Welcome

Welcome to the digital home in which my mind takes refuge. This blog is dedicated to a collection of writings that I have created over the course of the semester in Writing Studio at Ringling College Of Art & Design with Akeyla Silver. Here lies the varied subject matter of this semester in writing studio. I have laid out several different works that I have written as apart of the course followed by my own feedback. Essentially, this is the evolution of writing as the semester progressed.

A Study if Insanity

The definition of insanity is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. However, can one really define madness in another being. How does one know how to diagnose someone as socially unacceptable for themselves or others. There is such a fine line between the two spectrums of sane and insane that they can appear to be almost exactly alike. Take the classic movie “One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest” starring Jack Nicholson, where Jack acts as a madman in order to evade a short prison sentence, and “The Shining”, another classic also starring Jack Nicholson, who, in this movie, is actually crazy. Both characters share similar characteristics despite the difference in plots.
“One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest” opens to Nicholson, playing as Randle Patrick McMurphy, arriving at the asylum in handcuffs, following an interview in which it is revealed that they suspect him of faking his mental state. Over the course of his stay he befriends his fellow patients and attempts to make a nice living out of his current situation, as well as discover the extent of their insanity. At first it appears each member of the mental hospital has a serious mental illness and is required to stay in order to be treated through social and medicinal techniques. Randle attempts to interact in a “normal” fashion with each patient with much frustration. Slowly, his peers open up more, and take a liking to Randle; they even take a mutinous and comical fishing trip with Randle and his girlfriend. It is later revealed that the majority of the cast has volunteered to be put into crisis stabilization. Randle, on the other hand has a required commitment as assigned by a judge. Even Randle's strangest and closest friend in the asylum, “Chief” Bromden has been faking his “deaf & dumb” charade the entire time he has spent there. This brings the question of the effectiveness and usefulness of the asylums themselves. Many asylums used unethical techniques and ineffective treatments to cure their patients such as: eugenic compulsory sterilization, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), insulin shock therapy, and the deadly frontal lobotomy. The movie portrays electroconvulsive therapy as Randle's punishment for his first offense when Randle and two others are contained for fighting. ECT was used on many patients who may have been in perfect mental health, and few ECT treatments had any positive effect. At the end of the film, Randle is punished once more for rebelling against the asylum by assaulting the head nurse, Nurse Ratched, through the use of a lobotomy operation which leaves him in a vegetated state. In the end, the sympathetic Chief smothers his friend so as not to leave him unhappy, followed by his escape to Canada.
“The Shining”, originally written by Stephen King, holds similar properties as “One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest”; Not only in the actor, Jack Nicholson, but in the general content of the film itself. Nicholson plays a hotel keeper, Jack Torrance, over the harsh winter with his family. In an earlier interview with the manager with the hotel it is told that the previous keeper of The Overlook Hotel had killed his entire family due to the insanity brought on by the isolation. This bit of foreshadowing provides the plot to the movie. As the movie progresses Jack finds himself seeing more strange occurrences within the hotel and starts to hallucinate about a previous lifetime, which marks the true presence of his madness. Eventually his wife peers at what he had spent most of his free time doing, writing, and is horrified to see that the only thing he has written is “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” several times in different fashions. When Jack finds his beloved in awe at his creation, he completely snaps, unleashing his insanity on his family. However, the quick and clever thoughts of his son and wife allow them to escape his violent and killing intentions while he is left to freeze to death.
One actor, two movies, one topic: mental stability. Jack Nicholson was chosen to play two similar roles that are meant to be completely different. Randle was made to be the one faking his mental illness, while Jack was intentionally made to be insane. Nicholson expresses several similar characteristics between the two characters. For example, both Randle and Jack have an aggressive and sarcastic personality. Both characters carry a twisted appeal along with varying bipolar attitudes; one minute he will appear calm and cool, and the next he could be shouting and cursing down someone's throat. That being said, how can one determine if this behavior is intentional or not? Insanity is often used as a scapegoat in certain situations. The most prevalent use is pleading insanity in order to evade court sentence, much like Nicholson's character Randle. The fact that Nicholson himself is able to imitate an insane being with exceptional believability is also a contributing factor to the questionability of true madness. Then, there is the prescribed mentally ill “unfortunates” that could potentially have a problem, like Jack in “The Shining”. There is no question that there are those in the world that have mental disabilities. The true question lies in the authenticity of ones predicament. Jack had a previous drinking problem which resulted in the loss of his previous job as a teacher, and may have already been on the cusp of delusion. The spirits present within the hotel only unleashed his dormant in his subconscious. This is where the sci-fi portion of the film takes hold, but the concept of true insanity is still predominant. Yet, where is the line that exhibits real from fake? There in lies the compelling problem to a seemingly unsolvable solution.
Though both stories ended in Jack Nicholson's character's tragic death in both films, they still conclude the story on a positive note. Unfortunately, in reality, many people did suffer the same fate as Randle and Jack, insane or not. Through the use of cinematography, psychosis has been exposed to the world in two distinct lights; a horrific misfortune in “The Shining” and an ingenious cover that backfires in “One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest”. How does one determine one just mind over another? Will there ever be an accurate determining factor and an effective treatment? We are all insane in our own little way. Who are we to judge one from another?








Works Cited
“One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest." IMDB: The Internet Movie Database.
     Amazon.com, n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2009.      tt0073486/>.
(Several Words)." The Free Dictionary. Farlex, n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2009.
     .

"(Several Words)." Thesaurus.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2009.
     .

"The Shining." IMDB: The Internet Movie Database. Amazon.com, n.d. Web. 2 Nov.
     2009. .

Yanni, Carla. The Architecture of Madness. N. pag. Center for American Places.
     Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies, Mar. 2003. Web. 2 Nov. 2009.

Crustacean Contemplation

The beach is calm and empty; yet still active with the wind stirring the sand and water in a natural waltz. The sun has just set, and all the stars have just revealed themselves from the far off galaxies their light originates. The moon is illuminated against the violet and blue sky backdrop. The sky resembles a backlit canopy with holes punched in it. The breeze also swoops across the various bits of vegetation on the sand mounds across the shore. The sky is clear of cumulus clouds making the moon an excellent light source across the shore and ocean beyond. Even the damp sand has a dull shimmer under the moons' bright glow.
Using the moons' bright rays, a small red sand crab is visible along the shoreline. The lonely crab views the horizon of the ocean, solitary, with buggy eyes. Just where is this particular crab going? Is it sitting or moving across the shore? Maybe it is a mixture of both. It is entirely possible that this is the oceanic version of a walk in the park. Perhaps there is food lingering around half asleep that are easy prey for this tiny threat. Or maybe it is the other way around. Could our friend be lost and be a potential prey for lurking predators hidden within the tall grasses. The danger is mysterious.
As he is making its journey casually along the calm shore line, the crab makes several brief stops, as if he were being cautious; all the while being adamant about avoiding being swept away by mother ocean just yet. What could he be looking for or what could be looking for it? Will he ever return to the welcoming water, or will he fade into the sand below?





















Works Cited
Ehrlich, Amy. Rachel: The Story of Rachel Carson. N.p.: Harcourt Children's
     Books, 2003/03/01. Flipkart.com. Web. 23 Sept. 2009.
          0152162275-6ow3fipmkb>.

A Study in Contrasts: "Grant vs. Lee" & "Neat People vs. Sloppy People

Part A: 1) The writing is clearly organized in the following manner: an individual description of each person in question, contrasting their beliefs and ideas. Grant believes the split is justified through showing the power and integrity of the government, while Lee has a more lax approach, attempting to accomplish as much unification as possible. It then combines the two subjects with a striking similarity: both has similar techniques in order to reach the same goal of peace. Eventually this is realized and both come to a compromise marking a pivotal moment in American History. 2) The introduction begins with bringing us to the conclusion of Grant and Lee's conflict by setting a scene suggesting a setting at the "Appomattox Court House" where the event occurred. Followed by the explanation of said concluding events, being Grant and Lee's disagreements and closing with revealing the importance of the introduction as the conclusion. This approach would be considered most ideal and effective in several ways. First being it sets a scene in which one knows the outcome, making the comparison and contrast the connection between beginning and end. Secondly, the choice to reveal their differences first only strengthens the surprising likeness of the two. I plan to use a similar approach in my second formal essay by beginning with the older film first and the more recent movie second, and drawing them together in comparison. 3)As amusing as Suzanne Britt's article was to read, I'd have to question some of her logic. Her writing may come off as too aggressive or bias to someone who doesn't understand the satire. However, I was still able to relate to some subjects brought up by Britt, for example her repeated use of "someday" in describing the thoughts of sloppy people. Often i find myself saving random items in my personal space and saying to myself that I will organize or rearrange said item(s) "eventually". Part B: I would like to take the time to point out the immense amount of time, effort, and patience needed to create a vast majority of the pieces displayed in The Ringling Museum. Considering the time periods these masterpieces were developed in, with the limited resources some artists had. These artists didn't have the technology we have today, including simplistic things such as proper pain tubes. Most artists mixed their own paint every time they wish to paint because of the difficulty of storing paint properly. Not to mention the lack of "well off" artists who can afford the materials needed to formulate such works of art.

“We are Rock Stars” by Does It Offend You, Yeah?

You're all rock stars now in a network town
there's no place to go,
to be on your own
making friends and foes
watch the network grow,

Will you find a time
when you're not online
standing all alone,

Where's your real friends now?
you have let them down
you're a download pal.

The song “We are Rock Stars” by Does It Offend You, Yeah? Is mainly an instrumental electronic -rock type song with subtle splotches of lyrics. The lyrics are pretty straight forward with their interpretation and meaning. It relates to the false social network and the role on the internet.
In the first stanza we have an implied remark stating that everyone is their own “Rock star”. This could be referencing the ability for one to receive praise or compliments under ones alias on the web. It then goes on to explain why one ended up surfing the internet, the sheer presence of boredom. So one joins the network, finding and adding friends, and sometimes creating enemies because of the internet itself. No matter what relationship formed, the network continues to grow, gaining new members ever so rapidly.
Eventually, as described in the second stanza, one will find themselves chained to the web, always online, even if everyone else has resided for the night. Often, people spend hours upon hours on social networking sites such as Myspace or Facebook. Some really do spend their time online at the wee hours of the morning sitting at their desktop or laptop. Even though they may virtually be the only being online at the moment, they still persist on staying that way as to not miss a beat.
Finally, in the third stanza, the ugly truth is revealed. Due to the countless hours spent online one has lost true and physical friendship to the internet. They have become so consumed by the web that the friends they have online are not truly their friends. The extent of that relationship can only be downloaded and not developed.

The Locked Door: The Secret Life of Snap Decisions

Our class was required to choose a chapter from the book Blink by Malcolm Gladwell and present a summary and synopsis of the chapter to the class. I chose to write about the chapter I had to present in class as the topic of this picture. This chapter is based on the principle that we all are locked out of our subconscious mind, yet it still has an influence on the type of decisions we make. The book dispcribes an experiment in which a certain like minded group of individuals were subconsciously conditioned into acting in a different manner by simply relaying words of a certain attitude. However its not influential enough to be considered mind control because when one becomes aware of the subliminal messages, they automatically stop displaying their altered behavior. This shows the amazing potential for the subconcious mind.

Reflections

Over the course of the nearly the last five months, I have experienced my writing take a transformation for the better. This semester had focused on various points in writing in a new and innovative manner that allowed me to work to my maximum potential. In pervious years I had always had an apt ability for grammar and literature, therefore I was enrolled in many Honors and Advanced Placement classes. This year, I entered at an intermediate level course so as to test the “English Waters”.
Upon entry into Miss Akeyla Silver's class I gained a natural awkward sense as not one soul made a peep. As a nervous instinct, I chose to sit in the seat farthest from what appeared to be the teacher's desk. Eventually I would learn that the class was hardly as strange as it appeared. With Miss Silver's kind and understanding teaching techniques I was easily and comfortably able to mold my writing ability into that of a formally loose fashion. As an artist, I am naturally always searching for a creative strategy to convey my feelings and thoughts. Throughout my High School teachings, there grew a constant theme of “Formally Acceptable” writing in preparation for FCAT, ACT's, and SAT's in order to pass and receive entry into a number of eligible colleges. At the time I had not known where I would like to continue my studies after High School which is why I chose to take as many above average Literature courses. Ironically the school of my choice does not require SAT or ACT scores in order to get accepted. So I ended up with an ample amount of knowledge in grammar and english without any true need for it. Or had I?
The fact that I had a surplus of knowledge in literature and grammar gave me a solid foundation on which I could build a more career oriented style. I could take the writing I already liked and transform it into something I loved! I had originally been hard wired to writing on topic's of normality and boredom. However this class provided me with material that I could easily relate to and build a much more personal understanding of the subject matter. The assignments were more oriented towards evolving as an artist while using writing as another tool for our expression. The First Formal Paper was basically to illustrate a an illustration in our own words, as usual. I was particularly fond of this paper as it was an exploration of my mind when I view art. All of us have our own interpretation of certain things and I was able to form these thoughts into words on a page. The majority of my previous assignments had been to interpret words from words, not words from images. This helped to stimulate and connect my visual and analytical aspects to function in harmony. The Second Formal Paper highlighted another favorable trait of the class; the ability to be flexible. The gist of the Second Formal Paper was a simple compare and contrast essay, however the subjects being examined were almost completely decided by the writer. Thats not to say there were not any guidelines that needed to be followed and objectives that must be met; it just opens the playing field.
To follow up on the theme of flexibility, there were also the numerous free writes that were thrown at us at the beginning of class to awaken our brains. Its similar to one who stretches before exercising so as not to injure ones muscles. The same logic applies here. The alluring part is that one may write on anything that strikes their urge to write. After the majority have finished and the minority have begun wrapping up we are brought together into a discussion on whatever is shared among us. This is extremely effective as both an interest booster and ice breaker. The freelance work was better than I expected, but I knew the text was going to be dry. Wrong. The text was in Convergences was vibrant, stimulating, and surprisingly modern. This made the task of having the will to learn the material into a natural vibe. My individual presentation was done off of an article on the movie Little Miss Sunshine, a movie I am extremely passionate about. A topic worth relating to is a topic well learned.
I have been able to express myself in writing more in a few months here than four years in High School. To me, and I am sure to many others, expression is the most important thing to an artist; and as an artist having the ability to express in many forms is essential. By practicing the art of communication in all of its forms, including writing, artists can excel to great professional heights. This course was crucial in the introduction of my expressions and the integration of the two skills.