Memento

As I was watching the movie, I couldn't shake the feeling that I had already watched in. Only till the far end of the movie did I realize I had seen the movie before. Because it was so complex and intricate, I couldn't put the pieces together although I know I had watched it before. Watching in the second time, after this class made me understand the concept more. I now look at the movie and understand why he does the things he does, because without doing them, he cannot live and be himself.

Memento

I really enjoyed the movie. I thought it was really intriguing, and I felt like I was solving the puzzle with him. I thought I had a pretty good idea of what was going on in the movie until the last 30 minutes or so. Did his wife die? Is he Stanley? Was his wife the diabetic? Is Teddy really to be trusted? So, basically Lenny has been searching for J. G. continuously, though he already killed him, if that was the real J.G.? And he knows he's lying to himself until he forgets again? I guess the movie does not fully explain everything, and it's left up to our interpretation of the movie, to decide for ourselves how we want to view it. I guess that's a good move for the director because I now want to re-watch the movie and continue to find more clues to really figure out Lenny's life. I think it was really interesting how the movie is shown backwards, and I wasn't too confused by that, it just took a little longer for my brain to process it. Plus, I think that process made us experience the movie like Lenny- with no known information before the events happen because we are watching it in reverse, so it's as if we have no recollection of what had already happened. I think this was a great movie for this class because we can't really trust anything in the movie or anyone- even Lenny, who I ended up disliking at the end unfortunately. I also think that each time I watch this movie, I would probably have a different opinion of Lenny because the movie makes you think differently, and since I know the ending, I could think of the scenarios differently. I'm still thinking about this movie a few days after we watched it, which I love, and that's a sign for me that it's a movie worth watching.

HOLY...

THAT MOVIE. JUST BLEW MY MIND...

Here's the thing. The whole movie, I was trying to determine what was "true" and what was not. So basically, here I am, knowing that someone is giving him the wrong information. I was trying to figure out who.

I knew from the beginning that Teddy wasn't the right guy. So I'm trying to see who told him to write "Don't believe his lies" on his picture. When that girl came into the picture, I decided "Hmm maybe this is his wife, and he doesn't realize it?"I thought if this was the case, there was someone who was just making all of it up to do their own dirty work. And eventually I was like "Or not..."

Then I decided as he was telling the Sammy story that maybe he talks about him because he has the same condition where he was only mentally faking it to block out what he doesn't want to remember. Kind of went with my "His wife is that lady" theory.

I kind of also thought that perhaps he only chose to forget whenever he was in a stressful situation. I thought the "big twist" was when he'd realize that he can actually remember everything. Then they realized his condition wasn't "faking." That was wrong, too.

So then I figured that woman killed his wife. Also wrong.

And then I decided that HE was the killer and he was just creating his own reality...

Basically I guessed different puzzle pieces of the entire picture because I was taught to see clues and not read blindly while also not believing everything that is said. The reason this movie was so awesome is because the ending gives that final puzzle piece. There really is no way to "know

the ending" because of how many different clues they give you. Just like Lenny, we had the scenes jumbled, making it difficult to recall the past events, and we were constantly given different information that could be true or possibly lies.

So until that option is given of Lenny actually creating the false reality to give him something to live for, the viewer is confused of WHAT to believe. Even then when Teddy reveals the "truth," I still kind of thought..."but is THAT really the 'truth'?" We are never actually given the entire story because we are forced to perceive it in our own way. We can believe the words Teddy gives us at the end, or choose to keep searching as Lenny does.

Technically, he could really be his wife's murderer who keeps Lenny searching in order to save his own life. There's so many possibilities that it wraps up this course perfectly: we should never believe something just because it is written down or because someone "proves" it's true. It's all about how you choose to believe and look at things.

this class has Forced me to think"freely"

This class has definitely been a most world shaping&empowering experience. It made me question the world, reality. It made me realize I had the power to see what was truly shaping my reality in order to change my reality. It introduced me to a new way of thinking my way. It made me feel catalytic as well as insignificant. I have learned in this class valuable truths that remain necessary for improving our reality and ultimately our lives. This class has Forced me to think freely.







Alden tht shit Is funny.

nothing to do with the class, but fucking hysterical

http://shitmystudentswrite.tumblr.com/

rants about how awesome this class has been

I agree with everyone has been saying,that this class has taught us a lot more than just literature and how to read it. We have learned about truth and trust and interpretation and assumption and how that applies to our lives. Even going outside the subject matter, I think we have discussed a lot of things that are applicable and usable in our lives. This is one of those classes people tell you about when they try to describe how different college is from high school. We have learned that we can, and should, question authority. We have been encouraged to take charge of our education. Just cause a teacher said it, doesn't make it true. Just because I'm a student, doesn't make my opinion count any less than a guy with a PhD. This is what every class should be like. It's a class with a badass teacher who actually cares what you think and not if you can just regurgitate what she says; with a syllabus and course material that engages and involves the students; discussions that inspire the students to apply what they have learned to more than just their final paper. And I would be saying this, and in fact have, even in Janelle never sees this post. This is that class that you will remember when you are a fully grown adult and someone asks you to think back to college.
Or maybe Janelle has brainwashed us to think like this? But let's be real, if it weren't for her and this class, we never would even consider brainwashing as a possibility.

This class

I wanted to talk about how this class has helped me. I'm the most gullible person in the world, and with the discussions we had in this class, I can finally look at things without trusting that it is "true" in any sort of way. I've learned that it just doesn't matter who says what is true, and the only thing that matters is what I decide to take from a piece. I've definitely changed thanks to this class, and it wouldn't be possible without the ideas and opinions from everyone in the course as well as J who always pushed us to see things in a different way.