Andrew Pugliese's Blog: Blog Response 5: Disney Songs

When evaluating the song of a villain from a Disney film, I look at a few key components to determine if the son song was a successful part of the movie. Above all else I compare the songs to other villain songs that I think to be good in other Disney movies. I enjoy Scar's song "Prepared" from the Lion King. I enjoy how the evil from his character is shown as he describes his diabolical plan. The environment also conveys a very malicious message. In the little Mermaid, Ursala's song, "Poor Unfortunate Soul," there are several things that also make this a classic Disney villain song. Her placement in the cave makers her seem even more evil as she twists and turns in the and darker and duller environment, There is also a lot of dialog in the song, it is slow and methodical. The tension continues to build and build as she fiddles around with potions and creatures of the cave. The explicit trickery also makes the audience almost want to stand up and yell at Ariel for making the deal with the devil. It is beyond obvious that Ursula is evil and the audience knows what will happen next but drawing out the scene through the slow moving song makes it more of an experience than a scene where the antagonist gains the upper hand. Similarly in The Princess and the Frog, there is a good amount of dialog in the song, slowly building to the climax towards the end of the scene. In this case the setting is in a creepy ally and instead of playing with a morbid cave, the villain uses card tricks and other spectacles to fool the protagonist. Again it is very obvious that the protagonist will be fooled but the result is not as important as the delivery. I believe that both of these villain songs are successful displays of the evil natures of both of the characters. When the scene ends it is very easy for a viewer to say, "Wow, that person (or octopus or lion) is definitely a bad guy." I am never looking for a subtle exchange of wits in my Disney movies. I want to be a kid and watch the bad guy be almost impossibly evil. These songs successfully go over the top in making evil a very cool thing. In all three aforementioned movies I like how there is a similar theme between the protagonists and antagonists. In all three films the protagonist is much younger and is taken advantage of by a smarter deceptive counterpart. These young heroes misplace their trust and end up being hurt by there elders. It is an interesting theme to have in children's movies because I have to wonder what the purpose of that is. Although I never was able to make the connection as a child I wonder how much that theme subconsciously stuck with me. Especially with the Lion King there is a familial tie between the good and the bad guy. Is Disney trying to tell kids that no adults should be trusted? And maybe more importantly maybe their parents can not be trusted. I do not think that this is Disney's intended message but the patterns can not be ignored. Maybe Disney has good reason to warn young children about the cruelty of the adult world. I cannot think of any child Disney villain that Disney has ever used. This probably because it is not plausible for a child to be so evil. When parents watch these movies there should be commentary and lessons that they learn too. Maybe they are not always right and maybe they should not be the bad guys all the time.

Rhetoric and Composition: ENG 015 007: Blog Response #11

When beginning my search I first started out using a google search. I used searches such as "illegal aliens in public schools" and "child immigration law." I came across several websites, most of which were blogs that I wanted to avoid but I found several good websites as well. The other search engine I used was the library's. This was more complex to use and I did not find any sources that I want to use at the moment but I will go back and continue searching in the opposing arguments section. http://www.oyez.org/cases/1980-1989/1981/1981_80_1538/ The first source is one that easily summarizes some of history of my topic. There was a U.S. Supreme Court Case that has dealt with this issue. The case Plyler v. Doe came before the Supreme Court dealing with a Texas state law that wanted to ban illegal immigrants from public schools. The court ruled against this law in a 5-4 vote. I believe I will use this as a counter source because it goes against my persuasion. http://www.cairco.org/edu/eduacation/html This is the website for an organization that wants to reform laws regarding illegal children in schools. This website provides a lot of statistics and backs their claims with them. I will use this source in support of my argument because they make fundamentally sound points that I agree with. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2547004 This article analyzes Proposition 187 in California which was voted on in 1994. Proposition 187 called to verify the legal status of anyone seeking public education. Voters voted in favor of prop 187 because of the economic burden it could take off of tax payers. This is a fundamental point in my persuasion of my audience.

Rhetoric and Composition: ENG 015 007: Blog Response #10

When I write, I like to speak directly at the reader. I do not necessarily hide that, whatever my message is, is written to a large group of people. I want the reader to feel as though he/she and I are simply having a conversation. I try to use words and phrases that I would use as if I am speaking rather than writing. Many writers write and talk in very different ways but I want attempt to close the gap and make the language more realistic. My narrative essay was a great place for me to exercise this technique because talking directly through the reader is necessary. I used phrases such as "For those of you who do not know..." This is something that would most likely be heard, not read. I believe my writing also has an interesting informal quality to it which is directly related to how I make it as though I am talking. Usually when I am speaking it is not the most formal occasion in the world so I do not see why I should change that in my writing for most occasions. I prefer to read an informal text. It lets me relax as I am reading. When I am reading formal writing, I immediately begin to question what the purpose of that is and I am less likely to trust the words on the page. An example of my informal language can be found in my evaluation essay. "The formula of the movie however is straight out of the 1980's textbook. We start with the dorky kid and the smoking hot babe. Oh and of course the dork has an equally dorky friend." Use of words like "Oh" and the phrase "straight out of," is something that you would tend to hear in an informal conversation. I like to incorporate that into my writing so the reader can relate to the text and not be turned off by an unnatural way of conveying the same point.

Rhetoric and Composition: ENG 015 007: Blog Response #9

College Football Playoff Plan: Author Dan Wetzel
There are simply too many qualified teams to have one game for the national championship. There is a lack of excitement at the end of a great football seasons. The bowl game match ups are sometimes interesting but still are not backed by meaning. Smaller teams like TCU never get a chance to prove themselves against the established great programs. Even the majority of the players want a playoff.

Pros, cons of a college football playoff:
Having a playoff is a more fair way of deciding a national champion. Having a playoff system would generate a lot more money than the current bowl system does. Cons include that the playoff system would possibly take away from an exciting regular season. The playoffs would be around the weeks leading up to and including finals, taking academic time away from the athletes. Also the bowl system spreads the wealth more with so many teams getting a chance to have a successful postseason.

BCS Flaws: By Alex Groberman
Looking to the NCAA basketball system exposes the flaws of the BCS. Football creates no electricity for its postseason. Even though defenders of the BCS state that the current system makes every game count, there is more emphasis on particular games. People will still care about the regular season because there are such few games, giving each one meaning. A playoff system will end the controversy once and for all.

Many of the articles I am looking at are providing similar views with minor differences in talking points. Most of the articles strongly support changing to some type of playoff system. It is much harder to search for articles that support the current system. Most of these articles do not talk much about what the actual new system would look like. The points made are more about just why a change should be made.

Rhetoric and Composition: ENG 015 007: Blog Response #7

Unfortunately I was sick this entire weekend and could not experience State Patty's Day up close and personal. My evaluation is based on things that I have heard from friends and I guess some assumptions that I am making. First of all, walking back from my last class Friday evening, I remember seeing a line of cars looking for parking at every parking deck on campus. I was definitely surprised by the non student turnout. It was hard to tell if these people were friends of students from different schools or if they were alumni. The sight of so many people walking around East Halls asking for directions to different dorms disturbed me. Get your own school is a thought that ran through my mind a lot on Friday night. As far as Saturday goes I was never downtown and could not see the action or any parties for myself. But from what I have heard and from seeing some pictures posted on facebook I could tell that there a lot of people out bright and early to get their drink on. I have no problem with people drinking and having a good time and I did not hear of and major incident where a fight broke out or someone going to the hospital. But I am not naive, I know that just because I did not hear of these things it does not mean they did not happen. With so many people participating it is hard to avoid the negatives of drinking and partying. I know that my good friends had a great State Patty's Day and therefore it is hard for me to give it a negative critique but my gut tells me that when I see this many people roaming the streets it is best to leave the alcohol out of the equation. Maybe I am just bitter because I did not get to share in the fun but I do not think that the volume of people is a good thing. I originally thought State Patty's Day would be a good thing as I thought it was made by Penn State students for Penn State students but I quickly learned that this is not the case. It is hard feel the school spirit if you yell out WE ARE... and more the half the people cannot respond.

Blog Response 5: Disney Songs

When evaluating the song of a villain from a Disney film, I look at a few key components to determine if the song was a successful part of the movie. Above all else I compare the songs to other villain songs that I think to be good in other Disney movies. I enjoy Scar's song "Prepared" from the Lion King. I enjoy how the evil from his character is shown as he describes diabolical things. The environment also conveys a very malicious message. In the Little Mermaid, Ursula's song, "Poor Unfortunate Soul," there are several things that also make this a classic Disney villain song. Her placement in the cave makes her seem even more evil as she twists and turns in the darker and duller environment. There is also a lot of dialog in the song, it is slow and methodical. The tension continues to build and build as she fiddles around with potions and creatures of the cave. The explicit trickery also makes the audience almost want to stand up and yell at Ariel for making the deal. It is beyond obvious that Ursula is evil and the audience knows what will happen next but drawing out the scene through the slow moving song makes it more of an experience than just a scene where the antagonist gains the upper hand. Similarly in The Princess and the Frog, there is a good amount of dialog in the song, slowly building to the climax towards the end of the scene. In this case the setting is in an alley and instead of playing with a morbid cave; the villain uses cards tricks and other spectacles to fool the good guy. Again it is very obvious that the protagonist will be fooled but the result is not as important as the delivery. I believe that both of these villain songs are successful displays of the evil natures of the characters. When the scene ends it is very easy for a viewer to say, "Wow, that person (or octopus) is definitely a bad guy." I am never looking for a subtle exchange of wits in my Disney movies. I want to be a kid and watch the bad guy be almost impossibly evil. These songs succesfully go over the top in making evil a very cool thing.

Rhetoric and Composition: ENG 015 007: Blog Response #4

Institution:
The action of instituting or establishing; setting on the foot or in operation; foundation; ordainment; the fact of being instituted.

http://spectator.org/archives/2010/06/15/against-gay-marriage

In this article, the author with conservative values discusses the reasons he thinks marriage should be reserved only for heterosexual couples. He believes that allowing homosexuals the right to marry would ruin the "institution of marriage." The author goes into the history of heterosexual marriage and how it is a unifying force between men and women who may otherwise oppose each other. The author uses the word institution to cover a huge amount of people. It is not tangible and technicaly it is possible for anyone join. He argues that it is divine insitution as well, as it is a union made before God.

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/17/educational-institutions-succeeding-despite-because-of-weak-economy/
In this article the author analyzes the success of colleges and universities as a business during the recession. She brings up the argument that schools are succeeding because of the bad economy. The author refers to colleges as higher education institutions.

I have to agree with the definition of the institution put forth in the second article. Colleges and universities are more tangible ideas. They have a location and serve a more explicit purpose. Marriage is more of a tradition than an institution. It is a social norm for many societies mainly because of what society or religion says is correct and functional. Since I consider marriage to be an invetion derived from societal values, I consider it to be available to anyone. Since I do not think there should be any exclusion I do not think it should be considered an institution. We would never say that being a human being is an institution. Colleges and universities are much more exclusive and serve direct purposes; to learn more and acquire specific skills. This fits the definition of institution much better.