Final Exam: Unchained

         The artifact that I chose, a poster from the new Quentin Tarantino film, Django Unchained, shows a dark red sky with huge descending black chain that ends in a broken link. Right below that chain, there is a silhouette of 2 figures walking toward the viewer. I believe that the chain represents both mental and physical slavery, similar to what we studied this semester. The red background conveys a feeling of passion, blood, and danger. The chain also links a violent past to a future where being armed is clearly a necessity. As we have seen throughout history, chains are usually used to imprison someone who is accused of wrongdoing, or for holding a person captive. Django (left) is pictured with wrist cuffs and loose broken chains illustrating his emancipation. This contemporary artifact that I have chosen is important because the imagery connects the Crucible, Virginia Slave Code, and Mr. O’Connor’s blog entitles “Proclaiming emancipation”. 

         Throughout the first semester, we have discussed examples of both mental and physical forms of imprisonment. Starting with the Crucible, we see the people of Salem mentally trapped in their irrational ideology, and in a world of paranoia. No one in the play is willing to take a stand against the hysteria because they think that they too will be accused of witchcraft and hanged. In Act II, the witchcraft investigations have taken on momentum and Hale states: “I have seen too many frightful proofs in court—the Devil is alive in Salem, and we dare not quail to follow wherever the accusing finger points!” (Act II). As in my artifact, the people of Salem in the 1600s were not free (and therefore enchained) to exercise their own judgment and opinions for fear that they would be accused of siding with the devil. The chains of religious fanaticism bound the people of Salem as a community to keep silent and to obey the laws of the church. Unfortunately in the Crucible, the only way to break free from the mental chains resulted in public execution. 
        Another example of unjust treatment came in the form of the Virginia Slave code in the late 1600’s. These laws set limitations for both slaves living in Virginia, and southern white slave-owners. The code establishes laws regarding what is and is not acceptable behavior in terms of slave ownership and interaction. From my perspective, the word “slave” is interchangeable with the word livestock because these people were treaded no differently than farm animals. They were bound to their owners and had no basic civil liberties. They were not free, could not marry, could not be educated and were not aloud to practice religion. In this poster, Django is depicted with a gun in his right hand. Number two of the Virginia Slave Code specifically states: “slaves are not allowed to carry arms of any kind which they might use in either attack or defense” (1680). Based on the picture, the gun is another example of Django walking into the future as a free man. 
        This movie poster also connects to Mr. O’Connor’s “Proclaiming Emancipation” blog in that he discusses President Lincolns shift in policy that lead to the Emancipation Proclamation and freedom for all slaves. Like my artifact, Lincoln had been chained to an ideology that he needed to get beyond in order to bring the country together and end the war. Doc Oc states: “Here, Foner suggests, Lincoln frees his past self from his own earlier position on slavery. And on January 1st, he proclaimed the freedom of the vast majority of the nation’s slaves” (1). Very similar to the broken chain in the poster, Lincoln’s ideals were set free which allowed the country to come together and do what’s right. 

Lions Roaming the Streets?

       Just the other day, 911 recieved many calls referring to a baby lion walking around the streets of Norfolk, Virginia. People were shocked to see this and said that it could have possibly escaped from the nearest zoo. In fact, the creature was not a lion at all, rather an innocent dog. This labrador-poodle mix was shaved and spray painted to look exactly like a lion, which scared many people living in the city of Norfolk. The owner, Daniel Painter stated that he wanted his dog to represent the mascot of Old Demoin University. Why the dog was roaming the streets alone like a wild animal, I don't know. I think that Painters claim that it represents a University mascot is false and that he probably just wants to rile up the people of Norfolk, perhaps to gain publicity.
      Well... his planned worked! Charles has turned into a "celebrity" since the sighting a couple days ago. The dog even has its own facebook page which already has over 30,000 followers. I personally believe that it is wrong to shave and spray paint your dog to make it out as another animal. Not only do people want to see what looks very much like a lion walking down their street, but it is also cruel to the animal. How do you feel about this man turning his labrador into a lion look-alike? To read more about this article visit: http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/10/us/virginia-baby-lion/index.html?hpt=us_c2

NHL is Back!

     This past week, the Owners and players of the NHL have reached a compromise, allowing all fans to enjoy the constant excitement that is the National Hockey League. Although you may think that the fans are the happiest because of this negotiation, the business's that rely on the NHL are especially excited. Restuarants, bars, and sporting-good stores, have been hit hard economically due to the lockout. For example, resturants such as Cobo Joes have lost almost $350,000 because of the fact that no one is eating at the resturant. Since it is located right next to Joe Louis Arena, where the Red Wings play, everyone that would have stopped by for a quick meal before or after the game were no longer visiting.
      It's amazing how much the shutting down of a sports league can affect so many business's. These places rely on fans to both eat and shop to watch and support their favorite hockey teams. Businesses throughout detriot have collectively lost roughly 1.9 million dollars for each individual game cancelled. Do you think that these businesses rely too much solely on the loyalty of the fans or are they just simply doing their job? To read more about the NHL lockout, visit:     http://business.time.com/2013/01/08/nhl-lockout-is-over-guess-whos-happier-than-fans-or-players/

Django Unchained

           This past week, I had the opportunity to see Quentin Tarantino film, Django Unchained. While it was extremely long, Tarantino did not fail to provide another powerful plot. Django is the story of a black slave in search of his and his wife's freedom. In doing so, he must kill he two slave owners that are holding his wife captive. While there are many twists and turns that I cannot get into, I highly recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys a thrilling storyline. Among the many controversial aspects of this movie is Tarantino's use of the "N" word. Many film critics disagree with the 110 mentions of this word, saying that it is excessive. What they fail to realize is that Tarantino tried to stay true to the historic context of the movie. As we all know from reading the book, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, that word was widely used and accepted throughout America during the 1800's.
         As film critic, David Litner, says: "We forget that the origin of the word was meant to be used in order to describe an inferior being. Someone who did not deserve the royalties of the average human. It is a vile, disgusting, horrific word that describes centuries of agony and injustice. And Tarantino uses it right. 110 times, and it still felt the same every time I heard it. Shock, pain, and a lack of comfort came to me with each use". I agree with him in regard to the use of this word throughout the movie. We have become desensitized to the true meaning of this word. Throughout the day, I hear this word multiple times in the music I listen to, and occasionally in conversation. It has become everyday slang.  The word has lost all of the meaning that existed during times of slavery. The difference here though, is that Tarantino uses it seriously in its true original form. Hopefully people will come away from this film with a deeper meaning for this word and will use it less in everyday speech. 

Bears Lose their Leader

     After 9 years with the Chicago Bears, head coach Lovie Smith was fired in late December. The reason was mostly due to his inability to lead a somewhat successful offense. There has been a lot of talk about this decision over this past week and I believe that the owner of the Bears made the right decision letting Coach Smith go after 9 seasons. I guess you just never know. Is it worth it to stick with a coach that has lead mostly unsuccessful seasons, or is it time to open up your options and see who else is out there?
       Even Jay Cutler said: "change isn't always a bad thing" in a recent interview. For the past 8 years, the Bears offense has yet to rank higher than 23rd in the league and they even ranked 28th or lower four times. Lovies approach was to hire different offensive coordinators every time he saw the offense was at its lowest point. Unfortunately, that did not work out for the Bears. Since the Bears defense has usually been among the best in the NFL, this makes for a very inconsistent football team. Having a great defense and terrible offense was just throwing off the players, coaches, and especially the fans. The people of Chicago have been unsatisfied with the outcome of each season and they are directly pointing at the offense and who is standing behind it, Lovie Smith. To me, it was just a matter of time before the fans complaints were able to reach the Bears staff. I guess we will have to wait until next season to see just how successful this move is going to be. To read more about this topic, visit: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-12-31/sports/chi-chicago-bears-fire-coach-lovie-smith-2012_1_bears-offensive-coordinator-offensive-identity-mike-martz

Limiting Gun Violence

            As President Obama addressed the country on the day of the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut he even shed a tear, showing his inner emotion that the people of America usually do not get to witness. This shooting has shocked the world and it is time that we step up and limit the accessibility to these deadly weapons in our country. There are more places in America where a person can buy a rifle than there are Starbucks throughout the whole world. It has become far too easy for almost anyone to walk into their nearest store and purchase a gun. In this article, President Obama addresses the issue and states that he “had long supported a ban on assault rifles and high-capacity ammunition clips as well as expanded background checks as a way to ease gun violence in America” (1).

           I agree with President Obama and think that even if we are not able to limit the amount of gun production/selling we should definitely make sure that the background check process is much more thorough. This should include a one-on-one interview with the future gun owner, asking his or her intentions, potential health problems, and past run ins with the law. The access to these weapons has become a serious issue and has put innocent civilian lives in danger. There should be no reason for elementary kids to be worried for their life while attending school. When parents send their children to school, they expect complete safety and protection of their children. Now that all of these children have heard about a stranger walking right into a school with a couple of semi automatic weapons, they now have to anticipate this unexpected danger which is taking away from their education in school. Gun violence has been a constant problem in our country and it is time for a change in legislation regarding gun control laws.