Sixteen trees of Somme.

Sixteen trees of Somme.

Lars Mytting. 

July 2018.

Novel.

Sixteen trees of Somme, a coming of age story set in remote Norway with a mystery intertwined through three generations of a family. Edvard, the protagonist, lost his parents under mysterious circumstances in France when he was a young boy. He grew up with his loving but reserved and reticent grandfather, and due to the nation which he fought for in the second world war, Edvard suffered continuous judgement and prejudice from the villagers throughout his childhood. In this storyline, Lars Mytting wrote a novel which revolves around a likeable and wholesome character, while still maintaining significant reference to modern society.  I enjoyed this novel primarily because I related strongly to this main character and his quest to find his place in the world.  

Edvard as a central character experienced and battled with milestones and difficulties which come hand in hand with coming of age and discovering ones central self. After the death of his grandfather, he set off on a journey to find his place among long lost family and within the wider world. Discovering one’s direction and intentions with our lives is a turmoil which as students we battle with as we near our later years of education. Following Edvard through his journey gave me hope and the urge to continue to strive for my own content. His story will undoubtedly spark the same reaction among others. The portrayal of Edvard felt honest and realistic, he was a young and fallible man who was unsure of himself, made mistakes and acted impulsively. He felt wholesome and although fictional, I became immersed in his predicament and willed for him to solve the mystery. The novel is set many years ago, but if we look forward to the 21st century to an age where personal relationships and interpersonal skills are falling to the blow of instant communication, and a life behind screens has become the norm. In this day and age, young adults still struggle with their own acceptance and place in society and new technology often seems to highlight and in some cases amplify their struggles.

The pace and meandering nature of the story was a subtle change to the usual fast paced novel on the bookshelf of a young reader like myself. While there was a continual undertow of urgency to solve the mystery, the author also provided space for the reader to develop an intimate relationship with Edvard. The language was also used to describe moods and places and was  emotive and perceptive. This often carried a subtle connection to wood and the craftsmanship of carving adding another satisfying layer to the reading experience. I found the idea of wood being at the centre of this mystery intriguing. It’s not something I’ve considered before and I was surprised by the value and reverence placed on rare and beautiful wood by different societies throughout history. The idea of uniquely grained walnut trees growing in Somme as a result of being soaked in the blood spilled during the war was disturbing. The death and suffering which leads to spilled blood is all as a result of futile wars which countries offer their young men up to fight for. These young protectors are fuelled by nationalism, anger and fear which seeps through many generations much like the walnut trees growing through these generations. The direct links to the great wars of the world have faded in my own society, yet the prejudice which lingers in our lives remains very present. As in Schlinder’s List, I myself had to challenge my prejudices of which I assumed the worst of the German people on account of the Nazi’s actions, and the people of Edvard’s village could not see past the family’s history and failed to judge Edvard for who he really is. Prejudice still exists in today’s society, as it is embedded in the nature of humans and this novel shows the receiving end of this hatred, in an interesting and different story. Mytting’s ability to formulate a unique story while still incorporating aspects of modern society which he used as a warning and call for attention around this issue is extremely pressing.

Who knew the significance of a walnut tree and a small town Norwegian boy could take the readers through an intriguing adventure and challenge its audience while maintaining a slow paced, detailed read. Mytting’s ability to craft a novel with such literary excellence and deeper meaning entails a more thorough appreciation of the writing.

‘Crash’ background work.

2005, America is still reeling at the magnitude of the 9/11 attacks and racial debates were at an all time high. Middle eastern people were particularly suffering from the continuing discrimination on account of the terrorists  actions. In crash, the brutal racism can be seen towards Farhad, a Persian shopkeeper is the poster child for misplaced anger within the movie and helped to portray the aspect of anger and racial unsettlement at the time. 

Los Angeles is known for its ethnic diversity and being America’s 2nd largest populous city, millions of people all living in the sprawling metropolis of LA. Los Angeles, originally settled in and founded by Spanish, and won over in the Mexican war of Independence, evauntually being purchased by the US. 

1984

‘1984’ provided an engaging read and a great storyline but the underlying purpose served more important value for me as the reader. George Orwell’s insightful ideas offered another take on the twisted society which we live in and forced me to consider the core truths which I have never put under scrutiny. I would recommend this novel under the direction of reading between the lines and would encourage the reader to discover the ideas from Orwell’s intuitive prophecy.

“War is Peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” The citizens of Oceania have learnt to live by this three piece statement in the totalitarian society which they exist in. Headed by Big Brother and the Party, Winston Smith and millions of his fellow human beings live in continuing fear and ignorance where the past is altered and their private lives are under constant surveillance. George Orwell’s take on the future world sparked a re-evaluation of the importance of compromise in the context of conflict. The post war themes within the society of Airstrip One came about at a time of war and suffering and was still an open wound for many across the world. The direct approach to an apparent future for the reader undoubtedly caused them deep unsettlement. Orwell wrote the novel in hope of triggering deeper thought into the futility of war and has truly inspired change which has been at the forefront of the new world.

As the world was bombarded with fast-paced technology and society as they knew it was falling down and being rebuilt by machines, Orwell was constructing a novel to combat and warn of an apparent future which he saw the world descending into. Although the extreme society in which Winston lives in, some of the important aspects have been seen to develop into an issue for my generation. The inability to have privacy plays among the concerns of many in the decade of video surveillance and internet. I live with the knowledge of instant contact and the burden of being locatable around the clock and this extensive theme in 1984 was highlighted by Orwell as a warning of a society which has indeed come upon us. The novel is not only an excellent piece of literature but a warning, a prophecy which offers us a number of debates, philosophical thoughts and a critic to our society.

“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” The continual altering of the past, present and no doubt the future, builds a society of lies and dominance by ignorance to the truth. The consistent war which rages between the three superpowers appears to have always been between the current enemy yet when peace is found and war is waged with the other power, the history books show it has always been against the new enemy. The truth is what the government determines it to and it is accepted as a core value of the Oceanic people. We also live under the rule of a government and most of our news is filtered down and twisted, what we receive is not always the whole truth. In an age where news can be published and viewed in seconds with minimal discretion masses of creates a swarm of fake news, manipulated media and a distorted cycle of information. Personally, current events of the larger world and societal changes interests me yet I have been discouraged by the less than legitimate news sources. ‘1984’ provides an insight into the extent which a society will go to alter the media in order to combat rebellion. This leaves me in a position of uncertainty towards media in the present day and has encouraged me to engage further with the facts and highlight the lies within in my own life.

Crash

First Thoughts.

  • Parallels and contrasts.
  • Talking about the racist whites of hollywood about the coffee and then the woman getting scared and then the proceed to steal the car.
  • Anthony always talking about stereotypes of blacks and then follows in his fellow footsteps.
  • Car headlights at the start. Car headlights in the middle indicating movement and fast pace.
  • Snow at the end, symbolism of peace and calm yet everyone’s lives turns upside.

Chris Haggis Interview.

  • The effect you can have on someone else life. Butterfly Effect. Directors Intention.
  • “We like to judge people” Paul Haggis
  • His aim was to polarize people, because when you polarize people you get them talking, and when they get talking it sparks a change.

Analyse how the use of language features shaped your response to one or more ideas in the visual or oral text. 

Idea of the butterfly effect showing the extensive effects of our actions through the use of Symbolism, Lighting, and Sound.

Quote Bank.

TKAM

“Hey, Mr. Cunningham. don’t you remember me, Mr. Cunningham? I’m Jean Louise Finch. You brought us some hickory nuts one early morning, remember? We had a talk. I went and got my daddy to come out and thank you. I go to school with your boy. I go to school with Walter. He’s a nice boy. Tell him ‘hey’ for me, won’t you?” Scout, Outside the Jail. 

“Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father’s passin’.” Sykes, Courtroom.

“Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough.” Scout, Radley Porch.

“Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets.” Miss Maudie, Maudie’s porch.

“Negroes worshipped in it on Sundays, and white men gambled in it on weekdays.” Author.

“Naw, Jem, I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks.” Scout, Jem’s Bedroom. 

“Don’t be silly, Jean Louise. The thing is, you can scrub Walter Cunningham till he shines, you can put him in shoes and new suit, but he’ll never be like Jem. Besides, there’s a drinking streak in that family a mile wide. Finch women aren’t interested in that sort of people.” Aunt Alexander, Finch’s home. 

“Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it…  There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with, nothing to see outside the boundaries of Maycomb County. But it was a time of vague optimism for some of the people: Maycomb County had recently been told that it had nothing to fear but fear itself.” Scout.

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” Atticus.

Atticus, he was real nice. . . .” His hands were under my chin, pulling up the cover, tucking it around me. “Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them. Scout – Atticus.

“Cry about the simple hell people give other people—without even thinking. Cry about the hell white people give coloured folks, without even stopping to think that they’re people, too.” Dolphus Raymond. 

“People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for, and they have the right to subject their children to it.” Judge Taylor.

Crash.

“Look at me. You embarrass me. You embarrass yourself.” Cameron Thayer.

“You weren’t afraid that all your good friends at the studio were gonna read about you in the morning and realise he’s actually black?” Christine Thayer.

“I am angry all the time… and I don’t know why.” Jean Cabot.

“Wait ’till you’ve been on the job a few more years. Look at me […] Look at me. Wait ’till you’ve been doing it a little longer.” Officer Ryan.

“Yo, Osama, plan a jihad on your own time. What do you want?” Gun store owner.

Setting – TKAM.

“I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks” This innocent view held by Scout Finch illustrates her pure, unchanged view on the people of her town which plays as as a complete contrast to that of the people’s views on each other. In the small town of Maycomb in 1930’s, the prejudice which runs through its veins controls the inhabitants and the direction of the novel. 

The Great Depression of the 1930’s is alluded to many times as it the backdrop of the novel. As a nation the U.S was dramatically effected by the depression, and the southern states were also living at the extreme loss of the time. Although Maycomb is a fictional town, the effects of the time period contributed to the setting and the prejudice within Lee’s creation. Scout narrates when discussing Atticus’s career that during the first five years of his practice in Maycomb, he “practiced economy more than anything”. Although the depression effected the wealth of the town as a whole, the social status’s remained intact and Jem describes to us the different families within Maycomb. “There’s four kinds of folks in the world. There’s the ordinary kind like us and the neighbours, theres the kind like the Cunninghams out in the woods, the kind like the Ewells at the dump, and the Negroes.” The dislike between “one kind of people… and another kind of people” is only intensified by the desperate times of the depression. It is interesting to note that although the Ewells and regarded as “trash”, the blacks are discriminated against due to the colour of their skin. In a time of strict Jim Crow laws, blacks were only just recovering from a life of slavery and the prejudice embedded in the town is justified by these racist laws. The southern states are particularly known for their racial involvement and violence towards black’s and Lee uses Maycomb’s physical setting as a device to intensify the racism. This is seen in the mob arriving at Tom’s cell with only dark intentions and the bias trial. 

The immediate prejudice is not only seen the historical pretence of the setting, but thought the interactions of the characters towards Boo Radley. Despite having very little factual evidence against Boo, the town is quick to assume his guilt which shows the reader the nature of the people and the embedded prejudice which controls them. Boo is described as a monster by Jem, “six and a half feet tall, he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch… a long jagged scar ran across his face and his teeth were yellow and rotten”. Although Jem describes Boo as the childhood monster of our nightmares, the older, more intelligent adults of the town also considered him “strange”. Very little is actually known about Boo’s nature until he is slowly revealed to us as the kind caring saviour of the children through his small acts of kindness, the gifts in the tree and sewing Jem’s pants, and set in concrete by his courage to defend the children from Ewell. The town is quick to judge Boo on the rumours which they have heard and Lee is establishing the nature of the society in the 30’s and the nature which still exists today. The setting of Maycomb is only a catalyst to the prejudice which surrounds Boo as the social hierarchy and racist Jim Crow laws implement a culture of prejudice.  

The setting of 1930’s Maycomb provides the ideal environment for prejudice to occur and thrive. The culture that has arisen from years of racism, slavery, social standings, and sexism creates a town in the Southern states of America where a man is wrongly convicted according to his race. Lee in writing the novel was telling the reader the problems the world faced and through symbols such as Boo Radley, connected her story to the world at time in need of desperate change. 

TKAM revision.

Analyse how the experiences of one or more characters were used for a particular purpose. 

Scout

Innocence and development. 

Purpose

Highlight prejudice. 

Examples

Paragraph 1: Racism, Tom’s court case.

Paragraph 2: Sexism, Aunt Alexander treatment of Scout, her brother, “Aunt Alexander was fanatical on the subject of my attire”

Paragraph 3: Class prejudice, Walter.

Analyse the connection between the setting and one or more themes. 

Setting

Maycomb, Southern states of American in the 1930’s. Jim Crow laws, segregation.

Theme – Prejudice

Paragraph 1: Racism 

Paragraph 2: Class separation

Paragraph 3: Sexism 

Examples

Theme – Prejudice

Paragraph 1: Historical Maycomb itself

Paragraph 2: Social Sexist Racist

Paragraph 3: Physical, Town layout, segregation. 

Analyse how supposedly insignificant events or details revealed one or more significant themes. 

Boo Radley, shows how readers jump on the bandwagon to easily judge people. Lee used Boo as a underlying device to make a symbol of prejudice itself.

Boo

Events associated to him presented theme of prejudice.

Paragraph 1: Pants.

Paragraph 2: Fire and Blanket.

Paragraph 3: The gifts in the hole of the tree. 

Prejudice

Paragraph 1: Walter in class.

Paragraph 2: Dolphus Raymond.

Paragraph 3: Aunt Alexander’s tea party.

Analyse how one or more ideas in the text served as a warning to readers.

Setting: Maycomb 1930’s. Divison, Segregation, Multiple levels of prejudice. 

Warning: Highlight Lee’s intention of not judging to be free of prejudice.

Examples:

BP1 – Town itself and social context of the 30’s.

BP2 – Court house.

BP3 – School.

Schindler’s List.

Schindler’s List.

Visual.

Steven Spielberg

May 2018.

Schindler’s List is about an unlikely hero and one man’s ability to make a monumental impact on hundreds of people’s lives. It celebrates a powerful triumph of humanity that touched my soul. Set in Nazi Germany, the film follows Oskar Schindler, war profiteer and member of the Nazi party through his unexpected transformation in the Second World War, and his mission to save his factory’s Jewish workforce.  Oskar Schindler was by no means a saint, in fact he was a self-serving con-artist whose initial motives were far from honourable. Saving his workforce meant saving his factory, but as the movie progressed the spirit and intentions of Oskar changed.

I enjoyed this movie and would recommend it on a number of counts. It provides emotive insight into Nazi Germany in a way that continually confronted my prejudice towards German citizens. Prior to this movie I had fixed preconceived ideas that all Germans were Nazis and I realised that many people still sub-consciously link modern day Germans with these historical events. The portrayal of a German saviour was a powerful idea that I have never considered before helping de-stigmatise German people in my mind. This message was even more compelling for me considering it is based on a true story.

This movie as a whole and its core theme about the impact individuals can have on the outcome of hundreds helped humanise war and highlighted the fact that there are many different lives within a war zone. In today’s world, where most are lucky enough to never experience war first-hand, war can feel like a far away and nebulous concept.  Now, daily occurrence of ‘new news’ figures no longer fly past my ears as unemotional facts of war. I consider the people within the stories and how their lives are being effected and the choices they are being forced to make in order to survive. I also wondered what I would have done if in Schindler’s shoes, would I have been as brave? Harrowing conditions such as these tests our humanity and illustrates what it takes to be a strong individual who can step up and fight for others during such a dangerous and controversial time.

Conversely it also helped me to better understand how people can submit to following terrible orders and disregard their principles and values, although this concept of conforming to the easiest option unsettles me.  I have witnessed many as I have grown up that just accept this concept, whereas I actively try to be true to my values regardless of the situation. However, given the conditions portrayed in this film, I wondered again would I have been as brave? I believe the director’s intent was to show the transformation of Schindler due to his humanity overwhelming him but also unintentionally illustrating the concept of conforming, only adding to my personal liking and sincere recommendation of this film.

Spielberg’s portrayal of Oskar Schindler also made an impact as Liam Neeson’s award winning performance inspired feelings which had only been briefly explored by other directors’ taking on the Nazi era. The director’s ability to manipulate and completely alter my feeling towards a character through his redeeming acts of humanity startled me. In a war situation, looking from the outside it is easy to demonise a whole race on account of the actions of a small group.  For me, the main intent of the director was to show a personal perspective and illustrate the humanity that humans are capable of.

What it is like to be white.

White Privilege: The hidden benefits. 

Robert Consedine.

Short Story. 

August 2018.

What it is like to be white. The colour of your skin and the genes you inherit still largely determines the course of your life, not as a direct cause but years of advantage and superiority through which we, as the white race, own the playing field. In the short text by Robert Consedine, its confrontational take on the racism continually faced by the minority group in our country made me consider my value in society because of my skin and the expectations many have of me.

Many years before us, our ancestors invaded this country and stripped the native inhabitants ( the Maori ) of their pride, culture, land, freedom and their language. Despite the world we live in claiming to have righted all wrongs and obtained an even playing field, it is impossible to accomplish this as the field is already owned by the white. This is both ironic and confronting as white are embedded in the legal, racial and general systems and statistically own most of the land. Through years of prejudice, white are initially judged as superior to our coloured counterparts. This leaves a predicament to myself and many other white peers which love and appreciate the roots of our country and its original inhabitants.

Reading ‘White Privilege’ a piece which explored the nature of white privilege and how “these systematic structural benefits remain invisible to most Pakeha” expanded my awareness of the ignorance which surrounds us. Within the piece Robert cites an article he read which refers to white privilege as a “knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, codes, tools, blank checks.” An interesting explanation which as a white male I relate to and whom is able to redeem my advantages daily while Maori have to fight to obtain my givens. Consedine states that in order to further expand the debate, we have to have sufficient knowledge of the origins of the invisible system. Without these pieces challenging our own sheltered opinions the world would remain its broken self and no real change would occur. I wholeheartedly agree with the authors purpose and encourage the push for change which is needed in my society.

In my lifetime I have never stopped to think about why I benefit from the small advantages which I do everyday, and why others who are no different from me, do not receive such advantages. In the modern world, under the direct illusion of change and equality not many stop to consider if this is the real problem which has been solved. Prior to reading the short piece by Consedine, I had not bothered or allowed myself to think deeply about the prejudice to Maoris yet after finishing it is not the facts which strike me, it is the ignorance which myself and my race have to this issue. The advantages of not only reading but analysing this text proves important to your being and your presence in society.

Shawshank Redemption

Otto Burrows.

The Shawshank Redemption.

Stephen King.

Visual.

28/06.

Stephen King’s time captiving movie explores many themes and issues in its extended take on Andy Dufresne’s time in Shawshank Prison and unravels the events leading to his elaborate escape to the “outside world”. Within Andy’s years of prison, despite being innocent, he learns all of the hard lessons of life including corruption and murder and yet he also learns the value of friendship and puts his great mind to use. We follow Andy through his time with Red and friends, through moments of despair and triumph, to end on a lovely beach in Mexico where Andy and Red start their life on the outside, again.

The most prominent reason why I enjoyed the movie so thoroughly was that I formed a thorough connection to Andy Dufresne and was wholeheartedly drawn in to his plight. In the opening scenes, we are left with an unbalanced opinion of Andy, torn between the urge to believe in him but feel the undertow of hate and prejudice surrounding an accused murderer. As we follow him through his time at Shawshank Prison, we begin to know and like his character more. I was drawn to his intellect and at the same time was intrigued by his silence.  Towards the end of the film, as Warden Norton rips the poster off the wall to reveal the escape tunnel, he rips off the cover on our ignorance and I felt overwhelming satisfaction that he had finally escaped. This fitting justice for his life of injustice added to my enjoyment. I like the sentiment that although life may get you down, you’ve got to just “get busy living” as there is always light at the end of a dark tunnel.

I would recommend this movie because among the profanity and dark moments, the importance of hope and persistence shines through the prison grit, and combined with great storytelling, a classic is made. The factors which add to excellence of this movie, are the small things that are aimed at your subconscious mind and in turn add up to make the movie we know and love. The first, which I believe to be one of the most important, is the role selection. In one of the first scenes with Andy, we see him portrayed in the courtroom as a “chilling and remorseless” man. Yet as the movie progresses, we are shown a different side of Andy and begin to like him as quiet, calculated person that he has always been. This is portrayed by Tom Robbins in his cold set face and nicely trimmed hair which fades to the hardened man approaching his fifties who escapes Shawshank Prison. Parallel to this, Red, played by Morgan Freeman is also very well casted as his character plays to the strengths of the smart black man that we have known and loved throughout Freeman’s acting career. 

Andy’s conviction was based on minimal evidence and a pre-decided opinion that he was a killer. The failure of the justice system challenges my childhood assumption of the black and white contrast between good and bad. Andy is a good man who was “as straight as an arrow” on the outside yet he was convicted. This is a deeply unsettling thought which makes me think about my ignorance to this issue. All my life I have driven by Mount Eden prison and have never once given more than a second thought on what it is like inside. News recently has been focused on gang violence in prisons not so far from home and this movie has opened my eyes to this. A window through to a different world, I have never considered how terrifying and overwhelming it would be to be sent to prison for a crime I did not commit. It reminds of the same feeling which stirred deep down while reading To Kill A MockingBird, where a black man was accused of a rape he did not commit. These stories bring forth my own personal dilemmas and provides further engagement and emotional attachment to the characters and movie.  

As an Allegory, Prison could be compared to the school playground that we as kids mingled in. The social hierarchy of society can be seen in prison as the men held inside are reduced to following instructions and forget how to live for themselves, much the same to our childhoods as we were not yet old enough to think independently. Prison reduces a man to his primal life and due to constant violence, could be doing more to hinder these men than heal. I believe that these harsh lessons can be learnt in the playground too through bullying and the often harsh nature of maturing kids. This helped me connect further with the characters and the prison setting through a largely innocent link to my early childhood. As Andy was bullied and battered I felt I needed to help him and stick up for him as others had not for me. This only embellished my liking of Andy and heighten the pinnacles of the film. I propose that many other viewers may have connected with the visual text in the same manner and many more will experience this, which leads me to highly recommend this outstanding piece of visual viewing.

I really enjoyed the movie as although I have never experienced a life event which has drastically changed my future, it is thoroughly interesting following Andy as he spends his years in Shawshank and learn alongside him as he was faced with violence, prejudice and hardships. Although Andy had been so wronged by the world, he did not carry any resentment towards his peers and showed very little signs of prejudice. In recent years “the world went and got itself in a big damn hurry” and we now need to take a step back and appreciate people for who they are. I believe that if we follow in Andys footsteps and learn not to judge people on pre-decided opinions and assumptions, the world would be a significantly better place for everybody.