GENRE CRITICISM: Grave Encounters (2011)

The Theory:

Genre criticism is a method within rhetorical criticism for analysing speeches and writing according to the symbolic artifacts they contain. In rhetoric, the theory of genre provides a means to classify and compare artifacts of communication and to assess their effectiveness and/or contribution to a community. By grouping artifacts with others of similar formal features or rhetorical exigencies, rhetorical critics can shed light on how authors use or flout conventions in order to meet their needs. Genre criticism has thus become one of the main methodologies within rhetorical criticism.

(courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genre_criticism)



The Story:

courtesy of: http://www.containsmoderateperil.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/grave-encounters-Smaller.jpg

The film begins with the producer of Grave Encounters explaining to the public as to why "Grave Encounters", a famous tv show, suddenly got cancelled, via found video footage. The footage shows the crew of Grave Encounters — composed of Lance Preston, occult specialist Sasha Parker, technical expert Matt White, cameraman T. C. Gibson, and guest-starring psychic medium Houston Grey - preparing to investigate the abandoned Collingwood Psychiatric Hospital where unexplained phenomena has been reported for years. They receive a tour of Collingwood and its underground tunnels and also learn about Collingwood's history, including a physician named Arthur Friedkin, who performed unethical experiments and lobotomies on the hospital patients before being killed by escaped patients; Friedkin was never arrested for his actions due to lack of evidence of the accusations. The crew voluntarily lock themselves inside Collingwood for the night (The caretaker chains the main entrance from the outside) and begin their investigation, setting up camp in the hospital lobby near the entrance. Lance and his crew try to establish contact with the unseen entities responsible, and although they are initially unsuccessful, they are eventually tormented by hauntings, which become increasingly hostile.

With half an hour left before the hospital caretaker comes to unlock the front doors, the crew starts packing. Matt goes to retrieve the cameras, but disappears. The others spend the next several hours looking for Matt, with the caretaker not arriving. Desperate, they knock down the front doors to escape, only to discover it leads to another corridor, as do several other "exit" doors they find. They notice that it is still night outside when it should be daylight. They spend the day sleeping, and find that their food is infested with fully grown maggots. After searching for more exits and trying to escape to the roof, the stairwell mysteriously ends with a solid wall blocking the entrance to the top floor. They hear screaming and run towards it, thinking it is Matt. They enter a room with a metal bed frame, which moves and then levitates. Soon after, they document Sasha's back, which now has a disturbing message carved into it saying "hello." The crew continues searching for both Matt and an exit when they encounter a girl whose face contorts demonically. The crew flees in fear, but Houston is separated from the others and later violently assaulted by an unseen force, killing him. While resting, the others find hospital tags bearing their names on their wrists. They eventually find Matt, who is wearing a hospital gown and has been driven insane, mumbling nonsense about his apparent psychological disorder, and explaining that the only way for them to escape is for them to "get better" at the hands of the hospital's unseen residents.

The crew continues to be chased through the hospital by several apparitions. T. C. is pulled into a bathtub filled with blood by a ghost while trying to save Matt and disappears, while Matt kills himself by jumping off an elevator shaft to his death as Lance and Sasha are attacked by a tongueless demon. Lance and Sasha enter the tunnels in search of another exit where Sasha, who has become violently ill, disappears in a mist that appears while she and Lance sleep. Terrified and insane, Lance continues through the tunnels alone, surviving by killing and eating rats, until he finds a door leading to Friedkin's operating room that contains an altar and pentagram for a demonic ritual, showing that Friedkin had used black magic for medical practice. He turns to see the apparitions of Friedkin and several nurses, who drag a screaming Lance onto their operating table. The camera blanks out for a moment before showing a lobotomized Lance, who says he is now "better" and allowed to go home, and gives a few parting words to the audience before the screen cuts to blue.

(courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grave_Encounters)

The Criticism:

"Grave Encouters" can be classified as a horror movie if we are going to review it based on the definition of a horror movie and the definition of genre criticism. A horror movie needs to be scary and atmospheric, and must induce negative reactions of fear and disgust among its audience, For these reasons, "Grave Encounters" can be classified as a horror movie because the setting is superb, the atmosphere is very heavy, scares both suspenseful and startling are aplenty, and fearful reactions are definitely induced. In cases like this, genre criticism is very useful in determining the effectiveness of pieces to watch or books to read depending on what genre they are categorized.

MODERNISM - Identity Thief (2013)

The Theory:

Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement in the arts, its set of cultural tendencies and associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In particular the development of modern industrial societies and the rapid growth of cities, followed then by the horror of World War I, were among the factors that shaped Modernism. Related terms are modern, modernist, contemporary, and postmodern.

(courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modernism)



The Story:

courtesy of: http://www.movieguide.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/identity-thief-uk-one-sheet-poster.jpg

Sandy Patterson (Jason Bateman) gets a call from a woman saying someone attempted to steal his identity. She tells him about an identity protection service and asks him for his name, date of birth, and social security number. Little does he know that his identity is actually about to be stolen.
We meet Diana (Melissa McCarthy), printing out credit cards with Sandy's money and going out to a bar, buying drinks for everybody.
At work, Sandy gets called in by his boss, Harold Cornish (Jon Favreau), and he asks him to make cuts on bonuses, despite the fact that he is getting a bonus himself. As Sandy goes to do so, he gets a call saying he has an appointment at a salon on Friday in Florida. He's confused, but he gets called over by his co-worker Daniel Casey (John Cho). In the parking lot, he and a few other co-workers meet to discuss starting their own firm since their boss is not the greatest person. Daniel asks Sandy if he'll join them, to which he agrees.
A little while later, Sandy tries to get gas, but his card is declined for insufficient funds and the gas station clerk cuts it up. He calls the credit card company and he's told he's spent a lot of money in Florida. As this happens, he gets arrested. At the same time in Florida, Diana continues splurging with Sandy's money.
At a police station, Detective Reilly (Morris Chestnut) tells Sandy that he missed a court date in Florida for assault. They pull up a mug shot of Diana and determine she's stolen Sandy's identity. It gets worse at work when Daniel (now his boss) says cops are asking about him possessing drugs. Reilly and other cops show up and say a card with Sandy's name was used to buy drugs from a man named Paolo. When told they can't do anything unless the identity thief was standing there in Denver with them, Sandy (knowing where he can find her) offers to go on his own and bring her there and get her to talk to Daniel to clear his name and that he won't press charges.
Trish (Amanda Peet), Sandy's wife, finds out about the situation and knows Sandy's taking a risk, but he assures her he'll get the job done. He ends up in Florida and finds Diana at the salon where she made an appointment and follows her. After confronting her on the road she manages to steal his rental car. He obtains her address through registration in her abandoned car and goes to Diana's house, which is full of merchandise and other stolen credit cards. The pair scuffle and Sandy attempts to handcuff her. Before he can cuff her, two people named Marisol (Genesis Rodriguez) and Julian (T.I.) are pounding at the door, telling Diana she gave Paolo some bad credit cards. They shoot the door open, but Sandy and Diana escape.
Sandy tells Diana about his plan to redeem his name and Diana agrees to go along with him. Meanwhile a bounty hunter known as Skiptracer (Robert Patrick) is dispatched to track down Diana to obtain a substantial bounty. On the road, Diana reminds Sandy that the people at the airport would have an issue with both of their ID's reading "Sandy Bigelow Patterson", so flying back is out of the question and they must return to Denver by driving.
After traveling through several states, Skiptracer catches up to the pair and captures Diana. A chase ensues and she knocks him unconscious, and Sandy rams his van off the road. When he gets out to check on Diana, a truck plows into his rental car, totaling it. They take Skiptracer's van with him tied to the back, but it overheats on the road. They end up walking and almost stop to rest in the woods, but they encounter several snakes, one of which ends up in Sandy's pants, which he takes off and throws away. Another snake bites Sandy's neck and Diana accidentally knocks him unconscious while trying to beat the snake.
Sandy wakes up at a bus station in new pants with no money and no phone. He asks how they got there, and Diana says she carried him half a mile until she flagged down a truck to take them there. Unfortunately, the next bus to Denver doesn't come for another three days. Sandy finds some money in his socks and is told by a guy who works at the station about a place to find a cheap car. When they stop for gas and realize they need more money, Diana asks if there's anyone Sandy would like to get back at, and he thinks of one person - Harold Cornish.
Knowing that there is someone who handles his finances, the two of them sneak into an accounting firm and coax an accounts processor into giving them access into restricted files, and they steal Cornish's identity to create new credit cards. The accounts processor realizes this too late as they are fleeing.
Meanwhile, Skiptracer goes to the bus station and threatens the employee unless he tells him where to find Diana. He then gets shot by Marisol who, along with Julian has been tracking the pair throughout their journey. Having overheard Skiptracer's conversation they continue to pursue Sandy and Diane.
Sandy and Diana finally arrive in St. Louis and stop at a hotel and Diana spends more money than necessary. She gets a makeover and has dinner with Sandy. Things get heated when he asks Diana what her real name is, but she admits she doesn't know it. She cries as she tells him that nobody cared about her when she grew up, so she doesn't even have her own identity. She then says she lied about that just as the accounts processor comes in with cops, who arrest both Sandy and Diana. As they're being escorted, they run into Marisol and Julian. Marisol calls Paolo, who tells her to follow Diana and kill her. That's when Skiptracer arrives and shoots the two thugs in the legs and throws them in the trunk of their car.
Diana manages to uncuff herself as she's in the back of the police car, and then breaks the back windshield and escapes, just as Skiptracer hits the police car. Sandy gets out as well and Skiptracer nearly hits him, but Diana pushes him out of the way and gets rammed by the car, which causes Skiptracer to swerve off. As Sandy and Diana run away, Skiptracer is arrested along with Marisol and Julian.
Diana is not injured from being hit by a car, and she and Sandy eventually make it home, where they are greeted by Trish and their daughters. Diana has dinner with Sandy's family and reconciles with them.
The next morning, Sandy is prepared to tell Diana that he'll go in alone to the station, but she's gone. She left a note saying sorry. He goes into work, preparing to quit, but Daniel shows him that Diana is meeting with the police in an office. Detective Reilly tells Sandy he is no longer part of the investigation and Diana is taken away in cuffs. Before she leaves, Sandy has a moment with her and asks her why, and she says she knew he wouldn't turn her in, but it was the right thing to do for her to do it herself.
One year later, Sandy is celebrating another birthday, this time with his third kid joining them. The family goes to visit Diana in prison, where she's doing well taking some exams. As Trish takes the girls outside, Sandy presents Diana with a birth certificate of hers that he was able to find and it's revealed that Diana's true name is Dawn Budgie, which she thinks is not an appealing name. They laugh and Diana goes back in as Sandy leaves.

(courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identity_Thief)



The Criticism:

"Identity Thief" portrays the conundrum that ensues when a man has his identity stolen by another person, a woman posing as him. A scene like this represents the modern thought of humans who will do everything to survive. The fake Sandy Patterson uses her newly-acquired identity to splurge and indulge as she pleases. The real Sandy Patterson desperately tries to take back his identity from her. This shows a modern world that contains modern characters with modern mindsets and beliefs.

CULTURAL STUDIES: District 9 (2009)

The Theory:

Cultural studies is an academic field of critical theory and literary criticism initially introduced by British academics in 1964 and subsequently adopted by allied academics throughout the world. Characteristically interdisciplinary, cultural studies is an academic discipline aiding cultural researchers who theorize about the forces from which the whole of humankind construct their daily lives. Cultural Studies is not a unified theory, but a diverse field of study encompassing many different approaches, methods and academic perspectives. Distinct from the breadth, objective and methodology of cultural anthropology and ethnic studies, cultural studies is focused upon the political dynamics of contemporary culture and its historical foundations, conflicts and defining traits. Researchers concentrate on how a particular medium or message relates to ideology, social class, nationality, ethnicity, sexuality and/or gender, rather than providing an encyclopedic identification, categorization or definition of a particular culture or area of the world.

(courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_studies)


The Story:

courtesy of: http://www.impawards.com/2009/posters/district_nine_ver13_xlg.jpg

In 1982, a large alien spacecraft stops directly above Johannesburg in South Africa. An investigation team enters the ship, discovering a population of sick and malnourished extraterrestrials. The aliens, derogatorily referred to as "prawns", are confined to District 9, a government camp just outside Johannesburg. Periodic unrest then occurs between the aliens and the locals and subsequently the South African government hires Multinational United (MNU), a private military company, to relocate the aliens to a new internment camp.
In August 2010, Wikus van de Merwe (Sharlto Copley), an Afrikaner bureaucrat, is appointed by Piet Smit (Louis Minnaar), an MNU executive and his father-in-law, to lead the camp relocation by serving the aliens with eviction notices. Meanwhile, three aliens — Christopher Johnson (Jason Cope), his son, and a friend — search for alien technology, from which they distill a mysterious fluid, storing it in a small canister. While raiding the shack of Christopher's friend, Wikus discovers and seizes the canister, which sprays the fluid onto his face. Christopher's friend is subsequently killed by Koobus Venter (David James), a xenophobic soldier leading the military side of the operation.
The fluid slowly begins mutating Wikus into a prawn, beginning with his arm. MNU forces Wikus to test various alien weapons which only function when alien DNA is present. The MNU scientists then decide to vivisect Wikus, but Wikus overpowers his captors and escapes. Smit orders Venter and his men to hunt down Wikus, while a story is released to the media stating that Wikus is infected with an alien STD.
Wikus finds refuge in District 9 and stumbles into Christopher's shack. A lost command module from the ship is revealed underneath the shack, and Christopher discloses that the fluid in the canister is fuel which would allow him to reactivate the dormant mothership and reverse Wikus' mutation. The canister is held at MNU headquarters, so Wikus and Christopher agree on a plan to get it back by first obtaining weapons from superstitious Nigerian arms-dealer Obesandjo and his gang.
After acquiring the weapons, Wikus and Christopher attack the MNU offices, retrieve the canister, and flee back to District 9 with MNU forces in pursuit. Appalled by the illegal experiments on his fellow aliens at MNU headquarters, Christopher says he must use all the fuel to get help before curing Wikus, but the trip to the alien planet and back will take three years. Wikus becomes enraged and attacks Christopher, then hijacks the command module which is almost immediately shot down. Venter and his men seize Wikus and Christopher, but Obesandjo's gang ambushes the MNU convoy and captures Wikus, as Obesandjo believes that eating Wikus' mutated arm will give him the ability to use alien weaponry. Obesandjo's base is then surrounded by MNU and a firefight ensues.
In the downed command module, Christopher's son activates the mothership and an alien mechanized battle suit which saves Wikus by killing Obesandjo and his men. Wikus takes control of the battle suit and rescues Christopher, shielding him as they run to the command module. Wikus aids Christopher's escape by staying behind and holding off the MNU troops. Christopher promises to return in three years before making his way to the command module. Wikus kills all the troops except Venter, who cripples his suit and forces it to eject him. As Wikus is cornered by Venter, a group of aliens ambush Venter, tearing him to pieces. Christopher leaves in the mothership with his son as Johannesburg's residents celebrate its departure.
A series of interviews and news broadcasts are shown, with people theorizing about Wikus' whereabouts and the potential return of the mothership, and what it could entail. MNU's illegal experiments on the aliens are uncovered and exposed. District 9 is completely demolished, with all the aliens having been moved to the new larger District 10 farther from the city. Wikus' wife Tania finds a metal flower on her doorstep, giving her hope that Wikus is still alive. The final scene shows what appears to be a fully transformed Wikus crafting a similar flower in a scrapyard.

(courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_9)



The Criticism:


"District 9" depicts an imaginary scenario wherein aliens who have made Earth their home are subjected to racial discrimination and abusive behavior by the dominating human forces. The political view of the human population (or rather, the majority of it) towards the alien settlers mirrors the view of the Americans on the African population during the apartheid. The "prawns", as they are called, are subjected to much humiliation from the media, are separated from the humans and located on a village not unlike  the familiar slums, and are used as guinea pigs by the government in their search to learn the aliens' advanced technology and weaponry which often result to their deaths. "District 9" presents an alternate view of reality and creates an air of sympathy and disgust for both the human characters as well as the alien settlers.

ECO-CRITICISM - Piranha 3D (2010)

The Theory:

Ecocriticism is the study of literature and environment from an interdisciplinary point of view where all sciences come together to analyze the environment and brainstorm possible solutions for the correction of the contemporary environmental situation. Ecocriticism was officially heralded by the publication of two seminal works, both published in the mid-1990s: The Ecocriticism Reader, edited by Cheryll Glotfelty and Harold Fromm, and The Environmental Imagination, by Lawrence Buell.

(courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eco-criticism)


The Story:

courtesy of: http://terrordaves.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/piranha-3d-poster.jpg

Fisherman Matt Boyd (Richard Dreyfuss) is fishing in Lake Victoria, Arizona when a small earthquake hits, splitting the lake floor and causing a whirlpool. Boyd falls in and is ripped apart by a school of piranhas that emerge from the chasm and ascend the vortex.

Jake Forester (Steven R. McQueen) is admiring attractive tourists as spring break begins. He reunites with his old crush, Kelly (Jessica Szohr) and meets Derrick Jones (Jerry O'Connell), an eccentric pornographer, as well as Danni Arslow (Kelly Brook), one of his actresses. Derrick convinces Jake to show him good spots on the lake for filming a pornographic movie. That night, Jake's mother, Sheriff Julie Forester (Elisabeth Shue), searches for the missing Matt Boyd with Deputy Fallon (Ving Rhames). They find his mutilated body and contemplate closing the lake, however, this is made difficult by two thousand partying college students on spring break who are important for bringing revenue to the small town. The next morning, a lone cliff diver is attacked and consumed by the marauding fish.

Jake bribes his sister and brother, Laura (Brooklynn Proulx) and Zane (Sage Ryan), to stay home alone so that he can show Derrick around the lake. After Jake leaves, Zane drafts Laura to go fishing on a small sandbar island. They forget to tie the boat down and are stranded in the middle of the lake. Meanwhile, Jake goes to meet with Derrick and runs into Kelly, who invites herself onto Derrick’s boat, The Barracuda. Jake meets Crystal Shepard (Riley Steele), another of Derrick’s actresses, and cameraman Andrew Cunningham (Paul Scheer).

Julie takes a team of seismologist divers — Novak (Adam Scott), Sam (Ricardo Chavira), and Paula (Dina Meyer) — to the fissure. Novak speculates that the rift leads to a buried prehistoric lake. Paula and Sam scuba dive to the bottom and discover a large cavern filled with large piranha egg stocks. Both are killed by the piranhas before they can alert the others to the discovery. Novak and Julie find Paula's corpse and pull it onto the boat, capturing a lone piranha, which they take to Carl Goodman (Christopher Lloyd), a marine biologist who works as a pet store owner. He explains that it is a super-aggressive prehistoric species, long believed to be extinct.

Julie, Novak, Fallon, and Deputy Taylor Roberts (Jason Spisak) try to evacuate the lake, but their warnings are ignored until the piranhas begin to attack the tourists. Novak boards a jet-ski with a shotgun to help while Fallon drags people to shore and Julie and Taylor try to get swimmers into the police boat. A floating stage capsizes from the weight of the panicking guests, pulling a electric wire which mutilates few tourists. Almost everyone in the lake is either wounded or killed by the piranhas or panicking guests who were recklessly driving their speed boats.

Meanwhile, Jake spots Laura and Zane on the island, and forces Derrick to rescue them. Derrick crashes the boat into some rocks, flooding the rooms below deck. Kelly is trapped in the kitchen while Derrick, Crystal and Drew fall overboard from to the impact of the collision. Crystal is devoured and Drew is presumambly killed. Meanwhile, Danni manages to get a partially eaten Derrick back on board.

Deputy Fallon makes a last stand, taking a boat motor and using its propellor to shred and kill many piranhas. After the chaos settles, Julie receives a call from Jake pleading for help. Julie and Novak steal a speed boat and head off towards the kids. Julie and Novak reach Jake and attach a rope to his boat. Julie, Danni, Laura, and Zane start crossing the rope, but the piranhas latch onto Danni's hair and ultimately devour her. The others make it to safety, but the rope comes loose. Using Derrick's corpse as a distraction, Jake ties the line to himself and goes to save Kelly. He ties Kelly to him and lights a flare after releasing the gas in a pair of stored propane tanks. Novak starts the boat and speeds away just as the piranhas surround Kelly and Jake. They are dragged to safety and the propane tanks explode, destroying the boat and killing most of the piranhas.

Mr. Goodman calls Julie on the radio, and Julie tells him that they seem to have killed the majority of the piranhas. Terrified, Goodman tells her that the reproductive glands on the piranha they obtained were not mature, which means that the fish they were fighting were only the babies. As Novak wonders aloud where the parents are, a human sized piranha leaps out and knocks him into the water.

(courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piranha_3d)


The Criticism:

courtesy of: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJOychc5IRl8mZJprdXCsQkSzUWafR04FEIvX-_4oy9WA_0lc0HWtGv3VJPe3WplnrrhOYzZ2EkErL2UQJ5n8fnsmhUSgPK2f74r8drfQDUjcH9RjrxstG5Sq7ZXpTkrkAOOcXSiRBxh6G/s1600/Piranha+3D.jpg

"Piranha 3D" centers on a massive piranha attack on Lake Victoria, Arizona, and Sheriff Julie and Novak's efforts to control the situation and survive the bloodshed. The film depicts a situation wherein the characters need to stop the invading species before they do further damage.

courtesy of: http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/arts/photos/2010/08/19/arts-3-d-top-584.jpg

The film falls under eco-criticism because it depicts the conventional man versus nature situation. An invading species, usually a threat to the entire population of the are being attacked, must be stopped by the main characters in order to save the people in that place. In "Piranha 3D", main characters Sheriff Julie Forrester and Novak discover a subterranean lake after an underwater earthquake reveals it. The troubling matter is that thousands of prehistoric piranhas, hungry for flesh, are also released from being imprisoned inside the cave. What's even more troubling is that it is the spring break season, wherein thousands of young students are having wild and wet fun in the lake. Together with her son Jake, Sheriff Forrester and Novak attempt to stop the piranhas from a full-on attack on the students celebrating in the lake. Whether or not they stop the attack is what the viewer needs to find out, however, by watching the movie and seeing whether man finally triumphs over nature.

NEO-CLASSICISM - Welcome to the Black Parade by My Chemical Romance

The Theory:

Neoclassicism is a revival of the styles and spirit of classic antiquity inspired directly from the classical period, which coincided and reflected the developments in philosophy and other areas of the Age of Enlightenment, and was initially a reaction against the excesses of the preceding Rococo style. While the movement is often described as the opposed counterpart of Romanticism, this is a great over-simplification that tends not to be sustainable when specific artists or works are considered, the case of the supposed main champion of late Neoclassicism, Ingres, demonstrating this especially well. The revival can be traced to the establishment of formal archaeology. The writings of Johann Joachim Winckelmann were important in shaping this movement in both architecture and the visual arts. His books, Thoughts on the Imitation of Greek Works in Painting and Sculpture (1750) and Geschichte der Kunst des Alterthums ("History of Ancient Art", 1764) were the first to distinguish sharply between Ancient Greek and Roman art, and define periods within Greek art, tracing a trajectory from growth to maturity and then imitation or decadence that continues to have influence to the present day. Winckelmann believed that art should aim at "noble simplicity and calm grandeur", and praised the idealism of Greek art, in which he said we find: "not only nature at its most beautiful but also something beyond nature, namely certain ideal forms of its beauty, which, as an ancient interpreter of Plato teaches us, come from images created by the mind alone." The theory was very far from new in Western art, but his emphasis on close copying of Greek models was: "The only way for us to become great or, if this be possible, inimitable, is to imitate the ancients".

(courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoclassicism#Overview)


The Lyrics:

courtesy of: http://b.vimeocdn.com/ts/178/210/178210154_640.jpg

(listen to the song here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRKJiM9Njr8)

When I was a young boy
My father took me into the city
To see a marching band
He said, "Son, when you grow up
Would you be the savior of the broken
The beaten and the damned?”

He said, "Will you defeat them
Your demons and all the non-believers
The plans that they have made?
Because one day, I'll leave you
A phantom to lead you in the summer
To join the Black Parade"

Sometimes I get the feeling
She's watching over me
And other times I feel like I should go
And through it all, the rise and fall
The bodies in the streets
And when you're gone we want you all to know

We'll carry on, we'll carry on
And though you're dead and gone, believe me
Your memory will carry on, we'll carry on
And in my heart, I can't contain it
The anthem won't explain it

A world that sends you reeling
From decimated dreams
Your misery and hate will kill us all
So paint it black and take it back
Let's shout out loud and clear
Defiant to the end

We hear the call to carry on, we'll carry on
And though you're dead and gone, believe me
Your memory will carry on, we'll carry on
And though you're broken and defeated
Your weary widow marches

On and on we carry through the fears
Disappointed faces of your peers
Take a look at me
'Cause I could not care at all

Do or die, you'll never make me
Because the world will never take my heart
Though you try, you'll never break me
We want it all, we wanna play this part

Won't explain or say I'm sorry
I'm unashamed, I'm gonna show my scar
Give a cheer for all the broken
Listen here, because it's who we are

I'm just a man, I'm not a hero
Just a boy who wanna sing his song
Just a man, I'm not a hero
I don't care!

We'll carry on, we'll carry on
And though you're dead and gone, believe me
Your memory will carry on, you'll carry on
And though you're broken and defeated
You're weary widow marches on

Do or die, you'll never make me
Because the world will never take my heart
Though you try, you'll never break me
We want it all, we wanna play this part
(We'll carry on)

Do or die, you'll never make me
Because the world will never take my heart
Though you try, you'll never break me
We want it all, we wanna play this part
(We'll carry on)

(courtesy of: http://www.elyrics.net/read/m/my-chemical-romance-lyrics/welcome-to-the-black-parade-lyrics.html)


The Criticism:

courtesy of: http://www.blog-city.info/en/img3/3882_Welcome%20to%20the%20black%20parade.jpg

“Welcome to the Black Parade” centers around the main character The Patient’s passage out of life and the memories he has of his life. The Patient dies and death comes for him in the form of a parade. This is based upon My Chemical Romance lead singer Gerard Way's belief that death comes for a person in the form of his or her fondest memory, in this case seeing a parade as a child.

courtesy of: http://cgnews.com/files/2011/uploads/black_parade_article.jpg

The song and the album as well, signify the return to the eras of glam rock and punk rock. It also signifies the return of utilizing operatic themes and classical musical references as an application to present rock concepts. This perfectly falls under the neo-classicist theory because the song’s musical style attempts to revitalize the period of classical music and opera by incorporating it with rock, a modern musical style currently seen as one definition of the present generation. The resulting song is the offspring of two very different genres masterfully blended together to create a seamless opus magnum that will not only appeal to the average music fan but also for the person who wants to find new ways in enjoying the things of the past.

FEMINISM: Dead is the New Black by Marlene Perez

The Theory:

Feminism is a collection of movements and ideologies aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights for women. This includes seeking to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment.
The French philosopher, Charles Fourier, is credited with having originated the word "feminism" in 1837. The words "feminism" and "feminist" first appeared in France and the Netherlands in 1872, Great Britain in the 1890s, and the United States in 1910. The Oxford English Dictionary lists 1894 as the year of the first appearance of "feminist" and 1895 for "feminism". Today the Oxford English Dictionary defines afeminist as "an advocate or supporter of the rights and equality of women”.

(courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism)


The Story:

courtesy of: http://images.contentreserve.com/ImageType-100/0874-1/%7B11BF0A7D-4240-460B-BCF7-65D0D474D242%7DImg100.jpg

The small town of Nightshade is known for its odd occurrences dating back several hundred years. So you may understand that it came to no surprise to Daisy when her ex best friend Samantha Devereaux showed up at school dressed completely in black, paler then normal, and dragging a coffin around as her latest accessory.
Samantha is the head cheerleader at Nightshade High School and the most popular, even though the girls are only juniors. Whether dragging around a coffin was the latest cool thing to do, or Samantha was now a walking dead person, Daisy does not know. Either way, Samantha seems different and needs to be watched extra carefully.
Daisy comes from a family of psychics but she is a norm with no powers to speak of. While her sisters can read minds and use telekinesis, her mother uses her powers to help the police solve crimes. The latest case involves a dead teenage girl. Daisy enlists her best friend Ryan Mendez to help her solve the mystery. But when, one by one, teenagers are having seizures and wind up in the hospital with mysterious illnesses, Daisy realizes they must work quickly before another person dies.
Will Daisy and Ryan solve the case or will they end up the latest victims to this supernatural person? Who is the culprit and how come the police haven’t caught them by now? Will investigating this case reunite Samantha and Daisy as friends? 

(courtesy of: http://www.armchairinterviews.com/reviews/dead-is-the-new-black)


The Criticism:

“Dead is the New Black” tells the story through the eyes of Daisy, a girl who comes from a psychic family but has no powers herself. She struggles to gain powers of her own, all the while solving a supernatural mystery involving her ex-best friend Samantha, and falling for a boy named Ryan. The story is a thrilling ride with the main character as she struggles with both personal and social problems as well. Through her eyes, we see the things that trouble the average teenage girl. We see, through her eyes, the struggle of women for a place in the society, metaphorically retold with the overwhelming elements of fantasy and a dash of the supernatural thrown in as well. We see, through her eyes, the hardships she endured and doubts she set aside in order to repair the broken friendship with her ex-best friend Samantha Devereaux. We see, through her eyes, the naturalistic behavior of the average teenage girl as she gets attracted and, ultimately, falls in love with her best friend Ryan Mendez. We see, through her eyes, her struggle to gain powers of her own just so she can be fully accepted by her family who may not be totally treating her as an outcast but certainly feel indifferent about her lack of psychic abilities. And finally, we see, through her eyes, her struggle to juggle all those things at once while trying to solve a supernatural mystery which could put her own safety into jeopardy, all for the sake of everyone else’s safety.

MARXISM: Apolitical Intellectuals by Otto Rene Castillo

The Theory:

Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry based upon a materialist interpretation of historical development, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis of class-relations within society and their application in the analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. In the mid-to-late 19th century, the intellectual development of Marxism was pioneered by two German philosophers, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Marxist analyses and methodologies have influenced multiple political ideologies and social movements throughout history. Marxism encompasses an economic theory, a sociological theory, a philosophical method and a revolutionary view of social change. There is no one definitive Marxist theory; Marxist analysis has been applied to a variety of different subjects and has been modified during the course of its development, resulting in multiple and sometimes contradictory theories that fall under the rubric of Marxism or Marxian analysis.

(courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxism)


The Text:

One day

the apolitical

intellectuals

of my country

will be interrogated

by the humblest

of our people.

They will be asked

what they did

when their country was slowly

dying out,

like a sweet campfire,

small and abandoned.

No one will ask them

about their dress,

or their long

siesta

after lunch,

or about their futile struggles

against “nothingness”

or about their ontological

way

to make money.

No, they won’t be questioned

on Greek mythology,

or about the self-disgust they felt

when someone deep inside them

was getting ready to die

the coward’s death.

They’ll be asked nothing

about their absurd

justifications,

nartured in the shadow

of a huge lie.

On that day,

the humble people will come,

those who never had a place

in the books and poems

of the apolitical intellectuals

but who daily delivered

their bread and milk,

their eggs and tortillas;

those who mended their clothes,

those who drove their cars,

those who took care of their dogs and gardens,

and worked for them,

and they will ask :

“What did you do when the poor

suffered, when tenderness and life

were dangerously burning out in them?”

Apolitical intellectuals

of my sweet country,

you will have nothing to say.

A vulture of silence

will eat your guts.

Your own misery

will gnaw at your soul.

And you will be mute

in your shame.

(courtesy of: http://www.ottorenecastillo.org/tomorrow/Intellectual.html)


The Criticism:

The poem questions the intellectuals of politics about the things they did not do for the country when it was in dire need. It presents a scenario where the people of the society stand up against the government and seek change for the poor and the needy. The selection talks about social change, and is considered as Marxist literature because it tackles an issue appropriate to the time the poem was written. In fact, the poem will indefinitely be a piece of Marxist literature because the issue of a government turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to society and its pleas for change will be ever-present unless a solution is devised. The government is depicted as one which prefers to laze around, taking luxurious siestas and indulging in worldly pleasures. The people, on the other hand, is depicted as a society which strives to make a living by taking even the simplest of tasks such as taking care of dogs and tending gardens into a living. The contrast between the luxurious lifestyle of the apolitical intellectuals and the hardship-ridden lives of the humblest of people is astounding, and the poem does a good job of sending the message across.