Journal #44

One movie that I saw recently that displays Post Modernism is Life as We Know It, which stars Katherine Heigl and Fergie's husband, who is quite an attractive male. The movie is about an uptight woman and a loosey goosey guy who absolutely despise each other but end up with custody over their mutual best friends' daughter. The two had to learn to live together and obviously fell in love. I thought this was actually a really good movie and we actually watched it like five times because we fell asleep with it on the television and rewatched it in the morning. I was at a sleepover with three other girls and since Fergie's husband is just so good looking, we just could not resist.

Life as We Know It demonstrates Post Modernism in the style and manner in which the movie is directed and ran and also in the way it was written. Life as We Know It displays characteristics that display Post Modernism such as the lack of religion or organized religion, although it does not actually denounce it. Life as We Know It also gives the allusion of sex before marriage as a good thing, or at least not a bad thing, which is certainly a characteristic of Post Modernism. Also in the movie, Katherine Heigl is a successful business woman who runs her own business. This shows Post Modernism because before the Post Modernism time period, women were not necessarily thought of as individuals who could successfully create a life on their own and be so strong independent. Although she does discover she needs Fergie's husband in her life, she is just in love with him, not dependent on him to do the work or whatever. This is how Post Modernism women live; while obviously they still want a man in their life to have and to hold, they are not financially dependent on him necessarily; the balance is usually more equal between the two. Therefore, Life as We Know It is a terrific example of a Post Modernism movie.

Modernism Project

WORKS CITED

Bell, Christopher Brooks. "Jeffers, Robinson." In Bryer, Jackson R., and Mary C. Hartig, eds. The Facts On File Companion to American Drama, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2010. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CAD259&SingleRecord=True (accessed April 25, 2011).

Faulkner, William. "A Rose for Emily." Home | W. W. Norton & Company. W. W. Norton and Company, 2005. Web. 25 Apr. 2011.

Jeffers, Robinson. "Vulture - A Poem by Robinson Jeffers - American Poems." American Poems - YOUR Poetry Site. Gunnar Bengtsson, 20 Feb. 2003. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. .

Taylor, Karen L. "modernism." Facts On File Companion to the French Novel. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CFN346&SingleRecord=True (accessed April 24, 2011).

Werlock, Abby H. P. "modernism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CASS589&SingleRecord=True (accessed April 24, 2011).

"William Faulkner, "A Rose for Emily" Biography." Home | W. W. Norton & Company. W. W. Norton and Company, 2005. Web. 25 Apr. 2011.

Journal #43

As I listen to this jazz song that is being played, I think of some older African American man who looks like Bill Cosby just blowing away on a saxophone. I also think of my French Horn, since it reminds me of band class. This man is a very talented musician, and I bet that music is a very very big part of his life. Most likely, music was his escape from reality, and it was how he coped with difficult things. There is not much else that I am thinking while I listen to this song, except for the fact that it is over ten minutes long and that seems a little bit too extreme for my taste. Personally, I prefer music with lyrics. I listen to country music, and in country music, the lyrics and vocals are the most important part of the song, not the background music such as the drums, guitar, and any other instrument. Therefore, when I listen to this music, I find it sort of boring even though it is impressive. I am not by any means saying that this music is any lesser than country music, I just think that since there are not vocals or lyrics it is extremely boring, especially since it is over ten minutes long. Another image I get in my head is of some downtown area, like the neighborhoods of Chicago or New York, in which an elderly African American is just going to town in his balcony window. I think that image is in my head because it is sort of a common image relating to the African American blues and whatnot. Besides those images I got in my head, this song does not really spark any other emotion except for boredom. I mean yes, it is definitely impressive, but I understood that he was a champ at saxophone after the first two minute, I do not feel that I need to keep listening for another eight and a half minutes. He is a very talented artist though, and it is obvious to tell how he relayed his emotions through his playing to the rest of the world.

Modernism vs. Realism

While the Modernism era and the Realism era took place very close together, they demonstrate many different views and styles. Realism basically demonstrates facts and information on a subject (Werlock). It portrays accurate details, thoughts, feelings, and gives a very descriptive view on the situation (Werlock). For example, if the setting of a story or poem took place in the woods, a Realism author would most likely describe everything, from the blue of the sky to the little ants crawling on the leaves of the trees to how the character felt when the cool summer breeze lifted the little hairs on his arms. It would not get so flowery so that it almost reached to point of Romanticism; however, it would accurately depict every little detail as to fully give justice to a scenario (Werlock). Back in the days of Realism, many people were looked down upon, such as African Americans or people of less prestige and power (Werlock). This was evident in Realism literature, as these people were either spoken negatively of or basically just dismissed since they really did not matter to the lives of the authors (Werlock). Some authors, however, did depict the lives of African Americans, and their struggles were shown through this literature. Of course, it was very descriptive and took notice of all of the details, since that is what Realism is about (Werlock).

Modernism is very similar to Realism in the way that it, too, accurately depicts a scenario and does justice to basically every little detail (Anderson). However, as Modernism writing began to become popular, many little aspects of life were changing. African Americans, who had previously been seen as dirty, evil, or not as sufficient as the white man, were now being seen as people of true prestige and talent (Anderson). Although they had not acclaimed quite the level of status of that of the white man, they were no longer looked quite as far down upon. Another change is that women were becoming a little more promiscuous (Anderson). "Flappers" wore much less clothing than that of the typical housewife back then, and therefore the clothing choices for women were becoming a little bit less uptight and a little more revealing (Anderson). All of these changes were shown in Modernism literature. The revolution was obviously a topic of many stories and poems, and the authors were a more accepting of diversity and the change that was occurring. Another change that was happening in the world that was also written about were the new music styles. Jazz was introduced, influenced heavily by the African Americans along with their soul music (Anderson). This obviously had a great impact on the literary world; poems or songs were very emotional and would sometimes reflect on the struggles some of these people went through in order to gain the acceptance and level of status that they were now holding. As mentioned, this literature was very emotional and led to many of the styles of literature that we today read (Anderson). Both Modernism and Realism affected the literary world today; Realism had a great impact and influence on Modernism, and Modernism reflects greatly on the modern literature that we read today (Anderson).

Anderson, George Parker. "modernism." In Anderson, George P., Judith S. Baughman, Matthew J. Bruccoli, and Carl Rollyson, eds. Encyclopedia of American Literature, Revised Edition: Into the Modern: 1896–1945, Volume 3. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. April 6, 2011.

Werlock, Abby H. P. "realism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. April 6, 2011.

Job Shadowing

When I grow up, I want to be a pediatric oncology nurse. For those who do not know what that means, pediatric oncology is children's cancer. For my job shadowing experience, I got to job shadow an oncology nurse at Memorial Medical Center. While this was not exactly what I wanted to do, since there is quite a difference between adult patients and child patients, it was an interesting experience and I got to learn quite a bit about what exactly an oncology nurse does. One thing that I found very interesting is the chemotherapy process. Chemotherapy is so incredibly harmful to anybody that doesn't have cancer; it can actually be inhaled or seeped into the skin and actually kill important blood cells, causing an abnormality of the cells, which then leads to cancer. Therefore, a nurse giving chemotherapy to a patient has to be extremely careful so that they themselves do not get cancer. There are obviously a lot of precautions the nurses take though; there are gowns made of a waterproof material, masks, and a double layer of gloves. Nurses go through a ton of gloves throughout the day, since they're dealing with lots of blood and fluids. Thankfully, I'm just okay with this. I'm not squeamish at all, and when my nurse had to pull a blood clot out of a guy with leukemia's arm, I did not even flinch; instead, I thought it was actually very interesting. My job shadowing experience led me to believe that I really do want to be a pediatric oncology nurse, and I am very excited to start my schooling and begin practicing this profession.

Journal #42

If I were alive in the time period of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman, I would most likely have read the poems of Emily Dickinson. Dickinson's poetry caused a bit of an uproar back in the day; however, it was actually interesting and beautiful to read. Whitman, who also raised red flags with his poetry, wrote poetry that I think was just ignorant and way too self absorbed for me to ever be interested in reading his works. Emily Dickinson, in my opinion, was actually a very talented writer and I enjoy reading her poems today, which leads me to believe that I would most likely enjoy reading her poems back when she actually wrote them. Dickinson's poems focus a lot on feminism, which was a big step at the time. Being a girl, I can obviously appreciate her mindset and the points she was trying to make. Dickinson wrote about the power of women, but she did it in an interesting way in which she did not necessarily slam men or their intentions, she just portrayed how women can be strong, powerful, and beautiful. Whitman, when trying to prove his points, would put other people down and be extremely biased, which I just think is annoying, and it makes me not want to read his works. Dickinson, however, just kind of throws out her ideas and does not try to make it seem as if she is right and everyone else is wrong. Dickinson also wrote her "offensive" poems in a very interesting way; her racy poems were actually extremely intriguing and sort of fun to read, while when reading Whitman's provocative poems I was just kind of annoyed and wanted to get to the end of it. Also, he was a homosexual, which I have absolutely nothing against, but I felt that it was sort of controversial how at times he would write about his love with a man and other times his love with a woman. It was just he wanted to woman so that they could actually have sex, which sounds vulgar, but it is true. Dickinson, however, wrote about things such as sex in a way that was not really as offensive or controversial, and it was made to seem much more beautiful. I like the simplicity of her poems and how creative she got, and, even though it was definitely offensive at the time, I would have read her over Whitman any day.