Movie Review: Kill Bill

This term I am taking a course called Ollywood. In this class we study the art of film making. In our first unit we talked about the Pre-Production process which includes the screenplay, the storyboard, location, costume design, props, and more. We discussed screenplays and their different components. We also learned about storyboards and how they're made. Next, we talked about location scouts and how they find the best spots for shooting a movie. Lastly, we studied production design and how production designers make decisions on what props or costumes to use. One Field Experience that we went on was in Lower Wacker. In Lower Wacker we took pictures of different locations while we were assigned a specific movie genre. We had to create a storyboard based on the pictures we took. I created an action movie that had a chase scene. In Ollywood I also wrote a movie review. For this Action Project, we had to choose a movie and analyze the costumes, props, locations, dialogue, and more. I chose to do a movie review on Kill Bill because it's a sick movie. Although this was my first action project in Ollywood, it is so far my favorite. I got a chance to write about one of my favorite movies and be in Roger Elbert's shoes.

In conclusion, I'm glad I got the experience I did during this unit. I've never written a movie review before so it was very challenging at first. Overall, I had so much fun writing this paper because I watched the film several times during the drafting period. I hope I have the opportunity to write many more in the future.

Plant to Design

This term I am taking a course called Biomimicry. Biomimicry is when designs are inspired by nature. In this unit we discussed plants and animals and how they adapt to their habitats. In class, we talked about how plants function and survive. We also learned about how living things have evolved over time. One way we did this was by looking at a timeline of the earth and how long life has been around. From there, we discussed people who used Biomimicry to make their own designs like Jay Harman who created the PAX impeller. He mimicked the way a whirlpool works and applied it to his own design by making the impeller spin the same way. In order to get some inspiration for our project we went on two Field Experiences. Our first Field Expierence was at a carpet company called Interface. We learned that their company creates sustainable and replacable carpets by using Biomimicry. They observe different forms of nature to their own designs to make their carpets Eco-friendly. For example, they created a carpet that looks a lot like an ocean. They also think of materials they can use from nature, which I thought was very fascinating. The second Field Experience we went to was the Lincoln Park Conservatory. Here, we closely observed several different plants like different flowers, fruit, leaves, and much more. As we looked at these plants, we got to draw them and see if they use the Fibonacci series. The Fibonacci series is a series of numbers like 1,1,2,3,4,8,etc. Each number is the sum of the two preceding numbers. For example, 0+1=1, 1+1=2, 1+2=3, and so on. These numbers are often see in spirals on different kind of plants. For our action project this unit, we have to think of a human challenge and think of how a plant would solve it through a design. The plant I chose was the Desert Rhubarb. It stores water and had huge roots. The human problem I chose was dehydration. I chose this because not all people have access to clean water. I created a water system that has a small set of tubes and a big set of tubes. When it rains, the water goes through a drain that would be installed in the ground like a plant. The water then travels through the small tubes that are connected, creating a steady water flow. Then, it goes through the bigger tubes that look a lot like the underground roots of the Desert Rhubarb. When the water travels through it becomes filtered. It then comes back up through a faucet and the water is clean and healthy to drink. Through this project we had to talk about how it connects to any Life Principles or SDGS (Sustainable Development Goals). I was able to create a beneficial and sustainable design thanks to the Desert Rhubarb plant!

Rhetorical Art

In this unit we talked about how mayoral candidates use Rhetoric to convince people to vote for them. In this action project, we looked closely at rhetorical art that politicians use to present themselves or get a message across. We also learned about many different rhetorical devices that people use to get messages across to an audience. Some devices that we learned about are Alliteration, Assonance, Hyperbole, Metaphor, Antithesis, and more. In class, we started planning a People's Assembly to bring together different people in Chicago. In the People's Assembly we're talking about issues that are mainly being brought up by the mayoral candidates in Chicago. We had to write an invitation to our chosen candidate or an audience to convince them to come. Instead of posing as our candidate, this time we have to create art for them and the message they stand for. My candidate is Lori Lightfoot and she mostly talks about violence in Chicago. For one of our field experiences, we went to Marquette Park and looked at an art piece based on MLK and his work. Since he protested in that park, the community built a memorial for the Chicago Freedom Movement. The memorial represented MLK and anti-segregation. We looked at this as a rhetorical piece of art because it was for a certain audience. It was made for and by the community. It communicated anti-segregation and unity through the art. The art I created had a drawing of a gun and I used logic to demonstrate that the issue was important. I did that by providing statistics on the issue. I also used Allusion by referencing an event that occurred during 2016 when there were numerous shootings and killings. A lot of the shootings were done by police officers. My art piece goes against gun violence and spreads awareness. I am supporting one of Lori Lightfoot's reasons for running and routing for change. I also use Alliteration and Anaphora through my piece. I'm repeating the word "violence" a lot after each new sentence. I am also using similar vowel sounds like "Silenced" and "Violence".

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Rhetorical Art Piece: Don't Stay Silenced AS (2018)

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/watchdog/ct-chicago-police-shooting-database-met-20160826-story.html

Written Invitation for the People's Assembly AS (2018)

Day 4: Butterfly

I'm in a small red car. Slightly tired and nervous about something. This anxiety wraps around my head like a blanket to a cold baby. The sun is shining on a green, gracious field. It stretches out far ahead, I wonder where it’s going. Maybe somewhere like me. If God gave my brain feet, I would lose my head. I’d run away and never stop. Tumbling and tumbling, soon I fall. When I open my mouth, the air smells funny and makes me car sick. The driver hums loudly to the music playing. I feel at ease. David Bowie is dancing on the radio. His words speed up and I feel a disco ball in my heart. Light it up life, Light it up. Animals, loads of animals run in the middle of the street and block our way. We wait for 5 minutes until they’re gone. A lamb, a horse, a goat, a peacock. Maybe heaven is calling out for me to build an arc for the moving animals. I think of purpose. My driver hums louder and louder until I get a headache.
With a throbbing skull and soft heart, I fade into the clouds and leave the car behind.

Day 3: Chrysalis

A partner read my poem and gave me some suggestions.

First, my partner said to take out the “what a ride” part at the end of the poem because it made the ending seem cheesy. He also said I should remove extra words that take away the meaning of what I’m really saying. For example I said “I feel at ease now”. If I take away the “now”, it makes me overall emotions a little more clear throughout the poem. Since I’m changing how I feel so much, using different words do matter. He liked how descriptive it was and how he felt like he was apart of the ride. The mystery through the piece made it compelling but changing word choice will keep that excitement in the poem.

Day 2: Caterpillar Stage

Original edited poem:

I'm in a small red car. Slightly tired and nervous about something. The sun is shining on a green field. Out far ahead, I wonder where it’s going. Maybe somewhere like me. I have no idea. The air smells funny and makes me car sick. The driver hums loudly to the music playing. I feel at ease now.  Animals, loads of animals run in the middle of the street and block our way. We wait for 5 minutes until they’re gone. My driver hums louder and louder until I get a headache. What a ride.

Caterpillar edit: I added more to it because it was too short. I also added more sensory details.

I'm in a small red car. Slightly tired and nervous about something. This anxiety wraps around my head like a blanket to a cold baby. The sun is shining on a green, gracious field. It stretches out far ahead, I wonder where it’s going. Maybe somewhere like me. If God gave my brain feet, I would lose my head. I’d run away and never stop. Tumbling and tumbling, soon I fall. When I open my mouth, the air smells funny and makes me car sick. The driver hums loudly to the music playing. I feel at ease now. David Bowie is dancing on the radio. His words speed up and I feel a disco ball in my heart. Light it up life, Light it up. Animals, loads of animals run in the middle of the street and block our way. We wait for 5 minutes until they’re gone. A lamb, a horse, a goat, a peacock. Maybe heaven is calling out for me to build an arc for the moving animals. I think of purpose. My driver hums louder and louder until I get a headache. What a ride.

Day 1: Egg Stage

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1. Describe where you were when you started writing this piece & what was on your mind.
I was in class when I started writing this piece. I was thinking about a time I was in an Uber and I was in deep thought about what I saw outside. I kind of exaggerated the animals stopping in the street so I mostly thought about movies.In a lot of scenes usually animals will be crossing the road and it holds the car up. I saw the animals as my thoughts and how I overthink about most things. My thoughts may stop me from moving or getting where I need to be.


2. What kind of sentences did you use? Are there other patterns you notice?
I mostly used a lot of declarative sentences. I’m telling the reader about my emotions and how I feel. I mostly notice a repetitive pattern of me saying “I”. I’m talking about myself and what I’m experiencing.

3. What themes do you notice in this piece?
A theme I notice in this piece is nature. I’m writing about my surroundings and all of them are the things I see outside to my own human nature. Another theme could be human condition.

4. What were your intentions for this piece? Where do you see this piece going?
My intentions were to move the piece like the car I was in. I wanted to show that as I drive off, my thoughts and feelings get deeper. The surroundings are moving me as well. Everything is movement and that intertwines with my own thinking. I see this piece being a little more descriptive.

About my Rhetorical Challenger: Lori Lightfoot

One of the courses I'm taking this year is Rhetoric. Rhetoric is an integrated Humanities class that revolves around breaking down and analyzing situations rhetorically. In this unit, we're learning about mayoral candidates in Chicago and how they're using rhetorical thinking to persuade people to vote for them. For our first Action Project we did this through putting ourselves in the candidate's shoes and writing a speech, taking on their role. I pretended to be Lori Lightfoot and I wrote a speech about the dangers of police violence in Chicago because that's a serious issue she's trying to tackle. Now, we're acting as if our candidate is in a museum and we have to use rhetorical thinking to present who they are, their significance, and the problems they want to face in Chicago. We did this by rhetorically analyzing a text and video on our rhetorical challenger. In the project we broke down the occasion the text was written for and its background. We looked for different rhetorical devices like Pathos, Ethos, and Logos. We also looked for the different stylistic devices they used throughout the text or video on them. I chose to present Lori Lightfoot in the form of an editorial.

Posing as Lori Lightfoot

Rhetoric is an Integrated Humanities class in GCE. In my Rhetoric course, we learn about the art of persuading different audiences through writing and speaking techniques. For this unit, we studied the way important figures in history interacted with others using a rhetorical analysis. In a rhetorical analysis there is the speaker, audience, genre, occasion, and purpose. When rhetorically analyzing something, you can also use Aristotle's 3 appeals : Logos, Pathos, and Ethos. In this unit we applied rhetorical thinking to hands-on projects and Field Experiences. In the beginning of the unit we had to analyze a Fender Guitar AD and make a slideshow on how it was rhetorically successful. We took that project to a new level by actually getting to see Fender Guitars along with several other instruments at the Chicago Music Exchange, a music equipment retailer. Getting the opportunity to see these instruments and the way retailers sell them demonstrated how people use rhetorical thinking. Our action project for this class is focused around a political figure. The mission is to convince an audience that they’re a trustworthy candidate through a speech. Our job was to select a mayoral candidate in Chicago. I chose Lori Lightfoot and wrote a scripted speech, acting as if I were her in an interview. The speech is supposed to include logos, pathos, ethos, and effective oratory. You then have to take a video of yourself reading the interview question you made up with the answer to it, posing as your candidate. Later on we will get the chance to read these speeches at a people’s assembly.

Design and Engineering: Making A Tool For You

In Design and Engineering class, we learn about producing things that we can use in our everyday lives. We also incorporate Mathematics and Physics to understand what components go into designing products. In this unit, we learned about simple machines and how they are used. For example, we got to see how wedges, levers, and inclined planes work before learning about tools and how people use them in their everyday life.

This action project was about empathy, but mainly about how we can use empathy to develop new tools for people who may not function the way the “average” person does. The user would be an elderly person, but the tool I made can be used by anyone with a physical or mental disability. Our main focus was to make a product for someone that is of old age and has difficulties with using regular tools. Empathy is understanding how someone really feels. In order to create a product for someone else, we need to use empathy.

I interviewed my neighbor Eileen about the tools she uses in her garden. She stated, "I love a tool that doesn't require much bending". This inspired me to make a sledgehammer that won't cause back strains when using it.

Three things I learned from interviews with gardeners and experts:
1. Good grip is important and effective.
2. Tools with a sturdy and sharp point are helpful (shovels for ex.)
3. Multipurpose tools work best.

Three things I learned from researching existing examples of my tool:
1. The best sledge hammers are the most expensive.
2. They’re usually made with steel.
3. They come in different shapes, lengths, and sizes.


My new and improved tool is called the “Grave Diga”. The Grave Diga is an example of a lever because one hand would be considered the fulcrum, while the other hand is the first weight, making the head of the tool the second weight. It’s a sledge hammer with a long length and movable handle grips on the ends. It is made out of carbon fiber so it’s lighter. The handle grips are helpful for old people who may need more support. The grip slides up and down for an easy use. Some people have really weak or shaky hands so the grip and extra hand support helps with that. Since it is very long, you don’t have to bend down that much either. Just lift and smash.

My partner and I did some prior research on the sledgehammers by looking at other sledgehammers. We went to Home Depot as a Field Experience and looked for the improvements we could make. We noticed that the grip was not stable enough and it was too heavy. From there we looked up the prices of the sledgehammers we saw and the materials used to make it. This gave us a good sense of what we needed to create: an affordable tool with simple but helpful qualities. Knowing this information led us to creating an easy product for mostly elderly people.

Three ways my tool is better than the competition:
1. Carbon fiber to make it lighter.
2. Hand strap and grips are for shaking or weak hands.
3. Sliding grip for comfortable use.

A lot of sledgehammers have very uncomfortable grips. Any tool without a sturdy grip can make the job hard and time consuming. The Grave Diga is unlike other tools because it has everything you want and need in a sledgehammer.

I learned that it’s possible to make a tool that doesn’t already exist. I also learned that you need to understand empathy to create a product for someone. This was not easy for me because I had to make a model for someone who doesn't function like I do. I’m not an old person so I don’t exactly know what a “good tool” would be for the elderly. I had to put myself in the shoes of an old person and think outside the box. One obstacle I encountered was figuring out how to make the sledge hammer lighter. The sledge hammer has to be heavy in order to do the job because of the hard steel/metal material. I had to think of different ways I could make it either lighter or easier to hold. The handle straps seemed like a reasonable choice. Thinking outside the box, especially when faced with difficult obstacles can be challenging but it is worth it in the end.