Summary Writing

I have always felt like summary writing has always been the easiest for me. However I still lack confidence when it comes to writing. In general I would rather explain to someone what the movie was about through talking to them. When it comes to writing I know what I want to say, but I feel like I am bogged down by grammar and trying to make my paper flow. When I am talking to someone I feel like I have a much more natural repitare with them because I am talking to them in person. When I got my feedback last night I was ecstatic because I was told that I had a pretty solid rough draft. I feel like because now I will be able to write a great paper because of the help that Dr. Kybruz has given me. 

The Man on a Wire

     
   I had the pleasure of watching Man on a Wire, which was a documentary about Petit Phillippe. Phillippe was the wire-walker who performed a high-wire walk between the World Trade Center Towers in 1974. The documentary went over the entire aspect of planning “Le Coup” and the aftermath of the show. The movie also talks about some of the other exploits that he had performed in his life before his most famous walk. Phillippe had also set up wires between the towers of Notre Dame Cathedral and the Sydney Harbor Bridge. However these were merely steps, if not practice, to accomplish his main goal, the World Trade Center Towers. What was interesting about his goal is that he set it before the construction of the Twin Towers was even started. He saw in a magazine that the Towers would be built and once completed that they will be the tallest structure in the world.  This article would begin a seven year obsession for Phillippe.
What was the most interesting thing about the movie was how much planning went into “Le Coup.” For seven years he collected as much information as he could on the Twin Towers through articles, visits and even a helicopter ride. His team would repeatedly break into the complex to go to the roof to scope out as much of the structure as they could. One time they posed as journalists and conducted interviews on the crew, unbeknownst to the crew they were actually surveying the roof for anchor points. Phillippe also built a model of the roofs to practice walking the length of the wire. One of his crews’ main concern was that the wind would rock the towers back and forth, so Phillippe would walk up and down his wire while his friends would bounce and rock the wire as much as they could.
I would like to know more about what happened to his associates after “Le Coup.” Phillippe got a slight slap on the wrist, he had to perform a show in public while some cameras were rolling. However in the movie his friend said that he got kicked out of the country. So I think it would be interesting to see how the rest of his friends got treated after he got stardom. I also think it be cool if Phillippe would be allowed to walk between the new Twin Towers. I know it is unlikely that they would let him do it, due to legal and the danger issues that go with that, but I believe that if he would it would be a pleasant remembrance to the old Twin towers.

Slacktivism: laziness or the first step?

Slacktivism: laziness or the first step?

Slacktivism is often seen as being lazy, this is because it is simply just a push of a button and nothing more. These “activists” are bored people who scroll through their respective social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or Tumblr). However, perhaps, slacktivism is not laziness, but the beginning steps for real change to happen. If activism was to be put on a spectrum, slacktivism would be at the beginning of it, while chaining yourself to a nuclear power plant would be much closer to the end of the spectrum. To be a slactivist, you do not have to put in much effort. However, if you chained yourself to a nuclear power plant you must be willing to put yourself through a lot of work. So what if slacktivism is the first steps in becoming more involved in activism? Obviously not everyone will become an activist because of negative stories seen on social media, but others might see that story and decide to invest more time in learning what that specific cause is about. This leads them to start becoming involved, making them farther along the spectrum of activism. Slacktivism while for the majority might be laziness, for the minority it could become the first step in becoming truly involved and passionate towards a cause.