The Theory of Everything, a film about the life of Stephen Hawking, played by the extremely talented Eddie Redmayne, attempts to show all aspects of the brilliant cosmologist's life and succeeds at that feat handsomely. The film balances the doctor's work on his doctorate of philosophy at Cambridge, his struggle with his paralyzing motor neuron disease, and his beautiful relationship with his now ex-wife Jane Wilde (played by Felicity Jones). What I personally admire about the film is how they don't focus so heavily on the disease itself, but rather they center on the concept of Hawking as a person. Even after he loses his ability to speak normally, Hawking does not lose his quirky and humorous sense of witty humor. Despite the dreadful disease Hawking was diagnosed with and given an expiration date that is unfathomable, he still manages to amuse us with his unconventional comments and facial gestures. The film's script was fabulously written in a way that was not condescending to it's audience despite the fact that we were watching one of the most intelligent geniuses of our time. The cast of the film did a remarkable job portraying almost impossible roles. I am blown away by Redmayne's representation of Hawking. I know that he prepared by studying Jane Wilde's books, Traveling to Infinity- My Life with Stephen and Music to Move the Stars: A Life with Stephen, but the realness that he brings to the screen is inconceivable. Stephen Hawking himself admitted after watching the film that, "At times, I thought it was me" which substantiates Redmayne's remarkable performance. The film drives you to reflect on your own life and wonder what kind of difference you are making in this world. The determination and strength of Hawking, despite being given a death sentence, is evident and causes one to reconsider the overall significance of what we are doing here on this earth. Are we making the pivotal modifications in our current orbit, or are we just passively uninvolved in anything of great importance? When I completed the film, initially I experienced an ambience of guiding light. Inspired by both the true story as well as the superb acting, the film caused me to think outside the box about my own being on this planet. Not a lot of films can move me in this way, being the harsh realist that I am, but this specific piece achieved something that is rarely reachable. The story got me to think about and question everything around me; now I, too, want to discover the one theory that explains everything in the universe.
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The recent scandal involving Sony and the hacking of their system which led to the publication of thousands of private e-mails and information to be released to the public has been the number one topic in America. Since the initial hack had occurred on November 24th, "Sony" has been trending on Twitter to this day. This means that for approximately 26 days, the number one thing being talked about has been this terrible scandal of a mass invasion of privacy and freedom. My initial reaction to these unfortunate circumstances was to leer and judge the employees of Sony who, in my mind, were dumb enough to send ill-mannered, unprofessional, and in some cases, racist e-mails from a company setting. After learning more about the reality of the situation, my views have changed. Living in the year 2014, which is now creeping up on 2015, I as a 21 year old woman understand that nothing in this world is private. We live in a world powered by our electronics which gave birth to and facilitates mass media. Because we are so advanced in the field of technology, the rate that information is supplied to the masses has multiplied tenfold. The dangers this produces for this generation as well as generations to come are limitless. We are a part of a society that is capable of making anything they select go viral and trend for whatever purpose they choose. This capability that we possess can be used for good but, as we see throughout the history of this technological era, we as cynical human beings use it for evil. The main problem with today's high-speed shifts on what's trending and what's not is the briefness of it all. Within the last few months, I can map out all of the short-lived important and news-worthy trends that took the internet by storm. Here is a timeline of, in my opinion, the past five trends that took over the internet starting with the Ebola outbreak in America and ending with Sony Pictures pulling the film "The Interview" from being released to the public due to possible terrorist threats on theaters: According to my timeline that I have put together through my personal opinion on what has been at the forefront of news, you can truly see how abruptly these stories of importance came and went. This is because the mediums that we have today for mass communication find these stories that will grab our easily apprehended attention and indoctrinate us into thinking that these things will honestly effect us in our every day lives. Don't get me wrong, these events do matter, just not as much as the news leads us to believe. The Ebola hype by the news is what troubled me the most. Yes, American's contracting this terrible virus was alarming, but it wasn't something that everyone should be fearing at all times when outside of their homes. Here is a video of Russell Howard mocking the news coverage of the pandemic in the United States while comparing it to the coverage in the United Kingdom: The comparison is shocking. We as American citizens need to be aware of the propagandizing that our mass media outlets are committing on an every day basis. We also need to be aware that nothing in this digital age is private and we must learn from the mistakes of the unlucky Sony employees. If you write something in an e-mail or text, be aware that there is a possibility that the entire world may see it one day. Yes, our technology sets our nation and generation apart from any other in history, but it is up to us to choose how we will use this terrifying new power. The journey that I have been on begins with a vague memory. It was my first day of high school as a small and naive freshman. I had always enjoyed reading and writing throughout my life, but never really had the opportunity to indulge in my talents as a writer before this particular inciting incident. When I received the schedule of my classes for the year, I noticed in the top left corner directly below my full name was a class titled Creative Writing. Initially I thought, how could there be an entire class dedicated to one's creativity and how can one be graded on such a subjective concept? This class, in time, led to my comprehensive and eternal appreciation for the art of literature.
Before high school, I had never really given a second thought to book bearing or composition. I would be assigned book reports as a child and I, living up to my lazy persona, would simply read the first and last page of the book and summarize accordingly. I was never aware of what books did for a person or the excitement reading necessitated. I would mindlessly watch television and movies and neglect the stack of disregarded dust collectors, formally known as books, in my closet. My mother tried to persuade me to be fond of reading as a child. She purchased the first Harry Potter book for me when I was around 12 years old and made a deal with me that I will never forget. If I read the whole book, she would take me to see the magical movie that had come out that month. I read the first few chapters, but, sooner or later, my undiagnosed ADD kicked in and just like that, I had given up on my assignment. The only problem was, I really wanted to see this movie that all of my friends had seen already. I then went to my best friend at the time (which was my bulky desktop computer) and searched for the synopsis of the book online. I studied the outline and recited it to my mother down pat which led to our family outing to the movies that weekend. When I finally had my first day of classes in ninth grade, we had our creative writing class. That is when everything had changed for me. I was eager to see what the class was all about as a young and potentially creative teenager. Mr. Sheridan, the teacher of the class, stood still and silent in front of the classroom filled with judgmental adolescents. We all looked at each other with uncertainty; we had no idea what was transpiring. He then, without hesitation, grabbed the chair from behind his desk and shoved it loudly and forcefully against the wall of the classroom and exclaimed, "Write!" Some students just sat at their desks cracking giggles and smirks, some sat still, stultified, and others (including myself) began to formulate words and sentences into our clean and crisp new notebooks. It was creativity at it's finest. In what had seemed like five minutes, I induced cramps in my wrist writing what I had believed to be the most unique piece I had ever written. When the class bell rang indicating it was over, we handed in our journals to be reviewed. For the first time in my life, I didn't care about the grade I would be receiving; I knew that what I had just done was good and I didn't need anyone to confirm that for me. That year, with the significant direction from extraordinary teachers that I will never forget, I started my pursuit to literary greatness. Without the knowledge that I have obtained over the years through literature such as great novels, classic plays, and modern stories, I would not be the person that sits before this computer today. I would not be as permissive and my understanding of the world around me would be deemed inadequate. the benefits that I have acquired throughout my life attributable to reading and writing are innumerable. I am so thankful to those who influenced this journey for me because without it, life would seem bleak. I know things haven't even fully commenced yet for me, there is still so much ahead to experience. I am compelled to write down something of some sort at this very moment. It doesn't matter what I write, exactly, as long as I put together letters to create words and then follow that by putting the words together which would in-turn create sentences.
Every once in a while, my body twitches in a specific way which indicates that I need to get to a writing utensil immediately so that I could pen down my thoughts specifically and accurately in the moment that they are conceived so that they remain original. I come from a life of chaos and, as some may view it, despair. I do not belong to any one group people or any kind of distinct demographic. I am so diverse that even I don't know what I appreciate anymore. All I know is that whenever I do something, I do it with the hope that my actions are changing something somewhere in the world for the better. I'd like to believe that I am basically ethical and moral and if I were to be put into an ethical dilemma, my manner would uphold to that facet. A wise man who I once knew once told me that I should never let others put me down. He always convinced me that I was the best that I could be at all moments in life and that he would always be proud of me because he knew I was living up to my full potential. When that man died, for a short time I feared that his idea died along with him. No one else that I have ever encountered in my lifetime has ever applied such a theory to my being and I assume no one ever will (if they do, I'm sure it won't be on that level of enthusiasm). I now recognize that I am destined for greatness. I know that that specific phrase is extremely cliché to utter out loud about your own self, but I know it to be true so I must publicize it. I am predestined by whatever entity presides over this universe to carry out change that will have a universal and all-embracing virtuous impact on society as a whole. |
AuthorShelly; A writer, aspiring journalist and/or popular culture personality. Archives
October 2015
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