I’m honestly surprised at the lack of spontaneity she possesses in her first adventures in New York City. She goes into Saks Fifth Avenue and only comes out with a gaudy pair of shoes. Of all of the candy in the candy shop, she only buys a half of a bag of candy. The biggest thing she does is let that horse run free, the root cause probably stemming from her own captivity. While my kneejerk reaction is that I feel I would do much more than both of those things, perhaps that is because I am allowed to have a little bit of everything, and if I were to do something crazy, it would be to get things in excess. However, Kimmy lived a majority of her life with very few things and very few choices, so for her, the shoes and the amount of candy she got were a luxury. Where we see the adult in Kimmy come out occurs in taking Buckley home after she finds him stealing candy again. She confronts Jacqueline about needing help, however once in the house, becomes overwhelmed like a child, and only thinks of the money that she will obtain. While she is desperate for a job, she doesn’t ask questions about her responsibilities or consider her success in that position.

Going back to luxuries, we see her indulging in is the automatic faucet and hand dryer in a bathroom. She has never seen this technology, while it is something that we take in stride every day. You probably remember about the first time you used an automatic faucet/dryer, because it was a technological advance. For me, the evolution of technology like that has been a common thing, and I don’t recall milestones like that.

Escaping is not the same as making it. After watching all of this episode, this brings it back to the beginning. Although Kimmy escaped, that does not equate with her success. However due to her background, we can see that she definitely has the will to overcome her obstacles and make it. In watching the second episode she does just that with a birthday party she plans;when it doesn’t go satisfactorily, she goes back to square one and makes it right. That caring and determination is learned, not innate.

The Spin Off Post

So for the uninitiated I'm going to let you in on a secret. We write for a class, and for weekly assignments we have to direct our posts to a certain demographic. This week we had to focus on writing to our parents. Which is incredibly funny, because I didn't realize this and chose to do Luke Cage in accordance with my last weeks blog. This is one of those shows that you may be able to turn into a drinking game, (if you're old enough, please drink responsibly). Take a shot every time some one gets noticeably uncomfortable.

The show is a spin off to the Netflix Original series, Jessica Jones. Following Luke Cage, the man with unbreakable skin through Harlem and some government conspiracy's. It feels like it takes a less comedic approach to the One Punch Man style of show. Where the main character is invulnerable so nothing should be a problem. In replace of that we get to see the other side of the daily struggles of their personal life like; paying bills, and holding relationships. I'm not all that familiar with the Defender's comic book line and I never finished Jessica Jones so I can't tell you where this fits in the time line. If I had to guess I'm going to say this happens before the original show.

How do I feel about this show? I think I can safely say that I like this show. Definitely more than Jessica Jones, and I think I can attribute that to a few things.

First of which is Luke Cage, I really didn't talk about him during my Jessica Jones post. He is definitely my favorite character in Jessica Jones. He's far more charming and fun to watch on screen then the rest of the cast. He does seem to suffer a little from being the main character. While he still has his charm it seems a little dulled down for the side characters. Which I will give a special mention to Pops, he's the sort of wise mentor character in this show, and he serves Luke by trying to get him to be a hero and move on from his dead wife. He also tries to keep all of the kids off of the streets and out of gang violence and harms way. All I know for real is that he will die and I will probably cry a little.

The next one is pacing and the ability to hold my interest. I do like slower and more thoughtfully put together plots. Jessica Jones was slow, but it wasn't thoughtful. It tried to be a noir, and a super hero story following some one with PTSD. This made the show have a sort of off putting pace, every time it would start doing something interesting with one of those ideas it would drop it and move on to one of the other ideas it had going. Luke Cage follows closer to the Daredevil style of pacing where a lot of plot is laid out in a well paced and interesting way. Balancing between the villains and the heroes personal and vigilante ventures.

The third and final thing is tone. You know I started out wanting to talk about Luke Cage and somehow I started talking about all of the Marvel shows. Don't worry Iron fist, we'll talk about you soon. This does make sense seeing as they are all in an interconnected universe and have a whole show where they work together to fight crime. Luke Cage is a serious show like all of them, dealing with heavy and constricting themes. Luke Cage, like Daredevil, has it's moments of levity where you can just see the characters act like people. This allows the show to be serious while also being engaging and not exhausting to watch. Now I'm not saying Jessica Jones is bad, but I do think it is the most divisive of the Defenders shows, and I think there may be a correlation here.

I do very much like the show and to my Mom and Dad I don't recommend you watch it. It doesn't strike me as the type of show that either of you would enjoy. To everyone who is not my parents I would recommend this. It's quite engaging and still very fun to watch despite the show being incredibly graphic and heavy with violence. Luke Cage may not be as interesting of a character as the other Defender's characters, but he more than makes up for it with his screen presence. I currently am watching this as I put these words to page if that serves as an endorsement.  

Narcos: Encontrando Algo Nuevo

Mama, hay muchas diferentes cosas que te gusta ver en la television. Unas de esas cosas son telenovelas. Aveces es difícil porque trabajas y no pasan en los fines de semanas. Pero tengo algo que te podrá ayudar con esa problema. Recientemente, vi un nuevo show llamado Narcos. Tiene mucha violencia, pero es muy interesante. Se trata de la historia de drogas en relación con Columbia, pero también con los Estados Unidos. Tiene mucho que ver con el hombre llamado Pablo Escobar y lo que hizo para llegar al nivel de poder que tenia. 

Narcos empieza narrando de un punto de vista de un americano trabajando para el DEA. El empieza a explicar su historia y como llego a estar en Columbia peleando contra las drogas. Es muy interesante porque explica la historia de drogas en Latino América, pero también explica como los Estados Unidos fue afectado por las drogas, en especial Miami. Se que este show te gustara mucho porque de lo que he visto que ves en Netflix, te gusta cosas que son tipo telenovela. Pero si hay mucha violencia y ya se que no te gusta mucho la violencia, especialmente para mi, pero tu ya eres adulta y no es malo que lo veas. 

También se que el tercero época va a tener que ver con las drogas y como se relacionan con los carteles de México. Se que siempre que pasaban las noticia de carteles, las veías porque vienes de México y te interesa. Es algo que seria especialmente interesante para ti. Por eso, recomiendo que empieces a ver Narcos ahora y no esperar tanto. Pero no hay que preocuparse porque Netflix publica este show y por eso, nunca se va a quitar de Netflix. Ya se que como trabajas todo el día, lunes a viernes, no tienes tiempo para la tele, pero pienso que deberías ver este show en los fines de semana si tienes tiempo. Te quiero mucho y espero que te guste! Sino te gusta hay muchas diferentes recomendaciones de que puedes ver. Una otra cosa buena es que casi todo esta en español entonces nadamas necesitarías subtítulos para ingles, que desde que yo he visto, no hay mucho de. 

Narcos: Pablo, Drugs, Money, and Colombia

I fully understand why you guys always told me to never do drugs and to always resist the love of money, but mom and dad, according to Narcos, Pablo Escobar did it in such a unique and interesting manner that he was able to garner the support of an entire nation.  In the first two episodes, the viewer is presented with an image of Escobar that displays him in an extremely ideal light. He is mentioned and shown to be a family man and a man of honor among other things.  It seems as if Pablo’s drug dealing allowed him to present two different sides of himself; there was Pablo the drug dealer, money launderer, and clever businessman, and Pablo the kind, thoughtful citizen who stood for the people and wanted to serve the people.  Nonetheless, the personality dichotomy that Escobar possessed and how that contrast presented itself in the relationship he had with the people of his country, his cohorts, and his enemies offer plenty to the show.

Beginning with Escobar’s drug operation and the sheer size of it, his intentions with the money he was making became clear, Escobar wanted to serve the people of Colombia.  During episode 2, it was mentioned that the magnitude Escobar’s earnings were so great that they were too large for a country the size of Colombia.  In order to subvert governmental consequences, Escobar and his team turned to laundering in order to wash the dirty money.  A few shots later in the same episode, there was a rally where Pablo was well-received by the people of Colombia.  They chanted his name while he was being interviewed on television.  During the interview, Escobar mentioned, to the camera, that he had no political aspirations, but he did speak on the hardship of the poorer Colombian citizens.  He mentioned that the wealthy elites made their fortune by exploiting the poor while “leading” the nation.  Escobar expressed that he knew the dreams of the people and the could better relate to him.  It is important to recognize at this point that the people of Colombia knew nothing of the illegal business that Escobar was conducting, and Escobar had no intention of having them find out anytime soon.  Here, the distinction between the two separate halves of Escobar should be noted, Escobar the drug dealer and Escobar the kind citizen.  It should also be noted that even with the money that Escobar had, he was still willing to put it towards the people of Colombia.  It is interesting to see how Escobar displays both sides of his character and how that plays out throughout the series.

Specifically in episode 2, the morality of Escobar is displayed in several ways.  A few shots after the rally where the people of Colombia chanted his name, Escobar is shown to be having an affair with the woman who interviewed him.  During their affair, the women whom he was having the affair with said something in regard to Escobar’s wife, Tata.  Immediately after, Escobar refuted her statement and told her to never disrespect his wife.  Here, Pablo makes the distinction between him disrespecting his wife and someone else disrespecting his wife.  In one way, this shows the high regard he has for his family, but also how he indirectly shows that he is the only one who has authority to do so.  Later in the episode, while Escobar and his cohorts were using an area in a park, they overhear a woman and her child also in the park.  Escobar mentions that he had the park closed for the entire day.  One of his cohorts says that he will take care of the issue, but Escobar refutes him saying that it’s only a woman and her child.  Escobar then calmly escorts her out of the park.  Again, how Escobar displays both “sides” of him contribute to the storyline that the show presents and adds a special dynamic to his character.

Drugs and the love of money can easily corrupt an individual, but the way in which Escobar carries himself throughout the show makes it a bit more complicated than that.  While Escobar has money, power, influence, and the means to make money, his underlying motive, to protect the people of Colombia, is his main focus.  The drugs and money are, apparently, the means to achieve his goal.  It will be interesting to see where his business takes both the series and his character in the future.  

Dear White People

    I was surfing through Netflix once again until I came across Dear White People, a show that I've been wanting to watch for some time now but never really got to. I finally watched episode one and I'm quite impressed by the plot twists of the series but not the uncertainty of the main character.

    The main character Sam, informs her college campus of the struggles of black people through a radio station but has some uncertainty about herself. Sam has a radio station called Dear White People but has interest in white men. While it is perfectly fine to openly speak about your experiences and social injustices and date whoever you like, it is misleading for her listeners when she opposes some of the things that white people do so greatly. Continuously, the story took a turn when everyone found out that Sam had an intimate relationship with Gabe, who happens to be white. When her collegiate friends from her black organization were informed, she attempted to use being biracial as an excuse for justifying her relationship with Gabe. Not only that but she tries to keep her relationship with Gabe a secret to protect this image she has made of herself. Lastly, she made an article specifically about not dating or carrying on any relationship with the opposition. Therefore, this doesn't make her a very effective broadcaster because her actions and words are contradicting to one another and as a result, no one bothered to listen to what she had to say.

    The storyline had many twists that blew my mind. Since Sam has a radio station called Dear White People, someone created a party called

Dear Black People and that infuriated many black organizations on campus. Perhaps, the white students on campus thought it was perfectly fine to dress up as black celebrities, while some went as far as having a “blackface” since there was a radio station named Dear White People. However, the shocking part at the end of the episode was that while the black organizations were trying to figure out who sent the invitations, we soon uncovered that Sam was the person who sent out the invitations. She created the Dear Black People party to see if people would show up and that the invitations she sent out “...were to be met with derision but instead, exposed the post-racial institution for what they truly are.” This part of the episode was the last thing I expected to happen since she was apart of the main black organization on campus trying to figure out who sent the invitations but made me wonder what other ideas Sam would come up with throughout the season.

    Dear White People definitely has many plot twists and the first episode left me wondering what would happen next. However, I believe Sam had good intentions but in order for her message to get across, it's imperative to clarify her true beliefs. Nearly everything that she did in the first episode made me question anything she was saying or doing. I believe she has the potential to be a great broadcaster but only after she figures out who she is, what she wants, and what she believes in.

Stranger Things, Pilot (The Disappearance of Will Byers)

Yep.

Now, this is actually a very good choice for two reasons. First off: The second season of Stranger Things is set to premiere only about a week from now, so this is very timely. Second, despite the popularity of the show and that my mom (who I'm writing this for) loves horror movies and the paranormal, she has not seen this show (though I hope to show her it during midterm break). So, mom, if you're reading this, let me introduce you.

If you're not aware about the plot, it's kind of hard to simplify without proper context. But let's try it anyway. Essentially, it's 4 different plots over one another: A kid by the name of Will goes missing under "mysterious circumstances" in Hawkes, Indiana. So, three friends of the kid go out to try and find him, and they come across a "weird" girl named Eleven that could possibly help them get to Will, Will's mother having to deal with the increasing mental stress of her son being missing, leading to numerous hallucinations(?), one of the 3 kid's sister and Will's brother trying to piece together what happened to Will, and the town's police chief thoroughly investigating into the case, with it having to greatly involve a "questionable" facility located nearby the town. To say any more would be spoilers. Basically, it's E.T., The Goonies, and St. Elmo's Fire mixed with Super 8 and Splice (if you remember or even know that movie).

And for you having been in your 20's during the 1980's, you'll be pleased to hear that this show takes a LOT of influence and style from 80's culture, but with authenticity (as far as I can tell), rather than just a nostalgiafest solely to celebrate the 80's. Really, the time setting is just a way for the story to be told in a simpler time, which would make the idea of going up against a....threat like this wouldn't be as scary if it was set in modern time, where things are a bit more complicated. But otherwise, there's a lot of stuff in here you'd expect out of 1984 like Dungeons and Dragons, The Clash, the Evil Dead, etc., along with all the fashions and vehicles used throughout the show.

Now, as for the part I have to write for the class (specifically, the part where I acknowledge or even praise a certain aspect of the filmmaking into a Netflix original, such as the cinematography, sound, etc.), what I like about Stranger Things in comparison with other horror movies on Netflix (and I would say most modern horror films, but that's generalizing. Go see It Comes At Night. It's fantastic), is that it's actually shot and paced like an ACTUAL well-made horror film (for the opposite effect, go watch the abomination that is #Horror). There's no shaky cam, little-to-no stupid things done for the sake of a horror film (like hiding in an abandoned house), and there's only like one REAL jumpscare throughout the whole franchise, which is paced perfectly. In fact, all the scary moments (or at least the moments that are creepy for the ambience) in this show are paced brilliantly, like the credits of "The Bathtub" (which is incidentally after the one jumpscare in the show). The scenes are near-quiet, save for some small environmental noises and an ambient soundtrack to back it up. And that intro music is just sublime.

On the whole, I very much recommend the show. In fact, I've already gone through the whole season within 2 days before, and I intend to rewatch it in lieu of Season 2 coming out soon. And mom, if you're reading this, I want to show the show to you when I get home for midterm break. Trust me, if you liked Super 8, you're going to love this.