A Summary of Halloween

     This week in class, we were tasked to finish our summaries on a documentary that we watched. We were luckily able to get a deadline extension for this assignment, but I completed the assignment early so that I could focus on upcoming exams. However, I am thankful for the extra time because I was able to revise and fix most of the mistakes I made in the summary.

    Regardless, Halloween is coming up! Normally, my family is big on Halloween, but this year we aren't doing as much. It's kind of disappointing, but I'm not too bothered by it because I know it'll be different next year. With Covid being a thing, it makes going to a haunted house a little less appealing, but hopefully next year I can enjoy a normal Halloween again.

The Greatest Scene

    This week in class we were supposed to write our two-to-three page summaries in preparation for the rhetorical analysis. I don't know if anyone else had to do it, but I actually had to rewatch some of the documentary in order to complete the summary. I was able to look up the characters' names online, but I didn't remember what role most of them had in the film. 

    So, after a longer time than I wanted, I was able to complete the summary and have it be slightly more than three pages long. I might've been able to reduce it a little bit, but I feel like it should be good enough. 

    The final step to our multiple-week-long documentary project is the rhetorical analysis. That means we are supposed to select our favorite scene in the entire documentary. Personally, my favorite scene is the one where the team shows pictures of the Great Barrier Reef before and after the coral bleaching event. It was just an excellent display of what they are trying to fight against. They have pictures of beautiful coral reef environments flourishing with life, and then they juxtapose an image of the same reef after it dies. The difference between the two is actually disheartening, and yet the divers had to see it happen firsthand. I think I should be able to write a lot about the scene, so hopefully, the rhetorical analysis goes rather easily. 

The Next Steps

     During class this week, we were told that our documentary projects would be a work in progress. That is, there would be multiple steps to fully complete the project. The first step of our project was in last week's blog post. It was the guided reflection questions, which helped us gather our thoughts about the documentary we chose to watch. Those questions will also help us later on in our project.

    The next task on the list is to write a two-to-three page summary of the documentary we watched. This might actually be pretty hard because there was a lot of content in the documentary that I feel I would write down. I'll have to minimize the amount of detail I put into the summary. Also, another problem is that we are supposed to include the names of characters, which I know none of. This might mean that I'll have to rewatch the documentary in order to find out the names of people.

    After our summary, the final step is to make a rhetorical analysis of a certain scene of the documentary. It should be our favorite scene or one that was a real eye-opener that spoke to us on an individual level. It should take an additional two to three pages, but I think It will be easier because we get to focus on a certain scene and personalize the writing content a little bit.

Chasing Coral Guided Reflection

    1.  There was a scene in the movie that I loved to watch. When the team contacted the director from Chasing Ice and the difficulties that came along with the desired project. The production team knew that there was a lot of uncertainty about the coral project, but they were willing, and wanted, to help with this production of Chasing Coral. They had to use technology and science to even create the devices that held the camera. The entire project seems unreal because no one has ever done it before. Another point is that there were complications. They failed on different occasions. They didn't get disheartened and they were committed to the project. They kept at it, even after they lost a month and a half of footage, getting battered by the conditions of the ocean while doing recordings every day, and they were eventually able to bear fruit from their struggles. From learning some sign language, flooding technology, thunderstorms that could disable cameras, doing construction underwater, and doing fricking manual time-lapses every day, this team worked through so many problems to finish the project because they knew they wanted to get their message into the world. They were able to record the coral bleaching by going underwater every day for more than a month. The situation was terrible. What once was beautiful was now dead. Even though they were sad that they physically saw the coral die off, they were able to make a great documentary that can easily inspire action from humanity. I find Chasing Coral an incredible display of determination by the production team to show the world the severity of this problem. And they won't give up, not until people wake up and help.

    2. A thing that surprised me was the total amount of coral that has died over the years. Towards the start of the movie, there was a fact given, which said that over the last 30 years, 50% of ALL coral in the world has died. It really puts into perspective how serious this problem is. Most people, myself included, don't think about coral reefs too much outside of knowing how beautiful they can be. However, corals are dying at an alarmingly rate and soon, there will barely be anything left of corals. Especially considering how amazing coral reefs looked in the past, seeing the barren wastelands of reefs today is incredibly disheartening. The reason why I think it surprised me is that it really was a wake-up call to this problem that I didn't know existed. 

    3.   The only question I have after watching the documentary is: What is there that I can do to help? How would I be able to assist in any way to keep these beautiful environments survive. It's terrible to see the death and dramatic decrease in coral reefs all over the world. People need to come together and cooperate to help save the reefs. I feel inspired, or rather called to action. I think this documentary did a great job at making people realize that they need to do something. People won't want to see these environments die off.

    4. One reason why research in summaries is a bad idea is because we could get some incorrect data from our research. It would make our summary incorrect, so only use data if it is provided in the thing being summarized. Also, doing research might make us more biased towards the situation in one way or another, which could show up in our summary. If our goal is to write objectively, then having a bias contradicts that.

Being Content With Content

     This week in class, we were supposed to finetune and submit our personal essays. After getting some advice from a classmate, I was able to fix some of the more grammatical errors of my essay. I then had to go back and make sure all of my tenses were aligned with what I was writing. This took me longer than it should have.

    In the end, I had to reread the essay multiple times, but I think I am in a comfortable spot with the essay. I'm not too confident, but as long as I am able to evoke some sort of emotion with the readers, then I will be content with that. I am happy with how the essay turned out and the work I put into it. Hopefully, my grade will reflect that!