Blog #10

In the film “Bonnie and Clyde,” the dramatic elements of crime, love, gangsters, and death are implemented into two characters, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. The film was shot in 1967 but the real crimes themselves took place in the 1930s during the Depression Era. “Bonnie and Clyde” first meet when Bonnie sees a man WHO is trying to steal her mother’s car, from there on out she is hooked on Clyde’s behavior and everything he does. (2.) It continues from the moment they meet until the moment they die. As the film progresses they become more skilled at running than robbing the actual banks. In the first bank robbery Bonnie and Clyde do together, the man at the bank starts laughing because the bank had closed three weeks earlier and it carried no money. From there on out Clyde, WHOSE thirst for money is excruciating, becomes the boss of Bonnie. (4.) They had a certain, I will never leave your side, connection that made the whole story about them so interesting. The world was THEIRS to have it seemed like. (3.) Clyde wanted Bonnie to run with him but then changed his mind, typical man saying he didn’t want anything bad to happen to her.

The duo would then eventually pick up people, a car mechanic and Clyde’s brother and wife, to help them with these law breaking acts. (1. a series of 3 items punctuated with just commas) They wanted to be seen as these celebrities that can get away with what they were doing. Throughout the course of the movie it was mainly them just running from the law. They became famous with their faces in the paper but were somehow seen as a gang that just wanted to take from the government and not the people. It slowly ended in hot pursuit. (8. Simple Sentence) Bonnie and Clyde were held up in gunfire, a quick and painless death. (10. Complex Sentence)

            What I found that was note worthy of this movie was the fact that Bonnie and Clyde wanted to make themselves known and they were strictly about robbing banks.(9. Compound Sentence) I found it surprisingly funny in one part of the movie that they stole a car from a couple and the couple ended following them. In the pursuit of the car chase the couple was afraid they had guns so they just turned around. Clyde then thought it would be funny to turn around as well and start following the couple. The gang ended up pulling over the couple, let them know they were robbers, and continued to have a typical conversation with them. The night ended with the group of robbers and couple getting burgers at a burger joint. I don’t think the whole idea of Bonnie and Clyde wasn’t to actually scare people straight but to mess with their heads into thinking they really weren’t doing anything wrong in the middle of stealing and robbing something.

            When this film was made in 1967, it was during a time of violence and battle especially in Vietnam. The country was torn between ITS war and antiwar protestors with prominent faces such as John F. Kennedy and Malcolm X. (6.) During this time the filmmakers did not want to make a violent film filled with shooting sprees and deaths. They felt like during that time it wasn’t a good idea to depict such violence in the film with all the violence going on around in the country.  They did it anyway whether receiving good reviews or not. The book depicts the movie story line as having some “basis in fact.” Clyde and Bonnie went on a spree of robberies in the 1930s and it ended in 1934 by a Texas Ranger. During this time of the 1930s represented the Great Depression Era and the time of “glorified gangsters.” It states in “History by Hollywood,” “The streets of American cities were relatively quiet from the 1940s to the early 1960s. Americans grew fearful about their safety, especially those who lived in an urban environment.” Because of this fear from the people they were afraid of controversy it would cause, which makes complete sense in my eyes. What I felt when I watched this movie was a rebellious lifestyle of two people with not a care in the world. It fascinates me that its idea of a man taking in a woman to tag along in the acts of robbery would be such a thrill. Bonnie portrayed herself as being fearless and that showed in the movie, but yet she was still a woman and got scared at some points. The personality of the characters in the movie is what I see as WHOM Bonnie and Clyde would be like in real life. (5.)

Blog #9

As Americans we strive for change in hopes issues like race and immigration can be pushed aside. What exactly is the right terminology? What exactly is the wrong terminology? (Real Question) It all depends on the perspectives people portray on other people. By digging deeper into the history of racial issues America has succeeded to change. I feel that the arguments in the article all have valid points when dealing with race and immigration and proper terminology amongst ones racial background.(Simple sentence with compounded verbs connected with ands) For example Rev. Jesse Jackson makes a clear statement saying, “Every ethnic group in this country has a reference to some land base, some historical cultural base. African-Americans have hit that level of cultural maturity.”

Demographics have shifted when dealing with race, the ideas of race and immigration have changed context for the meanings of words like African-American and Black-American,  HOWEVER, by making arguments like who is allowed to use those words or why they are allowed to use it just sends America flying backwards in time. (Use “however” in a correctly punctuated sentence)&(One Sentence Paragraph)

When examining the terms of “African- American” and “Black American,” we justify that they are two classifications describing an external feature of a human being. In my opinion, the analysis of these words cuts deeper than just external features. To many Americans today, the term “Black” is used in such a broad racial manner. It is extremely hard for a society built on different class levels to be able to understand and analyze such critical terms of what is the difference between “African-American” and “Black American.” (Long Sentence, punctuated correctly) Given that our country has gone through different contexts of these words it is hard to maintain a balance. I believe that in a public setting people should be educated with these terms. African American or Black American-they are American. (Dash to emphasize the last element of a sentence) Whether their past shows hardships in this country or not, we should all be treated equally, with equal opportunity. They are an American citizen for a reason, being American. Do we really need to repeat the past to figure out that we are all created equally? (Rhetorical question)

Ethnic labels are thrown out in American society everywhere with every race. Abdulaziz Kamus even wonders what ethnic label defines his own self in America. I agree with him because he brings up the concern for what is defined as African American in this country and what is not. He states that he is African, he is an American citizen, and he should consider himself an African-American. It makes sense; and he doesn’t dig deeper into the meaning of his own race. He states that if he walks down the street white people would see him as an African-American, not think about his family roots 200 years ago. As much as it pains for me to say it, Americans perceive other Americans externally firsthand, not internally.  Alan Keys brings up the definition of African-American differently. It should be used for only those whose families that endured the hardships during American slavery and segregation. That, I don’t agree with. (Short Sentence)Whether it being black family descents of slaves from the US or black immigrants, Barack Obama makes a clear point to ethnic labels. They share greater similarities THAN differences even through all the hardships. (Then and Than) 

Blog #8

Bottled water is a growing industry in major corporations-Pepsi, Nestle, and Coca-Cola- creating ongoing issues that are beyond average people’s control. (1 set off by dashes) Fryeburg’s main crisis with one corporation is Nestle.  Due to its abundance in clean, fresh, spring water Nestle wanted to grab a hold of what Fryeburg had: leaving the city in crisis. (1 set off by colon) Nestle, powerful and competitive, wanted all control of Fryeburg’s. (Adjective out of order) They began to pump water from Maine’s main springs and turn it into bottled water to sell to people all across the state. Maine was then paying for water that was stolen from their springs, while the Nestle Corporation received all the profits. They would pump water then leave the citizens second. This would soon turn into competitions between other big corporations and other cities would be left with very minimal water supply and severe water threats among their towns to save and conserve water.  

I did not know that corporations have such authority over a powerful product like water. In states like Maine (where water supply is abundant) there should be laws for corporations, such as Nestle, that can access it. (1 set off by parenthesis) Allow the voices of people in Maine to be heard. Create laws and regulations on how much water they can take. The profits they make are enormous and all they are doing is taking from the people both out of their pockets and out of their health and giving back to themselves. The people, who are unaware of this problem, are being victimized for future health issues. (1 set off by commas)

Water, a necessity that can be seen as never running out, could end up happening. (Participle Phrase) People suffer from big corporations for many different reasons but I would have never thought water was one of them. I understand that big corporations thrive off of the public and they will do anything to make themselves money to sustain their company but I feel like there should be a line drawn