Micheal Clayton

I had never seen the film “Michael Clayton” before our little English class. And if one is being honest, I loved it. The film delivers a thrilling interpersonal plot while simultaneously commenting on notion of “what is a meaningful life?”
The film may not focus directly on the environment, but I feel that it does cleverly shed light on some of the real life issues the world is faced with every day. Major corporations are not as honest as they should be when faced with the facts/consequences of their actions. It seems that a large portion of the world focuses image and profit, while a very small, often ridiculed percentage focus on the reality of detrimental actions. The company uNorth, while fictional, shows the depravity that eventually rears its head during the pursuit of saving image and profit. An individual who is established to be human can be twisted into a monster in the face of fear. The fear of losing wealth, or material items(Tilda Swinton’s Character). Truth is vital to the overall survival of our society and or species.
My favorite aspect of the film was the transformation that Michael Clayton goes through. His transformation is complete in the face of growing threats in his life. When his car explodes he finally realizes how destructive the world he lives in is. The companies, the firms, hell even the bars, all of these institutions consume and destroy. One must attempt to rise above it, even if only to catch a breath of realization. The realization that we as individuals are being shaped into the cogs of a destructive machine. The blind pursuit of profit or high social standing comes at the cost of the world around us. We are dependent on this world, not the other way around.

The Lecture of Eric Schlosser

I recently had the great pleasure of attending a lecture by Eric Schlosser, a journalist and the author of “Fast Food Nation” and “Reefer Madness”. Schlosser came to the university known as Ohio to discuss his recent work in examining the cold and monstrous world of fast food.
The drive to nourish ourselves is one of the most basic needs shared not just amongst humans, but all living creatures. Everything we have done on our short amount of time on this planet is built upon this need. Therefore this need should be handled with intelligence, respect, and acknowledgment. But the keyword here is “should”. As people like Mr. Schlosser have shown us, the way in which we handle our food(some would argue that what eat now is barely food.) is barbaric and riddled with greed.
The lecture itself was both entertaining and depressing. I did enjoy the conversational tone that Schlosser kept during even the most revolting revelations. The tone gave the experience a “classroom discussion” feel. For those of you that have read “Fast Food Nation” the lecture was a good summary of the work. The repetition of the idea, “ we must protect our food” never became stale during the lecture due to the realization of who Schlosser is. He isn’t just an author plugging a book, a lobbyer, or even a cracked health-nut…he is a concerned human. Concerned about the lack of honesty in our food; concerned about the disregard for sentient life.
One thing that I am glad that Schlosser addressed is the mentality that fast food corporations have developed for their “product” and their own employees. It is heart-breaking when you realize that these companies are creating a sub culture to produce drones. They actually desire a culture that values low pay, low intelligence, no benefits, and extremely high turnover. The birth of McDonalds in southern California also gave birth to this mentality. It is a supposed good way of creating a efficient/cheap business. It is so good in fact that almost every other fast food corporation adopted the outlook. It’s amazing how popular a bad idea can become. Let’s just make the money, consequences be damned! It kind of makes one ashamed to be human. This disrespect for employees extends to “the product”. Animals are being systematically being tortured before they are slaughtered. I will not say that it is wrong to eat meat, but there are no words to justify the abhorrent behavior being delivered on sentient beings.
I’m happy that Eric Schlosser came to OU, and even happier about the work that he is doing. All of our earthly systems are based on the need for food, and we must learn to respect that. Knowledge is power and spreading that power is the only way to change things.

A shift.

This blog will now be used for my English 460 class.

Bright Leaves

I want to start off by saying that I truly enjoyed this documentary, but maybe not for the intended reasons. It is one of the more accurate depictions of "stream of consciousness" I have seen lately. And that is probably its greatest strength and weakness. I say weakness because I do not believe that type of...delivery was Ross McElwee's intention. I'm going to break my review, for lack of a better word, into sections.
NARRATION/PERSONA- The sound and inflection of Ross McElwee's voice has to be an acquired taste. But to the virgin viewer it was annoying and riddled with pretentious remarks. Every line is said with dire consequence and breathless anguish. I remember thinking, "He must weigh 3 tons he's so full of himself." There is an blatant attempt to sound intellectual and deep, or at least impress those who are perceived as intellectual(and deep). However, due to the obviousness of his attempts Ross comes off as bothersome and obnoxious. Like the over-enthused freshman on that first day of college Ross cannot see how transparent he is making himself, "Look Professor! See how smart I am? I'm advanced and deep, you will benefit from what I have to say..."
CONTENT- As someone who writes, I feel that I sometimes become scattered with thoughts and ideas. The process of taking what is in my head, and scrawling it on paper is often tiring and clumsy. But I hold no candle to Ross McElwee. His documentary has roughly 15-20 individual stories, which are barely, BARELY tied together. The film starts off with Ross missing the south, then a reconnecting with his family, then an obsession with the (false)biographical information of an old film, then an obsession with tobacco, then questioning the impact of tobacco...I could keep going, but my point is made. The scattered and sometimes odd tangents are what makes this movie "stream of consciousness". That all being said each little story is AMAZINGLY entertaining! I want Ross to break each one down/apart and make them their own documentary. A mini-series maybe. One about his son and the urge to connect. One about tobacco farmers and their thoughts on the harmful plant. ect.
Again, I am very happy I watched this(with one of the best class/groups on the planet). The movie, for me at least, represents one of the many paths writer's/filmmakers can take in the art of refining their craft. Ross McElwee has attempted to string together the fragments and stories of his mind, and the end result speaks volumes on Ross himself, and little about the world he obsessively films.
~Zac

Sunset

The Sun is melting into the earth
Bleeding out for the nocturnal respite
The ending flickers strand scarlet ribbons in the sky
And as the encore plays, the Moon stirs awake
Splashing ivory brilliance on emerald hills
The shadows stretch out, testing their limits
Playing their shifting games of tag

~Zachary Webb

Morning

Morning

Slowly eyelids lift and light spills in
The smell of sweat and booze linger in the air
Joints pop and muscles stretch as my body reanimates
Breath is labored and the throat is dry
A burst of pain, white hot embers flare in my skull
A collage of images flood the mind
Distorted faces frozen in silent laughter Good night?
Maybe I don’t remember, never remember
Can’t keep doing this
I drink and call her, drink and call her
A cold hand runs down my spine, bringing me back down
She’s awake too
“Are you going?”
“I…I don’t know.”
Shouldn’t be doing this
Can’t move forward if I keep laying down
“Don’t go.”
Stop thinking with the want
Start thinking with the need
Can’t keep doing
this

~Zachary Webb

Don't Fade Away

I felt like posting a few more things to my blog. This is one of my poems. I wrote this while in my Robert Frost phase. I often enjoy writing poetry that rhymes, but there is a danger in that. Are you writing for the idea, or for the rhyme?


Don't Fade Away

There’s nothing left to linger,
Deep within my head.
The memories have all faded,
And soon they will be dead.
Black and white photos,
That once burned so bright.
Now only flicker,
Like matches in the night.
And when the mind decays,
The heart is sure to follow.
Yielding to the void,
Becoming frail and hollow.
Will I be no different?
When all is finally gone.
I’ll vanish like the moon,
In the light of breaching dawn.