Big Mouth

     While I was a sophomore in college, my friends Kayli and Megan were really urging me to watch this show about puberty with them and I was not too thrilled about it. The characters looked slightly strange and I wasn't sure how explicit the show was going to be. Despite the cartoon characters explicit language, it's very informative.

    The theme song goes kind of like “I'm going through changes,” and the pictures shown were relating to the body of males and females which is not what I was expecting from a show that I thought was going to be informative for young teens. The theme song and pictures covered height, fertilization, development of breasts, the menstruation process, and developing armpit hair in about one minute or less. Just that part by itself tells alot about the show and I knew I was in for either disturbance or something just a tad bit worse than that.

    The episode started with a 7th grade class watching a video about everything that was shown in the opening of the episode. Then, the episode skips to a scene to the two main characters, Andrew and Nick having a sleepover. Andrew was taking a shower until Nick walks in on him coming out of the shower and his towel falls off. After that day, Nick felt envious of Andrew’s genitals and decided to open up to his parents about it. As any parent should, Nick’s parents were completely understanding of his situation and tried their best to comfort him about his delayed progression in puberty. His parents expressed that everyone mature at different rates and his day will come. The parents understanding really surprised me because some parents avoid the conversation completely such as Andrew's father or would feel uncomfortable that their children are becoming young adults and not want to engage in the conversation.

    I like the idea that Netflix is creating a show about puberty but the characters swear so much. This show clearly isn't meant for children but if so happen that they were, it would be too much for them to handle especially if they haven't been exposed to swearing. The child may start developing characteristics of those in the show which isn't something I would want. However, the show is very informative but is intended for a more mature audience and especially not for children, even though the concept of the show has good intentions. 

Gerald's Game

Gerald’s Game is a horror movie based on Stephen King’s novel Gerald’s Game. Stephen King is a famous horror novel writer, and many of his works were adapted into movies. Similar to his other works, he made a big effort in narrating the protagonists’ background and how their personality change. The movie is composed mostly by dialogue, which makes the audience feel bored. However, the protagonist’s excellent acting and the meaning behind the movie make it become a good movie.

There were three cages in this movie. This most explicit one was the handcuffs that locked Jess, the protagonist, on the bed. Jess’s husband died because he got too angry after having the pill for ED treatment when they were playing sex game. There was no people live near to the house, so Jess had no way to call for help. She could not move, but she had to escape from the handcuff otherwise she would die of hunger or teared by the hungry dog. During her stay on the bed, she started to recall her marriage life and her childhood by a series of imaged conversation between Jess and another Jess and another Gerald.

The second cage was the cage from her husband. Gerald was a man who suffered from erectile dysfunction, but always wanted to play some strange sex games. Gerald was an arrogant man who despised others and did not respect female. Jess did not want anybody to know her unhappy marriage, so she always pretended she had a sweet husband though she was not happy at all. She did not have the courage to leave the cage given by her husband.

The third cage was from her dear father. In the eclipse day, her father told her that he missed the time when she was a little who sat on his lap. Jess’s father asked her to sit on the his lap again, and jerked off when Jess was watching the eclipse. After that Jess’s father threatened her to not tell anyone what happened, so She decided to keep silent. Her father’s behavior impressed her life greatly. When she married to her husband who liked her father, her life in cages became harder and harder. The imaged conversation continued and went deeper which made her realize she had to escape from all three of cages to save her life physically and mentally.

This movie mentioned two kinds of relationship, relationship between marriage and sex, and the relationship between parents and children. Jess and Gerald’s marriage was similar to Jess’s parents’. Both husbands were not loyal to their wives and both wives chose to not speak out. The wife thought her tolerance to the disloyalty would win back her marriage, however this would only make the gap between husband and wife wider. They wasted their lives in the hopeless marriage.

Jess did not have a healthy relationship with her parents which caused a series of problem on Jess. Jess’s father was a pedophile who abuse his own daughter, while her mother did not help Jess even though she realized her husband’s special love to daughter. Jess’ mother’s indifference made the situation worse.  

In the end of the movie, Jess escaped from the handcuffs by cutting off her hand. She finally came out from the nightmare of her marriage and childhood. The movie had a meaningful ending that telling people sometimes difficulties are smaller than you think. In all, the detailed inner speech and the protagonist’s excellent acting made Gerald’s Game a great movie. It had a educational meaning to every family member. Be nice to your children if you are a parent. Be brave to leave your unhappy marriage if you are a wife. Be brave to speak out and seek for help if you are a child.

Our Souls at Night

Our Souls at Night is a Netflix original released in 2017, based on a novel published in 2015. This will probably seem like too long ago to be relevant to you, but don’t overlook it just yet. I did at first, and it definitely was a mistake. As you know, I love old, simple movies and this movie and book are exactly that. It revolves around two older people, Addie and Louis,  who live in the same neighborhood who begin sleeping (yes, JUST sleeping, if you watch the movie) together to help combat the loneliness after they both have spent many years alone after the death of their spouses. We also see the influence that older adults have on young children, which is also a lesson I hope by this time you have been exposed to. What I hope you learn from this is the importance of listening to what others think and then doing what you believe is right, and to ALWAYS read the book.

I hope by now you have learned from me to ALWAYS read the book. If you see a movie and like it, read the book too! Books outright convey what movies try to tell us through their imagery. They give us more information and allow your mind to create your own story. I watched this movie on a whim one night, and thought it was okay (I’m not big on movies, but I’m learning), but when I listened to the audiobook one night coming home from school, that sealed the deal for me, and I fell in love with it. Give things a second chance, especially when you like it the first time. I could tell that the plot line was great from the movie, however the execution of that was not my favorite. I believe they left out some important details that helped with the cohesiveness and understanding of the movie. In the book we read about a trip that Addie and Ruth, Addie’s elderly neighbor, take to the grocery store and the judgement that both Ruth and the clerk pass on to Addie about Louis. After this initial contact with Ruth, we see her appear at least twice more in the book, until her death. In the movie, we see Addie, Louis, and Jamie, Addie’s grandson, at Ruth’s funeral. This doesn’t make clear sense in the movie why they are all there and why Ruth is a significant character, but in the book it makes much more sense. You should always find out the whole story when something is confusing you.

From the beginning, Addie acknowledges that others will talk, but how she has used her whole life to listen to what other people think and she is just going to do what is best for her and take up companionship with Louis. This kind of relationship is uncharacteristic to talk about and especially in a small town where you know everyone and their connections. We see them go out to lunch, choose a table in the middle of the restaurant, both while wearing bright red to catch people’s attention. Louis also chooses to sit next to her, instead of across, just another thing out of the ordinary that people would talk about-but makes them happy. Do things that make you happy, even when you know people will talk about it. Hiding from people will only make you feel worse, especially if it is something that you are proud of. People will talk about you regardless, but by showing people what you love, you can sometimes redirect them towards your passion instead of focusing on you. The only opinion that truly matters is your own. Striving to make others like you can only bring you happiness if you love yourself and like the choices you are making. Little life messages like this are spread throughout in the book, ones that take most people years to understand and accept. By surrounding yourself with a multitude of people as you live your life, their various characteristics and beliefs you are better able to understand and see things through their lives, how they would see them. The ability to do this is severely underrated, being able to put yourself in other people’s shoes. Overall, my biggest takeaway from this is to read both the book and watch the movie, and be proud of who you are.

13 Reasons Why

13 Reasons why

Dear future Daughter,

             13 Reasons Why is about Hannah, a young woman who takes her own life. Two weeks after her tragic death, a classmate named Clay finds a mysterious box on his porch. Inside the box are recordings made by Hannah (on whom Clay had a crush) in which she explains the 13 reasons why she chose to commit suicide. If Clay decides to listen to the recordings, he will find out if and how he made the list. It goes through a tale of slut shaming, rape, stalkers and even more that led her on her way to ending her life. This story is tragic and sad; it opens up a talk about suicide and why it happens so much. In our society today it is a big issue and I can only hope when you get here and grow up it’s not as much of an issue.

            When I first started watching this TV series I thought of myself as her and put myself in her shoes, now I am not, I am thinking of you instead. I hope that growing up you will not have to deal with any of the things that Hannah did and that if you do you will come to me so I can help you. I am terrified of the possibility of you ending your own life. As a mother you always want to outlive your children and if you don’t it is truly heartbreaking. I hope to raise you strong and independent and that you will stand up against things like this even if it never happens to you. In life some of these people who feel like suicide is their best option, sometimes all they need is someone to step in and ask them about their day or stop a bully any little thing can make such an impact. All they have to see sometimes is that someone does truly care and that they are loved and it will make a world of difference.

            Throughout my life I have dealt with things that have tore me down, that have shattered me and I have got back up and fought it. But I will admit it was not my only thought; I have had thoughts and I hate to admit it. I have been depressed and the only thing that got me out of it was that my friends and family love me, and I could never do that to them. I hope that if you are ever in this situation yourself that you will remember that we all love you so much and also remember that you can come to me. I don’t want to just be the person that gave birth to you, I want to be the best mother I possibly can be, I want to be there for you no matter what, I want to be your friend. I will be your shoulder to cry on and I will stand by your side through anything because above all else I am your  mother and I love you with all my heart. 

3%

Hey friend! It’s Caroline from the past! I’m writing about some interesting aspects of my life for you, so you can know me that much better. For now, I wanted to write about my current favorite movie and tv genre, sci-fi. I’ve watched a lot of different shows, but (as of now) I wanted to tell you about the latest one I watched. Before the latest, I watched the OA (and then finishing the first season because I fell in love). I started to want to watch more sci-fi. I’m really into the genre as you know, but after that show I wanted even more. I began scrolling through Netflix Originals, as of what had been released in October of 2017, looking for something that would suffice. Something not too long, that fit my genre request, and would be fun to watch. I finally found one that looked appealing, a show called “3%”. It looked like it had a minimal concept, only one season, and it was a dystopian, a subgenre that I also enjoy. I began watching, until I ran into a minor issue: I chose Netflix’s first Brazilian production, filmed entirely in Portuguese. So, I decided to try something that’s usually a pet peeve of mine, and I watched the whole thing with English dubs over it. I’m not sure if I’ll continue watching foreign shows with English dubs, I guess you’ll know if I have or not. I will say, it sometimes distracted from my experience, which is obviously not the fault of the show, and is a result of my own ignorance. However, this is a show I did enjoy watching, I got hooked very easily, and I’d highly recommend watching. That being said, if you can enjoy it in it’s parent language, then I think you’ll have that much better of a viewing experience.

3%, as I said, is a dystopian sci-fi filmed in Brazil. People are living in a community full of poverty and despair, known as The Inland. Once someone turns 20, they may try their luck, skill, and merit in the Process, where only 3% of candidates will be welcomed into the utopian community on the Offshore. It’s assumed the show takes place sometime in the future, and I can only hope that the future isn’t like this show. In most shows like this, you’d expect the main protagonists to be the successors and the antagonist to fall short. However, this show is full of twists that I feel make this show worth watching. And, while I want to talk about these twists, I’ll add in a potential spoiler alert. In the first episode, we’re introduced to multiple characters that are presumably the protagonists that we will follow to their success on the Offshore. In the first “test” they take, however, half of these characters are cut. One goes so far as to commit suicide out of despair. It’s here we realize no one is safe from the Process. I feel that’s one of the main things that helped me to stay hooked, that I never knew who would be cut, and it helped immerse the viewer even more. I hope we can enjoy some shows together, let me know! And if you watch this show, definitely tell me about how you liked it. Maybe there will be more than 1 season by the time you see it.