Entry 1.4 Cruel reality vs “sweet dreaming”?

                                     Cruel reality vs “sweet dreaming”?

   The Truman show was released in1998 as an American drama film directed by Peter Weir .The movie is a chronicle of a young man, called Truman Burbank who discovers that, he is living in a perfectly constructed soap opera, watching by billions of people around the world. Everything he has been ever doing on the show was created, actors, the crew, so the whole show-set .At the end of the movie, he’s asking: “Who am I?”, but the question is what he is looking for to get an answer is this: “Is it the real world or where am I?”

   In this film Truman was a “real” hero, there is no doubt about that. He lived his whole life in front of cameras, not even know about that. Nowadays, we have lots of reality shows going on, and we can easily believe that, this movie was the base to some of them. The Truman Show questions our perception of reality and closely parallels Plato’s famous same topic, “The Allegory of the Cave”. At the onset of the film, Truman is trapped in his own cave, a fictional island known as Seaheaven .Truman then ascends into reality by sailing towards freedom and discovers that fact, his life in nothing else but fabricated TV program, made by a human being. His journey into this new knowledge is very similar to that cave, where Plato’s cave dweller who escapes his shackles, steps out of the cave, and faces the light of the reality. Truman’s world is the cave and Truman is the individual who escapes the restrictions of the cave.  Thus, The Truman show           presents a modern-day manifestation of Plato's allegory, yet the film goes one step further and presents a bitter reflection on modern-day masses who are trapped in their own kind of cave.  In Truman's artificial world, the island Seahaven is his cave, to which he has been confined since birth. He begins to break away from the chains that imprison him, as he starts to see errors in the production of the reality show, so the “production starts to fall apart.He sees his wife's crossed fingers in their wedding photo and notices her breaking into some outbursts about household products, and all those things takes him closer to the truth, that is where he lives is not the real world.  Truman ultimately escapes from his cave by a boat, named Santa Maria, a reference to Christopher Columbus’s boat and his journey towards discovery. Similarly to the allegory, the journey to the truth is not easy. Christof, the program's creator, orders an artificial storm towards Truman to pull him off away to discover the truth, almost killing him, because Truman was about to drown.  When Truman reaches the end of his journey as his boat hits a wall painted as a sky, well that is, literally the end of his artificial reality.

  I got really excited at the end of the movie, because I wanted to know, what is going to happen by the end. Is he going back to his “safe”, immaculate world, where everything is perfect or take the risk to enter to a world which he  is not familiar with .There was a picture in my mind while I was watching the final scene, how I imagined the end. Truman enters the exit door and on the other side suddenly he is having the biggest spotlight ever and people start to clap their hand as a sign of their ecstasy. The Truman show is a movie that worthwhile to watch. I t was a financial and critical success, and earned numerous awards.

Blog entry 1.3 My place in the Cave

Blog  entry: 1.3 My place in the cave                      

 I think everything starts in your early childhood. The toddlers are basically extremely curious about the whole wide world. If they are growing up in that environment, which not allow them to satisfy their curiosity, sooner or later, they will become totally ignorant about everything and eventually they are going to follow the other human being. Those people I call ; the followers.

 I don’t know what time I started to got my eyes open. It might have been around my early teenage years when you just want to discover the truth of the world by asking other people like my parents .In some cases I could not find satisfaction for my eager, so I went to ask my friends or even my friend’s parents, strangers.

I’m  a doubter .I always need to know the origins of the things, otherwise I cannot truly believe it, and I found it challenging sometimes, indeed, it’s very interest me.

I definitely do not belong to those people, whose still chained, because I’m one of them who wanted to go out to see the light, and then come back and tell about those things you have seen outside. That is why  sometimes I feel like I’m kind of a pioneer in some fields, because I just want to know more! So, my motto is: “Dare to explore!” Everybody thinks that I’m a little bit weird or I’m often called crazy, for that reason, I always want to ask about things people usually don’t want to. I’ve been (and I’m still )a talkative girl, who is trying to figure people out, choosing the better way to communicate.

Certainly, you take the risk when you want to try discover something new. It’s not just about you, going through, experiencing. It’s also being the first one to do some other thing(s), which never been done before.

  Sometimes I feel sorry for those people, they are still struggling in their “cave”. I think for the most of them, looking for the truth is just not convenient. Once you get to know about the real nature of things, and you are flattered, there is no way you want to go back to that same old-same old world. It is just better to be in the dark for them. I’ve always been looking for the truth. Actually, I must say, I’m still haven’t found what I’m looking for, so that makes me feel like, I need to go on, without giving up.

My Heroic Day

Barbara Gelencser-Brown

Class:ENG099 5724

Blog entry 1.2  My Heroic Day

My Heroic Day

    I used to wonder, what is exactly hero means .According to the dictionary; hero is:1. person who is admired for great deeds or fine qualities,2.one who shows great courage,3.the chief male character in a story, play or poem. As I’m thinking about everyday heroes around me, I need to confess that sometimes little things can make you feel like a hero.

     I’d like to recall one particular day in my life, when I felt like a hero for a day. It actually happened not long time ago. It just started as a regular; normal day. I woke up in the morning after a sleepless night, because my neighbor was playing music until midnight or so. I have my broom next to me all the time, when I need to make a little warning on my ceiling, giving him a little hint about the actual time. Anyway, I was not in the good mood. As I was walking towards the subway station I saw a sign, which said that I need to walk to the other station, because of the construction. Well, honestly, I didn’t make me feel any better. So, with my dark clouds over my head, I got on the train, trying to find a seat, so I can start to read my favorite magazine or listening some fine music, to put me in a better mood. That day, the sun was so shiny, so bright, I almost started to forget how  I felt when I woke up in the morning. Could I be that person whose mood depends on the weather so bad? Who knows.

I have different jobs to pay my bills, and I try to make my schedule/life easier as much as I can. One of my workplace is a restaurant with traditional food and my colleagues are also Eastern-Europeans that mean in many cases our hearts beating on the same way. After we done with work, we regularly having a drink at a bar across the street, because we are not allowed to hang around at our workplace once we finished our shift. What a silly rule! It’s a great opportunity to exchange information with my coworkers or just simply having a great conversation about life, letting the steam off after a long, stressful shift.

So, we were sitting over there, and out of sudden we all heard a stump, near to us. We all looked up, at the same time, making a “question mark-face”…What was that noise? On the ground, next to our seat, there was a pigeon! She was (I don’t know why, but I’m going to refer to that as a “she” from now on) trying to get up helplessly, her struggle was so heartbreaking! We all gathering around her, to see, how can we help somehow. First off all, we tried to figure that out what caused her fall on the street. Seemed like, a broken leg or wing might have caused the problem to get back on her feet .After all, we were not veterinarians, and  every time we got closer to her, she got more terrified! We got so upset; we knew that we need to do something! We just couldn’t leave her there. While we were thinking, a group of young people were approaching to us on that side of the road, where the pigeon was lying on the ground. They didn’t pay attention, what was going on. We had to scream at them; “Watch out!”It was so intensive over there, you can smell her fear. After we all try to discuss what we should do, finally, we made a decision. We need to move her someplace else, where she will be in safe, until she gets better. So, I called the bartender to give me some rugs, so I was able to wrap her around, to transport to the other side of the street. It was so hard to me, because I was also scared to touch her, I didn’t know how handle my fear! I closed my eyes and I kept telling myself that, I need to do this for her own sake, in order to help. Her body was so tiny, unsheltered, I had to help her somehow!!!

Finally, after I pull myself together, I carefully went over across the street and put her on the lawn, next to the sidewalk where a building has a private entrance. We felt sorry for her. All of us. As I was walking down on the street with my friend, they kept telling me:”Barb, you are a hero, I don’t know if I could have done this.”

Well, I can tell this; you never know what time you get in trouble, but when you need help from above, don’t worry, you are going to get it .I do believe in Karma, meaning, every time you do something nice , it will come back to you, but don’t forget; if you also doing something bad, that might come back as well. What goes around comes around.

I went home with a good feeling in my heart, I saved something, even the situation was tight, it brought me out of my comfort zone, but I was still just focusing on my task.

Diagnostic

We live in the 21 st century.Since we invented the first electric "shock", the new technology started to take place in our life.Nowadays, we barely can imagine our society without the modern technology.
I still remember when I saw the first cell phone, and I thought, this is the beginning of something big.When we just used the regular, land-line phones,it was still magical, how you can hear someone so clear, who is actually so far from you!Even when you wake up in the morning, the first "interaction" with the technology is the electric alarm (I'm sure someone still like to use the old-fashioned clock).Then you turn on your tv, watching the news, what happend in the world while you have been dreaming.Your cell phone is ringing, giving you the sign;you have an incoming call or message.It's time to check your emails on your computer, let's see, what tasks do you need to do today, or just simply go to your favourite websites (like Facebook, Youtube), looking for some extra information.After you are ready to go to work, you get dressed, ironing your clothes with your brand new steaming iron, and have a sip of your favourite tea, which was made with that little extra help by the coffee machine,you walk to your subway station.The train will take you to your destination within way less time, than if you use a car, or walk.Many things we can thank to the technology.Try to imagine,if suddenly all cell phone satelites would go blank or stop to operate.We could still use the landlines, but you wouldn't be that mobile.You would be just sitting next to the phone, waiting for that important call.
Let's face it; we all depend on the newest technology.I guess, it makes our life so much comfortable.Of course, if I never had a tv,I'd just go outside and check the weather on first hand.
If I can call back any childhood memory, the advantage of the electricity has always been a good thing.Starting the first walkman (digital), which helped me to put back to sleep,through having my first computer, it's just such a pleasure to have those things in our life!
I'm define myself as a person who depends on technology very much.What could do without my cellphone?I don't want to imagine that!There were times, when people had to live without those things, like tv's, computers, cars, phones and still survived a lot of things.I think it's just a way it is, that the human being wants to make life easier and more comfortable for himself.
Even we always enjoy the benefits of living in this modern world, it is just so relaxing sometimes to go back to the nature, go back to the basics, where we originaly came from.

start

Welcome everyone!

Finally, I've created my very first blog!!!!! C u soon!