The Golden Compass

The film “The Golden Compass” does indeed attack Christianity. The writer of the book, Philip Pullman, expresses his views on the ridiculousness of “spirituality” and ideas of the sort. His argument throughout the story is that there is no God, only the ideal of God that has been set forth by the “Authority” to keep people in check, when the real truth comes from our own minds. Pullman is basically saying that we are a brainwashed people. In an interview with Peter Chattaway, Pullman discusses his “revulsion” at the word spirituality. “So the word 'spiritual', for me, has overtones that are entirely negative,” he explains. “It seems to me that whenever anyone uses the word, it's a sign that either they're deluding themselves, or they're pulling the wool over the eyes of others.” Pullman believes that spirituality is false, just as the teachings of the Authority in the movie “The Golden Compass” were false. People, according to the outspoken author, turn to spirituality rather than their own human intellect, and that is something that Pullman does not understand. In the movie, the Authority tries to poison Lord Asriel because he spoke out against their teachings. This is Pullman’s way of exposing the church’s guilt of silencing anyone who does not succumb. To put it simply, spirituality is a joke. This is a radical way of attacking the church and accusing it of brainwashing a congregation. Yet, couldn’t the same be said for this movie? Could it not be subtly urging young children to rebel against their faith and turn to atheism? This movie and the book are pure hypocrisy.

After I Graduate....

After graduation, I plan on attending LSU and majoring in marketing and minoring in spanish. LSU has always been the college that I wanted to go to and I have worked hard to sustain a high GPA in order to get in. I want to be able to work as a successful real estate agent as my career. During my first year at LSU I plan to live in a dorm room. I hear that is what will be required to go to college there, so I guess that is what I am going to do. After that, though, I am definitely going to move back in with my parents because there is no way in hell that I will be able to afford rent for an apartment. I'll have free food and board over there without the whole curfew deal, so it is a pretty sweet set-up. Once I have saved up some money I'll move in with one of my friends and we can split the rent. After graduating, I most likely will start off working for a real estate agency and hopefully one day I can become an independent agent and run my own business. Of course, I want to get married and have kids, but that's definitely not as clear as my college and career plans.

Senioritis

Now that my junior year is coming to an end, I'm getting more and more anxious for graduation. Not even into my senior year yet, I have already come down with a bad case of senioritis. Unfortunately, the only cure for it is walking across that stage and being handed my certificate of FREEDOM...aka my diploma. My summer is going to be nice, but another daunting year of tests, teachers, and tutoring still nags at the back of my mind. Still, next year does have its upsides. There are the senior perks to look forward to, not to mention if my schedule turns out how I want it to, I'll only have two classes in the morning. Afterwards, I'll be headed off to work and have my weekend free. I also don't have to deal with the arrogance of my peers a year above me who seem to take pleasure in the fact that they've been attending East Ascension High School a year more than I have, and somehow that makes them God Almighty. No, that pleasure will be mine next year =). Regardless, I keep my eye on the prize...which is far away from here.

Global Warming - Who's to Blame?

Global warming has been a topic of discussion that has spun the world into a frenzy, but is the issue even an issue at all? Global warming is an often romanticized theory and is accepted without question. Though many would love to point a finger at the human population, climate change has always been of the norm, and human activity has never had anything to do with it.

Taking the size of the Earth’s atmosphere into account, it is very difficult for humans to have such a drastic impact on something so large. Humans contribute to 0.28% of Earth’s atmosphere. That includes car exhaust, factories and other forms of pollution. That 0.28% is certainly not enough to cause anything near a global warming by itself. The build-up of carbon dioxide, as many would be quick to point out, is what causes the green-house effect. Humans, supposedly, are the cause of this excessive amount of greenhouse gases. But is this correct? After the second World War, cars, TVs and other goods were mass produced during what was called the post-war economic boom. Before this, though, during a time even before cars and planes were invented, temperatures had already begun to climb. And after the economic boom, when temperatures were supposed to rise, temperatures actually dropped. This completely goes against the theory of global warming. Therefore, the increase in temperature today could not be based on activity of people occurring right now.

With this information in mind, humans are obviously not at fault for global warming. Drastic temperature changes have happened in the past. In the 14th century, Europe experienced what was called the Little Ice Age, where temperatures were so low that large bodies of water were completely frozen over for prolonged periods of time. Before that, there was the medieval period where temperatures were warmer than they are today. Before the medieval period, there was the bronze age where temperatures were even higher than that of the medieval period for more than three millennia. There has been an Ice Age and a time where the entire planet was covered in tropical rainforests. Clearly, climate change has always taken place and without the help of humans. It has occurred before humans even existed.

Though global warming may seem a daunting reality, it is a natural occurrence in nature. It is as natural as rain or snow or hail. A world-wide panic is completely unnecessary because of a couple degree rise in temperature. There is nothing anyone can do to prevent global warming, much less cause it.

Inaudible Melodies

The news reports going-ons from around the world. On average, you'll see reports of "brushfire fairytales" of seemingly unimportant events. You'll hear of the "itsy bitsy diamond wells" and "big fat hurricanes", or the small amounts of good that is announced to the public compared to the huge disasters that are so-called occurring. You'll also hear the "yellow bellied given names" given to those who the blame can easily be put upon by those cowards who need somewhere to point their fingers. A shortcut - flashing pictures going across a TV screen, 30-second narrations at most for each, and minimal knowledge for those who try to keep up with it. And our negligence and naivete of what is going on around us will be our downfall.

"Dust off your thinking caps" and consider what you are being told. False headlines, dressed-up guilt, and you are just as guilty to believe blindly as those who report knowingly. Yet take away the exaggerated narration and you see what is true..the images that can speak for themselves, free from corruption.

If the pictures would slow, if there weren't any more confusing flashes of seemingly insignificant events, we could see the whole picture. We could know what was going on around us and not be in the dark with nothing but a TV-prompt telling us what to believe.

Soundless clips serve a purpose, but not an honest one. They can be twisted to tell a different story. We can be made to believe what we are told is true. We see what we are allowed to, and the revised story severes off everything else. "Eisenstein should just relax," and the fleeting frames on our screens should slow.

Plato's cave, or those who believe what they are told without question, is full of people who do not like what they have seen, but still wouldn't trust what hasn't been reported by an anchorman. Fabricated lies and deranged truths are what they hold on to. Who could bear the thought of the media lying?

Rhetorical Analysis

In the song "Jeremy" by Pearl Jam, forensic proof of the injustices put upon Jeremy by his peers and own parents is offered and defined as the cause of him "speaking in class," meaning commiting suicide in the classroom.

Jeremy would draw pictures of himself lording over a pile of dead bodies, supposedly the corpses of people who had wronged him. He's atop a yellow sun, arms raised high in a V - King Jeremy. No one can touch him. No one can hurt him. He's his own authority. The idea of the picture offers a means to an end. With all of the oppressive factors in his life done away with, Jeremy could be free. The lyrics are to make the audience feel Jeremy's pain. The picture, a better situation for Jeremy, yet unattainable.

Jeremy was picked on by his classmates, and the singer's guilt is clearly unveiled in the second verse. He explains the events he took part in that helped drive Jeremy over the edge. Jeremy's suicide was the consequence of their selfish bullying.

Reflect your own Writing

I consider myself, for the most part, to be an above-average writer. I know how to portray my thoughts and ideas in a logical order without sounding too rigid. I know how to keep the type of audience in mind when choosing a writing style. I also know how to keep that audience's attention while getting my point across at the same time. I do, however, sometimes get caught up in making my essays flashy, and in doing so I tend to stray away from the point of the paper. You see, I LOVE thinking up intricate webs of analogies and metaphors to compare ideas in my papers to. It's like I'm writing a book rather than an english paper. While trying to think of descriptive adjectives and fancy ways to communicate something, I'll forget to mention something else completely. In my desire for detail I'll forget the reason for writing. See, I'm doing it now. I like my writing to stand out and not be just another english paper from some high school student who did the minimal needed to get a passing grade. I just take it overboard some of the time.