AJ SMITH

FAP

During my last semester here at model high school, I have taken 4 classes at the school.  Those classes are Independent art study, Film and Comp, imaging and Biology.  Through these classes I have grown in new ways and learned new things that I did not know before this semester at model.    Each one of my classes was a different experience than I have ever had before.  That is one of the reasons I love model, the unpredictability of the classes and their ability to morph to my own personal needs.  In my courses, especially my art classes, I could go in basically any direction I wanted to with no restrictions. 

My first class this semester at model was my independent art study with Andrea.  This class was very important for me this semester because it gave me a slot of time in the day to just sit down and work.  In my art classes I have taken, sometime sit can be very difficult to just find time to make art.  There is always a teacher giving talks, registration that needs to be done for something whether it be the AP test, scholastics or something else.  Once all that is taken care of, all the time to actually create art has passed.  That is why I love my art study.  Creating art is something I love to do, so being able to come to model for the first hour of my day and just zone in for the whole block really puts me in a great focused mood for the rest of the day.  I am very grateful to be able to have had Andrea as my teacher for this class.  Her being an art teacher as well as working in psychology was a great resource to have when working on things such as traub and the AP test.  I think that the model environment was perfect for me and this class I really took advantage of the time given to me to pursue interests in art.

My next class I've had this semester at model is Film and Comp with Geoff.  I found that this was one of my favorite classes this semester because it allowed me to dive deep into the world of film, an area I have been really interested in.  We watched many different films from different times such as the 70’s 80’s and 90’s and compared each decade of film which each other.  I found it very interesting to pinpoint the difference between each decade of film and how what was going on in the world had an influence on the movies.  I think discussing each movie and the details within them was also a great part of the class.  I got to hear how others interpreted what they saw and their opinions on things.  I was exposed to movies that I otherwise would not have watched.  A good example of that would be many of Spike Lee’s films.  I know about him as a filmmaker, but I never had known that he was such a controversial and influential film artist during his time.  I am very grateful I could be exposed to his work and learn about how he affected the African American movement through his art.  This class helped me grow by exposing me to films that commented on Society and showing me how controversial and influential film can be.  Core competencies that I worked on in this class would definitely be communication and human interaction.  After watching every movie, we discussed, as a class, parts of the movies and our opinions/thoughts on what happened.  I think this definitely helped me strengthen my communication skills by being able to express my views to people clearly who interpreted what we had all viewed in their own way.

Another class at model I had this semester is imaging with Peg.  Imaging is always one of my favorite classes to go to in the day and is always productive.  I have learned many things from peg during my time at model and she has been an invaluable resource for my throughout my creative endeavors.  In the class, I have learned many different things about the art of photography.  Even though I do consider myself an artist, I have never been much of a photographer.  I think that being in imaging really has helped me round myself out as an artist by exposing myself to all new types of creative processes that I did not know before.  Also from being in the class, I learned other things that deal with photography but mesh with my other artistic interests.  For example, Peg taught me how to photograph my artwork and edit so it would look very good digitally.  Those skills are something I will use for the rest of my life because in the art world, how you present yourself is very important.  Core competencies that I improved most on in this class were creativity and aesthetic awareness.  I think this because I came into the class not knowing much about photography, being kind of unaware of it.  I left the class having a much deeper understanding of the power of photography and what it means to be a photographer.

My last class at model was Microbiology with Matt.  I really enjoyed this class and thought it was definitely a nice change of pace from a regular science class.  In this semester, we really delved deep into diseases and how they are caused/ produced and relate to humans.  Having taken a biology class previously in high school, I was very intrigued by the approach to this class.  I t was very hands on, suing telescopes and actual samples of diseases.  This made feel much closer to what I was learning than just reading or looking at pictures in a text book.  I think I grew in this class by really taking charge more in school.  In class during the hand son experiments you had to be focused and follow directions and I think this class helped me strengthen those skills through that.  I think of the core competencies I built on inquiry and investigation the most in this class through hands on labs and the type of work that we did in class.

After my three semesters at model, I think I definitely am a different learner and person.  Being able to be treated as more of a human and equal in school really helped me excel and is leaving me with happier memories of my high school experience.  I am so grateful I got to be given the opportunity of being a model and getting to approach learning from different angles.  I think the classes I took and the teachers I had the pleasure to meet were definitely great assets to me towards the end of my high school run.  Being at model I have definitely strengthened all of my core competencies uniquely through each of the classes that I have taken.

                                                                                   DTRT Reviews

http://www.timeout.com/london/film/do-the-right-thing

This review is overall very positive about the movie.  The reviewers talk about Spikes use of music, color, and atmosphere to really bring to life the style and point of the film.  He says that all sides of the film are very developed, and does not feel one sided or more learning towards one point of view.  I agree with the writer of this review.  I felt that spike wasn't making a movie to completely make you feel pity for the African american population who was suffering from racism at the time.  It showed all the different aspects and opinions of the time.

http://www.7mpictures.com/inside/reviews/dotherightthingbd_review.htm

In this review, the writer says that movie is very preachy.  He says that the main character was very lazy who seemed to blame and put all of his problems on other people.He thinks that the film does not actually solve or evoke anything really, just shows how chaotic racial issues can be.

I don't fully agree with this reviewer.  I think that spike ha d a great message throughout the film and went about the issue or race in that time very well.  I think he left a lot to be interpreted about the film, and i like that for the unique conclusions that can be had by people.

                                                         25th Hour Response

25th hour was a very interesting movie, and not what i was expecting at all from a spike lee movie.  25th hour takes place over an extremely small window of a mans life who in a very short period of time will be sent off to jail for a long time.  The film being in this small window of time of this mans life really helped to show the emotions he was feeling.  What I found fascinating most about the movie was how much you could feel all the emotions surrounding him in his last couple days.  You really could tell the toll it was taking on himself and all of the people around him that he was going off to hard jail for a long time soon.

Even thought I found the movie very intriguing, it is not what I would expect from a Spike Lee film.  The social commentary was not as much as other films, but there was still hints of spike within the film.  There was still lots of dropping of racist words and sayings within the film, which is usual of spike.  The film just felt more Hollywood than his others, which felt more personal to him.

                                                                 THELMA AND LOUISE

           Thelma and Louise was a great film about being an outlaw but with a twist.  Generally these types of movies feature men in the main rolls.  They're in the desert, wanted by the police, doing bold masculine things.  This created quite a stir in the viewers of the film saying that it was attacking men and a male bashing film.                       In John Leos review, the bashes the film for being a feminist film, where every male is out to get the likable main women of the film.  The two main girls of the film are running from the law because they killed a man, but a man who was a dirty rapist.  He thinks that all of the men are portrayed as dominate, brutish and small minded in the film.

                 I do not agree with his review of the film and i very much enjoyed the film.  I think it was a very fresh take on the 'outlaw' film type.  Having two women in the roll where its was usually two men was actually very interesting and refreshing, and I never thought the film was male bashing at all.  Even if it did portray some men in not a very good light, that's how some humans really are out in the world, male or female.  There are rapists in the world, or men who think they are superior to women, just because a movie shows characters like these does not mean they are bashing the entirety of the male population.

Fight Club

“Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need.

I think this is a very powerful quote on consumerism from Fight Club.  Its saying that advertising shows all these glamorous products in over budgeted commercials and ads.  There is no need for the product, but in the commercial or on the ad it shows the man getting the girl, or having a better life after having said product.  This makes people spend time at their meaningless job, to make money to waste it on stupid things that have a perceived necessity that will just sit and gather dust. The movie is commenting that this creates a society where people believe it is the things you own that define you as a person instead of who you are.

"I used to be a juicer, you know, using steroids? Diabanol and Winstrol... ugh, they use that on race horses for Christ sakes. And now I'm bankrupt, I'm divorced, my two grown kids - won't even return my phone calls." 

This quote is definitely a comment on masculinity in the movie.  This quote is from the character Robert, who went from being a body builder, so very manly, to having tits.  The man had lost everything he owned for trying to be 'manly' and it even was an obsession.  I think this is a comment on how people are so obsessed with gender rolls and how they should be seen in society.  People may not take it to the same extent as this character, but there definately is a stereotype of genders in society that people cling to.

http://fightclub.wikia.com/wiki/Robert_Paulson


Fuck off with your sofa units and strine green stripe patterns, I say never be complete, I say stop being perfect, I say let... lets evolve, let the chips fall where they may.

This quote relates to generation X because its trying to go against the grain of societal lifestyle.  It comments on the monotany of everyday life with the typical job, typical house and typical life.  Everyone is trying to be perfect in societies eyes, and they think this is how they can get there.  They're suppressing who they really are to fit a mold so they can be praised by the people around them.  This quote is saying the set all that aside and let yourself be whoever you want and be happy with that person, not the plastic mold that society says you should be.  

 Spike Lee review - Inside Man

3.  The characteristics of spike lee as a director that Hoberman is referring to are his integration of racially charged subject matter into his films.  Most of  Spike Lee’s other films have had to do with racism in some form or another, and this films seems to not fit that mold as much.  Even though the main plot of the story is not about racism, you can still find spike Lee’s voice in the film because there still is many instances of racial injustice portrayed. 

4.  Another point I could add to Hobermans list is that this film felt out of place for Spike as a director.  Hoberman mentioned this, but only briefly.  I really would not think that Spike Lee was behind this film if I hadn’t been told he was.  Looking closer at the film though there are little cues that are detectable that give away that the film is Spikes.  For example some of the camera work, the cast, and some of the plot are still very recognizable as Spike Lee. 

5.  Other outside sources on Spike say many of the same things that I and Hoberman have commented on.  Spike uses loud and in your face imagery and themes to get his points across.  The imagery is often bright colors that overlay a darker tone such as in Do The Right Thing.  The theme is usually based around racial injustice of some sort.  Even if all his movies don’t display these themes directly, you can find his flavor in each of his films if you look hard enough.  Source-Colin reeltalk.com

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