Multi-Genre Research Paper- The Star Wars Franchise and its Unforgettable Characters

Prologue

 

Hello Readers!

            If you love movies and science fiction you are going to enjoy reading my research paper. It is about the Star Wars saga and the unforgettable characters that are now known worldwide. I choose this topic because the Star Wars films are among my favorite pictures and I thought it might be interesting to learn more about them. I think Star Wars is more than just a film, it is a “culture changing” saga, and with this project I wanted to discover why.

My main focus on the research is on the characters and the story. I’m also narrating some of the events in the original trilogy because some people from my generation have seen the prequels but have not seen the original trilogy which I consider the most influential. The genres that you will see on the research are: a eulogy, a movie review, an obituary and a quiz. Through the genres I want the readers to learn a little bit about the characters, for example: Anakin Skywalker, Yoda, Luke Skywalker, etc. I hope this research paper will make you reader more interested in the Star Wars saga which as I said before is great. Hope you enjoy it.

Sincerely,

José A. Santos Hernández

 

Introduction

The force of Star Wars will always be with us because the Star Wars saga is one of the most memorable franchises in all cinema history. It is one of the most famous and most recognizable film sagas in movie history. Most people around the world have at least heard of these films. They come from the imagination of a single man, George Lucas, but now the Star Wars’ franchise, including the story and the characters are among the most unforgettable in movie history and science fiction.

The first Star Wars film which is really the four installment of the saga was released on May 25, 1977 and it was the highest grossing film of all time. In its opening weekend it grossed $1.5 million, and $775 million overall (Dirk, filmsite). It was revolutionary in almost every aspect. From the beginning of the movie we are captivated by what has become a famous line in cinema, “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…” and then we hear one of the greatest, if not the greatest score in cinema history, created by John Williams. I must admit that I’m jealous of those who were able to see this stunning film in a movie theater because it must have been an amazing “out of the body” experience.

The film introduces us characters that are now known worldwide. Two of these characters are droids, R2-D2 and C-3PO. These two are the funny characters of the story and in some way we are watching the events of the film through their point of view. Other main characters of the film are Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo. These characters were played by Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford respectively. The old Jedi master of the film is Obi-Wan Kenobi played by Sir Alec Guinness, the only “veteran” actor of the film. In fact the three main characters, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford were unknown by the time the film was released, nevertheless it didn’t affect the film and they became hugely famous with the Star Wars saga.

However the character that is more remembered is the film villain, and one of the greatest in all cinema, the evil and menacing Darth Vader. His name has an interesting story, Darth is a variation of dark, and Vader is a variation of father so his name means Dark Father (Edwards,44). The reason for this name is obvious if we know the story. This character was brought to life by two actors; David Prowse who impersonates him and James Earl Jones which was his voice. In the first film this character is just the villain but when the second Star Wars film was released, The Empire Strikes Back, he revealed a secret that was a turning point in the saga.

 The second Star Wars film was released in 1980 and many people considered it greater than original. In this film the concept of the Force is more explore than in the first film. In this film we meet a new character which is a Jedi master that will complete Luke’s training in the ways of the Force, named Yoda. Yoda is a very interesting character because he is very small but very powerful with the Force and he has a very peculiar way of speaking. This character was created by a collaboration of Lucas and Frank Oz, the puppeteer of The Muppet Show, and this is what movie critic Roger Ebert has to say about their creation “Oz and Lucas were not content to make Yoda realistic. They wanted to make him a good actor, too. And they did; in his range of wisdom and emotion, Yoda may actually give the best performance in the movie.”

The second Star Wars film is also the most important of the entire saga because as I said before in this installment a very important secret is revealed. All this happen after the climactic battle between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. When Luke is defeated by Vader the most famous secret in movie history is revealed. Vader tells Luke “Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father.”, and Luke answers “He told me enough! He told me you killed him!”, and Vader replies “No. I am your father.” 

The last film in the original trilogy of Star Wars is Return of the Jedi, and was released in 1983. In this film another important secret of the saga is revealed. We learned that Leia and Luke are twins that were separated when born in order to protect them from Vader. In this installment we get to meet the Emperor played by Ian MacDiarmid which is Vader’s master. Like all Star Wars films it has wonderful special effects and a famous last battle between Luke and Vader. This last battle is a very emotional one because Luke manages to redeem his father. Vader can’t stand watching the Emperor nearly killing his son and at the last moment he decides to sacrifice himself and killed the Emperor. Because Vader knew he was going to die he asks Luke to take off his mask in order to see him with his own eyes. This is the first time in the saga we get the chance of seeing Darth Vader as a human being.

The influences of Star Wars in the cinema are huge. Star Wars was the first real blockbuster. Jaws was a big blockbuster in 1975 but not as huge as Star Wars. With Star Wars the tendency of releasing movies with great special effects and huge propaganda in summer time was born. Star Wars was also one of the first films with such a huge marketing impact. There were action figures, TV shows, even cereals with the face of Luke Skywalker on their boxes. Star Wars’ score also made hugely famous the already Academy Award winner composer John Williams, who won another Oscar for Star War. Star Wars’ score is considered by the American Film Institute (AFI) as the greatest score in movie history because isn’t just a score it is another character.

George Lucas has also helped to created Disney’s Pixar. Since the release of the first trilogy his team was working on a way to reproduce all the special effects used on the original films but without expending so much money. Lucas had many things on his mind for the prequels but he felt he didn’t have enough technology to make them the way he want them. That is why he contributed in the creation of digitally animated pictures. In this way he contributed to the creation of Disney’s Pixar and films such as Jurassic Park and Titanic.

The Star Wars saga isn’t only a great example of storytelling but is also a great example of hard work. George Lucas never thought that he was going to be able to finish the complete trilogy, “It was desperate just to get the first one made. But the idea of actually doing the other two was this huge Mount Everest.”(Schickel,61), but the result of all his work is just stunning. He created a culture-changing saga (Schickel,61) that still amazes us by its special effects, great storytelling and its unforgettable characters. Star Wars is a saga that will last for a long long time, and whose force will always be with us.

 

Genres

Movie Review

Star Wars–Episode I: The Phantom Menace

BY JOSE SANTOS/ May 17, 1999

***(Warning: Contains Spoilers)***                                                                     

After sixteen years since Star Wars Episode IV: Return of the Jedi, George Lucas tells us the story of Anakin Skywalker the boy who will become Dart Vader. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is the first episode in the famous Star Wars saga. It introduces us some new characters but there are also familiar ones. We meet a young Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) who is still an apprentice, and his master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson). They are on a mission to persuade the Trade Federation of not invading the world of Naboo, but everything goes wrong on the mission and they decide to protect the ruler of Naboo, Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman).

When they get to Naboo they discovered that Queen Amidala is already trapped by soldiers of the Trade Federation and they rescue her and decide to escape to Coruscant, the capital world of the Republic. On their way to Coruscant they have problems with the ship and they have to stop for provisions on the desert planet of Tatooine. It is there where they meet a young boy named Anakin Skywalker.

From the moment Qui-Gon meets Anakin he is impressed by how strong the Force is with him. He believes Anakin might be “The Chosen One”, which according to a prophecy means that he will be the one who will bring balance to the Force. For that reason he decides to take him as an apprentice.

While they are on Tatooine some of the most exciting scenes of the film takes place. The pod- racers scene is a great example of Lucas ability to create wonderful visuals. It resembles the chariot race in the film Ben-Hur but with incredible special effects. We also meet a mysterious warrior who attacks Qui- Gon when he is leaving the planet. He is a Sith Lord named Dart Maul who was sent to kill the Jedi and prevent them from taking the Queen to Coruscant.

In Coruscant Qui- Gon tells the Jedi Council about the mysterious warrior who attacked them on Tatooine and about the young boy he meet there. On Coruscant we meet another familiar character, Yoda. This time Yoda is represented by a much younger puppet and is the head of the Jedi Council. Yoda disagrees with the idea of training Anakin because he believes that there’s too much fear in him which makes him too vulnerable to the dark side. However Qui- Gon decides to train Anakin without the approval of the Jedi Council and takes him as his apprentice.

The movie ends with a battle in the planet Naboo between the army of the Trade Federation and those of some peculiar Naboo natives. Just like the original films it is full of incredible special effects but this time they include digital ones. George Lucas hasn’t lost his touch. He made a film fun to watch and with incredible visuals. I know most of you will agree.

Quizz

Name______________________________________              Date ________________________________

I.D. ________________________________                                Section ____________________________

 

Quiz: Star Wars Movies

I. Match the characters with the right characteristics.

____ Luke Skywalker                                     a. A protocol droid.

____ Leia Organa                                             b. Head of the Jedi Council and one of the most

____ Han Solo                                                   powerful Jedi.

____ C-3PO                                                        c. Queen of Naboo.

____ R2-D2                                                        d. Twin sister of Luke Skywalker.

____ Anakin Skywalker                                 e. Master and friend of Anakin.

____ Obi Wan Kenobi                                    f. Captain of the Millennium Falcon.

____ Yoda                                                          g. A brave little droid.

____Padme Amidala                                      h. Luke and Leia’s father.

____ Chancellor Palpatine                           i. Young hero of the original trilogy.

                                                                                  j. The evil Emperor.

II. Choose the right answer.

1. When the first Star Wars film was released?
   1. 1998.
   2. 1977.
   3. 1960.
2. Who created the film score?
   1. Henry Mancini.
   2. George Lucas.
   3. John Williams.
3. Who’s the director of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope?
   1. George Lucas.
   2. Francis Ford Coppola.
   3. Steven Spielberg.
4. Which the actor played Luke Skywalker on the saga?
   1. Harrison Ford.
   2. Mark Hamill.
   3. Ewan McGregor.
5. Which actor was Darth Vader’s voice?
   1. James Earl Jones.
   2. Sir Alec Guinness.
   3. Hayden Christensen.
6. In which episode Darth Vader tells Luke the truth about his father?
   1. Episode II.
   2. Episode V.
   3. Episode VI.
7. Which movie quote became famous with Star Wars?
   1. “I’ll be back.”
   2. “…Bond. James Bond.”
   3. “May the Force be with You.”
8. In which year Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace was released
   1. 1997.
   2. 1999.
   3. 2000.
9. Which actress played Princess Leia?
   1. Carrie Fisher.
   2. Natalie Portman.
   3. Marilyn Monroe.
10. Which film became the highest grossing film of all time in 1977?
    1. Jaws.
    2. Annie Hall.
    3. Star Wars.

Obituary

Yoda

To the memory of Yoda,

Who has always been an inspiration for every Jedi.

His wisdom and counsel guide the Jedi Council for many years.

He became the Jedi master of hundreds of Jedis in his 900 years.

 Now he has become one with the force

And we must let him go.

WE WILL ALWAYS MISS YOU

 

Eulogy

The origins of Anakin Skywalker are a sort of a mystery but many people believe he was created by Darth Plagueis who has the power to control the midichlorians and create life. He lived in Tatooine with his mother until age 9 when he was discovered by Qui-Gon Jinn, a former Jedi master. While he lived in Tatooine with his mother he was a slave and learned how to build robots and ships, for example one of his creations was C-3PO.

When Qui-Gon discovered him he felt that Anakin was very strong with the force, even more than Jedi master Yoda, and he wasn’t wrong. That’s the reason Qui-Gon knew he was the “chosen one”. According to the prophecy “The Chosen One” is the Jedi who was going to bring balance to the force and end with the Siths. Yoda felt that Anakin was too old to be trained as a Jedi and he also felt that Anakin was full of insecurities. However Qui-Gon didn’t listen to Yoda’s advice and he decided to train Anakin.

In this way Anakin began his training to become a Jedi. During his teenage years Anakin was in different missions alongside Obi-Wan Kenobi, his new master, until he was 18, when he and Obi-Wan Kenobi where asked to protect Senator Padme Amidala. Anakin started a forbidden romance with his future wife, Senator Padme Amidala, during the Clone Wars. He married her after the encounter with Count Dooku that made him lost his arm. It was a very difficult situation because if the Jedi Order discovered him he would have been expelled from it.

It was exactly during these years that Anakin seduction to the dark side began. When he was saving Counselor Palpatine he fought with Count Dooku and killed him without reason, which is against the Jedi Law. Then he discovered that Padme was pregnant and he was afraid of losing her at childbirth. He was afraid of dead because he already lost his mother and he wasn’t able to do anything. Palpatine which was Darth Lord knew Anakin uncertainties and used them to seduce him into the dark side.

Everyone knows that Anakin wasn’t strong enough and was seduced by the dark side and became Darth Vader. But he wasn’t a monster like many people think. He felt that he didn’t have anyone in the world when he knew about Padme’s dead. He never knew that he was father of two children until 19 years later when he meet a young boy that was going to change his life forever, his son Luke Skywalker. He became obsessed with the idea of having a son and he wanted him to join the dark side but the reason for it was to protect Luke from the Emperor.

When many people didn’t believe that there was good inside of Vader, Luke knew that wasn’t true. He was decided to redeem his father and he did it. Vader transformed himself into Anakin by making the biggest sacrifice, giving his life for the life of his son. After all he was “The Chosen One” because he saved us from the Empire and ended with the Siths’ control of the galaxy.  Anakin Skywalker was alive inside Darth Vader and that’s what is important. We never lost him.

Annotated Bibliography

Empire of Dreams: The Story of the ‘Star Wars’ Trilogy. Directed by Edith Becker and Kevin

This documentary which is part of the special features of the DVD special edition of the Star Wars trilogy provides a complete inside look at the making of the original trilogy. It contains interviews with the cast and crew as well as information about the special effects, writing, production, marketing, etc.  It start by explaining how difficult was to create the original one and the unexpected success of the film, and it ends with the creation of an empire of dreams.

 

Gavin Edwards. . “THE CULT of DARTH VADER. ” Rolling Stone  2 Jun 2005: 43-

44,46. Academic Research Library. ProQuest.  Biblioteca General del Rum, Mayagüez,P.R.  14 Apr. 2009 http://www.proquest.com/

In this article Gavin Edwards from the Rolling Stones magazine interviewed George Lucas about the creation of Darth Vader in the famous Star Wars saga. Lucas answered questions about the origins of the Darth Vader character, the meaning of his name, the meaning of his life, etc. It is great for those who want to learn about this character because it is a very complete article about the creation of Darth Vader, the one who has become the ultimate movie villain.

Tim Dirks. Greatest Films. 18 April.2009 <www.filmsite.org/starw.html>.       

            This site provides information about classic Hollywood landmark films among them Star

Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope (1977). It gives information about the film including: budget, influences, historical timeline, prequels and sequels, etc. It also offers a complete narration of the film and most of the dialogues in the film. It is preferred among films scholars and highly recommended by film critics.

Richard Corliss, Lina Lofaro. “DARK SIDE RISING. ” Time.  9 May 2005: 52-57.

ABI/INFORM Global. ProQuest.  Biblioteca General del Rum, Mayagüez,P.R. 14 Apr.2009 <http://www.proquest.com/&gt;

This article supplies a look back in the Star Wars saga to introduce the readers to the arrival of the last installment in the saga, Star Wars: The Revenge of the Sith. It gives some sort of introduction about the original trilogy and it gives information about their production. It also gives you information about Revenge of the Sith and the new trilogy and how it completes the original and makes the saga greater.

 

 Richard Schickel. . “A LOOK BACK IN WONDER. ” Time  9 May 2005: 61-

62. ABI/INFORM Global. ProQuest.  Biblioteca General del Rum, Mayagüez,P.R.  14 Apr. 2009 http://www.proquest.com/

In this article film critic Richard Schickel from Times Magazine talks with director George Lucas about the Star Wars saga and what he will do now that the saga is completed.  They both speak about how impossible the idea of finishing the saga was for George Lucas, and how limited technology stopped the production of the prequels for many years. Schickel asks Lucas which new projects he had in mind and how the fame of Star Wars will affect them. Lucas also reflects about how the production of Star Wars has changed his career and about the fact that his saga will always be remembered. 

 

Epilogue

            This research paper has been a great experience to me and also a fun one. When I started it I thought that the Star Wars saga was just great but I wasn’t a huge fan of it. With the research experience I learned a lot about the characters and about the Star Wars Universe. I must admit that I wouldn’t have made a research if it wasn’t for a class, but I learned that if I choose a topic I really want to learn more about, researching might be fun. The thing that that I liked the most about my topic is that there are so many things you could search about Star Wars, because Star Wars have become such an influential franchise. However I focused my research on the story and the characters because after all they are the most remembered.

            Another interesting part of this research paper was the idea of making a five genre research instead of a traditional one. I think this is a great idea because it gives us the opportunity to work with genres we don’t know or we wouldn’t use. As you know the genres I choose were: the eulogy, the movie review, the obituary, and the quiz. They are all genres I hasn’t use before, and that’s why I choose them. I liked the idea of doing something new and out of the ordinary for me. It turned out to be a great experience and I learned about different genres in addition to my research topic.

Journal #20

Whoo! The last journal. I thought I wasn’t going to be able to finish them. It has been a little bit hard for me because I’m not a huge fan of writing. I has never been able to keep a diary or a journal never before, but this time I finished them. I know that many people would consider this very easy but it wasn’t for me

Although it has been kind of hard for me I think it was a good experience because I learn with it. I think that my writing skills became better because I was forced to choose different topics for each journal.  I remember that the first ones were particularly difficult because I didn’t have any experience doing them.

When I was close to the eleventh journal I was feeling very frustrated because I felt I was without topics for my next journals. That’s why I started writing about the things I was doing in my life during those days. I started to look the journals as if they were diaries, but that didn’t helped that much because my life isn’t that fun.

This english class have been entertaint which is something I didn’t thought was going to happen. When I went to my first class I was very scared because I didn’t thought I was going to survive it. It looked so difficult and the proffesor told us that we were going to be writing a lot. However the proffesor turn out to be a really nice person and a great teacher. The class turn out to be fun and I enjoyed it. I do not regret taking it and I recommended it to anyone.

Journal #19

The other day I was watching the film Jurassic Park directed by Steven Spielberg and the whole idea about the use of Genetics to create life came to my mind. Until what point do we have the right to use our knowledge to alter in such dramatic ways the course of evolution. The obsession to control everything that suround us is what we must control.

One of the aspect of the Genetic Engineering that I’m more afraid of  is the idea of changing the human race in such ways that humans won’t be able to reproduce between themselves. People will be so genetically different that they will be like two different species. It will create a society that will be divided even more that our actual society. It will create wars, famine, etc.

Like in the movie, people also like the idea of creating species that are extincted long time ago. I believe that we can use science to create species that are extincted because of us. We can also help prevent the extinction of many species like for example; the panda bear, the tiger, the polar bear, etc. However is not right to create species that do not belong to the actual climate of the Earth or that shouldn’t coexist with the species that are now on Earth.

If anyone of you is planning to become a scientists I think is important to act ethically. We should act for the greater good and use our knowledge in things for the benefit of humankind.

Journal #18

What I’m going to do? I have four final exams in two days. Next week will certainly be a difficult one. The exams are of Human Physiology, The Biology of Sex, Organic Chemistry and Physics. The ones that I consider that are the harder are Organic Chemistry and Human Physiology. I have never been good in Chemistry and this text is going to be final which mean that I will have to review all the material since the beginning of classes. I must said that I just hate the final exams week. I dont know how they expect us to do a good job on the text with so many exams to study for.

The only thing that makes me happy is that as soon as the final exam period is over we are on vacation. I really need those vacations because I need time to myself. However I’m not going to be completely free of duty because  I decide to take Physics II on summer. I’m usually good at physics so I hope is not going to be such a difficult task.

One of the things that I want to do on this summer is a trip to Culebra. I have heard that Culebra has some of the most beautiful beaches of P.R and I have never went there. I also would like to have the opportunity to travel to Virginia were my uncle lives. He has just move to a new house and I hasn’t see it. 

I hope to finish the exams without trouble and enjoy my vacations.

Journal #17

 I’m almost done with the research paper and I must say that it has been an interesting experience. At the beginning it took me a long time to choose a theme. It wasn’t easy to choose a theme because it is necessary to choose something you want to research about. So I thought that I love movies and Star Wars is definitely one of my favorite films and I said “let’s make it about Star Wars”.

It wasn’t a bad idea. Star Wars turn out to be a very good topic to make a research about. There are so many things to write about Star Wars but I choose to write about it’s characters.  At first I didn’t knew how to use the database, but it turn out to be very easy and a very good tool. One of the things I liked the most about the database is that it helps a lot those who don’t know how to do a bibliography, like me. You just choose which format you want to use and it does a bibliograaphy of the article you are working at.

Another part of the research I enjoy was working with five different genres. I get the opporunity to work with genres I wouldn’t use in an ordinary work. I used a quiz, an eulogy, a movie review, and a obituary.  The ones that were the most strange to write about were the eulogy and the obituary because they are about people that are dead.

Although the research paper requires hard word I’m pleased with it. It was something I hasn’t done before and it was a great experience.

Journal #16

Tomorrow I have to choose my classes for the next semester. I’m a little bit frustrated because I dont want to have the sections I choose closed. One of the things I’m planning for the next semester is not having classes on friday, so the sections I’m choosing can’t be on friday.  For the next semester the classes I want to take are: Evolution, Celular Physiology, Microbiology,Music, English and maybe some Humanity.

I have heard that the section I want of Celular Physiology is nearly full which means that I must be prepared to  change my schedule if something goes wrong. In addition I’m planning to take most of my classes with a friend of mine which means that we both have to change our schedule. We have been taking classes together for the last year and because we know each other very well it is easier to study together.

It is strange how quickly the years have passed. I can still remember very clearly when I came here in my first year, now I’m almost in my third year. In a couple of years if there’s no problem I will be in Med School. I sometimes feel that i’m still too young, for example I will be in my third year with only 18 years. However that means that I will finish my P.h D. very young which is good because I will have time for my personal life.

I better stop worrying about my future because the final exams are close and I shold focuse my attention on them.

Journal #15

Today I went with my family to the concert of Raphael Martos in The Coliseum of Puerto Rico Jose Miguel Agrelot. He was on tour because he is celebrating his 50 years as a singer. At first I didn’t like very much the idea because Raphael is a singer that became famous 50 years ago and I thought that his music was kind of old for me, but I was wrong.

We arrived a little bit early at the Coliseum and there were only like five people already there. I thought “This is going to be empty”. After approximately 30 minutes people started to appear. As you can imagine most of them were very old, more than 65 years, and I said to myself “What I’m doing here”. I thought my sister and I were the youngest people in the concert until I saw a women that was carrying a baby.

The concert began at 8:00pm when Raphael came to the stage and started singing. I was amazed by him because he is  64 years old and he still have an incredible voice. He started singing without microphone and it was incredible how strong his voice is because it didn’t need a microphone to be heard perfectly in the entire Colisseum. What was even more spectacular is that he practically sang without resting for two and a half hours. He sang 42 songs and he never lost  his voice.

Going to Raphael concert was a real honor. Now I came with the conclusion that I had the opportunity the appreciate a living legend showing why he has been famous for 50 years.

Here is a link to a video where he is singing Ave Maria:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXigGvDLn2c&feature=related

Journal #14

We are about to celebrate the Mother’s Day and I think it is important to write something about my mother. My mother is one of the persons I love the most in the entire world. Most of what I am is because of her. I know that most people will agree with me that our mother is someone that we can count in any moment. What make a mother’s love so important is that it is an uninterested love, they love us not matter what we do, and although sometimes they might get us crazy we love them because without them we are nothing. 

My mother is someone very special to me. She is always worried about me and sometimes she think I’m still a little kid. Sometimes I have to tell her “I’m not a baby anymore” but at the same time I love to have someone who’s always worried about me. When I have trouble and  nobody helps me I know I can always count on her. She is always prepare to help me whenever I need her which is something I appreciate a lot.

My mother doesn’t work but I think that is one of the reasons of why my sister and I are so close to her. When we were children she was always with us which helped our bonds became stronger. She always had time to help us with school and we were great students. She has also been a great wife and my father loves her a lot.

I dont know what will I gave her on Mother’s Day but i’m sure that nothing will be enough to thanks her for everything she has done for me. She has been taking care of me for 18 years without expecting anything from it, which is something only a mother can do. Mom I love you and I hope you have a wondelful Mother’s Day.

Journal #13

The other day I went to the movie to see the film Knowing. Iwent with my sister and a group of friends because we were interested when we saw the movie trailers. The movie was about the end of the world, which  is not a very unusual topic in science fiction films but the way it was represented in this film was somehow intriguing. The movie represented the end of the world in both a scientific and religious way. The most strange part of the movie is its end, because some creatures from outher space decided which humans decerved to survive and which were going to be leave on Earth to suffer. This is an obvious allegory to the Biblical Apocalipsis in which only the good ones were going to be saved while the sinners were going to suffer forever.

What I found very interesting is why are people so obsessed with the end of the world. I found kind of awkward this obsession because sooner or later we are all going to die. Those who doesn’t want the Apocalipse to occur while they are alive in some way want it to occur to their descendants. We are living in a world of selfish people who only think in themselves and that’s why we are in our actual situation. For example there is a situation that will take us directly to the Apocalipse if we dont do anything about it, Global Warming.

We must become better human beings and stop thinking about the end of the world, because all that we know to do is to be worried but we never take action when is neccesary.

Journal #12

This week I have been helping my uncle preparing his new house for his and my grandparents arrival. He bought it in Paseos de Plan Bonito in Cabo Rojo. Moving from his actual house to the new one is not going to be an easy process because my uncle lives with my grandparents. He lives with them because they are too old and the can’t live alone. The problem is that I dont think they really like too much the idea of moving to a new house.

My grandparents have been living in the same house for more than forty years. They have practically see with their own eyes how Valle Hermoso (the urbanization they live), has evolve through the years. In Valle Hermoso they lived crucial moments of their lives like for example watching their children growth. Most of their lifelong friends are their neighboors and most of what they are right now is somehow related to living there.

I know most of you might think I’m against the relocation, but what would you think if you were in your eighties and you have been living in the same house for more than forty years and suddenly you have to move to another house in another town? Believe me, it is going to be hard. However I do believe that they must at least try to get use to the new house because my uncle has the right to have his own house and I know it will make him really happy to know that they are as enthusiastic as him to move to a new place.

What I have to say about this is “New places means new opportunities”.