Reflection #11

Coming into this class I had only watched the movie Watchmen and throughout most of the movie I was lost.  In reading the novel and watching the movie I found that my favorite superhero was Rorschach.  After reading the novel now twice and watching the movie multiple times I know exactly what Rorschach stands for.  He stands for the innocent, plain and simple.  He sees the world in black and white and consequently never punishes anyone who doesn't deserve it.  Even though his view of the world is childlike, Rorschach be a great example to us all for standing up for his beliefs even in the face of death.

Before coming into this class I had never read Marvel's Civil War and even though we only read the first book out of the series I got a hold of a copy and read the entire thing.  Up until that point I had looked at Captain America as nothing more than a government stooge, but after the opening book I might ideas about Captain America turned around.  Instead of just following orders Captain America tells S.H.I.E.L.D that he will not comply with the new superhero act and he'll fight it to the end.

During my childhood and my high school years I have never had some deep secret that I was afraid of telling my parents. In reading the book Hero and learning of how much Thom just wanted to be accepted by his dad, but just being afraid of what his secret would do to their relationship, I have found that I've not really had any adversity to over come.  I think so far my life hasn't had that many hardships so I should probably complain a little less and be thankful for the cards I've been dealt.

Batman is my absolute favorite hero of all time.  That fact is probably why both of my analytical essays are about him.  In this class I wish we could explored his story a little further.  I think we all know his origin story, but we left so much of his story unexplored.  I know I was supposed to point out an important idea he could have conveyed to the class, but besides his moral code I don't think there is any other aspect we could really dive too much into.  So I understand why we didn't spend too much time on him.

I think that if comic book heroes had one thing to say to their readers it would be that it is always right to stand up and help those in need.  Anyone who is a good citizen will help their fellow citizens in a time of need.  I feel that Superman is the best model for good citizenship because instead of just doing what was easy and making himself a lot of money, he decided to take the hard road.  In taking the hard road Superman decided that the welfare and safety of everyone around him was more important than his wants and needs.  Anyone who puts the needs of society before their needs is a model citizen.

I just thought this was funning.

Reflection 10

The coach makes some lame excuse about Thom's seizures, but the real reason is Thom's sexual orientation.  If I were Thom I would have probably been more pissed off than him and I would have handled it poorly.  If my parents were to find out about something like this they would have taken the fight directly to the school.

 Ruth is telling Thom to step up and to stop living for his dad.  She is pretty much telling him to be true to himself.  Currently, I'm waiting on the right girl to call my wife.  I would like nothing more than to have a girl to share my life with.  I'm not really the most outgoing of a person when it comes to women so a good way to take charge of my happiness would be to ask more women out on dates.  I would need to be generally more outgoing.

I don't think this event happens to enough people as it should.  I completely agree with the quote, I think everyone should be allowed a chance to know that they have worth.  As a future physicist, the biggest goal in my life is to make my name in that field.  Specifically, I want to be the scientist to discover superconductivity at room temperature.  Doing so would allow electrical energy transfer, over short and long distances, with no loss to heat from collisions.  I could go into extreme detail, but that would make this entry a few pages long. Energy right now is transferred in the 30-40% efficiency range, but with this breakthrough we could transfer energy at, theoretically, 100% efficiency.  In doing this I would gain notoriety in the world of science.

  I would imagine that the perfect kiss would be between two people who would end up spending the rest of their lives together whether they were aware of that fact.  I don't think that this happens with every couple who end up together, but I believe occasionally it does happen so yes, I do believe it is possible to achieve.  Personally, I have never had a crush on a famous figure, but I won't deny finding multiple actresses attractive.  I think we have crushes have like this because we idolize famous people and come to believe that being in a relationship with them would be perfect.  What we fail to realize is that, besides being famous, these figures are just as human as everyone else.

Rorschach is the true Protagonist

First off, I would like it to be known that I am a little bias because Rorschach is indeed my favorite of the Watchmen.  This is probably because, besides money and killing criminals, he is the most like Batman and Batman is my absolute favorite comic book character.  Rorschach is the only one in the story that stays true to his values and never compromises.  As he says, "Never Compromise, even in the face of Armageddon."

I would first like to start off pointing out the hints that the author left showing that Rorschach is the exact opposite to the antagonist of the story, Adrian Veidt aka Ozymandias. First, Rorschach lives in poverty-like conditions while Adrian is one of the wealthest men in the world. Second, Rorschach's stench is repulsive while Adrian's company develops a perfume called "Nostalgia".  Third, Adrian is considered to be an attractive man while everyone in the comic considers Rorschach to be ugly.  Fourth, Adrian openly admits to the public that he is Ozymandias while Rorschach is still an active masked hero and no one knows his identity.  Fifth, Adrian is well loved by the public while the majority of the public despise Rorschach.  Finally, Adrian is willing to sacrifice a few million innocent people while Rorschach, even though he has no problem killing the guilty, will not compromise.

Rorschach sees the world in black and white.  The guilty need to be punished and the innocent should be protected.  That is why when he discovered that Ozymandias had killed millions of people, he couldn't allow himself to stay quiet.  In this act Rorschach is killed for being the only one of the Watchmen to stand up for the innocent.  In class we discuss rather Ozymandias acts were justified because he "helped" the world avert nuclear war, but I think we over look the simple fact that he killed millions of innocent people.  Who is to say that nuclear war was imminent?  At the end Laurie convinces Dr. Manhattan to come back to Earth.  Overall, for being basically Adrian's opposite and standing up for the innocent, Rorschach is the true protagonist of Watchmen.

Reflection 8

My superhero costume would be designed to probably look a lot like Rorschach's costume from the graphic novel Watchmen.  I would probably where a trench coat, a pair of gloves that I use to ride my motorcycle, steel toed boots, probably just a regular pair of jeans, and probably a ski mask.  If I could get a hold of them, I would also carry brass knuckles around with me.  I think that I would wear the mask because, like any other superhero, I'd like to keep my identity hidden.
I would have to say the front of my attack would have to be on drugs.  Although Galesburg doesn't have that big of an issue with drugs, they are still a problem.  I would say that my superhero identity would start out by finding the biggest player in town and cut him down in front of his group to send out a warning.
If my character was to relate to any of the heroes from the film it would have to be Dark Guardian.  Dark Guardian patrols the streets looking for Drug Dealers and has been successful in chasing them off Washington Square Park.  If there is anything to learn from Dark Guardian its that being a real life superhero can be achieved if you go about it the right way.

Reflection 7

I would imagine that the two experiences would be very different.  On the one hand a mutant like Magneto could go through his entire life without ever being noticed.  This is made apparent in the movie X-men: First Class when he is able to sit down and have a beer with two guys and they no idea that he is a mutant until he uses his powers in front of them.  A mutant like this could go their entire life fitting in until they are discovered then, unless they move to a place where they are not recognized, they would have a very similar experience to mutants with physical abnormalities.  A mutant like Mystique would have a very different experience.  As she mentioned, I believe in the first X-men movie, her parents tried to kill her when she was a child.  Just the mention of her parents trying that is an indicator of the type of life she has had to lead.  Due to her physical abnormality she will never be fully accepted and probably feared by society.  Although the mutants without physical deformities could hide their powers, some of them might want some place to be able to freely talk about and use their powers.  I think the main thing both types have in common is the desire to be accepted for who they are.  As the movies say, mutant and proud.  I believe that the X-men can apply to any sort of social or ethnic minority. Throughout the movies and comics all the mutants truly want is to be accepted by society and then left alone to live their lives.  I think after experiencing these movies and comics the minorities would understand that no matter how hard they try there will always be intolerance in the world.  What I think they should understand is that they need to just live how they see fit and not be concerned with judgemental eyes.  The main lesson the X-men could teach the mutants in their universe and the readers of this world is that yes they are different, but they are happy with who they are and you should be as well.

The mutant I most identify with would have to be Professor X.  Working on problems in both math and physics sometimes I come across problems that I have to take a step back on and think of multiple different ways to approach and solve them.  Similarly, when Professor X has deal with problems he thinks of multiple ways to solve then chooses the best way to remedy a bad situation.  If I was the Professor and had the responsibilities he does I would feel obligated to deny the cure for the benefit of my students.

Reflection 6

I would have to say that the majority of my friendships fit under the pleasure category.  I'm a member of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity on campus and along with considering each of its members as my brother, I consider each a friend.  After classes everyday I spend my free time hanging out with my brothers.  No matter what we are doing be it watching T.V., playing video games,  talking about random issues and topics, or partaking in certain beverages, I enjoy every minute of it.  I truly believe that I have a friendship of pleasure with each and everyone of them.  When thinking of a virtuous friendship my mind lands on one person.  She has been my best friend for almost 2 years now and whenever I think of her I only wish the absolute best for her well being.  I think in order for our friendship to become a friendship of virtue we just have to become a little closer and more open with each other, but due to certain circumstances we might be looked upon negatively by certain people.  Without going into detail, the barrier we would have to pass to get to this level would require us to possibly sacrifice other friendships.
All my life and even up until now I have been hardcore pro-life.  When I was 17 years old I was faced with a choice.  I had got my then girlfriend pregnant and the option to take her to a clinic was on the table.  Even though I had always been die hard against abortion, my young mind had wondered to the option that would solve my situation the quickest.  Ultimately, she and I decided the best option would be to keep the baby and now this fall I will watch my 5 year old son attend his first day of kindergarten.  What I saw when I was presented with that choice was that abortion was the easiest way out of a tight situation, but after watching my son grow for the past 5 years I know that our choice was the right choice.