Personal response to three pieces of music
The Beatles: Helter Skelter
Genre: Rock
The 1960s was a time of experimentation in rock and roll with different genres of rock emerging such as folk rock and progressive rock and later on in the decade psychedelic.
Helter Skelter was written by Paul McCartney and recorded by The Beatles on their 1968 LP album The White Album. This song was best known for its experimental sound which Paul McCartney tried to make as loud and dirty as possible. This piece of music was used by the mass murderer Charles Manson as inspiration for his cult. Many artists have covered this track over the years including artists such as Siouxsie and the Banshees, Motley Crue, U2, and Oasis.
The song features fast guitar and loud complicated drums and is a loud and energetic song.
I did not really enjoy Helter Skelter by The Beatles I found that it was very angry and loud. The lyrics in the song are very loud and screaming, I thought that it would have been a lot better and more enjoyable if they had sung the lyrics a little quieter and relaxed not screaming over the beat. The beat of the song compared to the rest of The Beatles music is a lot different - more hard core rock sound with the louder electric guitar and loud complicated drums. I did not like that sound as it made all the instruments sound all slammed together.
I think the emotional quality that The Beatles were trying to express is making people feel wild, angry and energetic. I felt that it was very wild and if that is the sound they were trying to go for they did a good job.
Bob Marley: One Drop
Genre: Reggae
One Drop was written and recorded by Bob Marley on his 1995 album Natural Mystic. This song is about everyday life for him with people dying of hunger and starvation and to keep on fighting and relating all his words to the sound of the one drop drum.
The features of the song are the skank guitar, trumpets, and the one drop drum.
I really enjoyed One Drop by Bob Marley I found that it is a very relaxing laid back song with a nice beat. The lyrics of the song were nice had a nice kind of story in them. The Beat was nice and bubbly puts you in a good mood. Over all it’s a really nice song and put together really well.
I think the emotional quality that Bob Marley was trying to express is sending out a message saying keep strong and keep fighting things will get better. I felt it was very nice and that he did a good job and made a very nice and relaxing song.
Snoop Dogg: Gin and Juice
Genre: Rap
Gin and Juice produced by Dr Dre and recorded by Snoop Dogg, this was his second single from his album Doggystyle released in 1994. In 1995 this song was nominated at the Grammy awards for best solo rap performance. It was also a top ten hit single on the Billboard Hot 100 it came in at number eight. This song is about drinking, partying and money.
The features of the song are loud slow drums and a synthesizing back up beat.
I thought that Gin and Juice by Snoop Dogg was alright it was quite laid back and had a cool beat, but I didn’t really get the lyrics if they were about all different things or the same thing. I think the beat was happy and has a little bit of a party feel to it.
I think that emotional quality that Snoop Dogg was trying express is love, money, and doing whatever he wants to do. I felt that he did a good job and it was a cool sounding song.
By T. Elwin-Pepperell
Friday, November 11, 2011
Billy Elliot
Billy Elliot, directed by Stephen Daldry, is a film set in North East England Country Durham, in the coal mining town of Evington. The date is 1984 in the midst of the long running miners strike. Billy Elliot, played by Jamie Bell, is an 11 year old boy who wants to do ballet, but his father was very much against this - “Boys do boxing, not Ballet.” Billy has to sneak around his father to have his ballet lessons and fulfil his dream.
A scene which had an impact on me was the scene when Billy’s father Jacky changed his mind about Billy dancing. It was Christmas and Jacky and his friend had been at the pub when they saw lights on in the gym and saw Michael and Billy dancing. Billy began his dance of defiance, performing an amazing sequence of dance steps while his father watches- shocked. But at that point he realises that Billy has talent and that he needs to help him. This is an important scene in the film as without Jacky’s support, Billy could not have achieved his dream. I felt pleased when Jacky changed his mind because it would have been awful not to have Billy’s talent recognised.
Another scene that I didn’t like in the movie was when Billy’s dad was going to come off strike and break the picket line. He wanted to get some money to help Billy to become a dancer and get out of Evington. In this scene Billy’s dad Jacky hopped on the bus to go to the mines and all the protesters were throwing stuff at the bus. Jacky was getting nervous and switched seats because he didn’t want anyone to see him. This shows how much Jacky cares about his son. I thought it was touching that he went to the absolute limit, facing the hatred of his co-workers to help his son to become a dancer.
I liked how Billy dealt with his anger in the movie. I felt the way he dealt with it was very mature. There was a scene in the movie when Billy became really angry with his dad and brother because they were yelling at him about wanting to become a ballet dancer. Once they were finished arguing with him, Billy became very angry and got up and ran out of the kitchen. Billy starting running and dancing down the street. He went very far and he stopped when he hit a big brick wall. When he turned around from the wall it was Christmas Eve and his friend Michael was there with him. I also liked how that was done how they used the dancing scene for a time traveling to fast forward the movie a bit. It showed how Billy had grown in his dancing and how his family had begun to change their attitudes about Billy’s dancing over time.
I also really enjoyed the music in the film. The song “I love to boogie” by T-Rex was a happy song that the director used to show a happy time when Billy was learning to dance as he wanted. The director also used the song to show time passing and how Billy and the dance teacher grew closer over this time.
The film is set in the North East of England during the miners strikes in the early eighties. The director uses this setting to show the dullness and darkness of Billy’s life before learning to dance. By learning to dance Billy breaks out of the darkness and into the bright clean world of the dance academy and his new life as a dancer.
Overall, I enjoyed the film Billy Elliot, directed by Stephen Daldry. I really enjoyed Billy’s journey from the small coal mining town of Evington to the stage in London to perform as the lead dancer in a ballet production. The director used setting and music to good effect to show this journey and the themes of being yourself and working hard to achieve your dreams.
By T. Elwin-Pepperell
Billy Elliot, directed by Stephen Daldry, is a film set in North East England Country Durham, in the coal mining town of Evington. The date is 1984 in the midst of the long running miners strike. Billy Elliot, played by Jamie Bell, is an 11 year old boy who wants to do ballet, but his father was very much against this - “Boys do boxing, not Ballet.” Billy has to sneak around his father to have his ballet lessons and fulfil his dream.
A scene which had an impact on me was the scene when Billy’s father Jacky changed his mind about Billy dancing. It was Christmas and Jacky and his friend had been at the pub when they saw lights on in the gym and saw Michael and Billy dancing. Billy began his dance of defiance, performing an amazing sequence of dance steps while his father watches- shocked. But at that point he realises that Billy has talent and that he needs to help him. This is an important scene in the film as without Jacky’s support, Billy could not have achieved his dream. I felt pleased when Jacky changed his mind because it would have been awful not to have Billy’s talent recognised.
Another scene that I didn’t like in the movie was when Billy’s dad was going to come off strike and break the picket line. He wanted to get some money to help Billy to become a dancer and get out of Evington. In this scene Billy’s dad Jacky hopped on the bus to go to the mines and all the protesters were throwing stuff at the bus. Jacky was getting nervous and switched seats because he didn’t want anyone to see him. This shows how much Jacky cares about his son. I thought it was touching that he went to the absolute limit, facing the hatred of his co-workers to help his son to become a dancer.
I liked how Billy dealt with his anger in the movie. I felt the way he dealt with it was very mature. There was a scene in the movie when Billy became really angry with his dad and brother because they were yelling at him about wanting to become a ballet dancer. Once they were finished arguing with him, Billy became very angry and got up and ran out of the kitchen. Billy starting running and dancing down the street. He went very far and he stopped when he hit a big brick wall. When he turned around from the wall it was Christmas Eve and his friend Michael was there with him. I also liked how that was done how they used the dancing scene for a time traveling to fast forward the movie a bit. It showed how Billy had grown in his dancing and how his family had begun to change their attitudes about Billy’s dancing over time.
I also really enjoyed the music in the film. The song “I love to boogie” by T-Rex was a happy song that the director used to show a happy time when Billy was learning to dance as he wanted. The director also used the song to show time passing and how Billy and the dance teacher grew closer over this time.
The film is set in the North East of England during the miners strikes in the early eighties. The director uses this setting to show the dullness and darkness of Billy’s life before learning to dance. By learning to dance Billy breaks out of the darkness and into the bright clean world of the dance academy and his new life as a dancer.
Overall, I enjoyed the film Billy Elliot, directed by Stephen Daldry. I really enjoyed Billy’s journey from the small coal mining town of Evington to the stage in London to perform as the lead dancer in a ballet production. The director used setting and music to good effect to show this journey and the themes of being yourself and working hard to achieve your dreams.
By T. Elwin-Pepperell
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Billy Elliot (Director: Stephen Daldry)
I enjoyed the film Billy Elliot because it was quite sad, but once Billy’s dad accepts that he wants to do ballet, his dad tries his hardest to pay for him to go. He gets into a top ballet school but straight after his audition he punches a boy who tries to comfort him when he was upset even though he didn’t know Billy Elliot. In the end it was a great film.
Fish Tank (Director: Andrea Arnold)
Fish Tank is a very hard movie to understand, and is very weird in a lot of ways, but I did enjoy watching the movie. The one thing that makes it way over the top is that the young girl in the movie has sex with her mother’s partner down stairs on the couch while her mother is in the house.
On the side walk, bleeding (by Evan Hunter)
I enjoyed this short story as it was based on something I like and it was very sad as well. It is about a young man who is in a gang and gets stabbed because of it and, as he lies dieing in an alley, he starts realizing how much he regretted joining the gang really. So he wants to die as himself and not be just another gang death and wants to take the gang jacket off.
Reviews by K. Smith
I enjoyed the film Billy Elliot because it was quite sad, but once Billy’s dad accepts that he wants to do ballet, his dad tries his hardest to pay for him to go. He gets into a top ballet school but straight after his audition he punches a boy who tries to comfort him when he was upset even though he didn’t know Billy Elliot. In the end it was a great film.
Fish Tank (Director: Andrea Arnold)
Fish Tank is a very hard movie to understand, and is very weird in a lot of ways, but I did enjoy watching the movie. The one thing that makes it way over the top is that the young girl in the movie has sex with her mother’s partner down stairs on the couch while her mother is in the house.
On the side walk, bleeding (by Evan Hunter)
I enjoyed this short story as it was based on something I like and it was very sad as well. It is about a young man who is in a gang and gets stabbed because of it and, as he lies dieing in an alley, he starts realizing how much he regretted joining the gang really. So he wants to die as himself and not be just another gang death and wants to take the gang jacket off.
Reviews by K. Smith
Monday, November 7, 2011
The Adoration of Jenna Fox
I really enjoyed reading this book as it was very different. It is about a girl who was in a car crash with her friends, she was the
one driving but she doesn’t know that until weeks after she wakes up
from her coma.
Her dad is a doctor/scientist who is growing skin organism and all sorts of body parts but they have a shelf life. Her father used these experiments he was studying to try to keep his daughter alive which was a success.
She only had 10% of her original brain, and all her body parts look exactly like her original body parts but they had been grown especially for her. They tried to keep it from her but she found out when she got hurt but didn’t feel any pain.
She was in a coma for nearly a year, she did not remember anything when she woke up like her mother, father, grandmother, and she didn’t even know she had friends that where killed in the car crash, she didn’t even know who she was.
This book is very exciting and makes you want to read more because you don’t know what’s going to happen next. I would recommend this book to many people.
Review by K. Smith
Her dad is a doctor/scientist who is growing skin organism and all sorts of body parts but they have a shelf life. Her father used these experiments he was studying to try to keep his daughter alive which was a success.
She only had 10% of her original brain, and all her body parts look exactly like her original body parts but they had been grown especially for her. They tried to keep it from her but she found out when she got hurt but didn’t feel any pain.
She was in a coma for nearly a year, she did not remember anything when she woke up like her mother, father, grandmother, and she didn’t even know she had friends that where killed in the car crash, she didn’t even know who she was.
This book is very exciting and makes you want to read more because you don’t know what’s going to happen next. I would recommend this book to many people.
Review by K. Smith
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Conflict in three short texts
Sinn Fein
The short movie I watched was about the protesting of the
prisoners not having any rights. They were on a hunger strike because
they wanted to be political prisoners so that they would be treated
better. The prisoners were beaten, tortured and not treated well at all.
Seven of the prisoners who went on the hunger strike ended up dying.
Others gave up the hunger strike after many days.
Outside, family, friends and others from the public who supported their rights were marching with signs and protesting loudly. The police were involved and there was a lot of violence and damage to property, cars and people from both sides. This went on for a long time. This was very sad to see. It reminded me of the two short stories I have read earlier because the link between the stories I have seen and read were similar as death was a big part of the stories and so was the violence and conflict between people. I would not like to be living in areas where there is so much conflict. I do not like what gangs do to people. This also reminds me of the film that I watched earlier called "Billy Ellliott". Once again it showed the conflict, this time between the mines with the union members striking for better conditions and protesting in the streets. There were police involved as well. It must have been a miserable time for everyone involved in the strike even those who were caught up in the action just because they lived in the area. I am glad that I don't have to live like that. |
On the sidewalk, bleeding...
The short story I have just read is about gangs. It is about
a boy who is stabbed and left lying in the alley waiting for help and
finally realising that he is going to die. All he can think about to
begin with is the girl he loves and wants to marry and have kids with. A
drunk who does not realise he is stabbed leaves him where he finds him
and another young guy will not help because he does not want to get
involved with the gangs.
In the end the boy, Andy, realises he is going to die and wonders if his girlfriend Laura is missing him. Andy is left in the alley, stabbed, bleeding badly and with the rain pouring down on top of him. He did not want to be known as a 'Royal' (his gang name), but as Andy because that is who he is that is important, not the jacket that labels him. He is only sixteen and learns that getting stabbed because of the label on the jacket is a waste of his life. A girl comes to find him to help him, but it is too late and she finds a cop to come and help. It was sad to know that the policeman wrote 'Royal' as the name and did not acknowledge his name as was it was given to him by the girl. Andy was only known by his gang, not as a person. I think that if he lived he would have changed. It is a sad waste of life. I also think his girlfriend would have felt the same way. She now has to live without him and live with the way he died. |
The Sniper
I read the short story 'The Sniper' and I found it a sad
story. It was about a guy who was on a rooftop shooting at another a guy
that was on another rooftop across the road. He notices an old lady in
the street, but realised that she was an informer because she stopped
and talked to the occupants in the car.
This car was heavily shielded and ready for battle. It was a war between two groups and I sense there was a lot of violence taking place in the streets. The Sniper was clever and tried to out smart the guy across the street by placing his cap on the top of his rifle and acting like he was shot and dying when the bullet flew towards him. He then shot the guy on the other rooftop and watched him fall to the ground. He wanted to know who he had shot, if he knew the person or not. He gets down from the rooftop carefully as there are still shots being fired all around him and slowly makes his way over the street to where the body is lying. He turns the body over and finds that he is looking into his brothers face. I feel really disgusted that war takes the lives of good people and family members. I was really sad because this was a brother shooting a brother. I don't think that he would have shot his brother if he had known it was him on the rooftop, but who knows... It's just a sad, sad story. D. Boyer. November 2011 |
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Welcome
Welcome to The Kuranui Review.
This space has been established to allow students to communicate their views and reviews of a range of media experiences. From film, TV, print, online, games and interactive multimedia, students experience and create information in a wide range of ways. So, enjoy reading what your peers have to say about their experiences - along the way, you may be inspired, entertained and/or informed.
M Buckham
Teacher
This space has been established to allow students to communicate their views and reviews of a range of media experiences. From film, TV, print, online, games and interactive multimedia, students experience and create information in a wide range of ways. So, enjoy reading what your peers have to say about their experiences - along the way, you may be inspired, entertained and/or informed.
M Buckham
Teacher
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