Singin' in the Rain in Chicago

So, here we are comparing once again. Identifying and defining the similarities and differences between Singin’ in the Rain and Chicago, but where to start is the real question. Well I guess I will start off with the similarities between these two films. Okay, so, as we have seen, both of these films have strongly portrayed what an actor will do for stardom (fame) and love, or even, hate and out of fear. However, the question is, what will these actors do for stardom, love, and hate or out of fear? Well the answer to this question is not simple, but is instead quite complex actually, due to the fact that we’re dealing with love, hate, fear, and fame.

                So, I guess I will start off with the easiest topic and that is what our “stars” will do for stardom. But wait; aren’t love, hate, fear, and fame all connected in some way? Like don’t our stars of Chicago portray that they love to hate and that they fear having a lack of fame? Well from what I have seen, the answer is yes. How though? Well, these actors fear not being famous so they begin to love to hate and act on that for fame. So they become murderers. Unfortunately, or fortunately (depends on how you look at it) Singin’ in the Rain is a lot less complex. It’s basically about falling in love and becoming famous without committing a major crime to get there. So, overall, I guess that that basically sums up both the similarities and differences between these two films (Singin’ in the Rain and Chicago).

Overall, that is what I have gotten out of both of these films and overall, that is that.

The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns

To start off with, the first question is, and I quote, “How does Green’s work resonate with us?” Well the answer to that is quite simple actually, but also quite complex.  The answer is that, in my opinion, Green has a very fascinating and understandable writing style that is very good at capturing and holding the reader’s attention throughout the story. Green’s work is also good at feeding the imagination, especially of teens and young adults. So that is how Green’s work resonates with me.

                The themes in both The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns have a lot to do with the human experience. For instance, The Fault in Our Stars seems like it has a lot to do with death, but if you truly look at it, it has just as much to do with life as it does death. It’s pretty much about how to live life when you’re dying. Now as for Paper Towns, from what I saw, it’s about how to live. What I mean by this is that it’s about all the miracles, fortunes, the death of feelings, and misfortunes of life and how to deal with them. It’s about finding yourself. So in all, The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns are basically about how to live with death, or the thought of.

                Through both The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns, there is a lot that we can learn about ourselves and others. What can we learn about ourselves? Well it’s basically this; we can learn not only where and what we are, but also who we are and why. Now as for others, we can learn that you can only control what’s in your control and to keep that under control, but as for others, treat them properly and expect nothing. You know what they say, “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.” So that is how these stories teach us about ourselves and others.  

Lost and Found

Each of the films (both Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and Reign Over Me), have main characters that are and have been affected by the horrible tragic incident of September 11. However, it’s how our main characters cope (deal) with their tragedies that makes these films different and yet slightly the same.

So, to start off with both films have characters that have lost people in the incident of 9/11. In Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close our main character (Oscar) has lost his dad in 9/11. Instead of coping with the incident, it seems like he locked his grief in a brick box and threw it out in the middle of the ocean for it to sink to the bottom of the ocean floor and ran away to never look back. However, he is constantly secretly staring it in the face as he tries to find out and solve the mysteries that his dad left behind. Whereas in Reign Over Me, it is our second to main character (Charlie) that has lost his whole family in 9/11. In my opinion, he copes with his loss basically in the opposite way that Oscar does. He copes with it by basically allowing it to consume him and hasn’t really tried to cope with it. So, to sum it up, Oscar avoids it but is still aware of coping with it whereas Charlie is aware of it but avoids coping with it.

Overall, both of these films have devastating stories, but to choose one that is more devastating than the other, that’s a difficult one and in fact, I would have to say that they’re both equally devastating in my book. I say this because even though both of our discussed characters have tragically lost someone close to them, they both gained something along the way. So as something is lost a journey of grievance and healing is formed and along the way something is gained.