Month: September 2017

From the moment The Beatles hit the public radar it was clear that they were no ordinary rock group. They instantly began challenging basic ideologies surrounding rock and roll as well as music in general. In addition to their ingenuity in the recording studio, they also completely altered the course of music in America, and in the process broke the barrier between the British and American music industry.

Paragraph 1:

Music in America during the early to mid 20th century was mostly made to be danced to

The Beatles wrote their music to be listened to

They weren’t the first to do this in America at the time but they were the ones who successfully made it happen.

After they succeeded music in America shifted to the point where most music was made for listening instead of dancing

Don Maclean even brought attention to this in his hit song American Pie with the lyric “We all got up to dance, oh but we never got the chance.”

Paragraph 2:

Music in Europe and America was frankly different up to the early 60s.

“The reputation that was out there in Great Britain was that you can’t make it in America. They just want to listen to a different kind of music.” -Michael Cheney

The Beatles were different in that many of their inspirations were American musicians, most notably Bob Dylan.

Once the Beatles broke through to the American public the idea that British musicians couldn’t make it in America was quickly and violently forgotten.

Quickly after the Beatles hit it big here the cultural phenomenon known as the “British Invasion” struck.

This was when bands from Britain came to America and started having tremendous success. The Rolling Stones and The Who being the most notable to follow in the Beatles footsteps.

While The Beatles storied run as world famous band was criminally short, their impact is one that will never be forgotten. From their creativity in the studio, to their arrival in America, all the way down to the day they tragically broke up, The Beatles were changing the way people thought about music. Though they stopped making music together almost 50 years ago their impact is still being felt today and will be for a long time to come.

Addario uses no shortage of powerful and enticing writing techniques. Whether it’s her use of colloquial phrases or strong powerful diction, her style of writing constantly serves a purpose throughout the novel. I will be focusing on the latter for this blog. On page 93 when Addario is describing the US invasion of Iraq she is using extremely vivid language. She uses a lot of figurative language and powerful diction to really paint a picture for the reader. Everything about that section, her word choice, her analogies, metaphors, hyperbole, etc. is made to make the audience feel like they are there with her, watching as missiles fall from the sky and gun fire echoes through the landscape. I believe that had she used more formal, less imaginative tone and diction in this section it would have been a much less interesting read and would not have stuck with me for all this time after reading the book.

While I used that specific section as an example, the use of powerful language is not the writing strategy I was admiring. What amazed me about her writing is that the way she wrote varied greatly based on the story she was telling. Her voice as an author has such tremendous range that no matter what she was writing, it always perfectly complemented the story she was telling. This is something that I want to incorporate into my blog. I’ve always felt a little unsatisfied with my voice as a writer and I would love to improve it using this strategy. If I am able to make my voice as a writer more in tune with the topic I’m discussing and what I’m saying about that topic I feel like I will have taken my writing to the next level, which is something I have been longing for since the start of high school.

Addario tells the story of her Nana’s love story as a method of moving her narrative forward. The story of her fading love of her Nana causes the reader to question whether or not Addario is capable of love. This is reinforced by her retelling of the earlier story about her failed romance with Uxval. The questions about her ability to love were answered by her deep love of photography. Her passion for photography outweighed something many people consider to be the most fulfilling feeling in life: love.

While I haven’t yet found anything in my life that I would put over life itself I do have things I am passionate about. Most of all, my love of film. There is nothing I enjoy more when I’m by myself then getting comfortable, popping some corn, and watching a great movie. I feel the best films are the ones that make me want to watch them over and over again. I am far from ashamed to say that movies like Gus Van Sant’s Good Will Hunting and Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige and Dark Knight Trilogy have done just that. But my love for films doesn’t stop at merely watching them. I love analyzing them, thinking about them, and of course talking about them. The best directors are doing more than just telling a story, they’re sending a message, creating a narrative. They want you to think about their work and become engaged. While now it is a great passion of mine, discovering my love of film did not happen under the happiest of conditions. My first two years of high school I was very antisocial. Outside of soccer season, I did little else after school than homework and useless pastimes. Halfway through my freshman year, I started watching movies on demand to pass the time on lonely nights. I quickly became enthralled in film history, watching all the classics. From Casablanca to Star Wars and everything in between. By the end of my sophomore year, I had developed a solid friend group so my movie watching became less frequent. I do not, however, love it any less than I did at first. I am excited to talk about films in my blog. I am planning on talking about what I do and don’t like about certain movies and traits that make some films and break others.