Log Entry #6: 9/30/10

Today we had our second quiz on Jurassic Park, which pertained to the most exciting part in the book so far. In the past week, I honestly couldn't put the book down because there was so much chaos, theft, and mystery. As I got done reading this thrilling part of the book, I began to think what if I was in this situation as Tim Murphy. At first, when Tim was being observant and able to look and touch the Stegosaurus, I thought that would be an awesome experience. But as I continued to read, I learned that Tim was entirely in the wrong place at the wrong time (when he was in the land cruiser, with no power, and stuck right where the T-Rex's territory was). If I knew that a T-Rex was going to destroy the car that I was in, I would probably do the same thing Ed Regis did with some minor changes. This would include me running, but initially I would try to make something very eye-catching on land cruiser, so the Rex would initially be concerned about the car rather than me. While I would be running from the car and the T-Rex, I would snatch the night vision goggles and run as close to trial as I could towards the control center. In addition, as I would be running back, I would get some kind of thick log, so if I get into any trouble, I would be able to defend myself. In conclusion to reading and pondering on the thought of me being Tim, I'm very glad that dinosaurs are extinct and that none of the happened. But that brings the question, will there be something in the future that could pose the same treat that dinosaurs would pose to humans?

Log Entry #5: 9/29/10

The film Jurassic Park is quite good, but Michael Crichton’s book is probably one of the best books I have ever read. With in just reading the introduction, I begin to love the book for how it describes the attacks of the infant, it's almost realistic setting, and how it incorporates science that could be plausible. In the movie, they go pretty in depth, but it would be pretty hard to put every aspect the book had into the movie. If the directors did, it might create a very long movie, which could lead to a disliked public opinion. But with saying that, I'm glad to be able to read the book, which seems to be so much more descriptive.  With the book being so descriptive, It gave me the inclination that maybe this could be possible in the very soon future. Crichton does this by including a lot of scientific definitions, explaining chaos theory, and important/interesting characteristics into the book. 


With continuing to read this book, it has begun to frighten me because this book makes it seem that this kind of cloning will occur in the future. Similar situations of the Procompsognathuse attacks that attacked the little girl on the island, could become reality, which could lead to disaster. But the most interesting part about this book, is that it relates much like Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. What I mean by this,is that Crichton seems to be warning the people reading his novel that this chaotic dinosaur would could happen again. Similarly, just like how Mary Shelley did with her readers. 

Log Entry #4: 9/28/10

We just finished watching Gattaca with Ethan Hawke and Jude Law this week, and I made me think that maybe what happens in this movie is very plausible in the next couple decades. The whole concept of eugenics and the designing the "perfect human" is quite bothersome, but at the same time awesome on what the future hold. It is mind boggling to think that in the next couple decades us humans ( god children) could be inferior to the perfect human beings created by different traits which would make them possibly perfect. Even though, it is scary to think that these perfect beings could be created soon; although,there is already stem cell research and project (create the perfect DNA strand, by extracting that bad strand and adding the good strand) being done.

I feel like Vincent (who wanted to always go to titan but was initially not allowed to leave Earth, because he was a "god child"), is going to be a similar issue in the future. If we do create these perfect people, then it will lead people to do ANYTHING to be as good as these perfect human beings. As a result of that thought, would It really be a good idea to create a person that is so far beyond normal capabilities? I think not initially. Rather, we should gradually do it, so when the oldest genetically altered people get older the younger will take over and not have to cause conflict with not that of fortunate genetically altered beings.

Log Entry #3: 9/26/10

With watching Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, I honestly had no idea what to expect for Young Frankenstein. As we started watching, there were multiple aspects of the movie that were entirely different from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. First off, how the directors perceived the monster. For example, in Young Frankenstein, the monster was perceived as evil due to it was given a criminal's brain(abnormal). On the other hand, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein perceived frankenstein as neutral then becoming evil( not have a reason the be mad at society), due to being harassed by the people in the city and abandoned by Victor. Another aspect that was different from the two movies, was the ability for the monster to learn. In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, he was shown to have the ability to learn (speak and read). On the contrary, the Young frankenstein showed that frankenstein was quite illiterate and not having the ability to learn; rather, just able to decipher sounds and know what frightened him. While I was watching the Young Frankenstein, I also realized that how the monsters were created was somewhat differently. The frankenstein in Mary Shelley's was created by electricity generated by electric eels. On the contrary, the frankenstein in Young Frankenstein was created by the electricity generated by lightning. In conclusion, if I had the opinion to watch Young Frankenstein now, I would have to say no, due to I think Mary Shelley's Frankenstein perceived a better/ truer frankenstein.

Log Entry #2: 9/21/10

When people try to classify "true science fiction movies" they state movies like Star Trek or Star Wars. But personally, I believe people should be quite familiar with the movie "The day the Earth stood still" for multiple reasons. First off, the movie demonstrates many crucial themes of science fiction: aliens invasion, people uncertain by what has come to their presence, and also aliens saying that the world might be in trouble. Secondly, it showed cutting edge video effects for its time, which set the board walk for future science fiction movies. Moreover, I believe if you're a fanatic of the Star Trek or Star Wars movies, you should defiantly see this movie because it also dealt with humans and aliens and their conflicts with each other. In my opinion, I truly loved this movie due to it had many conflicts (aliens & humans) and I just love the fascination of extra terrestrials taking over the world. I don't think I would have changed anything to make it better (1950's version), but if they recreated it in this time period, it would have the potential for being one of the best current science fiction movies.  It might also make things look more life like and not "1950's screen glitchy", which would/could be a crowd pleaser. Even though they did not create a new version of the movie, I would defiantly suggest the 1950's version movie to a friend.

Log Entry #1: 9/20/10

When our class was told that we would be watching Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, I was ecstatic. With growing up watching the cartoon version of Frankenstein, I thought it would interesting to see how this director depicted Frankenstein. Then when I was informed that Kenneth Branagh was directing and also starring, I became quite skeptical on how this movie would turn out. For the first 10 minutes, I thought this movie had the potential for being great, but as all his movies are,  it turned into a gestured female attraction. With that being said, there are multiple things I would change. First off, I think there should have been an actual battle scene with the ship crew and Frankenstein; it could have erased the horrific memory of Kenneth's bare chest being shown every 5 minutes. Moreover, there should have been more attempts to kill Frankenstein and maybe a successful attempt, which is probably how the movie should have ended. Thirdly, with the death of the little boy and one of the sisters, Kenneth should emphasized those points a tad more than they were displayed in the movie. This movie is depicted as a "horror movie", which is clearly not the case. Rather, there should be a new genre called  "comical horror" suitable for 12 year olds and/or younger". I know I am being quite harsh, but If kenneth was really trying to depict Mary's story, he should not included himself!