Derganz Baker-- I REMEMBER

The movie Spirited Away was an amazing movie of love and growth. The movie is centered on a 10 year old girl named Chihiro who is stuck in the spirit world. Chihiro is trapped in the spirit world because of her parent’s gluttony and greed. Her parents ate all the food that was meant for the spirits; because they did this they were turned into pigs.  Greed is an element that shows itself a few times in this movie. One of the greediest people in the movie was Yubaba, the witch who was in charge of the spirit bath house. Several times we see her counting money or looking at jewelry. No-Face, a client that causes lots of trouble, keeps passing out little gold nuggets. Everyone in the bath house tends to his needs so they could get more money. In the end all the nuggets turn to dirt. To me it shows money cannot buy happiness.

While working in the bath house one of Chihro’s first jobs was to take care of a sludge monster that was large and smelly. Chihiro was the only one who noticed something was wrong with him. She pulled on a handle and all this garbage came out. Turns out that he was a polluted river spirit. To thank her, the river spirit gave Chihiro some kind of healing ball which she later used to heal Haku.

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Another element that Chihiro has to deal with is tradition and religion. The movie is about how humans should behave when entering the spirit world. They have to show respect or there will be consequences. Another example of religion and tradition in the movie is the bridge that Chihiro has to cross with Haku. Because Chihiro is a human she must hold her breath to cross.  There is also a lot of water in this movie which goes along with Shinto religion. Water can mean birth, and Chihiro is not the same girl that was at the beginning of the film. Chihiro went from being a little girl who with no self-confidence to a strong independent girl. She didn’t just help save her parents; Chihiro helped Haku remember his name, found a place for No-Face, and showed Yubaba that she shouldn’t underestimate people.

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Derganz Baker-Blinded by Rage

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The movie Nausicca was by far one of my favorite animes of the class. It’s a movie about a courageous young princess who risks her own life to save her people. Nausicca had a gift; she had the ability to calm giant insects from the toxic jungle. We first see this at the beginning of the film when Nausicca saves Lord Yupa from an Ohum. She calms the beast and sends it back to the jungle. Even at young age Nausicca had this gift, she once tried to hide a baby Ohum from the village. Her father took it away from her and told her that insects and humans can’t get along. She begs them not to kill it then falls to the ground crying. In her heart she feels that someway both insects and humans can get along.

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Nausicca was a true heroine. She was loved by everyone in the valley. She put herself in front of an angry herd of Ohum. In the end she was mowed over and thrown into the air. She lands on the ground dead. At first we think that she is really dead, but what kind of movie would that be. The Ohum realize that she means them no harm and bring her back to life. She turns out be the prophesy; she is the one in blue that will bring harmony.  Nausicca didn’t like all the killing that was going on. Throughout the film she tells people to stop. After she found her father dead she attacked the soliders killing many of them, after all that bloodshed she broke down in tears.  

Princess Nausicca is kind of like another princess that we encountered earlier in the year in the movie Princess Mononoke.  San is another great example of a true heroine. She too put her life on the line to try and protect her forest and the creatures in it. She tries to kill her biggest enemy who was destroying her forest. She also goes to battle with the leader of the boar clan because he was blind…and a bit stubborn. She knew that she could not let him fight without her.

Both women make great role models. They weren’t the typical princesses who sat in a tower waiting for their prince to come. Every girl should learn how to be just like Nausicca and San.

Derganz Baker- Love, Hate and War

The movie Princess Mononoke is a movie evil and hatred. It is also full of love and goodness. The two characters that I felt truly embodied good and evil were Lady Eboshi and San. Lady Eboshi was the leader of Iron Town. She took women out of brothels and gave them real jobs and taught them to use guns to take care of themselves.  Lady Eboshi also took care of a group of lepers. She cleaned their rotting flesh and gave them jobs making light weight guns for the women in the town. Even though Lady Eboshi had all these good qualities, she did have her evil moments. Lady Eboshi was the one who shot the boar who came to Ashitaka’s village. The mining of Iron Town destroyed the forest. Lady Eboshi also had the job of cutting off the head of the forest god. Doing that could change the forest forever.

San is the princess of the forest. Her mother is the wolf god, leader of the wolf clan. San truly loves the forest and she loves the inhabitants of the forest. She goes to war alongside the boar clan because their leader is blind. She knows that this could mean certain death, but she doesn’t care. She knew she had to help protect the forest. But she too had an evil side. Her main goal in life is to kill Lady Eboshi. She had this deep hatred inside of her heart that completely blinded her.

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In my heart I truly believe that there is good in everyone, you just have to look deep enough. That statement is evident in this movie. With the help of Ashitaka both Lady Eboshi and San realize that they are full of hatred, and in the end they turn it around. After the forest god destroys Iron Town Lady Eboshi says that she will start over. What that means, no one really knows. We hope it means that she will rebuild the town but this time in harmony with the forest. San realizes that she no long hates Lady Eboshi, though she still doesn’t like humans, she hates them a little less.

Derganz Baker- Love is BLIND

The movie Ah! My Goddess is about a human being falling in love with a goddess. At first that sounds pretty amazing, but it’s not exactly perfect. Goddesses are sent from heaven to grant a deserving human one wish. The goddess Belldandy was sent to grant Keiichi a wish. What that wish was, we do not know, but over time the two fall in love. After Belldandy doesn’t return to heaven her sisters Urd and Skuld come looking for her. For a while things seem great, the four of them live together on earth. Things changed one night when a mysterious man came to earth in search of Belldandy.

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Belldandy runs to the man, she is so excited to see him she beings to cry. She explains to Keiichi that it is Celestine her old teacher. Celestine leans in and kisses Belldandy which causes her to lose consciousness. When Urd, Skuld and Keiichi get Belldandy back to the house they realize that her memory of Keiichi has been erased. Celestine and Morgan, a fairy princess, needed Belldandy’s help. Celestine wanted to rid the earth of all suffering. He felt that the gods weren’t doing their job. Celestine felt that the gods were discriminating other races and allowing them to suffer. Celestine brings Belldandy to the Judgment Gate, the gate mixed species couples must pass through to prove their love. He explains that no couple has successfully made it through the gate then he destroys it.

Celestine’s idea was a good one, but he tried to achieve his goal in the wrong way. Wanted to get rid of human suffering doesn’t make him a bad guy, what makes him a bad guy is interfering with Belldany’s life and almost destroying the earth. It must have been extremely hard for Belldany to choose what side she wanted to be on. Being a goddess she didn’t have much free will. She could not decide which human she got assigned too and higher powers could control her; Celestine was able to erase her memory and if he wasn’t stopped the higher gods were willing to vaccinate Belldandy. In the end she had to decide who she loved more; Celestine or Keiichi. In the end she chose Keiichi and to live on earth forever despite all the suffering and death. Belldandy and Keiichi go down in history as the first couple to make it through the Judgment Gate.

Why do fireflies have to die so soon?- Derganz Baker

The Grave of the Fireflies was an extremely emotional movie.  Even though I didn’t cry I do admit the movie did pull at my heart strings. The brother sister connection was extremely strong between the two main characters. The first glimpse of their connection is at the beginning of the film when the air raid alarms go off. The brother ties his sister to his back and is about to run out of the house and his little sister freaks out because she doesn’t want to leave without her doll. Most brothers would tell their sisters to forget about the doll and tell them they need to get to safety. Seita was different, he runs back and grabs the doll and runs out the door.

Something else I noticed was that whenever Setsuko cried Seita did everything he could to comfort her. Once he gave her candy, which isn’t exactly the best thing to do, but it was nice.  He never seems to get upset or frustrated with her. Everything he did was for her. He didn’t want to tell her about their mother’s death because he knew it would crush her. And when she was sick he took her to the doctor and got really upset when he didn’t help her.

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Society isn’t very kind of children in this movie. The first sigh of this is when the children go to live with their aunt after their town is destroyed. At first the aunt seemed decent; she shorted all the food that the children brought with them. But later on she trades their mother’s clothes for rice and only gives them half of the food. They should have said something right there instead of being happy with half. The next thing she did to them was tell them they didn’t dissever the same kind of food that her husband and daughter got because they didn’t do anything to help their country. The second adult that the children had direct contact with that was cruel was the farmer. The farmer is also mean to the children for turning in the brother for stealing. Society didn’t care about people who weren’t part of their family. They would see children almost dead in the street and just keep walking.

I like the way the movie connected the children with fireflies. Fireflies don’t live long, but while alive they are full of life and beautiful just like children. They are the perfect example that beauty doesn’t last. We need to live life to the fullest because life can be cut short at any time.  The article that we read that went along with the movie was good. It was more interesting than I thought it was going to be.

There is no place like HOME- Derganz Baker

The Harp of Burma is a movie about a Japanese platoon fighting in Burma. To help with the horrors of war and the homesickness the men in the platoon form a choir. There was one soldier named Mizushima who didn’t sing, he played the Burmese Harp. Mizushima never played the harp before the war, but it turned out that he was a natural. A few minutes into the film the war ends and the soldiers are sent to a POW camp, except for Mizushima. He was sent to go Triangle Mountain to tell a platoon that the war was over. After a long period of time Mizushima didn’t rejoin his comrades at the camp. One day while walking across a bridge they saw a Buddhist Priest walk by who looked exactly like their lost friend.

From that moment on they did everything in their power to get in connect with the Buddhist Priest. If it really was their friend Mizushima they wanted him to go back to Japan with them. One day the priest comes to see them men, he doesn’t say a thing he just played his harp and leaves. On the ship back to Japan the men are read a letter from the priest, who turned out to be Mizushima. The letter talked about how much Mizushima missed his friends and his homeland but could not leave Burma. He had found his calling; it was to bury his dead comrades. He couldn’t go home while all those dead Japanese soldiers’ bodies were left to the elements.

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We did some reading this week on death and suicide. In Japanese culture death and suicide are treated differently than in America. In anime death happens to everyone; good, bad, young and old. They feel that death is a fact of life and shouldn’t be sugar coated. In America some religions believe in heaven and hell, and that the soul will go to a better place. But in Japan death is seen as a gross and dark thing. Suicide is also treated differently. In Japan suicide is seen as an honorable thing, unless it’s done because of academics or something pointless like that. In America suicide is seen as wrong, in some religions it’s a sin.

In the movie Letters from Iwo Jima the soldiers are told from the superior to kill themselves. Instead of being captured by the enemy they were to do the honorable thing and committed suicide. The man had to decide; do they fight for their country or listen to their superior and die with honor. 

Derganz Baker- Who am I

Losing your identity must be extremely discouraging. There are three people who went through this traumatic experience.  Tetsuo is the main character of the movie Akira. Tetsuo lost his identity because of science. Scientist did experiments on children to enhance their supernormal powers.

After hitting one of the children who had been experimented on Tetsuo wakes up in a strange hospital. His body had been changed forever. Tetsuo’s body is now surging with a new power. Slowly he lets his powers take over, and he likes the feeling of control. Towards the of the movie his power completely engulfs him and he turns into this large unidentifiable body. He is no longer the little boy in the biker gang, and he is no longer the boy who showed that he wasn’t a weak kid. He can no longer control is powers because they have become too strong.

The next person to lose sight of who they are was a girl named Mima from the movie Perfect Blue. Mima went from being a pop star to an actress. Mima’s identity is lost through the media. Mima is doing a movie and after a while it is hard for her and the audience to tell which is reality and which is the movie. Through the film Mima is objectified by men. Her audience is pronominally men. The director and the writer have Mima do a smutty rape scene. Mima also is being haunted by her former pop star self. With the movie filming and the figure following her Mima doesn’t know who she is anymore.

The last character was a woman named Motoko from the movie Ghost in the Shell.  If someone where to look at Motoko they would assume that she was human. They would be partially correct. Motoko used to be fully human, but now she is only 5%. The rest of her body is cyborg. Motoko has a hard time understanding who she is. Motoko goes swimming even though cyborgs aren’t supposed to get wet. She does it show she can feel fear, and her slow floatation to the surface is like her birth. In her ghost, a cyborg’s soul, Motoko knows she is different in some way; as if she is capable of more.

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Derganz Baker- If this is a dream then WAKE UP

The movie Perfect Blue is one of those movies that mess with your head. The main character is a young girl named Mima, a young pop star turned actress. Little did she know that changing careers would challenge who she was. Poor little Mima went from a cute innocent pop idol to a bucket full of crazy.

Mima’s main audience, as a singer and actress, was predominantly men. Throughout the movie Mima is repeatedly objectified by men. The director of the movie had Mima do a rape scene. In her heart she knew that she didn’t want to do the scene but she felt that she had to do it or risk letting everyone down. Another man that took advantage of Mima was the photographer.  He took nude pictures of Mima and showed something that Japanese people find unacceptable. She was exploited for the enjoyment of men. But it all works out in the end. Every man that used Mima for her sex appeal ended up dead.

Another thing that helped de-rail Mima was the fact that she was put in the spot light. We “normal people” put celebrities high on a pedestal.  They are put high above everyone else. We follow them on line and read about then in magazines. It’s kind of sad to think that celebrities don’t really have a personal life. Every time they say or do something the whole world knows about it. If you take that all into account you can understand why Mima goes crazy.

Mima slowly loses her personal identity. Someone puts up a blog called Mima’s Room; we later find out that her stalker is the one who created the site. The person knows her extremely well. They went into detail about which foot went first when she got off the subway.  Later she realizes that if the site said she did it then it must be true. For example the site said one day she went shopping. Her response was, “I guess I went shopping today.” For Mima, and the audience, it is hard to tell the difference between the movie and reality. If Mima doesn’t know which one is real, then she doesn’t know who she is. I think the big sign of Mima’s loss of identity is when her fish died. When Mima got home and saw her fish dead she tore the room apart. The fish represented Mima and their death represented the fact that she had given in to everything around her. After she stops crying she noticed that there are two fish still alive. To me that means that there is still hope for Mima, she will overcome all the difficulties.

Derganz Baker- Ride'em Cowboy

The movie Cowboy Bebop is a movie about a gang of bounty hunters hunting a bad guy and trying to save all mankind. The main bounty hunter, and main character, is Spike. Spike is an ex-gangster turned hunter. Spikes likes to play by his own rules, he is very impulsive. Spike is kind of like the lone gunmen, in the beginning credits it ends with Spike standing all by himself. He says that he does bounty hunting for the money, but Spike is not very believable.

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The other people in Spike’s group are: Jet, a former policeman who gets some of his information from an old friend; Faye, the one who first encounters the villain; and Edward, a kooky little girl on the team who is a master hacker. The team gains one more member and her name is Electra. Electra is a government agent also trying to catch the villain. In the end the government turns against Electra and tries to kill her.

Speaking of the villain, his name is Vincent and he is a tad insane. Vincent was supposedly killed in a war years ago. Years ago Vincent was used as a lab rat. Scientist invented a nano machine that enters the human body disguised as a lymphocyte.  When the nano machine enters the brain the subject sees lights, which appear as butterflies. Vincent has lost all sense of reality; he can’t tell if he is dead or alive.  Vincent believes that the earth is purgatory, and his plan is to unleash the machines and infect the whole world.

There are a few key focal points of the movie: butterflies, the Moroccan market, and purgatory. The butterflies are a kind of link between life and death. Vincent sees the butterflies, and he wants the whole world to see them too. The Moroccan marketplace is the place where Spike gets all his information about the machines and about Vincent. Spike actually befriends the scientist who created the machines, Dr. Mendelo. The Moroccan market place seems to be the place to go if you want to find something illegal. The market is a strange and mysterious old world city in the middle of a high tech world.

The last important point is purgatory. Purgatory is a place of waiting; it’s kind of like limbo for the soul. It is the place between heaven and hell. Vincent believes that earth is purgatory. The song Knockin on Heaven’s Door is appropriate for the movie. It’s about a man knowing that the end is near.

Everyone wants to know what Vincent’s intentions are. Some may think that Vincent is evil and trying to destroy the world and kill the whole human race. Others may say he is trying to have everyone experience the same thing he did. In a twisted way Vincent could be trying to set the world free.

Derganz Baker- Demons, Ninjas, and Love Oh My!

The Ninja Scroll is a Robin Hood tale of sorts. There is a young wondering hero who helps disparate oppressed citizens and expects little in return. Our hero is a young leaderless samurai named Jubei.  For a samurai to have no shougne was rare. We learn later on, via flashback, why Jubei is alone.  He was pinned against his friends and ended up killing them and his shogune. Tokugawa Shogunate would not have liked that because samurai had to be loyal to their lord.

If this is going to be a good story it has to have a villain and a love interest. First, let us talk about the villain of the movie, demons. The demons are called The Eight Demons of Kimon and they are under the rule of the Shogune of the Dark. The characters of the movie never say who that is, but by their reactions throughout the movie the audience gets a sense of his power. The leader of the Demons of Kimon is a demon named Genma, who is coincidently Jubei’s mortal enemy. Genma’s second in command is a demon named Yurimaur; his “power” is an electric string which he uses to kill others and communicate with Genma.

The other demons shown are: Benisato, the women who controls snakes; Zakuro, who sets up explosive traps; Shijima, who controls the shadows; Utsutus Mujuro, the blind swordsman; Tessia, who kills the Kagero Clan and can turn his skin into rock; and Mushizo, who controls hornets.  Tessia is the first demon the audience encounters.  A group called the Kagero Clan is sent to investigate a town suspected of being killed by an epidemic. On their way to the town the clan meets the Tessia. Tessia kills all but two; Hanza who loses his arms; and Kagero, who Tessia tries to rape. Then enters Jubei, who saves Kagero and the love begins.

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Kagero goes off to tell her superior what has happened and Jubei runs into a government spy named Dakua. Dakua poisons Jubei so he will join him on a quest to find out what the demons are up to and to stop them. Kagero comes back and joins the men on the quest as ordered by her superior. While battling villains and trying to save Japan Jubei and Kagero fall in love. But sadly their love and never be. Kagero is cursed, she is full of poison and any man that tries to sleep with her will die. We later learn that the only thing that can save Jubei is to sleep with Kagero, but he doesn’t because he cares about her. In the end good defeats evil. The only casualty is Kagero who was stabbed by Genma. Before dying she kisses Jubei saving his life. The last thing we see is Jubei walking into the sunset, with Kagero’s headband tied to his sword.

Derganz Baker, Raquel - AKIRA

The Japanese military and government played a large role in the movie Akira. These two major powers controlled the media in Japan.  One example of this occurs when Tetsuo was destroying the city. There was a wall of broken televisions but there was one in the middle that worked. The only working television picked up a news podcast. The news reporter was reporting the story from a helicopter with other helicopters lingering in the background. The man made an effort to tell the people of the city about what was going on but then said that the government was making them shut down. Shutting down the news cast shows that at the time Japanese people had little or no rights and were not aware of what their government was doing.

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The Japanese government in the movie was harsh and secretive. The government was preforming genetic experiments on children.  The children, which were small green and shriveled, had natural telekinetic powers. Scientists were trying to control the children’s supernatural powers buy using drugs. One of the children, a little girl named Kiyoko, explains that everyone has a certain power inside and that it depends on how you use it. This means that Tetsuo, the focus of the movie, already had the supernatural power and that running into the little boy just brought the powers to the surface. The scientist kept Tetsuo in a small room alone and never fully explained what was going on with his body. I feel that if the scientist would have sat down and talked to him Tetsuo might not have gone on a rampage of mass destruction leaving rubble and bodies in his wake.  

Another important focus of the movie, and an important part of Japanese history, was the rebellion of the youth against the war. Throughout the movie people participated in riots that normally ended in tragedy. Citizens were being beaten and attacked with tear gas by their military. At one part the audience is shown a peaceful protest. People are standing around, listening to a man chant. One man panted in red the word Akira, in Japanese of course, on the ground. Even thought it was peaceful the military still came in and broke up the protest by beating innocent people. This shows the true brutality of the time.

The big question of the movie is, “Who is Akira?”  I interpreted Akira as a mysterious force of immense power. The word to me symbolizes hope and fear. The people in the movie believed that Akira could save them from impending doom. Then on the other side the military is afraid of Akira’s great power.  I believe that Akira is a power that cannot be controlled or fully understood.

Derganz Baker, Raquel -My Life

My name is Raquel Derganz Baker from Ocean Springs MS. Something interesting about my life is that I have been to a little over 16 different countries.  My first place I went to was Canada for a French class with my mom. My mother and I love to travel. It’s fun going to countries that neither of us has been to. For my high school graduation gift my mother took me to Australia. It was by far my favorite trip out of them all. We were there for about 3 weeks. I got to hug a kola and feed kangaroos. I will never forget that trip.

I would say that my second favorite trip was the one we took a few years ago. We went to Italy, London and Germany. In London I got to see my favorite play WICKED!!! It was awesome. Then a few days later outside the theater my mother got her foot run over by a car. She was fine, but it did put a damper on the rest of our trip.  But being the determined travelers we were we kept on with our trip. I had to push my mother in a wheelchair through a train station.  The rest of the trip she was on crutches. To this day her foot isn’t completely healed.

For me traveling isn’t just about going to different countries, it’s about spending time with my mom.  Ever since my dad dies it’s just been the two of us. My mother and I are very close, but we don’t seem to spend too much time together. She has the normal 9 to 5 job and I always had school and sports. Now being in college I feel like we see less of each other so I try and come home more. She says I worry about her too much. But I can’t help but worry. I told her when I go off to college I was going to get her a dog or a life alert necklace. She doesn’t want either but she doesn’t really have that much of a choice.