Adaptation movie

   The movie Adaptation that we watched in class is based on the non fictional book "The Orchid Thief" by:Susan Orleans, in the movie the main character is Charlie Kaufman (Nicholas Cage) and he seems to be a very miserable man, he has a very low self esteem and is constantly calling himself fat, he has no luck when it comes to the ladies, and is sexually frustrated. Also he is a screenplay writer in this following movie he is suppose to write a screenplay for the book "The Orchid Thief" so they can make a movie out of it but Charlie is having a hard time coming up with a screenplay because he wants to make this movie different he wants to tell a story about the opposition of change not about overcoming obstacles.

   Due to this he faces many problems because he can't adapt to change, he believes that there is nothing to write about the book, and that there is little bit of information given to make it into a movie. He eventually turns into his twin brother for help because he is a thriller writer and that's what he needs in his screenplay, he needs action, thrill to make it into a good movie.

    From there on as we all saw we had a hard time figuring out what was part of his imagination and what was reality. The author confuses us by including events that happen in reality and he joins it with clips that are fictional. The meaning to the movie is indeed the title itself which is adaptation. Everything throughout the movie is caused to adapt. Charlie is suppose to adapt to the book to write a screenplay, the author Susan is suppose to adapt to her life, and lastly the orchids are suppose to adapt to their environment.

"If I told him" A complete portrait of Picasso by:Gertrude Stein

The poem “If I told him” A complete portrait of Picasso by: Gertrude Stein was very confusing to read because she repeated a lot of words over and over again. In class when the teachers made each of us read like 2 sentences of the poem out loud I thought that we weren’t reading it as Gertrude would want people to read her poem because we were way out of beat, some people would read the poem fast and then some people would read it slow. When we were reading the poem I thought to myself that it didn’t make sense how that poem would be a portrait of Picasso because to me it had nothing to do with him, she never mentioned Picasso in the poem she was talking about other people and things like Napoleon and kings. But then when I heard Stein saying her poem it made sense to me why she made the poem like that. She wrote the poem like that because that’s how Picasso is, that was her way of describing how he is. The way Stein performed her poem was very different because poems are usually recited and when she recited her poem there was music in the back, I never heard anyone recite their poem like that. Her poem was very unique.

Summary of Chapter 4 At the Schooner's Rail

In Chapter 4 At the Schooner's Rail the captain of the ship passes out on his cabin floor and after finishing dining with the shipmates Prendrick and Montgomery go to the deck to have a talk. Montgomery starts reminicing about London. Prendrick tries to entertain him by talking about stuff that he remembers like gossip and etc. While being on the deck Prendrick sees a beast and wonders why that beast is on board. He doesnt say nothing becasue he doesnt want to get Montgomery mad, hes also scared of getting him mad. Moreover, Prendrick thanks Montgomeery for saving his life and taking care of him. Montgomery starts talking about his past and how he went crazy for ten minutes in a  foggy night. Eventually Montgomery doesnt wish to continue sharing his story and stops, Prendrick does not force him to continue he just leaves it at that.

Summary of Greenberg

Clement Greenberg is an author and writes about others; he isn't a painter. Greenberg refers to philosopher Kant to criticize criticism, to self criticism. He believed that Kant was the first modernist. Greenberg believed in modernism. Modernism is to surpass the old masters. He didn't know why everybody kept painting like the renaissance times, he thought that they should of changed the way they painted. Moving on, he talks about Moneau. Moneau admits to his limitations , and that he uses lines to create an image.

Outline for A Streetcar Named Desire

    Thesis: Throughout the play "A Streetcar Name Desire" by Tennessee Williams the author uses the use of alcohol to show how similar Blanche Dubious and Stanley Kowalski are but how it effects them differently. 

Body Paragraph 2: How both are acoholics. Blanche seeks attention from man when drunk like when she flirts with Stanley and tells her sister (pg.30). These flirtatious actions make her feels wanted, desired by many men which is what she wants.On the other hand, Stanley develops a more aggressive attitude when he is drunk. Great examples would be like the fight on poker night in which he hits his wife knowing she is with child.(pg.40) When he rapes Blanche he was also drunk(pg.93-94) These impulsive aggressive actions make him feel like the man in charge of the house.
Stanley:                                                                                    Blanche:

- loses control when drinking then regrets what he does                - drinks a lot      - gets very flirty                                                                                              
- makes him feel strong,empowered                                            - enjoys it               

- doesn't drink much                                                                   - makes her feel better

Body Paragraph 3: How they both have strong sexual desires. Blanche got fired from school because she seduced one of her students.(pg.59) Even when she lives with Stella and Stanley she flirts with Stanley knowing that he is her own sister's husband; showing no shame in her game.Moreover, she also flirts with Stanley's friend Mitch by talking to him in a flirtatious attitude. Furthermore, Stanley's desires are more like an animals desires. For an example: when he hits Stella they make up by having sex.(pg.40) That reaction shows the inner animal desires he has. [Blanche ruins everything for them, that's why Stanley hates her. He isn't able to have sex with his wife Stella.]

Stanley:

-uncontrollable desire   - he acts on his emotions

-like a animal               - impulsive 

-cant control his emotions

Body Paragraph 4: Both are manipulators.They both tend to manipulate Stella to there advantage. Blanche manipulates her with her whole fragile perfect act. Stella knows that she needs to compliment her. Stanley takes advantage of the situation that Blanche has gone mad and manipulates his wife in thinking that he didn't rape Blanche when he actually did. He pushes Blanche to her breaking point driving her crazy.

Conclusion: In conclusion, through the use of alcohol, the author Tennessee Williams helps show how Blanche Dubious and Stanley Kowalski are very much similar but also how it has different effects on them.


Comparison between the two characters Blanche and Stanley:
1) both are alcoholics.
2) both have sexual desires.
3) both are manipulators.