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[skeptic-sofieeeyy]

Week 2

Sense of Self: Prestige and Luxury

“A person’s worth nowadays seems to be judged according to social status and material possessions.”

Old-fashioned values, such as honor, kindness and trust, no longer seem important. Have you notice that?

I have felt that in the present society wherein consumption has been the main organizing element, some people feel that social status and material possessions are the best parameters to judge the people's value. People who have luxurious cars, expensive outfits, big houses, high profile at work or in society, are more worthy than the people who are kind, trustworthy and honest. I believe this trend is going up and though it is not the right way to judge the people.

Firstly, in today's world, people are having more stress and long working hours compared to the previous generation.  Everybody wants to be rich and live luxurious life because this give them a high status in society and respect from people. People believe what they see and that makes the show off trend more in demand. For example, if a person drives an expensive car on the road and pass by you while you are walking on the footpath, by seeing him, it definitely gives his rich impression. Same as by seeing big villas or houses, it obviously convince us to think that people living in these houses are more valuable.

Secondly, people who are in high profile also makes us believe that they are more important. Their outfits, their job status, their public appearance also shadow their worthiness. 

It is true that nowadays, people's worth is measured by their social status and material possession. People are actually worthy by their values and by their assets. We are putting incorrect parameters for the judgement and we should correct it before our traditional values dies on which society has been built.

[skeptic-sofieeeyy]

Week 2

Prestige

“The best things in life are free”

The most expensive thing that I have bought so far is a watch from a Swiss Luxury brand called Tissot. I love watches so much! In fact I own a lot of watch from different bands, ranging from Rado, Guess, Swatch, Pierre Cardin, G-shock, Swiss Military, Fossil and Uni-Silver. My everyday watch is from Guess and Uni-Silver, the rest I would wear it for an occasion or a special event. 

Reasons why I chose the watch from Tissot

Going back, the reasons that I chose Tissot, is not because of the brand but because of its marvelous designs, yes Tissot is one of the most prestigious brand for luxury watches and it is also one of the Swiss luxury watch maker that provides some of the best designing watches for both men and women. All the watches from Tissot look so refreshing, transparent, and has astonishing specs. It can be called one of the sophisticated and classic beauty wearing watches and I really love its intricate design.

Am I satisfied with that expensive possession?

Yes, the fact that I save money to buy this tissot watch and my parents lend me some of their money to buy it for my birthday is more than enough for me to be satisfied and for them that watch is their gift. (my parents helped me because the money I saved is not enough to buy this watch because its too expensive and for them they consider it as a gift)

Do you still consider buying another one when a new model comes out in the market?

I guess when a new model from Tissot comes out in the market, I will not buy another one. Why? Because It so expensive! (It will cost me an arm and a leg if I bought again) and I already have one and I’m contended by it. And the watch that I have is more special, since it is a gift from the two most important people in the world for me and I save money to buy this with the help of my parents so I don’t need a new model.

But what if it is not a gift? Will I buy another one? Again, gift or not a gift. I already have one, and that reason alone is enough, so I will not buy a new model, lets be practical.

Yes I love watches so much! But I always hold on to this though that no matter how good and expensive the products you possess right now, it’s most likely that they will soon become obsolete, with newer, upgraded versions of them always coming out in the market. (And besides I already have a Tissot, so no need for me to buy a new model from the same brand. Next time I’ll buy in another brand! nahhhhh I’m just joking!)

As I grew older, I realize that being constantly focused on acquiring more possessions will not allow you to focus on what truly matters in life. Life’s journey is short, so be sure to make the most out of it. 

[skeptic-sofieeeyy]

Week 1

Happiness and Success

 “Be happy and then your happiness will vibrate out into the Universe and attract more to you to make you even happier!”

Some people believe that you just happen upon happiness or success.

Others believe that you have to be lucky enough to be born into wealth or opportunity. But what I believe is that we all have our own traits and characteristics to be happy and successful in life. 

My characteristics that I believe can contribute to my happiness and success are:

1. I am a God Person

I always put God first above everything, I grew up in a Catholic household, ever since I was young my mom taught me that everything we have was from God, my mom was the one who taught me how to pray the rosary, she even read us bible stories when we were young (my favorite bible story was Daniel in the lion’s den). We always thank god for everything. So I grew up, believing in God and living by with this quote “In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success”

2. I have the will power

In life, you will be tempted by things like procrastination or distraction. So, I always have the willpower to say no when something doesn’t align with my major goals and the strength to pick myself up if I ever find myself distracted.

3. I am Optimistic

The power of positive thinking cannot be overstated. Simply believing that things will work out in the end helps me manage my stress on a regular basis and I think more positively about my current situation (College is so stressful, but always look at the bright side). I always find the best in everything and aren't ever consumed with the need to search for faults. Constantly viewing the world through a positive lens will make the world seem more positive, and for me, that will make the world a happier place to live in as a result.

4. I am Passionate

Passion is critical to both happiness and success. In fact, it can hit two birds with one stone by being the focus of your professional success, making a living in doing what you love. For me,even though I’m still a student, I always believe that you need to follow your passion as that will give your life a sense of meaning and, without it, I’d argue you can never truly realize any measure of success.

5. I believe in myself

I need to admit it, this is the hardest thing to do! But lately I realize that I need to believe in myself. This is one of the single most important traits for realizing success in anything. Believing in yourself doesn’t mean you’re perfect or without flaws, but rather, that you know your worth and believe in your capability.

[skeptic-sofieeeyy]

Week 1

Philosophy of Self

“What you think of yourself is much more important than what people think of you.”

What is a self? Merely a human being? Or perhaps a soul? what exactly is it? For me everything that is alive is a self, but for my own philosophical depth the self is actually something hidden and inner. It is that the distinctive feature of the human self, it is our self-awareness, asking what it is that we’re aware of.

The first building block of emotional intelligence is self-awareness. Self-awareness is our ability to recognize our own emotions and their effects on us and others. Without being aware of and understanding our own emotions, it will be difficult for us to move into the other emotional competencies like self-management and social awareness. When you become more self aware you instinctively begin to see aspects of your personality and behavior that you didn’t notice before.

So what you think of yourself is much more important, than what people think of you. When you think a thought about something you give it energy and that thought has an effect. Therefore what you think about yourself is important. 

Your opinion of yourself is very important because that is how you will be. You should learn to love yourself.

[skeptic-sofieeeyy]

Week 1

A Talk About Life

Who Am I? The Purpose of my Existence

        I can remember as a child always asking myself the “why” questions of life. What is the purpose of life? Why are we here? Why do certain things happen? I had always kept these questions to myself and eventually pushed them out of my mind altogether. And when I started to grew up I realize that life is the way it is, it is full of mystery sometimes life can be sunny or rainy, but God made it that way. 

       I am a girl who is really hardworking. I’m the eldest child and I only have one brother. I’m very compassionate, I love reading books, surfing the internet like a typical teenager, daydreaming and sometimes find solace under the sun. When I was young, I dreamed of becoming many things, and I knew nothing about the world. Looking back, I realize that the imagination is a wonderful thing. I was able to create entire environments and scenarios in my head. I was me back then. But when I entered school. I was one of those kids. I was branded as “smart.”

          In fact, I graduated Senior High School with flying Colors, I graduated with Highest Honors, I am the Class Valedictorian. I received numerous awards like: Most Outstanding Student Research, Outstanding Vanguard Member, Gregorio-Dominga Excellence Award (This award is named after the founder of our school and is given to a student who excels in our batch, and in my surprise this award was given to me), Annual Deportment Award-Gold and Academic Distinction in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

          At first this wasn’t a problem in fact, it was kind of awesome. As a teenager beginning to worry about fitting in, it seemed great to be known as intelligent. After all, that’s a compliment and my classmates would ask me for help. There’s this double standard, really: no one seems to want you to be oh so intelligent, but the second you slip up they judge you. A lot of my classmates in senior high school knew that I struggled with my Basic Calculus, I could feel their confusion and disappointment. I was supposed to be smart. It became my definition, and as soon as I felt like I wasn’t brilliant anymore I didn’t know who I was. I felt like I wasn’t allowed to fail. I’d like to be my old self again, but I’m still trying to find it.

           My mother told me that there’s a sweet balance between pride and humility. It’s okay to be proud of your accomplishments but always be humble and keep your feet on the ground. Here’s what I’ve realized, everyone is smart in their own different ways, and for me that’s great and more than anything, it’s okay to fail. 

          I used to think everyone was so hard on me until I realized that I was the one being that hard on myself. I also realize that the most difficult thing in life, is to know yourself.

         So what is the purpose of my existence? As I step in the college world, I know now my purpose and that is to become a beacon of hope and light to someone and to bring out the best version of their-selves.

My purpose is to inspire people. I want to influence others. I want someone to look at me and say “Because of you I didn’t give up.”

The Meaning of Life and How to Achieve a Happy and Successful Life

“Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, its about learning to dance in the rain.”

       We all go through rough weather at various points in our lives. Sometimes we sit down, to wait for the storm to pass, and then forget to get back up. Take a moment to consider where in your life you might have paused for a break in the weather, and never gotten back to it.

     So how to achieve a happy and successful life? I am intrigued by the idea of learning to dance in the rain. I know, It is not easy to know how to continue living during the worst of a downpour. Nonetheless, life is not all about waiting for the storm to pass, nor is it about avoiding it. It is about learning how to enjoy living life, and if you live your life to the fullest you know, within yourself that you will be successful.

  So, my challenge to you, and of course for myself, is to find time to recognize that as humans, we all experience storms in our lives and the right thing to do is to use the storm as an opportunity to see things in different perspective and to see the beauty of life.

So, pause, close your umbrella and dance in the rain!

[skeptic-sofieeeyy]

The Sixth Sense

“I see dead people” The Sixth Sense is well worth the ticket price. It has an outstanding storyline and there are a couple of good scares, rendered more effective because I dropped my guard off. Well the story goes like this, it’s about a young boy named Cole Sear, who has a sixth sense or the ability to see ghosts. He met a well-known psychologist, Dr. Malcolm Crowe, and the two started to have a bond with each other.

When I first saw The Sixth Sense, I didn’t know what to expect. I guess I was looking forward to a good scary horror flick. I was very surprised! I found that the purpose for this movie was far greater than just trying to scare the audience. I found this movie was showing not only the emotions of fear, but also faith, commitment, sadness of loss, and love.

Relating this movie to Marshall McLuhan’s theory “The Medium is the Message” As the theory stated, the medium itself exerts much powerful effect on us than the content it delivers.

There is this one scene in the movie where Cole told Dr. Malcolm his secret that he can see dead people. Since, Dr. Malcom is a renowned psychologist, at first he thinks that Cole is delusional and was suffering from hallucinations that he considers dropping his case.

Remembering his former patient, he listened to an audiotape. On the tape, his former patient starts to cry. Turning up the volume, Dr. Malcolm heard a weeping man begging for help in Spanish. Because of this, he now believes that Cole is telling the truth and he suggests that the young boy should try to find a purpose for his gift by communicating with the ghosts and perhaps aid them with their unfinished business.

That is to say, the message is greatly affected by the medium that is used. Thus, this scene is a great example of McLuhan’s theory “The Medium is the Message.”

The surprise ending of the movie was immensely jaw dropping! That I was left shocked and utterly amazed with awe. Having said that, it is one of the movies I love to watch again and again.

[skeptic-sofieeeyy]

Limang Libo (Five Thousand)

OVERVIEW

“Limang Libo” is a film about two people who lead normal lives and are unaware of each other’s existence; Susan, a midwife who is bound to her debts and Manuel, a scavenger who lives a simple life with his pregnant wife. Their paths cross when Manuel takes his wife to Susan’s home because of an accident that will endanger their child, letting Susan take charge of the whole situation. Both faced with unfortunate circumstances, both Susan and Manuel will be forced to act against their instincts.

SUMMARY

The story begins with a quick glance of Susan and Manuel’s lives.One night, Manuel’s pregnant wife experienced labor pains because she will gave birth he decided to bring her to Susan.

Due to her financial problems, Susan saw it as an opportunity to pay all her debts so she asked P 5,0000 as a fee in exchange for the help she will give to Manuel’s wife.

Desperate to save his wife, he went out and attempted to rob Susan’s son without knowing that it was Susan’s son in the first place. However, Manuel ended up killing Susan’s son.

Meanwhile, back in her house, Susan was successful in getting the baby out of Manuel’s wife’s womb. However, the baby died.

Unfortunate for both, in the end they became each other’s antagonists.

ANALYSIS

To convey the emotions and the message of the film, it used various technical codes such as camera techniques. Moreover, the lighting throughout the film is essentially dark to emphasize the tragic events in it.

SYMBOLIC CODE

Cellphone and the Money 5,000 pesos

TECHNICAL CODES: CAMERA TECHNIQUES

#1 CLOSE UP AND EXTREME CLOSE UP

An extreme close-up shows us objects and people differently than we see them. It calls attention to the subjects, making them more memorable visually.

The extreme close-up shot of Susan is used in the short film to allow the viewers to enter her intimate space, revealing certain characteristics and emotions that would otherwise go unnoticed from afar.

#2 MEDIUM SHOT

Medium shots are favored in sequences where dialogues or a small group of people are acting, as they give the viewer a partial view of the background and also shows Susan’s facial expressions in the context of her body language.

#3 ESTABLISHING SHOT  

An establishing shot is usually the first shot of a new scene, designed to show the audience where the action is taking place. It is used in the first scene of the short film.

#4 LONG SHOT

Long shot (sometimes referred to as a full shot or, and to remove ambiguity it will be called a, wide shot) typically shows the entire object or human figure and is usually intended to place it in some relation to its surroundings. The scene were Manuel robbing a student who is unfortunately Susan’s son is a long shot.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

QUESTION #1: THIS IMAGE BEGINS AND ENDS THE FILM. WHY IS SUSAN CRYING?

Susan is crying because she has a lot of debt to pay and her financial problems makes her life miserable.

QUESTION #2: THE VIEWERS WILL MEET SUSAN AND MANUEL FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THIS WAY. DO THEY KNOW EACH OTHER?

No, they don’t know each other but their paths cross when Manuel takes his wife to Susan’s home because of an accident that will endanger their child, letting Susan take charge of the whole situation.

QUESTION #3: MANUEL IS A SCAVENGER. WHAT IS THE TOOL THAT HE USES FOR HIS WORK?

 As a scavenger, Manuel uses cutter for his job.

QUESTION #4: DESCRIBE SUSAN’S SETTING? WHO IS SHE EXPECTING TO COME EARLY IN THE MORNING?

Susan is implied to have an impoverished life so she lives in a small house in a squatters area. She is expecting her son to come early in the morning.

QUESTION #5: HOW MUCH DOES MANUEL EARN FOR WHAT HE DOES? WHAT DOES HE DO WITH THE COINS OF THE BLIND GUITARIST?

Manuel earns at around 20 pesos a day and some coins or “barya”.  He places some coins of the blind guitarist inside of a tin can.

QUESTION #6: WHAT DOES MANUEL WITNESS WHILE HE IS ENJOYING THE SONG OF THE BLIND GUITARIST?

He witnessed a suspicious way of of trading a cellular phone for money.

QUESTION #7: WHO IS KNOCKING ON SUSAN’S DOOR? WHERE IS HER SON, AND AT WHAT DIEGETIC TIME OF DAY DO THE VIEWERS MEET HIM FOR THE FIRST TIME?

The person who knocked on Susan’s door was a person who is in charged of handling the bills to the residents. The viewers met Susan’s son one evening while he was drinking with his friends.

QUESTION #8: WHAT KIND OF RELATIONSHIP DOES SUSAN HAVE WITH HER SON, ACCORDING TO HER SON’S FRIENDS? WHAT DOES THE CELLPHONE INDICATE ABOUT THIS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SUSAN AND HER SON? IN WHAT WAY DOES THE CELLPHONE ALSO FUNCTION AS A SYMBOLIC ELEMENT IN THE NARRATIVE?

Susan and her son has a not so strong mother and son relationship, because he is described by his friends as a “mama’s boy” but he denied it. 

The cellphone symbolizes the unconditional love and sacrifices of Susan for her son. Despite of all the debts and bills she had to pay, she still gave her son a brand new cellphone.

QUESTION #9: WHILE SUSAN’S SON IS OUT DRINKING WITH HIS FRIENDS, WHERE ARE MANUEL AND SUSAN? WHY IS SUSAN SO ANXIOUS? WHAT IS SHE READING AND FUSSING ABOUT? WHAT DOES HER ANXIETY HAVE TO DO WITH HER SON’S NEW CELLPHONE?

Manuel is with his wife, who later woke up due to his wife experiencing labor pain. Susan, on the other-hand, is in her house managing all the debts and bills she had to pay.  The cellphone is related to Susan’s dilemma maybe because the money that she is supposed to use to pay the bills went to buying her son’s new cellphone instead.

QUESTION #10: HOW DO SUSAN’S AND MANUEL’S LIVES CROSS? OTHER THAN CROSSING PATHS, IN WHAT OTHER WAY ARE THEIR LIVES PARALLELING EACH OTHER? HOW DO THEIR PARALLEL LIVES CORRESPOND TO THE PARALLEL EDITING USED BY THE FILM?

Susan and Manuel’s lives cross with each other when Manuel brought his pregnant wife to Susan, who is a midwife. Aside from  that, they are both in need of money.

QUESTION #11: WHY DOES MANUEL HAVE BLOOD ON HIS SHIRT IN THIS SCENE? WHAT WAS SUSAN THINKING WHEN SHE TURNED HER HEAD AWAY FROM MANUEL? WHAT DID SHE LOOK AT BEFORE ASKING FOR P5,000.00 FROM MANUEL?

The blood on Manuel’s shirt came from his pregnant wife because he was assisting her in giving birth. On the other angle, Susan looked to all the bills and payments she had to made thinking that this could be her chance to get money resulting to asking Manuel for 5,000 pesos to help her wife to gave birth.

QUESTION #12: HOW DOES THE EDITING CONNECT THE SPACES OF SUSAN AND HER SON, THROUGH THE GESTURE OF SUSAN’S TURNING HER HEAD? HOW DOES EDITING MANIPULATE TIME, SO THAT SUSAN ENDS UP LIKE SHE IS TURNING TO LOOK AT BOTH HER SON AND MANUEL WITH HER SON?

The editing gave the impression and message that Susan is looking to both Manuel and his son.

QUESTION #13: HOW DO THESE SCENES – WITH SUSAN HELPING MANUEL’S WIFE DELIVER A BABY AND MANUEL UNKNOWINGLY STEALING THE CELLPHONE OF SUSAN’S SON – PARALLEL EACH OTHER? HOW DOES THE DEATH OF MANUEL’S SON IRONICALLY PARALLEL THE DEATH (?) OF SUSAN’S SON? CONSIDER THE VISUAL COMPOSITION OF THE SCENES.

This scenes were parallel to each other because we all know that both of them are in need of money and they are searching for solutions to solve their own problems. 

For Susan, she forced Manuel to pay 5,000 pesos for her service. And for Manuel, she steal the cellphone of Susan’s son to get money. But in the end, none of their problems were solved.

QUESTION #14: HOW DOES EDITING CONNECT IMAGES THAT ARE GRAPHICALLY SIMILAR OR CONNECTED?

Editing connects images that are graphically similar or connected by conveying messages and impressions in the film.

QUESTION #15: THE VIEWERS SEE SUSAN AND MANUEL FOR THE LAST TIME IN THIS WAY. DO THEY KNOW EACH OTHER? WHY IS THERE BLOOD ON MANUEL’S SHIRT? WHY IS SUSAN CRYING?

In the last scene, Susan and Manuel now know each other but not personally though. Susan is crying because of all her problems financially and emotionally. On the other-hand, Manuel has a blood stains on his shirt because he is assisting her wife in giving birth.

QUESTION #16: WHAT ARE THE SOCIAL ISSUES BROUGHT FORTH BY THE FILMMAKER ON BOTH SIDES OF THE HYPERLINKED STORY?

The social issues that were emphasized in the short film were poverty, unemployment and crime.

QUESTION #17: WHAT IS THE OVERALL EFFECT OF DRAMATIC IRONY, OR THE FACT THAT THE VIEWERS KNOW MORE THAN THE CHARACTERS, ON THE SOCIAL ISSUES BEING BROUGHT FORWARD?

The effect of dramatic irony in the film gave the viewers more ��emotional impact.

QUESTION #18: HOW DOES THE FILM MANIPULATE TIME AND SPACE TO SHOW THE INTRICACY OF HOW PEOPLE’S LIVES ARE INTERTWINED? 

The film didn’t use the typical chronological order to convey a story. Instead, it used camera techniques and different settings.

QUESTION #19: HOW DO LITTLE DETAILS AND GESTURES IN THE FILM ADD UP NOT ONLY TO TELL A STORY BUT TO COMMUNICATE THE THEMES?

Little details and gestures in the film help communicate its theme and genre. And to convey its real message to the viewers.

QUESTION #20: WHY IS THE FILM STRUCTURED LIKE A CIRCLE, ENDING WHERE IT OPENED?

This was done either to clarify or to emphasize the real intended message of the short film.