Noir

Before learning about this critical aspect of production throughout history, I had no concept of what noir was. That being said, most movies to this day have a lot of aspects of noir in them. For example, there are many cases of fem fatale in modern action movies as well as the "detective" figure who falls in love. I find this to be very interesting because you can see this concept outside of movies in videos, games, books, etc... Furthermore, it is fascinating how much a black and white movie can draw you in; it allows me to play closer attention to the plot and discover details that I would not consider in color. 
In our noir project, we used a couple critical themes. Our fem fatale figure was a "widow" (Karli) and we have the classic detective who is trying to solve the mystery of the murder. That being said, we brought in some modern aspects as well with a storyline based on a friend group.

Intensity on film

As soon as I saw this photo I thought of the lady's husband in the noir that got murdered in the passenger's seat of the car. This photo is pretty impactful for me because you can see the surprised look on this man's face before he got his throat slit. This looks straight out of a Hollywood film but is actually reality which can give you goosebumps. Furthermore, you can see the detective in the darkness behind the murder victim just speechless at this gruesome scene. Overall, it is evident that Hollywood films got a lot of their inspiration from real events that were happening in the area at the time. This is a scene of a classic hit on a man in a car and conveys many intense aspects of crime in this area.

Fallacies

This image impacts me because of how it represents a typical family at the time. Many people come to America in search for better opportunity but the fact was at the time that most American families were just scraping by and sometimes did not have enough to even feed a family. This really has an effect on me because I picture if my family was in a position like that and also consider my ancestors who were around at this time. This relates to a common theme in the Locust of expectations versus reality because of what people come to Hollywood for. One can dream but for every success comes another person's loss and the light can not only be shun upon success in this area. If a full understanding of Hollywood wants to be obtained, one must consider the losses as well.

Hollywood

The song "Into the Great Wide Open" is really interesting because of the aspects of the California Dream it conveys. For example, when Eddie gets on the bus he goes to Hollywood in search of opportunity like most people do. The future is wide open for him. He gets a girl there and learns how to play music, eventually becoming recognized. This is something that less people are able to accomplish but still a component of life for some in Hollywood. He eventually surpasses Van Halen on the charts, which would be hard to do at this time. The fame gets to his head and he is consumed by the fallacies of society in Hollywood. This causes him to drop in the charts and causes a relationship failure with the woman that actually means something to him. He ends up right back at the tattoo shop at the end as the result of Hollywood chewing him and spitting him back out.

This theme is something that is present in Day of the Locust because of the same location of Hollywood.  I feel that Todd shares some aspects of the experience that Eddie Rebel had in the video due to the life of Hollywood being filled with ups, downs, and curveballs. The pursuit of something that is hard to attain in a city that is full of falsely lead aspirations is something that is present in the video and the book.

My community

Sage Hill School can very well be defined as a tide pool. Each category of the school represents a different aspect of the tide pool. For example, freshman are the hermit crabs with how timid they are for the most part, besides a few brave hermit crabs. The predators would be considered the teachers by some, but I would call it the overall Sage curriculum. This tends to be hard and the productive and efficient students make it out alive while others are eaten up. The water in this tide pool would be the actual Sage Hill campus itself. It contains us and sometimes restrains us. I think the seniors are the fish that are swimming around because they have a way out soon when the tide comes up: in this case the end of senior year. 

One social group that I am apart of at Sage is the Ocean Club. In this club, I am the leader which is a very honorable thing for me. That being said, the group of people doesn't really even need a leader because we get along so well. The social structure centers around the ocean and we are all equal here. The ocean unites us and provides a backbone for this community.

Gotta get to the sea

Long drives on the road
But where do we go from here?
Just get to the sea

This haiku was influenced by my love for the ocean. It is something that is more powerful than any aspect of life for me. I fear it, I love it, and I am connected to it. California wouldn't be California without an ocean like this.

Layer's of California

When I think of the South land I think of the beautiful beaches of Southern Califonria. Since Southern California is very close to Mexico, I also think of the vibrant hispanic culture. In "Santa Ana of Grocery Carts", Girmay writes, "when we started, there were cousins & two parents,
now everything lost has been to you" (Girmay 28-29). This line stands out to me because of the way that the hispanic culture has been a minority in society and sometimes is segregated. That being said, I have a great appreciation for the Spanish culture and its influences in California.

The Heartland represents a vast history of California and stands as a frontier in my eyes. With its long ranges of corn rows and agricultural land, the heartland stands for the true "heart" of California. That being said, people in the heartland are often limited by the emptiness of the open land. For example, in "We in the Fields", Emerson writes that the workers are, "hopelessly longing to know the red beauty" (Emerson 13). In my perspective, this idea of the red beauty represents the horizon and the city life of other parts of California. This is something that people want to experience, and this often leaves this part of California forgotten.

The Bay Area is somewhere that I have visited a few times in my life. When I think of this area I consider the vast fog banks and vibrant city life of San Francisco. San Francisco is an area that is very influenced by Chinese culture. In the streets of China Town, this culture is very prominent and in Amy Tan's, "Fish Cheeks", she displays this influence. With many Chinese immigrants coming to the United States, a struggle emerged to preserve their culture while assimilating to the customs of the Untied States. Tan writes, "and even though I didn’t agree with her then, I knew that she understood how much I had suffered during the evening’s dinner" (Tan 1). This is a story of a Chinese girl finally appreciating her culture after being self conscious due to her feelings for a white man. Ultimately, this culture contributes to the diversity in this area and many other parts of California. 

Huntington Beach

People come to Huntington Beach for different reasons.
Some visit, some stay, and some are lost.
When the sun rises, some are quick to get up
Some are not.
People from all cultures hit the streets in the morning traffic haze.
It seems like everyone is going somewhere,
has something to do, in an endless cycle of routine.
When the afternoon arrives, the smell of dead skunk hits the neighborhoods.
All the kids smell like skunk now days.
Night arrives and emotion floods the street.
A street fair is set up down town.
Culture vibrates through the city as the night is woken up.
A girl rushes to a trash can after too much alcohol for the night.
She's 15 years old.
People walk by this girl, all by herself, but no one cares.
It's easy to make a mess in a city like this,
but hard to pick it up.



This poem was inspired by my experiences and what I have witnessed growing up in Huntington Beach. This is a beautiful city, but also a city with many dark aspects to it. It seems like the the preservation of innocence continues to be lost throughout time. I wanted to highlight this idea of the sunshine and the shadows of Huntington Beach.

Family of the Coast

This picture of my mom, sister, and me, is my California representation due to a few factors. First of all, my family is the most important thing for me and most of the members in it reside in California. Furthermore, the ocean represents a crucial part of California for me. Because of my love for surfing, I am attracted to many parts of California's coast. From San Diego to Santa Cruz, there are waves that break throughout the year and I like to drive to score the best conditions. Overall, two essential parts of California for me is family and the coast.

Nicaragua 2

I had plans to go to the village today and help with reconstruction but unfortunately the roads leading into it were closed due to heavy rain and floods right now. It feels like the rain won’t stop but hopefully there are some breaks in it so I can head over this week. That being said, I am setting out tomorrow on the main beach here to do a cleanup rain or shine. Due to the floods and rivers that have formed out of nowhere, a lot of garbage has washed up along the beach. Hopefully we can make some good progress tomorrow.

A drive through Nicaragua

I arrived in Nicaragua last night. We walked out of the airport and there was a distinct smell of a third world country. It’s not a bad smell, it was just familiar and brought back a sense of nostalgia for me after coming here four years ago. My uncle and I asked the taxi guys for a ride to the hotel. They all started laughing for some reason, and one taxi guy says it is close and he will take us there for five dollars. It turned out the hotel was directly accross the street from the airport, about twenty steps away. That’s when we understood what they were all laughing about.
I woke up this morning to get ready for the car ride to Playa Iguanas. This is where I am currently staying. This car ride was nothing like I’ve ever seen before. We set out on the main rode and immediately there were students and workers protesting on the streets with large blockades.  I asked the driver what it was all about and he told me that the students hate the president of Nicaragua. He dropped their pensions a little while back and huge riots emerged. A little over two weeks ago 608 people were killed by police in a tragic incident. He said the president restored their pensions but it was not enough because many people died already. All they want now is for the president to step down from office. The government can’t do anything about the road blocks because protestors set them up all trhoughout Nicaragua in all the main roads. The protestors have certain times where they set them up and most of the citicens are ok with it because they don’t like the president either. That being said, they let tourists through because they realize this is something that can’t be stopped and is good for the economy. Our van got stopped by a young man in a ski mask. He opened the door and looked inside, then shut it and told us we could go through. This was a little different than a drive through Newport.
The car ride continued. It’s pretty crazy all of the things you can see on a road through Nicaragua. We drove past pueblos (villages) and saw little children sleeping in baskets on the side of the street. It was shocking for me to realize that these children have nothing in life. A little farther down the way I saw a man that appeared to be jacking off on the side of the road.. Little kids walked by him and seemed to walk past it like it was a common occurence. The worst thing was that there were no police or anyone  around who cared to stop him. I know this is a little intense to read but this is the state of poverty that a lot of these villages are in.
This car ride gave me a new perspective on a lot of aspects in my life. I know that change is slow, always has been, and always will be, but I think more people need to be aware of what is actually going on in this part of the world and a lot of other parts like it. This gives me a new appreciation for the life that I live.