Rocketfest is a film festival that is open to all high school students in the Philadelphia School District, it allows them to showcase their work, build a portfolio, and network. It was a day-long event that took place May 1st, 2024 and was open to all district school students as well as the public. This was a highly collaborative effort, with each of us breaking into leadership roles and organizing our portion of the festival. In particular, I became our social media, marketing, and merchandise chair. I began with the question, “How can marketing expand and increase the film community among high schoolers in Philadelphia?” I spent hours researching marketing strategies and how to improve my use of social media to target an ideal audience. Then every week or two we had group meetings to discuss our work and the next steps. May 1, 2024, Rocketfest took place at the Philadelphia Free Library on 19th and Vine, we were able to display films and photographs from schools all over the city and sell hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise that will be put towards the festival next year. Reflecting on this project, we have been able to look at our statistics and strategies to determine steps for those to take next year. We wanted this project to be a fresh start in a line of many Rocketfest Capstones as students began to show more and more interest in this festival.

Rocketfest Film Reel: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rf8JLeTsjd_eppE4TxbVGo44DwTQGo_r/view?usp=sharing Annotated Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aL4X4-6-qNNaIXJH41tQPgKOaDpVUqIsZOQH1QpxiWg/edit?usp=sharing

Josie Barsky
Lit Log #1 McMurphy’s Strength

The Chronics won’t let me get my way. I know I have my power over all these Acutes, they’ll follow me in a second, but the Chronics? They must have something against me, listening to Miss Rat-Shed way too long they don’t know any other way. That nurse has gotten us locked down like we are in a real prison and these idiots won’t do anything about it. If I want to survive here I need to change something, starting with this TV rule. I bring it up during the group meeting. We need to switch the time so I can watch the World Series, I haven’t missed one in years. Scanlon blabbering about how switching the TV time will mess with his schedule and that the doctor is agreeing with him. He won’t change a thing unless Rat-Shed gives him her approval. Doesn’t anyone see my point? Why do we only have to listen to her? Why don’t they want to watch the games? All of them disgust me. A little change doesn’t hurt and these idiots haven’t been sticking up for themselves the whole time they’ve been here. Why does it take me to come in for some real fun to happen around here? I don’t know how these guys survived without me. Now they are all lying around the day room pointlessly, I need them to start listening to me. Maybe if I show them my strength they’ll be so scared they’re gonna have to. I’m an intimidating guy, I know Miss Rat-Shed is scared of me and the rest of them should be too. I bring it up and Harding won’t keep his mouth shut talking about “A baseball game isn’t worth the risk”(107) and the only one I can get to listen to me is Cheswick. That dummy, he will listen to anything I say. Then Fredrickson opens his big mouth saying, “…are you going to kick down that door and show us how tough you are?”(107) And I think that is exactly what I will do. Maybe not the door, seems too hard and I can’t embarrass myself in front of these weak old Chronics and Acutes. I could probably lift the table or maybe a bed. Not too heavy. Harding then brings up the control panel and I tell him, “Hell are you birds telling me I can’t lift that dinky little gizmo?”(109) Everyone looks over, including Old Chief Bromden who doesn’t have a clue what’s about to happen. I examine the dials and levers, it’s a big old cement block, but it’s nothing I’m not used to. I used to lift hay bales for a living, this thing doesn’t have a shot against me. I jump off the table, take off my shirt, and start hyping myself up. I can do this, I can lift it no problem. These guys don’t know my strength. I tell them, “…who’s willing to lay five bucks? Nobody’s going to convince me I can’t do something till I try it…”(109) I walk near the control panel and tell everyone to take a step back. Hardings still talking, calling me a fool. I’m so angry it’s like I’m taking all the air out of the room. I shift my feet, put my hands under the cement, and start lifting. It’s heavier than I thought, but I can’t let them know that. I might be turning red, it’s like my veins are about to pop out of my arms and like my hands are gonna fall off. I was lying, I can’t do this, I know it. If I keep trying my hands will fall off and no one will ever listen to me again. I used all my strength, I showed them my strength, who cares I couldn’t lift it. I turn to them all and say, “But I tried though… God damn it, I sure as hell did that much, now, didn’t I?” I’m not embarrassed. How could I be?

stylistic choices: Writing from McMurphy’s point of view I wanted his arrogance to show. Throughout the ward, he believes he is the top dog and above everyone, including Miss Ratched who he refers to as Rat-Shed. In this particular scene, McMurphy’s arrogance comes through. He almost rips off his hands trying to show everyone how strong he is so that way they’ll vote to change the T.V. time. Like McMurphy’s character, I wanted to start off the passage calmer, as he is in the beginning. He’s never thoughtful but he tends to blow up as situations evolve. I wanted to show the evolution of his character moving from verbal conversations to him then becoming physical and a bit scary.

Dear God - XTC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p554R-Jq43A

In chapter 30 Offred says a big prayer where she’s pleading to God to make life better, to bring everything back to normal. It’s pretty understood throughout the text that Offred doesn’t have a strong relationship with God or religion even though she’s being forced into it by society. On page 195 she says, “I feel unreal, talking to you. You like this. I feel as if I’m talking to a wall… Oh God. It’s no joke. Oh God oh God. How can I keep on living?” Offred’s prayer reminded me of multiple lines in “Dear God”. The song begins by saying, “Dear God, sorry to disturb you, but - I feel that I should be heard loud and clear -We all need a big reduction in the amount of tears” and then as it continues it says “Dear God, I can’t believe in-I don’t believe in-”. Both the song and Offred are telling God that the world is in danger, and even though they don’t seem to have a huge relationship with religion they need something to believe in. The one thing that’s keeping Offred together is hope, hope that one day everything will get better, that maybe she will find Luke and her daughter, and that her life can return to the way it was supposed to be.

Dress - Taylor Swift https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNEoPctNIUE “Our secret moments in a crowded room - They got no idea about me and you”. This song is about a secret relationship and making the most of the moments they have together. This can be representative of Offred’s relationship with Nick. Nick is the only guardian Offred refers to by name, implying that the two have a relationship beyond what Offred is telling readers. Readers are aware that they have an attraction to each other though, because on page 98 the two run into each other and she says, “He puts his hand on my arm, pulls me against him, his mouth on mine, what else comes from such denial? Without a word.” The kiss was out of nowhere and shocked readers, especially since afterward Nick tells Offred the commander wants to meet her. “Dress” is a great representation of the small thrill that comes from a secret relationship, knowing that everything could go wrong but taking advantage of the moments anyway.

But Not Kiss - Faye Webster https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cIe5OSj8d4 “I want to see you in my dreams, but then forget - we’re meant to be, but not yet - you’re all that I have, but can’t get”. This is a song about longing for something you once had and how you hope it makes a return to your life, but at the same time you know it’s not possible. Offred experiences this feeling often, especially when she is reminiscing about people of her past. Luke in particular is someone she reflects on often when we get flashbacks to life pre-Gilead. On page 200 Offred says something similar to what Faye Webster talks about in the song. “I’d like to have Luke here…so I could have a fight with him… These days I script whole fights, in my head, and the reconciliations afterward too.” She imagines these things because she knows her relationship with Luke is no longer feasible and she doesn’t know where he is, but she still wishes she could be with him.

I Know The End - Phoebe Bridgers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC6mEJ5i5y8 “I Know The End” is very representative of “The Handmaid’s Tale” as a whole. This song is about losing hope and leaving your past behind. The song starts off by saying, “Close my eyes and fantasize - three clicks and I’m home”. This reminds me of when Offred is imagining her past life when she goes to sleep, on page 37 she says, “But the night is my time out. Where should I go? Somewhere good.” Then she continues to tell readers flashbacks of her previous life and these flashbacks are what give her normalcy and hope. But as the song and the book progresses we see this hope fade away. “I turned around, there was nothing there - Yeah I guess the end is here.” For example, Moira was a big sign of hope but in chapter 37 Offred finds Moria at the hotel. The two reconnect and Moira tells the story about how she had almost escaped and gotten out of Gilead. Unfortunately, Moira ended up at the hotel seemingly stuck. Then on page 250, Offred says, “I’d like to tell a story about how Moira escaped, for good this time…But as far as I know, that didn’t happen…because I never saw her again. With this, it looks like Offred’s hope is gone, because if Moria couldn’t make it out how could she?

hope ur ok - Olivia Rodrigo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLlsmB1D4Q0 “His parents cared more about the Bible - Than being good to their own child” This song is about parents not being accepting of their child because they do not want a “traditional relationship” which is very similar to Gilead and how they treat their citizens. Gilead strongly believes in “traditional marriage” and it’s a big theme throughout the book. However, traditional marriage in Gilead isn’t at all similar to how it’s viewed in the real world. Gilead uses the bible to explain the use of the handmaids as a part of a three-person marriage, so that way they can have children. At the beginning of the book, Atwood leaves a quote from Genesis 30:1-3 that reads “Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bare upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.” The government has forced its non-sterile women to do this simply because it’s in the bible. They don’t care about the well-being of the women because they care more about living in the “traditional” way, just as the parents do in “hope ur ok”.

Throughout “The Handmaid’s Tale” Offred reflects on the pivotal people of her past and is left with many questions about where they are now. In particular, she doesn’t know anything about where her husband Luke is, ever since she’s been taken and made a handmaid. On page 166 Offred says, “But I believe in all of them, all three versions of Luke… whatever the truth is, I will be ready for it.” I resonate with this on a much smaller scale, but it’s still a very present feeling in my life. Whether it’s friends or family, I always find myself thinking about the future, particularly in a stressful and negative way. There are only a certain amount of outcomes that make sense, and I need to prepare myself for them. For example, when my parents don’t pick up the phone I give them about ten to fifteen minutes and then ring again. If they don’t answer the second time then my mind starts to go to the worst. I probably think this way because I watched too much true crime growing up, but now these thoughts are ingrained in my mind, and I just have to sit and wait to see if my worst fears are really coming true. Offred doesn’t have the same luxury I have though, there are no cell phones, and no one else you can call go check on your loved ones. She just has to sit with her thoughts and hope for the best. She considers asking others to keep an eye out on page 124 but eventually says, “… there would be no point asking about Luke. He wouldn’t be where any of these women would be likely to see him.” If I were placed in her situation I don’t think I could deal with the lack of closure, my mind would be constantly running, and asking questions. I’m grateful every day for modern-day technology and how it can keep me in contact with my loved ones, I truly don’t know what I would do without it. Offred has these moments though, when she can truly reflect and think on how her life and the world have changed. On page 37 she says, “But the night is my time out. Where should I go? Somewhere good.” It is at this moment that Offred looks back on the good times she had with her best friend Moira, but it quickly takes a dark turn. She starts thinking about her missing daughter on page 39 and says, “But then what happens, but then what happens? I know I lost time… You’ve killed her…” When reading this, I realized that this happens to me too. The night really is the only time people are truly left with their thoughts, but sometimes that’s just not what I need. When I lie down, I’ll start thinking about something good, like a happy memory, or something I’m excited about in the future, but slowly I’ll start to stress out, it can be over the future and things I have to do, or it can be about something I regret having done that now is haunting me. The worst thing though is when I start freaking out if maybe the door isn’t locked, or I left my key in the door. So of course I have to run downstairs, make sure everything is locked up, and remind myself that it’s all in my head. Then I go back upstairs, now wired with stress, and stare at the ceiling or scroll on my phone until I eventually relax from something my own mind has caused me. Offred’s stressful reflections on her past and her anxiousness about the future are something that I deal with as well. Our situations aren’t similar and we are living in two very different worlds, but I understand the uneasiness that she deals with on an everyday basis. When your mind is running, it’s hard to get it to stop. There is really nothing to feel calm about because everything can change so quickly. Something can happen that can completely change your life, and you will have no inkling of it until it actually happens. That’s why Offred and I both live our lives in stress. We’ve had these things happen to us which cause us to look at the world differently. It’s hard to live in the present and be grateful for what is going on when you are always stressing about the future or reflecting on your past.

\https://www.wevideo.com/hub#media/ci/2609340484

Mi familia es relajada o vaga. Yo no tengo hermanos. Yo tengo cuatro tías, cuatro tíos, y ocho primos. En mi madre casa hay mi madre y yo. En mi padre casa hay mi padre, madrastra, hermanastro, gato, perro, y yo.

Mi abuelo (Sasha) tiene pelo corto, gris y es casi calvo. Tiene los ojos gris y azul. Sasha es muy alto y delgado. Él es gracioso y callado. Mi abuelo es sincero y divertido. El no es desordenado.

Mi prima Margo tiene el pelo corto y castaño. Ella lleva el pelo liso. Sus ojos son azules. Margo es muy pequeña y rechoncha. Ella es callada y adorable. Margo no es tímida.

Yo soy Josie. Mi pelo es largo y soy algo pelirroja. Yo llevo el pelo muy ondulado. Mis ojos son verdes. Yo soy de altura media y delgada. Soy trabajadora y simpática. Yo no soy ni deportista ni antipática.

Mi abuelo y yo ser ambos delgado y llevamos gafas. Nosotros somos callados, simpáticos, y empollòns. Nosotros no somos deportistas y antipáticos. Mi Sasha y yo somos ruso y judìo. Él tiene setenta y cinco años, yo tengo catorce años.