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[digitaltalks239]

Family is my number one

The common theme I found amongst all the posts I have made is that I have chosen family-oriented themes and themes of empowerment to describe or make posts about. To further explain, in our first assignment when we had to choose a work of art that described a picture that in some way expresses my sensibility, my values, my taste, and my style, I chose the picture of a family working on a something together at the dinner table. When we had to choose an abstract image to talk about that jumped out at us I chose one that the artists were portraying the injustices that African American families have gone through throughout these years and even still go through it now. This gives empowerment to the families as they are being recognized for the years of struggle and injustice and creates a sense of relief knowing someone sees them and acknowledges their side and yearns for them to have justice. When we had to choose a sculpture that we had within our community and that we had taken a picture of I chose to talk about the statue of a woman with her hands on her chest cavity opening up to reveal her insides and show a sense of vulnerability as well as hope and empowerment to show them that being vulnerable does not make them weak. When i had to choose a domestic place to describe i chose to describe my own home because its the place i most like to be and it make me feel the safest know i am with my family as well as being home to spend time with them because i love to do that. The second place i choose to describe was the gym because that is where i feel the most empowered, after a workout and sweating i feel good about my self which make me feel confident which is a sense of empowerment. When we had to choose a poem to interpret what it meant to us i choose a poem that talked about a flower who knows it humility and does not have a big ego, it isn't ashamed about where they were planted as it wasn't the prettiest place like beautiful flower beds where other flowers grow. When we had to choose a particular episode to describe whether it be a realistic one or a life episode i choose out of all the days i have lived on this earth, i choose a particular moment in time where my car had broken down and the people who came to my rescue was my loved ones like my boyfriend, his mom, her boyfriend, my dad and even my brother. When i had to choose a film to discuss i choose the film "it ends with us" which tells the story of a women who is going through an abusive relationship and gets pregnant and decides that the generations worth of abuse will end with her and her daughter. All these discussions are prime examples of how I have always chosen themes that discuss the priority of family and underlying feeling of empowerment that comes with being confident and prioritizing your family. I have always grown up in a home where family was the number one priority, my family of twelve always gathered for every thanksgiving, birthday, christmas or any special occasion or not just to see each other for a while. They always said that family was the most important thing and to never loose sight of it. Growing up my favorite movie were the home alone movies as they depicted my family well, the holidays were always crazy and it would not be unusual for a child would be left behind or forgotten. The movie was very family oriented and understood each others craziness and understood that just because they were left behind doesn't mean they were forgotten about but had many other things going on at once and wanted everything to be perfect especially around the holiday times.

[digitaltalks239]

The open waters vast and deep

Where sunlight dances

Then softly sleeps

The sea and land together as one

Sand in between to interrupt

Rocks protect the edge of the sea

Keeping all of its life in between

The ocean whispers secrets untold

In its emerald path

Where stories unfold

Justification: I chose to write ekphrasis on a picture I took of the beach. I used words such as "vast," "deep," "whispers," and others of this tone to exemplify the tone of this picture. It is sunset, meaning the sun will awaken the moon, and it will be nighttime soon. The mood is dark and cold, as the beach is like that at night. It also gives a sense of peace as you know that the ocean, in its gloomy and cold night, will not tell your secrets. Its essential details as I see the art piece are the waves crashing against the sand, the noise canceling out any other thing, bringing a sense of peace and clear mind to anything else going on in life at this time. Another essential detail is its beautiful sunset that sometimes, because of everything else going on in life, we fail to just appreciate the little things around us, such as the beautiful sunset Mother Nature has given us. My translation preserved the original because it gave insight into things beyond the surface of the eye, such as significances to me while keeping the focus on the tone of the picture. An example of this can be when I talk about the sunlight dancing and then going to sleep. In the picture, you can see this as the picture captures the sunset, but on a significance level to me, this means the earth and all its community are slowing down the dancing, winding down with their family or loved ones as the sun gets ready to rest and they awaken the sun with a new day and a new dance.

[digitaltalks239]

Not seen on TV

For this week's assignment, I chose to analyze "Francis Alys and Rafael Ortega, Re-Enactment." As stated in the assignment, this video has no clear storyline however, it does hold a very important message on how crimes are often sensationalized in the media. This video opens up and describes the background of this story and states it is a reenactment of a real event that happened. It shows Francis Alys going to a gun shop and buying a 9mm Bertta, he walks down the street with the gun until he is forcefully stopped by the police after four minutes if walking down the street gun in hand. The citizens amongst this video are fearful they have scared looks on their faces and are even turning around to make sure they are seeing this correctly. This video appeals to my sense of emotion, if I saw a random person walking down the street with a gun in their hand I too would be frightened and scared possibly start crying. In this video they also show the news clips along side the reannatment and i believe the video is also urging us the viewers to see how the media exaggerates the media so that people get an urge of interest and be invested in the crime. It also shows how the media has hightened our sense of surroundings because we see a person walking around with a gun and we are immediately frightened because the media has trained us to immediately go into fight or flight mode.

[digitaltalks239]

Hamlet Act 3 Scene 4

There are many famous scenes in the classic Shakespeare play "Hamlet", but I chose the scene that takes place in Gertrude's bedroom because it not only suspenseful and important to the play but it also depicts the use of stage directions and dialogue between characters. As Hamlet enters to confront the frustration he felt with how his mother handled his father's death and the hunger he felt to avenge his father, he is met with unfortunate circumstances as he accidentally kills Polonius thinking it was his mother's new husband. When reading Hamlet it is easy to notice over time the strain the main protagonist has to deal with when it comes to not only the death of his father but with the responsibility of avenging him and killing Claudius. This scene is a direct representation of the burden this sequence of events has taken upon Hamlet as he physically and emotionally harms his mother just before stabbing Polonius. One of the things I interpreted from the reading of this scene that differed from the staging would be the characterization of Gertrude as I believed she was more arguing than being attacked in the readings, whereas the staging shows Hamlet almost as an unstable attacker. Although in the readings he seems frustrated but clever, in the staging I felt as though he was more distraught and had lost himself. Overall, I believe this scene delivers in all aspects of suspense and character building as we get to see the tragedy of the main character crumbling under pressure.

Act 3 Scene 4 Staging: https://youtu.be/IhLNvhmyqYE

[digitaltalks239]

Movie analysis

This week I choose to watch "It ends with us" as my drama movie of choice and "White Chicks" as my comedy movie of choice. In the love drama "It ends with us", the two main characters, Lily Bloom and Ryle Kincaid, were in an abusive relationship that ended because Lily choose to end the cycle and not have their daughter grow up in an abusive home. In the comedic and hilarious movie "White Chicks" main characters, Marcus and Kevin Copeland, were assigned to escort two socialites to the Hamptons where the FBI used them as bait for a kidnapper. One scene that seems particularly effective was when in "It ends with us", Ryle first initially hits Lily he claims it was an accident. The scene was shot as follows, the two were in the kitchen making dinner for their anniversary when the frittata starts burning and Ryle gets agitated that things aren't going his way. Lily keeps talking and saying things such as "I told you it was burning.." "Maybe it'll still be good..", when she goes to hand him a mitten glove he turns around and slaps her telling her to shut up. The room is filled with fog, the room goes silent and all you can hear is the fire alarm in the background but very distant, her breathing gets heavy and is amplified, she cant remember what happened, and the lights are dimmed as she goes to get up and Ryle tries helping her up. The scene is very important to the over all message of the movie which is that it takes a lot of strength to leave an abusive and toxic relationships and finally break the cycle. This scene, which was the first incident of abuse, she brushed it off because she thought it was an accident but when she finally decided she had enough and broke the cycle she replayed this exact moment in her head an realized it was not an accident. None of the times that she had written off as "accidents" because she trauma blocked the incidents and couldn't remember what happened were ever accidents. The name of the movie comes from Lily telling her daughter, after asking for a divorce finally ending their abusive relationship, that the abuse ended with them. She didn't want her daughter to grow up in that environment or relay that this type of behavior was ok to forgive and forget.

[digitaltalks239]

The worst day of my life

This past Wednesday while on my way back from the gym I decided I wanted to surprise my boyfriend with a surprise dinner so I headed to the supermarket, Publix to be specific, when I left the super market i went to turn on my car and it didn’t start. I called my boyfriend, dad, brother, mom and literally everyone on my contact list freaking out because this had never happened to me. Everyone presumed it was a dead battery, I waited thirty minutes for my boyfriend and his step dad to come to my rescue, there I sat dripping in sweat. We tried to jump my car time after time after time and nothing happened. We decided to take the battery out of my car and drive to the nearest auto repair center and check the battery, every place we went to said the same thing, the battery was at 100% charge and everything was fine. So the only other option left was to get my car towed to the mechanic to figure it out. I waited three hours for the towing company to finally show up, it was now ten o’clock at night. The next morning I headed to the mechanics to figure out what had happened to my car. They tell me the starter had stopped working and I needed to replace it, so I did and 5 hours later they called me to pick it up and it started like new. I had the biggest smile on my face going from ear to ear.

[digitaltalks239]

This poem so beautifully written caught my attention because violet or really any color of purple is my favorite. What i can translate this poem to is, it is describing is flower in its humility that doesn't recognize its importance. The poem talks about the violet flower "..hung its head low.." as if it were ashamed or shy which is ironic because the color of the flower is loud as described in the poem "..yet it was a lovely flower, its colors bright and fair;..". I believe the flower is a symbol for a person who is humble as it states "Then let me to the valley go, This pretty flower to see; That I may also learn to grow In sweet humility.", this symbolizes a person recognizing they are good looking without thinking they are the hottest person on earth and having a big ego about their attractiveness. I believe the theme of this poem is to be humble and grow in humility, the poem always references a rosy bower which is a suitable place for a beautiful flower to bloom such as the violet described in the poem. The poem states "Yet there it was content to bloom..", although this flower did not bloom where most beautiful flowers bloom it still released its beautiful scent in the green and shady bed because it was humble and content. My poem does include consonance, it rhymes the last word in every other sentence for example,"Down in a green and shady bed, A modest violet grew, Its stalk was bent, it hung its head, As if to hide from view." the words bed and head rhyhme and grew and view rhyme.

[digitaltalks239]

Architectural Interiors

The piece of domestic architecture I am choosing to describe is my own home. My home has 3 rooms and two bathrooms, a kitchen, a dining space, laundry room, living room and a backyard with a pool. The home does serve its purpose as a domestic space because it gives just the right amount of privacy, obviously I wish there were more space between me and my brothers room and we had our own separate restroom but ill deal with sharing. I find the space to be very homey and welcoming because the entrance way is open and brightens up our home as there are two giant windows of my home and the sun rises on the side and lights up our home. At times it can feel cramped and uncomfortable but because of preference, like wishing I had my own restroom. It does feel in need of updating because our home was built in 2006 and needs touch ups to look more modern and make the space bigger. It doesn’t feel unremarkable or unique because there are similar builds and models of our home in our same neighborhood so it isn’t one of a kind. The space I inhibit regularly is my home and a space I especially enjoy inhabiting is the gym. The spaces function is to serve a place to unwind, socialize and strengthen yourself. The interior is structured as a wide and open walk way, everything feels well spaced out and the tall ceilings help it feel more big within the structure. I prefer the gym sometimes over my own home because the space allows me to focus on my self and allow a fresh breathe of air due to the spaciousness of the space.

[digitaltalks239]

I was in Fort Lauderdale this Monday and came across this beautiful sculpture that caught my attention. It was in a unique spot as it was not really in a busy area more of quiet non busy area. Upon research I discovered the name of this sculpture is "Thrive" and artist who sculpted it was Daniel Popper. His message behind this sculpting was to be a symbol of hope, transformation and women empowerment. The sculpture is of a women with her chest open which is inspiring transformation within women and the community because the city in which it is built in values gender diversity. This speaks to which values and morals as they deem women empowerment important because they chose to let the artist turn his dream sculpture into a reality. The subject of the sculpture is to inspire change and hope within women as well as empower them. The morals the sculpture hoped to inspire is, establishing gender equality, influence social change, and promote women's self worth. The sculptures explicit purpose is to inspire hope, the women is holding on to her chest while exposing her heart, she is made with tough rock solid material on the outside but the passage way inside reveals that on the inside she is made up of a green interior garden. This symbolizes women empowerment because it shows that women as society defines, can be the more "emotional" or "kind hearted" gender but women are hard and just as tough or equipped and strong as men doesn't matter the gender roles society has put on women.

[digitaltalks239]

Speaking through the painting

The painting "History Refused to Die" by Thornton Dial practically jumped out at me upon first glance. The red paint particularly caught my attention because there is so much of it, knowing that red in paintings suggest anger I can see that the artist was trying to portray just how much blood has been spilt of the years and the anger families must feel because those they loved were sacrificed at the hands of disputes between states going on in that time of history. The lines drew attaching all the painting together are very aggressive as they are portraying okra roots that are indigenous to Africa. These lines are aggressive because our history shows that Africa has had many struggles and injustices throughout our history, from 1501-1867 Millions of Africans were kidnaped and trafficked through the Atlantic ocean by European powers. It took 366 years for Africa to get some type of justice and right to be treated like an equal human being, the red and aggressive jabbed lines suggest all the emotions the continent has felt throughout those hard and dreadful years of pain and maltreat. The artist also uses a white back ground to focus and draw attention to the details the painting holds so much as the emotional content it holds. The artists evokes the emotions of those who understand the American history, it shows empathy for those who may feel like they are still experiencing some of those injustices because as we have seen and history shows that history is constantly repeating itself.

Link to the painting: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/653727

[digitaltalks239]

I think this picture does a good job at depicting a piece of my life and some characteristics I obtain. Some important details the artwork shows is showing compassion and willingness to help others. My parents did not know the english language and therefore could not help my siblings or me do homework or read the notes that were sent home. Growing up I always helped my two younger siblings do homework and teach them things such as numbers, letters and more in english so they could succeed in school. I also helped my parents read and write emails to help them grow their business. This picture also portrays patience because my siblings are younger and naturally curious I often times had to answer every little question one after the other such as "Why this..." "But why does that work..."etc. This expresses the value of family and just how much my family means to me that I am willing to do countless hours of homework and business work for them aside from all my responsibilities as a student. This painting speaks to me because in it you can tell that maybe the older sibling is tired from doing their own tasks such as homework or studying for exams but is still there to help their younger sibling because they know that no one else is going to be able to help them and they don't want them to fail in school. Simple details such as the parent at the table willing to learn and listen and try to understand so they can carry on the responsibility of teaching and helping the younger children speaks to me because my mom tried for me and my siblings to learn english so she could help us do things such as homework and read notes sent home so she could better understand what we needed for school to stay on track.

[digitaltalks239]

About me!!

Hello everyone, I hope this gives everyone a little more insight as to who I am as a person. I was born in Florida and have lived here my whole life. I graduated high school in may of 2024 and have already achieved many college credits from doing two years of dual enrollment at my high school. My goal is to finish my AA in the spring of 2025 and apply to the nursing program. I am a huge cat lover and have two orange tabby cats names Cheeto and Goldie. Some of my hobbies include going to the gym and hanging out with my friends/boyfriend. I love to do activity dates such as building legos, painting, walking a trail, ice skating and making stuff out of clay.