Monday, December 20, 2010

John Adams


The first part mainly centers on one theme that whether Captain Preston stands behind the soldiers and gives the command to shoot at the crowd. In this part, it is full of conflicts and the situation is rather tense. Mr Forrest wanted John Adams to defend for the British soldiers. However, Goddard stated firmly that Captain Preston gave the soldiers the command to shoot at the crowd in the court. Actually, John Adams received great public pressure since his defense for the soldiers, and he carried out hot debate with his wife, Sam, Captain Preston, Goddard and so on, which fully displayed the characters of John Adams
John Adams’s wife reminded him that “ your perspective client is the most despised man in Boston, you will be condemned and said to be the man of the crown if you plead the case”, and John Adams simply replied that “ I care not for malicious tongues on either side”. John Adams knew that his decision to defend for British soldiers would cause public condemnation, but as a lawyer, it was his responsibility to prove that the soldiers were not guilty, John Adams had his principal, he would not submit to external pressure. John Adams went to see the murderers. Captain Preston said to him that “You wish to engage my services in your defense? They’ve all refused us, sir, every man jack of them”, “You may expect from me no art of address, no sophistry or prevarication in such a cause. Nothing more than fact, evidence and the law will justify” John Adams answered. This dialogue showed that what John Adams believed was evidence, everything should be judged according to the law not public resentment. As a lawyer, he should give the public the truth. Just as Captain Preston said, John Adams was a man of integrity. When Sam came across John Adams, Sam warned him that “You have not much of a case, John. No Boston jury will ever vote for acquittal, this is a time for choosing sides”, John Adams did not yield to Sam’s warning because he knew that his responsibility was to prove the truth, public resentment to the crown should not be put into consideration during this case. “I am for the law, cousin, is there another side? I intend to prove that this colony is governed by law”, John Adams replied firmly. At last, John Adams successfully proved that Captain Preston did not give the command to fire and the soldiers were sentenced no guilty.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

The Shawshank Redemption

 The Shawshank Redemption, which is one of the most worth-watching movies throughout the human history.

The film can simply described as a prison-break story, which takes us only several hours, but the leading role, Andy, almost 20 years. At the beginning, Andy is ordered to serve two life sentences for two victims, his wife and her lover, who are supposed to be murdered by him. But it turns out to be a miscarriage of justice. In the following 19 years living in prison, Andy has gone through a lot of hardships and fortunately made a real friend, Red, another leading role in this film. Andy is amazing guy who has even won the respect from the jailors because of the comprehensive knowledge of accounting. He is also a guy of incredible perseverance that he has spent 19 years to tunnel through the prison wall and successfully escaped the prison at the end. When seeing he is extending his arms in front of himself in the heavy rain to enjoy the freedom, I was so touched.

I think it is hard to say whether it is a happy story or a sad one, because the plot, you know, really makes your heart ache and the ending may make the cruelest man in the world smile. "Two old friends""on the beautiful beach of Mexico""hugging each other""after tens of years suffering in the prison" I think it is so wonderful that it can't be expressed in words.

Well, I like the film so much because it always reminds me that we should appreciate the beauty of life and fight for the dignity of human beings. And the most important is to keep hope forever, just as the sentence on the film poster — “fear can hold you prisoner; hope can set you free”.

Hotel Rwanda ---- a story of an African Schinderler

Hotel Rwanda is a film about a man. It was based on a real story of a man who saved 1268 people’s lives in a madness genocidal, which happened in Rwanda, 1994. The film was directed by Terry George, 2004. The main actor Don Cheadle is not handsome but just an ordinary man. You probably will even not recognize him when you happen to meet him on the street. He acted a hero based on a true story, a man who was as simple as he is, Paul Rusesabagina. Paul is a hero, a real man, while a hero and a real man doesn’t always need to be handsome or attractive in the appearance. There are two nations in Rwanda, hutu and tutsi. Paul is a hutu manager working for a 4 stars hotel on town. The hutu army planed a genocidal to clear out all the tutsi people in ruwanda. The tutsi people were suffering a madness blood bath. Over 800,000 people had been killed within 100 days. Paul has a tutsi wife, in order to protect his wife, children and other tutsis; he took them to hide in the hotel Rwanda. There are many white people from all over the world lived in this hotel so the hotel is the safest place in Rwanda to hide. There are 80 UN soldiers in Rwanda but only 4 guarded in the hotel and all of them are not allowed to shot. If we say that Paul just wanted to save his wife at the beginning, after recognized that there is no one would come to help the tutsis, Paul throw himself into the breach. He bribed the hutu general by wine and gold, used out every coin of his to purchase the refugees’ lives, ten, a hundred, 2 hundreds, 3 hundreds… more and more tutsi refugees flee to the hotel wishing to survive. To them, Paul is an angel who keeps a hope for those hopeless people in the calamity. His goodness his mercy is the key to be alive. 
The hotel Rwanda is a dramatically and war film, ingeniously, there was almost no lens for slaughtering; however, the threatener of death was full filling with the whole movie. One of the tutsi asked Paul, 
“Why they are so truculence?” 
“ Hatred? Insanity? … I don’t know.” 
The event is a humanitarianism disaster and Paul needs no reason to save the lives. When the world closed its eyes, he opened his arms. Facing a madness calamity and crazy crowds, the individual’s power is far from enough. However, Paul saved more than 1000 people’s lives. Paul Rusesabagina is a hero, a real man, an African Schinderler. 

Topic Development post

1. Issue:·      Recently more and more people are addicted to the Internet, this group of people is like a gang of people without the soul, according to an article from US News and World Report, there are some potential risks of Internet addiction.

2.Controversial question Does the addiction of internet harm people's health?

3.Yes-- indulgence in the internet does harm people/ No--It's just a coincidence.

4. Audience: Internet potatoes and their parents, normal people, public heath care authority.

5. Claim:    Even though some people do not understand the potential risk of Internet addiction, it’s no doubt that the indulgence in the internet does harm on ideology, psychology, and physiology of human being.