Saving the Best for Last :D

Hola! Namaste! Hello! to all my good friends of a multiplicity of ethnicities. My how time flies! It’s already the final blog post…I remember when I was just a tiny zygote differentiating into a myriad of complex structures (OK, that’s way too far back). Well, if there is one thing I can say with much assurance it is my experience of New York City changed dramatically via this course. I have learned to witness New York City in ways I would have never imagined before, both good and bad. Through this course, I definitely gained a profound appreciation for the arts and realize the tremendous amount of work required to be successful in the spheres of drama and theater. Kudos to all the performers out there for their industrious efforts! Now let me share with you my scintillating journey of the arts in this class.

When I first read the play God of Carnage, I was thinking “Oh my goodness, these adults are so sophomoric.” Personally, I was just shocked about how indecisive and childish the parents were in this play. Rather than making a peaceful attempt to solve their problems, the two families exacerbated the situation by vilifying one another. Furthermore, the play In Arabia We’d All Be Kings was a great example of the haves and have nots in New York City. Nevertheless, I was astonished at the amount of profanity utilized. I do not use profanity myself and maybe that is why I did not enjoy the book as much. But when I think about it, I believe the author had to incorporate the vulgarity in his play to demonstrate a “realistic” view of New York. I feel that the other plays read in class, such as Mercy Seat, The Matchmaker, A View from the Bridge, and Yellow Face all did their fair share in describing to us various vantage points of New York City. I do not think that one play did more than the other in delineating New York because they all discussed about different aspects of New York, such as immigration, haves and have nots, and fantasy/nightmare. In my opinion, I enjoyed The Matchmaker the most because of its humor and the fact that it had the happiest ending of everything I have read or seen in this class. Honestly, reading some of these plays just made me more cynical and depressed because of how low some humans can stoop to be satisfied. I’m just glad I had the opportunity to read these plays because it was indeed an eye-opener. I think it’s about time we jump ahead to the movies part of the class.

After watching Manhattan, Taxi Driver, and Do the Right Thing, I was contemplating over “WHAT HAS THIS WORLD COME TO?” So many negative events transpired in these movies and I could not handle it anymore. My innocence was gradually being reduced to zilch viewing these films. There is too much corruption and many immoral deeds in this world. These films showed to me a side of New York that utterly made me speechless (yes, in a bad way…). All I could think was reform is necessary in New York. Moreover, when I viewed the films Maria Full of Grace  and In America, I noticed how difficult it was for immigrants to adjust to life in New York City. Sure it may be the city of opportunities and magnificence, but many immigrants struggled to become successful in this very city, including my friend Carlos in Intringulis. Seeing Maria swallow the drugs down her throat made me commiserate with her. Yes, Maria was doing the wrong thing, but only to enhance her life. Also, In America revealed to me the struggle of an Irish family to assimilate with the environment and life of New York. The Irish family may have been off than Maria in the end, but they still had to work arduously to earn a living.

Finally, let me talk about the performances I have seen. Asuncion was by far my favorite performance all semester. I never laughed so hard before and it was the first chance I ever had to meet celebrities! Even though I liked Asuncion the most, I feel it was not as successful as the other performances in conveying its message due to the large amounts of levity in the play. I think that Intringulis by Carlos was the most powerful performance because through his music and acting he manifested to us college students the hardships he and his family endured as an immigrant. Very meaningful, indeed. In addition, I loved the Supernatural Wife because it portrayed Greek mythology in such an entertaining form. Yes, some portions of the dance were awkward, but Hercules playing the drums and his witty remarks made me laugh out loud. Even better were the amazing seats we had in that theater. You may be wondering why I left out Don Giovanni, but how can I say anything if I was asleep half the time watching it?!?! All I recall, is the extremely cool fire effects, in which Don Giovanni perished (yes, he deserved it big time!).

Overall, my favorite work as a whole was Asuncion because it made me laugh and not depressed like some of the other things read or seen in this class. Nevertheless, the view of New York City I found most truthful was the one depicted in the film Maria Full of Grace because some scenes were so graphic that I could vicariously feel the pain of some of the characters, especially Maria’s. I think that all the films, performances, and reading demonstrated a new side of New York to me and were all successful to some extent in transmitting their messages. I really appreciate it Ms. Healey for exposing not just me, but all my other fellow classmates to the two different sides of New York City. I feel that your explanations regarding these performances, movies, and plays elucidated several things for me. I am very happy I had the opportunity to take this course because now I feel more educated about New York City. Once again, thank you very much Ms. Healey and I can say without hesitation that I learned soooooo much in this class!