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Showing posts with the label thought-provoking

Screenwriting (and other) wisdom

I've been meaning to post something on here about how amazing the MFA workshop was in LA, but in addition to feeling like I hadn't yet found the right words, time is also something that's been a bit lacking lately. Therefore, I've decided to post my favorite quotes from the lectures. Some of the best scenes are silent. - Jane Anderson  Conflict is not inherently dramatic – a tennis match is a conflict. You have to care for there to be drama. – Paul Gulino Writing is telling lies that speak the truth. – Deborah Starr Seibel If the story doesn’t end when a character gets what they want/need, then the story wasn’t ever about them. – Jon Vandergriff Get yourself in the room – invite yourself to the meeting. - Laura Brennan (good advice for life in general!) Happy to help, not eager to please. - Alex Fernandez We need to push ourselves to show our vulnerability to the point of writing something that makes us want to puke. - Meg Lefauve.

The Ethics of Eating Meat - Animals and Society Class Discussion

Q: After reviewing the course materials for Weeks 6 and 7, discuss the concepts of moral equality and moral recognition. How do they impact the treatment of animals and people? What are the ethics of keeping animals in captivity and killing animals? How do animals become meat? How does the consumption of meat establish borders between classes, races and genders? What are some of the ethical questions surrounding the consumption of animals?  Photo by Christopher Carson on Unsplash A: Moral equality is the principle that all people have equal human rights – or that at least is the way it should be; the ideal. Moral recognition is the acknowledgement that there are differences between various groups of people (different genders, races, beliefs, behaviors, levels of intelligence, etc.), but the ideal of equality should still be applied; the differences should not merit different treatment.  However, this idealized equality – which we still struggle to apply to all people – is most defin

Animals and Society Class - Discussion 4

Q: How has the question of humanness/what it means to be human changed over time in human thought? What roles do animals play in human thought? Why is it important to look at animals according to Berger? Why is important that animals cannot “look” back at us in the same way? How do you see Banksy’s installation The Village Pet Shop and Charcoal Grill and/or Sirens of the Lambs challenging the way we use and socially construct animals? How does the installations question the way we may look at animals in our daily lives? A: The concept of humanness is nothing more than a social construct. And where a living being falls on the scale of perceived humanness has always been determined by those with the power to do so (mostly white European men, historically). While the definition has broadened over time it has not necessarily deepened. True, it now includes women and non-white ethnicities most of the time , though obviously animal terms are hurled towards these groups as slurs even to this

Animals and Society Class - Discussion 4, Zoos

Q: How are zoos an example of classifying and categorizing of animals today? What role might culture have in their approach to education and entertainment of their videos? Or in the kinds of animals they have? How might zoos reinforce ideas of charismatic megafauna? Provide examples to support your answers. A: Zoos classify and categorize animals in the literal sense of often having like animals grouped together in close proximity; e.g. a reptile house, an aviary, a section for insects, etc. However, they also categorize them by popularity to some extent. The factor of “charismatic megafauna” comes into play in choosing which animals to keep, and where to house them. But it isn’t fair to say that zoos only house those animals we love to see. Zoos do work to be educational about the intrinsic value of every animal they display – plaques and videos will try to convert you to the merits of scorpions – but most of the visitors probably didn’t come for the scorpions. And zoos know this.

Historical Jesus Class - Discussion 2

Based on this week's reading, describe three ways in which Jesus acted in the expected role of a rabbi.   Three ways Jesus fit the bill as a rabbi would include the following: 1)     Jesus was called a rabbi in his lifetime, and his reported actions fit the definition. As the book points out on page 354 Jesus had the title applied to him in much of the early texts, and the use of the title was left in the texts post-Easter. The fact the text was not altered to say that Jesus had always been referred to as the Messiah or Christ indicates the probable accuracy of the use of the rabbi title within his lifetime. Also, a rabbi is defined on page 355 as being the Aramaic word for teacher. Regardless of what one believes about the divinity of Jesus, the historical life of the man is certainly focused on teaching. The entire ethic of the historical man was traveling and talking to people about life and a promised afterlife, and how to have a better one of both. And despite the fact th

Historical Jesus Class - Discussion 1

Discussion Questions: Based on the reading and film, discuss examples of the layers of experience and interpretation that stand between the historical Jesus and the written sources on his life that we have access to.  None of canonical Gospels claims to be a diary written as events happened, and none even claims to have been written down by direct eyewitnesses.  They and the other sources we have appear to be at the receiving end of orally transmitted reports passed down over time.  What do you think were the major influences that may have shaped reports about Jesus as they were passed from person to person orally?  What expectations and experiences did the people have that might have shaped how stories about Jesus were told, or how certain things he taught were emphasized over others?  How serious do you think the challenge is to recover historical facts about Jesus t hrough these layers of interpretation? Answer: Upon reading the question, “What do you think were the major influen

Animals and Society Class - Discussion 1

Because I'm having to spend so much of my time, at the moment, reading and writing for school and the blog is suffering slightly as a result, I'm going to post what I'm writing for school as a way to keep the blog active. I still intend to post other content as often as possible, but since I have to devote some time to this anyway, why not share? I would love to get feedback/comments on these posts if they provoke any thoughts/feelings for you.   Q: How are animals socially constructed? A: Both human and non-human animals are just socially constructed concepts, created by human cultures making up narratives which suit themselves. While the different cultures of the world (and throughout history) may have different definitions of which animals are food, which animals provide companionship, or which animals are worthless / dangerous / vermin, the definitions are all just agreed upon by the group. The entire structure is completely arbitrary and created by the cultures thems