Gamelan Concert

The gamelan concert was a great way to end the semester. It felt like it tied everything together and it gave us a full experience following the movie The Year of Living Dangerously since gamelan music was shown in the movie and we got to experience it first hand I. Our very own classroom. I also enjoyed Bill Bradbury’s background information on the music as he explained the sounds and the way different notes represent different things. It was just nice to listen to something totally new and to see fellow students be the ones to actually play the instruments and give us a full concert. It was just very special to see how the school teaches this art of playing Gamelan music, I didn’t even know existed. It shows the school liked to be involved in bringing exposure to different cultures and different art forms and the ability to connect us to it. We also had the change to go up to the “stage ” and feel and see the instruments up close, they are so beautiful and artistic I’m surprised they let students actually play on them, but I’m greatful they do. Overall it was just the perfect ending to an amazing class. I have learned so much from artist expressing their ideas and showing us different forms of art and different ways of displaying the art and bringing awareness to different important topics through the help of art. It was a very enjoyable class, I loved it! Thank you.

The Year of Living Dangerously

I liked this movie, it had great acting and it was very different. I loved Billy’s character and how he kept trying to get Guy to focus on the importance of people and chapter instead of just finding answers. It was great to see the many different and interesting people in the movie that Guy wanted to meet. I don’t know if it’s just because it was an older movie, but the focus and the actual background of the movie seemed very dark, like the lighting was also part of the dark situation the Indonesia was facing so I thought that was interesting. I liked the use of shadow puppetry in the movie is made it real and interesting. I much enjoyed the love story too, and the great acting. I thought it was really sad the way Billy died in such horrific manner, and it was awful how the president did not even get to see the message Billy had for him. I’m glad Guy was able to be there for him as Billy died, it was just so sad to know his death would not change the course of the economic and political struggles in his country. Great movie !

Native people of Baja California

It was very good to have Mike W. Come back to class and teach us about the revitalization of culture. He invited two guest speakers Theresa and Leonor, who were very interesting people since they are trilingual speaking PaiPai, kumeyay, and Spanish. They are from a small group of Baja native people that will most likely find their dialect extinct become, so it was a pleasure to have them in class since we were able to listen to their native tongue and it sounded very different and cool. They also told us a story of water and finding a way to preserve it instead of using it to our convince, to think twice and loo at the area surrounding us to find the importance of why things are the way they are. It was also great to know we can rely on the native people of whatever area we are trying to study as they are experts in the area since they have been there for generations and are aware of the changes that happened during the course of time. It was great to have Theresa and Leonor come to class and Mike to tell us more about culture revitalization.

The Art of Repurposing

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El Anatsui is a very interesting artist that uses metal, ceramic, bottle caps and wood in different forms. I liked his art form because it creates a picture or an idea from something people think has had its use and it could be discarded. I liked how he brings topics to his work and represents different point of views. It was interesting to see how they were installing his masterpiece stressed world made from bottle caps. He makes his art work a team effort and helps people from his community to get involved with art so that was very good to see.

The PBS documentary also talked about another repurposing artist. Swoon who’s ability to make a picture from sanding wood was very interesting. I liked how free she felt and how she didn’t let any one get in her way, she would go around the city in her bike as she found ideas and new art to work on. I especially liked how she got together with other people to create a repurposing draft, and see it go down the river. That was very cool.
Mark Bradford was the most interesting I thought, as he found a way of making art repurposing street ads. As we were watching it I thought how is this gonna look good? But then you see his art exhibit and it looks totally artistic, so i thought I just had to let him do his thing and the artwork will come to life. He was a very refreshing artist to watch. I really liked that PBS special.

Art Event: Native American Film Festival

Rhymes for young Ghouls
This was such a hard movie for me to watch. It was difficult to see the a depiction in the life of young American Indian Aila and see her fight every step of the way to not have to go to the government school. It was just so sad to see how she had to go through her moms suicide and the loss of her brother and really also her father, even though he did come back from prison, but he was not a very good role model she knew she could count on. It was a very stereotypical film I thought in which it showed Native American reservation life as being dark and heavy as it faces lots of alcoholism, violence, addictions, suicide racism, and many other heavy and negative ways of representation and suffering. It really was a hard film to watch, not that I only watch cartoons, but it was just hard to see the tremendous struggles such a young and once innocent girl has to go through just to make it through life. I just could not believe how horrific that school was and how the alternative would actually be better for Aila. I liked her sense of fight and desire to do what she wanted to do, that was a good part of the film. Not necessarily a movie I’d want to watch again but it was interesting to have been there and to experience it.

Whale Rider

This was a great story. What u liked the most was the beauty of New Zealand’s scenery,
This movie could really be about any cultural story since it deals with traditions and customs any culture might have. I really enjoyed the acting and the story line. Koto was a very stubborn man which made me not like him too much but I understood he just wanted the best. Pai’s determination was admirable and I think that was the best part of the film, since it has such a great message to just believe in yourself and forget what other think of what others might want for your life to be. Ofcourse it is extremely important for you to be respectful and see families prospectives and get their advice, but ultimately it is your decisions you have to live with the rest of your life, so I think this is a great story that shown the importance of determination and the validity of fallowing your dreams!

Smoke signals

Smoke signals was an interesting story. It tied very well with the movies we’ve been watching sun The Sapphires, and Rabbit Proof Fence. It is interesting to see how perception changes so drastically between two people, even when they are talking about the same person. Victor was very resentful towards his father and actually he had a right to be as his father was an alcoholic that would miss treat him, and would ultimately abandon him. On the other hand you see the admiration in Thomas towards Arthur’s father since his father saved Thomas from a house fire when he was a baby and in the accident his parents die, so I could absolutely see how Thomas could be so grateful to Arthur’s father, on his own way. They both have valid reasons to justify their feelings and emotions towards the same individual. It was just interesting to see how perspective can be so different, but that’s what makes it interesting, as if we all had the same perspective this would be a pretty boring world. Different perspectives and ideals bring different outcomes and that was the cases in this movie. It was interesting to see the truth come out at the end of the story, I like when you think you have a movie figured out and then the twist comes out. Good movie !

Rabbit foot fence

This was an eye opening story. I had never heard about the aboriginal kids in Australia, but their story was really heart wrenching. These children were definitely the stolen generation, their took away their families, their culture their innocence, all for the ignorant group of people that thought would help their country or a situation. I was almost in tears watching this movie, seeing how things can get to such a mess because some crazy ideologies. The hardest part of the movie was continue to think…wait this really did happen, sometimes we forget and think well it’s just a movie, but in this case something kept reminding myself this really happen to real children and real families and there is nothing that can be done to change it.
I’m sure there’s a lot more stories like this we may not ever hear, but I hope watching this story people become aware of the injustice that occurred and no one ever theirs to attempt it. Not necessarily with children being taken away, but just with people getting their rights taken away because of color, gender, age, or any other form of discrimination. Great movie, super sad but a good movie.

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

This movies was definitely very interesting, it’s not your usual Hollywood movie with a happy ending, it has many twists and turns, and I was confused at times on who the little seamstress was falling in love with. It was an eye opening movie as once I was not aware of the cultural revolution China faced many years ago. It was interesting to see how these two young men had to go the mountains to get re educated by the mountain people. Everyone had a learning curve though since the boys were able to teach the little seamstress how to read and told her stories and introduced her to western literature. I liked the un expected change you saw in the little seamstress as she was learning new things and her horizons kept getting wider, and her curiosity kept having her want to learn more and more, until she finally took a very important step to a new life of hope and change. Many people only hope for change, but don’t really do anything about it, many others don’t think change is possible and depending on the circumstances both may be true, but the little seamstress took her aspirations, her knowledge and hopes for change to a new level and went for it. I was hoping for them to re unite with her so we could see where her new life had taking her, but at least they leave us with the option to write our own ending and making it as happy as can be for her and for a changing China. Great movie.

Arts Event # 1

For my art event I went to experience the Greek Festival in Temecula. I have always been interested in Greek mythology, and on the the majestic views I see of Greece on travel magazines and movies. I lady I work with is in charge of the festival and I asked her to please remind me when the event was coming up, so on October 25 the festival took place in old town. It was a real experience to see so much art work, jewelry, music, paintings, and so much more. I got to try delicious Greek food like incredible pastries, and giros, Greek wines and various other delicious meals. They had folk dance, it was very cool to see everyone dancing as they gathered in a huge circle and put their arms on the neighbors shoulder and did a really cool move with their feel as they said opa! I really enjoyed the experience and will definitely will be going again next year.