Author Archives: elizabethcoluccio1

Love and Hate

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I really find Do the Right Thing to be a very interesting film. It’s interesting to see the social structure of this neighborhood during this time and all the different people that make it up. There’s the “Mayor” and Mother Sister, who seem to be the wisest people of the neighborhood, even if Mayor seems to be quite a tragic figure. There’s the group of rowdy youths and the group of middle-aged men, both who do a lot of talking but so far very little positive action. Then there are the shopkeepers, who seem to be a distant part of this community, perhaps due to them being Italian-American and Korean, which says much about the views towards race at the time. There’s the very revealing scene in which people of every race let loose a stream of epithets that seem to be circular and unending. The racial tension is very palpable, and often seems escalate to the edge of violence, like when Bugging Out raised an argument about the pictures on the wall of the pizzeria, and how quickly an angry mob formed when the biker scuffed Bugging Out’s sneaker. It seems that soon enough this tension will come to a boiling point.

It’s like the boy with the boom box said: love and hate are constantly warring against each other. There’s much to love about this community and communities in general. It’s nice to know people, to recognize your neighbors and have good relationships with them. It’s also nice to know there are people around you that you could look up to and trust. But there’s also much to hate in this as well. If a community is so close-knit as to view everybody else with distrust and at times hostility, it’s not only a recipe for close-minded people but for dangerous interactions.

 

 

Richard: Hero or Villain?

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I’ve always found Shakespeare difficult to read but ultimately rewarding in the end, and so far Richard II hasn’t changed my perception. I think the sudden change in King Richard’s character in the first two acts is really interesting. At first, Richard seems like everything one would expect from a king. He is fair and compassionate in letting Bullingbrook and Mowbray each say their piece without showing any partiality and seems genuinely aggrieved when they resort to a duel. Later, in what seems like a demonstration of wise leadership, he banishes both men instead of shedding blood (though it’s debatable whether exile is a more favorable sentence) and shows mercy to Gaunt, lessening his misery by shortening his son Bullingbrook’s banishment.

It’s only after this scene that we see Richard’s true nature. We learn of his plan to fund Irish wars using the money from Gaunt’s estate after his death, even though the money rightfully belongs to Bullingbrook. Not even Gaunt’s deathbed accusations and insults can guilt Richard into doing the right thing. He’s almost Machiavellian in the respect that he will do what he sees fit for his country whether or not it’s morally sound. This sort of hubris usually leads to some formidable tragedies in drama, so it will be interesting to see what troubles come to King Richard.

The Moral Character (Or Lack Thereof) of Don Juan

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I’ve always been interested in the story of Don Juan, and I really enjoyed reading Moliere’s version of this story. Moliere’s clever and humorous take on the tale really highlighted what I was most drawn to about it: the moral character of Don Juan.

While of course we can clearly label Don Juan as a charlatan without morals of any kind, it is in some way a charming quality. Even while we are scandalized, we can’t help but be intrigued by the antics of a perfect rogue. This is especially true when his misadventures fall upon themselves in such comical ways, like when assuring both Charlotte and Mathurine of his undying affection and loyalty, at the same time. Even Sganarelle’s exasperated attempts to lead Don Juan to the path of morality seem lighthearted.

It seems to me that we only truly realize how devious Don Juan is when he decides to live the life of a hypocrite: accusing everyone else of impiety while flagrantly living in sin. As convoluted as it seems, previously to this decision Don Juan was almost noble in his conviction to live immorally. He truly believed, I feel, that it was his right to seduce every beautiful woman he saw. At the same time he also had a clear sense of what was right and wrong, even if he chose only sometimes to act on them, like when he helped Don Carlo when he was outnumbered. Don Juan may have lived by his own rules, but at least it meant that he chose to do good of his own volition, not because he was taught to do so in the name of some higher being. This is why it seems especially wrong when he chooses to live hypocritically, and it leads ultimately to his downfall.

“Nobody sees as we do.”

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I already knew the name Patti Smith, but I really didn’t really know anything about her or her music, or even the 60s artistic movements aside from what we learn in a history class, until I started to read Just Kids. The book has really broadened my views about what those years entailed, and also put a very humanistic sentiment into it. If I ever put a thought into the personalities of the artists of the 60s, I always assumed that they were all rebellious and anarchic and drug-addled. Although this is in some ways true, I’ve found it doesn’t begin to cover the emotions displayed by all the artists, the most prominent of emotions being displayed by Patti Smith and her lover and friend Robert Mapplethorpe. It was really interesting for me to see the gentle, romantic side of a rock and roll icon considered to be so edgy and radical.

I find there’s something really whimsical and quixotic about the relationship between Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe. They seem to be so in sync with each other that it’s almost too perfect. They never really argue, and for the most part they seem to understand each other’s minds and the extent of each other’s creativity in a way that no one else can. There is a period of unease when Mapplethorpe is deeply troubled and Smith struggles to find a way to reach him, which results in them parting ways, yet they still manage to find each other again when they need each other most. Their relationship is so artless and genuine that it seems a privilege to have this view into their fascinating lives, when so much art was being created. It’s really true when Mapplethorpe tells Smith, “Nobody sees as we do”.

The Familiar in Unfamiliar Surroundings

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When I bought The Arrival by Shaun Tan, I was surprised to see that there were no words. After I finished “reading” the book, I was surprised to note how poignantly a story could be told solely through pictures. In fact, it may be the most effective method of communicating an idea. Where words can sometimes become awkward or complicate an idea, a picture succintly represents all the emotion in a single glance.

What struck me most about the pictures was that even though the images were of strange, unfamiliar things, they were still recognizable in some ways. For example, when the man the story revolves around is on the ship sailing to this new land, the city skyline and welcoming statue are reminiscent to that of New York, even if the particular buildings and said statue are not. Also, the building in which all the immigrants are gathered and examined looks very much like Ellis Island.

Furthermore, the story of immigration is a familiar one to all of us. In our collective histories, I’m sure every one of us has a story of someone they know, or maybe even themselves, who has gone through this frightening process of immigrating to a new country, for whatever reason. This fact serves to connect us together, much like it connects the characters featured in this book. This common thread unites them, and by the end of the book the man that the story revolves around is included in this community, and in turn helps newer immigrants also to find their way.

The Importance of Memory

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One of the main issues I had with this article was Rieff’s view towards memory. In a small way, I can understand his opinion on forgetting, how it does seem practical. If people could forget the events of September 11th, then they could let go of the pain and the fear that come along with the memories. If Oskar could just forget, then perhaps he could sleep at night, he could stop inventing and he could stop giving himself bruises. But in every other way, it seems utterly preposterous that anyone should suggest that 9/11 is an event that must eventually be forgotten. Maybe my opinion is a product of the times that we live in, a time when, as Riess points out, people call out for everyone to remember as almost a battle cry.  But it seems like remembering and coping with those painful memories is the least we can do in honor of those who lost their lives, and of the families who have to live with the emptiness caused by the death of a loved one. Just take a look at Oskar Schell’s life (who, though he is a fictional character, could represent many children who lost a parent that day). Despite our opinions about Oskar and his precocious nature, it’s easy to see he had a very close, loving relationship with his father. It seems terribly insensitive to consign the memory of Thomas Schell and his son’s love for him to be forgotten within a short generation. We should take the old adage “He who does not remember the past is condemned to repeat it” to heart, instead of labeling it trite, because it could be helpful in the same way Rieff suggests forgetting is helpful. If we learn from the memories of September 11th, and remember that it is painful and joyless to live in fear and anger, then we can live and peace and still pay respects to those who died on that day and the families that still miss them.

Comparison of Foer and Adams

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What struck me most about what Adams said about his composition “On the Transmigration of Souls” was how he used the children’s chorus in his piece unlike other composers have; that is, instead of using their voices to echo their innocence, Adams put them “in the thick of things”, as he said. In that way, Adams expressed the idea that not even children were spared from the horrors of September 11th, which is a theme that Foer also explored in his work, with Oskar being only a young boy and having to deal with such tragedy. I also thought it was interesting that the soloists in Adams’ piece were a nine year old boy, like Oskar, and two middle aged women, like Oskar’s mother and grandmother.

Another thing that struck me was how poignantly both works make one remember what occurred on September 11th, and how even though it is painful to remember, it’s important never to forget. In both Adams and Foer’s works, memory is an important theme. In Foer’s book, Oskar is on a quest in memory of his father, to understand and come to terms with his father’s death. Adams’ piece, composed of the names of those who died in the towers and quotes from missing person’s signs, is a tribute to the memory of those who perished. It makes the listener remember that it was individuals who died, each with their own story.