Dr Seuss' The Lorax - Fifth Media Log

Summary:

                The story is about a city called Thneedville where everything, including the Truffula trees, is artificial and made out of plastic and its citizens is fine with it. The city was surrounded by walls in order to keep the citizens of Thneedville unaware of the environmental problems surrounding the walled city because there are no more trees. The city’s selfish Mayor, Aloysius O’Hare, was taking advantage of this fact and was able to sell air to the people.

                Ted, a boy from the city, wanted to find a real tree in order to gain the affection of a girl named, Audrey. Ted’s grandmother told him that a guy from outside the city called the Once-ler knows where the last Truffula seed is and Ted quickly sought out the Once-ler and urged to know the story behind the depleted trees around Thneedville. 

                Ted found out that the Once-ler was once an aspiring businessman wanted to sell the beautiful leaves of the Truffula trees called Thneed. The Lorax showed up when he cut down some trees to warn him about the consequences of cutting down all the trees. The Once-ler had stopped cutting but continued with his business. The Lorax was fine with this until the Once-ler’s family showed up and influenced him to cut the trees down to quicken the production of the Thneeds. Eventually, all the trees has been cut down, all of the animals that was once living in the place left, the Lorax and his family left and his business was shut down. 

                When the story of the Once-ler finally ended, he and Ted finally looked to a pile of rocks where the Lorax once stood and saw the word “Unless” engraved in one of the rocks. He then finally gave the last Truffula seed to Ted and surround the city with trees. Ted later went back to the city to show the seed to Audrey knowing that the mayor was after him and the seed. After the chase all over the city, it stopped at the local park where the confrontation happened. Ted explained to the people that trees important and the mayor tried to counter it by saying that the city is better without the trees. The people sided with Ted and all of them cheered as Ted, his grandmother and Audrey planted the seed at the center of the town.

                Time has passed and the beautiful trees were scattered around just like what it was before. The Lorax went back to see the Once-ler who was at that time watering a newly planted seed. They embraced and the Lorax praised the Once-ler for doing a great job. 

Evalution:

                You will know that a movie is based from Dr. Seuss’ work when its characters are well drawn, its story is well-developed and its rhyme is well-thought of. I must say that the Illumination Entertainment (creators of the movie) gave more life to the book that the children from the 60’s enjoyed. The setting of the story is also identical to the book. Just like in the movie Despicable Me (also created by the Illumination Entertainment), the animation shows the characters’ emotions which is needed to have that general sense of what is going on in a particular scene. The directors were clever to put pleasant music to make the story more appealing to the watchers especially the children. We have to understand that there will always be differences between the movie and the book but the movie’s interpretation of Dr. Seuss’ book, The Lorax, was simply brilliant.

Reflection:

                 Although, I have read only one book Dr. Seuss had made, I have seen many of his quotations online.  His quotes are plain simple but well-thought. From these quotation, you will build up an idea about what his ideology is. He aims to inspire thousands of children with his wonderful books not just from his time but also for the future generations to come. I believe that some of the outstanding leaders of today were also inspired by his books.

                I am a fan of movies that give you moral lessons in life. Thus, I am easily inspired with movies like this. This movie captured my attention when the Lorax gave his opening speech in rhyme which is a tribute to the late Dr. Seuss. This gave me an idea that the directors’ aim is not just to entertain watchers like me but also give an important message to all of those who are watching. Then, there was that musical scenes which I thought is a very common way to know that the characters are going through in the story. Finally, there was that sense of happiness right through the ending in order to bring that they-lived-happily-ever-after moment to the watchers.

                Dr. Seuss’ goal is to persuade us that tree logging is one matter that we, citizens of Earth, must take seriously. This is one of the many causes of destruction of our nature and to the loss of habitat of the animals. We are the cause of these damages and the future generations are going to suffer. He is encouraging us to save our mother nature with determination. Being concerned with our own habitat is much needed if we want to stay in it for a very long time. All of this can be summed up to Dr. Seuss’ wise words -- “UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” (Dr. Seuss, 1971). A quote like this that possesses a very strong message can be applied to most situations in our lives. The same answer can be utilized in whatever problems we are facing. Like I said, this quote possesses a very strong message as it is like a general rule to everyone out there. I felt happy when I first encountered this message because it basically served as a universal rule to all complications that I will encounter.

                When we wonder on how to solve the environmental problems, we can immediately think of the World Wide Fund (WWF), one of the leading non-governmental organizations around the world that is dedicated to restoring the environment to its former beauty. They are currently working on a hundred different countries supporting at around 1,500 environmental missions. They are somehow living the words of Dr. Seuss in caring for the nature.

                This message is being sent to us to show us that money is not everything. We are giving up our very own home for the fortune that is not going to last long. The nature is already giving us an opportunity to live because it is the one who is giving the life support yet we are taking it for granted. This reason alone should be enough to motivate us to save our nature. It is about time that people give something in return that will benefit both sides in the end... It's somehow better to be late than never. 

All photos are owned by Illumination Entertainment. 

The Philippines says 'Thank you' - 4th Media Log

Source: youtube.com/DOT Philippines

                February 8, 2014, three months after Typhoon Haiyan had flattened millions of Pesos worth of properties in every city that led to a number of fatalities, the Philippines had finally sent their acknowledgements to those countries that had helped the victims of one of the strongest typhoon ever recorded around the world. These countries rushed in their donations such as foods, clothes, medical services and tents in the country shortly after they have seen the typhoon that had ravaged throughout every city in Visayas. The Department of Tourism (DOT) had the idea to promote a campaign ad that says “#PHthankyou” in different social networking sites, TV networks, billboards, newspapers and other print advertisements to thank on behalf of the Filipino people those who had helped and those who has been continuously helping in the rebuilding process. The advertisement was displayed in the billboards in different cities around the world like New York, Sydney, London, Berlin and France. The Department of Tourism also encouraged all the Filipinos to post their own “thank you” campaign after they have seen an over-all effort made by those countries. The help was so overwhelming in terms of its number since several countries had united.

Courtesy of: rockedphilippines.org

                We, Filipinos are known around the world due to the fact that we are “scattered” all over the world since many of us are working overseas. We benefitted from this as we are being recognized as people who are hospitable, generous and hard-working. Of course, there are also some negative observations surrounding our race.  Some say that the “wounds” we get are self-inflicted. Self-inflicted in a sense that temptations, power and fear overpower our precious minds causing our own ill-fated lives.  At the same time, we are allegedly creating barriers from one another as one could stand on its own. This has been proven time and time again to be wrong. Apparently, not all people think the same way. What separates us from the undesirable traits we have is that whenever there is trouble, we set aside all of our differences and let that bayanihan spirit take over. This spirit of unity was enough to inspire other countries to do the same. That dreadful disaster on the Visayas Islands was the proof that unity is for all human beings who still care for one another. As for those who do not, we can only hope that they would realize that this is important. 

                There is this classic saying that says, “No man is an island”.  Although this has a straight forward message, this is also indirectly saying that you have to thank all the people who is constantly there for you all the time. This was what, in my opinion, the Department of Tourism (DOT) did. That one simple showing of gratitude through the ad campaigns could be enough for those who have been supporting the victims of Yolanda and the rest of the Philippines. I feel that this step by the DOT is a perfect way to show how thankful we are for every cent and every hour that our fellow human beings has been contributing to the efforts.  For other people, like the Yolanda victims, this is the best way that they could do after everything. This event just teaches us that we should have unity, initiative and generosity that would eventually lead us to an impeccable paradise. A paradise that we can call home. A home where all of us are happily satisfied.

Link to the editorial: http://www.mb.com.ph/editorial-the-philippines-says-thank-you/

Tomorrow, When the War Began - Third Media Log (Novel)

SUMMARY:

                The story started off with a video log that showed Ellie telling the story of how they ended up in their current situation. Ellie and her friends namely, Corrie, Kevin, Homer, Lee, Robyn and Fi, live in small country town called Wirrawee in Australia. Before their school starts, they decided to go on a vacation in a remote place they call “Hell”. During one night of their week stay at Hell, Ellie saw a number of fighter jets flying through the Australian sky in which they thought were Australian Air Force having a military exercise. Upon returning to their town, they witnessed their homes empty and their parents, along with the other people in town, were missing. All the electricity and water supply were cut. That was when they realized that something has gone absolutely wrong. Showground was the only place where they saw a power supply. They sneaked around the showground and found out that the people of the town are being held by an unknown foreign military. They had close encounters with the soldiers where one of them, Lee, was shot. Lee had to be treated by a local dentist who was also hiding in the shadows. The dentist then gave them an idea that the unknown military’s supply was being delivered by using the Heron Bridge. They all agreed to return to Hell where they can decide whether to hide until help comes or fight the soldiers. They chose to fight these soldiers at their town where they know the inside and outs of this place.  They were successful with their small fights around the town including one particular fight where they destroyed the Heron Bridge by blowing up a tanker placed below the bridge to cut the military’s supply. Despite being victorious with these fights, Ellie’s friend, Corrie, was shot and was in the danger of dying. Corrie’s boyfriend, Kevin, chose to surrender themselves to the military in order to treat Corrie’s wounds while the rest of the team returned back to Hell to regroup. Ellie explained that their battle is not finished yet and they are still willing to fight for their town. That ended Ellie’s video log. 

EVALUATION:

                John Marsden is a great writer in my opinion. I fully understood the story and was entertained throughout the story. I did have some difficulties understanding some of the parts of the story as most of them are based from the Australian culture. Moreover, some of the words he used in the story can only be understood by a reader if he/she also knows the Australian culture. The story has depth and a reader can truly feel the story. This is the first book of his Tomorrow Series and I am willing to buy the next books in order to continue reading the rest of the story.

REFLECTION:

                Through John Marsden’s first book, I was able to learn how to appreciate my time with my family and friends. I also learned the value of friendship, trust and unity. Like Ellie and her friends at this story, they were able to act accordingly as a group where no one gets left behind. Trust with one another, they used this in order to defeat some of the soldiers. The writer could also be telling us the value our life as a whole. We so often take it for granted that when disasters like the one in the story happened, most of us would panic and just give up. And lastly, I thought the writer was telling us to be optimistic with our lives. In times like this, sometimes giving up is not an option. Sometimes fighting what hurts us would solve the problem.  Though some readers might say that Ellie and her friends should not have been so aggressive in attacking the soldiers, I believe they have done the right thing at that situation. They are brave enough to take the risks and rescue their town. A mindset which every one of us should have, being brave through rough times. 

Fun With Dick and Jane (2005) - Second Media Log

Summary:

                This is a story about Dick and Jane’s life. Their life was great. Just like any typical American families, they have a healthy kid, they own a nice and big house in a peaceful neighborhood and they both have decent jobs… However, their faith had changed in the year 2000. Dick works for a company called Globodyne. His love for his job was enough to get him promoted as the new Vice President of Communication. He later found out that the CEO of Globodyne, Jack McCallister, had sold all of his shares and the company basically shut down. Jane also quit her job at a travel agency because she was convinced by Dick to just stay home and take care of their son, Billy. Because of the fear that they were going to be dispossessed of their home, they switched to being robbers and going crime. They would rob local stores, restaurants and car dealers. The last place they decided to rob was the bank where another couple, who also worked for the company, decided to do the same thing except that they were caught by the police. Traumatized with what happened to the couple, Dick and Jane decided to abandon doing criminal activities. But as soon as they heard Dick was going to be charged by the court for his role in the company, the couple lost hope. They met the CFO of the company, Frank Bascombe, who revealed Jack’s wrongdoings and suggested a plan as a sign of revenge. They tricked Jack at a local bank by stealing his signature and forging it to get the company’s money back. The next day, Jack learned from the local reporters that he basically gave all of his money to all the employees of the company. A news report later showed Dick and Jane giving away money to the other employees.  

Evaluation:

Image source: IMDb (imdb.com)

                According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), this movie is a total remake of the movie also entitled “Fun with Dick and Jane” which was filmed on 1977. Dean Parisot (director of the remake), along with the producers, had chosen specifically the cast that really blended in to their roles and had kept that comedic genre from the old film. Jim Carrey (Dick Harper) and Tea Leoni (Jane Harper) were the lead actors and they were excellent on their roles by bringing in a mix of laughs and seriousness. Also, the importance of the storyline was prioritized so that viewers could laugh, enjoy and at the same time, understand the movie. Their dialogue with the supporting actors were also superb in a sense that you can fully understand the story without any confusion. They could have worked better on the setting and the ending of the story but overall, this movie is definitely worth of any viewer’s time who is looking for a comedy movie.

Reflection:

          I believe the ones who really created the message were Gerald Gaiser (writer) and Ted Kotcheff (director), the ones who took care of the movie “Fun With Dick and Jane” in 1977. Dean Parisot (director of the 2005 remake) might have also added some of his own ideas to the story.The actors’ acting skills and dialogue appealed to my eyes. The funny conversation by the actors made me focus on what was happening in the story. Plus, the acting skills were good and funny. 
         The movie showed one reality of our society today, some rich people just take advantage of poor people. This can be seen with how the Globodyne Corporation shut down due to the CEO’s decision to sell all of his shares. Most of the employees’ money were invested in the company and were doomed after that terrible situation. Moreover, I can only conclude one thing on what these directors are trying to convey, that no matter how bad your situation may be, that is no excuse for us to do any crimes. 
          I personally think that the message was sent with enough intervention to get through the viewers’ mind. I feel this is a great way to teach us on what to do in situations like losing a job. It prevents us from going to crime to resolve any problems.
        Different people might view this message as inapplicable to their lives because some might say that the situation in the movie have the slightest chance that it would also happen to them. Other people, who might be doing crime themselves, might reconsider and repent for their actions. 
        They want to discourage their viewers’ to do any crimes no matter how hard their life is. Although it was all about Jack Harper's perspective and his creative skills in order to survive, his victims point of view was somehow omitted. 
         The message will be a sign of awareness to those who takes advantage of people. Although this story is fictional and supposed to be a comedy movie, it gives more than just entertaining and making people laugh. We can also learn how to value, respect and trust each other through rough and good times. 

Filipino children driven to the streets by crushing poverty (ML1)

SUMMARY:

         
         You will see them everywhere... From the side of rail roads, under the bridges, to the streets in most cities in the Philippine islands, you will see children living their lives in the slum. The totality of these street children is unknown but it is estimated that there are a million and a half.  The cause of this will teach you that they were runaways, victims of abuse, abandoned, or ultimately, "victims" of poverty. These are some of the reasons why they are working or begging for money in the streets. A missionary named Joe Dean Sola of the He Cares Foundation, a former street kid, does his best to help these children in his own ways. His knowledge on being a street child is enough for him to know exactly the words that will reach the hearts of the children, the advice that he could give them and the companionship he can provide to those who are in need. Through him, the children gained confidence and faith in their lives. The UNICEF is also contributing by teaching them the skills that they need in their current and future situations. Together, Joe Dean and the UNICEF is using the most powerful tool they could use to help these children, that is trust... 

EVALUATION:

         The documentary did a very good job displaying just enough information to the viewers about the situation of these children. He showed how the families live on the side of rail roads, how the kids survive in the streets and how their current environment could affect them. Although the video was uploaded years ago by World Focus in the video site, Youtube, the situation of these children is still the same today and the number never stopped increasing. The only good thing about this fact is that, it can still be an eye opener to the people who is yet to watch the video. A simple and straightforward video like plus a great dialogue like Mark Litke did might just be enough for the people to be aware and contribute to helping not only these children, but also their families...

REFLECTION:

  

                Poverty seems to be one of the biggest challenge for most countries in the world including the Philippines. Because of this, the economic growth has always been inconsistent throughout the years, that is why most of the Filipinos' lives had not improved but actually made their lives more unbearable. It is inevitable to conclude that it is the government's liability since the corruption is so widespread and publicly visible. Most people, who relied and gave their trust to these politicians, just seemed to accept this unjust actions. 

           World Focus assigned correspondent Mark Litke to study the lives of the Filipinos who are deeply affected by the poverty.  Mark did an excellent job confirming the problem. He had clearly shown the situation of most Filipino children in the streets of the nation. I, myself, had lived most of my life here in the Philippines. Ever since I was a kid, these street children are already found everywhere and as time went by, it became a normal sight to see. I am saddened by this fact and was also blaming the government for not doing anything about it. 

          Watching the video made me change my whole perspective about this problem. It made me realize that looking for something or someone to blame will not solve any problems we are currently facing. Of course, I feel sorry for these children for experiencing this situation they are not supposed to have and I also feel guilty for not doing something about it. But I think it doesn't just end on just being aware of the situation or saying, "I feel sorry for them." I believe the message being sent to us by this documentary is very clear. As cliché as it sounds, self-discipline is the most important trait that all of us should have. In fact, we should keep it in our minds that doing what we can do for the country is the most ideal thing. We can only achieve this by changing ourselves for the better and setting aside our personal interests. Self-discipline will teach the parents of every children to be responsible, will encourage the leaders of this nation to take the initiative, to be well-organized and to be honest all the time and will teach us, citizens, to be highly-productive and responsive to what is happening around us.

         This is what, I believe, the street children will achieve because they are surrounded by kind people today who had been sacrificing their time, like the UNICEF and the missionary in the video, for those who are in need. These are some of the modern day heroes we should put our trust into. If we are all brave enough to be like one of these heroes, the better future for everyone is only a matter of time...