#i said to myself i would stop thinking about their cinematography today but i lied

[muppetbyers]

this shot. this shot right here encapsulates their s4 dynamic perfectly

[gretacheesefleet]

"So you're daddy?" G.D.

So this is my first time writing one of these. Constructive criticism is welcome (:

You were minding your own business at a little cafe ingulfed in a novel when you feel a little hand tug at your shirt. You look down and see two huge hazel eyes looking up at you. The big eyes belong to a boy about five or six. He was the cutest thing you've ever saw. "Hi there," you smiled at him.

"Hi, I just wanted to tell you that you're really pretty and that muffin looks really good," he says eyeing your food. You let out a laugh.

"Well then why don't you join me?" The boy shows you a 100 watt smile and climbs into the chair across from you.

"So what's your name?" You ask pinching a piece of your muffin off for him.

"Ringo." He stuffs the piece into his mouth.

"That's a wonderful name," you pinch a piece for yourself.

"Thank you daddy said I'm named after a rockstar. His name is Ringo Starr. He was the drummer for the band the Beatles." The boy eyes your muffin again. You obliged him.

"I know who he is. The Beatles are my favorite band." His eyes light up.

"Really?" You nod. "What's your favorite song?" He asks eating another piece of the muffin.

"That's a hard question. But it's probably Blackbird. What's yours?"

"Hey Jude," he says through a mouthful of food. "Daddy's favorite is I Want to Hold Your Hand." You smile and shake your head pushing the muffin towards him.

"Where is your Daddy, Ringo?" He points to the man ordering at the counter.

"Over there." You strain your neck to look at him but his back is turned to you. "Whacha reading?" Ringo gets onto his knees and stretches over the table to look at the book.

"Harry Potter."

"Will you read it to me? Daddy tries to read to me but he's not very good at but I let him anyways."

"Your daddy seems to love you a lot."

"He does. But he's busy all the time with my Uncle Etee so I have to have a nanny." The face he made when he said nanny was enough to almost make you fall out of your chair with laughter.

The two of you continue to talk until a very frazzled man was rushing up. "Ringo! There you are! You had me so worried!" The man has Ringo in his arms. "I'm so sorry was he bothering y-" he stops midsentence when he looks at you speechless.

"So you're Daddy?" You ask. He looks a bit startled and you instantly blush. "Oh god I'm sorry I-i didn't mean it li-ike that," you start stuttering. The man let's out a loud laugh, you can definitely tell where Ringo got his smile.

"It's ok but most people call me Grayson. Grayson Dolan"

"I'm (y/n) (y/l/n)." You smile up at him.

"Daddy she has the best muffin in the whole world." Ringo exclaims.

"Oh no did he eat all your muffin! I'm so sorry! Here I'll buy you a new one!" Grayson turns starting to get all flustered.

"No Grayson you don't have to it's fine," you try to reassure him. "Sit down," you motion to the chair Ringo was sitting in just moments before.

"Are you sure? You look busy." You shake your head.

"I'm not just sit down and eat this." You slide another muffin over to him.

"Oohh yummy," Ringo's eyes get huge. Grayson sits down and pinches off a piece eating it. Ringo climbs into his lap desperately trying to get another taste.

"Oh my god this is amazing! What is it?"

"It's white chocolate and raspberry."

"I had no idea they sold these here," Grayson moans out as he eats another bite. You smile softly as you take a sip of your tea.

"They don't I made them myself."

"That's even better!"

"Daddy she cooks! You said that if you got me another mommy she would have to cook!" Ringo says looking up at his dad expectantly. You giggle as Grayson's face turns more red than the red hoodie he was wearing.

"Ringo not now," he chides. "I'm really sorry he can't control his mouth sometimes."

"It's ok. I'll take it as a compliment," you smile.

"So how long have you been in LA?" He asks you finishing the muffin with his son.

"7 years. I moved here for college when I was 18."

"Oh really what are you studying?"

"I was studying cinematography but now I've graduated and looking for a job."

"That's really awesome because my brother, Ethan and I have been looking for someone to work our cameras at our production company," Grayson exclaims after taking a drink of his coffee.

"Oh um... you don't have to do that-"

"No it would be my pleasure. Besides I think somebody will be wanting more muffins," he looks down at Ringo who has fallen asleep.

"Ok but only if you're sure about this," you say hesitantly not wanting to seem to pushy.

"I'm very sure stop by the studio tomorrow at 10 and Ethan and I will give you an interview. Although I'm pretty for certain you'll get the job. I'll be sure to put in a good word for you," he winks and smiles.

"So I don't Ringo likes his nanny much," you point out sipping your tea. Grayson sighs.

"No he doesn't but I don't know what else to do. I'm a twenty five year old single dad with a production company with my twin brother. I'm always busy. He's with me as much as he can be but in situations he can't be. He is in school now which makes it easier but since his mom left, it just makes everything a struggle." Grayson starts confiding in you. "Thankfully I didn't marry her or else there would be a divorce on top of everything else. She said she didn't want the responsibility of a kid. She just wants to party. So I was left with a three year old and company to manage. I am so thankful for Ethan he helps me with Ringo all the time. Since he is now five he is a handful. Ringo is my world and I love him more than anything else, I just wish I had another person to help m-" he stops and looks at you.

"Grayson..."

"You would be perfect! When he's not at school and I'm in a meeting-"

"Grayson."

"He already adores you-"

"Grayson!"

"And maybe we could get to know each other better cause you seem pretty great-"

"GRAYSON!" People turn and look at you.

"Yes?"

"Are you asking me to be his babysitter?"

"Well maybe?" He sheepishly rubs the back of his neck looking down.

"I guess that can be part of the interview tomorrow?" You smile at him. He beams at you. He looks at his watch.

"Shit I have a meeting in ten minutes. We've got to go but I've had a wonderful time today (y/n). I hope to see you tomorrow," he says getting up. You can't help but to steal a glance at his bulging biceps.

"I will most certainly be there tomorrow."

"Promise?"

"I pinky promise," you hold your pinky out to him. He laughs and intertwines them. With a little wave he leaves the small cafe.

[theaceman42]

Examining Youth Culture

For my first assignment in Media & Society, I was told to watch 5 different movies centered around youth culture. These movies were Euphoria, The Breakfast Club, Mid90s, KIDS, Mean Girls.

1.  Which character in any of these stories do you identify with the most and why?

In all honesty, I can’t really find one character that I can relate to the most, because most of them seem to be eerily similar in their problems. The two that are closest for me however are Caty Heron from Mean Girls and Claire Standish from The Breakfast Club. Both characters suffer from two things: friends and peer pressure. Caty is a new student at high school but is relatively new to public school in general due to being homeschooled by her parents and living in Africa for over 12 years. She has trouble making friends, and lacks the social skills of other students until she meets the “Plastics”. This was a group of popular mean girls whom she ultimately befriends: Regina, Gretchen, and Karen. On top of that, Caty also befriends Janis, a social outcast who was Regina’s former best friend turned rival. Not even halfway into the movie, you can already tell that the Plastics are influencing Caty. They tell her a bunch of ridiculous rules she has to follow, such as wearing pink on a specific day and not being allowed to wear hoop earrings at all. Caty doesn’t see anything wrong with this as she’s not used to being with other people, let alone having friends. Eventually halfway into the movie, Caty ultimately agrees to help Janis sabotage Regina’s popularity. This results in the latter losing her friends, and Caty unwittingly recreating herself in an image of Regina. But by the end, Caty returns to herself and the Plastics disband. 

For Claire, we don’t actually see her problems unfold, instead they are told. Much like Caty and the Plastics, Claire is a popular girl and suffers from peer pressure from her friends. She agrees with them constantly because of this all in order to keep her popularity up. However this ends up with her in detention in the film, as her friends pressured her into going shopping rather than going to school. On top of that, she’s constantly used by her parents as a bargaining chip to get back at one another. To summarize, Claire is a victim of social life and has never really made any of her own decisions until the end of the film, where she breaks her pristine image by kissing John Bender. 

For me, the reason I relate to these characters the most is through my time in middle school. Ever since junior year, I’ve also considered middle school to be this “buffer limbo period” where kids have to figure out who they are as a person and where they stand in the world.  No one’s the same when they leave middle school, you enter in a kid and leave as a teenager. I myself had to go through this ordeal and I remember it thoroughly. Sixth grade felt normal in some ways, but I could tell it was only the tip of the iceberg. It wasn’t until seventh grade where I started to have internal conflict and problems with making friends. I went through about three friend groups in middle school. One of them seemed good to me until I realized they honestly couldn’t care less about me. Since then up until I’d say the end of my freshmen year, I had a lot of distrust towards people, I couldn’t tell who wanted to be my friend and who didn’t. This would come crashing down in eighth grade, when I got into a fight with another student, who hung out with the people I was with. The student got in my face and in an attempt to get them away from me, I pushed them. They in retaliation punched me in the face. However during that time, I was forming a bond with other students who knew each other without me even knowing, all while I tried to make friends being someone who I wasn’t. I came out of middle school with a group of friends I’m still in touch with today. Throughout high school I also formed friendships with other people and respect with others who were mean to me and other students.

2. Identify three (3) common themes that are present in these stories and elaborate if they are relatable to contemporary youth culture. Draw from your personal experiences and elaborate on how these themes may have impacted your adolescent life

Three common themes throughout these stories are choice, redemption, and fear. Choice is an important aspect of our lives where we pick something that can affect us in any way shape or form. 

Euphoria is a prime example of this, Rue the narrator and one of the show's main characters talks about the choices she made that made her take drugs. She explains how it made her feel great, like there was nothing wrong with her. This would lead to Rue falling unconscious and taken to the hospital and ending up in rehab. 

Another good example of this is Mid90s, Sunny Suljic plays the role of Stevie, a 12-year old boy living in 1990s Los Angeles, who’s abused by his brother. Stevie then meets a group of older teen boys who are skateboarders and become part of their group. As the story progresses, Stevie eventually begins doing drugs, smoking, and drinking. By the end of the movie, the choices Stevie and his friends make end with them in a car accident and the former injured. I had to make a lot of choices in life, and I think everyone can say the same. What kind of ice cream do I get? What shoes to wear? Choosing who and who not to hang out with, was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Because I didn’t know what would happen to me. The movie ends with them all reconciling with their internal issues, but it's unclear whether or not they will change. Redemption is something that everyone seeks. When anyone, even yourself, does something wrong, you might regret it and try to apologize for what you had done. Caty in Mean Girls is a good example of this, after the events of the Burn Book were revealed to the entire school, the Plastics turned on one another, and everyone was angry at her actions. Caty ultimately apologized for what she had done and opted to say that everyone was beautiful in their own way. I can relate to this, just not in the way Caty did. I’ve lied in the past, either to my friends and to my own parents, sometimes about grades. When they found out, I tried to apologize and they often accepted it...to some extent. Then there is fear, the fear of what could happen and of the unknown. Sometimes fear can stem into our choices. Let me iterate, I had to choose who I would hang out with, which was very hard. Why? Because I was afraid of what would happen to me. How would I turn out in the end? Would I be evil? If I chose poorly and ended up doing something I shouldn’t then I would end trying to seek forgiveness. 

3.  First, explain how a soundtrack of a film/TV series impacts the narrative of a story. Second, create an Apple/Spotify playlist of songs that best define your adolescent experience, and embed this playlist onto your blog. 

Since the invention of the story, the play, and entertainment in general. Music has been a central part of all of it. When the first movies came out, the only sound people could hear was just the background being played, as there was no way to record or hear one’s voice at the time. Music basically takes what a story is telling, and adds depth to it. Allowing people to get a feel of what’s going on, and adding the setting. 

A good example of this is the movie Dunkirk, which tells the story of the British evacuation of France during World War II. What makes this movie different from others, is that it doesn’t rely on dialogue. There is little to no dialogue said at all, as the director and writer of Dunkirk, Christopher Nolan wanted to tell the story through music and cinematography. One tool Nolan used greatly alongside this was suspense. Here’s one scene from the film that shows music combined with suspense. 

The music used in this scene is just amazing. It shows the tension and fear of the Germans trying to stop the British from leaving.

Here is a link to some music that I can relate too and my adolescent years.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7Hs6iqrwosis1UU7TCu9KJ?si=4ebaac892a434305