By Brittany Rosario & Henry North
In Rachel and Miles X-Plain the X-Men Episode 45, “A Woman Who Could Fly,” the casting duo discuss various themes: Forge and the Adversary, the narrative impact of sexualization, the dynamic art stylings of Barry Windsor Smith, and colonialism. These themes are used in a character analysis of Ororo Munroe, better known as Storm, and her role in Uncanny X-Men #198: Life-Death II.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a 1962 film based on the novel by Harper Lee (1960). The film opens with a child opening a toy chest containing wooden dolls, jacks and marbles, loose crayons, a pocket watch engraved “to Atticus my beloved husband”, a whistle, and a harmonica. The Child draws a bird and colors it in. When the child is done with the illustration, they giggle and rip it right down the middle, tearing apart the bird. The items in the toy chest can be seen throughout the film as little scene tokens and hidden gems; it’s like playing “I Spy,” while watching a film. Some of the items have more meaning than others which have little to no meaning at all.
The setting of this story takes place in Maycomb, AL. The introduction is narrated by six-year old Scout. She’s playing outside when Mr. Cunningham comes by to drop off some hickory nuts as payment for the legal work done by her father, Atticus Finch. See, Mr. Cunningham is a poor country man who works as a farmers and owns his land. The year is 1932. note: after the Great Depression. One of their neighbors, Ms. Atkinson, is in her front yard watering her plants. She tells the children, Scout and her older brother, Jem to count their blessings and stop complaining because their father can’t play games with them or eat breakfast together. They should be so grateful that he’s a hard working man.
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In No Country for Old Men (2007 film), one of the most memorable quotes is “What’s the most you ever lost in a coin toss?” This is a short rhymed question asked by Anton Chigurh (played by Javier Bardem) to a Texaco worker; the answer will determine if Anton’s next action will be a threat or a promise. At this point in the film, we have already seen that Anton has a way of changing others direction in life when he crosses their path, whether it be killing them or letting them live.
What if I told you a story about how my wife was stripped of her dignity and respect when she was raped and murdered by complete strangers? Following that, what if I told you that I have a short-term memory loss that doesn’t allow me to remember day to day details but somehow I’m planning to catch the man/men who took my wife’s life? Interesting, right? See the thing about it is, there was this guy, Sammy Jankis who had a similar condition to mine and he tried to take notes as a way of keeping a log of people and events he encountered, but, he mixed them all up. He didn’t have a system. For this to work, you really need a system. I have a system that helps me keep my notes organized: (1) pictures with names of places and people, (2) a map to place/remove those pictures and make sense of where I can find such people and places (3) tattoos on my body, and (4) actually notes that I’ve handwritten [it is important to know and trust my own handwriting]. Remembering the details along the way and piecing together the clues to find my wife’s murderers is not going to be my easiest feat considering my condition but I am confident in my system. Where to I start my journey… Hmm…
Spike Lee’s film, Do the Right Thing, depicts racial tensions on the hottest day of the summer in Bed-Stuy “do or die” Brooklyn, New York. The film addresses topics in black culture such as fashion and style, mental illness, racial stereotypes, boycotting and police brutality. It is important to note that the portrayal of African-Americans is illustrated in both a literal and figurative manner to display the history, art and culture of the black community during the late 1980’s and until this day. I invite you to join me on an exploration of the story line, character displays and messages conveyed throughout the film.
