Journal 7: Evaluation

I’m going to evaluate the movie Gran Torino which is an drama film directed by Clint Eastwood. The reason why I am evaluating this movie is that this film is very popular and it came out in 2008, which is pretty new. This movie nominated and won many awards. The list of criteria that I will use for a movie is actors, plot, themes, director and setting.  These five things are very important in a movie so if I take a part the film and determine the quality of the criteria I can show if this movie is good or bad.

First piece of the criteria for a movie is how good are the actors. Clint Eastwood was the one of the main characters and he could have not been any better. He was awarded for Best Actor from the National Board of Review. All the other main/supporting actors are played their role perfectly to fill the story of the movie.  The next piece of the criteria for a movie is the plot. In Gran Torino the plot is pretty complex, but can be broken down to an old racist war veteran makes new becomes like family with the next-door neighbor Asian family and helps protect them from the Asian gang. This plot is a very unique story is great because you will not find another movie like it. Another piece of criteria for a movie is the themes. This movie has many themes. There is a racist theme through out the whole movie. Another theme is that Clint Eastwood’s character was never close to his sons and he became very close with the Asian boy next-door and in the end he gives the his car the Gran Torino not to hic family but to his best friend from next-door. Also, there is a theme in the movie of life and death. The movie starts with his wife dies and throughout him and a priest argue and learn from each other about life and death. In the end of the movie, he is shot and killed by the gang. Another theme is culture because the first time Clint went over to a party next-door the rules and customs were very different.  All these themes were put in this movie in harmony, which made for a great film. Another piece of criteria for a movie is how well the film is directed. Gran Torino was directed by Clint Eastwood which should be enough said with awards he got for this movie. The last piece of criteria fro evaluating a movie is the setting. When I say setting a mean how the places matches the scenes and how realistic the movie looked. Gran Torino setting was in a town that more and more minorities were moving in which complemented the racist theme. Also, the simple looking house matched the Clint Eastwood’s character very well. Overall, the setting of this movie was very good. After looking at all the pieces of criteria for a movie, Gran Torino pasted all of them and can be named a great movie.

Journal Six: Investigating

One scene will be freshman drinking in the dorms. This is freshman male student living in east halls and I know that anytime there is loud music coming from his room on a weekend night they are starting to pregame. Right around 8:30-9 o’clock I go knock on the door with the music blasting and I am let in to the madness. I see the desk, that was used earlier as a place to study, is now taken over by shot glasses and chasers. All the people in the room greet me with a smile like they welcome everyone to come drink in the room. I am bombarded with all the choices that I have to drink. There is rum, vodka, and beer with every item being the cheapest brand one can get. This gathering in the room is call pre-gaming, which is when people start drinking before they go out.  I observe the room and see people drinking different amounts. There are the two guys that just keep pounding the shots of rum down because they just want to get wasted every night. Then there are guys that just want a little to have a social lubricate. There are also three girls in the room and the girls take turns on being the most sober one just to look out for the others. After a few drinks, the clock turns to 10, which means it is time to head to the bus stop to go down town to the parties.

This quote is from a freshman male student in east halls named Rami Jabari and he does not underage drink. “I am not bothered by other kids drinking, but I’m disappointed that they take advantage that they are in college so its okay that they can drink.”

This quote is from a freshman male student in east halls that does not want his name to be mentioned. “Drinking is ok if you are just responsible and don’t do anything stupid.  I feel that most kids here are good enough to drink, but there are one of 1000 kids that just stupid and mess things up and cause problems for others.”

This quote is from a freshman female student in east halls that does not want her name to be mentioned. “Drinking is fine as long as you can control yourself.  I know its bad its just everyone does is. We are in college that’s what we do. It just needs too be in moderation.”

“More than 90% of this alcohol is consumed in the form of binge drinks.” This is from http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/underage-drinking.htm and it is saying that 90% of underage drinking is binge drinking. Another facts is “72% of 12^th graders had tried alcohol.”

Graham Spanier gave a testimony, which I got from http://president.psu.edu/testimony/articles/underage.html. He stated, “Half of all of our students are heavy users of alcohol.” Another fact he claimed “More than half of students who use alcohol said they drink to get drunk.”

I feel I need to interview people with authority like a policeman, RA or Res Life faculty. This will give me another view that freshman might not see because their influences near them. I would get more facts and the actually problems drinking causes on an average night. I also should research more about the culture and tradition of drinking at Penn State. Because values of people that are for drinking may come from parents at home or just from the image that college is the only time the have to have fun and drink like this. 

Journal Four: #1 Party School

The writer clearly defines the many issues that come with the title the #1 Party School and the audience easily understands them. One issue that is brought up is all the trouble families and older people have to deal with on the weekends because all the drunk students cause many different problems.

Reasons are given for why the issue needs to be investigated. The reason for investigating the affects on all the none student residents is to see how much damage and noise is made by students on a average weekend night.

Facts and details are given to explain the affects on the different groups that are connected to the issue. Dealing with the issue of weekend night problems caused by drunk students they give many examples and facts. Students stole a stop sign, throw trash on the ground, and urinate in people’s yards.

I think in all the issues that are brought up both sides are represented with some type of fact or quote. The makers of the radio show talk to an actually resident and finds out the common problems like trash and urination on their property. The makers of the radio show also talk to the students that stole the stop sign and other students to get their side of the weekend life.

The makers of the radio show want the listeners to take a side of either the students or the residents by knowing both perspectives. I am more on the student’s side because the residents should know what happens in a college town. Also, the students take a stop sign is not normal. I feel that only happens in extreme cases. The only bad things that happen on normal bases are urination on properties, throwing of trash and loud noise making.

I liked the piece a lot because I can really relate to all the things that happen on weekend nights. Students starting songs on the buses, the random chants of “WE ARE PENN STATE” on every other street corner and the bad taste of Natural Lite, but I every one still drinks it. I liked all the facts that I did not know about Penn State for example, 70% of students drink on weekends, and students on average consume 4.5 drinks a night. I did not like some of the things that were stated against the student population. I feel that a lot of the stories that were told were mostly the extreme cases that happened over the years like a frat lighting furniture on fire and a deliver guy getting punched in the face. If you look at the big picture if one extreme thing happens once weekend because of one stupid student out of 40,000 students that are out that weekend it does not seem that bad. Drinking at Penn State is a tradition and a cultural thing that has been established the past a couple of decades. There is so much pride in football, drinking and being students at Penn State that every one that comes and visits they are just amazed. Tailgating and going to a Penn State football game is on the list of things people must do before they die. My grandfather and my Dad both went to Penn State and it is a great thing to have in common because we all take great pride in representing Penn State.