Thursday, May 28, 2009

Persepolis Blog 2

Q:Written as a memoir, is Persepolis more powerful than if Satrapi had Ficionalized the story? Why or why not? Compare this book to other memoirs you have read what are the benefits and drawbacks of memoirs?


A: I think that it is more powerful because Satrapi has taken the inicents of a comic book (very little difference between comic book and graphic novel) and used it to talk about the dark era in which she grew up. If she had fictionalized the story it would've been just another story about a child growing up in dark times (which are some how all original). I personally like this book more than most memoirs I've read because I can finish it quickly and get it over with. I absolutely hated The Diary of Anne Frank with the fiery passion of a thousand burning suns. This may sound childish but in a dirt boring book it helps to keep you sain if there is something to look at.


Q: "Every situation has an opportunity for laughs." Give some examples of how the ordinary citizens of Iran Enjoyed life despite the oppressive regime. What made you laugh? How does Satrapi add comic relief? How are these scenes relevant to the story?


A: Most of the laughs happened during school. Eventually all the girls started making fun of the various ceremonies. Marji would pretend to be a dying soldier. When told to decorate the class room they used toilet paper. Most of the other enjoyment came from pretending everything was fine and just living their lives. Nothing made me laugh. Satrapi adds comic relief by showing the characters TP-ing the class room and stuff like that. These scenes are relevant because the story is about Satrapi's child hood and not the revolution.

Q: At the core of the book is Marji's family. What are they like? What is important to Marji's parents? What environment do they create for their daughter? Where do they get their strength?

A: Marji's family is more or less a regular high middle-class family. Marji's parents keep up with the news and are really into what's going on. They went to several protests. They do not keep Marji in the dark about what's happening. They don't just up and tell her everything but if she asks they sit down with her and explain. They have lots of friends who are wrongly imprisoned which helps to drive them on to oppose the government.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Persepolis Blog 1

Q: How is Persepolis organized and structured? What has Satrapi chosen to emphasize in her childhood? How is the passage of time presented? Describe Satrapi's drawings. How do the drawings add to the narrative story?


A: Persepolis is a graphic novel about a girl growing up in Iran during war and revolution. The story is centered around Marji and her understanding of whats going on. Lots of talk of family members who are in prison reach her ears. She hears adults talking about protesting and how the emperor must be overthrown. She doesn't quite get the seriousness of it all.
     The book is in graphic novel format, which is basically a long comic book. However, the book is not full of colorful, pretty pictures. It is in 2D black and white to fit the mood of the story. The drawings add to the readers understanding of the size of whats going on.

Q: Describe the writer's voice. Is it Appealing? Which aspect of Marji's character do you identify with or like the most, the least? Did your reaction to the little girl affect your reading experience?

A: The writer narrates like an adult who lived everything being talked about (Probably because that's what she is) and Marji talks like a little girl who doesn't understand whats going on ( probably because that's what she is). I dislike Marji. I think she is annoying. I don't really like any part of Marji's character. What I like least is probably that its never her fault. The character of Marji Made the book very difficult to enjoy, which is saying something because I didn't enjoy the book.

Q: "In spite of everything, kids were trying to look hip, even under risk of arrest." How did they do this? What do you think you would've done had you been a child in this environment? What acts of rebellion did you do as a teen? In what ways is Satrapi just a normal kid?

A: A lot of the kids would simply wear a tee shirt over the robes to look hip and still be in the dress code. I couldn't care less about what people think I should wear. I would were what I want. However if wearing jeans and a tee shirt got you arrested I would suck it up and wear what they want me to wear. I never really rebelled. The closest thing to it would be not doing chores when I'm told to. In the previous questions I talked about how Marji is just little girl who doesn't understand what's going on. She hears something on the news, blows it out of proportion, and then pretends to kill people with her little group of friends.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Movie Review

This post will change alot. I will be reviewing a movie that I recently saw and rating them on a 5 star scale with 1 meaning I hated it, 2 means I didn't like it, 3 means I liked it, 4 means I really liked it, and 5 means I loved it.

I recently watched: X-Men Origins Wolverine.

***** This movie was packed with unbelievable action and effects and had lots of witty humor. Anyone (Including the critics) who says the movie was bad simply went dumb from over exposure to pure awesomeness. Luckily for me I've built up an immunity from watching so many great movies. The movie answered a few questions about the past that I didn't even know were there. Here's a tip: If you watch this movie wait in the theater until all the credits are over.

I recently watched: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

**** This was a very interesting movie for a couple reasons. One, its cool to see Brad Pitt as a 90 year old man, even though he's just 7. Its also interesting to see him grow younger and younger and how people react to his "condition." Its the kind of movie thats really fun the first time because you have know idea how it will end. The second time around its just a good movie.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

About Ty Fighter

My blog has been called Ty Fighter's home because I can freely and proudly admit that when it comes to Star Wars I am a nerd. People who know me, even a little will tell you that I am a freak of nature. Not in the disturbing way. I simply mean that I love nature; specifically animals. I would try to get into zoology or something if becoming a movie director doesn't workout. I even have a volunteer job at Como Zoo.In fact I love animals so much that I believe them to be superior to people. Intelligence doesn't have everything to do with superiority. I'm getting off topic. If saying that I want to direct movies wasn't a big enough clue, I love movies. I always talk about them with friends and always watch the oscars (and get very pissed off from watching the oscars. I often wonder if the academy even watched some of the movies). I enjoy video games a lot too. Especially real time strategy (RTS) games. Those are usually for the computer. Things like the Battle for Middle-Earth, Age of Empires, Halo Wars, etc. I am a democrat. I live with my mom and (very stupid) brother. I have many pets. A garter snake with no name yet, a guinea pig named Kalo, 2 leopard geckoes named Pokedot and Diamond, a rabbit named Bluejeans, and slowly diminishing fish tank.

A Very Bad Idea.

Curing cancer and other deadly illnesses is a very bad idea. The human population is soaring as it is. Right now the only things preventing humans from being more abundant than land are other humans, natural disasters and disease. Disease is killing millions of people every year, yet more people are born than people dying each year. Just imagine if only a couple thousand people die every year. Their would be no elbow room anywhere on the planet, and that is just one of the minor problems. Curing cancer would classify humanity as terminal.

Friday, March 27, 2009

My Fuzzy and Scaly Friends

Note: Pictures will be added later.


This is a list of my all pets. I have a guinea pig, a rabbit, a garter snake, a fish tank, and 2 leopard geckos.


The guinea pig's name is Kalo. I came up with this name a an abbreviation of calico which is what her color pattern is. We got her when she was a baby because my cousin's guinea pig had several babes and she (my cousin, not the guinea pig) was nice enough to give us one. Today she is a fat little rodent who, even though she is held on a regular basis, still runs to her little hiding box when someone walks by her enclosure. When she is being held she is relaxed and nice.

I have two leopard geckos named Pokedot and Diamond. Pokedot is a he and Diamond is a she. Occasionally they will lay eggs but the conditions in which they hatch have to be just right. Sadly my terrarium is not just right. Pokedot is a little fatter and a much richer yellow where as Diamond is fairly pail and slightly skinny.
I'll try to upload a video of them hunting sometime because its so cute.

My garter snake, who doesn't have a name yet, was only born on Sep. 20th so he's still really small. Only 6 or 7 inches. He is still very skitish and only comes out at night. Watching him eat is really cool. Right now he eats dead minows. I'm trying to feed himlife crickets but he hasn't gone after them yet.

My fish tank has fish.

The rabbit is my brother's pet. Her name is bluejeans because her silky smooth fur is a similar color. It has a blue iridescent gleam to it. Too bad every time you enter my brothers room she says, "Oh, s--t! A person! RUUUNNN!!!," and darts under the bed. If you manage to catch her she will be still in your lab but only because she is literally scared stiff. She is adorable but freakin' irritating!

Here is a list of pets I have loved and lost in the last 16 years.

Kahlua - A very friendly black cat.

Amma Rhetto - A very fat, very huggable cat.

Abra - A very whiny, very silly, very lovable calico cat who needed a life.

Keiara - A very friendly dove.

Mr. GP - Our first guinea pig.

Peanut, Butter, Marshmellow, and Oreo. - My 4 very cute, very inquisitive, very friendly rats.

Ewok - My silly, little quail.

Asmodeos - My corn snake.

Some of my Thoughts on People.

I really don't like people very much at all. I'm not saying that I hate you. I mean humanity. People in general. I'm also not saying that I'm antisocial. I hate humans for what they do as a whole. Some of the obvious reasons would be pollution and population. I hate that if a shark kills a clueless sailor its evil and must die. We must hunt down and kill every shark we find until the shark that did the killing is gone. But if we kill many, many sharks in order to get to the one we want its completely acceptable. Its the same with bears. We believe ourselves superior to animals but when was the last time an animal dropped a bomb? When has an animal ever killed for pleasure or revenge? When has any animal created a whole in the ozone layer because it was too f---ing lazy or stupid to change?! We are actually very similar to animals if you look past the fact that people have advanced  technology. Animals fight for territory and food. We are fighting in the middle east for oil, a recourse just like food, and some think for territory. Someone always wants to be in power and someone else always wants his/her position. Animals have an alpha male that can be challenged for power. We are very much like animals only what we do affects the whole world and not a few acres of a forest. I hate people because they still want money over the world. Oil companies and logging are slowly killing the planet, but will we look for different recourses or different ways of obtaining these recourses? No! Because these companies are making so damn much money that they'd rather just continue killing the planet! Have they ever thought that maybe they could use that money to get a better recourse? PEOPLE MAKE ME SO F---ING MAD!!!!!!!!!!!