Macbeth Trailer

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Vanessa Clarke
Angela Trasolini
Ardelia Tay
Desiree Chiu
Kasey Schell

"Only look up clear; To alter favour ever is to fear..."

When shall we meet again,
In thunder, lightening or in rain?
When the hurlyburly's done?
When the battle's lost and won?
No, that will be eve the set of sun.
Doubtful he stood,
smoked with bloody execution;
He shall live a man forbid,
imperfect,
and look not like inhabitants o' the earth.
For he has eaten the insane root
that takes the reason prisoner.
This strange intelligence,
supernatural soliciting,
cannot be ill; cannot be good.
As nothing is but what is not.
Truths are told to the
self-same tune and words.
So why do you start
and seem to fear,
things that do sound so fair?
If you can look into the seeds of time,
that oftentimes win us to our harm,
the instrument of darkness shall betray us.
He can report of the revolt;
he has more than mortal knowledge.
Discomfort swells his lavish spirit
and carved out his passage.
What he hath lost, another hath won,
it unseam'd him and choked their art,

For fair is foul, and foul is fair.

Unoka, The Misunderstood Dreamer

*Unoka, talking to another villager named Okoye*

Why hello there it is nice to see you Okoye. I sure hope you haven’t come to discuss the impending war. As you know I grow so tired of that subject...

No, I do not see myself as a coward or frail just because I do not like blood. Rather, I take pride in being gentle & a craftsman with my words...

Oh, well as for my debts, I know I like to indulge but I do not believe it is a crime to immerse myself in the delights of palm wine & other good food & drink. I chose to live the life of a dreamer. It is not my fault I am just not suited for this chauvinistic culture. Is it such a bad thing that I prefer to dream & live life on my own whims & desires rather than follow a harsh & structured routine?...

Okoye, I can’t pay you back at the moment as you can see I have many other debts that are much more demanding & consist of bigger amounts. Let us talk for a while about something cheerful, like music! Sometimes I feel as if music is my only friend. The melody of song is the only thing that brings me immense joy. My flute is what I love most. If only others in the village would understand where I am coming from. Perhaps they could see that they can enjoy many things without working so hard or being so rigid. I fear this for my son Okonkwo, he works very hard & I am very proud. But I fear that he will become a strict man with an iron fist...

Yes he will gain many titles, but it makes me sad to think that he is ashamed of his own father. I would like for him to understand & relate to people more, to be a more compassionate man. I see his proud heart, but I fear in the end he will be alone…

Yes I know Okoye it is a shame. Oh you must go? I see, take care & come share some kola nut with me anytime.

Unaltered Opinions

In my opinion the novel, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, was not an enjoyable read although it was eye-opening. The book doesn't fall along a very structured plot line and goes off in rambling stories that don't usually have much to do with the novel itself. I found the sentence structure, choice of words and writing style unappealing. However in Achebe's defence, the book shed some light on a culture that many North Americans are rarely exposed to. The novel was enlightening to an interesting culture, but the presentation of events within the book are colourless and dramatic events are downplayed and understated in a stale fashion. Prior to reading the novel I did not believe in a lot of elements to the Igbo peoples' culture, like killing twin babies for example. Granted, the Igbo culture is exotic and intriguing my opinion of their culture is unaltered by the book despite the education and explanation it has provided.

Not To Escape, But To Find Reality

Chris McCandless is the main character in the novel, Into the Wild. Chris faces many challenges throughout his odyssey against his environment, other characters and his self. Most often, Chris finds himself in his solitude yet is surrounded by the wilderness. During his adventure he reaches many obstacles regarding the environment in which he must overcome. Chris once found himself in a dingy little canoe paddling his way through the ocean near the shores of El Golfo de Santa Clara, when "wind and tidal rips conspired to carry him out to sea" (page 36). With all the difficulties Chris must endure in his atmosphere, at times his frustration also mounts within himself. For the duration of the novel Chris seems to be trying to fulfill a missing need. He struck many people as a "kid who was looking for something, looking for something, but didn't know what it was" (page 42). In effort to fill this void, Chris keeps a journal with him on his enterprise to which he refers to himself by a different name and in the form of third person, almost as if he was living out his wildest dreams of a hazardous journey and recording it every leg of the trip. Chris' desire to leave the world he knew behind stemmed from the expectations of a society to which he viewed as in denial. In his effort to avoid the completion of these expectations, Chris abandons everything he knows to seek a new path of freedom. I find that his desires match mine. When my closest friend and stepbrother passed away in 2009 and I found myself sitting in a classroom day after day in high school contemplating my life due to the recent events I have braved, my daily routine seemed rather trivial and I realized I had to escape. My family and I made a getaway to Samara Beach, Costa Rica. There we stayed at a friends home and lived as locals for nearly a month. Alike Chris, I found that an escape from my environment to create new surroundings was exactly what I needed to find reality again. 

Post-Colonialism and the Challenges It Faces

            Post-Colonialism is a theory, which refers to the time after colonialism. Colonialism occurs when one country takes over another and pronounces the defeated country one of their colonies. Most often, colonies were completely taken over and controlled by the conquering country, squashing the indigenous country’s customs, rights, religion and culture among many other things. Not only is colonialism related to post-colonialism, but decolonization is as well. Decolonization is the process where formerly colonized countries regain their independence and all misconceptions during colonial times are abolished. Post-colonialism was regarded in the twentieth century and now, colonial countries are starting to decolonize despite the many difficulties they face. Africa for example was greatly colonized by Britain and the native cultures’ suffering is the most significant. Many colonies of Nigeria, such as the Igbo people, have been smothered by Britain and are now regaining their identity once more. In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, he tells stories of the Igbo people and in his efforts he has gained awareness from the globe about his true culture. Many other influential authors such as Nguigi wa Thiong’o of Kenya have expressed their origins in text and have received notice from the world of their people. Decolonization is a long and difficult process, but hopefully the citizens of the planet are able to shed light on their ignorance and take it upon themselves to become further educated of other regions in the world that are now in the post-colonial era.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers Have My "Soul To Squeeze"

With a fan base of millions of people, the Red Hot Chili Peppers must be the best poets and rock musicians of all time. Furthermore, only the coolest people listen to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Also, they have performed at countless reputable venues, been featured in The Simpsons as themselves and have performed with many other legendary groups such as Nirvana. What have the Jonas Brothers done to make themselves so popular? They suck. Everyone who listens to the Jonas Brothers is silly. Fairly soon, if something is not done to stop the Jonas Brother craze girls everywhere will become obsessed, do anything that the Jonas Brothers command them and they will take over the entire planet. Vanessa Guan enjoys the Jonas Brothers a lot, but Vanessa Guan is a bubbly teenage girl, so you shouldn't listen to her. Guan will try to convert you into listening to the Jonas Brothers, but as we all know the Red Hot Chili Peppers is the best band of all time, so Vanessa Guan should be forever silenced in order to protect the fragile and easily influenced ears of the public and its youth. To further support the conviction of Vanessa Guan, the fact that she states, "EVERY girl in the world loves them" is a false claim as I am a girl and I do not love the Jonas Brothers so her argument is invalid. True story bro...

Note: Vanessa Guan was not harmed in the process of writing this paragraph.

:)

The Modernized Monk, Christopher McCandless

The protagonist in my novel, Into the Wild, is a young man called Christopher Johnson McCandless. He is a handsome, slender boy from a well-off family and his intelligence is displayed by the fact that he graduated with honours from Emory University. Though Chris is a man of few words, seemingly out of character he disappears from civilization shortly after graduating and ventures out into the wilderness of Alaska. This would seem quite odd for anyone who was previously acquainted to Chris. Perhaps the result of a sudden realization or epiphany, Chris abandons everything he knows including his family, possessions, money, education and car. With an unquenchable thirst for adventure, Chris thrusts himself in to the unknown regardless of risking his life in danger. He is motivated by the idea of "an utterly new life for himself, one in which he would be free to wallow in unfiltered experience" (page 23). He is so serious about this, that Chris adopts a new name, Alex Supertramp. He seemed to be on his way to completing the first few steps towards a promising future and his decision to leave everything he knows behind is staggeringly shocking. Similar to a monk, Chris takes off on a pilgrimage to change his reality. Escaping the typically "absurd and onerous" expectations of the world such as graduating from university to get a respectable occupation or getting married and having children, Chris departs on a personal "odyssey" (page 22). For anyone who has ever wanted to become someone else, has questioned the values and expectations of society and wanted to escape them, Chris is an utterly raw and relatable yet mysterious character.

Why Wait Another Second?

It's not like you've given
Confirmation,
And I don't want to make
An assumption,
It might be just me but
I feel somethin'...
Do you?

It's just the way you tease
When we're joking,
The way you make me laugh
Keeps me hoping,
I don't want to go on
Never knowing...
Tell me.

I can see that you are into me,
This thought drives me to insanity:
Do I stand out in your mind,
Or will I fade out in time?
I wonder if we are meant to be.

You wrap your arms around
Me while smiling,
The sparkle in your eyes
Gets me wondering,
How you seem to always
Keep me wanting,
Show me.

And in your voice I hear

Understanding,

With each move I feel your

Body longing,

In your mind you reach out

Almost touching

Take me.

I can see that you are into me,

This thought drives me to insanity:

Do I stand out in your mind,

Or will I fade out in time?

I wonder if we are meant to be.

You have the biggest heart I've ever seen,
I'm wondering if there's a place there for me.
I just want to be somebody to you.

This thought drives me to insanity:

Do I stand out in your mind,

Or will I fade out in time?

I wonder if we are meant to be.

Mental Mindset Breakdown

    The big day was here. The hockey provincial championship was hanging right over all of our heads. It was the game my team and I had been fighting for all year long. From long hard practices on the chilly ice to grueling and dry on-land training sessions, we have been working too hard to let our nerves distract us from the provincial title. Although, sometimes in life the greatest challenges we face are ourselves.
   Placing first in the league along with many other championships under our belts have made us undeniably successful. The Devils, we were feared and respected, but mostly met with hate. We had created a monster of fear that loomed over us every time we stepped on to the ice. The monster was waiting to strike during the game that meant everything. The game in which the prize was the title that officially made us the best.
   Walking into the rink that afternoon my face wore features that were cold as stone, the pressure was never going to grind me down. Though sometimes being the goaltender can be a difficult test where making one error may result in devastation, my dreams were to close to allow failure. As I looked around the room I noticed the almost unreadable expressions my teammates faces bore. Some displayed furrowed eyebrows and creased foreheads, while others possessed sunken eyes and tight lips. It was clear that today we would require full mental preparedness.
   Now that game time was only minutes away, I felt the anticipation of puck drop mount. I felt as if a weight had been dropped in the pit of my stomach, my eyes bugged out of my skull as I envisioned my team and I achieving our goal. My entire body radiated with the bass from the stereo, my thoughts turned to the motivational lyrics that were being spit out aggressively in a rap beat. My jaw clenched as my eyes focused on Coach A.J. who had entered the room. I could see the rewards of his dedication reflected in his eyes, his desire mirrored everyone in the room. I could never forget some of the words he had said before that game, "Think about everything we've done this year. We've reached our goal to be one of the two teams out of the entire province to be playing in this game. Well, we're here. It's up to you guys to decide what to do with this game, but remember when you step out that door that you're playing for the people sitting across from you, the people to your left and the people to your right. Life doesn't reward those who sit pretty and just watch it go by. So grab the bull by the horns, rip it's head off and piss down it's throat! Are you ready?"
   "Yes!" the team roared back in unison, and we marched out of the dressing room like soldiers heading towards a battlefield.
    Crowds of people stuffed into the arena erupted with screams, but I was deaf to the entire atmosphere. My pressing hunger to win overpowered all of my senses, and all I could hear were skates carving the ice, the puck making contact with the blade of a stick and bodies being slammed against the boards. With every movement there was a reaction from the crowd, but none was as mighty and humiliating as the celebration that followed the opposing teams first goal. However, this was insignificant to me as my complete faith rested in the hearts of my teammates. The first period came to a close and we returned to the dressing room as the ice was being cleaned of the scars we had left on its surface. I knew we weren't playing to our full potential, and as I sat down and scanned the room I saw thoughts of self-doubt dancing and circling around everybody's heads. They were letting the expectation to succeed eat away at them like a parasite.
   The last half of the third period was upon us, time was becoming precious as the clock ran down. There were five minutes left and I wasn't backing down, competition seemed at neck and neck until we took a lazy penalty. Frustrated, but not shaken, I pushed even harder to defend my pride even though we were outnumbered and scrambling. Shots whizzed by in all directions deflecting off of my pads and cushioned by my glove. All shots were denied entry into my net until an unlucky bounce created the opportune moment for the stick of my enemy. She reached back, came through and the puck took flight. My arm extended but it was too late, I missed the puck and I heard the sound of the netting embrace the puck from behind me. Hollers of delight blasted through my ears and echoed through my skull as I watched the opposing team jumping up and down. In my mind it wasn't over, there was just enough time for a miracle. I looked to the faces of my teammates, behind the cages of their helmets their faces were broken and defeated. I didn't understand why they all seemed to give up. The play continued, but glancing at the clock I saw the seconds running down. As the buzzer blared my face became flush, my eyes dripped fat tears and my knees seemed to give out from underneath me as a wave of heartbreak overwhelmed me. We felt cheated of our destiny watching the undeserving opponents claim our prize.
    I believe that to do almost anything in life, one must be mentally prepared. Our team has the capability to overcome our fears, nerves and exceed our expectations if we can achieve a state of mental preparedness and focus. The only factor that was truly preventing us from conquering the game was our attitude and mindset. A positive attitude and complete focus is often the most difficult state of mind to accomplish.