What'cha Watchin'?

Lady Macbeth may have been the Queen of Scotland, But she always made time for her Netflix shows when her King was busy. Some shows in particular were her favorites.

Orange is the New Black
Just because you are married doesn't mean you can't have some woman power! This show revolving around a woman who is sent to an all female prison stars some very strong female characters. Lady Macbeth is a very big believer in the woman being a strong force in a relationship, and what better inspiration than the dominant women shown in prison in this show. Lady Macbeth can also connect with the main character. Piper broke the law and tried to move on from it, but her past followed her. Lady Macbeth can relate to this and enjoy seeing someone else in the same shoes.

The Lion King
Lady Macbeth isn't much of a fan of animated films, too silly and childish, but this one speaks to her. Unlike most people who sympathize with Simba, Lady Macbeth connect much better with the character of Scar. Scar kills the much loved king in a bid for power and becomes successful. At the end of the movie Simba returns and defeats Scar in an epic battle. Lady Macbeth approves of Scar's actions in the beginning, sometimes there has to be death in order for a new era to begin, but sees the ending as unrealistic because no king would let their kingdom get that bad, and therefore no one would try to overthrow them, right? RIGHT?

Dexter
This show revolves around a blood splatter analyst working for the Miami Police Department who is also a serial killer. The main character only kills people who he think deserve it such as rapists and murderers. Lady Macbeth is a definite fan of this show. She can connect very well with a character who holds a respectable and high up position in society, but also accepts that killing is sometimes the best way to get what you want. Unfortunately for Lady Macbeth, every time she watches this show she has to wash her hands several times to get the image of blood splatters out of her mind.

Scandal
This show features another strong willed woman. Olivia Pope is a former government employee who is trying to leave behind a past that haunts her. This show is definitely appealing to Lady Macbeth because of its drama. The main character has to face her past coming back to haunt her and working as a woman in a world dominated by men. Lady Macbeth connects with this and loves seeing how Olivia deals with her problems. Perhaps it is the man troubles or the haunting past, Lady Macbeth is glued to the TV when this show is on.

There are surely more movies and TV shows that would appear on Lady Macbeth's favorites list, but these few are the ones she likes the best. Unfortunately for her, she can't stay hidden behind the TV screen forever!

Freebie

Freebie :)

IB Making Art

This piece is titled Shape Shifter and was created by Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla in 2013. It is a very large piece made up of sandpaper blocks that were used on different construction sites. The blocks were used by different workers at different times but none of them are labelled or identified as to where they came from.

This piece is from an exhibit meant to draw attention to what is missing or what is often overlooked. Each of the sandpaper blocks has its own story about where it was used and who used it, but that information is not given with the exhibit. The viewer is left to imagine the lives of the workers who used the sandpaper and the different sites and buildings that it may have helped create. The actual piece is very eclectic. It is put together without a pattern and this gives it a very eye-catching quality. Sandpaper had a rough texture and this can be seen while looking at the piece and gives it a 3-D quality.

This work of art is trying to make a statement about the working class and how they are often overlooked by the rest of society. The workers put their lives into creating the foundations of great cities but who they are as people and how they contributed is often overlooked. The piece couldn't have come together without all of the pieces of sandpaper, the same way a job site needs all of the workers to run smoothly. None of the pieces of sandpaper look the same and that reflects how each of the lives of the workers are different as well. This work may also imply that everything has a deeper meaning than what it seems like just on the surface. The sandpaper makes a pretty pattern, but is still sending a message beneath that

I Sin You Not

http://webneel.com/i/photoshop/19-ads-photo-manipulation-old-spice/09-2013/d?n=8073
(This is the link to the website where the ad was found.)

This advertisement shows a man holding old spice products and is covered in a variety of things representing different parts f the world. There are fireworks, a tiger playing tennis, a giant flame-throwing lizard, an ancient building, and group of men paddling down the river. There are an excessive amount of colors and scenarios happening in the picture. The model is "wearing" the earth in the sense that he is covered by the representations of the different countries.

This ad demonstrates the sins pride and lust most prominently. The model in the ad is very good looking and appeals to a female audience that desire to be involved with that kind of person or to a man who wants to be that person. The ad may invoke pride because it represents the man as a desirable image and sends the massage that people (men in general) should care about what the rest of society thinks of them, specifically how they smell. The writing at the bottom tell the audience to "Become one of the freshest selling places on earth." The creator of the ad could have said "you could become" but instead chose to make it a command rather than an option. This may cause the audience to feel more inclined to buy the product. The entire ad is very colorful and bright and eye-catching in order to grab the interest of the viewer and the strangeness of the image will spike their interest. The use of an attractive model also enforces the idea that if you use this product, you may look more like this person, and in turn convince the audience that they need to get this product.

The intended audience of this advertisement is someone who desires to be more like the model in the ad (probably a man), or wants someone they know, probably a boyfriend or husband, to be more like the model. They can be from any class, but the main target is probably for middle to upper-class, because Old Spice isn't exactly a cheap product. The people they want to draw in the most are probably ones who have a desire to be accepted by society or to fit in well and use material objects to try and better themselves. They are the people who succumb to pride and lust and possibly other sins as well.

Canterbury Tales and Jane Eyre

Question 5

Irony is very prevalent in the paragraphs that have been pulled. The first three are about Mr. Brocklehurst's opinions on how the girls should dress and the things hat they are allowed to receive while at the school. Mr. Brocklehurst specifies that the girls shouldn't have curly hair and should be arranged very modestly and plainly. He also says that they should only receive one set of clean tuckers in a week. The overall message is that the girls don't need luxuries and should get only what they need and not have any qualities that make them stick out.

This is in drastic contrast with the fourth paragraph. This paragraph is a description of Mr. Brocklehurst's wife and two daughters. The three women are dressed in very expensive fabrics with large hats that have large feathery decorations and their hair is elaborately curled in a french style. This is ironic because Mr. Brocklehurst is preaching about how none of the girls need these things and shouldn't have them at all and his own family enters looking the exact opposite of the image that the school girls must uphold. The use of this irony helps to characterize Mr. Brocklehurst and his family as superior and almost haughty for not thinking of anyone who is ranked below them. Mr. Brocklehurst has no qualms with telling the girls to do one things and not following those rules himself, and this paints him as being authoritative and power hungry.

By showing this irony and the contrast between the family and the school girls, the author sheds a light on the difference between the social classes during this time. Mr. Brocklehurst and his family are ranked much higher than any of the girls at the school and are treated differently because of it. The girls have certain expectations that they are expected to uphold, but Mr. Brocklehurst and his family don't have to abide by the same rules because they hold a higher position in society. Because he holds this higher position, Mr. Brocklehurst has the power to enforce rules upon the girls that he and his family don't have to follow. The appearance of Mr. Brocklehurst's family is not questioned in any way so that just shows that the class differences are an accepted part of this society.

What's in a name?

Natalie Grace Ferguson

It's a name that means significantly more to me than any other person. Natalie means born near Christmas," but my parents say that they just liked the name. Grace was the name of my great grandmother who died only a few weeks ago. Ferguson is my dad's last name, it's Scottish but we don't choose to recognize that. Through middle school and part of high school, I really responded to two different names, Natalie and Fergie. Fergie was a nickname given to me by my soccer coach and it stuck through all of my time playing school soccer. Natalie was the studious academic while Fergie was the hardworking athlete. I responded equally to both but it was easy to tell my relationship with someone based on what they would call me. It was almost as if I was two different people who interacted withing two different friend groups. Of course there were people who knew me in both ways and those who would call me one or the other regardless of my relationship with them, but this was how I identified myself in relation to others.

On a similar note, I could also be identified as Natalie, or the second Ferguson child. Being the middle child of two brothers who either currently go or used to go to the same school, it is inevitable that we are going to share some of the same teachers. My older brother was a straight A student, and I often felt like I needed to  uphold the Ferguson name. Individually, I strive to challenge myself academically and prove that I can achieve goals that I have set out to reach. I decided to join the IB program where neither of my brothers had that intention, and I involved myself with different sports and involvement within the arts. I felt the need to define myself as an individual while also feeling the pressure of being a Ferguson. My brothers also involved themselves in the Theatre and Chorus programs and did well in classes, so it often felt as if I was "just another Ferguson." This isn't true of course. I am proud of being a Ferguson, and that people expects members of my family to do great things, but sometimes it is nice to just be Natalie. Being an individual as well as a pert of a greater whole can have both positives and negatives. When part of a greater whole, there are assumptions and expectation that are made that can be either good or bad. This can apply in any number of situations and just about ever person. It is just important to remember that being a part of a whole does not mean that you are not still and individual.

Wing Young Huie vs. The Handmaid's Tale

Wing Young Huie is a famous photographer with a numerous amount of works. The following photo was taken by Huie in 2014 and was published on his website and can be found here  http://photos.wingyounghuie.com/p988258601/h241568e8#h241568e8




At first glance there is obviously a grave stone in the shape of a cross with a teddy bear tied to it with string. There are not many other graves around the stone and there is a colorful wall in the background. The stone is leaning slightly and has a chip at the top. The teddy bear looks new and as if it belongs to a young child.
A bigger picture might be derived with a closer look. The grave appears to be old, but the teddy bear is new. A child probably died at a young age and the parents, or another person who was close to them, still feels attached to this person and leaves them gifts. The person probably does not visit very often, seeing as the teddy bear is strapped to the grave so that it cannot blow away or be dragged off.

In this picture, and in Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, there is a concept of "othering". This is when someone or something is considered different or alien. The picture shows the gravestone in a not very populated, desert-like area and it is the largest grave in the area. The grave is in an undesirable location, but is still loved by someone. Traditionally people will bury their loved ones in a nearby or well taken care of area, but this grave breaks that norm by contradicting those things. Atwood presents this idea by making the Handmaids separate from the rest of the society. They are still accepted, but many of the people from other social classes look down on them or treat them as inferiors. In both of these, the object of othering is separate or alien from society, but where the Handmaids are a public and well-known situation, the grave stone is more private and personal to a select group. Overall, the moods created by both of these situations are very sad and disconcerting.