Transcendentalism

Transcendentalism is an idea that encompasses various components. The main point of this idea is to have people be more self-reliant, just like the essay we read in class. Transcendentalism assumes the best in people and nature, but believes organized religious and political parties are to blame for the faults in the purity of life. This idea a goodness being in everyone is an idea with which I definitely agree. Everyone has skills to offer to this world; it just takes time to find these skills sometimes. The scorn for organized religious activity is an area in which I don't necessarily agree. Although many believe religious activity can restrict the actions of people, I believe it can inspire them just as much to achieve the greatest heights of their dreams. Although part of a group, people should learn to be self-sufficient, and not reliant on others. This idea of self-reliance is another key to Transcendentalism. The idea behind this is that the best societies stem from people who think independently and express their own ideas and beliefs. Democratic ideals develop from this platform, because it promotes the individual, just as democracy does. Our democracy today is very reliant on political parties, just as transcendentalists feared would continue. I definitely agree with the rationale behind not having opposing political parties, but it has become so pivotal to our modern day society that we couldn't just flip a switch and change it now. While the ideas of transcendentalists about political parties were ideal, it just would not work in today's society.
Transcendentalism represents a sort of philosophical revolution of the time. The ideas behind it represented progress, some of which we still find in the modern day. Although I don't fully support all of the ideas in this movement, I feel the new main ideas brought about definitely moved society forward. This idea of self-reliance and thinking on one's own can definitely be said to have influenced those in women's rights and the Civil Rights Movement. These people thought for themselves, and the result ultimately changed the course of history, just as Transcendentalism did.

The Great Gatsby Response

The soundtrack of The Great Gatsby plays a unique role in the film. Most movies have music that fit into the time period in which the movie takes place, but the Gatsby does not follow this idea. Instead of using music from the 1920's, when the film takes place, this movie uses all modern music. This is a bold move by the producers because the right song has to be picked to correctly suit the scene. This is where the producers succeed greatly in this movie. To get an idea of the music, the soundtrack song names go as follows: "100$ Bill", "Back to Black", "Young and Beautiful", "Love is Blindness", "Crazy in Love", "Bang Bang", "I Like Large Parties", "A Little Party Never Killed Nobody", "Love is the Drug", "Can't Repeat the Past", "Hearts a Mess", "Where the Wind Blows", "Green Light", "No Church in the Wild", "Over the Love", "Together", "Into the Past", "Kill and Run", and "Over the Love."
All one has to do is read The Great Gatsby to understand these songs connect well with the movie's ideas. Not only are these songs in the movie, but they are well-placed in the film. For example, when Nick attends Gatsby's party for the first time, the song "A Little Party Never Killed Nobody" plays as the party gets crazier and crazier. While a song as this would have never played at the time, it fits well into the movie, and it connects well with the modern audience more than anything. Another fine example arises later in the movie when the song "Into the Past" plays when Gatsby and Daisy are together. Obviously, this is symbolic of Gatsby's incentive to try and relive the past. Overall, the soundtrack plays a pivotal role in not only entertaining the audience, but also connecting to the story as well.

Bowling for Columbine

The Michael Moore film "Bowling for Columbine" showed various scenes from the past to bring awareness to a problem. Although this film was released in 2002, there is no doubt, that the issue he brought before us still applies. Over a decade after Moore attempted to bring awareness to the issue, the issue has only become worse.
The film focused on three major tragedies that had occurred before the movie. Columbine, Buelle, and the Oklahoma City tragedy were the three main events that Moore dealt with in the film. All of these events brought great attention from the media as these events proved to be the firsts in a line of many more to come. Moore attacked this issue early looking back at the string of events. After the three events he talked about, it would become more and more common. In the country today we have come to expect tragedies like these almost once a month, if not more often. In a sense I feel Moore was a little ahead of his time in terms of attacking this issue. I wonder how much more popular this movie would have been had it been released recently. I believe a majority of the people at the time of the movie release thought these were just fluke events that would not continue. This, unfortunately, is not the truth, as the tragedies have accumulated exponentially since the movie's release. I did admire what Moore did at the end of the movie by seeking out several kids from the Columbine incident and bringing them to the K-Mart headquarters. I think this might have been a symbol for the fact that if the people really felt like there needed to be change, that the people could do so.
I believe "Bowling for Columbine" was an informatory film with an obvious political pull. Although this pull might turn some people off, the issue Moore brings before people is an issue that truly needs to be resolved.