Susan Watkins -- Topic of Choice 4

Something we talked about in class after watching Wings of Desire the other day really struck me as interesting, and then it came up again in a conversation I had with one of my good friends. The topic was "conincidence" vs. "intentionality," and I've been thinking about how I live my life and relationships in these terms.

So many people in the world today allow their lives and relationships to be goverened by the random nature of coincidence. They live independently of their surroundings, with their attentions focused inward for the most part. If they are in relationship, it's because they just happen to be around someone often enough to get to know them-- or, if they do exert effort, it's only with people who just happen to have similar personality traits already. Their existence is a co-incidence with the existences around them: they do not depend on eachother, they only happen to be going on in the same place at the same time with no direct correlation. If one were to cease or change, the other would be largely unharmed/unchanged. I wonder if we've become this way out of laziness, or maybe fear that we might become dependent on eachother and then lose something we need and love.

The thing my friend realized, though, was that we have the opportunity to decide how coincidentally-minded or intentional we are going to be in any given moment. This is true in all areas of our lives-- we can decide to either engage with life on a deep level or just kind of skate through-- but it is especially true when we are around people we don't know very well. Every interaction has the potential to be meaningful, even if it's not "deep." We can contribute largely to how meaningful an interaction is by how much of our attention we give to it. When someone walks up to us and we continue using our cell phones, computers, or doing something else, we are not engaging in that relationship fully and are living "co-incidentally" with that other person. However, if we take the time, even 5 minutes, to invest fully in what we're talking about and in that other person's ideas and feelings, we are living intentionally and tapping into boundless potential for real connection and real life.

Kenneth Tappan- Stranger than Fiction

In the film Stranger than Fiction the main charachter Harold Crick goes through i major transformation. This movie in my mind has major religious elements. Harold hears voices that at first sound almost divine. This voice drives Harold to change his life and live life to the fullest. Although Harold changes his life he also becomes well aware of his own mortality. The narrator is trying to kill him off and he seems to out of control in his own life. I initially thought about pre-destination and how we humans are not as in control of our lives as we might think we are. In the very end Harold Crick decides to let fate and his destiny happen even though it means his death, he does this for the bigger picture and the overall good that it would cause. Harold was willing to do this but the author chose to spare his life. This movie shows that everyone has a destiny and that we are all just a small piece in the huge game of life.

Kenneth Tappan - Blade Runner

After watching Blade Runner i found it interesting to ask which was more human, the androids are the regular people. The androids had drive, they had goals, there existence did not last long but they lived to the fullest. The other humans on the other hand seemed almost unatural. They lived in constant darkness and seemed to be content in a failing world. The androids sought after there maker, while the humans did not have any religious elements at all. Emotion was also another aspect that i felt the androids had more of. Love, hate, fear, and mercy were all shown by the androids, the humans in my mind only were concerned with their jobs and career status. This movie showed me that humans are getting farther away from what is natural and technology is getting better at mimicing nature.

Kenneth Tappan- Outside Experience

Over Easter weekend i watched the Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston. I have grown up watching this movie throughout my life and i believe many people do the same with the film. This film is an iconic film for Americans and i believe this film has a profound effect on the American identity. For many Americans the informantion in the movie is the only way the learn about the Flight out of Egypt story. This movie for me has a nostalgic effect and i always feel as if my roots and heritage come from these Hebrews in the movie. The movie also presents information that i see for the first time each time i see it. This movie has become a tradition for me and others and i think its kinda cool how a movie can take hold of you during a certain part of the year.

Kenneth Tappan - The Jacket

The Jacket was a great movie about a man who appears to be traveling through time and witnessing future events. In my mind i saw the main character as being dead when he first got shot in Iraq. The institution and the morgue that he often visited was a sort of purgatory. The main charachter was disoriented through out his time in the asylum and when he visited the future or got a taste of Heaven he desired to go back. At the very end the main charachter is seen with the woman he loves riding off into the sunset, this is his heaven and this is the end of his life's journey.

Kenneth Tappan - Personal Blog

Today I asked myself if there is anything else in the world that people do not recognize. When we look at dogs they are color blinded, they do not know that color exist. What if there is something like that with humans? Are we percieving the world to its fullest extent? A part of me thinks that people are missing out on something. Could it be possible that there is something out there in our world that is right in front of our faces that we simply do not percieve. I believe that there is something spiritual in this world that is everywhere but we do not see it. Maybe that is why people search and yearn constantly for spiritual growth. There are moments when we feel powerfull forces and yet we cannot comprehend them.

Kenneth Tappan-Gladiator

One movie that i have always enjoyed would have to be the movie Gladiator. I believe this movie has tremendous religous qualities to it. The main one being about life's journey towards death. In the very begining of the movie maximus is walking slowly in a field ready for the harvest. This image is re-occuring throughout the movie. Later on we find out that this image is Maximus's heaven and that he has been working to reach it his whole life. This movie makes the viewer aware of their own mortality and it shows that ever since we were born, we are working our way towards death. Some reach it faster, some reach it slower, but we all end there. This movie also shows that death should not be feared, becuase it is natural and we must all face it someday.