Climate Change Around My Home

I am a highschool student in Brisbane, Australia and there's nothing I love more than my city. I've lived here my whole life and experienced everything. From downtown to the beach, it's quite lovely here. 

My older and younger brother are my best friends, we go everywhere together. We usually take a boat over to Moreton Island and play on the beach. The community over here is great, everyone is so friendly! The weather is very nice throughout the year. Average temperatures in the summer range from 21 - 29.8°C (69.8 - 85.6°F) with rain hitting the city the most this time of year. Crazy to think we get 426.6 mm (16.8") of rainfall in the season. December has the highest average of rainy days in the winter around 7 days. January and February average 6 and 5 days respectively. 

The rain starts to phase out going into autumn and temperatures drop to 15 - 25°C (59 - 77°F). Winters tend to get dry but are still nice. Dropping even further, we see temps of 11 - 21°C (51.8 - 69.8°F). I love the mornings in the winter because the air is crisp and clean. You can tell spring is coming around when the temperature becomes just like autumn. One thing to be worried about is UV rays from the sun. These can be damaging to your body so we have sunscreen available everywhere.

One thing that is very concerning is that most of my city could disappear due to rising sea levels. Seeing this I see a city that I love so much, gone. The shore lines of Moreton Island would be covered in water and homes would disappear in the community. Back on the mainland, most of the city would be under water. With just 5m of an increase in sea level, the Brisbane Airport would be gone and the M1 would be underwater. The Brisbane River would be flooded going a long way westward.

Looking into temperature and precipitation things look different. The temperature by mid-century in winter raise by a few degrees, making them warmer than usual. The summers get hotter as well. Rainfall will decrease around the city overall remaining stable. Intense heatwaves will be more common and be a threat to our health.

Temperature at mid-century and end-century up the coast from Brisbane

This impacts me because along with rising sea levels and global warming my everyday life could change. When my brothers and I visit Moreton Island, the shoreline will be gone along with the surrounding businesses and houses. Huge financial costs would be in order to move the airport, highway, and buildings. The things I love would be gone. The Downtown lifestyle, and beach vibes that you get almost everyday. 

Rear Window

Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window, takes us into the mind of  LB Jefferies, a man stricken to a wheelchair after a photography incident. As Jefferies sits in his wheelchair with a broken leg, we pan around an apartment complex to see all walks of life; the young dancer, an old couple, a lonely man, and a new wed couple moving in together for the first time.This Opening Image really helps set up what we are seeing.

As Jefferies sits and watches all his neighbors, he is stuck with the thought of marriage to his girlfriend Lisa Fremont. She is a rich girl who has no idea for adventure or survival. Through out the movie he realizes that she is the one. When Jefferies looks out across the apartment complex, he notices a man who has to take care of his sick wife, who seems to be a burden. As many nights pass,  the neighbor keeps getting more and more suspicious.

As all this goes on, we are stuck in the apartment with Jefferies. This carmera movment really helps set the tone of the film, we feeling like we are in a wheelchair with a broken leg. Even though there were several people in the same scene at times, we never really get an over the shoulder dialogue with others.

Characteristics of the film are such as acting, VFX, and the meaning of the film. Acting was quite suprisingly good. The actors were spot on with emotion and timing. VFX were quite cheesy by today's standards, but back in 1954, they were  spot on. From the helicopter in the beginning to Jefferies falling out the window. Implicit meaning really showed us what a peeping tom or a creeper does. All though this was more mild, it still was showing us something that we would never do. Explicit meaing showed us how exactly restricted and immovable some one with a disability can be. Of course, this seems a bit silly when you are dealing with murder, but it seems to work just fine.

After Jefferies and his fiance Lisa gather enough evidence, Lisa gets caught by Lars Thorwald, or suspected murderer. When she is stuck in here apartment and the police show up to arrest Lisa, Thorwald finds out who exactly is out to get him. When Lisa is taking to the police station, Thorwald pays Jefferies a visit. This is where Hitchcock gives us tension in the film. With Thorwald walking towards Jefferies, but blinded by each flash of his camera, we can't help but feel scared for what might happen.

When Thorwald throws Jefferies out the window, the police show up in time to save the day. The catch Thorwald and he confesses everything. With Jeffreies wearing two leg casts, he finally gets to sleep well at night with his new wife.

1954 learned a lot from this film. With a lot of Hitchcock movies breaking social bounds, it really helps this time period grow to what it has become. With out Hitchcock, film would be behind on a lot of things.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid came out in 1969, which was a big hit because it was different from other westerns at that time. In this movie, we lean towards the bad guys and actually care for them. In the Opening Image, we See Butch Cassidy with a town sheriff leaving a closed bank. We also see The Sundance Kid playing poker who shows of his gun slinging skills.

At the beginning, we see what they want us to see, but through out the movie we start to see who the two outlaws really are. Further on we get the implicit meaning of the movie which is you can't outrun what you've done, especially the law. Along with the two, and we get this a lot, but montage is huge in this movie. A few scenes were Butch and Etta Place ride the bicycle together and the journey to big cities when the go to Bolivia.

We continue with the set-up where butch decides to rob a Union Pacific train, but not everything goes to plan when they get interrupted the second time. The owner of the train sends six heavily armed men to track down and kill Butch and Sundance.

With this great chase scene, we get a look at the music and the writing of the film. Winning an Oscar really makes this movie worth it. From writing and music, it was perfect. the chase scenes kept me focused and the dialogue added more to the story. Also in the writing, we root for the "villains" which are of course, Butch and Sundance. We get to know them more and more, and in the end, we see the 6 men, and the Bolivian Police as the bad guys because we get attached to the main characters.

After the two get chased away, a choice is made to go to Bolivia in hopes of mining gold to make money. After they get there, their old habits follow them; they continue to rob banks. Throughout the movie, the film really spoke to me and kept my attention when they two would get into a perilous situation.

After the two are wanted by the Bolivian Police, they are spotted in a town square and get into a fire fight with the police. With much debate and dialogue, the two are seen with a Final Image of continuing to live another day. This left with a sense of hope for our villains, but the gunshots and still image of the two running let us know what really happened.

Singin' in the Rain

In Singin' in the Rain (1952), a movie studio, Monumental Pictures is set out to change from silent films to talking pictures. In this Musical genre film, we get dancing, singing, and some comedy to make it a fun watch. It is packed with songs to keep everyone entertained. Two famous movie actors, Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont, face hardships from the movie industry, Lockwood finds what he really wants to do.

In the beginning of the film, we get a look at where Lockwood came from. He meet his friend Cosmo Brown when he was young, and have stuck together through everything. We see how humble Lockwood is and how much of a hard worker he can be in movies. This Opening Image helps us better understand where Lockwood comes from, and where he would like to go. "Dignity, always dignity," he keeps saying.

Later one we meet Kathy Selden who mistakes Lockwood for a criminal. We find out that she doesn't like big movie actors because they "can't act". This puts Lockwood into a rough spot for his thoughts, he thinks he's not a good actor. With this eating away at him, he continues to run into Selden time and time again. When he loses her, she is all he can think about for three weeks. In this time, the president of Monumental Pictures, tells Lockwood and Brown that they are switching to talking pictures. This is where Selden meets back up with Lockwood, she is to star in the first talking picture with Lockwood himself. This is our Catalyst of the film.

While the two get to know each other more and more, the begin to see romance start to build between them. They soon start to sing together on a movie set. This the Mid Point in the film.

With the new talking picture out on preview, the audience finds it to be a funny because of the audio out of sync. Everybody hates the new picture and find Lockwood and Lamont to be junk actors. Brings down Lockwood a lot and makes him want to quit acting. With this, All is Lost is next. He decides to make a musical to save his career, all before "The Dueling Cavalier" is released to the public. They run into a hard spot when they realize that Lamont would be upset with out her in the production. Brown proposes an ideas to make sure this doesn't happen; have Selden sing behind camera for Lamont.

At the Premiere of "The Dueling Cavalier", the audience loves the movie and ask for more. Once Lamont goes on stage for an encore, Kathy sings right behind the curtain. Lockwood's plan the whole time was to show who the real singer and the "real star of the film" is. Once the curtain is pulled, Selden runs away crying, but is pulled back to Lockwood and starts her career as a movie star.

Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace was a film I haven't seen before and I was quite surprised by it. The main story revolves around the abolition of the slave trade in the British Colonies in the late 1700's. The story line followed the simple 3 act guideline that most movies go off of.  William Wilberforce is a rather wealthy man who fights for what he believes is right. Dialogue in the movie was quite good. many scenes have conversations between two people. One that stood out to me was between Wilberforce and Barbra Spooner. They both believe for what is right and will fight for it. When Spooner is talking with Wilberforce, the words that they use help with the time period that this takes place and also what they actually know. What they know, I mean that they are well educated and you can tell how much they know.

The film follows the guidelines pretty well. With the Opening Image we see him help a horse from being abused. This is an example of Save the Cat that makes us love the main character. Wilberforce is sick and this creates a sense of curiosity of what he is sick with. He arrives at what we assume is his house (which is huge) and is aided by his servants. This adds to the sense of wealth that he has. Later on we meet William Pit who is Wilberforce's friend. He presents the theme of the movie which goes along the lines of Wilberforce changing the world for the better with abolition of slavery. This is the set up for the movie as well. Pit, running for Prime Minister and Wilberforce ahead in politics, to abolish slavery.

After this we have the catalyst which comes from the set up. Should he take on the slave trade? How can he stop it? He is tormented by the thought of slaves and this fuels his determination to help all those in need. The debate is pretty simple if we look at it. He decides to present a bill to the House of ending the slave trade. Now for the Fun and Games of the movie. Wilberforce assembles his team to help propose his bill. He gathers evidence from several people and tries to convince the wealthy to think about human rights and slavery. With little success with the house it ends up not working. Soon after Wilberforce gets sick and is gone for two years. This is our Mid-Point.

Two years later he is then introduced to Spooner, which creates a love story for the main character. Our B-Story is now appearing to the viewer. With the Wilberforce and Spooner meeting each other, Wilberforce tells the story of how he has failed to pass his bill. With our dark night of the soul, he convinces him to try again, he agrees. With Wilberforce gathering his team back, they come up with a way to cheat. In doing so, presents us with the Dues ex Machima. Lord Charles Fox, gives everyone in the house a ticket to the races. They have the most boring presenter give the idea about checking all ships and finds a loophole in the end of the slave trade. With nobody to oppose the bill, it is passed.

The Finale is the process of the bill passing and the celebration of a new era. The Final Image is Wilberforce completing the theme, making a change in the world. He has fought for what is right.

Batman Begins

The other day in class, we watched Batman Begins, which was a quite a good film. The main character Bruce Wayne is pit against himself and those around him. In the film, he decides between many things which change the way he lives. I will break up the movie into the three different acts; act 1, 2, and 3.

In the first act we have Opening Image, theme, set up, catalyst, and debate. With Opening Image, we get a look at what our main character is really about. We see Bruce, who is the son of a rich man. We also see that the setting is in present day. Switching scenes we see an older version of Bruce who looks rugged but strong. He is in a strange part of the world who is imprisoned. Later on we get to know Bruce more and find out what his purpose is. The Theme is next and we receive this from Ducard, a side character, not Bruce, the main character.  What Ducard says to Bruce at the begging of the film is, "To be more than a man is to be a legend." This is what our movie is set around and from this we can see it through out the whole film. Next we have a set up for the film and that proposes questions for our hero. What does Bruce fear? Where does he come from? We see that Bruce is set on one thing, revenge. At this time we get a look into Bruce's past by seeing a younger him. This breaks into the Catalyst. When out with his parents, his childhood fear of bats starts hitting him hard when he goes to the opera. After leaving early due to his fear, his father is held up at gun point and shot, along with his mother. For years Bruce feels that his parents death is his fault. When he's older, he goes to his killers hearing with a gun, intending to shot him. That doesn't happen because someone beat him to it. At this point, we get a debate. Bruce finally realizes that killing is no the way things should be. He figures out that the justice system is corrupt and realizes what justice truly is. Now we break into Act 2.

First off we have a B-Story. With this we meet Jonathan Crane, who is the director at a mental institution. We also meet Carmine Falcone, gang leader, and Jim Gordon, a police officer. All those that we meet, have a connection to Bruce in someway. At this point, Bruce fights the system and goes off to have a good time. This is the Fun and Games aspect of the film. Bruce becomes an alter ego by playing with weapons, making a impenetrable suit, and by making a name for himself. By doing this we come to the Midpoint. This part is where Batman captures Falcone and everything goes down hill. Crane, or The Scarecrow, meets Batman and uses a gas to make him scared of what he fears most. At this point we see Batman start to fall, or when the Bad Guys Close In. Bruce manor is burned down, and the Bat cave is destroyed. Batman disappears for while, while bad guys roam the streets and wreak havoc. All is lost comes after this and we see that there is almost nothing that can help Batman. Relationships crumble while the bad guy triumphs over all. Finally we have Dark Night of the Soul (no pun intended), where Bruce is saved by Alfred and comes to a decision on what needs to happen. Now we break into Act 3

Batman Starts to fight back and realizes that Ducard, his mentor, is trying to destroy Gotham. When fighting Ducard, Batman receives help from Gordon by destroying the train line. This is the Dues ex machima, Gordon helps Batman. After the city is saved and order is returned to everyone. We come to the Finalle, Bruce gets Wayne Manor built again and gets the girl. The Final Image that we are left with, is Batman, Saving the day again from thugs and murders. Gordon gives Batman one final thing to leave us with suspense for Batman to return.