A Visciously Violent Society

Children fighting on the playground, Scotiabank robbed twice in two weeks, a knifing in small town Penticton. What do all of these events have in common? Society in the now has evolved to one where violence is widely accepted. Violent behaviour is increasingly being found in many areas including small towns and school settings. It is interesting that, though this increase is prevalent everywhere, the main causes for violent influences have yet to be curbed. Gang mentality in "ghettoized" areas of cities, media influence, musical adaptations and video games are some of the main influences in the world today that invoke violent tendencies.
"Ghetto" communities in the United States and in Canada have erupted to include gang violence. Youth in Urbana tend to join gangs for a sense of security and to earn money for their families and themselves. However, often gun and physical violence occurs between other gangs and also drug distributors. There is a lot of danger involved in gang life, however, many kids seem to be dragged into the activities that occur within one. Some gangs even have initiations where they are forced to hurt or even kill someone in order to join the gang at all. For example, in Saskatoon, two "copy cat" gangs have been created of "the Blood" and the cribs." To be in this gang a member must shoot or stab someone. It is true that gangs feel the need to maintain a tough reputation, this sometimes means acting out in a violent manner.
Media today has a major influence on society as a whole. It is indeed interesting that the news, TV shows and other methods of television and radio do not do more to censor violence. Although it is important to see the issues in the world through the media, fictional depictions of violent acts are unnecessary and only spark unwanted attention in youth. Many television shows, for example, CSI, show violence in a way that sometimes may even appeal to youth without meaning to do so.
Video games and rap music seem to make killing and violent behaviours a game. The way that a person is even a point worth when being hunted down in games like "Grand Theft Auto," is a chilling depiction of how kids today are desensitized to blood shed and are beginning to lose a sense of right and wrong altogether. Rap music, for example "Kim" by Eminem, speak about killing wives, brothers, friends and enemies. It is difficult for youth to differentiate what is wrong when it is "cool" to kill.
Violence has always been around, however, many elements of society today have gone as far to encourage it. Although it is usually unintentional to encourage these behaviours, violent mentality in the world is hard to avoid. It is simply up to the individual today to change the way they view today's society and curb the children of tomorrow to understand consequence.

Nothing Is Ever Black and White

What would you be willing to do to relieve your best friend under the most formidable of circumstances? The character of George Milton in Of Mice and Men, directed by Gary Sinise, had to ask himself this exact question when his mentally challenged best friend did yet another "bad" thing. Would you be able to shoot your own "dog" if you had to? Set in the 1930's during The Depression in Southern California, these two friends suffer through many trials and tribulations, leading compassionate George to make the most difficult decision a man should ever have to. Lennie Small, played by the accomplished John Malkovich, relied very much on the character of George to keep him out of trouble. Often George was left to pick up the pieces.

There were many elements of this film that were well done in relation to the book written by John Steinbeck. For example, the time frame was very well illistrated in this film. The roads were dusty, the men seemed to articulate in their lines, their clothes, their expressions exactly how is was to live in the depression. Men were often left lonely during this time, working to live and living to work instead of experienceing life. George and Lennie were a contridiction to this sterotype because they had eachother and they had dreams for a better future living off of the
"fatta the land". I admire Sinise's adaptation of Steinbeck's novella because he tried to match character well with actor.

However true this may be, the of over-acting from the part of Lennie left an abhorrent taste in the back of the mouth. It was hard to take this character seriously when his voice sounded that of a 5 year old child. Although, the point of sympithizing with this "big friendly giant" was well achieved, Lennie was not how many people would imagine him after reading the book. This acting complication left the viewer trying more to get over the character of Lennie than appreciating the film for what it really was; a heart warming adventure of two men trying to make it in the world.

The character of Curley's wife was another scenario that failed to hit the mark on the character displayed in the novella. Throughout the movie, Curley's wife was more sensative and depicted as far less of a villian than in the classic novel. She even ran away crying at a time that made her appear weak and vulnarable in a much more direct way. In the film Curley's wife did not exhibit the racist and negative side that she did in the novel and this simple fact left the viewer having far more sympathy for her her character than she deserved.

The dust, the hard work, the simplistic friendship are all elements of this film that made it enjoyable to watch. However, there were some fundamentals that made the viewer turned off of this film. If asked to rate it, a 7/10 seems to be a fitting number for the film. The heart warming story and difficult decisions that were presented made this film exciting. Sinise's direction is well appreciated but has some lack luster elements.

Meet George Milton

The novel "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck outlines the life of George and his slow friend Lennie during their time in "The Great Depression" of the 1930's. This book outlines the time
period rather well as many men were left single and travelling to find work at the time. George Milton met Lennie Small back in their home town where Lennie's Aunt Clara asked George to look after him. Ever since, George had taken on the responsibility of finding jobs at various work ranches for the men to build a stake at. Although the two men travelled around together, they were altogether different in both personality and stature. George seemed was"small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features." He was the leader of the two men as he seemed to be the brains of their pairing. It seemed as though George was cruel to Lennie and bossed him around, yelling and cursing at him for never remembering. He often got angry with Lennie for never remembering the "bad things like (he) done in Weed, neither." Although Lennie did not mean any harm he seemed to always get in trouble and bring George down with him. George, throughout the beginning of the book, exploded at Lennie however "the anger left him suddenly" when he looked at Lennie's anguished face. This showed that George had a soft side for Lennie and cared about him despite the sudden flashes of rage him sometimes exhibited.Lennie looked up to George and listened to him almost in the way of a father son relationship. This relationship was developed even as much as to include story time. Lennie's dream included simply taking care of rabbits where as George's was a little more elaborate. Despite this fact both of their long term dreams involved living with each other. George even stuck up for Lennie in all circumstances and tried to lay out a plan for Lennie to meet him at "the brush by the river" if he ran into any trouble. These lines foreshadowed the obvious trouble that Lennie and George would run into later on. George's character will continue to develop as the story moves forward. This fact leaves the reader wondering how long George's compassion for Lennie will continue? Will he care for Lennie even under the toughest of circumstances?

A Day in the Life of A Telekinetic Girl

The phenomenon of acquiring superpowers has always been one in which young people and adults alike take interest in. I believe it is simply human nature to dream of living something different than one's everyday routine. For example, a woman with curly hair seems to straighten their hair and vice versa. Although I am almost always completely happy with the life that I have prepared for myself I still sometimes revert to my childhood dream of being telekinetic. Telekinesis, the power of moving objects, people and even buildings, has been concept that has lingered in the back of my mind since I was a little girl watching Matilda. Matilda was a young girl who came across her extraordinary gift when she was the same age as I was when I begin to entertain these "super" ideas. Moving objects with one's mind proves to be worth while in that movie and I can see why. For example, when Matilda does activities like getting her breakfast with her mind, she seems to have a better handle on her life. I could multi-task many things at one time thus creating more time to work in school and also at home. I could also use my power to make myself float much like the objects I would normally move. This means that the superpower of flight could also be achieved by becoming telekinetic. Upon achieving telekinesis, the opportunity to help people would also present itself. If I witnessed someone stealing a woman's purse or robbing a bank or perhaps even more treacherous crimes intervention would pose no problems for me and my amazing powers. Being a superhero though, really does not require any superpowers at all. In my opinion, being a superhero simply means making a difference big, or small in someones life.