bredmond14's Blog

 

1. Product Placement: Reese’s Pieces on E.T.

2. Mission Impossible: Apple Commercial

3. Adam Sandler loves to integrate product placement into his movies. In Little Nicky, we see the titular character being introduced to Popeye’s Chicken for the first time by his friend/talking bulldog, Mr. Beefy, where Nicky declares it as “f***ing awesome!”. 

4. While Google technically didn’t make any money from the movie that is arguably a 2 hour commercial about Google, it did lend its support in the production, with even a cameo appearance by Sergey Brin himself.

5. The center of the story is Sandler’s character trying to get Al Pacino to shoot a commercial for Dunkin’ Donuts. Spoiler alert: he succeeded and there’s actually a Dunkin’ Donuts commercial at the end, though it was played for laughs.

6. ‘You’ve Got Mail’ is the popular (and trademarked) slogan for AOL back when it was the Internet for most Americans

7. Just take a look at the name, Mac and Me, where Mac is obviously referring to the Big Mac. Then there’s the five minute dance scene taking place in a McDonald’s birthday party complete with Ronald McDonald.

8. On the show American Idol the judges always have a cup of Coke on the table in front of each of them to advertise it

9. Nike shoes in “Back to the Future 2”

10. Product placement in Transformers is the Bud Light cans and the Beat Pill

  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_(rapper)

How much radio do you listen to?

Honestly, I listen to the radio almost everyday. Some days a lot more then others. When I am in my car I always turn on the radio and flip through the stations and see if anything good or new is on. After a while of listening to the radio or if there is nothing good on I will just plug my phone into my AUX cord and listen to Pandora, You Tube or Sound Cloud.

When do you listen?

I listen to the radio throughout the day when I am in my car, but just not for a really long time usually because I like the music on my phone better. I still enjoying listening to the radio some and keeping up with the new music.

What attracts you to a particular station?

The type of music and what the stations is playing. Also how much actual music is being played. Because I don’t like commercials at all.

How has your music taste changed over the years?

The older I get the more I like rap and country. Odd combination I know, but to be honest I enjoy a wide variety of music it just depends on my mood and what I am doing. When I was younger I listened to strictly Pop music, but now like I said I really like a variety of music.

What are the advantages and pitfalls of the media’s appetite for telling and selling stories?

When the media sells stories that are interesting to people this attracts peoples attention and they want to know what’s going on. Because it is actual information they care about hearing and knowing about. Some of the pitfalls in the media would be information and news that people don’t find interesting. Are world is so advanced and always trying to come up with bigger and better inventions/ideas that it takes a lot to keep peoples interest.

As we reach the point where almost all media exist on the Internet in some form, how have our culture and daily lives been affected? Overall the media is changing everyday some for the good and some for the bad. The media is always trying to figure out the best ways to keep people entertained and engaged in what is happening in the world around us each and everyday. We as a culture have became so wrapped up and consumed with the media that we rely so much on it. Cell phones and the internet are two huge things that people could not live without. Majority of people don’t bother to watch the news on TV anymore, or turn on the radio, or even communicate verbally. It is really sad to say, but majority of communicating is through cell phones, texting, internet, etc. I feel like as a culture we have lost touch with how to verbally communicate with each other because we rely so much on cell phones and media.

Do you feel Anchorman is a comedy or does it more closely reflect in the shift in what and how viewers/readers want information?

I feel like Anchorman is a combination of comedy and documentary. It also is a reflection of how viewers and readers want information. What I mean by this is its very funny and entertaining, but also shows a good representation of how news casters had to present information to the public at the time. Its a good mix for a movie because you are getting comedy and a documentary.

Brookelyn Redmond

Eng 231

Professor Lucas

4 December 2014

A Critical Reflection on a Graphic Adaptation of “Barbie-Q” written by Sandra Cisneros

            In life people who barely get by seem to appreciate the smaller things in life, then people who are well off. The young ladies in Barbie-Q seems so innocent and thankful for everything she had. My parents always taught my sister and me to be grateful for the things we received as gifts, no matter how small. I am drawn to this little girl because she doesn’t need the nicest and newest things to make her happy. The dolls that the young ladies so badly wanted, had been damaged in a warehouse fire, but it made no difference to them.

In my drawing, I wanted to show these two girls and their excitement going table to table at the Maxwell Street Flea Market. I did not choose a close up because I wanted to show how happy they were going to each table and not knowing what was going to be there. I drew them skipping hand in hand to show the wonderful surprise they found that Sunday on Maxwell Street.

Sandra Cisneros learned at a very young age that she would not be able to have everything, due to her growing up poor in the ghettos of Chicago. Cisneros having six brothers, there most likely was not a lot of extra money for things that were not necessary. After reading the story, I could feel the young ladies’ excitement as they skipped up Market Street, among men shopping for tools, looking for the most important thing in their life, barbie dolls. In my drawing, I wrote “over there” in a speech bubble showing there excitement and surprise that there were dolls lying on the street next to tool bits, platform shoes, aluminum foil, wiper blades, and a coffee can full of rusty nails (184). The warehouse fire was obviously a tragic event for someone because of the damage to their property, but that very same damaged property made for the most exciting day in these young girls lives. The girls’ helped me remember my childhood innocence and to be thankful for all that I have been given in life.

Work Citied

Sandra Cisneros. ”Barbie-Q.” The Story and Its Writer. Compact 9^th Ed. Ann Charters. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s, 2015. 183-184.

Brookelyn Redmond

ENG 231

Professor Lucas

23 October 2014

Comparative Analysis between, “Black Man and White Women in Dark Green Rowboat,”, and “The Hills like White Elephants”

The story “Black Man and White Women in Dark Green Rowboat,” written by Russell Banks, is about a struggling interracial relationship. In this story the white women is very controlling in every part of their relationship. I think the women is very annoying and frustrating because she is all about herself and doesn’t value or care about the black man’s opinion.  The black man would like to express his thoughts of what they should do in their situation, the girl will not even give him a chance to say what he feels. After the black man realizes just how self-centered this girl is, he decides to leave her and move on with his life. In the short story written by Ernest P. Hemingway, “The Hills like White Elephants”, it is also between a man and a woman in a bar with a bartender who only speaks Spanish. They are discussing a “procedure” known as abortion that is only recognized when you understand Ernest P. Hemingway’s iceberg theory. “Iceberg theory or theory of omission is when you can describe one thing in a different way such as using pruning a language and avoiding a waste of motion or intensifying the meaning what you are trying to say”. While they were waiting for the train in Barcelona they decide to have a few drinks to pass the time. The disagreement of abortion continues between the man and women until he gives up and just agrees with the woman to stop the argument between them. Finally he gets up and takes the luggage to board the train and the conversation ends. Both short stories require an understanding of the author’s analysis of both a man and woman.

“Black Man and White Woman in Dark Green Rowboat” by Russell Banks has a few similarities with “The Hills like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway. Each short story has a male and female that have love for each other and a topic that relates around sex. Both relationships in the short story were going through times of difficulty. The challenge is brought when the subject of abortion was presented in each story. While they both analyze each story to a brief extent it seems that Russell Banks uses for diction in his language the opening of Hemingway story talks about the valley of Ebro and the long White Mountains that are placed in front of the bar. The simplicity of Hemingway’s writing is a significant difference as a reader you notice when trying to better comprehend an author’s writing. An example of description was when he explained “the woman as her long, honey blond hair swung from side to side across her tanned shoulders as she walked down the lane to the beach”. This shows how descriptive Banks is in a short story compared to Hemingway.

In “Black Man and White Woman in Dark Green Rowboat” takes place with a man and a women in a green boat. One thing that caught my attention reading this was that the man’s race was a huge aspect. Reading through this story I realized that no other character was described by race.  While the man and women are talking in the green boat the women or the man never clarifies what’s going on in their relationship. The women quoted “I am putting on weight, I told mother”. I didn’t catch on at first what the context clue meant, but further on in the story I realized she was pregnant. Then the women quotes “I am going to do it mother is coming with me”. In my opinion the fact that she said she wanted to “do it” means she wants to set up an appointment to get an abortion. The woman never asks the opinion of the man and does not seem to care what he says. This is one part of his works that I do not agree with at all. I feel like he deserves to tell her his opinion and she should respect him enough to tell let him tell her what he thinks. Because even though she is the one pregnant it is still apart of him and he should have the right to tell her how he feels about the situation at hand. The woman shows how she does not care about his opinion as much as he thinks she should by the way she acts. I think that the man realizes that his opinion is not valued at all in this situation because he says that he wishes he could just leave her out on the island. This appears to be the only option that he has from stopping her on the planned destination. The man is in the position of being completely controlled by the woman in this particular situation. The story has wider suggestions than just the particular situation that is encountered by the man and the woman. The story assists as an example of the results of one dominance. Putting the two main characters in perspective you understand how each author feels one should dominate. While it is usually understood that men are dominant in society. These short stories show how sometimes man will show being inferior as a way of caring and value a woman’s dominance. The difference of dominance can be seen as a reason for an author on how he truly feels society should be addressed.

A person in a relationship has effects along with not being able to communicate their actual feelings. The dominant character aspect of the story has a connection to Hemingway’s “The Hills like White Elephants”. In Banks story the dominant person in the relationship is the woman whereas the American man is the dominant figure in Hemingway’s story. I think personally the most important thing in a relationship is communication and talking to each other about anything. Everyone has their own opinions on things and they should be able to express how they feel. When you are in a relationship you can’t be selfish like the woman was in “Black Man and White Woman in Dark Green Rowboat” because when you care and love someone enough you value and care about what they have to say. She was just all about what she wanted to do and didn’t care to know what the black man thought. This was big part of what I got out of that story and how important it is to listen to others opinions because you never know when you might learn something for yourself.

“The Hills like White Elephants” and “Black Man and White Woman in Dark Green Rowboat”, have many differences and only a few similarities. Comparing and contrasting these two stories as a reader you can see how these two Americans authors are different in many ways. With the differences presented such as description and diction they also have similarities. The two authors write short stories on a man and woman dealing with abortion and how they feel on the topic. This sexual topic is the main reason for why these two short stories are similar. American authors such as Banks and Hemingway use topics that may interest readers to understand their works. Comparing and contrasting these two works I was able to understand the differences that the two authors could have with a similar topic but also the similarities.

Banks, Russell, “Black Man and White Woman in Dark Green Rowboat”, The Story and Its Writers, Compact 9^th ed. Ann Charters. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2014. 62-67. Print.

Hemingway, Ernest, “Hills Like White Elephants”, The Story and Its Writers, Compact 9^th ed. Ann Charters. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2014. 416-419. Print.

“Iceberg Theroy.” Wikipedia.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.

Brookelyn Redmond

Professor Lucas

English 231

17, September 2014

Young Goodman Brown

The American novelist, Nathaniel Hawthorne, wrote the short story “Young Goodman Brown” for the reader to understand his works of mystery as well as suspense by using literary devices. Symbolism and Foreshadowing was a way Hawthorne could incorporate some aspects of outside thought in his stories for the reader to think. The short story is taken place in Salem Village, Massachusetts where Nathaniel Hawthorne grew up. Goodman Brown, the main character, grew up in a Christian family and married to young lady named Faith. In his recent endeavor he develops a mysterious curiosity to travel in the night leaving his wife of three months behind. Although Faith begged him not to leave he thought that it was only right to go away for this one night and he would return in the morning after this random errand. While traveling in the forest Goodman Brown meets an elderly who resembles himself. This starts the journey of Goodman Brown that he will soon not forget. Meeting multiple people and finding out many sinful things he is troubled when it comes to believing the truth. Unfortunately changed forever Brown soon comes to a realization that he sure enough would have not predicted.

The old man presented in “Young Goodman Brown” is shown as the devil in human form. Hawthorne emphasized that the devil can appear anyway he feels, similar to how anyone can sin. The author gives hints that Goodman Brown and the old man might be related such as father in son by how they have similar physical features. With Goodman being a good Christian boy, the old man is representation of Brown’s dark side.

“Young Goodman Brown” is written in third person omniscient, this is when the author brings multiple characters to life and talks in different characters point of views. When talking in omniscient, Hawthorne can interpret the events and thoughts of any character in the story. This helps the reader not just focus on one person throughout but understand how everyone feels. Hawthorne staying in third person omniscient does not put his opinion in the story and he is not involved. This is good point of view for the references of god that is used throughout the story because our peers can understand the comparisons to the bible which he illustrates in foreshadowing techniques.

Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbols to illustrate suspense and mystery in his short story “Young Goodman Brown”. The staff in this short story symbolizes the fruit of temptation that was on the forbidden tree when referring to Eve. With Goodman Brown being curious it was a way of the author incorporating a biblical story in his works. Brown’s curiosity of traveling that night and acquiring the staff in the forest was another way for us as a reader to understand how Adam and Even were tempted by what God said not to do. Faith, Browns wife begged him not to travel into the night and he did it anyway regardless of her opinion.

Faith’s Pink Ribbon represents her innocence shown to Goodman Brown while they are married. When Faith is wearing the ribbons is a cover up to how she truly acts. The ribbons symbolizes her sinful acts of what the devil has corrupted her with. When he notices later on in the short story that her pink ribbon is falling from the sky he finally understands that the devil has conceived her as well. He later sees her and the townspeople the next morning and is unaware if what he experienced last night was a dream or if it was real.

The American novelist wrote “Young Goodman Brown” as a short story to use mystery and suspense in ways of symbolism and foreshadow. Literary devices such as these helped him create his story about a young Christian boy experiencing a nature walk at night. This short story leaves us with a question we have to ask ourselves which is. “Did this really happen?” Goodman Brown does not know if it’s true so should we think it is or go on to believe it is a fantasy that he dreamed. Understanding the whole story for what is meant for makes the reader not only think what could happen next, but also think into the future of how Goodman Brown will see the rest of the town now. Regardless if it was true or not Brown is left with an understanding of sin that he once did not face before he walked into the forest. Nathaniel Hawthorne a magnificent author writes in dark romanticism as a way to express evil and sin which our both two aspects of life he appreciates.
Charters, Ann. The Story and Its Writer. Ninth ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2015.