Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Forrest Gump Activity 1

Title: Forrest Gump Activity 1
By: Jordan Evans
     In Forrest Gump there are many historical events presented throughout the film. Each event is depicted differently. In one of the scenes, the film depicts  Elvis Presley performing on TV, and all these girls fainting form him. As Forrest watches, his mother believes that children shouldn't be watching Elvis perform because it's too inappropriate. They depict Elvis as a rockstar that every woman loved. In another scene, the film depicts Bear Bryant and the Alabama Football team. It shows Bear recruiting Forrest just because he could run really fast. it depicts that coaches didn't care if you were smart or not, just if you were good at the sport. It also showed that Alamba was the dominant college football team. Another scene, the film depicts JFK's Assassination and how Forrest believed he didn't deserve it. It depicts that it was a sad event that happened during the time. Each historical event like Elvis, Alabama football, and JFK's Assassination proved important during the 1960s.

Thursday, May 21, 2015

"Platoon" An Approach to the Vietnam War

Title: "Platoon" An Approach to the Vietnam War
By: Jordan Evans
     Recently in one of my history classes we analyzed and watched the movie, "Platoon" by Oliver Stone. This movie has interested me in many ways from a historical point of view that I would like to give a review on it. You may be wondering what this movie is all about. "Platoon" is a drama war type movie with multiple twists and turns. It deals with the hardships of the Vietnam War.
     Chris Taylor is a young, American who gives up college and volunteers for combat in Vietnam. He discovers that his presence is nonessential, and is considered insignificant to the other soldiers, as he has not fought for as long as the rest of them and felt the effects of combat. Chris has two non-commissioned officers, the ill-tempered and indestructible Staff Sergeant Robert Barnes and the more pleasant and cooperative Sergeant Elias Grodin. A line is drawn between the two NCOs and a number of men in the platoon when an illegal killing occurs during a village raid. As the war continues, Chris himself draws towards psychological meltdown. And as he struggles for survival, he soon realizes he is fighting two battles, the conflict with the enemy and the conflict between the men within his platoon.
     Three characters stood out to me throughout the movie. Actor Tom Berenger, who plays Sergeant Barnes, actor Willem Dafoe, who plays Sergeant Elias, and actor Charlie Sheen, who plays Chris Taylor. All three of these characters played an important role throughout the movie. Barnes represented the evil side of a platoon, Elias represented the good of the platoon, and Taylor represented the mutual character who grows throughout the movie. Each character showed a side of a platoon that many people wouldn't consider. Barnes is the man veteran of the war and doesn't die. The man who doesn't follow the rules of conduct and just gets the job done at all costs. Elias is the man who follows the conduct, and leads his part of the platoon the professional way. He would always sacrifice his life for another, and carry the weight of his squad on his back. Taylor is the innocent, young man who is irrelevant to all the soldiers. He has to earn his way to gain respect and has an inner battle between what is the right thing to do or not.
     Many things occurred in this movie that opened my eyes to the realism of war. First of all, there was a lot of cursing in this movie. The "F Bomb" was dropped multiple times, but it just shows the vulgar of the men, and the stress that they were going through. In one part of the movie, the platoon raided a village in Cambodia, and brought terror to the village. They rounded up the village people like animals, and illegally killed an innocent villager to try to get answers from the leader of the village. Soldiers also raped a woman, and felt like there was nothing wrong with what they were doing. After that scene, I became thoroughly disgusted with the fact that soldiers treated other people so inhumanely. This movie really opens up the eyes to all about war.
     Overall, this movie really opened my eyes to not just the Vietnam War, but wars in general. It displays the harsh conditions of Vietnam, and what the soldiers had to go through. It shows the division between the African American soldier's and white soldier's. It shows the reality of village raids, and how difficult it was during battles because everyone looked so much alike.
       The MPAA rating of this movie is R. I would score this movie as a 5 out of 5. 5 stars compliments the entirety of the film. This movie was very interesting, and anybody who runs across this film should definitely grab a bag of popcorn and enjoy it. This movie is very enjoyable and I advise this movie to all. 
     One main lesson that "Platoon" taught me is that war is no joke. It showed me reality, and how if you are not mentally strong enough you could easily crack upon the pressure, and go insane. Another lesson it taught me is that war is a conflict with the enemy and the conflict between you and your mental.
       Jordan Evans is a junior who attends Sterling High school. He works in a movie theater at Cinemark 16 as an usher. He plays year round soccer and is interested in going to college for soccer. He keeps himself entertained with his blog spot, working out, playing soccer, and hanging out with his friends. He enjoys his life, and just loves everyone.

Friday, May 15, 2015

"Zero Dark Thirty" A Different Approach to the Assassination of Osama bin Laden

Title: "Zero Dark Thirty" A Different Approach to the Assassination of Osama bin Laden
By: Jordan Evans
     Recently in one of my history classes we analyzed and watched the movie, "Zero Dark Thirty" by Kathryn Bigelow. This movie has interested me in many ways from a historical point of view that I would like to give a review on it. You may be wondering what this movie is all about. "Zero Dark Thirty" is a thriller type movie with multiple twists and turns. It deals with the finding and killing of Osama bin Laden over an eleven year span.
     Maya is a CIA operative whose first experience is in the interrogation of prisoners following the Al Qaeda attacks against the U.S. on the 11th September 2001. She is a participant in a extreme tortuous group, but believes that the truth may only be obtained through such tactics. For several years, she is single-minded in her pursuit of leads to uncover the whereabouts of Al Qaeda's leader, Osama Bin Laden. Finally, in 2011, it appears that her work will pay off, and a U.S. Navy SEAL team is sent to kill or capture Bin Laden. Maya is confident bin Laden is where she says he is.
    Actress Jessica Chastain, who plays Maya does a fantastic job playing as a CIA operative who has been chasing Osama bin Laden. She is a strong character, and always demands that "her way" is the best way to go. Actor Jason Clarke, who plays Dan does an amazing job as a ruthless torturer who gathers the information from the prisoners that are from Al Qaeda. Clarke was the perfect actor for this position, and filled his part very well. No actor or actress throughout this film did a bad job. They all played crucial parts throughout certain scenes which complimented the entirety of the movie.
     This movie has a lot of unexpected scenes. I did not like the torturing scenes even though they were necessary to get the point of view across to the audience. I am not a fan of watching somebody getting tortured so through those scenes it hurt my eyes to watch it. I enjoyed the scene where the Navy SEAL team recreates the operation for the assassination of bin Laden. In all possibilities it was as accurate as it could be which was very entertaining. They literally recreated the scene perfectly in my eyes which is very impressive. That was probably the most essential part of the movie so it had to be precise.
     The lesson to be learned in this movie is to never give up. Throughout the movie, Maya was on the case for finding bin Laden the day she entered the CIA, and when it seemed that everyone had given up, she prevailed through and never gave up. She dedicated her hard work and time into finding bin Laden, and when it came to the time for her to fulfill her destiny in pin pointing his location she achieved. She never gave up on her mission, and prevailed through all her hardships.
     I would recommend this movie to anybody who is interested in the events leading up to the assassination of Osama bin Laden. It is rated R and was rated 7.4/10. I enjoyed a lot parts of this movie except for the torturing. The overall performance of this movie is commendable, and it was a very interesting movie.
     I would score this movie as a 4.5 out of 5 star rating. This rating sufficiently compliments the film. This movie was very interesting and was enjoyable to watch. 
     Jordan Evans is a junior who attends Sterling High school. He works in a movie theater at Cinemark 16 as an usher. He plays year round soccer and is interested in going to college for soccer. He keeps himself entertained with his blog spot, working out, playing soccer, and hanging out with his friends. He enjoys his life, and just loves everyone.

Thursday, May 7, 2015

"Glory" A Different Approach to the Fifty Fourth Massachusetts Infantry

Title: "Glory" A Different Approach to the Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts Infantry
By: Jordan Evans
     Recently in one of my history classes we analyzed and watched the movie, Glory by Edward Zwick. This movie has interested me in many ways from a historical point of view that I would enjoy to give a review of it. You may be wondering, what is this movie all about? Glory is an action packed drama with a twist of historical references. It deals with the Civil War and the 54th Massachusetts Infantry. It also includes the letters that Col. Shaw wrote to his family about his infantry and struggles.
     Colonel Shaw was an officer in the federal Army during the American Civil War who volunteered to lead the first company of all black soldiers. Shaw was forced to deal with the prejudices of both the enemy, and of his own fellow officers. It had been taken in South Carolina where the Union officers were fighting on Confederate lines. Main characters included Robert Shaw who was commander of the 54th Massachusetts, Private Trip who was somewhat of a troublemaker throughout the film, and Major Cabot Forbes who was a close friend to Shaw throughout the film.
     Actor Matthew Broadrick, who plays Robert Shaw does a fantastic job displaying the real life Robert Shaw. His intense role and amazing skills allow him to execute his role efficiently. Actor Denzel Washington, who plays Private Trip does a good job displaying a runaway slave who believes that the Union is just using the African Americans "as slaves" in disguise. He does change his attitude toward his troops after being confronted, but it was not until then that he realized that they were his true family. Actor Cary Elwes, who plays Major Cabot Forbes did an amazing job displaying the support to Robert Shaw's flaws. Forbes always snapped Shaw into reality and made him realize that his soldiers should be treated equal.
     This movie was very accurate to the truth of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry. One main difference that I did not enjoy is that throughout the film, they made it as if the 54th were all runaway slaves, but in reality they were well groomed, free African American men. Something I did enjoy throughout the film is that in the two war scenes where there was action, accuracy was almost on point. I enjoyed that Robert Shaw in the movie looked identical to the actual Robert Shaw, as well as Cabot Forbes. I liked that they tried to make it as accurate as possible. The only historical inaccuracy that was really noticeable was the fact that the 54th weren't runaway slaves, but they were free well classed African Americans.
     One main lesson that this movie teaches is that when the Union trusted the 54th to a battle that they encouraged and united the Union soldiers as a whole. The 54th made such a difference in the war, and changed a lot of aspects toward the war. Another lesson would have to be uniting as one. In one scene, the white soldiers were taking their hats off to the 54th which showed respect. 
     If you love action and drama, this is a movie you would love. It always kept me on my edge and satisfied all my needs. I would recommend it to anyone who loves movies, or historical movies. This movie should definitely be requested to any history class. This movie is rated R, and it is a really good movie.
     I would score this movie as a 5 out of 5. It was so outstanding to me that is deserved 5 stars. 5 stars compliment the entirety of the film. This movie was very interesting, and anybody who runs across this film should definitely grab a bag of popcorn and enjoy it. This movie is very enjoyable and I advise this movie to all.
     Jordan Evans is a junior who attends Sterling High school. He works in a movie theater at Cinemark 16 as an usher. He plays year round soccer and is interested in going to college for soccer. He keeps himself entertained with his blog spot, working out, playing soccer, and hanging out with his friends. He enjoys his life, and just loves everyone.