The American Dream: the classic rags to riches, something from nothing story. The concept is countlessly repeated in literature, cinema, and real life, and it raises speculation about what makes the idea limited to the United States. Is this common anecdote exclusive to only the US? The “American” Dream is integral to American culture but is just as applicable to other nations and foreign individuals that do not fly the Star Spangled Banner. The American Dream has common themes that are not…
Wenders’s Family Feud: Paris, Texas Wim Wenders 1984 film Paris, Texas is a movie part of the New German Cinema movement that curiously takes place in the United States. The film follows Travis Henderson, who begins the film as a mute man found wandering the desert in Texas by his brother Walt. Walt, with great effort, takes Travis back to his home in Los Angeles, where Travis reunites with his now 7-year-old son, after stopping contact and disappearing four years ago. Travis and his son Hunter…
government pass an official law that states the limit to how many sugary drinks we are allowed to have? Sugary drinks seem to raise a very prominent question, in the American society. To many, it may seem, not understandable but unforcedly it should be in effect in our daily lifestyles. Drinking too many sugary drinks is one of the factors that lead to obesity. There should be a ban on drinks over the size of 16 ounces, in public spaces such as restaurants, cinemas, and stadiums, etc. This will…
defenseless people trying to get well. Throughout the recent years the numbers of mass shootings have shown a dramatic increase that have many people worried for their safety. There has been “133 mass shootings – almost two per month that occurred in 39 states in the nearly seven-year period.” ("Analysis of Mass Shootings") These shootings not only affect the victim themselves, but also their…
everyday life of people living in northern Mexico and Mexican-Americans within the southern United States. One such type of music that is very popular among these people is cumbia, which is a dance-oriented music style originating from afro-Cuban roots that has spread throughout Latin America and wherever Latin Americans settle. Cumbia has grown from its origins across northern Mexico and the southern United States and plays in important role in the cultural identity of the people of these…
model in several international agencies. Working, he spent only five years in Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Australia and France. It was precisely in one of these trips that he met the director Carlo de La Torre, who opened the doors of the then model for cinema. At age 21, he auditioned for the film "The Mask," which starred actor Jim Carrey. Even without previous experience as an actress, she achieved the leading female role. And it worked. Facing a new possibility and the relative success achieved…
the United States was on the edge of a major social change, there were many changes for some groups of people that had been inhibited or subordinate such as Afro-Americans, Native Americans and women. These groups were mostly helped and supported by young people who were aware about politics and laws in the U.S. These helpers were often affiliated with "counter-cultural" lifestyles and radical politics, many descendants of the Second World War generation emerged as promoters of a new United…
On July 14th 1969 “Born to be Wild” bellowed from movie theatre speakers across the United States along with the opening scene of a new film called Easy Rider for the first time. There was a lot happening in the U.S. during the year 1969. To give you some perspective as to what was going on at the time a few monumental events from 1969 include: mankind’s first trip to the moon, the government instituted the first U.S. draft lottery since World War II (which didn’t go over too well), and more…
clothing, set off tear gas grenades and shot into the audience with multiple firearms. 12 people were killed and 70 others were injured, the largest number of casualties in a shooting in the United States to that date. The sole assailant, James Eagan Holmes, was arrested in his car parked outside the cinema minutes later. It was the deadliest shooting in Colorado since the Columbine High School massacre in 1999. Prior to the shooting, Holmes rigged his apartment with homemade explosives, which…
From 1939-1945, the world was experiencing a state of total war include mass genocides, the evolution of modern warfare and machinery and the ultimate dueling of the Allied and Axis powers – World War II. The rise of fascism and dictatorships throughout Europe and some parts of Asia contributed to the start of the war. At the time, Britain and France were allies with Poland. As Russia and Germany began to invade Poland, the allies-by-treaty retaliated and so began the start of WWII. Britain…