Many look to films such as The Breakfast Club and Back to the Future as representations of the 1980s; although both excelled at defining specific attributes, they lacked the ability to effectively portray the average day-to-day suburban life that many experienced during the decade. Directed by Savage Steve Holland, Better Off Dead is a dark romantic comedy about a high school student, Lane Myer, who becomes suicidal after his girlfriend dumps him just before Christmas. Played by John Cusack, the young man “can’t even commit suicide right, and soon finds his life getting even more complicated” as the movie progresses (Rotten Tomatoes). The characters he meets during his journey to self-mutilation make up a diverse cast that merges together …show more content…
Beyond the main character’s failed attempts to end his life, the film creates characters who would initially be shoe-ins for a romantic comedy and twists them in ingenious ways. Lane Myer’s best friend, Charles de Mar, fills an expected role of aiding Myer as he attempts to gain back the love of his girlfriend; yet, he is often seeing inhaling things such as Jell-O and snow instead of real drugs. He is also noticeably older, and in one of the movie’s best one-liners he states “I’ve been going to this high school for seven and a half years. I’m no dummy. I know high school girls” (IMDb). This strange character still succeeds at helping Myer (as much as he can), yet fails to fall into the usual ‘best friend’ role. Characters like this are what separates this from many similar movies of the time, likeable people that contribute to the plot and are almost individual parodies of common character archetypes. The film is fantastic at even rejecting reality in some instances, including scenes where poorly-made Jell-O moves on its own and the previously-mentioned psychotic paperboy. Similar to Blazing Saddles which was mentioned in These Amazing Shadows, the movie poignantly makes fun of the genre it fits in while still being a solid member of said
The Killer Angels is a historical novel that recounts the battle of the Civil War, specifically focusing on the Battle of Gettysburg. Set from June 29 to July 3, 1863 and told from the point of view of several soldiers and commanding officers from both sides, Michael Shaara effectively illustrates the sentiments behind the war that tore America in two, from the strategic battle plans to the emotional hardships endured by all.
The novel The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara depicts the story behind one of the bloodiest, and highly significant, battles of the American Civil War, the battle of Gettysburg. The battle consisted of 51,000-casualties between the Union and Confederate army forces. Mainly focused on letters, journal entries, and memoirs, Shaara tells the story of Gettysburg by using characters from both sides of the war. The characters chosen grasp the divergent views regarding the impending days of the war, and countless numbers of those views develop throughout the novel. Such views come from the Confederates own General Lee and General Longstreet, and the Unions own Colonel Chamberlain and soldiers from both sides. From those depicted
Addie is actually the perfect character to try and describe the lack or void of words and meanings. The very fact that she is dead and is talking about this void from the dead is important. In a way she is speaking from a void between life and death. Morna Flaum expresses this idea in her article, “Elucidating Addie Bundren in As I Lay Dying.” “Her condition of deadness, speaking from the void between is and not-is makes her the perfect vehicle for Faulkner to describe the indescribable, approach the unapproachable, express the inexpressible, as he so gracefully does, does-not. The placement of Addie’s chapter in the middle of her long journey from deathbed to grave is also significant.” Flaum goes on to say that this placement of Addie’s chapter
“Just survive,” Greg explained, on how he’s planning on getting through senior year. You could say Rachel and Earl sort of have the same views. However, Rachel becomes much more persistent on having Greg go to college because she may not have the opportunity. Greg and Earl seem to compliment each other also. They’re both awkward and interested in the same things. What I find distasteful about this movie is the American high school stereotype. The clique excerpts in the lunchroom were much too exaggerated, especially the goths. While it may have been funny, it was unnecessary to include. I did end up liking more features of this film than
Christian and Muslim responses to the Black Death were vastly different. Christians believed that the Black Death was a punishment from God, while the Muslims believed Black Death was a blessing. Although vastly different there were some similarities, both believed it came from God, both believe that it was caused or carried by the wind and a prevention was to build fires and fumigate. The similarities did not compare to the contrast of these two religious group’s reactions to the Black Death.
The main protagonist of the film, Scotty Smalls, is introduced as a straight-A, friendless young boy who has just moved into a new neighborhood in new state. While
The production focuses on a set of teenagers who are friends with Allison, who surreptitiously convinces her friends to share their secrets, thus developing her loyalty to them. Once Allison disappeared, she left a mystery of who was responsible for her disappearance, dragging her friends into her dark secrets. Her body is later found, and the girls, who drifted apart after Allison went missing, start to reconnect, but their troubles are only beginning. After the funeral, all four of the girls receive messages from a stoker who calls himself or herself 'A'. ‘A' exposes many of the girl's dark secrets that only Allison knew of, leading the girls to wonder if Allison might be alive after all. ‘A' causes trouble for the girls and intervenes in their life, threatening not only their lives, but also the lives of those around them. On the road to discovering who ‘A' is, the girls come across numerous clues that incriminate people that they trust and love. Many citizens of the town seem involved in the mystery of their friend's death, making the entire town seem like a place of danger and discomfort.
Night of the Living Dead is an iconic horror movie released in 1968 in America. The movie was directed by George Romero and premiered on October 1st of the same year. The movie follows the characters of Barbra and Ben and five other characters trapped in a rustic farmhouse in a rural town in Pennsylvania. The farmhouse is attacked by a large group of non-living human beings which are not named. They have characterized features of a monster and of a corpse. In the onset of the film, the main character Barbra and her brother Johnny drive to a town in Pennsylvania for a customary visit to the father’s grave. When in the cemetery, Barbra and Johnny encounter a peculiar looking man who had been walking around the cemetery. Fear overcomes Barbara as the deranged man walks towards her and proceeds to aggressively attack her. While trying to rescue his sister, Johnny is thrown into a gravestone and succumbs to his demise. After this occurrence, Barbra decides to escape in a car which gets involved in a mishap. This forces her to escape on foot and subsequently leads her to a farmhouse. Later, the news reports to the
ScreenPrism. "ScreenPrism." Why Did "Night of the Living Dead" Spark Controversy after Its Release. Web. 19 Sept. 2017.
Mack, the leader of a reckless and erratic gang, through collaboration, brings the boys together into a sense of friendship and community; in The Bean Trees, Kingsolver's strong willed, group of women, develop into a similar relationship. Throughout Cannery Row, the group’s individual responsibilities, for example, Eddie’s part-time job, Gay’s “magic” in mechanics, and Mack’s innovative personality, helps them survive by the help of one another, and adds success to their ambitions, like giving Doc a party. They independently work toward one goal, but in unison. The devotion, as well as teamwork to “give him (Doc) one hell of a party,” becomes the numbe...
I believe this movie does a good job incorporating what we have discussed in class in terms of adolescent development. Although the movie is greatly exaggerated and blown up, the movie does emphasize on key factors to the development of an adolescent. Aside from the self-identity and friendship, the film incorporates parental relationships, academics, teacher-student relationships, risky behaviors, and moral development during adolescent
Chapter 10 of Laurie Kaye Abraham’s Mama Might Be Better Off Dead mainly discusses the spread of preventable illnesses and the possible reasons poor areas have low immunization rates. Child immunization clinics fail to reach poor children because they are overburdened with patients, leading to long wait times. These clinics often require doctors to give a complete physical before giving shots and do not track children’s immunization records. Little effort goes into case management, which could assist in ensuring that vulnerable populations come in for preventative care. The author condemns Medicaid as a culprit for these other factors since states curtail expenses by creating barriers for poor families that would benefit from its programs. The argument about the majority of Medicaid spending going to nursing-home care versus to care for poor children and women is compelling and upsetting. How could a program designed primarily for the protection of poor children and mothers neglect to provide families with preventative care?
In every culture, women are treated differently, sometimes it could be in a good way or bad way. The book The Chronicles of a Death Foretold by, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, takes place in Sucre, Colombia, in Latin America where women are treated differently from men and children. They have to do tasks that are unexplainable. Here in this society women are expected to know how to cook, clean, and do chores. They must uphold traditions to attract their husbands. Their sole responsibility is to the house and their marriage eligibility depends on these abilities. Also women are expected to suffer in marriage and have kids.. “Any man will be happy with them because they have been raised to suffer” (Marquez 31). Proving that women are taught to be at certain standards, they would never be able to have a happy one
People view the statement “God is dead” as an aesthetic statement. They do not journey into the underlying or more obvious meanings of the quote. Even though Fredrick Nietzsche may have been an atheist, I do not believe he meant “God is dead” in a literal or aesthetic way. Nietzsche was pointing out that in society the cultural expansion of other religions and introduction of nihilism have changed Western society morally.
The novella Death in Venice by Thomas Mann describes the journey of an older German writer, Gustav Aschenbach, who comes to Venice on vacation and falls deliriously in love with a young boy. This love, and the obsession it culminates in lead to the demise of the writer. Mann’s story seems to be about an ill-fated love but in truth it tells a tale of a man who goes from total control of his life and his being to an irrational creature who is controlled by wild emotions that he will eventually succumb to. Such a story line perfectly illustrates the differences between the two Greek gods of art and how people can fall under the influence of each. Both Apollo and Dyonisis are gods of creativity and art in the Greek world yet they have such different