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Academy Award nominee Samuel L. Jackson stars in the inspiring true story of controversial high school basketball coach Ken Carter, who benched his entire un...

Coach Carter

Submitted by : Andrew Perez

The movie Coach Carter (2005) is and American biographical sports drama film. It is based on a true story of Richmond High School basketball coach Ken Carter portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson, who made headlines in 1999 for benching his undefeated high school team due to poor academic results by the players.

In this movie, Ken Carter takes over the head coaching job for the basketball team at his former high school Richmond, having played on the team himself and earning some records. Carter quickly realizes that the players are very rude and disrespectful, and are in need of discipline. He hands each player an individual contract, instructing them to attend all of their classes, sit in the front row of those classes, wear dress shirts and ties on game days, refer to everyone(players and coach alike) as "sir" and maintain a 2.3(C+) grade point average. Carter also asks the school staff for progress reports on the players' grades and attendance. He teaches them to play a disciplined brand of basketball.

In the gym, Carter is faced by hostility from the players and one of them, Timo Cruz attempts to punch him. Cruz, the previous season's top scorer quits the team along with two other players. Later at a game, Cruz watches the team win and then asks Carter what he has to do to get back on the team. Carter agrees on one condition: he needs to do 2,500 push ups and 1,000 suicides(a type of sprint touching the court's lines) before Friday. During a practice, Carter tells Cruz to give up because it is impossible to complete all of the push ups and suicides by Friday. When the day arrives, Cruz has not been able to finish but the team helped him by doing some of the push ups and suicides, getting him back on the team. The team goes on to have an undefeated record, eventually winning the Bay Hill tournament. Carter then soon learns that the progress reports show that some of the students have been skipping classes and failing academically. Enraged, Carter locks the gym and sends his players to the library to study with their teachers. He is then criticized by parents and academic personnel alike for his decision on locking down the gym. In order to open up the gym again, his players must attend classes and have a GPA higher than 2.3.

The Richmond Oilers eventually end up competing in the state CIF high school playoffs, but come up short to St. Francis by just 2 points. Nevertheless, Carter is proud of his players for accomplishing their goals of having a proper education and having good discipline.

James Berardinelli(n.d.) states "The movie wants to impress upon teenagers that education is the first step on the path to empowerment, and that it is possible for students raised in poor neighborhoods to escape from the vicious cycle of poverty and violence.". This statement is very powerful, it is still possible for poor people to strive and become successful in life. The movie shows a positive message and good intentions to the viewers. It is motivational and has a strong message.

"What is your deepest fear?" as mentioned by Coach Carter numerous times to his players. Timo Cruz answers "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.". This is a very powerful quote. It says that you can do more than what you think you can do. You don't need to put down others to pull yourself up and succeed.

To sum it all up, the movie inspires it's viewers to be the best they can be and with discipline and proper attitude towards your goals in life, you can be successful no matter what the consequences are.

References :

http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0393162/quotes

http://www.reelviews.net/reelviews/coach-carter

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coach_Carter

LONG.LIVE.A$AP AVAILABLE NOW iTunes: http://smarturl.it/LONGLIVEASAP?IQId=yt Amazon: http://smarturl.it/LONGLIVEASAPamazon?IQid=yt Google Play: http://smartu...

FA$HION KILLA

Submitted by : Andrew Perez

Miriam Webster’s dictionary defines consumerism as “the theory that an increasing consumption of goods is economically desirable”. That was how people defined consumerism in the early times. Consumerism is a public movement which protests against certain marketing practices. It is a social movement and not just protests by an individual consumer or a group of consumers. . Today it has to do more with materialism and over consumption.

Consumerism is portrayed in the song Fashion Killa by A$AP Rocky. As said in the hook of the song: Her pistol go "bang-bang, boom-boom, pop-pop", meaning people buy things left and right. For us, the feeling you get when you buy something new can be very overwhelming. This is also one of the reasons why consumerism is starting to grow in our generation. Another reason why consumerism is growing today is that we like to go with the present trends. People always try to fit in with what is desirable in this generation. As heard in the song, brands like Prada, Dolce and Gabbana, Dior, Raf Simons, Versace and other famous brands are what people try to go for. Having such a big image on the brand name makes the brand more interesting for the people to buy. Once you have those brands, you are in with the trends of this generation. Basically, this is what people think to be as attractive. As stated in verse 2 “She ball until she fall, that means she shop ‘til she drop.” This is very common nowadays. People spend all their money on material things. They consume things until it is too much to pay for or they have nowhere to keep those things.

Philip Kotler says that “Consumerism is not limited to organized efforts only but, is a social movement seeking to augment the rights and powers of buyers in relation to sellers.”. Harper W. Boyed and David states consumerism as “the dedication of those activities of both public and private organizations which are designed to protect individuals from practices that impinge upon their rights as consumers.”

Consumerism, to be precise, is an important social movement which aims at protecting the consumers against unethical or immoral marketing practices of private companies as well as public enterprises. Consumerism can also be a basis for a marketing strategy for companies looking to entice their buyers. For me consumerism can be good and bad at the same time. It is good because businesses will grow bigger and better thus creating more income for them. And bad because people will spend more hard earned money for their material wants.

References :

http://genius.com/A-ap-rocky-fashion-killa-lyrics

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/consumerism

www.businessdictionary.com/definition/consumerism.html

No Copyright Infringement Intended.

The Pursuit of Happyness

Gabbrielle D. Garcia

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Based on a true story, The Pursuit of Happyness is about Chris Gardner played by Will Smith, In 1981, he invests his entire life savings in portable bone density scanners. The scanners play a vital role in Chris' life. While he is able to sell most of them, the time between the sales and his growing financial demands enrage his wife Linda. The financial instability increasingly erodes their marriage, in spite of them caring for their five-year-old son, Christopher.

One day, Chris meets someone who drives a red Ferrari. Chris asks him about his job so he can buy a luxurious car. That man answers that he is a stockbroker. Since that time, Chris decides to work as a Stock broker. Chris receives the volunteer order without payment in a stock firm. He is promised that there is a job for the best participant. Eventually, Chris begins decreasing his money. At last, he must go out from the house rental. He then becomes homeless. Chris and his son sleep in the public places. From his poverty and homelessness, it encourages Chris to do his job harder and harder and he gets a job as a stockbroker.

In the last story, Chris succeeds to become the best participant, and he becomes an employer there. Some years later, he makes a stock firm, it’s a Gardner Rich. In 2006, he sold a piece of his stock, and he is successful to get million dollars from selling the stock.

According to Todd Gilchrist, “But what feels most striking about this film is not its truth or accuracy, at least not in a technical sense. Rather, it's that the film does not seek blame or create unfounded obstacles for the character - particularly racial ones - instead enabling Chris' triumph as a personal one unencumbered by social or political context. Ultimately, this isn't the story of a black man learning how to succeed in a white world, or a poor person becoming rich, but the achievement of one man who looked past the litany of obstacles to which he could have easily surrendered. The fact that no one in the film looks down on him because of his sometimes unkempt appearance, much less the color of his skin, is a testament to the unfiltered purity of the real Gardner's story, and what makes the movie accessible to all audiences” (2006).

I would say that what I learned from the movie is that hard work and skills will help you to achieve your goal. There will always be obstacles in your path towards success, however, what makes a man truly worthy of the success that he would never give up and keep trying in order to attain his goal.

You need to remember that there are no shortcuts in life. Hard work, along with an intense desire to struggle and to achieve success is the only way of reaching the success that you have always wanted.

Indeed, success is not measured by the position that you are in, today but the amount of hard work you put in and the number of obstacles that you overcome to reach your goal.

References:

Gilchrist, T. (2006, Dec.14). Pursuit of happyness

Retrieved from: http://www.ign.com/articles/2006/12/15/pursuit-of-happyness

The Desire to Acquire

Submitted by: Gabbrielle D. Garcia

As we may all know, every now and then while we scroll through our feed or timeline we will eventually encounter ads for things we may or may not need. Social media has become a shopping mall of the present day, but unlike any other malls or stores, you may not necessarily choose the store you walk into. The ads in these social networks is the most obvious way consumerism is shown in our everyday lives.

Exposure to consumption-related and West-originated media contents and advertisements contributes to a more ready acceptance of the 2 consumerist values. Such exposure also contributes to the development of more positive attitudes toward advertising that are found to potentially mediate and moderate the effects of exposure to consumption and market-related media content on consumerist values (Hye-Jin Paek & Zhongdang Pan, 2004).

What makes social media network such a great target for advertisers is the amount of people who use social media everyday. Social media has greatly affected society in the following ways: the rate at which we are exposed to information, our ability to gather in virtual groups with like-minded people, and our ability to express our opinion with little to no communication error (Strategic Direction, 2010). At this growing rate in social media, all of these changes affect the way we consume products. Moreover we rely on the opinions of others posted on online blogs for the confidence of what product to buy. We acknowledge the value of sharing ideas and look for means to communicate with companies to create products that meets our needs.

Social media is also changing society as it has the capability to recognize our interests based on what we search. Google now customizes our searches for all of us, Facebook recognizes the faces of the people we are friends with, and Twitter helps us to correctly tag our tweets. With these information, companies can now see the products we are most likely to be interested in and thus making it easier for them to advertise their products to us. Social media also relies on a “follow the herd” mentality, considering that your friends can more effectively influence you to buy or support a brand, company or product. That’s why almost all social media marketing campaigns are designed to encourage individuals to share information about brands, products or companies on their social network. When you see people whom you know and trust endorsing a consumer product, you are more likely to interact with and, ultimately, spend money on that product. It’s the most virtual form of peer pressure. And because people spend so much time on social networking sites, it has a significant cumulative impact.

So, whenever you think that you are harmlessly posting a status to your friends, think about how much your social network activity is helping the interference of consumerism. Now that you are aware of this matter that often goes unnoticed, the question remains, to what extent is social media affecting the way we consume product? And what should we do about it, now that we know it?

REFERENCE:

Miller, M.E. (2012, February 7). Social media’s affect on society and consumerism. Retrieved July 6, 2016, from Social Media, https://maryelizabethmiller.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/social-medias-affect-on-society-and-consumerism/

Tirado, D. (2012, October 21). Media and consumerism. Retrieved July 6, 2016, from Social Media, http://mediaandconsumerism.blogspot.com/

From face tattoos to long necks, see how the standards of beauty change from one country to the next

"Beauty is in the the eye of the beholder"

Perez, Andrew Joseph P.

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"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" is a very powerful statement and it is very true in our generation. In our world today, the definition of being considered beautiful varies between every person. People are influenced by what society describes as beautiful. The media today presents our society with models of unrealistic bodies. We spend so much of our money and time trying to satisfy what society wants that we start to see ourselves or others as what is presented to us physically rather than seeing what is beautiful inside.

In America, they see beauty in bronzed skin, long hair, and a face free of wrinkles. In other parts of the world, the opposite may be desirable. Just as the Americans have their own standards of beauty, countries all around the world have different ideas of what beauty is to them.

While people care too much on removing scars from their bodies, Ethiopia's Karo tribe creates them. For their eyes, beauty is literally skin deep. Their scars are seen as beautiful and attractive to their partners. For the Masai Tribe in Kenya, long and overstretched earlobes and shaved heads are what they see as beautiful. In Asian countries such as Japan, Thailand and China, pale skin is a sign of attractiveness. People try to avoid the sun at all costs in order to keep their pale complexion. Whitening products are also in the market for Asians. While the Americans perceive being thin as beautiful, there are people in this world who think not. Western African cultures find women who are overweight to be beautiful. To them, the more the stretch marks, the better. Instead of wearing extravagant jewelry to attract the attention of people, women from Indian use nose rings, bindis, and hennas to make themselves beautiful for celebrations or festivals.

We cannot deny that beauty is an obsession. Preach it as it may, beauty is not skin deep. No matter where you come from, appearance defines who we are and it shows that we, people who are desperate to meet the standards set by our society or be regarded as set apart, will go through any means necessary, whether it be painful or not, and deny who we truly are just so we can be accepted.

References:

Smith. E, (n.d.) How Beauty Is Defined Around the World. Retrieved June 29, 2016, from

http://www.totalbeauty.com/content/slideshows/global-beauty-standards-141201/page1

#realsht

Oh, her eyes, her eyes Make the stars look like they're not shinin' Her hair, her hair Falls perfectly without her trying She's so beautiful And I tell her everyday Yeah I know, I know When I compliment her she won't believe me And it's so, it's so Sad to think that she don't see what I see But every time she asks me, "Do I look okay?" I say, When I see your face (face, face...) There's not a thing that I would change 'Cause you're amazing (amazing) Just the way you are (are) And when you smile (smile, smile...) The whole world stops and stares for a while 'Cause, girl, you're amazing (amazing) Just the way you are (are). Yeah Her lips, her lips I could kiss them all day if she'd let me Her laugh, her laugh She hates but I think it's so sexy She's so beautiful And I tell her everyday, Oh you know, you know, you know I'd never ask you to change If perfect's what you're searching for Then just stay the same So don't even bother asking if you look okay You know I'll say, When I see your face (face, face...) There's not a thing that I would change 'Cause you're amazing (amazing) Just the way you are (are) And when you smile (smile, smile...) The whole world stops and stares for a while 'Cause, girl, you're amazing (amazing) Just the way you are (are) The way you are The way you are Girl, you're amazing (amazing) Just the way you are (are) When I see your face There's not a thing that I would change 'Cause you're amazing (amazing) Just the way you are (are) And when you smile The whole world stops and stares for a while 'Cause, girl, you're amazing Just the way you are Yeah

Just Be You

Submitted by: Gabe Garcia

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Back in 2010, Bruno Mars, an American singer-songwriter released “Just The Way You Are” I think there is no particular story to this song. It just states that everyone is perfect just the way they are. Most likely, I think the purpose of this song is to remind people that they do not need to change who they are as a person in order to be perfect because they already are.

The line “ If perfect's what you're searching for Then just stay the same” is the key message for this song. beauty is not skin deep. Appearance does not define who you are or who you will become. We do not need to fit in and just accept our flaws. What we appear to be is only a fraction of our beauty. Culture is what nurtures the different perceptions of beauty. And because of this, I think that beauty is not judged just by how you look on the outside, what on the inside counts too.

We are all equal. We should appreciate how we look. You do not need to be someone else to feel perfect because you already are. Just continue to be you because beauty is present inside and out.

And continue to love yourself no matter what happens because we are beautiful.

References:

Gillson, E. (2015) Just The Way You Are - Bruno Mars.[Web log post]. Retrieved from https://prezi.com/ugxqc8u9tdyl/just-the-way-you-are-bruno-mars/

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