Blog #5

Screening processes are inherent in almost all careers. In the essay “The Chem 20 Factor” by Ellen Goodman, she describes the intense competition within Chem 20 in college. Every student scratched, clawed, scrambled, and crammed their way to success in that class in hopes of enhancing their chances to be accepted into a prestigious medical school. Chem 20 was, in effect, a preparation course for the treacherous lives ahead of them as doctors.

“Screening courses” can be equally applied to a variety of opportunities that are given to us as we move through the ranks of the education system.
While I was in elementary school, a program for “accelerated learners” was offered which was titled GATE, for Gifted And Talented Education. GATE’s purpose was to teach kids further constructive abilities that they could use in careers or in other situations in life. I failed the test to get into the GATE program the first time (I always had a tough time with patterns), but was accepted the next year. The program itself never directly benefited me, but its purpose was noble and I imagine that others got more out of the program than I did.
While attending Markham Elementary School, I was placed in the ACE program. There were many programs at Markham, all of which were aimed at a variety of different people with specified wants and needs. Among the other programs at Markham was the SPICE establishment. This was geared towards those who spoke more than one language or wanted to learn another language. As I look at the people who were schooled in the SPICE program now, I am envious of their mastery of another language, as I have always admired bilinguists and those who can mingle with other cultures with ease. However, I do not regret being raised from kindergarten through third grade in the ACE program because I made great friends and had wonderful teachers. By spending four years of my life in the ACE program, I believe I can look at many situations from different perspectives.

In middle school, there was a couple of accelerated (XL) classes available, and I took every one that was offered. I truly believe that the difficulty level in many of the XL classes was indistinguishable from that of normal XL classes. However, this may have also been another attempt to sort out students who wanted to prepare themselves for the future. Even so, this structure gives students a chance to evaluate themselves and to get a clearer perspective on the level of competitiveness their respective interests and careers will be.

In the last two years of high school, Advanced Placement courses are offered to students. The students usually take these classes to prove themselves to colleges that they are smart and capable enough to attend the colleges in the future. In addition to this, Advanced Placement classes can hone students’ skills and prepare them for college as well as careers. They can also help narrow down students’ interests in subjects like Physics and Spanish.

I think Advanced Placement courses are very beneficial to me as a student. Not only are most of my friends in the classes, I am beginning to understand what is expected of college level classes. Without AP classes, I think I would be absolutely shocked at the competitiveness and the expectations of Universities. My sister currently attends UC Berkeley, and, even after taking Advanced Placement courses in high school herself, she admits that the work is on a whole different level than high school. Not only does AP classes prepare me for the sheer workload in college, they help me grasp what I want to do with life. Currently, I find engineering, photography, and language fascinating. When I entered high school, I had no idea what I wanted to major in. As I continue to learn from AP classes as well as normal classes, I can narrow down what I am most interested in and pursue that in college. By taking AP courses, I have also realized that being accomplished in certain subjects does not necessarily make them my favorite, and vice versa. Previously, I thought I would go into college in an English major, because I wrote well. However, as I grew older, other subjects began to take my interest (That is not to say that my interests will not change again). Mathematics fascinates me, but the last two classes of Math have been the most challenging classes of my academic career. By continuing to work at improving at Math, it can be both my favorite and my easiest subject.
Advanced Placement courses have also humbled me greatly. Growing up in elementary school, middle school, and even at the start of high school I was at the very top of my class; everyone regarded me as one of the smartest (if not the smartest) person in the school. As I took the XL classes offered in freshman and sophomore years, that title was tarnished slightly, as I saw more and more people begin to match my intelligence and grades. This year I am exposed to a whole new array of brilliant minds, many of whom outshine my own abilities with ease. I realize that the title of the “smartest person in the school” will be fully demolished in a University. This does not make me try less, however. Instead, I am more motivated than ever to match the excellence of my fellow students, and will continue to do this throughout college and, eventually, my career.
There are many opportunities given to students as they rise through the ranks of the education system. They become more arbitrary as the students’ minds mature. The fact that students may choose to take whatever classes they wish enhances the overall effectiveness of the system. In the end, it is up to the student, not a parent or teacher, to guide themselves in their lives and to pursue their own interests. As I have grown, I have learned that life itself appears to be a “Chem 20 factor.”

Blog #4

Quentin Tarantino and the Coen brothers have each produced a variety of quality films, amongst which lie a few classics. Although their respective styles may seem hard to compare, both directing groups have similarities which tie them together.

Let’s start with Tarantino. Quentin Tarantino started his filmmaking career in the early 1990s, making independent films Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown. His more recent films include Kill Bill (Volumes 1 and 2) and Inglourious Basterds. Tarantino is renowned for directing among the best Independent films. He often collaborates with Robert Rodriguez, a director of similar style.
In his films, Tarantino uses intriguing stylistic techniques, like intense visual violence and the nonlinear ordering of his stories. When watching his movies for the first time, one might interpret his style as being much too flashy; some may even call some action sequences excessively cheesy. But if one were to actually study Tarantino’s work, his cinemetographic genius becomes readily apparent.

Perhaps the best example of a film that incorporates nearly all of Tarantino’s tactics is Pulp Fiction. Pulp Fiction is presented in three interweaving stories; a prizefighting boxer who finds himself in trouble after failing to fix a match, and two hitmen who find themselves in an odyssey of separate bizarre events. Tarantino scrambles the stories out of chronological order which adds to the confused, trance-like effect the movie has on the viewer. The story itself is arranged like a Picasso masterpiece. Vincent Vega, a hitman and one of the main protagonists, is the main character in one of the three substories. In one of the scenes, Vega has to take out the wife of Marsellus Wallace, a very powerful member of the mob in Los Angeles. They go to a restaurant which seems to be set in the 1950s, with the staff of the restaurant portraying movie and music stars from that time. Vega and Marsellus Wallace’s wife compete in a dance competition, which they win spectacularly. The restaurant scene is so astonishing when examined because Tarantino managed to accurately portray a scene from the 1950s in a movie that was taking place in the 1990s. Tarantino’s screenplay and directing genius also is apparent in a second mini-story in the movie. An aging competitive boxer takes a bribe from Marsellus Wallace to throw a match. While waiting in a room just before his match, Butch, the boxer, remembers when he was a child being told that his dad had died in a POW camp in Vietnam. He also learned that his dad hid his heirloom gold watch in his rectum while dying so it could be passed down to Butch. Butch snaps back into reality, and ends up winning the match he had been paid to throw. By betting on himself, Butch gathered a considerable amount of money, given that Marsellus Wallace had invested so much money into Butch throwing the match. Butch was forced to flee directly after the fight. It becomes clear that Butch double-crossed Wallace so he and his girlfriend could run away with a considerable sum of money. However, when he realizes that he forgot his father’s watch, he feels compelled to retrieve it from his home - where Wallace’s men would certainly be waiting. Even though he was deeply involved with the gang in Los Angeles, Butch is vividly portrayed as a man with great values. 

It is safe to say that not every director can display characters’ emotions and motives with such clarity. Tarantino is an outstanding director because he can accomplish this with ease.


The Coen brothers are similar to Quentin Tarantino in that they both started out making Independent films. Also similarly, the Coen brothers employ unique style in their films in order to create the best feel for the viewer.

The Coen brothers, like Tarantino, use diverse techniques both the writing and filming parts of the movie to maximize the effect on the viewer. Even though the Coen brothers use similar tactics in their films, one cannot isolate a recurring theme in their movies that obviously contributes to the overall quality of their productions. Because of this, it is easier to provide examples from different movies, rather than just one.

In their first major motion picture, the crime film Blood Simple, the Coen brothers use a mixture of long, drawn out scenes and relatively little dialogue to create an excruciating tone that adds to the thrill of the film. Although not a personal favorite, Blood Simple still left an impression on me that the Coen brothers designed.

In Fargo, a crime film tinged with dark comedy, the Coen brothers create a different feel. The movie takes place in between Fargo, North Dakota, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Coen brothers film the whole movie in the winter in order to create a more “sleepy” feel to the northern states. There are also many hilarious parts in the movie; not hilarious in the normal sense of the word, but humorous because of the sheer quirkiness of the characters themselves. The Coen brothers exaggerate the stereotypical Minnesota friendliness in all of the conversations the main character (a female state trooper from Minnesota) has with citizens. This contributes to the unusual humor of the movie, and makes the film very enjoyable to watch.

In the Coen brothers’ most successful movie, No Country for Old Men, further cinematic techniques are developed to fit the film and the audience. The film takes place in Texas, where a hunter stumbles upon a scene of a disastrous drug deal. He ends up with two million dollars in heroin money, which he takes for himself and flees the county. A psychopathic hitman named Anton Chigurh is sent to retrieve the money, and the cat-and-mouse chase begins. The Coen brothers create an uneasy feel to the movie mostly through the cast of the psychopath, Anton Chigurh. While watching the film, one feels terrified of Anton, because he has no care for any human life, and he seems unstoppable. However, his character is also intriguing because he has rules that he lives by; he seems to do nothing without a cause.

Quentin Tarantino is without a doubt one of the most talented directors in modern film. Pulp Fiction is one of my favorite movies of all time. However, when asked who my favorite director is, I would have to go with the Coen brothers because of their incredibly diverse style and the ease by which they apply unique styles to every one of their films. Tarantino’s style to me seems more static, while the Coen brothers adapt to everything.