2/26/07 -- Dissection of A Child Hood Favorite:

I was recently able to catch a film of interest to me that being a childhood favorite. The movie in question is titled “The Karate Kid”

Upon watching this film I began to question certain elements within the story that rose questions. After finishing the film I began to question the affect this movie might have had on my adolescent development and or American society in general. Several factors in the film I feel I could safely say today would not fly as elements that are acceptable in family films such as this.

One observation I noticed was that there was a lack of a storyline to back up the characters decision to move across the country from New Jersey to California. According to what was made available to the viewer based on the plot and story line, the mother of the main character pulled her son Daniel out of school and packed everything up in a beat up station wagon and drove to California, without any real notice given to the main character. What struck me as an obvious reason was the possibility they had to move for a new job, being that the mother had a job immediately upon arrival as a waitress in a restaurant.

Why Move?
I was content at first as this being a reason for the move. Upon a second review of this fact I came to a conclusion that no one would move such a distance to wait tables. So I decided to over analyze this aspect for a minute and come up with my own sub plot based on what information is presented.

Hypothesis: I feel that the main character and his mother were put in a situation where they had to move fairly quickly due to an abusive husband and father which is suggested based on the following four factors found within the plot:

One: there is no presence of a father figure or any mention of a father for the main character, which leads me to believe that this is a fairly negative topic for the characters in question.

Two: The immediate need to move as quickly as possible as viewed in the beginning scenes of the movie and this being very hard for the main character is made obvious through out the film, with comments such relating to the mother deciding to move without asking the main character. The question remains why did one need to move so quickly and so far?

Three: The first appearance of the main character is exiting the car upon arrival to the new apartment complex in California. The main character takes his bike from the top of the car and escorts it into the complex through a gate door that he kicks open into an on coming neighbor. The neighbor asks him if that was Karate, in which the main character admits that it was. Later in the film the main character admits to having taken Karate lessons at the YMCA.

This to me suggests the main character had at one point in time the need to defend one’s self from an attacker. Being a product of the East Coast myself I know that growing up in Jersey is no picnic and I personally feel everyone should take a self-defense course. In order to keep this analysis objective I needed to keep looking at the facts presented. The way the main character deals with the bullying situation from the other kids at school suggests to me this was not a common situation for him, and therefore suggests to me that the need for self-defense was not due to common everyday encounters with bullies.

The way the main character jumps into a physical altercation upon first encounter with the villain in this film displays some aspects of pent up aggression and the desire to control and put an end to an abusive situation between the main character’s love interest and ex-boyfriend (the villain).

Four: After receiving his first beating and or physical altercation the main character knew how to hide a black eye from his mother, who upon discovery seemed highly concerned as if familiar situations were reoccurring. The main character when questioned about his black eye chose to lie about what had actually occurred with the story that he fell off his bike or had a bike accident. The main character did this with little effort suggesting that he had gone through these motions several times throughout life.

Conclusion:
Based on the four factors of the plot stated above, it is safe to assume that there was a history of domestic violence present in the life of the main character before and up to the point of the decision to move from New Jersey to California.

The fact that these elements were stripped from the story line suggests one of the two following issues. One, that the general public has no interest in understanding the horrors suffered by those in abusive situations and the options presented to these individuals. Two, the topic is that of a controversial nature that would have required a different rating for the film to be enjoyed by families and children.

Given the time frame that this movie was produced and released these issues were not heavily discussed in mainstream media, which could explain the lack of a background story for the characters introduced in this film.

The affect that this film might have on adolescent development is the exposure to the necessity for self-defense courses and or some martial art training. Also subjecting the viewer to the morals presented within the training of the main character. The affects this film and others like it might have on American society are concentrated on the generations exposed to this movie are as follows: One, solving problems physically, Two, a lack of exposure towards compassion for families that suffer from abuse. Three: is the unnecessary glorification and acceptance of gang violence.

2/25/07 -- Shopping Bags -- Boulder CO

I awoke this morning and went out on the deck, this is where I often make my decisions for the day, and where I begin my observations.

This morning brought me an image of a woman walking holding two plastic bags which appeared to be carrying some unknown articles. From a distance this looked normal, being outside a dog park. I immediately thought that she was comming from the store with some groceries. I then continued to observe while constructing in my mind where the woman would have been being that there is no store within 3 blocks and why she would walk there and back.

I began thinking about the time, being 10am I thought it rather strange to be walking with only two bags that early. I began to think about wether or not the individual being observed was one of those quote un-quote "Bag-Ladies" on her way to a garage sale or something to that affect.

As she approached closer I could hear her mumbling to herself, and I was able to get a better look. I immediately thought, hands free cell phone, but no cell phone or bluetooth tech could be seen and the mumbles were too infrequent.

Her clothes seemed to be highly out of date, something you might discover at a thrift shop, but they were realtively clean looking. Which made me come to a conclusion that she was not homeless but most likely suffering from some mental illness.

Since that observation this morning I have left the house, and upon leaving I notice all the other neighbors leaving were all carrying bags. I found this interesting that they would be leaving with shopping bags vs. arriving carrying shopping bags.

Maybe I should get some shopping bags and sport them around today... I want to fit in on something I know nothing about.