Lincoln, Extra Credit

New York was having the hardest time of the year this November. Hurricane Sandy hit hard in New York and left big chaos. There were many damages around the city not to mention the economy. But most of all it was not a good time for the presidential election. Everybody was talking about weather it will be Obama or Romney.

When the movie ‘Lincoln’ came out, it was not a surprise to hear that it was waiting for the election and released it. And I could see why.

The movie was very directly narrated from the story that is well known. I was hoping to see more about Lincoln’s personal life, but the movie focused more on the facts and process of passing the Act. Lincoln was a very tall people loving president, father, and husband. He was very relaxed, and did not have temper. He tried to listen to his people and tried his best to be fair.

While watching the movie I could not help but to compare it to ‘To Kill a Mocking Bird’ by Harper Lee. Lincoln was like Atticus in To kill a Mocking Bird. White men fighting for the black was a very hard choice to make back then. But because Lincoln and other people fought for the justice and became the voice of unheard, we have free country.

But somehow I felt as if the intention of this movie was to show how superior whites are. If Lincoln, the white men, did not fought for black people’s freedom, we would be still living in racist world and Obama would not have never be president.

Just seeing ‘Lincoln’ after election made me think more deeply about what is really going on in America with their Black President. What difference can Obama make compare to Lincoln? Or is it more like a competition between these two heroes? While Korea is about to have a female president, I came to think that now is the phase the world goes through or against what we used to know. 

Andy Warhol Exhibition at Met

Andy Warhol is well known artist in Pop art. He expressed his creativeness through film, pictures, and paintings. To be honest, I am not a great fan of his works especially his films and pictures because it just looks awkward to me and meaningless. But he has great taste in colors and he uses it very well. His painting method is very simple. He cuts out picture from the newpaper, enlarge it and print it on the silk screen and paint them in various colors.

It looks very simple but people worship his paintings.

He loved to use Marylin Monroe, Mao, Jackie for his silk screen work.

It is as if he wanted to use their popularity to draw people’s attention. Or maybe Andy Warhol really did worship them and think of them as the King or Queen of their fields. By using dynamic colors, Andy Warhol somehow brings out the feeling of the characters. With Marylin Monroe’s headshot, he tried on bold, sexy color to represent her sex appeal, and at the same time he used very dull blue to show her inside. When he painted the Mao, President of China, he used colors like yellow, green, and blue which are used often in Asia. He used Elizabeth Taylor’s picture also. And he used soft green on her portrait.

When we first see Warhol’s painting, we know that it is his painting right away because his dynamic colors. But also, we look at it more carefully because we know the person on the paining and that makes it more interesting.

We can not tell much from the portraits because there is no background or torso of the model. All we know is their face, name, and the painter. Maybe that is why Warhol used only the headshot of the famous people, who is considered as king or queen in their field. 

Marie Antoinette, Queen of Fashion

Most people think Marie Antoinette as a very naive and childlike queen. Before I got to know her, I did too think her as a mindless woman. But while I researched her life and read about her, I was drawn to her and feel sympathetic of her.
She lived mediocre childhood until most of her siblings died of smallpox. She was almost sold to France and become the Duphaine of France because of political reason. She had no voice in her marriage and in France.
14 year old Marie Antoinette tried to act her best and wished to win France people's hearts but she could not. She was not loved by her husband either.
Because of her lack of education, she could not possibly excel in political matters. So she chose fashion.
To stay on the top of the fashion, she encouraged other woman to copy her style and even sold her dresses. Her hairstyle, costumes and makeups became the most wanted fashion style in France and then France began to recognize her.
She wanted people to recognize her as a Queen of France, not just an innocent Austrian woman.
It is very sad to think that all the struggles she had to go over to be visible and notable. She gained some respects with her fashion and enjoyed it.

Orlando pt.2

    Orlando is now she. She learns that what she thought about woman when she was a man, are not quite right. In a way, Orlando enjoys to be female but feels very oppressed and powerless. She wants to be independent but finds it very hard to do so.
    Orlando is unique novel because it has two perspectives. Same person going through same problem, in this case, love, in different sex. Gender roles take most parts in our lives. How we should act, think, and react depends on the gender most of the time. I think Virginia attempted to express her own feelings toward her husband and Vita in this novel. She loves them both dearly but can not stay with them and devote to them. She must have been confused about her feelings since herself had two genders in her.
    Struggle over how she can not behave according to what her mind thinks.
Orlando could be an important message to those who draw significant lines between male and female. What gives us right to judge someone by gender?
  

Orlando Pt.1

        In Virginia Woolf's novel, Orlando, the main character, goes through sex change and experience 

different time of eras. It seems very important that the fact that Virginia was in a relationship with another woman names Vita. Throughout the book, Virginia portraits Vita as Orlando and talks about two genders in him/her. 

        The first three chapters are about Orlando as a beautiful young boy. He looks fresh and the Queen, who admires that youth, loves him dearly and gives him great fortune. With his good look, Orlando gets many woman by his side and live very freely. He seems very happy and flexible. 

        For some reason all the kings and queens we have been go over in class falls over obstacle called 'love.' Orlando tries to win Sasha's heart believing that she should be his just because he adores her. But  after Sasha's betrayal Orlando feels great depression and wanders how love works for woman.

      

Queen Elizabeth

 In class, we watched Queen Elizabeth, the first Queen of England.
It is an issue even now, when woman tries to gain political powers. For example, in Korea, for the first time in the history, female candidate showed up as president. Many medias and groups thinks it is wrong for woman to take over the country and rule the people.
So I can not imagine how hard it must have been for Elizabeth when she first became the Queen.
She became Queen just because she was in the loyal family. She lost many things, love, freedom...
But she struggled the most when people did not take her side because of what she was.
Her voice was easily hid because she was a woman. England wanted a King to look upon to. They tried to take advantage of the Queen and often make fun of her Queenship.
But Elizabeth ruled with heart. She could done it because she was a woman. She gave her heart and compassion not to man, but to England.
Throughout the movie, I was very proud to be a woman. I admired the courage and devotion of Elizabeth. She became the very first example of a strong woman.

Venus In Furs

 Venus in Furs is a novel about a man being a slave to a beautiful woman.
The meaning of 'power' takes very different parts for woman and man.
Man gets power with his wealth, strength and ability. While woman gets power with her beauty.
In this book, the main character, Saverin, adores goddess-like woman and willing to be a slave for her.
He wants to get punished by her and rejected by her. Through that he feels passion about love.
He goes nuts when Wanda, the Venus like woman, wears fur.
 Wanda is a widow. She wants happy life with her next future husband and wish it could be Saverin since she loves him. But instead she decided to play along for an year to see if Saverin is the right guy to marry. She gets surprised at first when Saverin wanted her to whip him and hit him and be cruel to him so he can beg her fro her love. But later she enjoys it with him and abuse him and treat him like a slave.
The ending of the novel is predictable. Wanda meets other man and abandons Saverin.

The real question about this book is this. How do man and woman use their powers when it comes to love? Who will win in the end?
Woman seek man who can satisfy her needs and love her unconditionally. Man, on the other hand, want obedient woman as a wife but when it comes to love, he needs someone who can fulfill his fantasy.

That woman, as nature has created her, and man at present is educating her, is man's enemy. She can only be his slave or his despot, but never his companion. This she can become only when she has the same rights as he and is his equal in education and work.

It is just that woman and man are very different that it is very difficult to satisfy both. One of them has to be obedient and willing to give all. 

The Lie Factory & Fear of a Black President

The Lie Factory

Politic is really not my thing. I never understood economics and politics when I learned them in high school. But as I grow older I realized I need to know what is going on and what benefits I can get from the politics. Since I am registered to vote for this year's election, I was very interested to read this article. But yet, I could not understand most of it....
I am assuming that what people hear now and want to see about politics are very fictional and politicians are trying to make that happen?


Fear of Black President

in 2008 election, I was counting votes as volunteer. And now,it is 2012 and I am waiting to vote myself in New York. Election policy and presidencies are different from country to country so I was surprised that we had to go to school on election day. In Korea, we do not go to school or work on election day. And also, formal president can not run again for the next term. Which is, i think, the reason why presidents give up easily and wait for the next president to fix the problems.
I really think it is reasonable to have a good president for many years without changing. I feel stable and safe about experienced president. I have not listened to all the speeches of candidates but have seen plenty of articles, slogans and movie clips about them.
During Obama's presidency, I could not imagine how hard it would have been for him to be the first black president. He was very wise and stayed in the middle of racial issues. I think it was very smart of him to not to take side of his own race because that will cause so much chaos. But at the same time he must have felt very sorry for those who believed that he will change everything about the racism.
We have to recognize that he is in very tough situation. Obama has to work twice as hard to be a respectable president by all people. I am sure that there must be many people out there who does not like him at all.
But I think this is a chance to break the stereotype on races. As a full Korean, I sometimes feel very uncomfortable when others try to fit me into stereotypes. In this case, Trayvon Martin was killed because of it. It must have been the hardest moment for the president to say things about this accident. I mean,,, what can he say? Even though he knows what to say he did not say it directly.

MacBeth

In class, we watched revised version of Macbeth.
In the play there no King but Generals.

I have read Macbeth when I was in highschool, so I could not remember the full story when I watched the film. And seeing the film did not help me at all. It was very strange to see people using old english when they dressed so modern. I wished the director also changed the speech.
What scared me the most was the three nurses. They were acting so weird in the movie that it was not pleasant. (In the original play, they are witches.)
But I think the modern version made sense anyways. After all, man hungers power even though they seem naive. Once he tasted the power, the more he seeks. He became bloodthirsty and cruel to be more powerful. He wants the power to himself. He doubted what three nurses said and killed everyone that seems to be in his way. He ended up getting killed. His wife, who persuaded him to kill the king later on kills herself from guilt.
Macbeth is an example of a bad king. He did not think of the responsibilities but only about his own benefit. He was too busy keeping his throne. He was not happy at all thorough out the entire play. He grew more anxious as he gained more power.

Royster, Francesca T. Becoming Cleopatra: The Shifting Image of An Icon

                 When I hear the name Cleopatra, the image of a very beautiful dressed in gold with heavy make up pops up in my mind. Of course I have never seen her before, but she has been described in various fields. There are more than 2 movies of Cleopatra. And the actress that plays the role of Cleopatra looks rather proud to have that part. What does this ancient woman has that is so admired and praised by females throughout the centuries?
                  Before thinking into that topic, it seems important to actually know about Cleopatra herself. Going back to the very basic question. What is her origin? Movies from 1900s, portraits her as caucasian, which is not possible because she is from Egypt. While reading this article, I realized that I, too, pictured Cleopatra as white. Cleopatra takes such an important part of the history that debating over her origin seems very reasonable. I would be pretty upset if Japanese or Chinese people argue over our ancestors. And what makes this problem worse is that it has to do with race, which is the most sensitive issue.
                 Why do we obsess with Cleopatra anyways? Nobody really knows what she looked like or dressed up. But there are costumes and makeup tutorials of Cleopatra all over the market. It seems to me that we take her too seriously and somehow make own image of her. Exaggerate in a way. She must be pretty smart and cunning and seductive since she used it to control over man. But there are no evidences that says that she was extremely beautiful and sexy. Maybe that is what we think. We think woman can win over man by seducing them. With heavy makeup and provocative outfits....
                 There are many artists that uses the name Cleopatra to represent themselves. For example, Jazz Cleopatra. Why are we so obsessed with ancient heroin that we know not much about? Why can't we make our own term and be unique? I think woman should create their own icon. Not borrowing names from some figure that we do not even know where she is from.
                 Conclusion.... Is it really hard to be 'Powerful Queen' these days?

Dance Performance: Judson Church

This was my first time seeing dance performance in New York. I did not what to expect out of it. When I went inside the St.Mark's church, it was not how I pictured it would be in the first place. And through out the whole performance I was very confused. Even after Q&A time, I did not have anything to say.
But I remember this part where one performer reads and sings while other performer shows his sadness through dancing. Later on thorough research I realized that it was the modernized act from Greek Mythology called Antigone. To be honest, I did not really feel anything about the performance. I tried to understand but failed. Hopefully if I go see more performances I will get the sense of dance performances? Art is such a broad and creative world I will never understand them all!

King Arthur

        Story of King Arthur is very well known, probably over used. I read it in book, saw a movie and cartoon of it, and heard that there is also a musical version of King Arthur. It has been awhile since I read King Arthur so when I read it again recently I suspected certain things about the meaning of 'true king.' After all, my mind is all focused on kings and queens. 

        It was a whole different experience reading King Arthur again. Before then, I remembered him as a chosen king that drew out Excalibur from the stone. I would expect him to be very wise and brave naturally because he was meant to be a great king of Britain. But as I was reading, Arthur seemed more like a gilded person. Only has the title of King and treated as a King because of Merlin, the great sorcerer said so. Nobody believed nor accepted Arthur as their King until Merlin tells them the story of Arthur. Merlin tells them that the boy's birth was no ordinary like others. He talks about what kind of blood Arthur has, and how he was blessed with many gifts from magical creatures that people can not see. People fall for that and suddenly respects Arthur and supports his authority as their King. This can not be done in today's society. However, in North Korea they believe that their leader Kim Jung Il was chosen by God and not an ordinary person. They worship him and obey him. It is not quite the same for Arthur, however. Most of the time, Merlin gets into Arthur's way and somehow manipulates. Whenever Merlin wants to change Arthur's mind, he says that it is all written in the future. What does exactly the King does? How do they become a King? It is very sure that they do not have to be wise or powerful to be a king. Rather, they need to have someone more powerful but yet not exposed in the real world. It is not the King that people respect, but it is the magical power and God's power. King is just the figure that delivers the messages. 

        It is not a surprise that there are no more Kings. People got educated and come to the sense that there are no such thing as chosen one. There are someone who is good at things, but that does not mean they are gifted by elves or was ascended from above. 

This is why I come to the conclusion that no other king is greater than God. King of all kings. Human lack something at some point. But only God is just and mighty. I know I sound religious, but that is how I feel about King. There is only one King. And I am very glad to serve him as my King : )

Presentations of Self in Everyday Life

First impression.
It is said that first impression is very important when you start a new relationship with someone in life.
And there are more than just give them good impressions, it varies depends on who you are meeting and what role you will play.
When I was in Korea, I used to work at the kindergarten and was in charge of 7 year olds. I love children and love playing with them. So on the first day with them, I tried to be as nice as possible. They loved me for playing with them and became more friendly with me. But later on, when it comes to teaching, they seem to not care. They did not take seriousness of my teaching and I got upset. After realizing the seriousness of the problem, I have decided to be a strict teacher to them. It took me very long to get my authority as a teacher. That time I realized that I should have done this on the first day of class.
It is very interesting how people react to changes. When you are nice at first and eventually become demanding, you are likely to be ignored or hated by others. But if you are demanding and being difficult at first, people will appreciate you when you be nice to them later on.
What people think about me often determine myself even though it might not be correct.
Be true about myself. Be who you are. Be you. How can one express themselves fully by just being? I guess this leads to stereotype also. Sadly, even thought how much we hate to fall into certain category there is no way we can get out of being judged and fit into other's stereotypes.
To make a good impression there is only one way. We all know how to be good and what is good. But the key is can we keep on doing that?

Queens of Language: Paris is Burning

Burning paris.... What is burning Paris?

For a second, I thought it was name of the war between New York and Paris.

But when I looked it up I got the gist of what it was but not completely understood. 

     I have to say this is a very odd culture in my point of view. I meet some gay people on the street in New York sometimes but never had an idea that they had their own culture. Most of all I was very surprise to see that they exaggerate their looks as if their outfits and make ups speaks who they are. It seems like anybody can be what they are if he/she dress up in overwhelming outfit or puts on too much makeup. 

      When I first arrived in New York, I was very dazed off from looking at people. There were so many interesting people that I could not take my eyes off! After 3 years, it still is pretty interesting how diverse it is. 

      Vogue-ing their outrageous looks very serious to them. I am not very into fashion myself, so I can not say rather they have great taste in clothes. Which is first, them wearing unusual outfits and heavy makeups or thinking that they will wear something very different from us so we can define them? I can not say which is first, since I do not completely know their cultures. 

      New Yorkers wear black. California girls wear Holisters. These are some standards we have. And somehow people listen to that and wear what they are expected to wear to show where they come from. I am guessing that takes huge part in Burning Paris and Drag Queen Balls. But again, I can not judge.

Oh! Behave!

                  Before I read this essay on 'drag king,' I had no idea what it meant. Not to mention I have never heard about it before. That is, of course, I was raised in Korea until 16. After then, I moved to California to study english and learn American cultures. Attending high school in California could not give me any hint of this 'Paris is Burning,' or 'drag king,' issues. After all, this certain term comes from more complex and broad area like New York!
                  I struggled to fit in and have normal conversation with my American friends while in high school. There were so many things I did not know. When they talk about cartoons, comedy shows or dramas in their youth, it got worse. So eventually I had to cram in all the basic knowledge about American culture by listening to my friends, or actually seeing them myself. Now I can talk about certain dramas or cartoons, but still I feel like I do not fully understand them.
                  Austin Powers series is another example. I have heard about Austin Powers series many times but never tried to actually rent the dvd or find clips from youtube. I had this stereotype that most American films contain sexual things. So I was not very surprised when I watched this episode about 'penis enlarger,' of Austin Powers Series.
                  Why do guys want to show off or sometimes hide their sexual abilities? Do girls really take interest in that when they first see a guy? Even if they do, is it really necessary for guys to expose like that? Maybe this is the major culture difference I feel. Mostly in Korea, TV shows have many rules to keep. They can not use profanity or sexual contents in public shows. In movies, there are no certain rules, but Koreans tend to feel very unpleasant to see or hear profanity and sexual contents on the big screen.
                   As I was going through some clips from Austin Powers, I realized that this certain character, drag king, makes guys that craves sex look very normal. It could give false idea to women that all men are like Austin Powers. To men, it gives them more rights to expose and talk about their sexual abilities or needs without hesitate.

Brain Storming

Definitions.


Queen:
definition from Webster Dictionary.

1

a : the wife or widow of a king

b : the wife or widow of a tribal chief

2

a : a female monarch

King:
definition from Webster Dictionary.

1.

a male sovereign or monarch; a man who holds by lifetenure, and usually by hereditary right, the chief authorityover a country and people.

2.

( initial capital letter ) God or Christ.

3.

a person or thing preeminent in its class: a king of actors.                                                                                

Kings and Queens are such strong words. Words themselves represent power and ultimate authority. Since most countries do not have kings or queens nowadays, we tend to exaggerate or often parody the terms kings and queens.(e.g. drag king, drag queen)

Or when someone excel in certain area or is an expert on certain thing we call he/she King or Queen of that area or thing. Which is very different from the ruler era, because no other person could be announced as King or Queen. There should be only one King, one Queen. If we use it freely to anybody, the words themselves lose its meaning. Total authority is gone. 

Personally I do not think there are no more Kings and Queens in our society. So many things have changed. People claimed their freedom and as more and more they fought for it the meaning of Kings and Queens decreased. Crowns and scepters forever belongs to the museums now. Thinking that everybody has rights decreases the meaning of kings and queens.

Arts.

Theses are the styles that I love. I have not decided how to paint or what medium to use for my thesis.

But personally, I love to make my arts in 3D so I am planning to make it into a puppet show.

In order to do that, I am planning to research on puppet histories, and marionettes. 

King David

This is my blog for Thesis.

For my thesis, I have chosen King David.

He was the 2nd king of Israel and ruled for 40 years.

He was a shepherd, musician, poet, soldier, ruler, prophet and king.

He was very loved by God and also the ancestor of Jesus.

He is well known for killing Goliath and winning the battle.

He won many battles. He was always aware of God and tried hard to please him and follow his ways.

The Bible talks a lot about his life and contains many of his poems and praises for God.

As a christian, I really admire David. He was very wise and committed to God.

God loved him and helped him in every ways. Even though David made mistakes sometime, God always forgave him is only he confess in front of God.

Praise God in my everyday life is not that easy. Especially now that the world is very against christianity.

That is why I want to do my major project, Thesis on King David.

I really do not care much about hanging my piece in the show at the end of the school year.

I am going to do my best in God and will learn more about David. That is my goal.

Gift of art was given to me and I want to use it to thank God.