Storytelling

Penelope Chambers

Ms. Jacobs

Reading 101-100

04/24/2018

https://youtu.be/QuX104MeuwE

Final Fantasy VII Advent Children

       These days technology has become a distraction for many people, and movies are used to help people mentally escape from their own reality. The movie Final Fantasy VII Advent Children first debuted September 14, 2005, and was directed by Tetsuya Nomura. This animation is an action thriller, that has some science fiction added to it. It's a continuation of a video game titled Final Fantasy VII, that was internationally released October 2 1997, and the movie is set two years after the ending of the game, (http://www.jp.square-enix.com/archive/ff7_inter/). 

       
       In short, this story is about a protagonist named Cloud, along with his group of friends, who try their best to save the world from chaos. The antagonist of the story is Sephiroth, along with his followers known as remnants. Sephiroth was defeated at the end of Final Fantasy VII, but even in his death he still managed to cause a widespread plague of sorts, which was derived from his predecessor's cells. These cells would attack the immune systems of children, as their already weakened immune systems made them more susceptible for contracting the disease known as Geostigma. Cloud himself contracts the disease, which causes him pain when he tries to fight. After one of Sephiroths remnants collects a metal box containing Jenova cells, he then infuses himself with them in order to bring back the antagonist through reincarnation. Cloud fights against him alone, and without help. At the end Cloud inevitably wins, and Sephiroth goes back to the lifestream.   

       
       In the opening scene of the trailer uses all "Five Elements of a Riveting First Line," as the setting is two years after the game, the music creates a sad tone, as the protagonist's character is shown standing in a body of water holding the body of a girl, the narrator continues to speak in a sad, and omniscient manner, (Weiland 341).  It's understood to people who played the game, that the girl at the beginning was murdered by the antagonist. Midway through the trailer the viewers are shown action scenes, and at the end it asks questions that the viewers might ponder to themselves. That shows that conflict is heavily incorporated in this film, and like Weiland stated, "No conflict, no story,"(Weiland 339). The first scene was a great hook, because it's already showing a death scene of a beloved character. During the beginning of the trailer, there are many new ideas being placed in the viewers head by the narrator giving new terminology that was not in Final Fantasy VII. That made the audience question what was to come as they watched the movie for the first time. 

Behrens, Laurence, and Leonard J. Rosen. Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. 13th, ed., Pearson, 2016

Happiness Blog Post 3

Penelope Chambers

Ms. Jacobs

Reading 101-100

04/06/2018

Happiness Is A Delusion

   

     

     A lot of people think that you're either born happy, or you are not. Adam Phillips stated that "Anyone who could maintain a state of happiness, given the state of the world, is living in a delusion." I'd agree with his statement, as a lot of us living in todays society do try our best to ignore the issues going on in order to maintain a sense of mental disconnect from reality. There are moments of what we consider to be happiness, when we are feeling positive. 

    It's hard to avoid all the corruption in our government, companies, even our healthcare systems. Then you think about all the natural disasters that occur, tornados, hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, so with all those we live in constant danger. Mother nature, and even the people that live here on earth pose a threat to life.  If your life is threatened constantly, it's difficult to maintain positive feelings. People who are happy, have chosen to ignore the dangers that could threaten their happy lives. Even if someone insures all their belongings, there are some things that you can't insure. When I was a little girl, our house burned down, but we were happy to be alive, yet were upset over the loss of irreplaceable objects from our family such as baby photos.

     Although people consider their positive emotions as happiness, it's only temporary. "The first route to greater happiness is hedonic, increasing positive emotion." (Seligman 2002) As long as you can place all of the horrors that go on in the world today out of your mind, you can become a more positive person. A lot of people, especially the younger generation, have chosen to not watch the news in order to avoid hearing about all the tragic events that occur on a daily basis. 

     How can anyone be happy when we live in a capitalist world that is ran by money? Even those who have a considerable amount of money struggle to stay happy, but it's easier for them to remain positive when they do have more financial security. Materialism has taken over a lot of our minds to equate to our positive feelings. Mae West once said, "I've been rich, and I've been poor; believe me, rich is better." Money can affect the amount of happiness a person might feel. If you are living in poverty, it's a bit more difficult to remain positive about life. 

    

     In summary, people have become deluded to the world around them in order to be what they consider "happy." If we pondered about what bad will happen next, then we could never live our lives with any positive moments. Humans have had to adapt to overpopulation, and continue to create new ways to be happy as life becomes harder for the middle, and lower class. Distractions will always get us through the times of sadness, and pain. Whether it be playing video games, watching movies, or going on a family trip. We will always use distractions to avoid confronting all the issues we are faced with.

(https://jokideo.com/wp-content/uploads/meme/2016/06/Money-may-not-buy-happiness---meme_1.jpg)