The List

Here is the list of the films that would benefit you as IB students and as educated individuals. Remember none of these films are mandatory. Please do not watch anything that you or your parents would find objectionable. The ratings range from G to R. If you watch any of these films, please blog about what you thought about them, and why you think they were included on the list. Have a fabulous Winter Break. You deserve the rest. I am so very proud of each and every one of you!

These films appear in no particular order.

1) The Star Wars movies (this has become our modern mythology)

2) Forrest Gump (a comedy, a tragedy and a history lesson all in one)

3) Scarface (a commentary on the American Dream. Gatsby for modern times)

4) Gone With The Wind (yes its four hours long but it is an amazing story. I want Scarlett's red dress. You will know the one)

5) Fight Club/American Psycho***(neither are for the faint of heart or squeamish. Especially American Psycho. Both are examples of post modernist films and came from amazing books)

6) O Brother Where Art Thou? (a retelling of The Odyssey)

7) I Am Legend (a social commentary on the race for cures with dire consequences)

8) The Last Samurai (Amazing story about the end of the Samurai culture in Japan)

9) Saving Private Ryan (a historical WWII film that is one of the best)

10) The Lion King (best Disney cartoon. Every literary element appears in this film)

11) Seven Pounds (the ending will leave you speechless)

12) Blade Runner (a haunting, visually stunning dystopian society)

13) Alien (one of the scariest movies ever)

14) The Graduate (life after college with no answers)

15) Moulin Rouge! (sappy story, amazing visuals. Same director remaking The Great Gatsby)

16) The Breakfast Club/Ferris Bueller's Day Off (no better 80's movies exist that stand the test of time)

17) Psycho (Alfred Hitchock, the pioneer of horror movies)

18) The Silence of The Lambs (no more evil, creepy genius serial killer exists)

19) Legends of The Fall (amazing story of an American family post WW1)

20) Anchorman/Zoolander (ridiculous satire and just plain fun)

Start with these and I will publish Part II another time. Happy watching!

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17) Anchorman (just because its hysterical and ridiculous)

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IBelieve

 You have now completed your Group 4 project, an IA and your IOP's. Even though these were trying times and a tremendous amount of work, you should feel extremely proud of yourselves for your accomplishments. That being said, what have you learned about yourself? What have these tasks revealed about your strengths and areas that you need to improve on? Reflect on these tasks and what you have learned.

The List

I am putting the finishing touches on the list of films all IB students need to see. I will have it up in time for winter vacation so you can watch when you have the time.Some made the list because they are masterpieces in film making. Some because of their amazing storylines and other because of characters you never forget. A few are also thrown in for ridiculous fun. Before I upload the final list, what films do you think need to be added? Are there any that have stood out to you? That for one reason or another you can watch over and over and never get tired of? Give me your suggestions and explain why. (I am just warning you now, do not bother suggesting any Twilight crap, they will not be included)

There are no hard distinctions between what is real and what is unreal, nor between what is true and what is false. A thing is not necessarily either true or false; it can be both true and false.”

We talked briefly about post-modernism when we were reading the "bog" poems by Seamus Heaney. The novel of next semester, Albert Camus' The Stranger is a post modern novel. The new Batman films as well as films such as "Fight Club" and "American Psycho" are also considered Postmodern. But what does that really mean? Where do you see literature and film going as time moves forward? Is there anything left to do? To say? Have humans come to the edge of their creative threshold? Comment. (Also, IB_Fergie is up and running on Twitter)

Luke: "I can't believe it"...Yoda: "That is why you fail"...

I know you are probably wondering why the random quote from Yoda and the "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster in this blog. I know we are coming upon the first round of your IB assessments. You are overwhelmed with IA's, IOP's, CAS and a thousand other things related to IB. I know many of you are frustrated, scared, and wondering if all of this is worth it. IB is completely out of your realm of experience and is the unknown. Your whole academic life you have been taught to listen to your teachers, memorize and recite back what you have been taught. For the first time, you are being asked what YOU think. YOU are being asked to come up with a thesis, a theory an idea and support it. You are not being asked to regurgitate what the teacher is telling you. You have a say, a voice, a brain. You are being asked to use it. Yes, there are rules and guidelines about how you use it, but you get to think for yourself. This is very scary but also very cool. Just remember. You are smart, you are talented and you can do this. Trust your instinct, trust in what you have learned and most of all trust yourself. I am lucky to be one of those teachers who you vent to, complain to, and run to when you're scared. I listen to what you have to say and I will always be there to help you. I am also the one who is taking off your training wheels and making you think for yourself. You are the best and brightest of Lake Weir. Remember that. Most of these battles you are waging are within yourself. Trust yourself. Believe. And to quote Yoda and Nike: just do it, there is no try. I believe all of you can do this. You have a gift. Many students would kill for the brain you have. Don't waste it. I want to watch all of you walk out of here with your IB diploma and go out and be successful, make more money than me, and maybe change the world. Don't let me down. And more importantly, don't let yourself down. Please feel free to comment on my little pep talk.

Love and eternal support,

Fergie/Madame Yoda

"Linda, on the contrary, cut no ice; nobody had the smallest desire to see Linda"

There are several scenes throughout Brave New World which can be thought of as humorous and even out and out hysterical. The scene where Lenina first visits the savage reservation, Bernard's erratic behavior and comments, Linda's reunion with Tomakin, and John's reaction to the feelies just to name a few. Do you think Huxley meant these scenes to be funny? If he did, why would he include them in an otherwise nightmarish dystopian novel? If he did not mean for them to be funny, why do we find them so? Is it our culture? Our comedic perception? Or something else.... Please comment.

"I do love new clothes..."

As we discuss Huxley's Brave New World, we focus on all of the negative aspects of the society: the control, promiscuity. lack of individuality and drug induced manipulation. However, for all of the obvious negative aspects, the new society has eliminated crime, poverty, disease, greed and many other deplorable human conditions. Are there any positive aspects of the new society? Is there anything to be learned from Huxley's vision? Is the price of this kind of  society too high for humans to pay?  Please comment.                                                                                                                        

"In order to be irreplacable, one must always be different." -Coco Chanel

We have learned thus far that both Bernard Marx and Helmholtz Watson consider themselves "individuals". Bernard, wallows in his emotions, refusing soma and trying desperately to belong. Helmholtz, has it all-looks, intelligence, a prestigious job and women who throw themselves at him. Yet, he is not satisfied. Both men wish that being "different" was not such a bad thing. How hard is it to maintain your individuality? Is it easier to blend in and be like everyone else? Is it worth the pain, ridicule and sometimes violence that society (both ours and the one depicted in the novel) heap upon those that are different? Just how different are you really willing to be?  Please comment.

O! Brave New World....

No writer of the twentieth wrote about the future in optimistic terms. Visions of oppressive goverments, enforced conformity, the obsolecence of love and families and the obliteration of the individual are just some of the nightmare visions writers saw in their futures. Even more disturbing than their nightmares, are just how many of Orwell, Huxley and Bradbury's (just to name a few) fears became reality. How do you see the future? What do you think life will really be like in 50 or 100 years? What scares you? Excites you? What kind of life will your grand children and great grand children be living?

We are the product....

I suppose you could say my father's world was Thomas Hardy and my mother's D.H. Lawrence.
Seamus Heaney
The poet Seamus Heaney has stated that the rival worlds of his mother and father shaped him into the person he is and greatly influenced his poetry. His father was from the ancient world of farming and his mother was from the modern industrial world. Heaney has also stated that being from the country of Ireland with all its unique heritage is an inate part of him. Do where we come from and where are parents come from shape who we are? Is our heritage something to be embraced or to be overcome? What has helped you (or hindered you) become the person you are today?

The Nightmare

Just as literary fiction goes hand in hand with film, often poetry has been linked hand in with art. To explore this relationship and to celebrate the upcoming month of October (truly, the most wonderful time of the year) look at the picture above (Fuseli's The Nightmare). Explicate the painting as you would a poem. What is the painting depicting? What is significant about the title? What are the fears of the painter? What is your impression. Explicate away....

“Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary.”

    “Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary.” -Khalil Gibran

Poetry is not everyone's favorite thing to study. More than any other type of literature, poetry requires the reader to be actively involved. The reader has to pay attention to so many different elements-rhyme, meter, imagery, allusions etc. What are your feelings on poetry? Do you enjoy reading it? Analyzing it? Do you write any poetry of your own? Has any poet or poem you studied made an impact or impression on you? Talk about all your poetic experiences.

Simply heinous

Everyone (or most everyone) has a favorite book that has been made into a film. Sometimes, the film does the novel justice while other times, the movie adaptation is horribly bad and ruins a perfectly decent story. Think about a movie you went to see because you loved the book. Did the film adaptation do it justice? Did it enhance the story or ruin it entirely? Should every good book be turned into a film? Explain.

"I hope she'll be a fool-that's the best thing a girl can be in this world...

"I hope she'll be a fool-that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool."
                                                                                                  -Daisy, Chapter 1

Daisy utters these words as she finds out she has just given birth to a daughter. Based on Daisy's life as it is portrayed in the novel, why would Daisy choose to adopt this philosophy? Do you agree with her idea? Do all the women in the novel play the same "beautiful fool" role as Daisy? What effects do her beliefs have on her life? (Think in terms of her relationships with Tom and Gatsby) Do you think any women of today share this philosophy? Explain.

"The end justifies the means...."

Jay Gatsby was trying to grasp the sparkling, yet elusive American Dream. To achieve this, he allegedly engaged in some shady activities. In your opinion, was the Italian philosopher/writer Machiavelli correct in his assertion that "the end justifies the means"? (in simpler terms, it doesn't matter how you get it as long as you get it) Explain.