Netflix

Recommended for Lady Macbeth:

The Wolf of Wall Street- Recommended based on your interest in Power and Corruption

Lady Macbeth is not one to reach the top of the food chain without bitting off a few heads (or killing people). She understands the price that comes with power and goes for it anyway. This movie is based on a mega-rich stock broker who goes from Mr. Nice to Mr. Drugs&Hookers. The money destroys him and takes away all he ever had. This would be a film to watch before the third scene in Macbeth when Duncan is killed, and could possibly prevent the whole fiasco. She wants the power more than anything but forgets about the corruption that accompanies it. Maybe a vivid reminder like this movie would help open her eyes, and if not, it is still a truly entertaining few hours (something she doesn't get too often).

Criminal Minds- Recommended based on your interest in Crime and the Mindset of Macbeth

These FBI profilers are getting into the minds of some of the most twisted criminals in their time. This show will give Lady Macbeth insight into the insane workings of her disturbed husband's mind. The entertaining series will provide plenty of insane criminals to compare to herself and make her actions seem like child's play. Learning about these crimes and how to get away with them will help Lady Macbeth hone the craft and gather insight into her own crazy thoughts. Also, the action and crime present in the show will distract Lady Macbeth and allow for her long nights awake to be spent pondering the fiction crimes of the FBI. 

Desperate Housewives- Recommended based on your interest in Drama and Powerful Women

These housewives are stirring up the quiet Wisteria Lane through their impossibly dramatic lives and intense relationships. Lady Macbeth will not only fall in love with each character for their individual personalities, but they will disintegrate her every desire to become a "simple" housewife. Their sins and problems will ease her troubled mind and justify her deeds. These women play off each others strong characters (regardless of the title) and Lady Macbeth will be able to form a sort of friendship with each. Through the last few chapters Lady Macbeth becomes a desperate housewife herself, and an opportunity to see others in action is a great way to learn how to handle it. 

               
   

Mocking Jay- Recommended based on your interest in Power and Revolution

MockingJay is the third movie in a trilogy of three about a dystopian society called Panem. This particular one is about the revolution and the rise of the people. Lady Macbeth will be able to connect to the powerful main character, Katniss, and appreciate her masculine ways. However, it may seem odd to connect her to a movie about the people rising up; watching this may be seen as necessary research to help prevent this very thing from happening to herself. She will avoid becoming the Capital and be a Katniss herself. Not only does this movie have enough drama to satisfy a Queen, but it has enough action to raise her lowered spirits. 

First step towards Evil

1. Why do people who are not "evil" take the first step into evil? What, for instance, is involved in taking that first step "down the primrose path to the everlasting bonfire" (Macbeth, 2.3)? What are the consequences of the individual choosing evil (particularly the internal consequences)? Use examples from the text to support your opinion.


Taking the first step towards an evil act is the most important part of partaking in sin. Many people may define the turning moments in ones life as the time they made the decisions to change his or her life made. The causes of taking this daring leap is a very similar journey for many people. You need the idea of an evil act to be planted in your head, be able to justify the act, and, in most cases, be persuaded by the words of a close friend. Macbeth displays all of these steps in his decision to step toward "the dark side". 
Macbeth was given the inspiration to kill Duncan when he heard the witches prophecy in the woods. The witches words in act 1, scene 7, "All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!", place the seed that will develop into a plot to kill Duncan (Shakespeare). Macbeth ponders these words and takes them with great curiosity, "Stay...tell me more: /By Sinel's death I know I am thane of Glamis; /But how of Cawdor?" (Shakespeare). This prophecy gives Macbeth a sense of purpose and the potential for power. Even this potential to yield such power has his mind running to evil thoughts.
The next step towards evil actions from an all around good person is the ability to justify the evil act. Macbeth uses his thirst for power to develop justification for all that must be done. However, as found in act 1, scene 7, Macbeth has decided to avoid murder, "We will proceed no further in this business: /He hath honour'd me of late..." (Shakespeare). This is all without the persuasive words of Lady Macbeth that push him over the edge and make him take the first step into evil. It is her words that allows his mind to justify his actions and encourage him to murder Duncan. She does this through de masculinizing him, "Art thou afeard/ To be the same in thine own act and valour/ As thou art in desire?", "And live a coward in thine own esteem..." (Shakespeare). 
Once Macbeth committed his terrible act, it had a dramatic effect on his state of mind. By choosing evil he eventually found himself, "Stepp'd in so far that, should I wade no more, /Returning were as tedious as go o'er...". He led himself down a deep hole that has no turning back. When he commits his second murder of Banquo, his guilt turns into a severe insanity. He starts to see the ghost and admit, "Strange things I have in head..." (Shakespeare). By choosing evil the first time, he changed the course of his life. The guilt he felt would manifest as paranoia and insanity. This manifested in later acts of violence and a spiral of bad decisions. 

Art Analysis

This piece is called Topologies of Belief by Jose Davilla, 2011. The pictures are organized into an area 99 X 351 cm. The works are Piezography print on photo based paper. The location of the photographs is not provided but Davilla is from Mexico and bases many of his works off western culture.

The photographs consist of the outline of multiple buildings, cut out of the picture. This leaves a blank space and a shadow on the white paper approximately an inch behind the pictures. The white space that previously displayed the architecture of many buildings is Davilla's way of treating common pictures in a revolutionary way. The subject of the picture should be the buildings but by cutting the main focus out, we are forced to look around it and appreciate the background or setting. The shapes of the buildings allow the imagination to run free and fill in the empty cut out with our own ideas and forms. This is a new way to represent the traditional theme of architecture.

Davilla uses black and white photographs to enhance the viewers imagination and allow them to fill in the traditional subject matter. He uses the lack of color to enhance the impact of the photos and change the perspectives from which they are viewed. The white space pulls together the photo itself, and ties into the white frames. We are forced to re imagine the scene and take our attention away from the obvious subject. The light creates a shadow on the white paper that is away from the photograph, enhancing the absence of the building that has been cut out. The buildings consist of several cut out shapes all arranged in square frames organized evenly along a middle line. This contrast pulls the viewer in and allows them to ponder the significance of the art.

I believe the purpose of this art is to force the viewer to ponder how much we focus on the largest subject, and alter our perception. By looking at these pictures for extended periods of time we start to think about what the buildings look like and who the people are. We are exposed to so much everyday, and because it is right in front of us we do not use our imagination. By taking away the primary subject in pictures, we think about what the photo was like before and what is missing. Using the fact that Davilla is trained as an architect, I began to think of the photos as his way of expressing the importance of shape in architecture and buildings. We need to broaden our minds and stray from the traditional. Davilla allows us to view a simple subject and walk away straining for the many meanings and interpretations found in the way he cuts things out.

7 Deadly Sins

Author: BMW ™

Date: 2008

Place of Publication: Greece

This advertisement is a picture ad by the major motor company BMW for their used cars. The ad was created based on years of research associating beautiful woman with selling cars. The words read- You know your not the first. But do you really care? The majority of the image is taken up by a young woman's face and upper body. She is not wearing clothes and has her hands and hair positioned to appear sexual. There is no car on the image at all, and the BMW sign and information is small and in the corner. This places the woman at the front and center of the advertisement. The advertisement is appealing directly to the lust of their viewers and is comparing the beautiful "used" woman to their beautiful used cars. 

The words suggest that the woman shown is not a virgin and is placing the viewer in the position of a man about to have sex with her. The connotation is that even though she is a "used" woman, and you are not the first, she is still beautiful and you still want her. She is being directly compared to their used cars. The advertisement strongly appeals to the deadly sin of lust. The woman is naked, and in a sexual position. The caption makes the viewer think about the possibility of sleeping with a woman like her. This is transferred to the idea of a used car because of the metaphor being presented. BMW uses the lust of the woman to appeal to the lust of their cars. 

The audience of the image is very clearly men. I would place the image on men of all ages over 16 because the appeal to a beautiful young woman for a man is not restricted to certain ages after that. BMW was primarily targeting men of middle age and class due to the fact that they are able to drive. The advertisement is for middle class, because they are selling a cheaper alternative that will appeal to those how cannot afford a brand new BMW. They are trying to use lust to place a positive connotation on the possibility of buying used, instead of buying a cheaper brand. They are appealing to the gluttony in the middle class of the grand things in life, and presenting a way to enjoy them. 

FREEBIE

This is my one Freebie.

Whats in a name?

When I was born, my parents had a very hard time choosing my name. They left it up to my grandma, which may explain the choice. All my life, people have called me Louis and asked me if I was named after someone special. The answer to this question is no, and although it did not have meaning when I received it, it has defined me in many ways.

My name means "famous warrior" and is of Germanic origin. The definition of famous warrior reflects onto me as I think of myself as a strong person. I try my best on things that I am passionate about, and do not give up. I think the idea of a fighter reflects on my ability to focus on my goals and fight for them. I have also found that the name is associated with a desire to travel and this reflects greatly on my dream to backpack through Europe. My name has given me individualism, and many different nicknames deriving from Louise (Weez). 

My last name has defined me in the Danish origin and Scandinavian sound. I am asked a lot about how to pronounce it or where it is from. This has allowed me to become an individual because I have never met a Danish person that I did not meet through my parents. I love having an aspect to me that is not the same as everyone else. My background and the originality of my name has allowed me to be an individual. This is important to me because many aspects of myself are very similar to everyone else. I feel apart of IB as an example of a group who is apart of seniors struggling to apply for colleges and balancing activities. We are all apart of a whole whether apart of a sports team like lacrosse or a program like IB. This is what brings us individuals together and define us by other things than our name. However, it is the things that I hold true to my own self and apply to my name that I am most proud.  

Works Cited

http://www.sheknows.com/baby-names/name/louise 

"Othering"

                               Author: Wing Young Huie

                               Date: 2012

                               Publication: We are the other

This photograph was taken by Wing Young Huie of two men surrounded by what many would call junk. Magazines, yarn, clothes, hats, chairs, a lamp, and more yarn cover almost every inch of the photograph. The two men in the middle are looking at each other with smiles on their faces. One appears to have bleached hair, skinny jeans, and is knitting something. The other man sits on a zebra print chair, and he is wearing a t-shirt and jean shorts with a closely shaved head and sneakers. This man holds a chalk board with the words, “People think I am intimidating but when they know me I am soft inside,”.

At first glance one might immediately think of the word hoarder. At closer examination, the yarn and knitted objects surrounding the two men suggest that they are in a knitting store or club. The chairs and other objects hold an eclectic style and the connotation of a collection of items from many places over time. The loud patterns and colors show stark contrast with the ‘tough’ man to the right. He looks oddly out of place but his facial expression (disregarding the sign) exposes a sincere personality under a manly exterior. The smiles the men hold while staring at each other hint that the men are homosexual. The sign the tough man holds shows how he is aware that he is judged by his exterior but thinks of himself as a soft soul, or kind man. 

The juxtaposition that is shown in this photograph by the eclectic style to the predictability of the right mans clothes may be seen as a way to show the differences in the men. This ‘othering’ of the tougher looking man is further represented through the acknowledgment of the prejudice his appearance holds. His intimidating look is something he is aware does not describe his “soft”, and most likely (as presented by this photograph) homosexual “inside”. The two men show also the effect of “othering” at an entirely different level, from societal views. The connotation of manly and what it takes to be a man fits with the man to the right, while the man to the left presents his own personality. He is knitting, something common to women, and owns a zebra print bag. The man with the sign is breaking his own image by sitting in a zebra print chair and exposing his “soft” side. This antithesis gives depth to the “other” lifestyle, homosexuality. 

Margaret Atwood uses description and direct comparison to popular culture to give an identity to the “others” in The Handmaids Tale. The “others” can be seen as the entire society, as the community is set up so different to the present. Everyone has a purpose, and while handmaids are heavily described, the “others” are given descriptions that lead to in depth analysis of their character. Each position in society is presented from Offred’s point of view, an important thing to note while interpreting the identities of these groups. Atwood uses many flashbacks to show how the entire society is incredibly different to what we are used to. This “others” the community and allows the reader to identify with the events. Offred herself is “othered” through Atwood’s focus on her story and her inability to connect with other characters on more than a superficial level (as is maintained by the government). Great bias allows the reader to see the story on different levels: this bias includes Atwood herself, the interpretations of Pieixoto, and Offred’s own mind.