Fighting back

Avatar was one of the greatest movies I have seen in my life and I found almost every scene in avatar impressive and romantic. The scene I loved the best though was when Jake and his friends decided to team up with Navi and fight against humans, their own species. I thought this was a really tough decision for them because the possibility to win against the human army was very low and even if they won, they would not be sure about what their future was going to be. Therefore, when I saw Jake helping Navi, I cheered for him; I was with Navi’s position because it seemed too hard.

This scene was very special to me because I strongly felt the bond of love between Jake and Neytiri and the bond under justice between Jake, his friends, and Navi’s. The fact that two different species could work together to fight against a stronger opponent made me exciting as well. I found out from this movie that as long as there is a common goal, different kind of people would be willing to cooperate and try to achieve it. Human in this movie was kind of described as injustice since they were trying to invade an innocent nation, Navi. So their common goal here was to fight back human armies. In the end, when the arrow Neytiri shot hit Colonel, I shouted out ”yeaaaaaaaaah!!” because I was so happy that the justice side I believed in won the war.

However, at the same time, there were a couple of things about this scene that I was not comfortable with. First, the betrayal of Jake made me feel exciting but simultaneously it made me think that Jake is a selfish guy. Since Jake had once been helped by the human army with his leg, I thought Jake should had been thanking human army for that; if the army didn’t offer him an avatar, he wouldn’t even be able to walk. Therefore, in my opinion, Jake was a little selfish because he got what he desired and protected what he loved. Moreover, this characteristic, I thought, clearly showed the difference between Navi and humans. Navi just wanted to protect their environment while humans attacked them for their own sake. Human has been always selfish and Jake was not special. (Of course me either.) So I felt that no matter what he did, Jake was human after all.

Love

Love, I believe, is the most romantic thing in this world. It is just beautiful that there is a person who always loves and cares you, and sometimes gets mad at you. There are lots of kinds of loves. It does not have to be a love between couples; the love between family and friend is romantic too. In my view, love is the innermost element in this whole world; it could also be the smallest or biggest. And in this blog I would like to talk about a ROMANTIC love in the movie the Titanic.

There was a pair of a man and a woman in this movie: Jack and Rose. They met each other on a ship and they are gradually attracted to each other. Jack was one of the poor guys in the story while Rose was from an upper level class family. But they stayed together to the end of the movie regardless of this big difference in their family class. In the movie, their ship crashed onto a big piece of ice and started to sink into the sea. Everybody tried to get off from the ship and get on to boats but the priority went to women and children. Of course Jack led Rose get on the boat first. Although Rose initially agreed to get on the boat without Jack, she got off the boat and came back on the ship again. Finally, the ship completely sank into the sea leaving Jack and Rose on a piece of wood on the surface of the sea. Jack chose to let Rose stay on the wood because he did not want Rose to get too cold; he chose to stay in the freezing sea water in order to save Rose. At the end, Jack passed away because it was way too cold in the sea water, but Rose was saved. What a good story! But, the question is why? Why they stayed together in the rest of the movie? Why Jack let Rose get on the boat and why did Rose come back? Why Jack sacrificed himself to save Rose? Why? I guess I don’t have to tell you the answer; it is because they were in love. Jack loved Rose and Rose did too. The love between them kept them together, and made them protect each other.

This movie the Titanics is based on a real incident. The incident itself was a really tragic accident while in this movie I felt a strong sense of love which made the movie romantic. (Though it’s still a sad ending.) The newspapers only reported what happened and why it happened whereas in the movie there was a romantic story which touches your heart. What I found out from this difference was that in news, or politic, romantic factor such as love are not really mentioned. But, with a romantic story, news can touch your heart.

Politics of Wedding

Every little girl's dream (well not every little girl but the majority) is to one day, fall in love, get whisk away by the man she loves, asked to be married, have a magical wedding, move in together, have kids, and live in a white picket fence home that not only has been pushed in the media (grand weddings such as Kim Kardashian and other high A-List celebrities; Yes, even Kate Middleton) but in magazines and so much more.

Realistically, the U.S. has one of the highest divorce rates in the WORLD; not really a shock considering these make belief weddings are more for show rather than the true wish or journey of true love. People often time, in weddings, like to express their love fatally through the expense of grand weddings. But once the spot light and the beauty of these make-belief weddings diminish, reality surfaces ruining this innocence.

It is frequently reported that the divorce rate in America is 50%. This data is not entire true or accurate, however, it is reasonably close to actual. The Americans for Divorce Reform estimates that "Probably, 40 or possibly even 50 percent of marriages will end in divorce if current trends continue.", which is actually a projection.

So then why is it that we have this undying image of faith, soul mate, and love? Our media plays a pivotal role in this manifestation of undying love. Disney characters and films specifically target young girls at an age of vulnerability (five or six) and teaches them at a young age to fantasize about a "true Love" and grand wedding. Reality Televisions and the media such as, "Kim Kardashian's Wedding" and the royal wedding (Kate Middleton and the Prince) all play a role in this impossible ideal, unrealistic, wedding and love life. We know the reality of weddings.

This photo was found in a Wedding Magazine website. All I did was type in "Weddings and Love" on the Google search engine, clicked on Images, and Google gave me thousands of images of lovers kissing, wedding cakes, white dresses, more kisses. Similar to what we see in Disney movies (shown to kids such as, Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella) this issue is teaching young kids this unrealistic and biased image of an ideal marriage love and life. Too much has the media and Disney films have romanticized weddings when the reality of marriage life isn't about glamor and beauty but consensus and compromise. I have eight siblings, being one of the youngest, seeing my siblings and their marriages have taught me and my little cousins at a young age how unrealistic Disney has set the standards of marriage to be. I am not trying to be cynical but trying to show how the MEDIA has tried to convey and impossible idea of marriage and love through romanticizing our thoughts of marriage life. From what I have seen from my own analysis of my family's personal marriages that marriage isn't as romantic as these films have set them out to be but requires integrity and patience.

Nevertheless, the image is trying to convey an impossible ideal marriage of LOVE and Romance and if you search on the website or even look through TV commercials (Kay Jewelers) you will see even more manifestation of this type of romanticism.

Market Based Romanticism












Ad Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2GALFBrtXk

The connection might seem strange or farfetched at first blush, but the above concept marketing video for a future indoor navigation system from Nokia is more 'Romantic' than one might expect. Although, romanticism has often been tied to a natural revival, or a nature/art centric obsession of feeling, I would suggest that a modern, technological romance has developed as a valid 'structure of feeling.' Part science fiction, part physical reality, the integration of data (fact) and emotional existence has become a marketing boon for companies looking to play off consumer's romantic leanings.
Visually, the short video employs soft filters and lens flares to accomplish the solar qualities that a Romantic painting once captured for its viewers. This lends the ad a nouveau allure that conjures excitement or anticipation. The soundtrack, a magical electronic mix, further draws the viewer into the organic mystique of the modern environment. Architecture, dress, and minimalistic user interface design of the navigation system (which is mimicked by the marketing blurbs), also reflect the self-confident, intrinsic sensibility of the demonstrator and his environment. The man himself is handsome, and seems to reflect an idyllic member of the target audience, suave, savvy, and connected.
In this magical world of complete connectedness, which itself is the ad's eschewed platonic concept, things happen: 'automatically', 'all the way', and with 'extreme accuracy.' The discourse at work seems to posit that perfect natural existence is in harmony with technology, and that we must embrace it to lead lives of sophistication and precision. The ad revises and recontextualizes the 'Romantic' movement, a technologically integrated nature is now preferred over an untampered one; however, intertextualities still exist, as beauty, harmony, and visual/sonic ecstasy combine to persuade viewers hearts.

Lazy Nights In

Ideal romantic dates often are thought of as needlessly expensive. They tend to involve horse carriages, fancy restaurants and clothing, and flowers (ideally). But I have found that some of the best dates are actually free, and simply involve a movie, sweatpants, and a home cooked meal. I am currently in a long-term relationship, and have found that I actually prefer these lazy nights. It is simply the best way to spend time with a loved one, because both partners don’t need to worry about customs and looking good to strangers. All that matters is conversation, cuddling, and each other.

This is a great example of how romance has evolved to society today. Instead of giant romantic gestures that movies of the past have enforced, quality time and conversations is the way couples bond. In a society where divorce is extremely common, it is important to really know the person you are dating. People have become somewhat skeptical of romance, which is not necessarily a bad thing. We need to make sure that connections on every level exist, and there is no better way of finding these connections than witnessing the other’s taste in movies (or just having a night long conversation over homemade pizza).

What I’m trying to say is that romance has changed. We have witnessed the rise of divorce rates in the country and now understand that getting to know your partner is much more important than expensive romantic gestures. So this example constructs romance through discussion and comfort rather than flowers and fancy clothes.

The rise of the “lazy nights in” trend in society argues that dating has changed, and that we are skeptical of romantic gestures. To prevent divorce, we now safeguard ourselves by spending quality time with loved ones. Romance isn’t dead, it’s just changed a little.

I need a vacation...Why? Because I'm a romantic!

Think back to grade school when your teacher asked you where your favorite place was. Some students would say their room was their favorite, some would say a particular chair in their house was best. Some liked the library, others the mall. From such a young age, we were being asked to tap into our ‘romantic’ side, choose where our brains let us run away from the moment and wander a bit. Romantics are mental wanderers. We all wander in intellectual space from time to time… so does that make us all romantics?

I’m guessing that you ‘non-romantics’ out there are rolling your eyes. Romance is the stuff that makes teenage girls giddy, is the stuff that makes people in fluffy post-colonial attire frolic through the woods, is the stuff that drives artists to cut of their ears and ….Romantics don’t function normally in society.

I may have to agree that in its more extreme form romanticism can be a bit…overdone. But look at this image:

Isn’t it beautiful? I can imagine myself walking down that wooden dock to the gazebo and watching the still water. I can see myself there, in the silence of the photo.

This is actually an ad for an ALL EXCLUSIVE TRIP TO CANCUN! And yes, it functions completely to its purpose: I want to go to Cancun. This travel agency (like many other businesses) understands full well that most of us are romantics. They offer us that ‘romantic getaway’ and we jump. Why? Because we want that space to wander mentally, to be self indulgent and just listen to that inner voice telling us to let loose.