Recommended by Your Friendly Neighborhood Betrayed Best Friend

Banquo

Zoe Millbern      Dec. 7, 2014

I would imagine that near the time of and following his death, Banquo would have felt a great deal of betrayal and desire for revenge (as evidenced by his possible supernatural visitation to spook Macbeth). The following are a number of movies that I feel would have intrigued him concerning these aspects of his mindset.

The Crow

"The Crow" takes place in a dystopian society where a mob like organization burns the city every Devil's Night. Eric Draven, a guitarist, and his fiancee are violently killed by these individuals during Devil's Night (which happened to be a day before their wedding) and a year later he's brought back to life by a crow that leads him through land of the living to exact revenge on those who murdered him and his fiancee. (This is one of my personal favorite movies.) This movie would be recommended by Banquo not only because of the return of the dead to affect those whose responsibility their death was, but because of the way that they were killed. In the case of the Crow, there was no reason for their murder except the recreation of the murderers, but both Banquo and Draven were killed by violently deranged individuals with little logical reason, and this movie probably would have served as inspiration for coming back to plague Macbeth. It would have meant that he saw his death as truly an unjustified act of violence and that needed to be avenged. Draven used a lot of face make-up to hide his identity and connect to his purpose, which, as it pertains to Banquo, could represent the reappearance as not only personal but in vengeance for past and future transgressions against others. 

Gladiator

This movie outlines the journey of a man who was unjustly forced to become a gladiator and compete in the Colosseum. He works ruthlessly to advance in the games as  revenge against Caesar, and this movie would be intriguing to Banquo as the main character was once a well respected and high ranking military official who, once he was given access to a possible position of power, was given an almost certain death sentence. Banquo would probably have sympathized with the betrayal and applaud the work that was done to get back at the one who put him in such peril.

Red

Red is about retired CIA agents who worked dutifully for their country and have been targeted for extermination by a corrupt leader in order to cover something up. They worked to right the situation, though the betrayal done to the previously respected would be something that Banquo could relate to. The manner in which they righted the situation probably would have intrigued Banquo, being that he was a military man himself, though not able to exact the revenge that he might have desired. The threat displayed by the CIA agents based on their knowledge is similar to the threat that Macbeth believed that Banquo was, despite the fact that none of them held a imminent and evidenced threat.

What Lies Beneath

This movie is about how a man is plagued by the ghost of the woman that he has cheated with and murdered. If Banquo had seen this film before his death, it could have served as inspiration for a good way to terrorize his killer and make him pay psychologically for his actions. Even though it would be impossible to physically get back at the man who murdered it, it could be equally detrimental to Macbeth's position were his mental state to be put into question or seriously damaged.

Images:
http://voiceacting.wikia.com/wiki/File:The_Crow_DVD_Cover.jpg
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0161081/

Why Are We Evil?

 

Why Are We Evil?

Nov. 16 2014
Zoe Millbern

I think that every "evil" action sprouts from either a genuine wish to do good or please someone, as a result of a great deal of external twisting and degrading circumstances, or from the psyche of the person in question.

The quote "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" seems to frequently be true when someone tries to do something for another and their intent becomes twisted or they feel as though that have to do said evil things FOR that person. Perhaps in order to protect the person they love they have to commit certain rash actions. Perhaps they do something they believe is harmless when in reality it is or is made to look wrong. Taking risks frequently seems to cause this problem. For instance, MacBeth wants to make his wife happy, and allows her to talk him into killing King Duncan. In Batman, the Joker was desperate to help his pregnant wife and that's why he decided to help a couple men break into the chemical supply company he worked for. After jumping into the vat of chemicals and getting his current appearance, it was this event compounding on the news that his wife and child had died that led to his mania and evil mindset.

The larger of the two causes is, I believe, is the external circumstances. This can even tie into the previous cause, as the influence that one person has on another is drastic. A series of even disconnected events can chip away at a persons mind and make them feel as though the only way that they can get back at the world or a person is through violence or an act of evil. We see this in comic book villains all the time, were the actions of one or many caused the mania of another. The Trashcan Man from Stephen King's The Stand  was haunted all of his life by the taunting voices of the children that made fun of him as a child, and the taunting and ridicule that he experience throughout his life led to his rather mad outburst of pyromania. In MacBeth this can be seen in the seemingly true premonitions of the witches but most overwhelmingly in the pressure and manipulation exhibited by his wife.

The last potential cause I will explain is the psyche of the person in question. Most of this comes from the basic human  nature that seems to come out in everyone occasionally. In the case of MacBeth it can be seen in his intense greed concerning the power that he would have in becoming King. In the case of his wife its simply the raw desire for power that she feels she cannot have unless she is a man.

In conclusion, any number of factors can lead to someone committing an act of evil, though I don't think that a person's mind set alone is sufficient. How we treat people and whether or not we choose to help them in crucial to the development of potentially damaging mindsets.

HOTEL MONTURIOL 

Zoe Millbern, Nov. 2, 2014

This piece of art from the Contemporary Art Museum that I chose to analyse was the Hotel Monturial. It was created in 1974 by Jorge Mendez Blake in Mexico. This was a moderately sized wall piece that consisted of a variety of pieces, all but one framed on the wall. According to the wall label, the piece consists of two piezographies with colored pencil, six piezographies, one collage on paper, three colored pencil on paper, and a bronze sculpture. Piezoelectricity is electric polarization in a substance that results from the application of mechanical stress. Piezoelectric substances are able to convert mechanical signals (for example, sound waves) into electric signals and visa verse, and they're used in microphones and phonograph pickups.

Beginning in the late 1950's and 60's, many Mexican artists began to move away from the traditional social realism and nationalism  and more towards the surrealistic, visual paradoxes, and old style artistic technique in the Rupture Movement. After this movement, a majority of the future Mexican artists were not influenced so much by murals and Mexican folk art. Neo-expressionist art became a lot more prominent during the 60's to 80's, consisting of a great deal of color and contrast as well as non-figurative and abstract design.

The piece appears to be the plan for a hotel that did not end up being built. It contains abstract art, landscape, and patterns that probably served as inspiration for or elements of the intended design for the hotel. There are also a couple of floor plans and one sketch of a room. Some elements of this piece use the piezoelectricity, which has been used for a number of older technological objects. It uses this technology in a new way to help portray this artists image. The subject of all the abstract and isolated objects is the hotel that was never built.

A variety of different colors and textures are represented in this piece, different light sources and the general color scheme dark silver and black makes many of the inspirational images seen relatively cold and empty. The piece is arranged in all separate pieces, arranged in separate, simple black frames with each side touching at least on of the others. The sculpture is down the left of the piece as a whole on a  small mounted wall shelf. The separated pieces appear to be just snapshots of this idea, and that it ended up being little more than an idea is supported by this fragmented presentation and generally duller set of colors. I believe that this piece is possibly representative of all of the lost  ideas and broken dreams as well as a darker representation of the creative process. I think the most likely purpose would be to symbolize all of the unfinished possibilities and lost opportunities. The interesting abstract pieces, some with color and some without, are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also symbolic of the creative process and the complex and interesting aspects of human ingenuity.

This piece was probably chosen by the curator to include in the exhibit because the theme of the exhibit was that something was missing. In this case, the piece of art has all of the pieces, but nothing holding it together, so the main picture is missing. I don't think that this piece's meaning has changed since it was created, but I think that today it could also be representative of the difficulty of bring a idea, no matter how good, to life nowadays. The content of some of the pictures, the abstract and the interestingly colored pieces, has given me a new manner of thinking about physical representations of ideas and thoughts. This begins to work into the idea I tried to think about in Theory of Knowledge, about whether or not thoughts and emotions can properly, entirely, or universally be communicated through art and how limiting language can be.

Sinful Advertisement

Zoe Millbern
Oct. 16 2014

According to Christian beliefs there are eight deadly sins; pride, envy, wrath, sloth, avarice, gluttony, and lust. The characters in the Canterbury Tales are often perpetrators of these sins, and through the stories Chaucer presents possible ways of overcoming these sins. These sins are not only found in religious or time period literature, however, and today they are even used in advertising to promote a product or action.





The above are advertisements for the "Guilty" perfumes for men and women by Gucci, found on the Gucci website. Both advertisements feature one person looking at the camera and another of the opposite sex looking at them while holding the other close. Neither are wearing clothes and both appear relaxed, while the one not making eye contact with camera is placed below the other, looking up at them. They feature "perfect" people that have perfect makeup and perfect bodies as a way to persuade the audience to buy it because many will want to be or feel just like them. The advertisements are promoting the perfume by way of presenting a scene supposedly inspired by the perfume or the act of wearing it. They play off of the deadly sin lust, and due to the position of the fawning person, it would appear that the perfume somehow made one superior to the other, or that they were helpless and weak due to their attraction. Both advertisements almost give off the air of providing power, confidence, or desire for the wearer, and that they will be more attractive because of it. "Guilty" may imply that they were caught doing something that was knowingly a sin or not accepted, but neither appears to care and are fine with it, not ashamed. The colors are dark and have a black and gold theme that implies mystery as well as glamour, and the actual product is relatively small and in the corner of the add, possibly with the intent of highlighting the effect of the product rather than the product itself. Therefore, the sin is used as a persuasive device.

The intended audience is different for both only in the target sex, but the message is the same. Both are intended for adults who are a bit younger (maybe 20's or 30's) who want to feel needed or powerful in the way depicted in the picture. Based on the picture, these people will also be of slightly higher or middle class, in an area were lust or promiscuity are often seen as desirable or acceptable, such as the United States. These kind of adds appear on websites and in magazines promoting similar objects, generally in open places where a variety of people will see them in passing and be interested.

Jane Eyre and Social Commentary

Zoe Millbern, 10/5/2014

The story of Jane Eyre in Chapter 7 speaks of her first few weeks at the school were she had been sent. It tells of the awful conditions forced upon the students in the dead of winter, where they were to be subjected to little food and warmth and scant freedoms. A variety of literary devices are used to provide social commentary during this explanation, and the line between how those of a certain gender and class are treated in comparison to those lording over then is quite clear. These girls are openly alienated by the others in their society, more so because of their class as they are looked down upon even by the females in the higher levels of society. Just as Chauncer's Canterbury Tales are full of social commentary, so is Jane Eyre,  and the author's description of each character helps to clarify her thoughts on the matter. 

The first instance of such actions are presented in how the teachers treat the students, and the characterization of the teachers themselves. The teachers themselves are dressed warmly and generally are too dejected to try to cheer the students up on their treks between the school and the church, though one would attempt to encourage them. They generally understand the unfairness of the situation the students are in, but are almost powerless to change it. While Miss Temple was amused by Mr. Brocklehurst's request to have the girls turn around, the difference in her standing and her boss's was such that she attempted to cover her reaction, and later the author uses a great deal of imagery to describe the distaste that the teacher holds for his demands, saying that "her face...assuming also the coldness and fixity of [marble]... settled gradually into petrified severity" (Bronte). 

The chapter also comments on the impossible standards given to the lower class girls and not to those of a higher position. When they pass out due to exhaustion, the "remedy" is to make them stand in the middle of the room until the lesson was finished, and if they failed at that they would be propped up and continue to stand. Mr. Brocklehurst creates a false sympathy and caring manner when he asks that the students' stockings be better cared for, but this illusion does not last long as he demands that the girls be limited and help to one clean pair of tuckers. He then demands that any spoiled food should not be replaced by more appealing food, but that they should learn "fortitude under temporary privation", despite the fact that they are barely fed anyway, claiming their bodies are fed, but their soul is starved. He also says that even if one's hair was to curl naturally, it should be more modest and without vanity, and, therefore, cut off entirely along with any braid for much the same reason. These harsh judgments are passed on to those well beneath him with little regard for their identity as human beings. The biggest point of social commentary concerned with these actions is their complete disregard for his own family. It is almost ironic that he would hold these standards to these young girls as a measure of their worth and moral and spiritual cleanliness, but not to those in his own family. These women are introduced as "ladies" and directed to a place of honor, though in comparison to the students, they are clad in splendid silks, velvet, and fur, as well as all manner of fashionable, warm adornment and elaborated curled hair. In other words, the higher class appears to be so much more honorable in spirit and proximity to God that they are not held to the strict standards of those beneath them. 

A theme throughout the selection is that those in the higher social class are stuck up, demanding, and generally ridiculous individuals with no humility or regard for others. Mr. Brocklehurst is characterized as an exceedingly arrogant and commanding individual, as he goes about pronouncing sentences and is referred to as a "Judge". He is very full of himself, putting himself in a place of power in front of the fireplace as he "majestically surveyed the whole school". He feigns surprise and shock when confronted with something he doesn't approve of, and the "black marble clergyman" uses plenty of arrogant phrases such as "'My dear children'" to appear a fatherly and generous advocate for their well-being. These instances as well as his demand that the girls turn around and his study of their reverse that showcase his slimy nature and awful abuse of power. He even hoists Jane up to his eye level to proclaim her impurity while flaunting the extensive "plumage" of his own decoration after just finishing his contemptful spiel on their overly vain braids. Upon hearing Mr. Brocklehurst proclaim that Jane Eyre is a "liar" the ladies who accompanied him "produce[d]their pocket-handkerchiefs and appl[ied] them to their optics, while the elderly lady swayed herself to and for, and the two younger ones whispered 'how shocking!'", which is a ridiculous manner in which to be affected by such a claim, and the narrator seems to be poking fun at their response. Generally the selection seems to paint the higher class females in a pitifully weak and useless character and those of the lower in a more intelligent and stronger light. 

The Meaning Behind a Name

Zoe Millbern             9/19/2014

My first name is Zoe. It's short, and slowly becoming more popular. Originally the name Zoe comes from the Greek word for "life" or "love of God", though honestly I'm fairly certain that my dad didn't really think about this when he named me. While most of history has seen names arise from a particular meaning that the parent wanted associated with the child in some way or traditional family names, I've noticed that recently a large number of people are moving away from this idea. My ancestry is for the most part comprised of Irish, Welsh, and a tiny bit of French, and my name being Greek further supports this more recent development of moving away from traditional means of deciding a name. One thing that I find ridiculous about some names today is that people seem to believe that there is a right and a wrong way to describe and define them. For instance, I know that my name is spelled correctly because the original Greek word was spelled this way. But more than that, it's spelled correctly simply because that is how I spell it, despite the fact that people have continuously told me that I spell it wrong, or that is just spells "Zoh", and I honestly think that is completely ridiculous that people fight with me about my own name. I've never really had a nickname, so I don't really find it significant to mention, but sometimes people just add another word to the end because it's so simple? It's a short name, so some people just say "Zo-___" to make it a little different. I love the names that I have found in fantasy literature, mostly the beautiful, meaningful names that Tolkien created in The Lord of the Rings, and think that it would be REALLY cool to have one. In all honesty though, I love my name, and wouldn't change it for anything because I think that it has grown to define and fit ME, and doesn't simply mean "Life", but represents who I am.

My middle name is Jean, which in Hebrew means "God is Gracious", and my mother's middle name was given to her in honor of my great aunt, whose first name is Jean. So, it has sort of started to become a family name. My middle name hasn't really been very influential during my life, but it serves as an example of how some traditional values are still holding true. I think that sometimes this passing of names is used to help the cohesion of a family by giving the something in common, but more importantly as a way to both remember and honor certain family members. 

My last name is Millbern, and all I know about it is that it is a Welsh name. A family's name might mean something social, indicating power, wealth, or position/career through the history of the family, and the last name has served to categorize people and show where they came from for a very long time. I think it is possible that sometime in the future people may begin to abandon this tradition method of name giving and instead more frequently start to choose a name that they feel represents them. On the other hand, it's the connection to a family and the desire to continue their legacy that could hold a lot of people back from it. In any case, that someone would want to keep their own name after marriage, or to keep it by hyphenation is their own choice. Whatever they like best or feels represents them best is their own decision and they should feel free to express themselves with it however they like. I don't really know yet if I will keep my name or not, I haven't decided yet how my last name connects with me completely.

Two Me's 

There has always been a sort of split between my life at home, by myself, and that which I have at school. They were always connected, however, and one affected the other. The life that I led at home was more open, but it involved a much different mind set. I would have to block things out but also be able to communicate on a more personal level, while at school I was able to focus completely on work and kept far quieter. There's a me that is part of a family and looks to improve myself, and a part of me that goes to school and out with my friends that is more reserved and looks to improve my abilities and image as it pertains to others. They've sort of been mixing together as they become more similar and I become more social, but there is still a divide that's hard to explain. Each has a different definition and way of thinking.

"Othering"

The Photograph that was chosen was found at this web address: http://photos.wingyounghuie.com/p709406511/h7d4c2f0b#h7d4c2f0b 


This photo was taken by Wing Young Huie as part of the "We are the Other" album dating from the years 2012 and 2013 and published in the Galleries of his website at http://photos.wingyounghuie.com/. At first glance the picture is of two people sitting/ standing on and around a bench, as a few of his photos are. Each person holds a small blackboard with writing on it and the bench is in front of a gas station, which means Huie possibly just found them there waiting for a bus. An Hispanic man stands to the left of the bench, looking at the camera, and holding a sign that says "Legalization all immigrant now" while a middle aged white woman sits to his right, looking off into the distance and holding a sign that says "Garden". But what reason would the photographer possibly have for taking this picture? This we can find by looking a little deeper.

The Hispanic man is standing and looking at the camera, and we can possibly take this to mean that he is truly paying attention and making an effort to be seen. His sign says "Legalization all immigrant now", which gives us an idea of his motivation. In contrast, the woman is sitting on the bench and staring off into the distance, which portrays an ability to go about her own business and not have to fight for anything. She can think about her garden and take no notice of how others are treated because of her racial "Superiority" and privilege. This is also loosely portrayed by the working class clothes of the "other" individual (the man) and the nicer clothes of the person in the majority, not having to fight for her rights. It is not entirely clear as the whether she is really looking away or looking up at the man, so another way to interpret this image would be that she is looking up to the man's stand as admirable, as she herself looks to have a less profound declaration to display on her board. 

The majority/ the "perfect" population as described by the governing power has far less to worry about than the "others" it degrades. This whole idea of "othering" not only shows a divide, but it also works to instill in the people this same idea, either that they are superior to those "others" and should be thankful they have the ease of life they do, or they should accept that they ARE the "others" and see themselves as lesser people. The biggest difference between the picture and the book that I could see is that the book only showed the point of view of the government that showed the "others" as being parasites and out of place and the the white Christians as deserving and respectable, whereas the picture showed the "other-ed" person as being hard working and deserving and the woman as simply being there and taking her position with ease and self-concern.
The concept of "othering" may not only refer to the degradation and separation of those viewed as lesser human beings, but also to the superior "others" that are given power and control over how other people are allowed to behave and think. Frequently in "The Handmaid's Tale" the narrator, Offred, refers to the government and the powerful, secret police type force as an entity with a completely "other" status. The are accountable to no one and a separate and mysterious force that does not follow the same rules as those they govern. This also opens the opportunity for the audience of the photograph to switch to the perspective of viewing the situation from the man's point of view and seeing the seemingly unobtainable realm of the "other" people in society who have more rights and privileges than he. 

"Othering" in The Handmaid's Tale 

The book serves to warn for the future and discourage the act of "othering" and the picture to promote action on the part of the audience to work harder not only for themselves, but for the equality of others. Speaking strictly in terms of narrator to audience, the narrator of the book is also sort of simply mentioning it as a way to provoke pity for her by describing the kind of society she is forced to live in than provide inspiration. One also may look at the author's point of view and bias, as Margaret Atwood is of a more privileged race and status than Huie, which causes their motivations and inspirations to be different because of their respective experiences concerning this concept.
In conclusion, the concept of "othering" has been prominent in our society for a very long time, and the statements about the different kinds of "othering" and the effects were described in both "The Handmaid's Tale" by Atwood and the photographs of Wing Young Huie. This concept causes a rift between races and classes in our society that is not only dangerous to those degraded by it, but dangerous to those that become the victims of self-importance and privilege that lead to a continuation of a downward spiral of deepening social differences and noncooperation.  



In the chosen photograph Huie presents to concept of "othering" through presenting an image of racial differences concerning motivation, clothing, and class. A similar concept is provided in Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" as the government creates a society largely based on a desirable population and a clear split between those people and the "others". A fairly specific example is the divide in class represented in the book where the Wives don't have to worry about much besides their gardens, and are entitled to an easy life while the other people in their society have harder jobs, stricter rules to follow, and greater responsibilities. This is directly connectable to the picture where the white woman's sign says "garden", which is a considerably less demanding and important activity than advocating for equality, which is her privilege based on class and racial position. Both the book and the picture are a comment on the breaks in class and race in society even today that lead to unfair advantages and disadvantages in all areas of life. While in "The Handmaid's Tale" the society forcibly removed and relocated the undesirable people, on a smaller scale the same thing is happening today and the racial and social superiority of a few in blatantly clear.