Legally Blonde: Musical and Movie
April 28, 2008
Legally Blonde, the book by Amanda Brown, has been masterfully adapted as both a major motion picture and a Broadway play. Both adaptations of this story have a similar plot breakdown and many of the same settings. The dramatic production, by necessity, had fewer characters; however all of the main characters essential to the story remained the same in both works. The dramatic work is a musical which allowed it to trade complex settings and scenery with deep emotions. Although the two works were almost identical in length, the musical was more entertaining, while the motion picture allowed for a more complex storyline and more characters.
The plot of Legally Blonde is in classic form. It starts with a short exposition explaining the background of the story and informing us that Elle is about to be engaged. Then during the crisis we find out that she actually gets dumped for a more serious girl. The story climaxes with Elle winning the murder trial and saving the day. It resolves with Callahan getting fired, Warner getting rejected and Elle getting together with Emmett. There are many static, flat characters in this film such as Professor Callahan, the UPS Guy, and Warner Huntington, III. However, there are also several dynamic, flat characters as well including Paulette Bonafonte, who gains self confidence with the help of Elle. There is also Vivian Kensington, who at first is Elle’s foil, but later becomes her friend. Elle, of course, is a round character. She is a static character because she remains true to herself and does not let others force her into their mold. She refuses to trade her morals for a successful job at Callahan’s Firm and keeps the trust of her client against the advice of her legal mentors. Elle was an admired character because she was herself and didn’t change.
The dramatic adaptation of Legally Blonde is a work that interacts with the audience much more profoundly than the film version was able to. This is due mainly to the fact that the Broadway production is a musical with rhyming dialogue between characters and music that sets the emotional stage. The settings of the musical were also critical to the work. For instance, in one scene the sorority sisters are all excited about Elle getting engaged. During this scene each sister sings her line after popping out of a life size window in the two story stage prop. This simple stage setting was critical to portraying the unity and peppiness of the sorority. The stage production did not have the resources or ability to show all of the physical settings of the story, a fact which seemed to be one of the reasons that the plot was different in the play. They did, however, effectively use techniques such as spotlighting and audience redirection to keep the story and settings flowing. The play also uniquely used a purple lighting effect to indicate to the audience that the sorority trio later in the play was in Elle’s imagination rather than physically in the scene.
I believe the greatest connection between Legally Blonde and another work is its relationship to Trifles by Susan Glaspell. Both works have a relatively simplistic plot with a fairly predictable conclusion. More importantly, both seem to be written from a feminist perspective. Legally Blonde has the cliché dumb blonde who turns out to be smarter than the lawyers around her. Trifles is about two unassuming housewives simply at the crime scene because of their husbands. However, it is they, not their husbands, who figure out the crime and save the day while at the same time saving their likeminded counterpart who is in legal trouble (another parallel with Legally Blonde). Both works have the same basic plot: an unlikely girl overcomes the preconceived assumptions about her and figures out the crime before those men around her whose job it is to do so. She then gains the trust and saves the reputation of her counterpart. It is this common theme which leads me to believe that both of these works are from the same feminist perspective. Even though my mindset starting both works was less than optimistic, they both turned out to be entertaining and surprisingly well written.
In conclusion, both the dramatic and film adaptations of Legally Blonde were unexpectedly engaging. The plot, especially of the play, effectively immersed the audience in the story and by the end of the production the audience too was happy for Elle’s victory. Viewing both the Broadway play and the film version of this story allowed for a much deeper understanding of the differences, as well as the strengths and weaknesses, of each venue. This was a very effective way to learn an appreciation for the many forms that a single story may take and see the interpretation that each director seeks to convey to the audience.
Norman O. Parker
April 21, 2008
PARKER, Norman O., 94, a resident of Montgomery, AL since 1963 died Monday, April 21, 2008 at Hillview Terrace Nursing Home under the care of Southern Care Hospice. Mr. Parker is survived by his wife of 61 years, Tevis, a son, Samuel Craig Parker of Montgomery, AL; a daughter, Rozanne Parrish (Gary) and three grandsons all of Orlando, FL; and a sister, Verna Mae Bell of Centre, AL and numerous nieces and nephews. Mr. Parker was a native of Cherokee County, AL and was a Cherokee County Teacher and was Principal at Etowah High School and retired from the State of Alabama Department of Education in Adult and Community Education. He was a U.S. Army veteran of WWII, a Pearl Harbor Survivor, and participated in the invasion of France, the Battle of the Bulge as a member of Patton’s 3rd Army, as well as the Army occupation in Germany. Funeral services will be held at 4:00 PM, Wednesday, April 23, 2008 from Leak-Memory Chapel with Dr. Rick Marshall and Rev. Larry Armstrong officiating. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service. Serving as Honorary pallbearers will be Pearl Harbor Survivors. Burial will be at Cherokee Memory Gardens, Friday, April 25, 2008 following a 2:00 PM funeral service from Perry Funeral Home Chapel, Centre, AL. Leak-Memory Chapel Directing. (Montgomery Advertiser)
Pearl Harbor Survivors Association
Daily Rides to Remember
I would like to honor two wonderful people in my life. When I was in seventh grade, my family moved from Lay Springs Road in the county to north Gadsden. My mom tried to get me to go to a local school when we moved, but I loved Etowah High and did not want to change.
Every day, I went to Grant’s 10-cent store on Broad Street to catch the bus. Mr. Norman Parker came by each morning and picked me up. If I missed him, Mr. Joe W. Floyd would pick me up. They did this for six years. Mr. Parker was principal and Mr. Floyd was driving instructor. Mr. Parker would sometimes say, “Nancy, you need to change schools.” I would say, “Mr. Parker, I will quit.” I guess I was selfish because I never thought of the trouble I would have gotten them into. I was living in the city, going to a county school. My only excuse is that I was one of those crazy ’50s teenagers.
I saw that Mr. Parker went to heaven recently. Please, if you both get to heaven before me – pick me up – I don’t want to go to the other place. You two were wonderful to me, and I’ll always have you in my heart.
Nancy (Hammond) Vice
The Effect of Violent Video Games on the Human Psyche
April 19, 2008
On the 20th of April 1999, Eric Harris and his friend Dylan Klebold killed 13 students at Columbine High School and then killed themselves. According to both of their mothers, the two boys were big fans of the first-person shooter video game “Doom”. Is it too large of a leap in logic to infer that this violent video game led the duo to commit this horrific act of brutality?
The argument that violent video games provoke violent crime is not unique to video games. From the dawn of distributed media, critics have insisted that social decadence is incited by the popular phenomenon of the day. For instance, if you were a youth during the 1950’s you would have been subject to the anti-comic book crusades of Fredric Wertham. Similarly, in the 1960’s, Elvis Presley and the Beatles were detested by some as moral deviants causing a teenage rebellion, promiscuity and drug use. There have been many others through history.
Enter the era of the video game. This relatively new form of entertainment has not gained the level of public acceptance that its popular predecessors attained. The generation that has grown up with comic books is now the legislative and parental authority who may have forgotten the controversy of their own youth. It is that generation that is now perpetuating the age old struggle of parent versus child, contending that video games have a negative effect on the adolescent mind.
There have been more than 200 scientific studies dealing specifically with the effect of violent video games on the human psyche. While the American Psychological Association has concluded that violent video games can increase aggression (Dill 1), several more recent studies have discovered that violent video games only influence the behavior of children who already show aggressive or violent tendencies. (Arendt 1).
A joint study by the U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Department of Education found that only 12 percent of those involved in school shootings were attracted to violent video games, while 24 percent read violent books and 27 percent were attracted to violent films (Vossekuil 15). In fact, the generation of children who have grown up with video games (from approximately 1993 to present) have the smallest violent crime rates ever recorded (Ferris 1).
Although it is clear that video games do have an effect on the psyche, it is not necessarily a negative one. A New Zealand study by Paul Kearney concluded that first-person shooter video games actually improve the players cognitive abilities and went so far as to suggest that the future of learning revolves around three dimensional worlds that inherently promote learning (7). Since video games are primarily designed as fictitious entertainment, their intent is to immerse the audience in a fictitious world. This immersion is no different than other good works of fiction, from the novels popular in the 19th century to the films of the 20th century.
In addition to the scientific evidence that suggests video games have a positive effect on the mind, the legal system, including the Supreme Court of the United States, has ruled that video games are also protected under the first amendment. The implication is that the courts have found no conclusive evidence that video games incite violent acts. Otherwise they would not be protected under the first amendment. Any words that exhibit a clear and present danger to the security of the public are punishable by law. Therefore the first amendment would not protect video games if the judicial system felt that they truly caused violent brutality.
In a unanimous decision by a panel of three judges, the Honorable Richard A. Posner, of the Seventh Circuit, declared the Indianapolis Arcade Ordinance (a city ordinance which sought to restrict children’s access to violent arcade video games) to be unconstitutional, reaffirming that children have First Amendment rights. In his ruling, Judge Posner stated that:
"To shield children right up to the age of 18 from exposure to violent descriptions and images would not only be quixotic, but deforming; it would leave them unequipped to cope with the world as we know it. Maybe video games are different. They are, after all, interactive. But this point is superficial, in fact erroneous. All literature (here broadly defined to include movies, television, and the other photographic media, and popular as well as highbrow literature) is interactive; the better it is, the more interactive. Literature when it is successful draws the reader into the story, makes him identify with the characters, invites him to judge them and quarrel with them, to experience their joys and sufferings as the reader’s own. Protests from readers caused Dickens to revise Great Expectations to give it a happy ending, and tourists visit sites in Dublin and its environs in which the fictitious events of Ulysses are imagined to have occurred. The cult of Sherlock Holmes is well known. When Dirty Harry or some other avenging hero kills off a string of villains, the audience is expected to identify with him, to revel in his success, to feel their own finger on the trigger. It is conceivable that pushing a button or manipulating a toggle stick engenders an even deeper surge of aggressive joy, but of that there is no evidence at all." (1)
In conclusion it is, in fact, too large of a leap in logic to infer that violent video games can incite individuals to commit brutal crimes in reality. Those individuals who have difficulty differentiating the fantasy world of video games and the real world we live in would have the same trouble if video games never existed.
This conclusion has been shown to be true for a number of reasons. First, the criticisms railed against the video games of today are no different that the criticism leveled against any other popular youth media in its prime. Second, although there has been a considerable amount of scientific study researching the specific affect that violent video games have on children, there is no conclusive evidence to show that these games affect the behavior of the majority of the population. Third, even the legal system has concluded in numerous cases that there is no evidence to support the argument that violent video games incite violent acts. It simply is not true.
Modern society can now confidently move violent video games into the same category as their literary and visual counterparts of the last few centuries and continue on to the next morally outrageous popular media of the future. YouTube.com here we come.
Works Cited
Anderson, Craig. "Effects of violent video games on aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, physiological arousal and prosocial behavior: a meta-analytical review of the scientific literature" iastate.edu. Vol.12 No. 5, Sep. 2001. iastate.edu. 6 Apr. 2008 <http://www.psychology.iastate.edu/faculty/caa/abstracts/2000-2004/01AB.pdf>
Arendt, Susan. "Study: kids unaffected by violent games" wired.com. 2 Apr. 2007. Wired.com 6 Apr. 2008 <http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/04/study_kids_unaf.html>
Dill, Karen. "Violent video games can increase aggression" apa.org. 23 Apr. 2000. American Psychological Association. 6 Apr. 2008 <http://www.apa.org/releases/videogames.html>
Endestad, Tor. "Computer games and violence: Is there really a connection?" Digra.org. 2 Jun. 2005. Digra.org. 5 Apr. 2008 <http://digra.org:8080/Plone/dl/db/05163.54594.pdf>
Ferris, Duke. "The truth about violent youth and video games" gamerevolution.com. 19 Oct. 2005. gamerevolution.com. 6 Apr. 2008 <http://www.gamerevolution.com/features/violence_and_videogames>
Gentile, Douglas. "Violent Video Games: The Newest Media Violence Hazard" iastate.edu. 16 Oct. 2003. Iastate.edu. 6 Apr. 2008 <http://www.psychology.iastate.edu/~dgentile/106027_07.pdf>
Kalning, Kristin. "Does game violence make teens aggressive?" MSNBC. 8 Dec. 2006. Microsoft. 5 Apr. 2008 <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16099971/>
Kearney, Paul. "Cognitive Callisthenics: Do FPS computer games enhance the player’s cognitive abilities?" Digra.org. 23 Sep. 2006. Digra.org. 5 Apr. 2008 <http://www.digra.org:8080/Plone/dl/db/06276.14516.pdf>
Posner, Judge Richard. "American Amusement Machine Association, et al. v. Kendrick, et al., 244 F.3d 572" FindLaw.com. 23 March 2001. FindLaw. 6 April 2008 <http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=7th&navby=docket&no=003643>
Vossekuil, Bryan. "Safe School Initiative Final Report" ed.gov. May 2002. U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Department of Education. 6 Apr. 2008 <http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/preventingattacksreport.pdf>
Cady Way Bike Trail
April 4, 2008
GPS Coordinates:
Start: 28° 33.424 N / 81° 20.252 W
End: 28° 37.908 N / 81° 14.421 W
This trail is 9.2 miles long following sidewalks and the paved Cady Way Bike Trail.
It is a rail trail in Orlando, Florida. It is built along an abandoned East Florida and Atlantic Railroad (later Seaboard Air Line Railway) corridor which ran to the Orlando Naval Training Center (now Baldwin Park). Its south end is at Orlando Fashion Square Mall, and its north end is at Hall Road at Aloma Avenue, at the Seminole County line. It continues northeast a further 2.75 miles as the Cross Seminole Trail. Departing south from Hall Road, the trail passes Goldenrod Park,crosses State Road 436 via a bridge opened in November 2006, then passes Cady Way Park, Ward Park, Brookshire Elementary School, Winter Park High School, the former Orlando Naval Training Center and Winter Pines Golf Club. (Wikipedia)
The trail map and GPS data on this page includes the south Cross Seminole Trail (PDF) segment which is 2.75 miles long and links the Cady Way Trail to the Cross Seminole Trail at the intersection of Aloma Ave/436A and Hall Road at the Orange and Seminole county line. The south segment of the Cross Seminole Trail does not currently link to the main middle segment nor the north segment, however construction is underway to connect all of these trail pieces together. Until construction is complete you can follow Aloma Ave/436A north to reach the main segment of the Cross Seminole Trail.
Please visit my MotionBased.com activity page to view more detailed GPS information about this trail.
For some pictures of various items along the trail (at least until I get my own up) visit this blog.
