Rapunzel - Twisted Tales Assignment

Not many people knew this, but Rapunzel held the world record for having the longest hair of any human being ever. People credited her for it, but I think the hair was more important than her. Me. Without me, she wouldn’t even have gotten close to the record! Why does she get all the credit? Oh, how the world is cold.

Anyhow, I had the flowing locks of a goddess. Everyone stared at me from the handsome princes to the old and ugly beggars from the outskirts of town. I was hot. Many always wondered how I came to be. They always ask Rapunzel what shampoo or conditioner she used and she would typically reply with Head and Shoulders or Herbal Essences but if I were her I would’ve said, “You can’t get these babies by using shampoo. It’s all natural, baby.”

But, seriously, I was all natural…sort of. See, many years ago there was a man and a woman that lived nearby a garden which belonged to a wicked witch, who had great power and was dreaded by the entire world. The woman, who suddenly became sick, believed that the rapunzel plant in the garden was the only cure for her sickness. Her husband, trying to be a good spouse, sneaked into the garden, but was caught by the wicked witch. When the husband told her what he came for, they made a deal that in order to get the rapunzel, the couple would have to give up their first child to her. He gladly accepted, thinking the wicked witch would forget the promise. So much for being a good father.

Of course, the wicked witch didn’t forget when the couple had a baby girl a year later. She raised the little girl, which she named Rapunzel after the plant her father came to take, in the garden behind the couple’s house. Rapunzel grew up to be a beautiful child with long golden hair, otherwise known as me. When Rapunzel turned twelve years old, the wicked witch decided to lock her up in a high tower, without any doors or even a staircase, in case she tried to run away. Man, what a witch, huh? Surprisingly, Rapunzel liked it up there. I don’t know why because it was so boring up there. The witch didn’t even think of putting a TV inside. It was just me and her by ourselves. Things didn’t get any better when Rapunzel would talk to herself about how much she enjoyed watching the life of the forest, but sometimes she reminisced about the garden she grew up in. Bleh! All this girl talk is killing me. Life is a bitch.

For food, the witch would come everyday to feed Rapunzel. She would say, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair.” She would then climb up using me as a rope and come in through the window. The first time she did this, I was not a very happy camper. Having already been plaited, I thought the weight of the witch would make things worse. Being plaited is like having a wedgie…but everywhere, and I was right; the witch weighed like an elephant. The prince, however, was a different story. Apparently, a young prince heard Rapunzel singing one time, so he rode down to the tower. He seemed mystified by her voice which I found laughable because she was clearly off key when she tried to hit the high notes. Seeing no door, he wondered how anyone could even get inside the tower. Luckily, the witch also came by and he saw her climb up the tower by my help.

            When she left, the prince did exactly what the witch did. He called out, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair.” He climbed up and I grimaced for his weight, but surprisingly he was much lighter than the witch. When he eventually got to the top and saw Rapunzel, it was clear that he had the hots for her. I saw it in his eyes. From then on, he would come everyday and the two would talk for hours. It was clear that they fell in love with each other.

            It turned out that Rapunzel also wondered why the witch was so much heavier than the prince, so she asked her. I never knew witches were so sensitive about their weight until then when she went into a rage and cut all of Rapunzel’s hair off and led her into the forest without food or shelter. The witch took me up into the tower and waited.

            That night, when the prince came by as usual and cried, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair,” the witch let me down and the prince proceeded to climb up the tower. He was so surprised when he saw the ugly witch instead of the beautiful Rapunzel.

          The witch tried to scratch his eyes out yelling, “Aha! So you are the visitor who has been coming to see my little Rapunzel. I will make sure you won’t see her again.” Quickly, the prince jumped out of the window and landed in a clump of bushes. From there, the prince stumbled blindly into the forest with a badly scratched face and a searing pain in his eyes. While walking, he heard singing once again and he followed it and found Rapunzel. He ran towards her and they kissed. As she did so, his eyes were healed and he could see again. The prince then took Rapunzel to his father’s palace where he told him what had happened. Rapunzel’s parents were also reunited with their daughter. The king made a proclamation of banning the witch from the kingdom and a grand wedding was held for Rapunzel and the prince and everyone lived happily ever after. The witch was never seen again. It’s a good thing they got rid of that insensitive, lying bitch. As for me, I thankfully grew back on top of Rapunzel’s head.

The Damned Thing Adaptation

The aroma of popcorn filled the nostrils of the police chief as he entered through the light blue double doors of Theater 12. Candy wrappers, empty soda cans, and leftover kernels of popcorn obstructed his way to the crime scene. He strolled through with a quite confidence, the badge on his right shoulder shining in the dim light that illuminated the little hallway connecting the huge section of leather seats and the lobby of the movie theater right outside. As he approached the main section of the theater, the sound of sobbing and a person trying to reassure someone filled his ears. A police officer standing over a limp, seemingly lifeless body entered his vision on the left where the row of leather-cushioned seats started across the whole room.

            “What do we got here, Anderson?” the police chief asked to the young police officer, probably in his early twenties.

            “Sir, I got called here at approximately 6:51 PM for an emergency situation. They said it was a stabbing…I got here as soon as I could. From what I’ve searched, he’s still alive, but barely breathing,” Anderson remarked with an obvious tone of nervousness. “The paramedics are on their way.”

            “Were there any witnesses?” the police chief replied back as he bent down to examine the body.

            “Yes, his wife...”

            “Alright, I want you to take her back to the station…”

            “One more thing, Chief Taylor, we might have a problem.”

            “What?” Chief Taylor questioned as he turned his head at Anderson, his eyes narrowing with curiosity, but at the same time he it said with a manner of arrogance as if Anderson was questioning his authority.

            “Sir, I don’t know…”

            “Well, which is it?! Do we have a problem or not?!”

            “The victim has no wounds or any indication of any signs of struggle, sir.” Anderson replied avoiding the police chief’s menacing eyes; he was looking down staring at the blood-stained carpet that used to resemble light purple. A pool of dark red surrounded the body.

            “What the heck are you talking about? There’s blood everywhere!” Chief Taylor piped. He proceeded to examine the body turning it over. Anderson was right. The body had nothing. He could tell that the poor man was still alive; his chest was moving up and down.

            Anderson didn’t know what to say and stayed silent while leaning up against one of the red-cushioned seats beside the body. Chief Taylor looked up, the angry look that donned on his face earlier was gone, “Do you know his name?” he asked.

            “Connor Bradshaw, sir, I looked at his wallet,” Anderson quickly replied.

            The police chief stood up now, looking around. Anderson observed him intently, waiting what he will do next. Chief Taylor now looked at the victim’s wife intently as if he was on to something. His natural instincts that separated him from all the regular cops took over. He walked over to her.

            “Mrs. Bradshaw, I’m going to need you to settle down and step aside with me please,” Chief Taylor calmly told the weeping woman sitting down a few feet from the body. The police officer that was watching her took this as a cue to leave the two alone and left.

            Between her non-stop crying, she managed to utter out an “Okay.” The police chief stared with a concerned look on his face. He could tell that she was an attractive woman. She wore a lime green tank top with jeans, and was probably in her late twenties. He assumed that she and her husband couldn’t have been married more than five years.

            “Ma’am, I just need you to tell me what happened.” Chief Taylor said.

                   *                                     *                                     *

            I stared at the police officer that stood over me. How could this guy ask something like that at a time like this? I thought. The badge on his uniform told me that he was probably someone important and probably wanted his authority to be respected.

The image of my husband in a bloody mess couldn’t be wiped off my mind as I continued to cry. After a few seconds, with the cop waiting for me to talk, I managed to say, “I’ll try my hardest to recollect on what happened.”

“Any kind of information would be helpful…I’m sorry but have I introduced myself? My name is John Taylor, police chief here in Beaumont,” he said with an air of confidence, especially in that last part.

With that, I started my story through my crying: “My husband and I usually go to the movies on Saturday nights and tonight was no different. He really wanted to see the new scary movie that came out just last week- you know what I’m talking about? It’s called Dead at the Box Office.”

The police chief nodded approvingly, but something told me that he probably didn’t know what I was talking about.

“So, we sit down right over there, right where my husband is now, at the end of that aisle, and we were just watching the movie. I remember there was this really scary part where the kid in the movie gets decapitated by the monster, and as usual there were some screams from the crowd. That was when my husband toppled from his seat and he just started to scream while on the ground. He was rolling over as if something was hurting him. I don’t know what it was, but he was yelling for someone to stop. I could tell he was in deep pain. I saw blood too, but no one did anything to him. I don’t know where the blood came from. I just hope he’s alright…”

That was when I couldn’t go on any longer and I started weeping like a baby again.

                        *                                     *                                     *

            The police chief couldn’t believe his ears at the witness’s testimony. In his mind, he thought that in the twenty- seven years he served in the police department, this proved to be the strangest and most pathetic lie he had heard.

            “You’ve got to be kidding me. You really expect me to believe that? I’m not stupid you know.” Chief Taylor barked at her. He yelled it with the most intense look on his face. The poor woman that helplessly sat in front of him couldn’t do anything but look at him in terror.

            The woman was telling the truth at least from what she saw. It was obvious by the way she reacted to the police chief’s brief outburst. The terrified look on her face looked too real and certainly couldn’t have been faked easily. Plus, the body of her husband still lay flat on the floor a few feet away and she couldn’t possibly have any other intentions other than find out what had transpired during the incident. Chief Taylor realized this and turned away in discontent.

            At that moment, three paramedics, wearing the familiar green overalls with the blue paramedic logo on the left breast pocket, walked in. One of them carried a bright orange box, which looked like a tool box, while two pulled along a stretcher.  The three able-bodied men quickly examined Connor Bradshaw lying on the ground, and in no time had him on the stretcher. As they were about to roll him away, Connor touched one of the paramedic’s arms, hinting them to stop.

            One of the paramedics turned to look at Chief Taylor and Connor’s wife and declared, “He wants to talk to both of you.”

            Linda Bradshaw jumped from her seat and ran to his side. The three paramedics stepped back out of her way. She hugged him as if they hadn’t seen each other in years. Chief Taylor followed; his swagger gone. He looked dazed and confused. Connor looking up from the stretcher glared at the both of them. His whole face and body seemed to be covered with blood. The black hair that flowed from his head was the only thing that didn’t resemble any kind of red blood on his body. The significant amount of blood that he lost weakened him to the point to where he could barely talk.

                      *                                     *                                     *

            “I’ll tell you what happened.” I groaned at the police chief. I let out a little cough; I knew I was dying, but I need to get this out of my chest.

            I immediately went on, “As I sat watching the movie, I felt an invisible force coming over me. It seemed to flow through my veins and into my brain. I felt it trying to control me like a robot. Sharp pain penetrated through my temples as I tried to get it out. I didn’t know how, but I tried to fight it off out of my body. Then, I heard everyone screaming, probably from the movie, and that was when it attacked me. Every part of my body froze and I had no control. I stumbled to the ground and felt blood seeping through my skin. After a few seconds, it stopped and left me alone. But, something attacked me, trying to kill me! It was invisible and it was trying to kill me!”

            At that point, I heard the police chief say, “Take him to the hospital,” as I yelled. I whipped my head back towards my wife and saw a deep, sad look on her face. The three paramedics slithered past her and converged around the stretcher and proceeded to take me away.

            “Don’t take me away! I want to be with my wife!” I yelled. I took one last look at her and the police chief. Something strange happened to me that night and no one will ever know what it was.

Fractured Timeline and Change in Point of View

Many authors use the technique of a fractured timeline and changing the point of view to affect the reader's perception of the story to their desired effect. For example, Fitcher's Bird is a classic story where the antagonist (the sorcerer named Fitcher) is tagged as the bad guy from the very start of the story. In contrast, when the start of the story is changed to when Fitcher and his friends are burned alive in his house by the third daughter, it completely changes the reader's perception of Fitcher and the daughter. The daughter is perceived as an evil person as opposed to the original story. Also, the audience will feel some sort of sympathy for Fitcher as he is being burned alive. Having a fractured timeline also makes the reader wonder why the house is being burned or why the daughter is dressed as a bird. This will make the reader hooked onto the story. Another technique authors use is changing the point of view of a story. In this story, when the point of view is changed from third to first person, it allowed the story to become more alive. The character's thoughts and feelings are conveyed more adequately adding to the effect. Overall, both these techniques make any piece of writing more compelling and exciting.

Lessons From Fairy Tales

Unlike typical Disney fairy tales, Fincher's Bird has some elements that would not be seen in a children's story. This story has violence, and gore written all over it. However Fincher's Bird boasts many similar lessons that Disney fairy tales also convey. One of them is to not trust strangers. in the story, the sorcerer disguises himself as a beggar to trick the three women to come home with him. Of course, the three women's faith is understandably not positive. The fairy tale is discreetly conveying this message, but in an atypical way introduced to children. Another lesson that can be learned from this story is the importance of parenthood and life. When the sorcerer gives the women the eggs, it represents a relationship between a parent and a child, where the parent must provide for the children without getting anything in return. In the story, the egg must be protected at all costs which also applies to children, especially babies. Even with its unorthodox way of incorporating life's lessons into a story, Fincher's Bird effectively makes a good "children's" fairy tale.

The Stand Epic Poem - 10/1

A virus from a facility is released unexpectedly into the open

An infected security guard escapes: a bad omen

He drives with his family to a little town

Infected with Captain Trips, they chug along down

They crash into a gas station

Little did they know they were about to infect the nation

Five out of the six guys get infected and they spread it everywhere

They all die but the one guy named Stu didn’t even need medical care

Now the virus spreads nationwide

99.4% of the population will die

In Ogunquit, Maine a pregnant 19-yr old contemplates

Her parents need to know but she compensates

Frannie first tells her Dad

Because she knew her Mom was going to take it bad

Her mother finds out and gets sick

Frannie blames herself for it

In New York, a troubled musician comes home

With his Mom, he’s free to roam

Getting in trouble with the law and basking in his fame

All Larry could do is sit in shame

A troubled relationship with his mother

He tried to fix it so she won’t get bothered

As he does so she gets infected

Larry was unaffected

In Shoyo, Arkansas Nick, a deaf-mute wanders

Local thugs beat and rob him: call the doctor’s!

Nick meets the policeman with the cold

Soon it becomes uncontrolled

The policeman and everyone in town are dropping like flies

The doctor theorizes someone made a mistake and sighs

Nick is now all alone and in charge of the station

He has so much to worry about; he endures frustration

Back in the facility Starkey tries to cover up

But he feels guilty of the dead man’s head in the cup

Nonetheless, he executes whoever threatens of telling

The poor journalists are trembling

Starkey thinks plan of spreading the virus worldwide will do the trick

It will protect the U.S. from taking all the heat

The president disagrees and dismisses him

He kills himself and goes out on a limb

Dark Fantasy Essay

The short stories, The Raft, Nightcrawlers, and Duel are all considered dark fantasy stories. But, what exactly makes up a dark fantasy story? The three major elements of a dark fantasy story are horror, fear, and a supernatural element that takes place in the story. These three short stories have varying effectiveness and based on these three elements Duel, the most “realistic” story of the three, is the least effective, while Nightcrawlers is the second most effective, and The Raft being the most effective.

                Duel, written by Richard Matheson, is a story about a guy named Mann, who was living in a typical driver’s nightmare. In terms of being a dark fantasy story, Duel only does a good job with the fear element. Throughout the story, Mann is faced with an unknown truck driver who seems set out to kill him. Matheson makes it a point to not reveal the truck driver’s physical appearance or any motives he had for trying to kill Mann. This fear of the unknown is a common motif in a dark fantasy story. In terms of the horror or supernatural elements, this story does a poor job of incorporating these. Matheson purposely named the main character, Mann, which is almost like the word “man” to signify that this situation can happen to any “man.” It seems like the whole point of this story was for it to not be a dark fantasy story at all. Nonetheless, this story has some dark fantasy elements in it.

                On the other hand, Richard McCammon’s Nightcrawlers, accomplishes a better job of having these dark fantasy elements. This story has a supernatural element to it such as when Price, the Vietnam War veteran, can make his dreams and thoughts to come true or appear in real life for at least a few seconds. McCammon segues this into Price’s nightmare when he re-lives his past during the war where he left his fellow soldiers to survive. Price’s dream comes true and endangers everyone that is around him. This provides the horror aspect of the story. Many suspenseful scenes come out of this as Price’s dreams spiral out of control. Violence erupts and people die while Price just sleeps. Fear also plays a big part in this story. The fear of the unknown comes up again in the story as the spectators who meet or are near Price are frightened by his supernatural talent. These people do not know why all these things are happening. At the end of the story, Price is “killed” by one of his dream soldiers which gives him peace of mind about his troubled past. Overall, Nightcrawlers is a good dark fantasy story which is evident in its use of the three elements.

                The best story out of the three is clearly The Raft for providing the reader excitement, and suspense along with the three elements of dark fantasy. Written by Stephen King, he opts to use the fear of the unknown, once again, when four teenagers go to a lake and find a black patch on the water that devours humans.  All the four kids could do was take a guess on what it was, but they were stuck in a raft in the middle of a lake. Stricken with horror, the four get “eaten” by the monster one by one. The black monster on the water resembles a supernatural aspect of the story. What sets this story apart from the other two is the suspense that it provides all the way through the ending. The readers, specifically teenagers, can relate to this story by the content that King writes about in this story. King utilizes violence, sex, and terror to grab the readers’ attention. He uses other aspects of literature to bring his story to life while still falling under the category of dark fantasy.

                All three short stories are all considered dark fantasy stories. Picking a story to best represent the genre can be determined by how effectively these short stories presented the genre through the three elements of dark fantasy. The Raft provides this efficiently and it is clear that it is a dark fantasy story. Also, the excitement that it provides compared to the other two short stories makes this the best exemplar of the genre.

Dialogue and Characterization

Serena and her shopping cart screeched to a stop in front of aisle 15. The sign read Canned Foods. She scanned the shelves, frantically, looking for the familiar box that smells of cheesy delight. It’s the day of Thanksgiving and trying to find mashed potatoes at the time was like trying to find the leprechaun at the end of the rainbow. She saw it, mid way through the aisle, hiding behind the peas and carrots, there was only one box left. At the other end of the aisle Serena spotted another woman, whose face looked vaguely similar to a friend of the past, who too, seemed to have her eyes on the box of Hungry Jack Easy Mashed Potatoes, which she desperately needed. Serena, still in her jogging suit from her earlier run, made a dash for the potatoes. What both ladies didn’t notice was another woman had entered the aisle, and was casually strolling toward the last box of potatoes. Just as Serena was about grab the box this other lady snagged them, and ran off to the next aisle. Both ladies stopped and stared in disbelief, their Thanksgiving feast was now ruined. They made eye contact.

“Cree? Cree, is that you?” Serena asked curiously.

“Oh, hey Serena. It’s been a while.” Cree said with a smile as she forgot about having another mashed potato-less Thanksgiving.

“It’s been two or three years at least. I think the last time we talked was The Washburns’ Christmas party, and they’ve been divorced for two years by now.” Serena replied, trying to forget that horrible memory from that party oh, so long ago, where she had gotten so drunk that she ran right into the Christmas tree and burned all of the Washburn children’s gifts.  

“You’re probably right, but I doubt it was a few years ago. You look like you haven’t aged a day.” Cree stated sullenly, as she knew that her own looks have been receding ever so slowly. 

“Stop it. You don’t look too bad yourself.” Serena said. She could tell by Cree’s facial expression that the subject needed to be changed, so Serena quickly asked, “How are the kids?”

Relieved that the subject was changed, she replied “They’re doing very well. Sonny is playing soccer, and Faith is in high school now.”

As the two ladies talked, Meredith (one of Serena’s daughters) approached them and complained how she wanted her mother to hurry up, so they could hit up Macy’s before the Thanksgiving Morning Sale ended at 11:00. Serena scolded her and told her that Thanksgiving dinner is more important than some clothes. She then gave her a twenty dollar bill and shooed her off to the candy aisle.

Serena sighed and looked back to Cree, and said “Adolescence is so difficult when it comes to raising girls. Did you have any trouble when it came to raising Faith?  Our little girls are growing up so fast, it seemed just yesterday that they were only babies.”

A look of relief flashed across Cree’s face, she thought maybe she wasn’t the only one with that problem. “I agree. I know what you mean. Even though Faith didn’t cause trouble growing up, she doesn’t seem to be getting along with any of her old friends.”

Serena with a concerned look on her face said, “Both of us know high school is a tough place, with all the problems students go through, especially for young girls. Just think back to our old high school days and all the problems we faced. But she’ll come around. She has your confidence.

Things are different now Cree thought to herself. The bad memories of high school are all behind her now. She never liked to think of those days when she would come home from school high, and getting scolded by her parents for making wrong choices and hanging out with the wrong crowd. Cree tried to force a smile as she replied, “You’re too kind. Thank you. How are William and the kids?”

Serena, who had been dreading the time that the question would come up, calmly answered “William has been busy, you know, being a doctor and all. The kids are doing fine. We just returned home from our trip from France.”

Cree, though very jealous at the time, did not show it. She had always wanted to go to Paris, but could never afford it. So she tried to sound happy, and started to pry as much information out of Serena as she could. “No way! Ted and I have always wanted to go there, but we’ve never had the money.”

Reluctant that her family matters weren’t brought up any further, Serena indulged on her trip. “You two should totally go, Meredith and Kristin had a blast and made a bunch of new friends. If you ever wanted to get away, maybe for a long vacation, I’d be happy to look after the kids.

Cree, taken back by what Serena had just offered, thought back to Sonny and Faith. “I don’t know, I think the kids, especially Faith, would like France. They don’t really like long tips though. Faith went to a camp in Vermont last summer, and really enjoyed it and made lots of friends.”

            Serena, who was still ranting on about everything great about Paris stated, “I’m sure they would. France is the city of love and all.

            With a curious look Cree asked, “What places did you guys visit?”

            “Well obviously the Eiffel Tower, The Catacombs, and the Louvre. But we also visited little shops and….”

             “Mom I think we should really go, it’s 9:30.” Meredith had suddenly appeared and interrupted Serena.

Serena saw that Meredith was holding a boatload of candy in her hands. She must’ve spent the whole twenty dollars. Not wanting to cause a ruckus in the store, the girls quickly made their goodbyes and exchanged numbers, and left the store.

Pan's Labyrinth Movie Review

The Fairy Tale That Isn’t

                Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth is not the typical kind of fantasy movie. Gone are the complicated and lengthy plots like in the ever-popular Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings series, or the stunning and grandiose visual effects of Avatar. What this movie provides is a simple, yet unique piece of literature that despite its simpleness, still provides the many elements of fantasy. Pan’s Labyrinth features a surprising performance by the cast, which, along with the exquisite directing from del Toro, definitely categorizes this movie as a “diamond in the rough” among the more famous movies of its genre.

                Set in 1944 fascist Spain, this movie is about a little girl named Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), who travels with her pregnant mother to live with her new stepfather. Ofelia soon finds out that his stepfather, Captain Vidal (Sergi Lopez), is the strict and ruthless leader of the Spanish Army. It seems like he doesn’t even care for her or her mother, but only for the baby soon to be born for him to carry Captain Vidal’s name. Ofelia tries to disregard this through reading her books and just let her imagination take her mind off her life. One day, her imagination comes to life as she discovers a fairy on the day of her arrival at her new home, which takes her to a faun. The faun tells her that she is a princess of underground world and that she must complete three daunting tasks to prove it. These tasks, along with adjusting to her new, difficult life with her stepfather, take Ofelia to an adventure she cannot possibly ignore.

                The star of this brilliant film is none other than Ivana Baquero, who plays the main character, Ofelia. Not many child actresses can duplicate what Baquero showed in this film. She perfectly characterized Ofelia’s curiosity and stubbornness that her role in the movie needed to be. Ofelia’s belief of a fairy-tale world was evident in Baquero’s acting. Another notable performance in this film was Sergi Lopez’s. Lopez’s character was the designated antagonist. From the very start of the film, his stern and merciless personality showed through. His character was not very likable and conceivably it was Lopez’s fantastic performance that made his character give a bad connotation. It was del Toro’s directing that made the cast’s performance memorable. He did a fantastic job on this movie. The plot was fast-moving, but did not damage its effectiveness of grabbing the viewer’s attention. The fairy tale elements of the plot naturally fit into the otherwise historical fiction aspects of it. Del Toro combined these elements to make an outstanding movie.

                The visual and auditory effects of this film greatly contributed to what del Toro wanted to convey to his viewers. The contrast of the lighter and darker scenes set the mood, which was very important in the movie. The lighter background in the scene where Ofelia stood in front of his mother and father in their rightful throne smiling down on her, was much different than when Ofelia was being chased by an injured and bloody Captain Vidal through the labyrinth which had a very dark background. It was this kind of visual imagery that conveyed the varying moods of the film. The music used was also a significant in the expression of the mood. The scenes in Captain Vidal’s room where he was always shaving always had music that almost signified a marching type of song for an army. This gave the character a dictatorial side of him that is obvious along with his actions and personality. The special effects in this film did a satisfactory job based on it its purpose of helping set the mood.

                A poet named Oscar Wilde, once said, “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” This is evident in this film. What seems to be a simple fantasy story has hidden, dark meanings that can be missed. Combining fantasy and historical fiction, del Toro hides themes consisting of escape and hopelessness. Ofelia uses her imagination to get away from her strict stepfather through her fairy tales. By creating a fantasy world, she is able to hide from the harsh truth of life and just live as a kid in an unwelcoming new home. This movie definitely deserves a rating of four out of five magical fairies.

Pan's Labyrinth Plot Summary

Set in 1944 fascist Spain, this movie is about a little girl named Ofelia, who travels with her pregnant mother to live with her new stepfather. Ofelia soon finds out that his stepfather, Captain Vidal, is the strict and ruthless leader of the Spanish Army. It seems like he doesn’t even care for her or her mother, but only for the baby soon to be born for him to carry Captain Vidal’s name. Ofelia tries to disregard this through reading her books and just let her imagination take her mind off her life. One day, her imagination comes to life as she discovers a fairy on the day of her arrival at her new home, which takes her to a faun. The faun tells her that she is a princess of underground world and that she must complete three daunting tasks to prove it. These tasks, along with adjusting to her new, difficult life with her stepfather, take Ofelia to an adventure she cannot possibly ignore.

Top Dozen Movie List - Revised

12.  The Day After Tomorrow – The concept of the world ending is always very popular in science fiction films and this film is no exception. The Day After Tomorrow touches upon global warming as the culprit of the world being destroyed. The “natural” disasters shown in this movie looked very realistic and made me wonder if this could all be possible someday.

11. Predator – This is one of the best movies Arnold Schwarzenegger has ever done. In all his movies, it is always a mystery how Arnold is the only one that survives. Nonetheless, Predator is very entertaining to watch as Dutch, Arnold’s character, once again, is the lone survivor on his team of Commandos as he seeks revenge against the Predator.

10. Terminator 2: Judgment Day – Along with Predator, this is one of the only Arnold Schwarzenegger movies that I like. His character and the infamous line, “I’ll be back!” is timeless. This movie series gave Schwarzenegger the signature role of his acting career. The movie is about a cyborg who comes back from the future to destroy an army before he was even created.

9. Jurassic Park – When I was a kid, I was obsessed with dinosaurs. Jurassic Park and The Land Before Time were certainly the most watched videos in my dad’s VCR back then. The visual effects were amazing as it gave me an actual program to watch where dinosaurs actually look real and intimidating, and eat people. The plot is about an experimental island full of dinosaurs that somehow go out of control, endangering the lives of the humans in the island. Although the dinosaurs in this movie aren’t as nice, this movie beats The Land Before Time any day of the week.

8. I Am Legend – Will Smith’s acting in this movie was remarkable. The whole story involves a man, who seems to be the last person on Earth, trapped with creatures in New York City, that have zombie and vampire characteristics. He tries to survive, all the while trying to find a cure for the zombies to make them human again. What fascinated me most about this movie was the relationship of Will Smith’s character and his dog. Both these characters develop a strong relationship throughout the movie because of their loneliness. It absolutely broke my heart when the dog died.

7. Transformers – The battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons never gets old. Optimus Prime and the Autobots are in the fight of their lives to protect their own and the human race. Watching old re-runs of the TV series with my brother was a good childhood memory of mine. I think the main reason people watch this movie is the cool special effects, especially the fight scenes between the Transformers…and of course Megan Fox.

6. Minority Report – Tom Cruise plays an officer, named John Anderton, involved a pre-crime program that predicts all crimes before they’re committed. The movie gets very intense once John Anderton is accused of a crime. The plot of this movie was very exciting and provided much action and drama, which is always a very good thing.

5. The Butterfly Effect – Going back in time to fix the “bad” things in your life would surely be very convenient. This movie provides just that as a guy named Evan Treborn who has had a terrible childhood, finds a way to relive bad moments that has happened in his life, like when his psychotic father attacks him when they meet for the first time, through his journals. Evan soon finds out that fixing these moments alters the present in a big way. A suicide by his friend leads him to a chase for the “perfect” life through these “blackouts”. This movie fascinated me from start to finish. The intense moments that Evan had to go through makes his character very likable and throughout the movie, I found myself rooting for him to have the “perfect” life he wanted.

4. Iron Man – Besides Christopher Nolan’s Batman series, this is probably my favorite “superhero” movie. In some ways, the two superheroes are very similar in that both Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark are very rich and design a “costume” of sorts to fight off villains. The idea of not having actual “superpowers”, like Superman, is very appealing to me. Tony Stark uses his wealth and knowledge to build a suit of armor powered with many weapons to help protect the world.

3. Inception – This movie is one of the best movies I’ve seen recently. It probably has one of the most complex plots ever put into a movie. I remember my first time seeing this; I was overcome with bewilderment and excitement all at the same time. The process of going into a dream within a dream….within a dream, within a dream is an appealing concept. The plot is very original and I was hooked on it right away.

2. Back to the Future: Part I and II – Marty McFly is in for the greatest adventure of his life when he meets Doc Brown, and his time machine. When my brother told me to watch the first movie of this series, I was a little skeptical. Realizing as how good these movies were, that was probably the best advice my brother has ever given me. Unlike the first two movies, I thought the third movie in this series, although still very appealing, was not as good. I guess something in me just says that cowboys should never be in a science fiction movie.

1. The Dark Knight – This movie is one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. Batman, a.k.a. Bruce Wayne, struggles with his identity as he juggles his responsibilities as a superhero and just being a normal person. I was literally on the edge of my seat for the better parts of the movie. The cast’s performance, the plot, and the special effects were just absolutely perfect. It’s a shame Heath Ledger died right after this movie was made; his performance made me into an instant fan. His performance definitely puts this movie over the top.

Using Dialogue in Characterization

Serena: Cree? Cree, is that you?

Cree: Oh, hey Serena. It’s been a while.

Serena: It’s been two or three years at least. I think the last time we talked was The Washburns’ Christmas party, and they’ve been divorced for two years by now.

Cree: You’re probably right, but I doubt it was a few years ago. You look like you’ve haven’t aged a day.

Serena: Ohhh, Stop it. You don’t look too bad yourself. How are the kids?

Cree: They’re doing very well. Sonny is playing soccer, and Faith is in high school now.

Serena: Oh my gosh! They are growing up so fast. I can’t believe Faith is almost in college; it seemed just yesterday that she was only a baby.

Cree: I know, right. She’s having a little trouble though, adjusting to the high school life.

Serena: Oh, she’ll come around. She has your confidence.

Cree: You’re too kind. Thank you. How are William and the kids?

Serena: William has been busy, you know, being a doctor and all. The kids are doing fine. We just returned home from our trip from France.

Cree: No way! Ted and I have always wanted to go there, but we’ve never had the money.

Serena: You two should totally go, Meredith and Kristin had a blast and made a bunch of new friends.

Cree: I wonder if Faith would like it. She doesn’t really like long trips though.

Serena: I’m sure she would. France is the city of love and all.

Cree: I know. What places did you guys visit?

Serena: Well obviously the Eiffel Tower, The Catacombs, and the Louvre. But we also visited little shops and even went to some of the beaches.

Cree: No way! Did you guys bring back any souvenirs?

Serena: Actually we did. The kids wanted a lot of things, and of course I bought them what they wanted.

Cree: So what were they? What did you get the kids?

Serena: Both of them wanted jewelry, Meredith more than Kristen, she being in high school wanted to impress the guys.

Cree: (Laugh). Oh that Meredith. What about Kristen?

Serena: Kristen got a charm bracelet along with a silver tiara.

Cree: That’s so adorable.

Serena: Ya, she wants to be a pretty princess for Halloween.

Cree: Did William enjoy the trip?

Serena: Unfortunately, William had to work and couldn’t make it.

Cree:  That’s too bad.

Serena: I just wish we could’ve gone as a whole family though.

Cree: How come he had work?

Serena: William had to stay because there was an emergency at work. A staph epidemic broke out in the hospital, and he had to treat everyone.  

Cree: Oh, that’s too bad, Ted is pretty busy as well, and besides work he also coaches Sonnys’ soccer team.

Serena: That’s so nice of Ted. How good is the team doing?

Cree: Record-wise not so good, but they are all having a fun time. That’s all that matters.

Serena: If only the girls got into sports. They were always so into fashion.

Cree: Sonny really enjoys soccer, and Ted just goes along to support his him in his decisions.

Serena: That’s nice, I wish William would come home earlier and spend some time with the kids. (cries) They don’t even recognize him when, he comes home.

Cree: Come here, honey. It will be ok. Talk to me! How can I help?

Serena: I tried to talk to him about it, but he just won’t listen.

Cree: Then maybe you should make him listen. Set some ground rules. Tell him he needs to spend some time with his children.

Serena: Do you really think that would work?

Cree: Well sure it would. He has to realize that his family always takes priority over work.

Serena: I know it does, but he makes it sound like his work is more important than anything in the world.

Cree: I got a plan. Listen up.

Serena: I’m all ears.

Cree: Okay, so next Friday you are going to take the day off. And you and I are going to have a ladies’ night. You are going to convince William to watch the kids for you. Maybe suggest that he take them to a movie.

Serena: That’s a great idea. I’ll make sure I mention it to him tonight.

Cree: Awesome, and you’ll also be able to kill two birds with one stone. You can relax while William spends some much needed time with the girls.

Serena: I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of this before. Cree, you’re a life saver.

Cree: Thanks, I’m only trying to help.

Serena: So where should we go on Friday?

Cree: I think first we should visit the spa and salon and get prepped up, then hit the clubs for some drinks and a fun night out on the city.

Serena: I haven’t been able to do that in years.

Cree: It will be amazing, and since this is all for you, I’ll even volunteer to be the designated driver for the night.

Serena: Don’t even bother sweetie, let’s just get a cab, and enjoy the night.

Cree: Alright but the fare and tab is on me.

Serena: You don’t have to do that.

Cree: I insist.

Serena: Okay, if you say so, I have to go now and pick up the kids from the mall. It was nice seeing you Cree.

Cree: Alright 5:00 on Friday, see you then.

The Ghost in the Cap'n Brown House - Open Response

In this story, Harriet Beecher Stowe touches upon the believabilty of fantastic stories. In most "ghost" stories, the credibility of the character that has seen this supernatural creature is received in two different ways: people believeing that character and other people who do not believe anything he says. This is no different in the "The Ghost in the Cap'n Brown House". In the story, Sam, the storyteller of the ghost "sighting" reasons that, "You look at the folks that's allus tellin' you what they don't believe-they don't believe this, and they don't believe that-and what sort o' folks is they? Why, like yer Aunt Lois, sort o' stringy and dry. There ain't no 'sorbtion got out o' not believin' nothin'." His main point is that whenever someone says that they don't believe in supernatural elements, that person cannnot be fully taken as correct. Sam is shown to be on the fence with believing the ghost is actually real or not. Later on in the story, two people, Cinthy Pendleton and Aunt Sally Dickinson, who have seen the "ghost", tell two different tales of their experiences. Cinthy claims that she saw a ghost in her bedroom, "white as a sheet" and having "black eyes." Meanwhile, Aunt Sally contradicts by saying that while looking out her window, she sees a real, live woman come out of the Brown house. Sam clarifies that both women are people that can be trusted and have the same background saying that Cinthy is a "good pious gal" and that Aunt Sally is a "good woman and a church-member". The main point that Stowe is expressing about believability in this story is that there are so many different accounts of seeing an actual ghost. Different people have different takes on what they see with their eyes. The credibilty of a ghost story will always be in question because of the many different view points of the "sighting" by all the characters in the story. This is a compelling concept that is a good middle ground of the conflict of believing a ghost stroy. Stowe recognizes this and expresses this effectively in the story.

Nothing In The Dark Open Response

The episode, Nothing In The Dark, of The Twilight series is a perfect example of the Dark Fantasy subgenre because it has many elements that portrayed the genre so well. These elements can vary from horror, fear and a supernatural element. One of these elements is fear, and this episode clearly showed it well. The old woman, named Wanda Dunn, shuts herself from the outside world. Whenever someone knocks on her door, she is always afraid that it would be Mr. Death. Wanda is so fearful that even when an injured policeman knocks on her door, she is reluctant to let him in reasoning that Mr. Death changes appearance to trick her. This feeling/mood of fear and horror sets this to be a dark fantasy story. Another element is the supernatural aspect of this story. After finally letting the policeman in and the contractor leaves telling her that her house is going to be demolished, she realizes that the policeman is indeed Mr. Death. Mr. Death tells her to look in the mirror to see his reflection. When she looks, the bed where the policeman was lying is empty. She accuses him of lying, but the policeman convinces her that he only did it so she would trust him and that dying is not so bad. The policeman then tells Wanda to touch his hand, and before she knew it she was looking at her own dead body on the bed beside her. Every dark fantasy story has a supernatural element to it and this story certainly had it. This story definitely fits the dark fantasy subgenre because of its fear, horror, and supernatural elements.

Setting - An Unpopulated Desert Island

I woke up without opening my eyes, not wanting to wake up. The warmth of the white-hot sand that was underneath me provided a comfortable, cozy feeling for my body. The sound of the crashing waves against the rocks nearby soothed me into a calm, relaxed mood. With no hope of falling back asleep, I finally opened my eyes to reveal the horrible sight before me. My night's sleep is my only escape from all the destruction. Ever since the plane crash, I've been stuck at this deserted island for about 3 days. Debris from the plane and the ghastly stench of dead bodies was all around me as I stood up. I was the only survivor. The fact that no one lives at this island only made life so much worse. Finding food was very difficult. I searched everywhere from the crevices of the rocks along the beach, to the shallow waters looking for fish, but had no luck. The one place I haven't searched was the forest. One look at the outskirts of the beach leading into the deep, dark forest already frightened me. The canopies of the gigantic trees created a shadow over what looked like the beach. On the first day, I gathered up the courage to try to hunt for food, but backed out when I heard a thunderous growl from what sounded like a lion. I don't know how I'm going to survive any longer.

My SciFi Blog Introduction

I think in this class we will be exploring many aspects of Science Fiction. We will be discussing the many pieces of literature that are categorized in that genre. In this blog, I think I will be posting about the same topics realting to Science Fiction whether it be about a book, movie, or anything cool that has to do about Sci Fi.