(This assignment was given to us to really show us how lucky we are to have a country built on freedom. And although America made some mistakes (human trafficing on African Americans in the 1800's, unescessary wars, etc.), we have a strong an independent American heart. I am priveledged to live in a country such as America. And I hope you enjoy! This was written in my 8th grade year. I was early fourteen years old.)
In a country like America, freedom is instilled in our behavior and our everyday lives. Our government is ruled by justice and the well-being of its people, for the most part. Often, we don't think twice about what a detriment not having freedom would cause on a country whose foundation is just that. We are fortunate enough to receive the basic rights of freedom of speech, thought, and knowledge of foreign countries. Others, however, are not so fortunate.
In November of 2008, Barack Obama made headlines everywhere as he broke the racial barrier in politics, becoming the very first African American president of the United States. For many, he proved that in a country so wonderful as ours, there is no meaning of the impossible. Moreover, he assured all Americans of every race and background to keep dreaming about what they can offer to their country. Respected because of his courageous movement to make a change, Obama now presides over all American affairs in government as our 44th president. With such freedom in our democratic country, it's practically unfathomable to hear about countries suffering from the lack of freedom in their government systems.
Across the sea in North Korea, the beloved leader Kim Jong-il has ruled in his deceased father, Kim Il-sung's footsteps for over a decade. Since then, he has lead North Korea into a downward spiral, excising every amount of freedom from each North Korean though processes of extreme brainwashing. His tactics to keep power over his people is maintained through one specific characteristic: fear. What seems to be the main focus is that whatever the Dear Leader speaks is veritable and infallible. Worshiped, as if like an immortal god, Kim Jong-il dictates over his fearful population. With such poor living conditions, it's exceedingly odd to see the population go into such a frenzy when it comes to their Dear Leader. Going beyond politics or even religion, Kim Jong-il is an obsession to the minds of his people. Odd, fanciful rituals are associated with his very name being spoken. His and his father's image is plastered everywhere throughout the country, each getting bowed to whenever one walks by. A twenty-five meter tall bronze statue of the previous leader Kim Il-sung stands tall in Pyongyang. Despite such praise and worship, North Korea's population has drastically decreased due to long-term famine, little to no health care, and millions of citizens thrown away into concentration camps for any threat against the Korean government system. Referring to the famine issue, North Korean families have been starving since the mid 1980's. In the late nineties, approximately 220,000 people died from the famine. An estimated five million North Koreans are malnourished today. What little food they do have is often given to those higher in social class such as the dictators and armies. Government has claimed to provide universal health care to all it's population but other sources claim that it is only given to those who can afford it. Health care systems are also severely underfunded by the government. Hospitals are dilapidated and often do not have access to running water or electricity. Prisoners kept in one of the fourteen concentration camps throughout North Korea are thrown into prison for violations against their government, against their Dear Leader, and for completely outlandish and ludicrous reasons. They work twelve to fifteen long hours and their diet is compromised of salt water and one hundred milliliters of broken corn. Their food rations are usually what get reduced if a prisoner is disobeying the rules. Torture and suffering are what all prisoners go through and have to witness on a daily basis. If your convicted of a crime, the government will not only send you, but three generations of your family as well, into these camps.
Even liberated North Koreans are still prisoners in their own country. Each individual person is under constant watch, being monitored for any disobedience. North Korea has belittled the thoughts of it's populations so that they don't suddenly start to think of freedom, the same approach taken by the American slave owners of the early 1800's. North Korea has been transformed into a robotic shell of a nation full of fear, the main puppeteer being Kim Jong-il. Democratic people's republic? Try “Country of Insanity”.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Friday, December 17, 2010
The Wonderful World of the Wizard of Oz by Megan N Tierney
The Wizard of Oz is based on the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum. Directed primarily by Victor Fleming, the film has entertained audiences of both young and old. It was released August 25th, 1939 by the American media company called Metro-Goldwyn Mayer Incorporated (MGM). Although it was made seventy-one years ago, the charming qualities of this classic musical masterpiece still find their way into into our hearts today. The film portrays Dorothy Gale, played by Judy Garland, with her family and friends on her farm in Kansas. With her eminent dog Toto by her side, Dorothy gets knocked unconscious by a window pane in her bedroom when a tornado hits. When she awakes, she is overwhelmed to find the colorful, magical Munchkinland called Oz. Accompanied by somewhat familiar friends along the way, Dorothy follows the yellow brick road to the Wizard of Oz so she can return home to Kansas. The Wizard of Oz childish fantasy movie reached a total gross of 16,538,431 dollars today. Now, that's a lot of magic!
Released in what was known as the “Golden Age of Hollywood”, The Wizard of Oz has timeless cinema qualities that are being commemorated today. Filmmakers were originally drawn to trying to appeal to a youthful audience because of the success of Walt Disney's animated classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It showed that films adapted from children stories could in fact be successful in the movie industries. Many actresses were considered for the main role as Dorothy, including perhaps the most famous child star at that time, 10-year-old Shirley Temple. However, MGM's musical mainstay, Roger Edens listened to Shirley sing and felt that a different vocal style was needed. Judy Garland was soon cast as Dorothy along with Ray Bolger as the Scarecrow, Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion, Jack Haley as the Tin Man, and Margret Hamilton playing the infamous Wicked Witch of the West.
At that time, movies filmed in black and white were very common. In The Wizard of Oz, Technicolor is one of the factors of what brought the magic of Oz to life. The opening and closing credits and the scenes of Kansas are all shot in black and white and later colored in a sepia tone while Oz is shown in full color. This was done to show the novel's description of a “gray Kansas” and a rather blasé world compared to bright colors of Oz. This simple yet crucial detail has always played a major role in the film's sense of fantasy. It truly is quite interesting to see the contrast of the two places, especially when Dorothy is first entering Oz.
The dramatic and frightening scenes are acted out brilliantly by all the cast members, but the Wicked Witch of the West played by Margret Hamilton takes the cake. Originally, the witch was planning to have a more seductive and slinky tone. Filmmakers later shifted the Witch's persona and gave her the “ugly hag treatment”. The Wicked Witch we know today has striking features including her all-black attire and green skin color. She's made memorable movie quotes including “I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too!” and her famous last words of “I'm melting!”.
The Wizard of Oz not only pleased audiences; it pleased critics. It received an array of Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Song (“Over the Rainbow” sung by Judy Garland), and Best Original Music Score. The film received roughly fifteen other honorable mentions. There has been fifteen different adaptations of Frank L. Baum's novel, including everything from two silent films from 1910 and 1925 to The Wiz, a 1978 all-African American adaptation starring Diana Ross as Dorothy and Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow. Yet The Wizard of Oz stands above all of them. In fact, the Library of Congress declared The Wizard of Oz “The most watched film of all time”. These lists of titles, awards, an honorable mentions just go to show the outstanding film The Wizard of Oz has been recognized as. It has withstood the test of time and simply gotten better with age. Needless to say, it has turned into a household name with it's famous movie quotes, music, and even costumes. It's unforgettable message of “There's no place like home” truly captures the American spirit of this genial film. The Wizard of Oz is a true Hollywood classic film, and only such movies can continue to go down in history as so.
Released in what was known as the “Golden Age of Hollywood”, The Wizard of Oz has timeless cinema qualities that are being commemorated today. Filmmakers were originally drawn to trying to appeal to a youthful audience because of the success of Walt Disney's animated classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It showed that films adapted from children stories could in fact be successful in the movie industries. Many actresses were considered for the main role as Dorothy, including perhaps the most famous child star at that time, 10-year-old Shirley Temple. However, MGM's musical mainstay, Roger Edens listened to Shirley sing and felt that a different vocal style was needed. Judy Garland was soon cast as Dorothy along with Ray Bolger as the Scarecrow, Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion, Jack Haley as the Tin Man, and Margret Hamilton playing the infamous Wicked Witch of the West.
At that time, movies filmed in black and white were very common. In The Wizard of Oz, Technicolor is one of the factors of what brought the magic of Oz to life. The opening and closing credits and the scenes of Kansas are all shot in black and white and later colored in a sepia tone while Oz is shown in full color. This was done to show the novel's description of a “gray Kansas” and a rather blasé world compared to bright colors of Oz. This simple yet crucial detail has always played a major role in the film's sense of fantasy. It truly is quite interesting to see the contrast of the two places, especially when Dorothy is first entering Oz.
The dramatic and frightening scenes are acted out brilliantly by all the cast members, but the Wicked Witch of the West played by Margret Hamilton takes the cake. Originally, the witch was planning to have a more seductive and slinky tone. Filmmakers later shifted the Witch's persona and gave her the “ugly hag treatment”. The Wicked Witch we know today has striking features including her all-black attire and green skin color. She's made memorable movie quotes including “I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too!” and her famous last words of “I'm melting!”.
The Wizard of Oz not only pleased audiences; it pleased critics. It received an array of Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Song (“Over the Rainbow” sung by Judy Garland), and Best Original Music Score. The film received roughly fifteen other honorable mentions. There has been fifteen different adaptations of Frank L. Baum's novel, including everything from two silent films from 1910 and 1925 to The Wiz, a 1978 all-African American adaptation starring Diana Ross as Dorothy and Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow. Yet The Wizard of Oz stands above all of them. In fact, the Library of Congress declared The Wizard of Oz “The most watched film of all time”. These lists of titles, awards, an honorable mentions just go to show the outstanding film The Wizard of Oz has been recognized as. It has withstood the test of time and simply gotten better with age. Needless to say, it has turned into a household name with it's famous movie quotes, music, and even costumes. It's unforgettable message of “There's no place like home” truly captures the American spirit of this genial film. The Wizard of Oz is a true Hollywood classic film, and only such movies can continue to go down in history as so.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
(This is what we call eyewitness journal for the subject of social studies. We are to write in the perspective of a person or people in history. In this post, I am a Native American and I go through the pain of seeing my people die out because of the arrival of Christopher Columbus)
Megan N. Tierney
9/11/10
History
Eyewitness Journal #2
The sun blossomed from behind the blue mountain, signaling the start of a new day. The embers in the fire outside of the longhouse still danced from the previous night. We had gathered all in our territory (including the man my parents had chosen for me as a husband, Bluewolfe) for story-telling under the great black sky. Grandfather Runninghorse led the final story of the Thunderbird and after, sent all the children to a sleep filled with frightening dreams. Who knew that today, this ordinary day, would morph into the day when it all changed.
I headed to my typical job of grinding out the acorns into flour and prayed to the god of rain that he could bring his showers upon the parched earth. Thirty minutes later, the sky turned black and it began to rain, causing me to revert to the longhouse. The house's orange pet fox named Kiko had followed inside as well and curled up into a sleep in the corner. I had stayed up late last night speaking with my soon to be husband and was very tired myself. My mother was burning incense and soft drum beats could be heard in the distance: the two things that could always get me to fall asleep. During my rest, I had had an awful dream about running at night through the forest from something. Some grand, white material of some sort was slowly descending before me with out cease, giving off a ghostly effect. It wouldn't stop chasing me. Its pace grew faster and faster and fast-... Bluewolfe had awoken me in a cold sweat, saying I had been shouting in my sleep. We decided to take a walk. It was sunset, casting brilliant colors against his face and mine. Bluewolfe was a amazing man and I loved him as much as I could, but I was curious as to why Mother and Father picked him out of all the men in the Pomos to be my husband. A mere five minuets had passed before my nightmare was to come to life. Humongous, white sails had seem to come out of nowhere and slowly emerged into view. Bluewolfe instructed me hide back in the longhouse, but I wanted to see what was happening so I hid behind a bush and took out the only weapon I ever owned, my knife. Some man that whose face had features I had never seen before stepped onto the land and simply skipped around as if he had discovered this land without our people being here. He spoke in an odd, flow y ways, rolling his 'R's and held himself confidently. It was as if my people weren't even here! We managed to mind our business for a while (although, I'm not quite sure how) but sooner or later, this strange man had brought even more people like him! More and more came and had odd names such as “Christopher” and “Juan”. I had heard Father speak of what they called themselves: the Spaniards. As more and more of these Spaniards came, the smaller and smaller my tribe grew. One day, I couldn't even find Bluewolfe by side in the morning as he always is. He wasn't in the longhouse. I asked mother if he had gone hunting, and she asked me where my father was. Where is the man who will soon be my husband and my father? I went to Grandfather Runninghorse and sure enough, he knew exactly what had happened to the both of them. In the middle of the night, they were taken by one of those abnormal people and told to work on the Spaniard's land, the land that once was the forest. They had not only taken my father, but they took my husband and the forest along as well. Months had passed without a single word from either of them, and Mother grew morbidly ill. I was desperately looking for natural remedies of the forest to cure her, but they were all gone along with the forest!
All the Spaniards spoke of was how rich they could be off this land, off our land. Apparently not are land anymore. Mother died one winter night and I knew I had to escape this deathly place that our land has turned into. I noticed I had become horribly sick as well. Grandfather Runninghorse, thankfully still alive, took me under his care. At the last hours of my life, he told me that Bluewolfe was still alive and wanted to give me a message. The message was this: I love you through the pain of my everyday life. My only wish is that I could take away all the pain in yours. That night, I had gone into the most peaceful dream I had ever had, and never woke up in the morning.
Megan N. Tierney
9/11/10
History
Eyewitness Journal #2
The sun blossomed from behind the blue mountain, signaling the start of a new day. The embers in the fire outside of the longhouse still danced from the previous night. We had gathered all in our territory (including the man my parents had chosen for me as a husband, Bluewolfe) for story-telling under the great black sky. Grandfather Runninghorse led the final story of the Thunderbird and after, sent all the children to a sleep filled with frightening dreams. Who knew that today, this ordinary day, would morph into the day when it all changed.
I headed to my typical job of grinding out the acorns into flour and prayed to the god of rain that he could bring his showers upon the parched earth. Thirty minutes later, the sky turned black and it began to rain, causing me to revert to the longhouse. The house's orange pet fox named Kiko had followed inside as well and curled up into a sleep in the corner. I had stayed up late last night speaking with my soon to be husband and was very tired myself. My mother was burning incense and soft drum beats could be heard in the distance: the two things that could always get me to fall asleep. During my rest, I had had an awful dream about running at night through the forest from something. Some grand, white material of some sort was slowly descending before me with out cease, giving off a ghostly effect. It wouldn't stop chasing me. Its pace grew faster and faster and fast-... Bluewolfe had awoken me in a cold sweat, saying I had been shouting in my sleep. We decided to take a walk. It was sunset, casting brilliant colors against his face and mine. Bluewolfe was a amazing man and I loved him as much as I could, but I was curious as to why Mother and Father picked him out of all the men in the Pomos to be my husband. A mere five minuets had passed before my nightmare was to come to life. Humongous, white sails had seem to come out of nowhere and slowly emerged into view. Bluewolfe instructed me hide back in the longhouse, but I wanted to see what was happening so I hid behind a bush and took out the only weapon I ever owned, my knife. Some man that whose face had features I had never seen before stepped onto the land and simply skipped around as if he had discovered this land without our people being here. He spoke in an odd, flow y ways, rolling his 'R's and held himself confidently. It was as if my people weren't even here! We managed to mind our business for a while (although, I'm not quite sure how) but sooner or later, this strange man had brought even more people like him! More and more came and had odd names such as “Christopher” and “Juan”. I had heard Father speak of what they called themselves: the Spaniards. As more and more of these Spaniards came, the smaller and smaller my tribe grew. One day, I couldn't even find Bluewolfe by side in the morning as he always is. He wasn't in the longhouse. I asked mother if he had gone hunting, and she asked me where my father was. Where is the man who will soon be my husband and my father? I went to Grandfather Runninghorse and sure enough, he knew exactly what had happened to the both of them. In the middle of the night, they were taken by one of those abnormal people and told to work on the Spaniard's land, the land that once was the forest. They had not only taken my father, but they took my husband and the forest along as well. Months had passed without a single word from either of them, and Mother grew morbidly ill. I was desperately looking for natural remedies of the forest to cure her, but they were all gone along with the forest!
All the Spaniards spoke of was how rich they could be off this land, off our land. Apparently not are land anymore. Mother died one winter night and I knew I had to escape this deathly place that our land has turned into. I noticed I had become horribly sick as well. Grandfather Runninghorse, thankfully still alive, took me under his care. At the last hours of my life, he told me that Bluewolfe was still alive and wanted to give me a message. The message was this: I love you through the pain of my everyday life. My only wish is that I could take away all the pain in yours. That night, I had gone into the most peaceful dream I had ever had, and never woke up in the morning.
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