Amadeus

Amadeus

                Like any other freshman in college, seeing the 3 hours indicated by movie file’s Length/Duration meant hard labor. After having watched the tear-jerker Wit and the fairytale-gone-wild that was Into the Woods, I knew I was in for a treat anyway. The classical setting and the powdered wigs we only see in history classes made me fear for what’s to come. But when the first lines of the movie were delivered, I was relieved – normal speak; not too much elevation with the words. 

                The entire movie was a thrill. Seeing how Salieri and Mozart met; and the knowledge that the former will kill the latter at some point was just exciting – fun with dramatic irony. The movie also felt like I was the priest that Salieri was talking to. I was as scandalized as he as Salieri went on with his story. Certain scenes during Salieri’s prison interview really felt like I was in the eyes of the priest; who cringed at the sight of, for example,  the burning cross. 

                As for Mozart, I thought the signature laugh was cringe-worthy every time. I love it. I also am amused that despite all the silliness, I never fail to see him as someone who’s ready to rock my ears off – classically. The loony genius character makes it all the more a fun watch, I think.

Wit

Wit

 

                Seeing “HBO” in the start of the movie was like a warm, inviting welcome into the entire thing. And I must say,  Wit is just amazing. It was a perfect mix of heavy emotion and light and simple scenes, plus Emma Thompson’s stellar acting. Her accent and her way with the words are just perfect in the Literature teacher character; and her puking and weezing topped with the suffering gaze amidst her will to stay strong made her such a convincing cancer patient. She’s definitely why this movie is so…wow. My eyes, trying to fight the tears in some scenes, were glued to the screen for the entire hour and a half. 

                One line that struck me during the movie was Vivian’s motto to treat words with respect. She was so particular yet spot on with her choice of words and it actually got me thinking while I watched. Each word elicits a different feeling; a different association  and I think this is taken for granted. 

                The mention of Death be not proud was like an obvious foreshadowing, I suppose. I knew that Vivian will die (well, she has cancer after all) and that the poem will glorify her death. Yet when the movie actually reached the point in the ending, it was still great; an emotionally fulfilling conclusion.

We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks

We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks

                I think this poem is a great example of how a few words and say lot. The title alone, “We Real Cool”, sounds like a proclamation of swag by these, I guess, cool dudes. I guess they wouldn’t have spoken like that if they didn’t “[leave] school”. Perhaps it’s the poem’s way of creatively saying the cliche “Stay in School”.  

                The two lines before the poem cryptically set the scenario I think. For one, it revealed the “We” of “We Real Cool”. Either there were seven of them at “the Golden Shovel”; or it was seven o’clock (pm, I assume) when these cool people “lurk[ed] late” at the “Shovel”. “The Golden Shovel”, where they play pool, might be a bar of sorts; “pool” gives off a bar atmosphere, I think. Like the total un-cool square that I am, “Die soon” was a really satisfying conclusion to the cool ones’ fate. While all the cool people just party every weekend while I stayed at home like the nerd that I am; the "Die soon" is really reassuring. Whatever gets me through the day.

Richard Cory by Edwin Robinson

Richard Cory by Edwin Robinson

                This poem, upon first reading back in Third Year High School, instantly reminded me of Britney Spears’ “Lucky”; no joke. “She’s so Lucky / She’s a star/ But she [cries] in her lonely heart thinking, / If there’s nothing missing in my life / Then why do these tears come at night?” It’s an ironic way of foreshadowing her own future; and a great way to describe Richard Cory’s situation. I guess Richard Cory represents any revered rich figure. “Richard Cory” is such a Hollywood name, actually. People think that these people have everything; whatever their definition of everything is. But fame and fortune probably isn’t all that. It’s something that we pavement people might fail to realize. On a smaller scale, we probably just shouldn’t be comparing ourselves to others; wishing that we were in their place. Perhaps being on the pavement isn’t so bad.

The summer I was sixteen by Geraldine Connolly

The summer I was sixteen by Geraldine Connolly

                First off, I thought the choice of words completely creates that image of a summer paradise that everyone envisions once school is over (which usually just ends up with you on the couch for hours). I think this poem is completely relatable to almost everyone my age. Not perhaps the slow-mo laughter and the bikins and the cotton candy of the girls in the poem; but the obliviousness of these sixteen year-olds. People my age, myself included, are enclosed in our own teenage bubble. Worrying at the uncertainty of the future, of the “improbably world”; but only for a short second, “a glance” before heading back to the teenage life of recklessness and freedom. This has always been the priority for us – to have fun, to party, to forget about "everything". We are busy with the socializing, the petty angst and drama without any care of what we like to think as the adult world. We do not want to enter that gray world of responsibility and work. That short vision we see, or what we think we see, of the future just makes us want to savor the here and now. That’s why everything’s a party for a teenager.