Storytelling

What makes for a great movie?  Well the answer to that is having a good hook that captures the viewers.  What is a hook? “It is simply a question about what is going to happen?” (Weiland 338).  Typically for a successful movie, “The writer of a film has to be able to get people hooked by the end of the first scene” (Behrens 333).  Let’s take The Proposal movie as an example.  This movie is a romantic/comedy directed by Anne Fletcher and debuted on June 19^th 2009.  Writers want viewers to, “Put aside personal time to watch their movie” (Behrens 334).  A writers goal is also to, “Convince us that our time spent watching the movie will be put into good use” (Behrens 334).  The movie has to be interesting enough for people to keep watching rather than not be interested at all causing the movie to become unsuccessful.  Having the protagonist creates for the tone setting of the story making it more engaging.

  A hook for a story might be a little challenging since it has to grab people’ attention right off the bat.  “The beginning of any good story is its hook” (Weiland 338).  In The Proposal a woman named Margaret gets threatened by an immigration official that she would get deported back to Canada where she is from.  However, she comes up with a crazy plan and declares that she is engaged to her assistant who she has always been mean to.  The catch is if he doesn’t agree to her plan then she is going to fire him.  Therefore, they end up heading to Alaska to visit Andrew the assistance family for a weekend.  No matter the challenges Andrew and Margaret face they have to stick to the plan because they have an immigration official on their tails.  This movie is very entertaining because they have to act like a couple in front of the family and everyone but behind closed doors they don’t care for each other at all.

When watching a movie, “People want to wonder what is going to happen?” (Weiland 338).  With this question it keeps people interested enough to keep watching, “Having question after question and answering them as you move along in the story” (Weiland 338).  Good beginnings have to, “Set the tone which means the opening chapter sets the tone for the whole story, this gives the viewers accurate assumptions about what the story is going to be about without giving it away” (Wieland 339).  It is important for the viewer to have assumptions about what might happen which makes for a successful movie.  Another trait for having a good beginning is, “To open with characters, preferably the protagonist” (Weiland 339).  Within a story, “The personalities that restrain the story is the key to what will connect with the viewers causing for the successful drama throughout the movie” (Weiland 339).

  Within The Proposal movie Margaret is in a struggle to not get deployed back to Canada.  Throughout the whole story Andrew and her have to stick to her plan and if all else fails then the immigration officials will send her back themselves.  This causes for a great tone setter for the movie as well as a great way to present the protagonist into the story with her mission.  Whenever viewers ask questions throughout a movie it creates for a great movie.  The questions you ask to yourself are the hooks that keep viewers wanting more.  It is important to not give away too much information at the beginning of a movie this will create unsuccess.  Therefore, the writer has to keep peaking at peoples curiosity.  Having the protagonist set the tone for the whole movie is what will keep people engaged enough because it creates the story.  The Proposal movie creates all these things making the movie a great one to watch still to this day.  It is important how a movie is developed as well as the questions that are revealed throughout.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzIxFuUu_kw

Happiness paper

What is happiness?  Is it a true feeling or is it like psychotherapist Adam Phillips stated, “Anyone who could maintain a state of happiness given the state of the world, is living a delusion.”  Going off of what Phillips has said would happinesss be delusional or is it a state of contentment?  Happiness is a hard word to define with just a simple definition.  However, it is, ”Thinking about happiness in general what it means to you personally” (Kenyon 526).  With this statement people have different personalities and likes or dislikes.  The former poet Keyon says, ”That engaging our emotions and memories can lead towards a happiness state (526).  Going back and thinking about fun times with either close friends or family can cause us in the end to be happy. 

In the quote that Phillips gave he is saying that this world is an evil place with all the killings that go on, the wars between countries, and so many other evils that we don’t even know about.  How could someone in that kind of world be happy?  A person living in that world would have to be delusional.  As the saying goes, “People create their own happiness” (Business Insider inc 2017).  A person being happy in a world such as this is creating their own reality so I believe Phillips statement to be false.  Happiness is not living in a delusion it is being rich, not by having tons of money, but being rich with things that create a positive life style personally.  It is about the people an individual surrounds himself or herself with.  A person ultimately becomes, “A product of their own environment” (The Success System That Never Fails 1962).  This quote means the people an individual hangs around the majority of the time will gradually start acting like the people that person is around most likely. 

Not only is happiness created by the people we choose to be around but, “Happiness also follows from living a virtuous life” (McFall 527).  Having a virtuous life means setting high goals that an individual wants to achieve for themselves to accomplish something that is challenging but also satisfying which can cause happiness.  Setting goals that are ideally achievable gives us a sense of meaning that we can do whatever we set our minds to…to become our best self.  There are three constituents of happiness such as, “Pleasure or positive emotion, engagement, and meaning” (Seligman et al. 540).  Pleasure causes happiness by, “Increasing the positive emotion of cultivating gratitude and forgiveness about the past, the positive emotion of savoring and mindfulness about the present, and building hope and optimism about the future” (Seligman et al. 540).  The second constituent of happiness is gratification could be helping someone or accomplishing a task that was either challenging or simple (Seligman et al. 540).  The last constituent of happiness is meaning.  Everyone wants to have a sense of meaning or purpose by, “Using our strengths towards something larger than ourselves” (Peterson et al. 2005).

Based on Seligmans examples of happiness we can gather that there are different levels to happiness.  People can become happy from either pleasures, engagements and having meaning in the world” (Seligman et al 540.).  People are so different in personalities that what someone might like and gather happiness from that moment another person might hate it.  Living in the world today yeah it is an evil place, but in the misted of evil there can be happiness.  However, it just depends on how a person wants to go about their life either in a more positive way or negative way.  Furthermore, happiness is not delusional it is what an individual makes of the things that happen in life.

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Rumors Paper

  Rumors can be very hurtful to people.  They can fabricate an image of a person who maybe did not do what society calls the “right thing.” Rumors are said to be understood by “Having expressions of our collective fears, hopes, and attitudes about the community and the world we live in” (Behrens 478).  Rumors might start out somewhat true and end up completely false the next.  However, when people are telling rumors they might add extra details to make the story more dramatic for the listener.  Rumors can also proliferate when it is of interest to a group of people to make others think that everyone is talking that certain way.

  An example of a recent rumor is about a senior named Jacob Shoemaker, from Hilliard Davidson High School who got in trouble for not following directions.  His school was participating in national walkout day for people who were for gun control.  The students could either walkout or go to study hall instead.  He didn’t want to do either one because he felt like that meant he was picking a side so he just stayed in the classroom till the walkout was over.  However, come to find out he got suspended for not following directions (Snopes 2018). This rumor is hurtful because he was not going to participate in something he did not feel was right.  The rumor had some truth to it, “It was true that Jacob was suspended after he remained in a classroom while his classmates took part in the protest.  The part that was false was, “Jacob did get suspended for not going to study hall as directed, not for refusing to take part in the protest” (Snopes 2018).   

  This rumor is considered hurtful because Jacob was getting punished for something he did not feel comfortable participating in.  A psychologist named Robert H. Knapp came up with the three basic characteristics of rumors that are all based on emotions (497).  In this particular rumor shared using Knapp’s classifications this rumor would be called a, “Wedge-driving aggression rumor which means of hatred or aggression” (496).  Within this rumor it seems that the Wedge-diving aggression fits best.  It seemed like he was being targeted for not believing in what the other students and people were for.  Therefore, they suspended him out of hatred and aggression for his actions.  It seems this way because he didn’t want to follow the rest of his classmates in the walkout.  This rumor can become disasterous to the student because of how they responded to the actions of not participating.

  People want to have a voice and freely express how they feel.  However, if punishment is the result of standing up for what they believe in that would make many people reluctant in saying anything at all.  That right there seems disaterous in itself.  People want to have that “stand up guy” to ultimately take a stand for what a group of people believe in so they can follow and become that person’ supporters. At the end of the day it’s all in how a situation is handled.

  Knapp not only came up with the classification of rumors but, also came up with the qualities of a good rumor (497).  The first quality is it, is good to have a short and simple story just like the example, just the title alone gives the main point of the rumor (Knapp 497).  The second quality makes for a good story and it fits on the actions that are happening today (Knapp 497).  The third quality is Easily disorted because the student didn’t get suspended for refusing to protest (Knapp 498).  The fourth quality is the names, numbers, and places. The name of the student was Jacob Shoemaker there were no numbers because there was no reason for numbers and took place at Hilliard High School (Knapp 498).  The fifth quality was high authoritative source the rumor is both important and accurate to what really happened to Jacob (Knapp 498).  The sixth quality is, “harmony with cultural traditions of a group in which they circulate in this rumor people from all over the states would know about this rumor but not the truth to it (Knapp 498).  The last quality is, “It adapts to the immediate and traditional circumstances of a group that it must ride the tide of current events in public opinions and interests" (Knapp 498). 

  The rumor encourages “shared human sense making” for people who get upset and feel hatred when they don’t get their way, as a result wanting others to be punished for not agreeing with their personal thinking processes.

  Therefore, standing up for what you believe in is a very brave thing to do.  Though some might applaud him for taking action others will be very aggressive towards what they believe is wrong.  For Jacob not knowing what the right thing to do in the situation he was given ended up getting in trouble anyways. This rumor fits all the qualities of a good rumor in Knapps outline and is considered a “Wedge-driving aggression rumor” in Knapps classification of rumors.  The outcome could have been handled not as harsh as they were leading on with suspension. Sometimes being strong in what you believe in and standing up for what is right does make for a strong leader even though Jacob got suspended he definitely is leader material.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/student-suspended-staying-in-class/

My Career Ethical Dilemma

Now and then people face ethical dilemmas either at the workplace or something personal.  Ethics ask, “What we should do in some circumstance, or what we should do as participants in some form of activity or profession.”  Stephen J. A. Ward, (264).  However, in my case I had a career dilemma.  I was hired for a job and without warning,  I was jobless but, it didn’t stop me from being the best that I can be.  When I don’t get my way sometimes, I understand later on that there is something better out there for me; I just haven’t gotten there yet.

It’s always exciting to get a new job; especially when you’re leaving from a job that you do not like.  I have been working at my new job as a cashier for about two weeks.  Then after those weeks passed my cousin was having her wedding in OK., I was in.  I was gone for about 3 days, when I got back into town.  I called Kyle Fletchers, where I worked to ask when they wanted me to come back to work and every time I called they said will call you back and let you know.  Well days and days later they never called.  That wasn’t the way I wanted things to end up obviously.  I was very disappointed because they never gave me a reason why they didn’t want me to return. I was stuck without a job and I hated it.  I kept thinking to myself, “Good things come to those who wait” Violet Fane.  That’s what my parents always taught me and I know between that and what my pastor at church has taught me, I knew I couldn’t give up.
 
I was feeling down at first but, every day I sent out job applications for a month straight till I finally got another job.  I know it was the determination and want for something better that landed me a more stable job than I’ve had in the past.  I would call this dilemma the utilitarian approach.  The utilitarian approach is about increasing the good and decreasing the harm.  This approach also says it, “Deals with consequences; it tires both to increase the good done and to reduce the harm done.”  Velasquez et al. (274) I believe this is what happened for me.  I didn’t feel like I fitted in at Kyle’s.  However, right when I started my job at Tony’s ice cream I felt right at home.  I strongly believe if I’m going to work somewhere where I am going to be there a lot of the time I want it to be a business that I enjoy and enjoy the coworkers as well.  This job for me produced the most good for sure.  I stayed employed there for a little over a year and made and met some great friends and strangers who I became friends with in my hometown.

While searching for something better I used the virtue approach.  This approach overall is about character.  It states, “Virtues are dispositions and habits that enable us to act according to the highest potential of our character and on behalf of values like truth and beauty.” Velasquez et al (277) When I was jobless I never let that be a sign for me to just give up.  I knew that I deserved the best and that I would reach to my highest potential.  Virtue is about love, being honest, self-control, prudence, and potential.  Velasquez et al (277). If I didn’t have any of those aspects in my life I wouldn’t have reached my goal of a new job.  Having these virtues can be really healthy for day to day living.

It’s important to never give up and become a better person.  There are obviously going to be challenges like one day having a job and the next day jobless but giving up isn’t the answer.  Being a Christian for me helps me to make choices to guide me through life.  Having the utilitarian approach and increasing the good and reducing the harm is the way to go through life to succeed.  Furthermore, having the virtue approach helps me to reach my highest potential, honesty, self-control, prudence, love and many other virtuous acts through everyday life!

Introduction

Hello my name is Sarah Wall,
I am going to school to be a Dental Hygienist it's challenging but I know that I can do it. I enjoy college reading 101. I like to write about things that I am passionate about and have enjoyed learning in this class. In this class I hope to accomplish good and proper ways of writing. I want my papers to flow and be easily understood. I typically hate English classes but I like that in this class it is different than a typical English class. I think that I will do great in this class and learn new things. I hope that I can enjoy reading again because I used to read all the time and I think with having to read a lot in this class will get me back to what I used to enjoy doing.