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Parody Films ("Scary Movie", "Disaster Movie" etc.)

Quote: Abraham’s and the Zuckers’ early collaborations are characterized by the way they effortlessly crammed every scene with anarchic sight gags. Today, that style of frenzied genre spoof has been co-opted by the considerably less inspired film-making team of Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, who are responsible for such soulless dreck as Not Another Teen Movie and Vampires Suck.

If you've turned on a television in the past ten years or been to a movie theater then you probably know what a parody film is. One where they usually take popular films, ones that most people recognize, and then warp the characters and plots into "somewhat" comical reenactments. If you're like me, then you're probably pretty glad these films seem to be what i like to call a "dying breed"... We don't seem to see many of these too often anymore. 

Why's this? Some might say that it just been done to many times and we all know what happens when you repeat the same joke just one too many times; it's just no longer funny. The humor found in these films were very "immature" and repetitive. What they lacked in creative and witty writing they made up with humorous injuries. 

How did these catch on? Like most jokes or funny movie sub-genre's, when something is new, it seems brilliant. These movies appealed to anybody up for a good laugh. If you were interested in something funny or if you loved scary movies or drama's and wanted to see them being made fun of, then these were directed towards you. 

Like mentioned in the quote above, these movies were just overdone and uninspired. They no longer contained the creativity or wittiness that they once did and once that was gone, they began to seem over-done. They used the same soulless, thoughtless jokes and no longer appealed to anyone as there production quality exponentially decreased very quickly. 

Reason

Some people have drive. An unexplainable, unimaginable urge to succeed, improve and learn. Those who do not possess this drive sometimes find it hard to understand.

Todd, also known as Chamberlin, is a Caucasian, 18-year-old male from Long Island, New York. What makes Todd, or Chamberlin rather, interesting is his passion for rapping.  Since the age of 10, Chamberlin has kept a notebook of rhymes, every second of the day writing new verses and correcting others.  Just because he started young doesn’t mean he was good, though. He just had the drive to get better.

         It wasn’t until the age of 16 that he had the courage to start telling friends of his hobby, he was clearly no longer embarrassed. This quote by Benjamin Franklin truly exemplifies this, “If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins”.

         As Chamberlin continued to improve his skills he started to get more and more popular, even booking his first show in a small club in Brooklyn. This new found “fame” clearly got to his head when he told his parents he no longer wished to attend college. Where was his reason? Had his passion got the best of him? Letting it all get to his head, was there a real future in rapping for him? He believed so and was almost willing to give up a world full of other great opportunities in order to find out.

Luckily, reason found its way into his brain and was able to once again “hold the reins”.  He’s now able to balance his incredible passion with education and is even combining the two.  

Reverse Cronology

Finally, I’ve made it. The day’s travels are over and I can now sit back relax, and catch up with one of my oldest friends. Amazing, in how just over a month you realize how things can change. As I got off of the subway and saw him it seemed as if I had never said goodbye.

Getting on that subway to come see him was a task in itself. I’d never been to Chicago, and even in new york I rarely used the subway system. Who am I supposed pay? Where do I buy my ticket? Was I supposed to sit next to the elderly man or young woman? But before that I had to get on the train. These stations are nothing like I’m used to. I thought I was supposed to buy the tickets before I get on. Was I going to have to pay extra now?

Before I got to the train, I had to deal with the task of getting my way to Chicago from Ann Arbor. By chance, my randomly selected roommate was from Chicago and was going home this weekend. But would the drive be awkward? I didn’t know his friends and they didn’t know me. I spent my time sleeping and laughing awkwardly at the inside jokes I was not apart of,  passing time looking out the dirty window thinking about what it would be like to visit my best friend in his new home. Before the trip I had lunch with my roommate and his friends, this gave me a taste of what the trip would be like, they were nice, but I just didn’t know them, I could tell I was just a bit different from them. Waking up to get ready to leave was nice, refreshed from a nice sleep and excited for the days traveled. 

Help or Win?

http://www.cnn.com/video/

First, imagine running in a race. You’re breathing heavy, moving your legs as fast as you can, trying to win this race for your school’s track team. Nothing else is on your mind except for the ground in front of you and the finish line up ahead of you.

            Now, picture one of your competitors up ahead of you, falling. Clearly writhing in pain, covered in blood and no longer in competition with you. Do you stop and help him? Or do you continue on with the race and finish in a better position?

            There was clearly no other option for runner, Josh Ripley.  Josh is an athlete who saw no other choice but to help his fellow competitor, Mark. Although, the two were competing against each other, Josh saw it in his heart to extend his hand to Mark and ask if he was all right. Josh clearly saw that Mark needed medical attention and with no hesitation picked up Mark and continued running with him until he could place somewhere, where he could receive medical attention immediately.

            Covered in Mark’s blood, Josh continued on and finished the race. He hadn’t helped his competitor for a reward just simply it was the right thing to do. If you were faced with this decision how would you react? Help the person in need or continue on in the race and win for your team?

Popcorn

 In the most graphic detail you can imagine, describe a seemingly mundane act like drinking a cup of water, or being stuck in traffic. Tune in to all your senses, to every sight, sound, texture, taste and emotion you can muster. 


Pop! The first of many explosions coming out of my microwave as I wait for my tasty treat to finally be ready. And then another two "Pops!" and that delicious scent of butter is drifting into my nose and can feel my mouth start to water. 
I sit there staring at the bag spin within, hoping, praying that it doesn't burn. In my head I say to myself, "I hope it doesn't burn, it's gross when it's burnt.". The scent is getting stronger and seconds seem to be ticking slower and slower. 
Finally, I hear the "Beep! Beep! Beep!." and I know my snack is ready. Every rugged yet soft piece, covered in melted butter, more satisfying than the last. The salty, sweet taste is too much. I grab handful after handful trying not to think about when the time comes when my hand will come up empty and I won't be able to enjoy any more. Until then, I sit back and enjoy whatever is currently playing on the television, although it doesn't matter, I'll enjoy anything if I have some freshly popped popcorn.
To my dismay, the time comes and all that remains are the, ever so hard, kernels. Am I still hungry? No, but I'm going to try and eat them without cracking my teeth anyway. They're not nearly as satisfying... or soft... or delicious, but I continue to inhale every last kernel until the bag is entirely empty. 

When do I write best?

When do I find myself feeling free enough to write anything that’s on my mind? I guess the best way to answer this question is to describe how I set everything up in order to right this very piece. First, I made sure there was a good song playing, typically a soothing one. I find it easier to think and hear my thoughts when there’s some type of noise in the background. Even if it’s the sound of people talking, I find it relaxing to hear the murmurs of their voices.
I usually write when I’m told to do so for class, but my best writing is when there’s something on my mind that makes me think. The lines come out in bursts and every few sentences I find myself reading them out loud to make sure they make sense. That’s when I end up revising my work. If I wait until the end, the resulting work isn’t as satisfying.
That’s how I wrote this paragraph; a good song playing in the background while I re-read the words I had written on the page to myself. That’s not the only way to go about writing though. My mind often wanders to different, random topics and I don’t want to forget them so I take out my phone and write them down. Those are usually my favorite.