Rita Moreno spoke at convocation this afternoon. She sang in the middle of her speech and sounded beautiful. The theme of her speech "If you quit, you can't." I found this easily relatable and a good reminder for my own goals.
When Rita was younger her dad left before her and her mom moved to the states. It was just her and her mom moving to America. When she first saw the statue of liberty, she called it the "green lady." She thought the "green lady" ran the country and was enamored by this fact. They first moved to the Bronx and her mom rented a four bedroom apartment but there were already a couple of families living there when they arrived. So eventually, they moved to a different apartment across the street that was very small.
Her mom always reminded Rita to follow her dreams. She listened to her mother when she quit secretarial school to pursue her dreams as an actress and singer. She did a performance where a talent scout saw her and was so in awe of her performance that he put a word in for her at the MGM. This talent scout set up meeting for her to meet people that could offer her a contract. She was offered a seven year contract and she took it. Throughout this time, she was given dusky-women roles and dusky performances. These roles objectified women as being inferior and not having as much of a say in society.
There were no dialect coaches for her to learn from so she tried to come up with her own accents. She came up with a universal ethnic accent. She started to truly learn the meaning behind acting, and becoming another person since the characters were not true to how women truly were. Luckily, she soon went to a make up studio at MGM (Metro Goldwyn Mayor) and "learned that the eyes are more than just gateways to the soul." She said that room could have been sweating from the inside out because Marlon Brando was so gorgeous. She soon saw him as more of a narcissist and righteous in his own way. She felt obligated to please him and compliment him since he was so well known.
Eventually, she was offered her role as Anita in West Side Story. This was the first time she had a role where she could voice her opinion and wouldn't have to worry about sugar coating the role. She could be closer to who she truly was. This very much helped her career because her and her mother were very poor.
Reflecting on this experience, it was amazing to learn about someone's past and struggles who has won so many awards because she never gave up on her dreams. This is inspirational to me as I can relate to her family and financial troubles. It is my aspiration to always follow my dreams as it can clearly take you in the right direction.
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Saturday, September 17, 2016
ENGL 344- Blog #3: Speaker Rory Wheeler
On Friday, September 16th, Rory Wheeler spoke about the pipeline in North Dakota and what the different tribes are doing to protect their water. He had actually been there this week to help defend his family's land and just got back. He mentioned that his grandma and grandpa used to fish in the river and he wanted to make sure the pipeline didn't go through the river. He was there as an EMT and wanted to fight with everyone but they wouldn't let him because if he had gotten hurt, he wouldn't be able to do his original job as an EMT. He didn't know when it was safe to sleep because something could have happened at any moment and he was constantly anticipating the sound of gun shots. Fortunately, he never heard any but this kept him up and alert. He was always needed and prayed that everyone would come back safely.
When he had left, there were about 5,000 people fighting and when he was leaving North Dakota to come home, there were about 7,000 people fighting. There was plenty of young people helping out with whatever they could. He says that everyone was very friendly there when it came to helping out.
Unfortunately, he told us how a lot of what is happening is censored on the media. There were pictures and updates online that had to come down because they want to keep this on the down low.
Wheeler learned forgiveness during this sleepless trip. They were digging up sites and hell could have broken lose but it didn't. He repeats that we have to forgive, we have to move on, and we have to fight. The Morton County Sheriffs are apparently siding with the pipeline. This is hard for them to realize and hurts their chances in stopping it. There was pepper sprayed at women, children, and men. Some were beaten harshly and there were racial terms said like it was nothing. Meanwhile, the sheriffs department just stood there and watched. People were charged with attempted trespassing and they held one person for a week because of a misdemeanor. Everyone was outraged at this fact. The county is working against them. At the camps, they are getting ready for winter with sleeping bags and such so that they can continue to fight. They are looking for funding and supplies to stay fighting until this is completely stopped.
As far as politics go, Hilary Clinton has a bunch of support for climate change on her website but hasn't actually done anything about this. Bernie Sanders has been very vocal about this and their fight to stop the pipeline. Trump hasn't done anything.
It was acknowledged that he is a young native american still having to fight for something that belongs to him. When he first arrived, he saw the river and the sun setting on it. This made him think, "This is the reason I am here." He wanted to fight for this water, that his father, and father's father relied on everyday. When he saw everyone come together, he realized that they are strong and that they are there for one another. He said, "You pick on one of us, you pick on all of us," which is a very strong statement.
Currently, there is still construction going on but not on land where the army is. There is a very limited amount of water left. Especially after the California water shortage and with very little clean water left, they should be fighting. For people that are non-natives, he asks that we educate them and make them aware of what is going on. He wants people to know what was done to preserve their land. He has hope that pollution will decrease in the future. His biggest point made was that there should be more consultation with the tribes.
Wheeler talked about the fact that he is not an activist, rather a water protector. This is his duty as a native American and as an EMT. He believes this is his mission here on earth, that he was sent to do this, and that he should be there 24/7. People rely on this water to live and an oil leak will cause permanent damage. Children could have birth defects if this continues. Some people chain themselves to the equipment trying to physically say, "If I don't have this water, I have nothing at all." His mentality is hopeful. There is a unity in all of the tribes. There are many charges they have to face just to protect their water but he is happy to see that all of the tribes are coming together for a good purpose.
When he had left, there were about 5,000 people fighting and when he was leaving North Dakota to come home, there were about 7,000 people fighting. There was plenty of young people helping out with whatever they could. He says that everyone was very friendly there when it came to helping out.
Unfortunately, he told us how a lot of what is happening is censored on the media. There were pictures and updates online that had to come down because they want to keep this on the down low.
Wheeler learned forgiveness during this sleepless trip. They were digging up sites and hell could have broken lose but it didn't. He repeats that we have to forgive, we have to move on, and we have to fight. The Morton County Sheriffs are apparently siding with the pipeline. This is hard for them to realize and hurts their chances in stopping it. There was pepper sprayed at women, children, and men. Some were beaten harshly and there were racial terms said like it was nothing. Meanwhile, the sheriffs department just stood there and watched. People were charged with attempted trespassing and they held one person for a week because of a misdemeanor. Everyone was outraged at this fact. The county is working against them. At the camps, they are getting ready for winter with sleeping bags and such so that they can continue to fight. They are looking for funding and supplies to stay fighting until this is completely stopped.
As far as politics go, Hilary Clinton has a bunch of support for climate change on her website but hasn't actually done anything about this. Bernie Sanders has been very vocal about this and their fight to stop the pipeline. Trump hasn't done anything.
It was acknowledged that he is a young native american still having to fight for something that belongs to him. When he first arrived, he saw the river and the sun setting on it. This made him think, "This is the reason I am here." He wanted to fight for this water, that his father, and father's father relied on everyday. When he saw everyone come together, he realized that they are strong and that they are there for one another. He said, "You pick on one of us, you pick on all of us," which is a very strong statement.
Currently, there is still construction going on but not on land where the army is. There is a very limited amount of water left. Especially after the California water shortage and with very little clean water left, they should be fighting. For people that are non-natives, he asks that we educate them and make them aware of what is going on. He wants people to know what was done to preserve their land. He has hope that pollution will decrease in the future. His biggest point made was that there should be more consultation with the tribes.
Wheeler talked about the fact that he is not an activist, rather a water protector. This is his duty as a native American and as an EMT. He believes this is his mission here on earth, that he was sent to do this, and that he should be there 24/7. People rely on this water to live and an oil leak will cause permanent damage. Children could have birth defects if this continues. Some people chain themselves to the equipment trying to physically say, "If I don't have this water, I have nothing at all." His mentality is hopeful. There is a unity in all of the tribes. There are many charges they have to face just to protect their water but he is happy to see that all of the tribes are coming together for a good purpose.
Monday, September 5, 2016
ENGL 344- Blog #2 Edwards Orientalism definition
Orientalism is very important to our society and our world. It is the idea of coming together and becoming aware of our surroundings. We must be aware of the Eastern part of the world and all it has and will contribute to us. It is interdependent on Orient and Occident because the world is made up of those two unequal halves. The countries of the East and the West should have an awareness of one another's interests. There is a problem when it comes to power. Who has the most? Who has the least? How can one gain power? All of the questions keep us divided. We should be looking past that and gaining awareness of one another and what we can do for each other.
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