Blog Reflection

My participation on this blog has not been the best. At first, I did the work but then I failed in doing it. I admit that I was a reckless. This is not hard work, so there is no excuse for not doing it in time. One of the reasons I think I did not want to dot he work is because I hate homework. It's not just for this class, it's for all. I don't like doing work in my house. There are too many distractions. In my room I have so many movies and books and just endless things that I prefer doing instead of studying. Also, I leave every work for the last minute and sometimes all the work from all the classes fall on me at the same time. It is something I have to work on, because I can't rely on free time at the university to do all my work.

As for the writing, I don't know it there was really any improvement in it. I did realize, however, that in order to write something good I have to be really interested in what I am writing. If I am not I come up with little material. My earlier posts were a lot more interesting because I enjoyed writing them. So I really have to work on expanding my horizons in terms of writing about different subjects not particularly to my interest or liking.

The '60s, Part III

The last part of the '60s presents events very similar to ones we are seeing today in Puerto Rico. One of them is the student's strike. Back then, a lot of protests and movements happened. They were against the war in Vietnam. There is one part of the movie when people break-in in protest into a University in. There is an ongoing strike or student movement in the UPR where students make themselves heard. They protest against the administration's injustice and the government's injustice, too. They defend the country and stand up for what they believe in. It is very important that people express their opinions about situations. If they don't, then things will always remain the same and other's can do whatever they want if they control the situation. Every injustice in the world needs people to stand up against them. If people don't fight, then positive change is never going to come. Of course, there are some extremists who, like in the movie, takes things to dangerous extents. In the movie, Kenny makes a homemade bomb as part of the fight against the government. Here in the strike there have been some situations in which extreme action was taken. For example, the attack on Ana Guadalupe. What happened that day greatly affected the student movement.

The '60s, Part II

Part II of The '60s focuses a little bit on gender roles. Women don't have a voice. For example, when Sarah tries to speak in the reunion in front of all the men, she is denied from doing so by Kenny. Another example is Mary, the father of Katie, Michael and Brian. She often tries to have a say in matters of the family but his husband Bill does not let her. She finally takes a decision to change this when her son Michael tells her to sign a petition. She agrees to do so, even when Bill tells her not to do it. She tells him that she respects his decisions but that he had to respect hers, too. Katie leaves home because she cannot stand the oppressive environment which his father has created in the house. When she got pregnant, his father was about to explode. He thought it was outrageous for a girl like her to get pregnant. I think the '60s were a bit of a hard time for women. I can't imagine how it must have been for them there. They couldn't have opinions or say in important matters. I am very happy that nowadays most women are treated they way that they are supposed to.

The '60s, Part I

The first part of The '60s focuses on the civil rights movement of African Americans. We are introduced to the Herlihys, the family in which the movie is focused. This family is not African American, so the discrimination and the civil rights movement depicted in the series is portrayed in the life of Emmet and his father Reverend Willie Taylor, although here are some parts in which the Herlihys family is involved in the portrayal of African Americans. For example, when Katie gets in trouble when she dances next to a dark-skinned man. The movie shows a part when African Americans go out into the streets to encourage other African Americans to vote. They are confronted by a mob of Caucasians who want to stop them. It all ends with some violence and the African Americans keep their ground. One of the Herlihys boys was present in that part. Actual footage of that period is shown. African American get arrested or are beat up by police officers. This part of the movie reminded me of the movie Milk(2008) and the gay rights movement depicted in said film. Watching this movie made me realize how glad I am that people stand up for their civil rights when they are violated. In The '60s African Americans when through a lot of trouble to acquire the rights they have nowadays. Even so, they are still discriminated against by a great number of people who still believe that they are superior to them. Footage of speeches of Martin Luther King Jr. are also shown in the mini series. This helps a lot in understanding what were the people's claims to the United States and what they wanted. Another historical figure present in the '60s is that of Malcolm X. When I was in 7th grade we had to see the movie of Malcolm X, so I remember a little from what we studied. If I'm not mistaken what he preached was that African Americans had to go back to Africa to achieve their freedom and happiness, whereas Martin Luther King Jr. demanded equal civil rights for everyone.

Two Can Play

Trevor Rhone's Two Can Play deals a lot with gender roles and chauvinism. Jim and Gloria are a dysfunctional couple that throughout the play deal with their marital issues. Jim thinks he has to be treated by Gloria as if he was the chief of the house. For example, he wants her to prepare him food all the time and to do everything around the house. Gloria, on the other hand, does not want to be the housewife Jim wants her to be. Jim is also very disrespectful towards Gloria. He is always calling her a 'bitch' and is always ordering her around. Gender roles in the play are very clear. Jim is one of those guys who is mean to his wife and that thinks that she haves to do everything he tells her to. Gloria does not always let him get away with his ways. She often does not do what he tells her to do, like fixing him a meal. Jim also thinks that woman can't do certain things, but at the same time sees no wrong in him doing it, like masturbating. He gets very surprised and befuddled when Gloria admits that she masturbates. The thing is that Jim does it too. He does not think much of it when he does it. When Gloria says that she does it, then it is wrong because she is a woman. It's pretty much like in the present. A man can be with many women all he wants because he is a man, but if a woman does it, then she is a slut. Think about it, there is no man word for slut.

Reflection

This blog has provided an outlet to express myself in a creative way and my performance is demonstrated in my work. The art of writing is a positive, creative project that serves for all purpose. This process helps you achieve a state of density that cannot be achieved any other way. It drains all your thoughts and feelings from your mind in order to plaster them onto paper so your work is, by all means, a piece of yourself that can transcend time. By writing we not only comment on a specific written work or movie but we may also express our feelings towards the matter and reflect upon it. The act of writing in a public fashion seemed a bit terrifying at first but it is actually very liberating. I understand that this activity has served in my development and has made me more conscious of my writing. I have noticed that by exposing me on a regular basis to the art of writing, it becomes more fluent. Suddenly I can gather most of my thoughts with less effort and my deepness becomes more obvious. The analysis of the movie and of the play made me discern that by writing I can comprehend better. It has also given me a different approach toward studying and towards life. 

The 60’s Finale

Most of the issues addressed during the first part of the movie continue throughout the same. Racism is one of the main issues touched during the film and it continues up until this decade. Even though there are laws that are against it, it has not disappeared. Like much of the movie we may see these hateful acts towards people with ethnicities that are contrary to your own. This selfless act towards humanity ends up in war and in most cases tragedies. Another important issue addressed was discrimination. The discrimination is evident in some key scenes. For example, gay men were not accepted in the army. Up until this day there are hate crimes that appear in the media. There is very little investigation as a result of these particular crimes and the media brushes away this news by more “important” matters. The gender roles associated with The 60’s shows that women were classified as inferior in comparison to the men but during this particular decade they demand to be heard. The decades have passed and many professional women with high positions still feel the need to prove their authority and intellectual height among their co workers and even society. By being a woman you are expected to behave a certain way, look a certain way and achieve certain goals. A large population of men still feels this way and act as if their power overshadows that of women. By comparing The 60’s to the present you might see different styles, make up, and hairdos but the issues remain. People are still fighting for peace and a war between brothers continues.