Hello, my name is Lebowski.

Is The Dude heroic? Is The Dude a masculine, western character?

I think The Dude is a masculine character, clearly not a western though. He may not be all into drooling of women and sex. But his dirty household and poor laid back lifestyle gives a sense of masculinity. I mean how many women would live like that?! Parts of the film make the dude appear to be heroic. When Walter just throws his dirty underwear off the bridge instead of the money, The dude wants to go back, give them the money to save Bunny. He also was concerned for her safety. Only when you view his motives for doing this, you realize it was all for him. For the money and his rug, The Dude's actions were completely selfish. To be heroic is to do what is right with out worrying about what's in it for you. He doesn't have any motivation to do anything unless there is something there to motivate him.

The Cinematic Master Piece?

I think the movie Citizen Kane by Orson Welles, is definitely a cinematic master piece. Being made in 1941, the effects and acting are clearly not up to today’s standards. And being in black and white, it doesn’t strike the interest of most. The actors from this time preformed their scenes the same way they preformed them in stage plays, pronouncing words clearly and loud. Which does come off as over acting. And the biggest form of special effects in the movie was the fading between scenes, like when characters would share their knowledge of Kane’s life, the movie faded from interview to the memory they were sharing. Although the movie has not much comedic value, which seems to be what most enjoy in a good movie, there were some parts you would find yourself giggling in your seat. You can’t say you didn’t laugh while Kane was tearing apart the bedroom and couldn’t pull down the shelf. The film runs on for two hours, which seems rather long, you don’t learn too much about Kane besides the fact he was a selfish man who wanted to be loved but wouldn’t love back. He bought anything his woman wanted. Anything in the world, except the only thing that would mean something, a personal item that means enough to him and would have sentimental value not a price. It’s the story of a man’s downfall and the mystery behind his famous last words “rosebud”. Over all I thought the movie was maybe not the all time best, but it was clearly a top 5 film. Maybe just because I enjoy biography like movies (even though it’s not a real person) but the movie was thought provoking. It gives a lot to the think about. No matter how successful you may come, you’re never an adult until you can get over your past to live the future. And can you let your world be controlled by money and status? Money means nothing without someone to share it with. Overall I think the movie definitely deserved the praise it got.

assignment number 1.

1. Media has some importance in my life. It's clearly not the most important thing, but gives me a source of entertainment and inspiration to do other things ( e.g. popular culture gives my inspiration for paintings or drawings ). It also makes me aware of the top news in the world.


2. The types of media I am most passionate about is music, movies and photography/art. I don't need any meaning within these media choices to make me enjoy them. Just the fact that I find them interesting.
Music- The music I listen to may not have any deep meaning behind the lyrics, but can alter my mood according to the beat. A catchy song can reflect my attitude at the moment.



Movies- Old school horror films with no actual meaning or the movies which can confuse you if your not paying attention are, what I call, entertainment.



Photography/Art- A picture can speak a thousand words, viewing photograph or other forms of art that can sometimes give an emotion based by colour, position, space and the movement of the image. A message can be presented more powerfully through a photograph than through one person speaking to you.





3. Modern popular culture is bringing new and convenient ways to communicate and complete daily tasks. Using cell phones and computers to communicate with friends and family makes our lives much easier, but I think that technology is just making us lazy. Instead of going out to get what we want, we sit at the computer and shop, do banking, groceries or even ordering food online. I dislike how popular culture is shoved down our throats. Magazines filling shelves with all the latest gossip on people's lives, to whom we don't even personally know. We focus on Tiger woods new scandal instead of how to better our planet or whats going on with the government. I use the media mainly for entertainment. I listen to music I can dance to, I watch movies that spark my interest and use the photography to bring my creative mind to work.




4. Music is the form of media that I am most passionate about. Looking over my CD collection or my ipod, you wouldn't find much music found in the main stream from todays popular culture. Instead of finding the hit music from the Jonas Brothers or Jay-Z, I listen to more of the oldies (the beatles, blind melon, nirvana, etc) and more of the punky, ska music (madd caddies, nofx, sublime, etc). I find listening to 'underground' music is more appealing than filling my musical library with tunes that are over played on the radio. Music has influence who I am, simply because the music I like is happy and upbeat. Which tends to make me a generally happy person. But where would the world be without music? it's entertainment and a source for listeners to feel accepted or give the feeling that they are not the only one going through hardship and there's help. Music seems to be a technique used to focus. Giving inspiration for writing or drawing. Also tends to bring people into thier own world. Music seems to give people a sense of individuality. Of course there are more than one person who will like the same music you do, but having found music that can interest you gives the feeling that this is what you like and no one can change it.