We all love superheroes. Whether it be Spiderman or Batman, many people find themselves engaged by these types of stories. Because of this, most people fantasize about what alternate versions of these heroes would look like and how their worlds and narratives change because of this. That is what my project focuses on. My conversion takes the neo-noir superhero story of Batman and puts a western twist on the setting, props, and production. For this project I will be recreating the opening scene, where the Joker is holding Robin (Jason Todd) hostage while trying to draw out Batman to save him

I chose to turn this movie scene into a Spaghetti Western type of film because I felt like these universes and the characters that reside within them have a lot more in common than most people think. Batman, in a way, could be considered a very secluded and nomadic figure similar to how someone like Blondie acts in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. He has a strict code of justice that he follows and takes along with him throughout his adventures in Gotham City. Robin, specifically Jason Todd who eventually becomes the Red Hood, could be seen as his partner stands as an anti-hero towards Batman himself as there are many things that they are at odds about. It is for this reason that I chose to do this type of conversion for my storyboard, The characters and stories hold a lot of parallels for it to not be able to work. Another things about the genre of spaghetti westerns is the cinematographic choices that directors like Sergio Leone use to give them that gritty feeling of the American West in their films. I noticed that in scenes during different dialogue segments were not interrupted at all by cuts or any other technique that transitions into another shot. I also noticed that there is very little non-diegetic noise which means that there are very little times in which things like the soundtrack or any other noises that only the audience hears are cued to go off. Because the setting would have to take place in the American West, the scene would take place in some sort of old and run-down farmhouse or warehouse. This would add a much older feel to the scene and will make the overall feel of the scene even more raw and intense.

When I thought about what I wanted to do for my capstone, I thought about tackling something that I never really talked about or addressed in my life. It was something that I have lived with all of my life and something that has affected the way I have lived my life tremendously. I am talking about the ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder) called Asperger’s Syndrome. For a large part of my life, I never really talked about it because it was normal to me and I did not think it was too much of a big deal. As I went on through life however, I realized how much different it made me from the average person.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (more commonly known as Star Wars: Rogue One) is a space opera and war story starring Felicity Jones. Taking place between the events of Episode III and Episode IV, former imperial scientist Galen Erso is taken away from his by Orson Krennic to help design and build a superweapon called the Death Star for the Empire. Years later, his daughter, Jyn Erso, is sought out by the Rebel Alliance to find her father to retrieve the plans for the Death Star so the Rebels can have an edge in the fight against the Empire. The movie acts as a bridge to both the original trilogy and the prequel trilogy while also tying up the loose ends that appeared in Episode IV as well. It also fleshes out many different elements of the story that were not touched on before.

Jyn Erso plays a very strong role in the film as it’s leading role. It fleshes out her character arc from the beginning where she was separated from her father to helping the Rebels in the present. Because of this, it passes the Mako Mori test with flying colors. She has her own character arc that not only does not support anyone else’s arc but, has other story arcs supporting hers. One example being the arc of Galen Erso’s involvement in the Death Star’s construction being a story element that supports Jyn’s story arc.

It passes the Bechdel Test by a slim margin as there are at least three conversations that female characters have with each other in the whole film. One of which being Mon Mothma where she briefs Jyn on her mission to find her father. All of the other ones are with extras and side character that are not too relevant. Even so, the movie still passes the test in a satisfying manner.

My test wanted to focus on something that this movie does not necessarily excel at: represent of women of color. My test is called the diversity pass test because I feel like casting director will throw a person of color into the film but, will not put in the work to flesh their character out or just make them a side character. Their only objective seems to be to fill some very shallow quota they have in their mind. My test requires at least non-white woman who has her own fleshed out character arc that does not support a man’s story and if there is more than one non-white woman in the film, then they cannot be similar in terms of character and personality. They must be wholly original characters that are not a product of stereotypes.

"The Taming of the Shrew" presents the idea that women must be very submissive and offer everything to their partners. In the final moments of "Shrew", Katherine gives a speech about how they must offer their hands to their men no matter what. In the 2012 movie, "Silver Linings Playbook," one of the main characters would have you believe that this statement would be false.

Tiffany, from "Silver Linings Playbook," and Katherine, from "Shrew" have two very polarizing views on what the female expectations should be in a relationship. Katherine, although very cold and uncompromising in the beginning of the play, holds the idea that being subordinate to Petruchio will make her a better partner. On the other hand, Tiffany found that doing things for her husband and others around  her left her with nothing in return. She found this type of lifestyle to not be beneficial to her well-being and concluded that relationships must be two-way streets. Whether a relationship is platonic, marital, or anything in between, one party must give back to the other what it receives in equal amounts. These works show that over time, people have grown to believe that both parties of a relationship are expected to contribute something to the relationship. It cannot be successful if one person is passive.

“I am ashamed that women are so simple to offer war where they should kneel for peace, or seek for rule, supremacy, and sway when they are bound to serve, love and obey.”

-Katherine, (Act 5, Scene 2, Line 177-180)

This quote is from Katherine’s speech taking place after a bet was placed between Luciento, Petruchio, and Hortensio. The bet was to see whose wife would come to their husband if called. Both the wives of Luciento and Hortensio do not return but, Katherine does. She then rants about how women must be passive and submissive to their partners. She says that they must kneel to their husbands as an offering of peace instead of being scolding and uncompromising like how she was at the beginning of the play. Katherine then goes on by saying that women were created to be obedient to their husbands. If a woman were to even try to pursue supremacy or even equality to their husbands, then they would not be suitable as wives.

“Its gonna be amazing! You're gonna be amazing and she’s gonna be amazing and you’re not gonna be that guy that’s gonna take advantage of the situation without offering to do something back, so think about the dance thing.”

The protagonist, Pat, is a former mental hospital patient who is trying to win back his ex-wife, Nikki, who has a restraining order on him. He decides to write a letter and have someone deliver it to her. To do this, he seeks out the help of one of his neighbor’s widowed sister, Tiffany. She accepts but, only if Pat competes with her in a dance competition. Pat refused what he thinks is a ridiculous offer but, after Tiffany lets him explain the dynamics of his love for Nikki, she responds with this quote. She says that this optimism about reviving a lost love will make him complacent and will eventually lead to him taking advantage of Nikki without giving anything back to her. She believes he will become “that guy” that would fit into the type of relationship that Katherine envisions for all women. This type of person is not seen as favorable or positive in Tiffany’s eyes and because of this, further pushes the dance competition idea onto Pat to help break this habit of not giving back or preventing it from starting in the first place.

“Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper, thy head, thy sovereign, one that cares for thee, and for thy maintenance commits his body to painful labor both by sea and land, to watch the night in storms, the day in cold, whilst thou liest warm at home, secure and safe, and craves no other tribute at thy hands but love, fair looks, and true obedience - Too little payments for such a debt.”

Katherine, (Act 5, Scene 2, Line 162-170)

In this part of Katherine’s speech concluding the play, she is proclaiming her unconditional devotion to her husband. She says that Petruchio is not only the one that cares for her but, also expresses his ownership and dominance over her. Katherine is not only content with this but, also proud to give herself to Petruchio. She even begins to shame the women by saying that they should not be so selfish as the least they could do is offer their love, looks and loyalty. Even then, she says that is too large of a debt to be able to satisfy.

“...If it’s me reading the signs I need to see something to prove you are ready to resume our marriage. Otherwise, I find myself thinking that we might both be better off by moving on with our lives separately.”

In this scene of the film, Pat and Tiffany are hastily preparing for the dance competition in the coming weeks. At this point, they are trying to nail down the “big move” of their routine and are struggling. Tiffany then reveals to Pat that she has the response to his letter to Nikki. He can only read it if he pulls off the move with her. Pat finds that he cannot focus and has to read the letter in order to practice more effectively. He reads the letter aloud and even though the letter wishes Pat well it ends with the quote above. What Nikki is telling Pat is that she needs to see Pat show that he has changed for the bette. Pat needs to give something back to the world around him whether it be to her, Tiffany, or anyone else. Tiffany emphasizes that this dance competition could be that something that Nikki needs to see.

One day, over a decade ago now, I walked into a room bigger than my house’s first floor. An ocean of blue mats covering the floor, heavy bags standing taller than adults, and arsenals of bo staves and escrima sticks in the corners of the room. This was the training room of the martial arts school known as Martial Posture Studio. My friend Tadeusz (Tuh-day-oosh) and I were in our first martial arts class. His mother, Monica, had us try it out after his built up peer pressure possessed me to follow suit. There were two other students in the room who were much older and seemed to have been for a fairly long time because of the purple belts around their waist. After a few minutes, a man dressed in a black gi,  training pants, and a black belt tied around his waist. He rounded us up and proceeded give us our first class in Kenpo Karate (Translates to Law of The Fist, Empty Hand). The thought of learning the arts of war somersault around our minds like the ninjas we thought we were. We were enthralled and decided to continue to learn this discipline which spring-boarded my path of learning Kenpo Karate .

The first few years of my training have escaped my memory. However, my teacher Ish says that I, like many other children at that age who take up martial arts, was extremely unfocused. There were some moments that made him put his hand on his brow like a porch awning to his eyes and let out a forceful sigh. I obviously was not the best at first but, that is very much normal. Even as young as I was, I knew Kenpo Karate was not at all about win or loss. There is an importance on growth. It did not matter at all about how fast or how large it was. If there was some positive change on you not only as a fighter, but as a person then, Ish and the other instructors were satisfied.

I continued training at the school but, Tadeusz had lost interest not long after we had gotten our yellow belts. The long term goal of black belt came with a seemingly endless road to get there. The road can stand amongst people like a basilisk as the amount of progress you must make to achieve it. Ish says that at full concentration, focus, and dedication, it could take someone at least five years to achieve black belt but, for most, it could take a decade. However, there was always one proverb that kept bringing confidence back to life in me and my classmates. “Whether you say you can or cannot do it, either way you are right.” Ish would often say. It was this proverb`that kept me training. It kept me hardening my knuckles and shins into a tree’s solidity, kept me in stances that emulate cats and cranes, kept performing kadas that began as a dance only to transform into a lethal choreography, kept me on the path to becoming a black belt before a freshman.

Middle school came around which was a phase in my life that had a detrimental emotional impact in my life. My friends from elementary school had moved on to other schools in the city for their middle-school lives. I came into 5th grade alone with barely a friend with me. The people in my class were mostly people that would be considered in my mind as an asshole. They always ridiculed me for my gullibility, threw slurs at me like verbal bullets and their hateful aura drove me away like a gun ringing out. I had felt lonely for most of my time at school and around this same time, I began to appreciate Martial Posture Studio more than ever before. I had discovered some of the most therapeutic techniques courtesy of my martial arts instructors. This included things like punching a striking bag with all your passion as it get absorbed like a scream into a bedroom pillow, light contact sparring with glistening gloves and padded gear as bodies whipping around like dragons around a mountain peak, and laughing as the sweat drips down from our brows like raindrops granting new growth to trees. At times it felt like a second home. A place where I could spend time without any worries of anxiety and stress pouring into my mind. Where I had many more friends to laugh, frolic, sweat, and spar with. And for a very long time, that was the best thing ever for me.

I found myself at the top of my class in middle school. I was a blue belt on the cusp of becoming a green belt and was readying myself to move onto the next class. This would also be when my biggest hurdle would appear in the form of my classmate, David. I remembered his face vaguely from kindergarten and because of that we became very good friends in our class. He however, changed progressively as time went on. He showed one quality that I had grown to hate not just in him but, in general, arrogance. He would always boast every time he beat me in a sparring match, every in-house tournament win he would have over me, every step higher he was than me his voice spread out like peacock feathers as he yelled “Superior Blood!” It annoyed me to the point where we almost had a scuffle with each other. He almost made me want to quit martial arts.

I started contemplating quitting martial arts. The social toxicity I wished to escape was invading the one safe haven I had. And even though at the time I was a brown belt, I was still being told my skills were sub-par. However, that one proverb began ringing in my head like a song you have longed to hear play on a radio. “Whether you say you can or cannot do it, either way, you are right.” I said to myself. And so I stayed. I dug my toes into the mat with each stance, used my new found focus as a whetstone to sharpen my skills, and soon enough, I was ready for the black belt test.

It was the first day of high school. A long day marking the next stages of my life. The day I became a freshman at Science Leadership Academy and a black belt in Kenpo Karate. I finished school and immediately went to Martial Posture Studio afterwards. What followed was some of the most grueling hours of my life. three hours of reciting every kada I knew, doing reps of workouts and drills, and easily the worst part, sparring my teachers each for a two minute round.  My breath was heavy, my face was bruised, and my legs were weak to stand on. After I was carried of to the side and the ceremonial kicks to the Solar Plexus, I became a black belt.

I owe a lot to martial arts. Being that I’ve trained for more than two thirds of my life, it has shaped me into the person I have become today. This transformation is similar to the soldiers in Kevin Powers’ The Yellow Birds. Like me, they were influenced by their environment that only people with similar experiences can empathize with. Obviously the influences have had different effects but, nevertheless it is still there. Sometimes I often wonder what kind of person that I would have been had I not accepted Tadeusz’s request. How would I have handle the solitude I feel during middle school? How would I have  reacted to many of the students I was with that angered me? How would I be different? I often think about these questions a lot and I don’t really like the conclusions I come to. Because of this, I am very grateful of the life I have lived.

The American Dream

On July 4th, 1776, The Founding Fathers of the United States of America had written the Declaration of Independence. This document told of a particular promise of “certain unalienable Rights, that amongst these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” This statement is the crux of the idea known as the American Dream. It promises citizens the ability to live and be whoever they want to be. However, today Americans live in a world where achieving that vision is very difficult to achieve for a great many people in our country. The middle class of this country is dwindling and many do not have access to luxuries such as health care, education and insurance. As a result, People nowadays are beginning to lose faith in the feasibility of the American Dream.

One of the reasons that people are losing faith in the American Dream is because of how hard it is to even start on that path towards wealth and happiness. Middle and lower class citizens often do not have the resources to get this ball, of high social mobility rolling. As Ben Casselman had observed in a study from the analysis blog fivethirtyeight.com, the middle class has not had its wage increase in the past 16 years. Additionally, the number  of middle class households in America is dropping, because The median household income is decreasing for middle class of Americans, while upper class incomes increased. This is causing a slow death of the middle class of America. This causes many people to lose even more opportunities than they had to begin with, which disallows people to progress with their dream.

Another one of these reasons is because of how difficult it is for one to acquire sufficient health care in this country and as wealth slowly drifts away from the middle-class, the cost of medical care is increasingly being born by those families. An annual study by the Milliman actuarial firm shows that the employer-funded portion of healthcare has risen 52 percent since 2007, the first year of the recession. In addition, household costs has increased by an astonishing 73 percent, or 8 percent per year, now averaging out to be $9,144. This means that average household health care costs are increasing as income decreases. This amount of payment can become very strenuous to the average middle-class family.

Another huge obstacle that many middle to lower class citizens is the search for affordable college education. This is not to mention the immense amount of debt many people have borne on their shoulders. Since the year 1985, college costs have risen by 500 percent and the overall consumer price index has risen by 115 percent. Also as of 2013, the estimated cost for tuition at a private university was $130,000 for over four years, excluding the cost for food, lodging, books, and any other expenses. The fact that colleges can be this costly makes it very difficult for the average American citizen to deal with.

The American Dream is beginning to feel like what it exactly is, a dream. Many people may fantasize about having immense amounts of wealth but, very few will actually end up achieving it. Some people have even given themselves a new dream, an “American Dream 2.0” if you will. This new vision consists of the ideas that anyone can go to college if they have the necessary resources, are okay with going into debt, can somehow get the coveted scholarship, are willing to go to community college, or come from a family of means. Their updated “dream” shows that people are beginning to lose faith that they can achieve this vision of wealth and are starting to willingly settle for less. The rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of Happiness may be unalienable but, in the present day, they are also unattainable.

Works cited:

www.cbsnews.com. CBS, 06 09 2015, website, 16 09 2015

Richard Eskow. www.alternet.org. AlterNet. 22 10 2014. website. 16 09 2015

Joe Pinsker. www.theatlantic.com. The Atlantic. 06 15 2015. website. 16 09 2015

Amy Traub, Heather C. McGhee. www.demos.org Demos. 06 06 2013. website. 16 09 2015

Dissection Portfolio

Inquiry - How is the human body similar/different to the bodies of other organisms?

Research - My group gathered information by dissecting the different organisms besides humans as well as looking up information from online resources.

Collaboration - I worked with my partners to help research more about the anatomy of humans, frog, and grasshoppers

Presentation - My group’s presentation was clear and easily understood by anyone reading it. All of the systems in the presentation were all clearly display via the chart of all of the bodily systems.

Reflection - I would have liked to make some of the information more thorough so we could have more to offer our class.

         Hello everyone, it is once again Ian Fay here for my final blog post. Last time, I talked about my own opinions on the issue I am covering. I also discussed the original research I had conducted in the form of a survey. If you did not see that blog you can access it in the links at the bottom of this blog. Now, it is time to make one last blog because now I have even more stuff to talk about. So let us get to my Final Post for Change!

         In my last blog post I talked about how I was to do my Agent of Change action. Since then that part of my project has passed and now I’m here to tell you about it. For my action, I did a presentation for my advisory. I went over the many things I have shown in my other blogs such as the identity theft, web restriction and discrimination, and the one murder charge discussed in my first blog. I feel like the presentation went well and I did a good job at informing the class of my issue.  

         Other than what I have done to raise awareness of the issue, many other campaigns and people have decided to do the same. If you read my last blog, then you may remember me talking about a video with a man by the name of Eli Pariser. He was talking about how certain websites that use algorithms to supposedly suit a user’s likes can create “Filter Bubbles” which can effectively restrict you from numerous amount of websites. Also there is a campaign called Save The Internet which helps to give net neutrality a secure foothold in our online society. There are other campaigns like this one which could really use a donation or even taking action in these campaigns. These are some of the few ways that awareness of this issue is being spread.

         In this whole process, there were some things I wish I could’ve done a better job in doing. One example is getting my survey that I created to more people to get a much wider opinion on my topic. Also I wish I could have done something more for my Agent of Change action. However, due to the complexity of this issue, I do not see any alternatives as of right now. Maybe there will be a solution sometime in the future but, as of right now there seems to be little to do unfortunately.

         Throughout this process,I have learned many things about not only my issue but, also myself and those around me. When it comes to this issue, there is a lot of mistrust, differing opinions, and other things that complicate it even more. There are many other problems like this were there doesn’t really seem to be a solution. Only time seems to tell how it ends. It’s hard to find out how to fix things like this and it takes years or even decades to solve. RIght now, all we can do is combat internet privacy issues. Eventually we may find a solution to keep our online society at peace once and for all, but until then we have to combat it and hope it will come soon.

         Thank you very much for reading my blogs. I hope I have informed you enough to where you can make change happen yourself. If you check out the bottom, then there are many different links to my past blogs, websites, videos, many other things for you to be aware of. This is Ian Fay here for the last time.

Blog #1

Blog #2

Eli Pariser “The Filter Bubble”

Save The Internet Campaign

  Hello again! My name is Ian Fay and I am a freshman attending Science Leadership Academy. You may remember me from my last blog I posted over two months ago in December. I was writing about the invasion of internet privacy and how net neutrality is being repeatedly tarnished. I described it as a very paradoxical issue and also being a very hard issue to solve. Since then, I have looked a bit deeper into this issue and created my own research as well. Now, I am here to share it with you so let us get right into it.

    I had a technology class earlier in my first semester of school. My teacher, Ms. Hull, showed my class a Ted Talks video with Eli Pariser. Pariser talked about a concept called “ The Filter Bubble”. A filter bubble is a term he used to describe the predicament he was talking about in the video. When you consistently search items that fall into a certain category, the website you used  would assume that you “like” things that are similar. As a result, it filters out all of the things that do not fall into that certain category. I found this to be very ludicrous. This is effectively restraining us from seeing any pieces of information other than what we “like”.   

    In addition to finding out about this new research, I conducted some of my own. Recently Ms. Dunn may have been blowing up red and orange streams inboxes with messages about surveys as well as some students sending their surveys out themselves. I had mine sent out by Ms. Dunn. Obviously it was the one on internet privacy and security. I wanted to have the question centered around online security and legislature and how people think it can be improved upon itself. If you want to see the results then you can check them out using the link here. I noticed how many people do not see companies as trustworthy with their personal information.

    Now the next step for me to become an Agent of Change. This is where I try to make a difference in this issue. However I feel that I may have it a bit harder than others. With the issue involving all of this neverending confusion, I found it hard to try and find a way to help this problem in the world. Then I decided I would do a presentation for my advisory. I do not know if there are any people trying to help stop this issue, but I feel as of right now the best thing I can do is to raise awareness of this problem.

    This is where my blog #2 ends. Thank you everyone for reading and be sure to comment below. In the next blog, I will talk about how I did as an Agent of Change. I will also talk about the efforts that are being done for this problem right now. I am eager to see you then. This was Ian Fay who will soon become an Agent of Change!

Bibliography

Eli Pariser “Filter Bubble”

  Hello my name is Ian Fay and I am a freshman at Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I am currently working on an assignment known as the You and The World Project. What I will do is I take a very pressing issue and try to be an "agent of change" for the issue. Then I am to create a series of three blog posts for the issue (this one being the first). The issue that I chose to tackle is Internet Privacy, the issue of companies invading the online privacy of many online customers.

    The issue is interesting to me because the Internet is a big part of current technological history. It is a very reliable resource that most of the world has access to for information, entertainment, and many other things. However, It seems to lend itself to have perfect anonymity. If you have seen companies ask for your personal information then it is very wise to keep it a secret. All of these websites that you use are very susceptible to hacking. Over the years many insurance, video game, and entertainment companies have been hacked allowing the hackers to have access to personal information. This would lead to many crimes such as identity theft, hacking bank accounts of customers, and in a few cases stalking and murdering innocent customers. This is the reason why this is such a hard and murky issue to solve. The internet is an open tool usable by many of the world’s population but, these hackers can be camouflaged by the internet allowing for complete ambiguity. The issue itself is mostly seen as a paradox.

    What I and the many others who fight this issue hope to achieve in this issue is an idea known as net neutrality. Net neutrality is the idea of everyone having equal access to the internet. With it, nothing stops anyone from having a lesser connection or having inferior virus software than someone that is richer, smarter, a better job, etc.. That one principle is the keystone to having total equality in the internet. Unfortunately companies are planning to violate this idea of equality. While conducting research I stumbled upon a website that I found to be quite alarming. The site had a video that explained how these companies are doing this. Imagine a street with cars going at the exact same speed, this is how the line that cable providers such as Verizon, Comcast, and Time Warner Cable is visualized. Everyone has the exact same connections whether they may be people living in apartments or business tycoons with gigantic salaries. That line isn’t allowed to be interacted with by these companies, so what do they do? They create a separate line that has a better connection than the standard line. The only people who have access to this line are those that are willing to pay more money to use it while the rest are left with the worse connection. This discriminatory act is defying the very principle I and and those who fight this hope to uphold.

     While this may all look grim, many people have not given up this battle. The website that provided that video was a site named savetheinternet.com. These freedom fighters have created a big following that have voiced themselves to the world. Also a affected by this issue, minorly or majorly, then we can finally be rid of this problem for good. website named internetsociety.org helps employees manage their online lives to ensure that they do not face the same fate as other unsuspecting workers. This is where these people and I see hope. If more people join this cause we can once again achieve perfect net neutrality.

    The invasion of Internet Privacy is a very difficult issue to solve. There are many differing points of view, multiple technological snafus, and the notion of something as open as the internet allowing for complete anonymity is very paradoxical. It doesn’t seem to be feasible to achieve. However we cannot give up this fight. If everyone who feels

Annotated Bibliography     

States Laws pertaining to online privacy

Net Neutrality