The Intouchables (2011)

A true story of two men who should never have met - a quadriplegic aristocrat who was injured in a paragliding accident and a young man from the projects.
-From imdb


Just watched this movie last weekend with my family at CGV.
to be continued...

Brainstorming - 3 points of view

Unifying incident, thought, theme, or question that is central

Connected with cigarette
all of them on the rooftop of the cigarette company

Manufacturer (CEO)-rich, white man in America-perhaps England 왜냐면 여기서 담배에 대한 단속이 제일 심하니까 힘든 정도를 나타내기 위해 영국으로? (제일 잘나가는 곳에 사는). 물론, 담배가 건강에 해롭다는 것을 알지만, 이 사업을 지속시키기 위해 수단과 방법을 가리지 않는다. 사실 속으로는, Feel a little guilty but has to do this to sustain his position and income, salary. 정부가 막을 때마다 엄청난 로비를 해서 겨우겨우 삶을 이어간다. 가끔 그만둘까 생각도 해보지만 집에서 내가 돈을 가지고 들어오길 목 빠지게 기다리는 가족들 때문에 그럴 수도 없다. 그런 자신의 상황을 몰라주는 시위하는 사람들이 얄밉기만 하다.

smoker (customers of cigarettes)-담배 애호가인 employee. 우리나라 담배 맨날 피는 삶이 힘든 아저씨. 담배를 고등학교 3학년 때 친구들의 계락에 말려들어 피기 시작했는데, 그 후로 삶이 점점 더 힘들어져 끊기가 거의 불가능했다. 점점 더 힘들어질수록 하루에 피는 담배의 양은 점점 더 늘어났고, 그럴수록 건강이 걱정됬지만 끊을 수가 없다. 딸들로, 아내도 담배 좀 끊으라고 수많은 닥달과 잔소리를 늘어놓고, 나도 끊고 싶은 마음은 굴뚝같지만, 그들 앞에서만 피지 않고 어떻게든 다른 곳에서 담배를 핀다. 결국은 암 선고를 받고 입원한다.

non-smokers-a girl who hates smokers. 자기 건강 엄청나게 끔찍히 중요시 여기는 employee. 담배 피는 것을 살인이라고 생각할 정도로 극단적으로 여기며, 특히 학교에서 금연 교육 받은 것 중 담배를 피는 사람보다 담배 연기를 맡는 사람이 더 니코틴 섭취를 많이 한다는 사실을 알고는 더욱 싫어한다. 또, 담배를 만드는 회사와 사람들을 매우 혐오한다.

Autumn Rain

Autumn Rain

By D. H. Lawrence 1916

British Literature Class

            THE plane leaves

fall black and wet

on the lawn;

The cloud sheaves

in heaven's fields set

droop and are drawn

in falling seeds of rain;

the seed of heaven

on my face

falling--I hear again

like echoes even

that softly pace

Heaven's muffled floor,

the winds that tread

out all the grain

of tears, the store

harvested

in the sheaves of pain

caught up aloft:

the sheaves of dead

men that are slain

now winnowed soft

on the floor of heaven;

manna invisible

of all the pain

here to us given;

finely divisible

falling as rain.

Analysis Essay

The Autumn Rain by D. H. Lawrence begins with, and continues to talk about sufferings a grain has to go through in order to be harvested. On the second line of the first stanza, the phrase fall black and wet signifies the trials and ordeals, for black represents dark, gloomy society and never-ending route leading to success, and when you’re wet, you are most likely to feel dreadful with the rain soaked up in your clothes and socks. Droop and are drawn on the last line of the second stanza indicates the same thing; it takes a cloud’s sacrifice to make it rain.

As the poem continues, the trials and ordeals are intensified. Seed of heaven, on the second line of the third stanza, can be considered as one of the smaller results of rain; rain, especially the autumn rain, is like the seed of heaven in a way that it is the main element required for better production of grains or fruits. I hear again, on the next stanza, rhymes with rain; again and rain rhyme. This phrase suggests that the sacrfice, or the rain, has to continue again and again to accomplish what you’ve aimed for in the first place.

           On the next two stanzas, it says, ‘The winds that tread out all the grain of tears, the store harvested in the sheaves of pain.’ Here, the line grain of tears may be drawing a picture of a grain lowering its head when it’s wet or when it has been fully ripened. This represents the hardships that grains go through; they are treaded out by the winds, (Here, to tread out means to step on them really hard, so that the zests of the grains are peeled off, usually done in the process of harvesting.) and are harvested in pain.

The poet also compares the harvested grain to the sheaves of dead men that are slain. This is a rather extreme comparison, especially since the rest of the poem is comprised of serene languge. Thus, it does make a strong point that harvested grains are the products of extraordinary difficult processes. In other words, success may only come after the harsh courses of adversity. By saying, heaven with manna invisible of all the pain, he probably means the fruition in the end, finally getting rid of all the pain that existed in the past.

Overall, the autumn rain falls, the leaves fall, the grains fall, which are harvested and given to us, making our world the heaven. By describing this long process of harvest, I think the poet wanted to talk about the common fact that only after overcoming trials and ordeals, can a person accomplish something he or she wants.

Walmart, a Boomerang: 2nd Draft

Walmart, a Boomerang:

The Neo-Industrial Revolution: 2^nd Draft

Walmart represents great controversy all over the world, and we can easily feel the heat when we type in “Walmart” in Google or Youtube. Some people nearly worship Walmart as their saviour for industry and positive impact to many communities, while many others are infuriated by the brutality of the company. In some Youtube videos, Walmart employees express their anger by fierce demonstrations and creating provocative videos criticizing Walmart. The truth is, both sides are right; Walmart serves a function like a boomerang, as it seems to benefit citizens, but also creates a viscious cycle.

At first, after watching a Youtube video “When Walmart Comes to Town: A Success Story”, I was persuaded for a moment to believe that Walmart actually improves the lives of people. The video showed complaints by citizens of Chicago who complain about a lack of places to buy fresh vegetables and other materials. People were shouting, "We want Walmart so that we can have something more than some dollar stores…", and they were actually demonstrating to demand the establishment of Walmart in their town. In 2006, Chicago finally got what it wanted, and Walmart successfully fulfilled the needs of people right away. First of all, Walmart boosted the employment rate in Chicago. According to the video, statistics showed that 726 jobs were created, 298 were lost, for a total result gaining 428 jobs after bringing in Walmart. Not only that, but also, since Walmart came in, it brought in 22 new businesses to the area, including the Bank of America, Chase Bank, CVS, and Menards. As more and more businesses were coming in, Chicago kept on moving towards more economic development, also creating new streets and leading to more population to Chicago. All of these make it seem plausible to support Walmart chains, as these things actually happened.

         Now here’s the reality; after such seemingly-positive effects on a society, Walmart in turn exacerbates people’s lives and infuriates the employees through horrible treatment. According to a news article from REUTERS, called “Wal-Mart trims some U.S. health coverage”, Wal-Mart Stores Incorporation decided to no longer offer health insurance to new part-time U.S. employees who work fewer than 24 hours a week and charge workers who use tobacco more for coverage as healthcare costs rise (Wal-Mart). Most American businesses provide healthcare systems for their employees, especially huge retailers with a global chain system. Plus, the system is vital for most people, particularly those who work in Walmart, with such poor income and having nowhere else to go to earn money. Walmart simply reduces funds that are put into health care system only to produce more yields, but in the employees’ perspective, just a small reduction of funds will greatly deteriorate people’s lives.

Walmart’s atrocious acts are not only about health care systems; in fact, there exist other companies that do the same things. In an article Wal-Mart: Merchant of Shame, National Organization for Women (NOW) received complaints regarding workplace environment and employment practices, which include the following: “sex discrimination in pay, promotion and compensation, wage abuse, exclusion of contraceptive coverage in insurance plans, violations of child labor laws and the Americans with Disabilities Act, and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.” (Merchant). Reacting to Walmart’s discrimination against women, Dukes filed a lawsuit on behalf of 1.5 million women employees, basing on extensive public records filed against Wal-Mart. However, the Judge of the case took Walmart’s side.

Justice Antonin Scalia wrote, "Even if every single one of these accounts is true, that would not demonstrate that the entire company 'operate[s] under a general policy of discrimination … Respondents have identified no 'specific employment practice'--much less one that ties all their 1.5 million claims together. Merely showing that Wal-Mart's policy of discretion has produced an overall sex-based disparity does not suffice." (Merchant).

Now we know that Wal-Mart is actually a bad company that disguises itself as a “revolutionary retailer,” and also came to know that Wal-Mart power is already so prevalent all over the world that even the government compromises to Wal-Mart. This situation is similar to what’s happening in Korea, with the Samsung group ruling over the Korean government.

           To sum up, Walmart seems to bring in a lot of things and give positive impact to many communities, but viewing Walmart in the long term, the situation goes back to the original state, if not worse. In this way, I would describe Wal-Mart as industrialization, since industrialization also seemed to greatly improve the lives of people with no negative impact at all, but then people understood later that there are even more disadvantages than benefits. Also, as my title indicates: A BOOMERANG, as it comes back to its original place after a long trip.

Citations

Walmart NYC. “When Walmart Comes to Town: A Success Story.” Youtube (2 Feb. 2011): n. pag.  Mon. 5 March. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdtcBiaflUQ&feature=player_embedded>

Jessica Wohl. “Wal-Mart trims some U.S. health coverage.” REUTERS (2 Feb. 2011): n. pag. Mon. 5 March. 2012. <http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/21/us-walmart-idUSTRE79K43Z20111021>

The National Organization for Women (NOW) Website. “Wal-Mart: Merchant of Shame.” 2 Feb. 2011. Mon. 5 Mar 2012. <http://www.now.org/issues/wfw/wal-mart.html>

KONY 2012

KONY 2012 from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.