Humanity is narcissistic. We all seem to have an obsession with our own endeavors and achievements as human beings. A great example is the thousands of tourists that each year flock to places like the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Great Wall of China, or even more modern icons like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Even the cities that we build over generations have come to be revered as magnificent feats of the human race.
Okay, let me back up a little bit. What got me thinking about this topic in the first place was a recent article on National Geographic (read it here), which was about how tourists are flocking to Pripyat, a city located in Ukraine. For any of you that do not know, this city was located very close to the Chernobyl power plant that suffered a catastrophic nuclear accident in 1986. Due to this, Pripyat was evacuated and subsequently became a ghost town, where no one returned due to the lingering radiation in the area. But now, apparently, tourists are starting to trickle back into this town.
So, I got wondering why this was happening. Why exactly do so many people have a hankering to go see a town that was destroyed by a terrible disaster? I think that it is directly related to what I was talking about in the first paragraph of this post. Along with our utter fascination of human glory and achievement, we are as equally, if not more fascinated by the downfall of humanity as well. Ghost towns, disaster zones, and other similar locations are becoming tourist destinations because we can't seem to bring ourselves to look away. Anyway, let me know what you think about all of this in the comment section.
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Saturday, September 13, 2014
What Makes A Great Movie?
What element can move a film beyond the point of being simply good and bring it to the point of amazing? There are obviously a ton of elements that help to make a good movie, such as the acting, special effects, story line, and even just the overall organization of the movie. But I really think that for me, the music plays an especially huge role in launching a movie to another level.
The music is what sets the mood for each and every scene within a movie; suspense, action, emotional moments, everything. When you think about it, a movie with no soundtrack would be void of most of the emotions that come along with watching a movie.
I'll give you some examples: the first is the 2013 science fiction movie Oblivion, starring Tom Cruise. As a movie in general, it's pretty good but in my opinion nothing out of the ordinary. It's the visual effects and, for me, the music especially that really make this film great. If you want a great example of how music can influence a movie, give Oblivion a watch sometime soon.
A second example of the influence that music has on a movie can be heard in virtually every horror/suspense thriller ever made. Just think about how the music always begins softly and builds in intensity as the climax of a scene is about to occur. It's this precise manipulation of sound that makes us as viewers jump out of our seats when something unexpected or scary happens on-screen.
Yet another example is in the form of movie trailers. In order to market a movie well and make it appeal to people, trailers always feature an epic song that accompanies the best scenes taken from the film. In many cases, I've found that the trailer for a movie is actually a lot better than the film itself. Take this trailer for the 2014 film Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, posted below. I've seen this movie, and it wasn't half bad, however the trailer builds it up to be an epic masterpiece. This is done by using the song I'd Love To Change The World by Jetta that, combined with the clips taken from the film, creates a certain epic intensity that forces you to become sucked into what's happening on screen. Just think how you would respond to this trailer if it didn't have music. It would probably be pretty boring, right? Anyway, take a look and see what I mean:
This all being said, music clearly plays an incredibly massive role in making a movie great, and also in marketing it to viewers. I don't at all want to demote the other facets of a film, because in a way they are just as important as the music. But I think that the soundtrack to a film is what puts the life, soul and emotion into a motion picture. Anyway, these are my thoughts on music in movies. Let me know what you think in the comments.
The music is what sets the mood for each and every scene within a movie; suspense, action, emotional moments, everything. When you think about it, a movie with no soundtrack would be void of most of the emotions that come along with watching a movie.
I'll give you some examples: the first is the 2013 science fiction movie Oblivion, starring Tom Cruise. As a movie in general, it's pretty good but in my opinion nothing out of the ordinary. It's the visual effects and, for me, the music especially that really make this film great. If you want a great example of how music can influence a movie, give Oblivion a watch sometime soon.
A second example of the influence that music has on a movie can be heard in virtually every horror/suspense thriller ever made. Just think about how the music always begins softly and builds in intensity as the climax of a scene is about to occur. It's this precise manipulation of sound that makes us as viewers jump out of our seats when something unexpected or scary happens on-screen.
Yet another example is in the form of movie trailers. In order to market a movie well and make it appeal to people, trailers always feature an epic song that accompanies the best scenes taken from the film. In many cases, I've found that the trailer for a movie is actually a lot better than the film itself. Take this trailer for the 2014 film Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, posted below. I've seen this movie, and it wasn't half bad, however the trailer builds it up to be an epic masterpiece. This is done by using the song I'd Love To Change The World by Jetta that, combined with the clips taken from the film, creates a certain epic intensity that forces you to become sucked into what's happening on screen. Just think how you would respond to this trailer if it didn't have music. It would probably be pretty boring, right? Anyway, take a look and see what I mean:
This all being said, music clearly plays an incredibly massive role in making a movie great, and also in marketing it to viewers. I don't at all want to demote the other facets of a film, because in a way they are just as important as the music. But I think that the soundtrack to a film is what puts the life, soul and emotion into a motion picture. Anyway, these are my thoughts on music in movies. Let me know what you think in the comments.
Monday, August 4, 2014
A Multitude Of Words
We live in a world of words. There are thousands of different languages on this planet, and every single living creature has some way of communication between each other. So it's pretty obvious to say that learning a new language is an extremely daunting task!
My native language is English, and I can both speak and write in English with ease. I think we all have at least one language that we could consider ourselves fairly proficient in, and it's typically the one that we grew up speaking with our family members. Recently ("recently" being the last 6 months or so) I have been taking Spanish classes and using Duolingo to enhance my Spanish skills, as I have always wanted to learn a second language. As of right now, I feel like I'm doing alright, and I am certainly learning so much each and every day.
However, there are those occasional moments that I think anyone who has ever attempted to learn a new language can attest to, where I feel completely overwhelmed with the sheer amount of words that there are! For example, I can be learning a list of vocabulary words for Spanish that are all different food-related words, and I will feel really good about what I just learned. Then, I will go on to the next activity, and there will be a whole new set of words that I need to memorize and learn that cover a completely new topic.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that learning a new language has certainly opened my eyes up to just how many words are out there in the world! You just don't realize it speaking your native language that you're proficient in, but when you are forced to confront a new language, I feel like you can gain a true appreciation for language in general. Anyway, let me know what your thoughts are on this topic in the comments. I'd love to read them!
My native language is English, and I can both speak and write in English with ease. I think we all have at least one language that we could consider ourselves fairly proficient in, and it's typically the one that we grew up speaking with our family members. Recently ("recently" being the last 6 months or so) I have been taking Spanish classes and using Duolingo to enhance my Spanish skills, as I have always wanted to learn a second language. As of right now, I feel like I'm doing alright, and I am certainly learning so much each and every day.
However, there are those occasional moments that I think anyone who has ever attempted to learn a new language can attest to, where I feel completely overwhelmed with the sheer amount of words that there are! For example, I can be learning a list of vocabulary words for Spanish that are all different food-related words, and I will feel really good about what I just learned. Then, I will go on to the next activity, and there will be a whole new set of words that I need to memorize and learn that cover a completely new topic.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that learning a new language has certainly opened my eyes up to just how many words are out there in the world! You just don't realize it speaking your native language that you're proficient in, but when you are forced to confront a new language, I feel like you can gain a true appreciation for language in general. Anyway, let me know what your thoughts are on this topic in the comments. I'd love to read them!
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Going Past The Boundaries Of Genres
So many times, people will ask me "what kind of music do you listen to?" or perhaps "what kinds of books are your favorite?" And every time I get asked these questions, I find it very difficult to answer them.
You see, I am one of those people that just likes what I like; there is absolutely no rhyme or reason to it at all. In terms of music, I can quite literally be listening to a rock song with heavy metal elements in it one minute, and listening to a relatively quiet and melodic tune the next. I am also this way with books and films. For me, what makes a good book or movie all depends on the interest and complexity of the plot, how the characters interact with each other (and how well the actors do in the case of a movie), and many, many other factors come into play as well.
The bottom line is that the genre of a song, book or movie is not what makes me like it or dislike it. It has to not only hold my interest, but has to make me feel something as well. So, I guess if this short little blog post has any purpose, it's this: don't let the genre of something hold you back from having a new experience. Maybe you purposely have not given a new band a listen to because they are of a certain genre that you typically hate. Or maybe that new book you got for a birthday gift is sitting on your bookshelf right now, collecting dust because you think you hate science fiction books. But why not give something new a try, and put its genre aside? Maybe you'll hate it, but you'll never know until you try! I know that some of the best music I've listened to, books I've read and movies I've seen have come out of me simply being adventurous with wandering outside the lines of the genre's that I thought I liked best.
You see, I am one of those people that just likes what I like; there is absolutely no rhyme or reason to it at all. In terms of music, I can quite literally be listening to a rock song with heavy metal elements in it one minute, and listening to a relatively quiet and melodic tune the next. I am also this way with books and films. For me, what makes a good book or movie all depends on the interest and complexity of the plot, how the characters interact with each other (and how well the actors do in the case of a movie), and many, many other factors come into play as well.
The bottom line is that the genre of a song, book or movie is not what makes me like it or dislike it. It has to not only hold my interest, but has to make me feel something as well. So, I guess if this short little blog post has any purpose, it's this: don't let the genre of something hold you back from having a new experience. Maybe you purposely have not given a new band a listen to because they are of a certain genre that you typically hate. Or maybe that new book you got for a birthday gift is sitting on your bookshelf right now, collecting dust because you think you hate science fiction books. But why not give something new a try, and put its genre aside? Maybe you'll hate it, but you'll never know until you try! I know that some of the best music I've listened to, books I've read and movies I've seen have come out of me simply being adventurous with wandering outside the lines of the genre's that I thought I liked best.
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Book Review: Reality Check
This past week I read the suspenseful young adult novel Reality Check, written by Peter Abrahams. I mainly decided to read this book simply because I love the Echo Falls mystery series, which is also written by Abrahams. So I figured, why not give Reality Check a try?
First, let me give you all a brief overview of the plot of this book, without giving away any spoilers of course. The protagonist of the story, Cody, lives in small-town Colorado, plays football, and has a girlfriend by the name of Clea. His girlfriend ends up getting sent to a private academy in Vermont, and around the same time Cody suffers a football injury and can no longer play. After realizing that his girlfriend Clea has gone missing in Vermont, he drives there in order to search for her himself. Once in Vermont, he realizes that there is much more than meets the eye to Clea's disappearance.
Overall, I thought that this book was pretty solid. The first 100 pages or so I found to be a bit slow, and it took the main plot of the book awhile to get underway. However, the pace quickened significantly once Cody reaches Vermont and begins to look for Clea. In terms of the mystery part of this book and trying to figure out who did what, I expected early on in my reading who would turn out bad, so to speak. In other words, there were really no surprises for me at the climax of the plot. However, I still really enjoyed this book and was thoroughly entertained by it.
In conclusion, I would not say that this is a must-read page turner of a book, but I would most likely recommend it if you have the time and are a big mystery/thriller/suspense junkie like myself.
Author: Peter Abrahams
Genre: YA Mystery/Thriller
First, let me give you all a brief overview of the plot of this book, without giving away any spoilers of course. The protagonist of the story, Cody, lives in small-town Colorado, plays football, and has a girlfriend by the name of Clea. His girlfriend ends up getting sent to a private academy in Vermont, and around the same time Cody suffers a football injury and can no longer play. After realizing that his girlfriend Clea has gone missing in Vermont, he drives there in order to search for her himself. Once in Vermont, he realizes that there is much more than meets the eye to Clea's disappearance.
Overall, I thought that this book was pretty solid. The first 100 pages or so I found to be a bit slow, and it took the main plot of the book awhile to get underway. However, the pace quickened significantly once Cody reaches Vermont and begins to look for Clea. In terms of the mystery part of this book and trying to figure out who did what, I expected early on in my reading who would turn out bad, so to speak. In other words, there were really no surprises for me at the climax of the plot. However, I still really enjoyed this book and was thoroughly entertained by it.
In conclusion, I would not say that this is a must-read page turner of a book, but I would most likely recommend it if you have the time and are a big mystery/thriller/suspense junkie like myself.
Author: Peter Abrahams
Genre: YA Mystery/Thriller
Pages: 330
Year Published: 2009
My Rating: ★★★☆☆
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