Seniors #2 Journal---Old Fashioned Stories--POST BEFORE THURSDAY OCT. 4
POST ON OR BEFORE THURSDAY OCTOBER 4
You should have anticipated the "girl finally discovers that she loves boy" happy ending of An Old Fashioned Story. A story's title, after all, serves an important purpose, often to foreshadow plot.
Even though Elizabeth secretly harbors a hatred of Nelson throughout the story, she really can't find any faults in him; she has to invent crimes that he "might" have committed, like eating the mashed potatoes he cooked up for himself with his bare hands!
Years pass and yada, yada, yada, ... so finally realizing the error of her ways, Elizabeth falls for the dashing Nelson who is also living a secret life, presumably, more exciting than Scrabble games and trips to the state prison to counsel the inmates. Nelson does the "most un Nelson-like" thing and kisses her and confesses his love to her. Will the Rodkers and Leopolds be planning a wedding in the near future? No, Elizabeth and Nellie agree to keep their new romance "secret" for just a while before adopting the lifestyle of their parents.
From your reactions to the story, I suspect that you have differing opinions on what constitutes a good story. For instance, some of you might have enjoyed the happy, somewhat-of-a-surprise ending in An Old Fashioned Story. Others may have resented it, or found it corny or too predictable.
I'd like to know where you stand, at the moment, on the matter of happy endings vs. sad ones. So respond to one of these prompts:
1. Many adolescent novels these days are depressing. Follow the link to read the article Why Teachers Love Depressing Books. You may either respond to the article, or write about the books you loved when you were an adolescent, or both.
2. "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story." Good storytellers never do, as the writers of the popular movie Rudy apparently did when they made a film about the bench-warming Notre Dame football player who finally gets to play in a game. Follow this link to read what Joe Montana, NFL Hall of Fame and former Notre Dame quarterback (when Rudy was on the team), reveals about the "real" Rudy story. Comment on Montana's words and how they affect your view of the movie, Notre Dame football, Hollywood, etc. Maybe write about whether Montana should have kept his mouth shut and let the Rudy legend live on.
3. Write about a story, book, or movie that you (for the most part) enjoyed, EXCEPT for the happy ending. Explain thoroughly how this happy ending was either unexpected, unrealistic, or unfufilling for you. Or all of the above.
WARNING: Enjoy the "light" reading for now. We're heading down a pretty scary mineshaft that plunges into the depths of human existence real soon. [TRANSLATION: we going to read some pretty sad stories].
posted by JTF @ 9:39 AM
77 comments
77 Comments:
I have to agree with the article, Why Teachers Love Depressing Books, because frankly, for the most part, they do. While reading a spectrum of novels helps to shape a reader and help them better understand what type of genre they enjoy, a child needs to read the fairytales with the dreamy, "happy endings" and when they are able to comprehend them, the more serious young adult novels as well. Such novels can be depressing, as Alex wearily puts its, "Everybody dies in them." Or even if all the characters do not die, young adult novels are also known as "problem novels," which consist of child or teen protagonists enduring abuse, addiction, abandonment, mental illness, pregnancy, suicide, violence, prostitution, or self-mutilation. Teachers generally seem to love these types of novels. I think it is mostly due to the trials and tribulations the character undergoes, which sadly, real people do. I find this to be the main appeal of the novel to not only teachers, but the readers. These are the novels that "get all the awards" because if they are not directly about a true story, they have at least been influenced or inspired by one. Teachers want students to read these depressing novels because they may not always have the happy ending we are secretly hoping for, but these trials and tribulations are real.
One of my favorite books is “Dear John”, a romance novel by Nicholas Sparks. It was made into a movie, with not a great ending as the book. The story line of “Dear John” is of a trouble maker named John who joins the military. John is on leave from his tour in Germany, and back at home in North Carolina, where he meets Savannah who is on her spring break. He falls in love with Savannah’s character as she looks to do the right thing, and volunteers for projects such as Habitat for Humanity and many other charities. John has to return to his duty in Iraq, and writes to Savannah almost every night. While he is in Iraq, he receives a dear John letter, where she confesses to him that she has fallen in love with someone else. The man Savannah has fallen in love with, Tim, has a disease, and John shows his love for her by donating money to a fund for him. The book’s ending is heartwarming where John accepts that she is married, Tim’s disease is cured, and John watches out for their family. In the movie, it shows John donating the money to her husband to help find a cure, and Savannah and John having coffee in a café. The movie ending wasn't as fulfilling as the book, where you knew that Tim survived his disease or not.
CJV Purple
In A Gracious Plenty, Finch accidently burns her face when she was younger which caused scaring to her face. Consequently, this forever ruined her childhood. She lost her friends and many of her peers were afraid of her presence. Throughout her adulthood she continued to stay alone living at the cemetery where she tends for the dead. Here she discovers how to talk to the dead and is able to talk to her parents and make “new friends.” She hears the stories of the dead who have to share their experiences to be lightened and eventually be lifted up to heaven. Some stories are harder to tell than others which creates a dilemma for a few unresolved souls. Finch listens closely to these untold stories and learns many new details about these people. She knew more about them than did anyone who was close to the dead person even know. The Mediator listens to the stories and helps these souls become lighter so they can eventually be lifted to heaven. In the end there was a storm caused by one of the souls which creatd mayhem for Finch’s town. A hurricane dismantled houses and trees in its path throughout the town. Only one woman, who confesses to killing her baby son, killed herself by driving into the hurricane. The ending was unfulfilling for me because there was no closure. I was unsure of what happened to the souls of the baby and to many of the other souls that were still in the process of being lightened. I would have liked a description of how the others souls were lightened, especially after the hurricane incident in the town.
CJV Purple
In A Gracious Plenty, Finch accidently burns her face when she was younger which caused scaring to her face. Consequently, this forever ruined her childhood. She lost her friends and many of her peers were afraid of her presence. Throughout her adulthood she continued to stay alone living at the cemetery where she tends for the dead. Here she discovers how to talk to the dead and is able to talk to her parents and make “new friends.” She hears the stories of the dead who have to share their experiences to be lightened and eventually be lifted up to heaven. Some stories are harder to tell than others which creates a dilemma for a few unresolved souls. Finch listens closely to these untold stories and learns many new details about these people. She knew more about them than did anyone who was close to the dead person even know. The Mediator listens to the stories and helps these souls become lighter so they can eventually be lifted to heaven. In the end there was a storm caused by one of the souls which creatd mayhem for Finch’s town. A hurricane dismantled houses and trees in its path throughout the town. Only one woman, who confesses to killing her baby son, killed herself by driving into the hurricane. The ending was unfulfilling for me because there was no closure. I was unsure of what happened to the souls of the baby and to many of the other souls that were still in the process of being lightened. I would have liked a description of how the others souls were lightened, especially after the hurricane incident in the town.
A movie that I didn’t like the ending to was “The Vow”. Yes, the story is based upon true events but the ending was still upsetting. The characters Paige and Leo are a newly married couple that is still in the “honeymoon stage”. They are going out for a date night to the movies. It was a snowy night. On the way home from the movies Paige unbuckles her seatbelt and leans over to kiss her husband. At the same time a truck is coming toward the car and loses control and crashes into them. The car with Paige and Leo crashes into a pole. They are both rushed to the emergency room. Beside a couple cuts and bruises on Leo, he was fine. Paige on the other hand was facing a much more serious injury. She is now suffering from memory loss. This obviously crushes her husband. She doesn’t remember who he is nor does she believe that he is her husband. She remembers only her old boyfriend from before she met Leo. Throughout the movie Leo tries to take her to places that he thinks might bring back all her memories and she will be back to normal. Unfortunately, she isn’t okay with that and goes back to the old life she remembers and leaves Leo for himself. He lets her go because he loves her and he knows that’s what she has to do. She soon learns why she left her old behind before the accident and thought she would give Leo another chance. He takes her back and still tries to remind her of their old life. That continues throughout the whole story. At the end of the movie, they are going out on a “first date”. She doesn’t remember their old life together, but is excited to start a new life with him. That was not pleasing to me because I had hoped there would have been some type of miracle and all her memories would come flowing back to her.
One of my favorite movies would have to be, “The Vow.” It is about a newly-wed couple who gets into a car crash. The movie starts out with Paige and Leo, the two main characters, driving home from a movie theater. While they are stopped at a red light, Paige decides to unbuckle her seat belt to give Leo a kiss. As she leans over to kiss him, a tractor trailer comes barreling down the road and hits their car from behind. The next thing you know it, Paige wakes in her hospital room with little recollection of what happened. Once Leo walks in, he soon finds out that Paige has no memory of ever meeting him, let alone marrying him. In fact, the last thing she remembers is getting engaged to her ex fiancé. Throughout the whole movie, you witness Leo trying to get Paige to remember how they fell in love. This becomes a struggle because it is hard for Leo to comprehend that Paige doesn’t feel the same way, and might never feel that way again. Paige decides that she needs to go off on her own to figure out who she is and what she wants, while Leo is left heart broken in his apartment with all of Paige’s belongings reminding him of their previous life together. At the end of the movie, after having been apart for several years, Paige and Leo run into each other at a bakery. They “catch up” and talk about what their future plans are, and then walk off into the street together. Of course it is a happy ending because the two of them reunite, but it was unfulfilling because Paige never got her memory back. Even though they walk off together blissfully, she still doesn’t remember any of their history together. Although it was a happy ending, I left the movie theater feeling everything but content.
The article, "Why Teachers Love Depressing Books", is very accurate in saying that teachers love depressing books. I love them, too. As an adolescent reader myself, I've read my share of young-adult fiction that have depressing scenarios. A year or so ago, I read Looking For Alaska by John Green. The basic synopsis for the book is about this kid who is basically a nobody in his hometown in Florida. It's not so much people don't like him, he's just not all that interested in the people around him. So, he decides to take control of his life and seek a "Great Perhaps". He moves into a boarding school, the same that his father attended, and there he meets characters that are far more interesting than what he's used to. The Colonel, his roommate who knows every country, it's capital, and it's population. He also meets a lot of other friends who become like a second-family in their boarding school. However, none make a bigger impact on him than the beautiful Alaska. From the moment he meets her, he is in love with this wild, witty, chain-smoking, hurricane of a girl. However, not all goes as everyone plans. After experiencing the best night of his life with Alaska, she is taken from him and all of his friends. The second half of the novel consists of Miles and his friends coping with the loss of Alaska and how it affects all of their lives.
I personally liked this novel because I could easily connect with the main characters. Miles, the protagonist, reminded me of myself in a lot of way during the whole novel. I could also find some parallels between me and Alaska, as well. I feel that this is why adolescents love the "depressing" fiction genre so much. We can connect with the character more easily because they're more real to us. Life isn't always sunshine and rainbows, and a lot of us have already learned that the hard way. We grow up on these fairy tales about such things, but we learn that life isn't like that. The characters in these novels have more similarities to us than the adults in adult-fiction. They have already overcome their adolescent misadventures, we are still experiencing ours.
For some people, like me, reading can be a way to escape the real world. It can distract us from our troubles as we focus on these fictional ones. We can get away from our stressers, our crucibles,and our misgivings by merely flipping some pages.
I think that Joe Montana should have kept his mouth shut about what is or is not true about Rudy. It does not matter if parts of the movie are true or not, what matters is that it is in honor of Rudy. In a way, Joe Montana seems to be trying to take the spotlight away from Rudy and tries to convince people to think differently of Rudy and the legend. It is almost as if he is using bad sportsmanship. He’s not only putting down the legend of Rudy, but also the legend of his own football team of Notre Dame. Joe Montana should not have said anything to discourage his own team and his own player. Everyone is allowed to have their own opinions but he has no right to speak publicly about his on a show. If there was something that Rudy wanted the public to know he could have told them himself. In the end I think that Joe Montana changed the way that people viewed him rather than how people looked at the movie. Whether people choose to believe Joe or not there are still many people that can look up to Rudy and admire his legend and the legend of Notre Dame.
Last year, in the spring, I joined in on the Hunger Games craze. I read the books easily and breezed through them in no time. They were very captivating and interesting stories with exceptional characters that made you feel sorry for them. The trilogy follows a girl named Katniss Everdeen and her struggles in her district against the Capitol. She lives in a post-apocalyptic nation called Panem which lies over what is the present day United States. Panem is divided into twelve districts; Katniss resides in the twelfth district with her mother, sister, and best friend/lover Gale. The children of Panem must participate in an annual fight to the death battle called The Hunger Games in which only one victor is crowned. One boy and one girl from each district are drawn at random to be put up as tributes. Katniss’s story begins with her nomination into the Games along with the baker’s son, a boy named Peeta Mellark. Prior to the Games, Peeta professes his love for Katniss over national television which really infuriates her. In the end of the first book, (Spoiler alert!) both Katniss and Peeta are allowed to live by a Capitol rule amendment allowing the boy and girl from the same district to live. In the second book, Peeta and Katniss are put back into the games, and when Katniss escapes the games, Peeta is kidnapped by the Capitol and brainwashed into hating Katniss. Meanwhile, Gale constantly watches out for Katniss in her revolt against the Capitol. In the end of the third book, after defeating the Capitol, Gale goes to District 2 and abandons Katniss. However, Peeta recovers from his brainwashing and falls in love with Katniss. They get married and have two children who play happily in a world where they don’t have to worry about the Capitol. When Katniss married Peeta, I was so infuriated by the ending because it was so not likely to happen ever and it was such a complete curveball. I had been Team Gale throughout the whole story because he had been there for her and supported her. Katniss obviously loved Gale a lot more than she loved Peeta. It was really upsetting that Collins chose for Katniss to marry Peeta because Gale was my perfect choice for Katniss to end up with. Other than the ending, I really enjoyed the trilogy and would honestly recommend it to anyone looking for a great read.
Every teenage girl loves the movie “The Notebook.” When ABC family shows their weekly showing of the over played movie, Twitter overflows with tweets about watching the notebook, and how great it would be to be Noah and Ally. Eight out of ten girls have a picture of them and their boyfriend with the caption “If you’re a bird, I’m a bird.” Needless to say there are a lot of “birds” out there that love the movie and see themselves in the young and in-love characters. Like many, I’m a fan of most of the movie; however the end always makes me mad. The whole movie shows how their love grows, their problems throughout life, and how through the years they never forgot about each other even when they are apart. There are realistic scenes and themes throughout the movie which is why I think it’s so popular for people our age. It shows Ally and Noah at the carnival, at the beach, canoeing in a lake, and getting ice cream together. Then they grow older and Ally develops Alzheimer’s. Despite the fact Ally forgets Noah, he still comes and visits her every day to read to her and try to help her remember. Although that part may seem slightly unrealistic since the old man would probably tire out of reading the same story every day, I still liked it. It showed that some love could last forever. The very final scene is what bothers me. Noah had snuck down to sleep in the same bed as Ally in the nursing home and they coincidentally not only fell asleep in each other’s arms, but DIED in each other’s arms. The narrator tells how their hearts stopped beating at the same time and that’s it, roll the credits. I guess Nicholas Sparks couldn’t think of another way to end the story but I felt it was unrealistic and unexpected since I found the whole movie so good but the end so cheesy. This perfect love tale couldn’t handle a realistic ending with only Ally dying. Noah dying was unnecessary; he seemed much younger than her and still full of life. In real life, no ending is picture perfect.
I feel that Joe Montana should have kept his mouth shut and let a great legend live on. Not only does this kill the glory of the legend Rudy, but it also hurts Joe Montana's reputation. It was unnecessary for him to give his “two cents” about what is true or false about Rudy. If it is true that Rudy worked his butt off during practice and the off season, why not let this classic American story live on as a highly praised film. He explained how some scenes never happened and were created strictly to make the story more dramatic. Truthfully, almost everyone knows that Hollywood over exaggerates anything and everything to make their movies better. However, I believe that it does not matter if small parts of the movie are true or not, what matters is that it is in honor of Rudy. By making these statements, Montana is not only putting down the legend of Rudy, but also the legend of his own football team, Notre Dame. In all honestly, the entire story could be falsified and it would still leave me inspired. In the end, Joe Montana really just changed the way that people view him rather than how people look at the movie.
One of my favorite movies of all-time is “Good Will Hunting” directed by Gus Van Stant. Its storyline gives an interesting perspective on how a man’s choices can make his life change for the better. However, the ending to this movie in my opinion was terrible. The film starts with a man named Will Hunting that is a janitor at MIT. He questions his character at the beginning of the movie. He doesn’t realize the potential that he has to become successful because he is blinded by his job, best friend, and his rough Boston past. Will’s bad actions lead him into two strangers that start to change what Will’s future might hold. After getting arrested in a Boston Park, Will has to meet with a psychiatrist named Sean Maguire once a week. At first, it is obvious that Will doesn’t respect the psychiatrist. Will tries to manipulate Sean by saying things that irritate him. As time goes on, Will starts to realize that the psychiatrist’s life lessons are essential for him. Will also meets a girl named Skylar at a bar around the same time. He is slowly falling for the girl and starts to realize it. Will likes being around Skylar, and does everything he can to try and impress her. He lies about his family to her because he doesn’t want her to be embarrassed of him. Will doesn’t bring Skylar around his friends because he is uncomfortable with her seeing the type of community he grew up in. Later in the movie, Will gets into an argument with Skylar. She asks him on the spot if he would move to California with her. Will hesitates and says no because he is scared and is confused about what to do. So Will lets Skylar go and tries to figure out what is important to him. Will gets advice from Sean Maguire towards the end of the movie. This helps Will understand what is the most significant thing in his life. At the end of the movie, Will is in a car driving to California. Will wrote a note to Sean saying, “Sorry I got to go see about a girl”. Will is referring to meeting Skylar in California at the final part of the movie. I believe that the ending of this movie is unrewarding. The movie isn’t really complete because you don’t really find out what actually happens. I would have liked to see Will and Skylar reunited in California. The ending makes you speculate and wonder if Will actually gets to California. I would still recommend this movie to anyone, because it is an unusual type of love story with a twist.
I am responding to the article in part one. I think that the article has a lot of truth in them. teachers do love depressing novels and i think i might know why. a depressing novel is a novel that will grab the readers attention for the whole book. it will keep you on the edge of your toes wondering if things will get better or wondering if things are going to. also they are very good at teaching lessons because when you see someone mess up there life then it makes you appreciate yours that much more and makes you avoid those kind of mistakes. when you are reading a good and happy books you don't always get those qualities. they can grab your attention but more often then not a story with a good ending is very predictable. when you watch a sad story about a sports team it is normally gonna end with them winning an important game. when you read a story like "AN Old Fashioned Story" where they give hints throughout the whole story that the ending is going to be happy it almost gets boring to read because you can predict what the ending is gonna turn out to be. In my opinion sad stories are much less predictable and much more exciting.
One of my favorite movies is "Just Go With It", starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston. Although this is a romantic comedy and was mainly meant for laughs, I really enjoyed the ending. The storyline of this movie is Danny, a plastic surgeon meeting the woman of his dreams but many things just keep going wrong. Danny lies to women and says he is in an unhappy marriage so he can gain their sympathy. Then he tells the women that he is going through with a divorce, and they believe him. But when Danny finally meets a woman (Brooklyn Decker) that he really would want to marry, he abandons his usual approach and tries to naturally make her like him, and it works. But when she discovers the wedding band that he used to use as a pick-up prop, Danny tries to cover his tracks by falling back on his fake divorce line. Unfortunately for Danny, the plan backfires when his new girlfriend asks to meet his ex. Desperate, Danny asks his office manager, Katherine (Jennifer Aniston), to help with his lie and be his fake divorced wife. Before long, the lies are snowballing, and by the time Katherine's kids get involved and everyone comes together for a trip to Hawaii, everything is about to fall through. In the end Danny is about to marry his dream girl, but then he suddenly realizes that he is in love with his office assistant, Katharine. All throughout the movie you can tell that Danny and Katherine have a connection, and I secretly always hoped they would eventually get together. So I was very pleased with the ending, because the final scene is Danny and Katharine's wedding.
I agree with the article when it says that teachers enjoy “books that will make you cry.” I think that teachers want the students to read these types of stories because it will grab you attention and the story captivates you. Usually when you read depressing stories or stories with many life struggles in it, you get lost in it. I think reading stories with abuse, addiction, parental abandonment or fecklessness, mental illness, pregnancy, suicide, violence, prostitution or self-mutilation really makes us realize what goes on in the world. If we only read books with happy endings it will put us in that “fairy tale” state of mind and we don’t want that. Teachers want us to read these books with different life issues because they are real and happening in our world today. Everything can’t always have a happy ending because that is not how life works. When reading a book about such a serious topic it gets very hard to put down after a while and it pulls you in. You usually can’t predict the ending in these stories like you can in a happy story. I believe that teachers like when kids read these types of books because it really opens their eyes about what issues some people face on a daily basis. I personally enjoy these types of books because they have action and you never know what will happen next. These books are inspired by real life situations or written about a real life experience. Reading these books can make us thankful for our life and what we have. I personally think that the depressing books are better than the happy ending stories that we are so used to reading.
I was wondering about those “downer” stories we always seemed to read in school, like: Where the Red Fern Grows, The Catcher in the Rye, and most stories by Edger Allan Poe. There are even some that the only thing I remember from them is what I told my Mom about. “Everybody dies in them.” Sound familiar? In Where the Red Fern Grows, the best friends of the main character die, in The Catcher in the Rye, all the main character does is complain about the world, and in stories such as The Raven, and Cask of Amontillado, where even more death occurs, I find myself asking the same questions: “Why did we read these depressing stories? Was it to justify teenage angst or to help create it?” I felt like having to read these books were what caused me to stop reading altogether, although, thankfully I have rediscovered a love for books. I credit Mrs. Healey for this when she let me borrow the book Incarceron. I enjoyed the book so much I asked her to recommend other books to read. Now I own the Incarceron Series, the Genghis series, two of the three books from the Leviathan Series, and the Necronomicon. I hope to get my hands on the Uglies series, because of my enjoyment of the first book, and because the author is Scott Westerfeld, the one who wrote the Leviathan books.
When the movie Project X came out last year, that was all I heard about in school for a couple weeks. I saw it, as many young kids did, and thought it was a funny and entertaining movie. The only thing I did not like was the unrealistic ending. Project X is about three high school boys who are trying to throw a big party to make them popular while one of the boy’s parents are away. The party ended up being a huge success to them. Hundreds of people filled the house and in ground pool, and it soon got out of hand. Scenes in the movie showed his dog being tied to balloons and floating in the air, his dad’s beloved Mercedes being drove into the pool, helicopters and swat teams surrounding the neighborhood, and a crazy man with a flamethrower setting cars and trees on fire. One unrealistic scene is when two cops arrive at the house due to a noise complaint and the boys make everyone hide and remain silent in the back yard while they talk to the cops on the front porch. He tells them that the party has already ended and the cops leave, and the party goes on. The ending of the movie is very unrealistic as well. The boy’s dad comes home and really isn’t that angry. He is actually surprised that he could throw such a party because he thought his son was a loser. It was decided that the damage would be paid through his college fund. The ending was unfulfilling for me because I know that would never happen. Anyone who threw a party that big with such destruction would most likely be arrested or grounded for a very long time. I know my parents wouldn’t have reacted like that, no matter how much popularity came out of it.
I have decided to respond to prompt number three. It is common to have mixed feelings about the ending of novels. Some people have their own ideas about how a story should end, and when it does not end the way they wish, they have resentment against the whole story within itself. This happened to me with the novel Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, the third installment in the Hunger Games trilogy. I was and am a huge fan of the Hunger Games and have read the series twice. It has a perfect mix of action, suspense, and romance all rolled into one. As soon as I finished the second book, I immediately turned to the third. I was almost instantaneously disappointed. I appreciated the way Suzanne tried to develop the characters, and evolve them into a realistic approach of the effects that the war would have on these characters. The two main characters, Peeta and Katniss, go crazy in two very different ways. Peeta is held captive by the enemy and brain washed into insanity. Katniss is overwrought with grief for Peeta, as well as her part in the responsibility for the millions of deaths in her country. As the story progresses and finally ends, I as a reader felt completely empty with no closure. The ending of the book leaves both Peeta and Katniss still battling insanity, and their love loses some of its spark. They end up married with two children, which is the kind of ending I would have asked for. However, their ill mental health and the distance between fellow characters that are close to them leaves a melancholy mood to the closing of the novel. Any reader would wish for the happy endings of their protagonists. It is hard to be at peace with the mental destruction of those characters that you have come to know and love. Because of this, Mockingjay will always be tainted in my eyes.
I Really do agree with the article, Why teachers Love Depressing books. Most children enjoy reading fairytales that have happy endings, but those stories can be very misleading. Not everything will always end in a positive way and fairytales guide children believe that they will always end up happy which is not the case at all. Teachers love books that are depressing because they too, like all other adults know that the depressing stories today are what real life is about. They tell stories that we have all been through as we have gotten older and realized that not all things are going to happy. These tips of stories are not always true stories but nine times out of ten based on true stories. Teachers want to get their students read books about things they might grow up to face, things that are not always easy. Most children wont want to read books like this they would much prefer a happily ever after but we don't always get that happily ever after and that is what teachers are trying to teach by making students read this genre of books.
The movie “My Fair Lady” is about a young lady named Eliza Doolittle and a man named Henry Higgins. Eliza is a poor flower girl and Higgins is a well educated and respected teacher of dialects. Eliza speaks the dialect cockney. Although Higgins is disgusted with Eliza’s dress, mannerisms, and dialect, he is challenged by his friend Pickering to take her on and pass her off as a duchess at a ball. He takes her under her wing and houses her, feeds her, and gives her daily lessons. Higgins ends up treating Eliza as a project more so than a human being. She tries to be polite and cooperative, but often ends up being crass and ignorant. Because of this, Higgins ends up treating her poorly more so then she deserves. All throughout the movie, you can tell that although they are opposites, they seem like they will end up together. The play and the movie differ greatly. In the original play the intent of the writer George Bernard Shaw was that characters should not compromise who they are to be with another person. In the movie however, to please audiences, they allowed Higgins and Eliza to be together and the movie ends in happiness. I did not enjoy this ending because I agree with Shaw. In order for Eliza and Higgins to be together, they had to change their personalities, mannerisms, and outlook on life. Although relationships are a lot about compromise, they should not define or change our whole life.
I recently watched a movie called Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close about a boy who loses his father in the World Trade center attack on 9/11. Oskar Schell is the little boys name, he suffers from a form of autism known as aspergers.Oskar and his father were extremely close, because his dad always played games with him to help him overcome his fears. Many of his fears were small to us like, talking to people, going on a swing, answering the phone ect. He and his father always played detective games to encourage Oskar to talk to people. Right before he died he was telling Oskar about a story where he believed there once was a sixth bureau to New York and it just floated away. Oskar assumed that would be the next detective hunt, until “the worst day” as Oskar called it. After his father died it took Oskar a year to go into his father’s closet again. While he was in there he found an envelope that contains a key, on the envelope it says “BLACK.” Oskar assuming this is the last adventure goes off searching for the keys owner. After a very long, depressing search Oskar finds the owner. However the key has nothing to do with Oskar or his father at all; the key was in a pot that his father got at an estate sale. At the end oskar is writing letters to everyone he visited him telling them thank you and what he learned. But then he remembers the swing and somehow that triggered him to go look at the swings. Under the swing, stuffed into a crack, was a piece of paper that told Oskar congratulations for finding the sixth bureau. This ending was a happy ending, but very annoying. There is no way that a piece of paper would stay in a crack under a swing for over a year, especially in New York. Especially after watching Oskar meet all these strangers searching for something to unlock it is frustrating to watch the key have nothing to do with Oskar or his father. I did really enjoy the movie, but the ending was just too unrealistic and random.
Although I have never seen the movie ‘Rudy’ I still have an opinion on whether or not Joe Montana should have kept his mouth shut or not regarding the truth of Rudy’s story. By reading the short description about the film, I got the sense that the movie told the story of an ordinary college student striving to reach his goal of playing football for Notre Dame, and that the movie would predictably end with Rudy finally getting that chance to play in a game. The plot seemed very typical and the ending quite predictable. I believe Hollywood has the tendency to make movies where this is the case. Personally, I would have watched the movie and believed in the story that Hollywood told: kid finally achieves his dream and lives happily ever after. I would have liked to see the Rudy legend live on. I believe Joe Montana should not have told the truth about Rudy. These statements ruin the picture many viewers had in their minds of a movie with a happy ending. Sometimes, even though it may not be completely true, the legend of a good movie and a great boy deserve to live on. Rudy deserves to be remembered as the player he was in the movie because I feel he earned it. I too believe the truth should “never get in the way of a good story.”
"It's Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini was an excellent book to an extent. I liked the plot points in the first-half of the book more than the second-half. The second-half of the book made it seem like every other teen book on the market. It's about a boy, Craig, who suffered severe depression and decides to check himself into a mental hospital. Many of my friends and relatives have suffered from depression, so it's a topic that I can relate to. I know how they feel when they wanted to kill themselves, and I know how much courage it took Ned to get help. Saying this, the beginning of the book felt very “real” to me. It helped me feel like I was in their heads when they were feeling the sorrow that they were feeling. The focus change between the first and second half of the book made it become less of a "I got the help that I needed" book and turn into a "I need a girl to be happy" book. The relationship that formed in the second half of the book just made the reader think, "He's not strong. He's just using this girl as a crutch." I hope that that is not what the writer was trying to make the reader think about Craig because that’s an awful moral.
In my opinion, Joe Montana did the right thing when he told people about what actually happened when it came to Daniel Ruettiger. I feel as though the truth is something that people should realize. This isn't to say that the stories message and overall enjoyment should be diminished however. You can enjoy a story even if you know that the story itself is not true. The feeling that people got when they watch a movie like that, one full of inspirational moments, is a feeling that shouldn't be diminished by the fact that not all of what happened was entirely accurate. Personally, I know that almost all of the "true story" movies that you see are probably over emphasized to the point of them being almost unrecognizable for real life. But that doesn't make me dislike the movie anymore, because movies are not meant to inspire based on the fact that the events are true. Movies in general are not meant to inspire at all, they are simply meant to entertain. However, if a movie does come along (like Rudy) and does inspire people and evoke feelings in them, then those feelings should be as a result of the movie causing them. Not because it actually happened or was a true event.
In a horror movie called "The Rite" a young priest learns about the taboo that is exorcism. At one point in the movie the very priest that was originally teaching him becomes possessed and it is the responsibility of the young priest to perform the exorcism. I expected everything to end in chaos, but of course the exorcism was successful and there were no further troubles. I was expecting some kind of surprise ending. Maybe one where the priest ended up getting possessed again and killing everyone. I was hoping for something more, and it was not given to me. I found it very disappointing that a supposed horror movie ended in such a happy way.
When I was an adolescent, the books that I loved to read were usually the stories that always had a main character that went on exciting adventures, met friends along the way, and usually lived “happily ever after.” Whenever I read a story like this, I felt as though I was "transported" into the story. Reading has always been, and still is, one of my favorite ways to just “sit back” and relax after a long, busy day. I have never really cared much for the stories that were sad or depressing, like teachers usually do. I understand why teachers seem to prefer these types of stories. They are easy to relate to, but because the topics are usually about something that could happen in real life, they can be a little too easy to relate to for some people. Also, because these stories are easy to relate to, teachers might like them because they may notice more of the creative aspects of how these stories are written, such as the use of rhetorical and other story telling devices. Even though sad or depressing stories may be written well, I still prefer those stories that have happy endings, just like I used to when I was an adolescent.
The greatest achievements in history have often been achieved through trickery. Words are used to move a man, and words can be easily manipulated. That is why I think that Montana should not have told the truth about Rudy. His story, if thought to be true, could have inspired many individuals to pursue their dreams. It also teaches that working your butt off pays in the end. However, it is a choice of the lesser of two evils that Montana had to pick, one of good-intentioned deceit and one of truth. Even with the truth however, the story of Rudy would still be a good short-story because it teaches a lesson.
One of the most inspiring movies that I have ever watched is “Rocky Balboa”. Rocky Balboa is a retired boxer who is remembered by everyone as the greatest boxing champion in the world. He now lives in Philadelphia, and owns his own restaurant, named after his late wife, Adrian. He and his son, Robert, do not have a strong bond in the beginning of the movie. Robert feels that the only reason he got to this point in his life with a nice job is because of his father, Rocky. Robert wants to be more independent and does not want to use his dad as a way to receive special treatment. One of Robert’s coworkers goes into Adrian’s and tells Rocky to turn on the television. When he does, there is a virtual fight between Rocky and current Boxing Champion, Mason Dixon. If they were to really fight, the show favors Mason Dixon to beat Rocky. At this time, Rocky is old and out of shape. The current champion, Mason Dixon, calls out Rocky and wants to fight him. He feels that the video made him look like he would lose the fight and he wants to prove to everyone that he would beat Rocky. Rocky gets back in shape and fights Mason Dixon. Rocky held his own in the fight, but in the end, Mason Dixon won. In my opinion, Rocky was the real winner. Rocky trained hard to get back into shape to beat the reigning champion. Even though Rocky lost the fight, he got a standing ovation from the crowd. More importantly, Rocky’s son was proud of him. This is not a typical ending you would expect for the “Rocky Balboa” movie. This ending was unexpected to me. I never expected to see Rocky lose because he always is depicted as a winner. Since Rocky was old and out of shape, I would not have expected him to fight again. I would have thought that Rocky would have let the virtual fight happen and not worry because he was already a champion. It is a happy ending because he gets in shape and fights again. However, it is disappointing and unexpected that Rocky loses. In my eyes, Rocky is a hero because he fights to prove everyone wrong.
The Vow is a total chick flick romance movie with a typical happy ending where every thing works out perfectly. Don't get me wrong I loved this movie, what girl wouldn't, it's a cute movie with a cliche ending. Although I enjoyed this movie, I was slightly frustrated with the ending. The movie is about a newly-wed couple, Paige and Leo.They're on their way home from the movies and they get into a car accident. They both are rushed to the hospital. Leo is fine except for a few scratches, whereas Paige wakes up with no memory of what happened to her or anything that happened throughout the past several years. She has no recollection of Leo at all either. Throughout the whole movie Leo tries to do anything he can to make Paige remember him and to fall back in love with him. It doesn't work and Paige goes back to her old boyfriend. Leo and Paige don't see each other or have any contact for a few years until they run into each other at a bakery. After that they go out on a "first date" and rekindle the flame they once had. The movie ends with the couple walking off happily. This ending was unfulfilling for me because Paige never got her memory back so it's like they started off at square one all over again. I was expecting something a bit more dramatic or creative to happen. I honestly would rather Paige have stayed with her old boyfriend and leave Leo in the dust. That would have been a bit more interesting.
I really enjoyed this movie titled “My Best Friend’s Wedding.” This movie stars Julia Roberts as the lead actress, Dermot Mulroney as her best friend, and Cameron Diaz as his fiancé. In the film, Roberts and Mulroney dated when they were in college but broke up because they agreed that they were better as best friends then in a relationship. Mulroney’s family loves Roberts and has basically accepted her as one of their own. It’s many years later and they are still best friends but, Roberts begins to have feelings for him; and the very moment she calls to tell him, he breaks the news that he’s getting married. She flies out to go to the wedding when Mulroney’s fiancé, Diaz, asks Roberts to be the maid of honor. After going through many schemes to sabotage the wedding and get closer to Mulroney, Roberts decides to tell him how she feels and kiss him. Just as she does, Diaz walks in and sees it. Mulroney runs after her and explains to Roberts that he loves Diaz. In the closing scene, you see Mulroney and Diaz married and dancing at their wedding reception. Roberts tells her beside that she loves him and his new wife and just wants him to be happy. This was incredibly disappointing because through the movie, I fell in love with the idea of Roberts and Mulroney together. When the movies ended and I saw that he didn’t pick her, I cried. I felt unfulfilled and that a piece of me was missing after the movie. Every time I watch this movie I have the same feeling of anger at the end. It is such a well written movie and then the director throws this ending in that is technically a “happy ever after,” but for me a happily ever after would have been Roberts and Mulroney together.
I have read all four of the Twilight books and have really enjoyed the series. I am all for a happy ending. I would rather a book end on a good note rather than me being depressed by the end of it; however, I dislike when the endings are unrealistic. The ending of the series is anything but realistic. It was unfulfilling because there were way too many obstacles preventing the end from occurring; yet it still did. A girl named Bella and a vampire fall in love and eventually get married. They shouldn’t be able to have children, yet it occurs. Childbirth is supposed to kill Bella; however, she and the baby survive. Bella is turned into a vampire to live with her husband and child happily ever after. I personally feel like it is just too perfect. There should be some flaw, but there isn’t even one. I mean I have to give credit to the author who did a great job with the plot; but, this is the first time ever that I have been unsatisfied with a happy ending. I am having a hard time explaining why it is disappointing to me, other than it being too ideal. Obviously there are no vampires. However, if there were I don’t feel like this situation would even be close to occurring. It is just too ‘out there,’ and there are too many things that should have prevented their cliché life from happening.
I feel that the truth will come out no matter what, so someone saying that a lot of the big parts in the movie Rudy did not happen, did not surprise me. There are around 90 guys on an average college football team, thousands of people that attend Notre Dame, and even more that show up or watch Notre Dame football. The odds are that eventually someone would come forward an tell the truth that the parts in Rudy where exaggerated. What does surprise me is that it was Joe Montana saying it. I personally am a big fan of Montana, and I fine it surprising that he would be to come forward and say this. I always saw him as a larger then life figure and to hear him say this disappoints me. It does damage his image a little, but at the end of the day Rudy is a Hollywood movie and like all movies they add parts to make the movie more dramatic and more interesting. Without the parts when the crowd was chanting for him to get in and everyone one throwing in their jerseys on the coaches desk, it would not be as good of a movie. The movie still is a classic story of hard-work and dedication can help you succeed and still the favorite movie of many people. The comment made by Joe Montana did not affect how people see the movie because it is the lesson people focus on, more then the details.
One of my favorite movies, is A Walk to Remember. This movie is about a bad boy named Landon and a good church girl named Jamie. Landon has to be in a school play because he was arrested and he asks Jamie to help him with his lines. Jamie specifically says, at the beginning, that Landon has to promise that he won't fall in love with her. Of course, at the thought of falling in love with her, he just laughs and thinks that that would never happen. Against all odds, Landon and Jamie fall in love with each other. Finally Jamie reveals the secret that has been choking her throat ever since she realized that she loved him. She has severe cancer. Landon's heart is broken but it just makes his love for her even stronger. He ends up proposing to her and of course she says yes. They get married and seem to live the perfect life, until Jamie has a horrible downfall with her illness and has to go to the hospital. She dies in the hospital with Jamie right by her side. I don't like this ending because it would be something that could happen in real life but something that you don't really see a lot.
One of my favorite books is called "Dead poets society". I never seen the movie of it. The ending of the story is like this, Neil, who is one of Mr.Keating's student. commits suicide. The reason is that his dream for act is ruined by his father, leaving his friends distraught and the Welton administration to believe that Mr. Keating was at fault. Charlie punches Cameron and gets kicked out of school. The headmaster forces the boys to sign a paper saying it was all Keating's fault, he gets fired, but as he leaves, the remaining students shout "O Captain My Captain" and stand on their desks to salute him. The ending is very sad and it leaves an long aftertaste. If the ending was happy then I would forget about it as soon as I closed the book. However, the image of Mr.Keating leaving school stuck in my head and I thought about how it felt if i were him at that moment. Therefore, I think the sad ending remains in my memory longer than happy ending.
One of my favorite movies is Pearl Harbor. The storyline takes place during World War II however, the movie focuses on a love triangle. It begins with the romance between Rafe, one of the best jet flyers in the army, and Evelyn, an army nurse. Danny is Rafe’s best friend and is also a jet flyer in the army. Rafe falls head over heels for Evelyn and their relationship sparks up really fast. Then Rafe volunteers to go fight in Britain and leaves Evelyn and Danny behind. Evelyn and Danny are both transferred to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Shortly after Rafe leaves to fight in the Britain Air Corps he is shot down and reported dead. This is devastating for both Danny and Evelyn and they seek solace within each other. Eventually they both realize feelings for each other neither knew existed and begin a questionable affair. Eventually Rafe unexpectedly returns, stunning everyone especially Evelyn and Danny. It doesn’t take long for Rafe to learn of the relationship between them. When he learns of it he is furious especially with Danny, his best friend. During the mix of all this drama Pearl Harbor is bombed by the Japanese taking everyone by surprise. Rafe, Danny and Evelyn put all the feelings and emotion aside and work together to do what they need in that particular moment. After the attack, both Rafe and Danny decide it is their duty to help in a retaliation against the Japanese. However, before Rafe and Danny leave, Evelyn tells Rafe that she is pregnant with Danny’s baby and tells him how she loves Danny but that he will always be in her heart and her true love. Both Rafe and Evelyn decide to keep it a secret from Danny so he can focus primarily on getting home safely. After they complete their mission they both crash on the coast of Japan and are pursued by Japanese soldiers. When Rafe is shot at Danny moves in front and takes the bullet for him. Rafe holds Danny in his arms as he dies and tells him that he is going to be a father so he needs to make it home. Danny responds by telling Rafe that he wants him to be a father to his child and take care of Evelyn. Danny dies in Rafe’s arms. When Rafe returns and Evelyn hears of the news, she is heartbroken and devastated once again. Rafe and Evelyn end up settling down and starting their family with their son, Danny. I do love the ending of this however I wish it did have a different ending. The happy ending is that Evelyn and Rafe end up together which is what you want throughout most of the movie however you feel a sort of sadness and sympathy for Danny because he died. Danny’s death had a huge emotional factor in the movie but at the end I felt a great sadness and sort of depression.
I believe that Joe Montana should have kept to himself about the factual details in the legend of Rudy. While he does have the right to say what he likes, his comments seem to hinder the inspirational aspect of the legend in a way. He states that Hollywood exaggerates and throws in certain parts of the story. Although this may be true, he may not realize that he is ruining the story for others. Sure Hollywood exaggerates and adds certain details to a "true story" but, this is only to make the legend even more inspirational than it is. Many people, including myself, find the legend of Rudy very inspirational and would have preferred not to hear about the factual details that Montana proclaims. With that being said, I would have liked Montana to not let everyone know that some minor details in the movie were falsely portrayed. In saying these things, he seems to negatively affect the inspirational impact of Rudy and Notre Dame Football, perhaps without trying to. Nonetheless, I still love the story of Rudy and the tradition of Notre Dame Football.
Last year around Christmas time I was scrolling through the channels and came across a movie called “Hachi”. I selected the movie after reading the description and realizing it was about a dog. In the beginning the movie seemed like an average family movie about the close companionship between a small akita puppy and his owner, but I soon got the feeling that something I didn’t like was going to happen. I am the kind of person who get’s very emotional when it comes to animals and this was exactly the type of movie that I think is sad. In the movie the main character, who is played by Richard Gere, finds a puppy. He decides to keep the puppy and the story follows them through their everyday life together. Everyday the dog, named Hachi, greets his owner at the train station after work. The seasons change; years pass, and both the dog and the owner begin to appear older. The story changes when it shows the owner having a heart attack and dying. This is when things began to get blurry because I couldn’t see past my tears. Even though the owner had died the story continues, as if I am not already sad enough. They begin to show Hachi sitting in the same spot where he met his owner everyday at the train station. After many days of his owner not showing, Hachi finally lies down in the snow and breaths his last breathe of air. By this point I was actually sobbing. As soon as Hachi dies the story picture gets brighter and the owner shows up and the dog and the owner walk off to what seems to be heaven. This is when my tears stopped. I enjoyed this horribly sad movie until it was ruined with a cheesy ending. The writers should have left the story with Hachi dying because then the viewer could make up their own happy ending or just realize that death comes to everybody. I still like the movie and the story, but it really could have done without the cheesy embellished ending of them meeting in heaven.
My favorite set of children’s movie is the animated series of Toy Story. I enjoy watching them because they are happy movies that transport you back to when you were a little kid. Also, I have two little brothers who enjoy watching them as much as I do. I’m willing to bet that almost everyone in our grade has seen at least the first movie. The series focuses on two main characters, Woody and Buzz, who are two toys of a young kid Andy. These toys and many of their other toy friends secretly come alive and go through many life changing adventures together. The third and final installment of the series is Toy Story 3. In this film, the toys are mistakenly delivered to a day-care center instead of the attic right before Andy leaves for college, and it's up to Woody to convince the other toys that they weren't abandoned and to return home. While the toys do return to their home in Andy’s room at the end of the movie they are soon donated to a little girl by Andy himself. Andy does not realize that his favorite toy and one of his oldest friends, Woody, is in the box until he pulls the toys out to show to the young girl, Bonnie. While watching, you can see the hesitation in Andy’s face and you are anxious to see if he brings Andy with him to college or lets him stay with the other toys. Eventually Andy leaves Woody behind, but not without playing with him one last time. It is such a bittersweet “happy” ending. On one hand you are heartbroken that the film is ending with Andy leaving his beloved toys behind, but you can’t help but feel a little happy for the young girl who is getting such joy from playing with the toys like Andy did when he was young. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only person in the theater full of children and moms that shed a tear. I think I’ll always remember watching the movies with my brothers and hopefully I can show them to my kids one day.
One of my absolute favorite books is Susan Collins "The HUnger Games". I found it thrilling and adventures in all a perfect story. It was later made into a movie, which left out some huge details that were in the book, but the movie had a great ending while the book did not. The story of the hunger games is quite simple. The USA in divided into 12 "districts, and together they make a continent called Panem. Each year, each district must nominate a boy and a girl between the ages of 12-18 to be put in an arena and fight to the death. Katniss Everdeen, the main characher, is forced into after taking her little sister's place. Both her and the boy tribute, Peeta Mellark, must train for two weeks and be ready to play "survival of the fittest" in the 74th anual hunger games. The ending in the movie is lovely and happy. Both Peeta and Katniss win the game and return home to their families unharmed and wealthy, whereas in the book, both do win, but peeta gets bitten by a ravenous dog. Because of this, they must amputate his leg. The movie ending wasn't as fufilling as the book because f all the details left out and they way that after all their hard work, nothing bad happened
The movie “Rudy” about Daniel Ruettiger was not clearly depicted, according to his former teammate, Joe Montana. Joe commented on the fact that in reality the team did not offer to give up their uniforms for Rudy. Also, the crowd did not chant his name and his teammates jokingly carried him off the field. Montana’s words did not necessarily change my view on the story. Not all movies can be depicted accurately because directors want to make movies that will sell. His account of Rudy’s story does make me question why they choose to turn his story into a movie in the first place if some of the major scenes weren’t entirely true. Without those scenes the movie would not be so ‘magical’ and it would not be considered an underdog movie. Montana’s statements may have made the Notre Dame name less desirable because the story was no longer as inspiring. The movie made the coach look like a bad guy for never giving Rudy the chance to play even though he worked hard for a spot. Joe Montana’s interview destroyed the entire message of the movie. Not only did it affect the movie but it also effected Rudy, Notre Dame and the coach. Montana should have let the legacy live on and not have trashed the inspirational story.
The movie that I enjoyed but did not agree with the ending was Grease. Throughout the movie you watch as the main female character, Sandy, transforms herself into a completely different person all for a guy’s attention. The movie begins with Sandy being an innocent and timid girl who falls in love with a bad boy, Danny, over the summer. When the school year resumes, ironically Sandy and Danny end up attending the same school. Danny is almost embarrassed in a way by seeing Sandy again that he acts like the tough guy and makes her look stupid. Throughout the school year, Sandy wants to get back at Danny therefore she transforms her appearance and personality into a promiscuous and provocative woman. Danny is dumbfounded and mind boggled by her new look that the tables turned and Danny wants to make Sandy fall in love with him again. For the most part, Sandy plays hard to get but eventually gives in to him and the two end up together. I did not agree with the ending because I didn’t like how a woman had to change her personality and appearance for a guy’s attention. I don’t think anyone should change whom he or she is just to be accepted by someone else.
The movie that I enjoyed but did not agree with the ending was Grease. Throughout the movie you watch as the main female character, Sandy, transforms herself into a completely different person all for a guy’s attention. The movie begins with Sandy being an innocent and timid girl who falls in love with a bad boy, Danny, over the summer. When the school year resumes, ironically Sandy and Danny end up attending the same school. Danny is almost embarrassed in a way by seeing Sandy again that he acts like the tough guy and makes her look stupid. Throughout the school year, Sandy wants to get back at Danny therefore she transforms her appearance and personality into a promiscuous and provocative woman. Danny is dumbfounded and mind boggled by her new look that the tables turned and Danny wants to make Sandy fall in love with him again. For the most part, Sandy plays hard to get but eventually gives in to him and the two end up together. I did not agree with the ending because I didn’t like how a woman had to change her personality and appearance for a guy’s attention. I don’t think anyone should change whom he or she is just to be accepted by someone else.
A movie that I truly enjoyed for the most part was a movie called, The Last Song. This movie was a wonderful mix of happy times filled with love and laughter, and somewhat depressing times filled with death, loss, and heartache. The complex plot to this film made the movie interesting to watch. Watching the two main characters develop a relationship was something that every girl wished to experience. However, this new summer romance did have its struggles which also made it more enticing to the viewer. Along with the normal relationship issues, outside forces caused stress onto the relationship. Ronnie’s father, who she is normally separated from, is very sick. She decides to stay with him for the summer where this romance blossoms. However, as this romance is growing, her fathers health is diminishing. During the film, Ronnie’s father dies, which causes issues and tension between Ronnie and Will. Eventually the two lovers part their separate ways and seem to move on with their lives. Until, at the end of the movie, when Ronnie is packing up to go to Julliard, Will meets her and tells her that he has changed his choice as to where he will be studying at college, in order to be closer to her. And it is just like that, that the two summer lovers are happily together again. The reason I did not particularly like this ending is because I thought it was somewhat predictable. I believe that it was, through the course of the movie, shown what the ending would be. Therefore, I believe it would have been more interesting if there was a twist at the end.
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Barbara Feinberg is the mother of a 12 year old boy who, much like his mother is an avid reader. Feinberg believes that the books the school assigns for her son to read are too depressing and lack imagination and creativity, as she has observed from his reactions to the books. Feinberg feels that the students should be allowed to have more of a choice in what they would like to read, such as fantasy and mystery. She thinks that teachers assign these depressing books to students as a way to secretly rub their noses in it that they must grow up also. She feels the teachers strongly miss their childhoods and resent growing up, and therefore, take it out on their students. I also believe that children are forced to face the harsh realities of life too early and are forced to lock away their imagination. All of these books about death, suicide, and addiction depress not only young people, but everyone. Adults may enjoy it because these books relate to our current lives, but not for young children. Children should be encouraged to reads and write on whatever interests them. Self-expression invokes creativity and makes a better world. It creates a world with a broader range of ideas. In my opinion, children should be introduced to those kinds of books around a later age of say 15, where some of the issues written about may relate to them. I’m not saying there are no children that experience the harshness of life early, I’m just saying there is a very small percent that do. I believe that creativity and imagination are key characteristics that mold the type of people we become, so instead of trying to force people to grow up, these characteristics should be celebrated.
3. There are many movies in which after watching I think to myself, “That would be a great movie if it didn’t have that sappy ending.” Any great adventure filled thriller can be ruined with a fake and unfulfilling ending. An example of this for me would be the movie The Hangover. This movie consists of three friends on an adventure full of partying, comical hi-jinks and some inappropriate shenanigans. The three men go out through the movie and with such great adventures but in the end there is a happy wedding and celebration to conclude the movie. To me this doesn’t seem to fit so well with the rest of the movie. During the movie, the three friends find themselves in a trashed hotel room, a lost friend, a stolen tiger, a stolen police car, a destroyed Mercedes, late to a wedding, and much more. Yet through all this trouble and mayhem that the three men find themselves in, it all seems to almost magically work out in the end. As if by some miracle, all debts are paid, everything that is broken seems to not be an issue, and even being late to their own wedding went without even a “slap on the wrist.” I myself highly enjoyed the movie overall, however to me. It seems as though the ending is unfulfilling and to happy to be true. Though it may not be pleasing to some audiences, I personally believe that the ending of such a movie like this one should involve these men maybe getting into trouble for their actions. It is possible for a more realistic ending to this movie still be comical and satisfying to audiences.
Truth is always a good standard to follow. In telling the truth, you find out the facts from fiction. However, Hollywood seems to often stretch the truth to make their movie production and its message more appealing to the viewer. In the film, Rudy is the underdog, but after hard work and determination he becomes the Notre Dames’ Fighting Irish’s football hero. In reading the article posted by Joe Montana, I believe that he should have just let what really happened go. Does it matter now? Although he was asked a question, his response was so late after the movie was first released it seemed to have no relevance. The movie is “based” on a true story. When Hollywood uses the word based it gives them the room to change certain things they would like to. Montana giving us the information about the few things that were not true in the film, does not change the story line much. Montana should have just let Rudy keep his dream and the dream he has inspired so many through. In this film, Rudy’s dream of going to Notre Dame and becoming a football player inspired many people. Montana’s response to the interviewer I feel doesn’t change the underlying message of the movie. The movie is meant to inspire the audience to dream big and work hard.
A movie that I really actually enjoy watching is “A Walk to Remember.” There is one thing about it that I don’t always feel satisfied with after watching it. That is, the ending of the movie. In the movie “A Walk to Remember” the character Jamie Sullivan is that weird church girl who wears the long skirts and grandma sweaters. She is the typical preacher’s daughter. Then there is the bad boy of the story. His name is Landon Carter. He ends up getting into some trouble and being forced to help with the school play with Jamie as punishment. He ends up being casted as the love interest of Jamie’s character. Eventually the two fall in love and have a perfect little relationship. The only problem is that Jamie is slowly dying of cancer. The movie has a happy yet sad ending. The two get married only to have Jamie die soon after. But it is still a happy touching ending that a bad boy could come to love a preacher’s daughter and fall so deeply in love that they marry. Even after she dies the movie still continues to have a generally happy ending showing Landon being close with Jamie’s father and doing something good with his life. In my own little perfect world I would have liked the movie to have ended with a different kind of happiness. I would have been more satisfied with an ending where they lived happily ever after, keyword “lived”. The ending in the movie was realistic. She was bound to die but it would have been more satisfying to me if the movie had an almost unrealistic happy recovery of Jamie. I would have lived to see Jamie and Landon grow old together and teach their children of the important lesson that Landon learned and that is to accept everyone even the weird girl in school because you never know, they could be the one for you.
I agree with the article when it says that teachers like to make students read “books that will make you cry,” however, I don’t agree that teachers should do this. I personally cannot read books that have a sad tone. I like to read to escape my daily struggles and stresses in life, and by reading about other people’s struggles, I tend to feel worse. Reading is supposed to be done to escape your own life and enter another “imaginary” world. If I’m escaping my world for something worse, I will give up on the book I’m reading. I don’t think that by making students read sad or depressing stories will help us learn anything different from a positive, upbeat story. They both contain rhetoric, morals, and other literary devices that we can learn from. I also think that teachers wouldn’t have as hard of a time getting students to become involved in class discussions if we were allowed to read something that is more inspiring and happy. Since grade school I have been forced to read many sad stories, poems, and novels and this has caused me to lose an interest in reading. I hope to one day be able to enjoy reading as much as I did when I was younger.
One of my all time favorite movies is “Remember the Titans.” Remember the Titans is a legendary movie inspired by real events about the journey of one of the first inter-racial high school football teams in Virginia. The players on the newly formed team are at first very segregated and have a hostility toward the players that are of the opposite race. The movie depicts the long journey of how the segregated team defeated their differences and oppositions and became the next Virginia state football champions. The team was lead by two captains: ironically one white captain, Gary, and one African American captain, Julius. They both overcame their hatred for each other and became not only close teammates, but they became best friends. The captains of the team brought the players together and united them as one. By the end of the movie, nearly all of the players became good friends and supported each other when they received scrutiny from other all-white teams and some “closed minded” townsfolk. The team became exceptionally good and they won their way to an undefeated season. The Titans made it to the state semi-finals and fought their way through biased referees and won the semi-finals to proceed to the state finals. During the night’s celebrations Gary got in a life-altering accident and became paralyzed from the waist down. The team was devastated about the accident but they won the State Championship title in their final game. The movie in the end is “happy” because of the success of the team, but I don’t like the fact that Gary, one of the players that demanded the players treated each other with respect, was the one who was “penalized” and struck with the altering accident. The accident was so unexpected. I personally believe that the accident left the team lacking one of their most important players during the game that they worked so hard to play in
From reading Joe Montana’s words I now have a different view of the movie Rudy. Before reading this I thought that Rudy was a great movie about a guy who did an amazing thing, but now I look at it as just another twisted true story from Hollywood. I think it’s wrong for Hollywood change a story like Rudy’s, and and advertise it as a true story. I want the real story of Rudy Ruettiger, not something some guy wrote over in Hollywood. If the movie was written with the actual story, I believe that it would have been just as good as the one that was released, if not better. I think that some of the things Montana said happened would have made a fine story if they were in the movie. Why they (Hollywood) needed to lie about the story, I’ll never know. I also don’t think that Joe Montana was wrong for “divulging” what really happened. This is because he was just telling the truth about the real story, he wasn’t trying to be mean by ruining the legend of Rudy. As for my Opinion of Notre Dame football It’s the same as it’s always is, I love it. In my opinion Notre Dame football did nothing wrong by letting Hollywood put out a “not so true” story, because Hollywood are the ones that lied about it being true. This is how my view of the movie Rudy has changed after reading the article about Joe Montana.
Joe Montana just ruined the movie for me. Obviously you keep your mouth shut about something like that. I know he was there and he wants the story to be accurate but it isn’t about that. It’s about making a good movie and a good story to make money and inspire people. I see why Montana did it but at the same time you have to be the bigger man. If you’re the Hall Of Fame Quarterback who won four super bowls and made millions of dollars why can’t you let “Rudy” have its moment? What harm does that do to you? Everyone knows that parts of Hollywood’s movies are exaggerated that’s why it’s “BASED on a true story” and not “IS a true story.” The comments Montana made just make me think of him as selfish. Like he thought all of his attention from being on that Notre Dame Football team was stolen by some random kid who happened to get a sack. I see Montana as the antagonist from the movie who at the end expects praise saying, “I’m the real hero here!” But everyone just celebrates someone else who deserves it more. Montana just adds insult to injury with his comment, “The guys carried him off, kind of playing around…I won't say it's a joke, but playing around." Then Montana seems to release what he’s doing and tries to save himself by saying, "He got in. He did get a sack…He worked his butt of to get where he was and do what he did." Too late Joe…way too late.
P.S. Joe Montana was asked to appear in a Super Bowl with some other old legends from his time as part of the half time show. All the other legends that were asked agreed but Joe Montana asked for a huge sum of money; way more than anyone else and when they denied him this he said he would not make the appearance. So I know for a fact he has an inflated ego and is selfish.
I have always believed that the order in which one reads a book and watches the movie affects one's opinion on the other. This statement, even when I read it, is confusing. Please allow me to explain. For example, I read the book My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult before the movie was released. As a result, I preferred the book to the movie. However, I know people that did the opposite of me: they watched the movie and then proceeded to read the book. After they read it, they still found the movie to be more appealing. The reasoning behind this is probably wrapped up in some psychological mumbo-jumbo that I am not very interested in trying to understand. However, I do know people that also read the book beforehand and they were also very disappointed with the movie- the ending in particular. My Sister's Keeper is about a girl named Anna and her older sister Kate. Kate was diagnosed with leukemia at a very young age and afterwards, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate: a "test-tube" baby. Throughout the duration on Anna's life, she had numerous surgeries to help her sister battle cancer. The book makes one really question the parents' morals. Shouldn't Anna have rights when it comes to her own body? Well, by the age of thirteen, enough was enough. Anna actually sues for medical emancipation from her parents. Towards the end of the story, we find out the idea was actually Kate's. Anna wins the case just as her sister develops the need for a new kidney. After the victory, when Anna is on her way home she gets into a fatal car accident. Her kidney is then used to save her sister's life. The book ends eight years after Anna's death, which also marks eight years since Kate's last relapse. I know this ending is horrible and very unexpected, but that is part of the reason why I "liked" it better than the movie ending. In the movie, Kate dies instead of Anna. This ending is predictable and I'm sure did not take any audience by surprise (except for those who read the book, of course). Most happy endings are predictable. I know the movie's ending is not necessarily happy, but it still ends with a typical remembering of Kate's memory and smiling because that's what she would want them to do- be happy. The book is called"My Sister's Keeper" for a reason. Anna saves Kate's life even though it was in an unpredictable and unfortunate way. Twists are always what makes for an interesting read and by changing the movie's ending completely, I believe they ruined the purpose of the story.
I thought the article on children reading sad, depressing books, was an interesting topic that I had never thought about until now. I think it’s a bad thing to expose young kids to sad writing such as the Series of Unfortunate Events series. Kids should slowly be exposed to these ideas once they reach a certain age. They don’t know how to handle these situations yet, and it could have a negative effect on them. I can remember learning about the holocaust as a sixth grader, and looking back at the videos we watched and the books we read about it, I don’t think I was mature enough at that point in time to comprehend the event. I found it really scary, and sad. I think they should definitely teach kids about the terrible happenings in Germany, but I think they could leave out the disturbing details until we get a little older and more mature. I think kids should be kept ignorant a little longer than they are now. We learn too much too soon, and it effects how we deal with things throughout our lives. Overall I think serious topics should be approached more slowly and gently, so that young kids learn how to deal with these things as they learn about them.
In my opinion, I think that Joe Montana should have kept his mouth shut about the "true" story about Rudy. The movie Rudy, is an inspiring movie about an undersized man named Rudy who wanted nothing more than to play football for Norte Dame. This underdog type movie shows that if you work hard enough and are determined enough you can reach your goals. Thats what Rudy stands for, achieving your dreams. Of course this is a movie, Hollywood likes to exaggerate parts of the story but Joe Montana didn't have the right to make the statement he made on the Dan Patrick show. It seems that he is trying to change people's view of the the legend of Rudy. Saying that is not only putting Rudy down but the Notre Dame college football team too. Looking into the story some more, there are some rumors that other people on the Notre Dame football team from 1975 stood up and defended Rudy saying that Joe was lying. At the end of the day, people are allowed to have their own opinions. They can believe what Joe said or not. But after reading about Joe Montana's statement, I think most people might change their view of the movie. Even though the movie might not be completely true I still love this movie and it's still very inspiring to me.
“School of Rock” is one of my favorite childhood movies. The basic idea of the movie is a substitute teacher turns his class into a rock band. I, for one, would love to miss a chunk of the school year to be in a rock band, what young person would not want to? In the movie, these kids are actually pretty decent. They are the “bee’s knees” as one of the characters said. The band actually won a “Battle of the bands” competition it entered. Everything seems peachy and fun, but this happy ending didn’t sit well with me. It left me with the question on how did Dewey Finn get away with this whole scheme.
For beginners, Dewey was not the actual substitute teacher. He impersonates his roommate who is supposed to be the real substitute teacher. The fact that the school doesn’t figure out that Dewey is not the real teacher is unrealistic. The second part is how the children kept their mouths shut. If I was a kid and my class was a rock band, I wouldn’t stop talking about it. Every single person that came around me would hear that I am in a rock band. It is one of those things kids see as “cool”. Undoubtedly, my parents would hear about this whole rock band thing and I know they would not be happy about it. I don’t think it is possible to have a roomful of children be in a rock band without their parents knowing. Then from the parents, I don’t think it’s possible for them to allow this to happen. The movie ends with Dewey’s band winning the “Battle of the Bands”. Dewey uses the prize money from this competition for his own personal benefit. It’s a great thing that Dewey got himself out of debt in a clever way, but it is unrealistic. Don’t get me wrong, the movie is entertaining, but the happy ending leaves a sour taste in my mouth, especially since we live in a society that wants security over our children. If this movie were to be realistic, Dewey would be incarcerated long before his “band” ever entered into the “Battle of the Bands”.
Flag on the play! "Personal foul, unsportsmanlike conduct on Joe Montana." There was no need for him to downplay the movie, Rudy, especially on-air on The Dan Patrick Show. The manner in which Montana went about telling the world the truth warrants the unsportsmanlike conduct, because Daniel Ruettiger was once a teammate of his. You don’t do that to a teammate of yours. Especially not one that was so inspirational to all who’ve hear, read, or seen his story. I highly doubt that Rudy was a bad teammate to any of the guys in the locker room, so for Montana to say these things about what actually happened was a bit distasteful. Montana’s comments didn’t affect my view of the movie at all. It did affect the way I look at Joe Montana now though. As for Notre Dame football, it will remain one of the most historic football programs of all time with or without Rudy’s sack against Georgia Tech. As for the Hollywood aspect of things, people all knew before hand that a sports movie inspired by a true story was probably altered in some type of way to better the film in order to sell more tickets. We all know that. We get it. We understand it and we let it all go to enjoy a great story of perseverance, hope, and triumph.
The movie, The Notebook, is one of my favorite love stories I have ever seen. The only problem I have with the movie is the ending. The story is a huge love story about a girl named, Allie and a boy named, Noah. They go through all the typical bumps relationships in movies usually do. One of their biggest struggles was Allie’s parents. This is a normal hurdle in many relationships because so many parents are too worried about the date meeting their standards, rather than letting their child figure it out. Fortunately, the two love birds are able to overcome this struggle. Many other things come in their way to the happy ending, such as Allie’s fiancé and Noah’s girlfriend, but they eventually work it out. The movie is kind of like a frame story because it starts with Noah and Allie in their retirement home and Noah is reading Allie’s version of their love story to her that she wrote when she found out she had Alzheimer’s. The movie shows everything that happens in the book, but at the end it shows him finishing the book as Allie goes to sleep. Noah ends up laying next to Allie that night and dying with her. This ending seems too good to be true. I am happy they are still together, but I just think it is so unrealistic.
One of my all time favorite movies would probably The Proposal. This movie was one of the feel-good, comedic romance movies, which is the reason it’s one of my favorites. Although, this movie was overall a pretty good movie, the ending didn’t really draw me in as much as I would have liked it to. I felt this ending is the typical romance endings where the boy chases the girl after realizing he loves her. Even though I expected this as the end of the movie, I just hoped that it would be something different or more dramatic. Throughout the movie the two main characters, Margaret and Andrew, have a comedic relationship filled with jokes and sarcasm. At the end of the movie though, I feel the characters got lost a little bit and became really serious and unlike how they were from the rest of the movie. If the ending was not as cliché as every other movie I have watched, or if it had something a little different than the typical “I finally realized I am in love this person so I’m going to run after them and tell them how I feel, “ scene, the movie would be even better.
Like many people I enjoy a suspenseful or scary movie every now and then. They keep you on the edge of your seat, making you so interested or into the movie that you just get you hooked and even feel like you’re apart of it. A perfect example of a really well written suspenseful movie is The Sixth Sense. I am sure that everyone has seen or at least if not seen, heard of it. The movie is about a young boy who is tormented because he can “see dead people.” These ghosts come to him throughout the movie for help after they have died. During this time the boy has a psychiatrist who is trying to help him deal with this problem that is disturbing him. You become so interested in both the boy and the psychiatrist’s lives and how this little boy’s problems are affecting each other and how they are both dealing with it. Up to this point, I think the movie is really fascinating but then all of a sudden it changes for me. At the end of the movie you happily find out the psychiatrist helps the boy deal with this problem, but then something unexpected happens. You realize that the psychiatrist is actually one of the dead people that this boy had been “seeing” and having problems with all along. While its sad that the psychiatrist is dead, I think the ending is happy because the little boy is finally at peace and his family is able to understand what he has been going through. There is a sort of a resolution; it just depends on how you look at it. However no matter how you see it, the ending is still very unexpected.
In my opinion I believe that teachers and people in general, love depressing books because they make us think and help to teach us lesson. Growing up many children read books about fairytales and these perfect utopian worlds where everything magical turns out good in the end. I do admit that I like to read these types of stories every once in a while but I like to read books that do not “sugar coat” anything. In fact, many of my favorite books have depressing endings. For example, a few years ago I read a book called Thirteen Reasons Why. The story is mainly about a teenage girl who commits suicide and leaves these tapes for certain people who had influenced her life. I absolutely love the story because it helps young people get inside the mind of a suicidal girl. From the start of the story you already know that the ending will not be happy, and it isn’t of course. But the story teaches many valuable lessons and taught me to be more aware of my surroundings and the tough things people may be going through. In general I do like happy endings but I believe that having a sad ending makes a book much more memorable.
One movie that I didn’t particularly care for was “The Vow.” I was so excited to see it and when I finally went to the midnight premier, it wasn’t at all what it was cracked up to be. The ending of the movie was by far the worst part. In the movie, Leo and Paige are a married couple that are going out on a date to the movies. It was snowing and it was hard to see out of the windshield. When Paige and Leo stop in the middle of the street, a truck comes toward their car and Leo loses control. The truck crashes into them and they both end up going to the hospital. Paige suffered from brain damage and loses her memory. This has a profound effect on Leo and it upsets him that she cannot remember who he is. Paige doesn’t believe that Leo is her husband or that she even knew him. Leo tries to bring her memory back by brining her to familiar places and engaging in some of the activities they used to take part in. When Paige still can’t remember, she goes after her old boyfriend and leaves Leo crushed. Paige then realizes why she left her old boyfriend in the first place and she decides to give Leo a second chance. Towards the end of the movie, she still doesn’t remember Leo. They go on a date and start fresh as a new couple. The ending was upsetting because I was hoping she would remember and it would be a happy ending. I was hoping all of her memories would come back at once and allow Leo to feel like his plan worked. I wish it showed more of their life together and how this brought them closer together. Instead, the movie just ends and leaves you wondering if they ever stay together and get married again.
Joe Montana commented on what he remembered about Daniel Eugene "Rudy" Ruettiger a teammate at Notre Dame and the subject of the 1993 Movie Rudy written about his senior year on the Notre Dame football team. Montana’s comments deemphasize and in some cases challenge the assertions made in the movie. Rudy was portrayed as bench warming football player that played in one game due to his fellow Notre Dame players insisting upon him playing and then only after the Notre Dame crowd chanted in unison “Rudy, Rudy, Rudy”. Montana dispels the popularity that the movie suggests Rudy has from the other players, fans, and the Notre Dame University. I believe Joe Montana did the right thing by telling the truth about Rudy. All too often the media and movie industry sensationalize events to increase viewership. The effects of this sensationalization is to create unwarranted heros and drama. This sensationalization also leads to unwanted second order effects for society. For instance, a child watching a movie about a firefighter entering a burning building to save a dog is likely to imitate such behavior to achieve hero status. Likewise, the sensationalization of a high speed police chase may cause teenagers to test the limits of the speeding envelop, putting themselves and others at harm. In the end, the saying “the truth will set you free” is the best approach. Joe Montana got it right with his Rudy comments.
Although truth is an excellent virtue to follow in life, I think that the truth can be stretched a little bit when movies are as inspirational as “Rudy.” In real life, there are not many happy endings as appeared in most movies that are released today. Because we know that most “happy endings” are hard to come by in life, we try to look for as many true life examples as possible that can inspire us to stay strong. Rudy is a great movie to watch, especially in times when we experience periods of hopelessness and doubt. I believe that Joe Montana’s voiced opinion on the movie makes no difference on the impact it had on the lives of people everywhere. Despite the slight changes made to entice the viewers, Rudy’s dream still became a reality before his very eyes. Even though everyone was not chanting Rudy’s names in the stands, the no one can deny that Rudy was out there playing on the Notre Dame football field that day. Even if everyone wasn’t out there rooting for him, Rudy still conquered his dream; which wasn’t to be the “all-star” everyone knew, but simply to relish in the beauty of finally seeing the stadium from a different light, switching positions with one of those heart-felt fans in the stands.
Mackenzie G Purple:
One of my favorite childhood movies that I will never forget is My Girl. My niece and I would get so excited whenever my parents would rent the movie from Blockbuster. The first time I watched My Girl I did not know what to expect, a happy or sad movie. It turned out to be a little bit of both. Throughout the movie Vada and her new friend Thomas J. become very close. Vada was teased at school daily because she was a tomboy and her best friend was a boy. As Vada and Thomas J. grew closer both of them had formed a crush. The two kids had a hangout under a tree right next to a pond. One day as usual they were playing around the pond and the forest. Thomas J. decided to squirt Vada with a water gun which causes a chase. As the two were running around they came across an enormous bees hive. Thomas J. thought it would be a good idea to throw rocks at it. To there surprise all the bees started to attack the both of them. Neither Thomas J. or Vada knew that he was allergic to bees. As a result of their incident Thomas J. did not make it. He was around 11 years old and died. I did not personally like this ending because Vada already had a hard life with her mother dying and now her best friend. Throughout the movie the atmosphere was mainly happy and I think they should have kept it that way. To this very day every time I watch My Girl and watch the scene of Thomas J. dying I cry. This scene does make a good movie but I would rather have a happy ending.
I may be picking a silly movie but it is one of my favorites and, while the ending was fine, I would have much preferred it to have gone in a different direction. The movie Napoleon Dynamite is all about a kid, Napoleon, who is just doing what he always does. Most of the movie has no real story at all. Eventually Napoleon befriends a new Mexican student named Pedro. Very randomly Pedro decides to run for class president. Throughout the movie as well Napoleon has an interest in a really preppy girl but secretly also has a crush on a dorky girl who “left her junk on his porch”. In the end Pedro wins the election for class president and it is implied the Napoleon and the dorky girl Deb. I like the ending, its fine and dandy but it doesn't seem to match the movie. The movie is just like real life. Kind of boring or awkward most of the time and then this old fashion ending is thrown in there. If Napoleon had gotten the girl in the end that would have been fine; an old fashion ending but tends to happen in real life too. But, I don’t believe Pedro should have won the election. While it makes the story nice, it would just not have panned out like that in real life.
I am a sucker for romance so when previews for “The Vow” were first revealed I really wanted to see it. To summarize, the movie is about a married couple who get into a car accident. While the husband makes it out okay, the wife loses her memory from the last five years and therefore her entire relationship with her husband. Throughout the movie, the husband tries to make her remember the love she has but she never does which results in a divorce. At the end of the movie, she is able to find herself and becomes the same person she was before the accident and restarts her relationship with her now ex-husband. The movie is based on a real life couple who are now happily married with children. I was really upset when the movie ended with the wife never getting her memory back. Even though the movie was staying true to the real life story, the ending was highly unsatisfying. I was expecting that the wife would one day remember everything and that they would live happily ever after. Even though they did end up married and with kids, I just feel like its incomplete because she will never remember the first five years he and her husband spent together. But I guess, on the other hand, if they had changed it to be different from the original story, I might have been upset too.
Some books I loved as an adolescent were the Harry Potter books. The books took me to another world. I could escape reality to the interesting and exciting world of witchcraft and wizardry. Although the books became less cheery and much more complicated and depressing as the story went on, I was hooked on these books. I fell in love with the characters and I absolutely had to know what would happen next. I felt as though I was living in these stories. Another series of books I loved were the Twilight books. They also, were not the most cheery books. A teenage girl who falls in love with a vampire and spends her time contemplating weather to live her life with her lover or become a vampire with him and be with him forever is not exactly a plot line. However, I fell in love with these books as well. They also helped me escape reality into a world of fantasy and young love. Finally, I love the Hunger Games series. The plot of this story was that children were put in an arena to fight to the death until one victor remained. I love the action and adventure in these books. There were many surprises and the books kept me on my toes. The books I read in my adolescent years were very adventurous and thrilling. I love books that surprise me and keep me guessing about what will happen. I found the books in all of these series’ exciting and very hard to put down.
First of all, I do not believe that either happy endings or sad endings to any story are better. What I do believe is that the best kind of story is the one that people can relate to. A realistic story with a realistic ending satisfies the reader because they could possibly see the events that happen in the story happening in their own life. I don’t think that a book should have a storyline or an ending that is to one extreme or the other. I will use the example of The Hunger Games to illustrate this point because I believe that there are elements of both a happy and sad ending, and also because it has been such a popular book in the last year and a half or so. The whole Hunger Games series is set several hundred years in the future, so there is advanced technology like hovercrafts and things of the like that are not realistic at all to anybody reading the books right now. Throughout the series there is a large amount of violence and loss, given the nature of the actual Games themselves, but this doesn’t not make it a complete “problem novel” as outlined in the posted link. There are in fact very happy points in the books such as when they win the first games and the very end of the series when Katniss and Peeta end up together and have a family and live “happily ever after.” I think this balance between happy and sad in a book is how authors should depict the story for the readers.
One of my favorite books is One Night That Changes Everything by Lauren Barnholdt. It’s a cute love story but in the beginning the couple are broken up. Both the girl and boy still like each other but because of some issues they had they broke up. However, the main plot of the story is the girl loosing her journal and is getting text messages telling her to do all the things she wished she could do in the journal. It’s sort of like truth and dare. Though the story was very good and well written the ending bugged me. At the very end of the story the boy and girl meet up in their school parking lot for an exchange. The boy gives the girl her notebook back. It’s was sort of suspenseful for me because I wanted to know what the girl was going to do. I thought she was going to go up to kiss him, walk away and as she’s walking say; “If only.” Having us wonder if they’re going to get back together or not. Which in my opinion would have been a lot better. Instead the author decides for the two protagonists to have a conversation of whether they should get back together, which inevitably they do. So yeah, as much as I loved this book I hated the ending.
Joe Montana ruined one of the best underdog stories of all time. The story of Rudy is one that has inspired many people to do extraordinary things. So what if the movie didn’t accurately portray what really happened, he should have not said anything and let the story live on. Joe Montana had an amazing career and is regarded as one of the best, if not the best Quarterback of all time. Considering all the success he has had in his life, you would think he could let the whole Rudy thing go. But no, he had to go and tell everyone the truth about the Rudy story ruining a classic story showing that anything is possible. Even though Joe was a great quarterback and has won multiple Superbowls, he still has to go and ruin the real-life Rudy’s reputation just because he didn’t like how the movie portrayed what happened. Joe should have just kept his damn mouth shut and let the legend of Rudy live on, instead of ruining it for the people who love the movie.
The happy ending that I would like to discuss is from the movie “Super 8”, written by J.J. Abrams. The movie is about a group of young kids; around the early 80’s. They were trying to make a movie for a film festival, when a train exploded in the distance. They ran with the tape and didn’t say anything about it to anyone. The rest of the story is about the weird stuff that happened in the weeks past. Random stuff all over the town was being stolen. The kids decided to investigate the happenings. The movie is full of mysteries up until the last 15 minutes. The kids find them selves in a huge cave with a monster and all of the missing items. The last 15 minutes of the movie you find out that the monster is an alien from another world. The government had it and was running test until it escaped from the transport train. Somehow one of the boys was able to communicate with the creature. He found out that the alien was trying to escape and that’s why he was terrorizing the town. The kids end up helping the alien escape with this ship that it made from all of the random stuff. All was happy because the poor creature got away. I feel it was right to help the alien escape but there were way to many unanswered questions that it frustrated me.
I did very much agree with the article A Good Book Should Make You Cry. I believe that although a book may be very depressing, it will ultimately get the reader thinking about the problems and bad situations in the book. Reading depressing stories can benefit the reader by showing them why not to make certain choices and why to make the right choices. Also, I think that crying can be beneficial because it is a healthy way to release what you have been holding inside and a good way to show emotion. I particularly take interest in reading books of this type because I feel like I can relate to them, and they often show me that I am not alone. I read two very sad books in the beginning of summer that I absolutely loved. Written by Jay Asher, Thirteen Reasons Why really caught my attention and I ended up finishing the entire book in two days. It was about a young girl who committed suicide, but before she actually committed the act, she recorded tapes that were addressed to thirteen different people in her life. Each person she spoke to on the tape recorders somehow had a reason to do with her suicide. In the end, though, the book taught a great lesson on how to make sure you really pay attention to your friends because people who seem happy can be feeling extremely low. Another depressing book I took interest in was called Crash Into Me by Albert Borris. This was also a type of suicide book with a happy ending for the most part. Four people who met on a website after they each attempted suicide (but did not succeed) go on an adventure across the country to then kill themselves together at the end of their journey. Throughout their long journey bonding over their similarities they became very close friends. It shows that with the right support and good friends, you can overcome anything, even suicide.
One of my favorite movies is called 500 Days of Summer. It is about a man named Tom that falls in love with a girl named Summer. She makes it very clear that she doesn’t believe in love, but they hang out anyway while Tom falls harder and harder for her. She ends up breaking it off with him because she felt like he was getting too attached. After they split you find out she is engaged to another man, which breaks Tom’s heart even more. Once he finally decides to move on, he meets a new girl named Autumn. This movie is one of my favorites because I expected a normal love story when I was watching it. I thought she would eventually realize she loved Tom and they would stay together. The end took me by surprise because they didn’t stay together, and he met another girl named Autumn. The only reason I didn’t like the ending of the move was because you never know if he and Autumn stayed together or if Summer ever came back into Tom’s life. The movie began like an average love story would, but ended a completely different way than what was expected.
A movie that I did not expect the ending in was American Gangster. In the end of the movie after the Frank gets out of jail he meets up with the cop that put him in. It shows how much things changed and how the feelings were friendly between the two even though the cop had put Frank away for about 20 years. This ending was not expected at all, I anticipated that Frank would get shot or killed in some way in the end for all that he did. This movie took a complete turn when Frank is caught for his major drug dealing scheme and instead of being a silent criminal he tells of everyone that was every involved and cleans up all the corruption in the police system. It was so unexpected because of everything illegal and wrong that Frank had done over his years of making millions, yet in the end he becomes a completely different person. I never would have guessed this ending because its hard to believe that someone can change as much as Frank does once he is caught. It showed me that you can never judge a person and what they might do.
I think what Joe Montana said about Rudy wont really affect my perspective on the movie and Notre Dame football itself. There are times that as a football player you shouldn’t try to put someone down when they are achieveing their goals. As seen in the movie, Rudy did work hard, never took anything for granted, and didn’t take no for answer. If there was a roadblock, he made sure that he was going to get through it. All of those characteristics were seen in the movie and those characteristics made you fall in love with the character to the point you wanted everything to go his way.
People do have to understand that Rudy is a movie, so things will be changed in a way to go with the story line and to keep people interested. At the same time you can think Montana could of been jealous of Rudy and just wanted make sure everyone knew the real story and how it all went down and that’s what he basically did. But he should of let the Rudy legend live on and let him feel good about his accomplishments and hard work. If the real Rudy is anything like the movie character Rudy, he wouldn’t let Montana’s comments get to him.
In the movie "The Grey" Liam Neeson plays a protector of an oil drill company, and on a flight home with his coworkers from the Alaskan Outback, the plain goes down in a white-out. Neeson, being the outdoorsman that knows how the wolves act around people and groups, leads the 10 survivors on the route towards home. Throughout the movie, all of the survivors are picked off by either the hungry wolves that terrorize them, or by the bitter cold that freezes their blood. In the last few minutes of the movie, Neeson is the only survivors when he hears the grumbling growl of the Alpha-Wolf. He breaks the small bottles of whiskey and vodka that were kept from the airplane and straps the broken glass to his knuckles, preparing for his fight with the Alpha. This is where the movie ends. No fight scene. No arriving home to a hysterical wife. No happy ending. And I feel as if I have wasted two hours of my day (even though I watched it on the car ride to Florida). The ending is horrible at first thought to me, but as I sit and watch the trees go by I realize what great movie - making was used. The Cliffhanger, the style used by T.V. shows and movies alike to keep you coming back for more. At the end of the day, I wanted to see more, and I watched the movie again to catch any lines or actions that I may have missed. The movie ended once again but I let the credits roll. After the two minutes short list of credits, a clip is shown with Neeson on his back breathing, and the wolf next to him, with blood saturating the snow, dead. Even though at first the ending left you unsatisfied, I was pleased once I finished the entire movie.
When I was an adolescent one of my all-time favorite book series was Harry Potter. I grew up with the influence of my sister and attending the book premiers at Barnes and Noble with her. She would always be the first person I knew that got ahold of the book and would sit for hours on the porch reading. When she was done she would graciously lend it to me so I could delve into the same magical world that she had. Harry Potter is a story about a boy named Harry who lives with his aunt and uncle after his parents’ death. They died at the hands of a terrifying wizard named Voldemort. At a young age he finds out that he has magical abilities too. The series continues to follow him through his seven years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and his struggles with Voldemort. I love this series because it is so well written. The way J.K. Rowling structures her sentences really pulls me in and makes me feel as though I am right there alongside Harry in a classroom or fighting Voldemort. My favorite book in the series is Order of the Phoenix. Harry is in year five of his schooling and Voldemort has gotten so dangerous that an Order is made to protect people.
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