A War on The Self: Reaction Paper to "The Rhetoric of Cancer"

Many proclaim cancer to be a battle. Although it is analogous to it, the term “battle” in this case does not only refer to a war-like scheme in which we have weapons to face the ultimate enemy, cancer, in order to get better. It is a battle also in terms of staying motivated to carry on with daily activities, to provide the needed provisions for treatment, and to assure oneself that there is still hope in the eventual dissipation of the illness. To “fight cancer” seems to be a ubiquitous term when relating to patients. Upon reflection it seems proper to ask ourselves: if cancer is within us, does it really make sense wage war on our own body? Aren’t there better terms we can use than “to fight?” Along with the perspectives of several cancer patients and expert scientists, the podcast “The Rhetoric of Cancer” by BBC World Service analyzes this linguistic problem, among other things such as the technologies being utilized today in treating patients, and different ways to look at cancer as a whole.

Andrew Graystone, the narrator of the podcast, was diagnosed with cancer over three years ago (as the podcast was made recently, in November of 2013) and decided that he wanted to look for a more appropriate term in dealing with his cancer, aside from militarized terms such as “to fight” and “to battle.” In the realm of medical sciences, these terms probably seemed more most fitting as the drugs that were are being invented and studied often aim to find, isolate, and kill the cells responsible for the spread of the cancer. However, as Andrew was the one who introduced the cancer into his system, and as he was aware that the cancer was part of him, he decided that terms of hostility would not be best to use when referring to his own body. A devout Christian, he eventually turned to a good friend and theologian, Paula Gooder, asking for her views on the matter. Her side is what struck me most. She remarks that with cancer, perhaps it is better not to look at it as a war of good and evil, but rather, as a reminder of the reality of imminent death in our lives. We are all bound to die eventually – some sooner than others. This is why we live with concepts of morality and justice, and we aim to live life to the fullest.

In the end, Andrew remarks that although he wants his cancer gone, he is not hostile towards it – he simply wants to “kiss his cancer goodbye.” If there’s anything to be taken away from this 25-minute podcast, I believe it is that we should treat cancer patients not as people going through wars and struggles, but as people going through a process of rediscovering themselves and coming to terms with what’s going on in their own bodies. Cancer is not to be fought, it is simply to be removed.

Redd Claudio

2013-59776

A Trip to the Moon Reaction Paper

               If I’m just a regular girl present in the first screening of the film, which is in 1902, I would be so amazed of the effects they had in the film. The technology of moving pictures were just starting during that time, and seeing something so futuristic, with many visual effects, will make me think that this movie is really great and amazing and I would for sure will give it a big thumbs up. There is also a colored version of the film where Melies and his crew carefully colored the rolls of film, one by one. Since all the films then were black and white, I will be delighted to see a colored film. Melies really took a great effort in making the film. They had a studio and a lot of props in order to make it look futuristic. If I’m also watching it during 1902, I would be more imaginative and would really wonder if it will be possible to set foot on the moon, if there are aliens, if there are other living things outside earth, etc. As said, the film is one of the most technically innovative films during that time. But if I’m a scientist during that time, and I was given the chance to watch it on the first screening, surely, I will find the story of the movie very illogical. I will see it as a movie that ridicules science and astronomers. But I will find the production and cinematography a big leap in the technology of film-making.

Pauline de Leon

2011-44571

Time Enough at Last Reaction Paper

Time Enough at Last is the 8^th episode of the American Television series “The Twilight Zone”. The episode is from the short story written by Marilyn Veneble. It is about a man named Henry Bemis, a bank teller and an avid reader. Being too addicted to reading books, it affects his work. One time he shortchanged a customer, making him annoyed. This angered Bemis’ boss and wife. His boss’ wife mocked him. The next day, Bemis had lunch on the banks vault, where he can read books. All of a sudden a tremendous explosion happened, knocking him unconscious. After gaining consciousness, he went out of the vault and found everyone dead. He was the sole survivor and although he can survive because there were tons of foods that are left for him, he was in despair because he was alone in the shattered world. He then found a library, and saw that the books are readable. He realized he had all the time in the world to read them all. But he accidentally tripped and his glasses broke, leaving him virtually blind. Thus he cannot read the books anymore, making him more gloomy and depressed.

            

       If I’m going to make an update of the story, instead of killing himself, I’ll continue it with him collecting the shattered pieces of his glasses. He will really try his best to find it and bring the pieces together. His glasses are very crucial to him because he will also need it when looking for food. After he found all the pieces, he will go find something to attach the pieces together, like glue or something, which I think is not impossible to find. After that he can go on to his life, fulfilled, reading books from different fields, becoming more knowledgeable that it allows him to experiment, build robots, enhance the technology, and make the world a little better for him.

Pauline de Leon

2011-44571

Life in Solitude: A Reaction Paper on "The Twilight Zone (Episode: Time Enough At Last)"

“Time is gold.” This is a saying all of us are probably very familiar with. It is essentially saying that time is precious, how it is in fact lost in simply seconds, literally. And this is especially showed in the life of Henry Bemis, a bank teller and avid bookworm, as depicted in an episode of The Twilight Zone entitled Time Enough At Last.

Bemis lives a life constantly looking for time to read. One day he goes to the bank vault to just read undisturbed, but, as he reads a news article about a bomb, he suddenly feels the tremors of an explosion. He’s completely fine but once he goes out of the vault everything else and everyone else is not. He is the only one left, everyone, everything is gone. He lost hope and was about to end his life when he spots the public library. He discovers that although the library has been severely damaged, the books haven't. Suddenly seeing a bright silver lining, he gathers and organizes all the books. He finally has the time to just read. But just as he starts to read, he stumbles and his glasses fall and break. This makes him basically blind, blind to read.

If I were to make an updated adaptation of the story, putting it in the context of our present-day, it'd be quite simple. I'd simply change books to computers or laptops or even phones and Bemis's glasses to its power supply. Everyone today has probably used a computer at some point in his or her life. It's something we can all admit that is very useful yet addicting, especially with the internet. Like how books were to Bemis, if a person were to be deserted in a devastated city, a computer or any gadget that would provide him with communication is what I think would make him most happy, would give him the most hope. And like Bemis, we often don't realize that this bliss, the bliss of having access to these luxuries, is dependent on something we often cannot control or something we don't realize was even essential. We often get stuck staring at the screens, living our virtual lives more often than our actual lives. We then only realize our true solitude when we are presented with something that gives us happiness and hope, only to get our access to it taken away and now we can't do anything with it because we now have nothing and no one.

This episode has so many ideas and can be interpreted in so many ways. It showed how some of the oddest things could save you. It showed how the advancement of technology destroyed everything and everyone but not written knowledge, buildings but not books. But to me, it most importantly showed the importance of balance in life, balance between fantasy and reality, solitude and companionship. To Bemis, books and reading were the most important. There was nothing wrong with this passion; it just got him to ignore everything and everyone else. It got him to ignore life.

Audrey Anne A. Arocha

2012-51626

Read Me

                I really like happy ending stories. I felt awful after watching the All the Time episode. I was bothered with everything that happened in the movie. I am fond of reading books as well, that is why I knew where the leading man, Henry Bemis, was coming from. It is totally unjust to be a hindrance in someone else’s happiness. One must act as a bridge to the joy of everyone.

                In the movie, Henry, who has a poor eyesight, was so into books. His wife and his boss would always take away all of his readings for some reasons. Then one day, massive explosion happened while he was in this vault having lunch and reading a book. When he went outside, all he saw was ruins of his workplace. Everything was destroyed and everyone died. He was the only one who survived. He thought of committing suicide already, but he saw this Public Library and his passion for reading suddenly burst into flames. He already arranged all the books he wanted to read. But in the end, his glasses fell of and got broken.

                If I were to change this, I will let his wife dream what happened from the explosion up to the scene where his glasses got broken. In that way, she would feel how terrible his husband was going through. This might also change her mind with the way she was treating her husband. Now, it will have a one very happy ending.

De Jesus, Carmela Gabrielle D.

2013 - 55245

A Century Back, A Century Later: A Reaction Paper on "A Trip to the Moon"

Le Voyage dans La Lune, or simply A Trip to the Moon, is a 1902 short French silent film, popularly known to be one of the earliest films ever made. It depicts the adventure of a group of astronomers as they launch in a metal spaceship shot off by a cannon to the moon, further telling of their discovery of life in the celestial body and then finally their falling back to Earth.

In today's context such a story might seem quite fantastical and may even be perceived as a film that took a comedic and sarcastic stand on the idea of traveling to the moon and what or who may be uncovered there. When put in the technology and reality we have today, we may have the opinion that what is being shown is a comedy, is so funny because it is just simply so far of the truth. But although all these might be true, we have to take note that this film was created in a completely different time; a time that having a man on the moon just seems to be such an impossible feat and ideas about whatever is out there are just ideas of fiction.

All of this being said, if I were to go back to 1902, see the movie upon its release and remove all thoughts of present-day technology in mind, I'd have a completely different, in fact probably opposite, opinion. It would've probably seemed to be a futuristic film, a fictional film depicting what could be. Having the film itself been possible, the fact that there were now moving pictures would've already been an impressive leap in technology for me. For it to show more possibilities of future technology is just a plus. The film might also as well simply serve as an inspiration for inventors and scientists on their journey in literally reaching for the stars.

What humanity has achieved in the past century has certainly been quite a feat. Today, we see space flight as something of fact, something that already happened, in comparison to 1902 when it was just possible in the imagination, in works of fiction. It is certainly one very impressive leap of achievement and just like if we were in 1902 today, we could only simply imagine what we'd have achieved and where humanity could possibly be another century onwards.

Audrey Anne A. Arocha

2012-51626

Leaving on a Capsule

                The film Trip to the Moon is a silent film aired on 1902 in France. It is about scientists who planned to have a trip to the moon using a capsule. They eventually got on the moon. While they were wandering around, they saw some aliens and fought them. After some time, they decided to go back to earth. And the people welcomed them like heroes.

                If I were to watch this film on its first screening, I would first feel curious on how they would re-enact the whole thing. I must say that it is really not believable watching it in the year 2014, but it would give a slight idea to the people in the past on how trips to the moon are basically made. The background music and the comedic acting of the artists helped to not make the film boring.

                It is certainly safe to say that techniques on creating movies have leveled up in the most imaginable way. Comparing the means and ideas before on what we are having right now makes me appreciate more our technology today.

De Jesus, Carmela Gabrielle D.

2013 - 55245

All the Time Reaction Paper

All the Time was an episode that reminded us all of the importance of time. What we do with the time we have is crucial to what could happen in the future. In this episode, the protagonist Henry Bemis, is always deprived of the time to read. His wife or his boss always gets in the way. One day, he goes to this vault to finally read alone. He sits down, grabs the newspaper and reads about a bomb potentially hitting the city. Right at that moment, he felt the tremors from the explosion. As he exited the vault, he was the lone survivor. He had no idea what to do. On the brink of taking his own life, he found the public library, with it's books still in good condition. He gathered and organized all of the books he wanted to read but he glasses broke, leaving him unable to read all of those books.

If I were to make an update to the story, I would probably make Henry a workaholic Someone addicted to work. Why is this so? Because being a workaholic deprives you of so much quality time with loved ones. You get imprisoned in your own little world. So when Henry would realize that he was the only person left, he would be constantly looking for something to work on. But obviously, this would be impossible because there would be no one to work for, and no one to work with. This would lead to him first of all, regretting being a workaholic his whole life, which would cause him a deep depression, which would eventually lead to him committing suicide (which was the ending I actually wanted, to get the idea of "time is gold" really stuck in our heads).

Mayumi Katrina B. Rix

2013-14322

A Trip to the Moon Reaction Paper

A Trip to the Moon is a 1902 silent film that revolves around the plot of going to the moon. In the film, a group of astronomers aspired to go to the moon with their newly invented space capsule.

If I were present at the first day of the screening of this film, I'd be utterly amazed. Considering I was a 1902 woman, with no knowledge of the present-day technology. This would be a great concept, for something like going to the moon could only happen in my dreams. I would've enjoyed the movie since it would give me something to aspire for and hope that one day this could come true. I would've also enjoyed the fact that it was a silent film. With silent films, though you have a general plot that everyone can understand, it also becomes sort of interactive. This is because it allows the viewers to put their own meanings to certain gestures and scenes.

On the other hand, if I were present at the first day of the screening with knowledge of the present-day technology, I'd probably first laugh at it for a bit because it would seem like everyday news for me. But after a while, it would make me realize how far we have come. Imagine that a century ago, going to the moon was inconceivable by the human mind, but now it just seems like everyday news. We have really progressed as an entire world, and the comparison between this movie and the movies we have now is just proof of such.

Mayumi Katrina B. Rix

2013-14322

All the Time (Time Enough at Last)

All the Time (Time Enough at Last) is the 8th episode of the 1st season of the Twilight Zone. It was aired on 1959 and was adapted by the short story written by Marilyn Venable.

 It tells the story of a man named Henry Bemis, a bank teller whose passion was reading book but was shunned by a lot of people, including his boss and his wife. What they didn't know was that the thing that the despised about him was also the thing that saved him.

If I could create my own adaptation of the story, I wouldn't change it, but I would create a different ending. After years of living alone, and when he lost the will to live, he would meet a kid who also survived the apocalypse. Instead of committing suicide, he celebrated because he finally have another person to live with. Also, after telling his story to the kid, the kid would offer to read to him everyday but he, in turn, would take care of the kid.

Barbosa, Camille Anne C.

2013-01010

A Trip to the Moon

A Trip to the Moon (Voyage dans la Lune) is a French silent film by Georges Melies. It was first aired on 1902. It is about a group of astronomers who, after creating a bullet-shaped space capsule and a huge cannon to launch it to space, decided to go to an adventurous trip to the moon.

If I were present during the first screening of the film in 1902, I would be really impressed. I think I would really like the movie even if it was silent, because you could still understand what the movie is all about. I also think that I would like the plot, because aside from being entertaining, it was amazing that they could think of a plot for a science-fiction movie that would be easily understood by people, considering that not everyone was aware of the (possible) advancements of science at the time. I also would like how they managed to make the film adventurous and interesting.

All in all, I would say that the movie may not be that much compared to the movies created today, but it was definitely something back then.



Camille Anne C. Barbosa
2013-01010

Time Enough at Last: The Ending (All the Time)

The episode, All the Time, is also known as Time Enough at Last. It is one of the episodes of an American television series, The Twiglight Zone. It was directed by John Brahm. It is a story of a man who loves reading books but he is surrounded by people who prevented him from doing so. Henry Bemis is a bank teller but more of a bookworm. He really loved reading pieces of literature yet there were his wife and his boss that thwarted him from reading. During lunch time at an ordinary day at work, he went inside the bank’s vault to eat and read so no one can disturb him. Minutes after reading a newspaper with a headline saying, "H-Bomb Capable of Total Destruction", there was a vast explosion outside which made the vault shake violently and knocking Henry unconscious. After regaining his consciousness, he found out that the whole city was destroyed and all the people died.  He is all alone now, with food plenty for him but no one to share. Because of despair, he tried committing suicide using the revolver he found. But then as he was about to pull the trigger, he saw the national library, destroyed, yet the books are still in good condition. He arranged the books then found the grandfather’s clock symbolizing that he can read now as long as he want, no one’s preventing him and he has all the time in the world. Then, as he is picking up a book, his glasses fell and broke, now he can’t see things clearly and all he can utter is “That’s not fair. That’s not fair at all.”

An update of the story goes like this:

He lost all his hopes after his pair of eye glasses broke. Now, he has all the things he wanted all his life, the books, the time and freedom of doing his passion, but he lost his ability to read and see things clearly because his pair of eye glasses is now broken. He tried to search for another pair of eye glasses. He can’t see things clearly so he just use his sense of touch as he search. After hours and hours of finding something he could use, he found nothing. He got tired. He is now all alone; nothing to do and his life is meaningless and destroyed. With his final cry, the flat finality of a gunshot was heard. And yes, he killed himself using the revolver he found before. 

Kimberly Pacle

2013-02319

Trip to the Moon (Reaction Paper)

The film, Trip to the Moon, is a 1902 French silent film directed by Georges Méliès. It was said that it is the world’s first Sci-film. If I would be on the first screening of the movie, which is I think 100 years ago, I would definitely be interested watching it. If I would be a person living during the time it was released, knowing that film and cinema is not that improved and developed that time, I think I would also like this film. Well, for a film done during that time, it is quite impressive on how they could finish it well. Some historians as what I have read from an article said that it is “one of the most technically innovative films up until that time.” I could say that it is purely imaginative and creative. They did a good job on having those artists who act in the film and their costumes also. I am wondering where they could have got those costumes. The story is also organized and there is a consistent flow of the tale. There is a clear transition between acts.  They also made it somewhat entertaining and put a sense of humor. Even though science is not that well developed that time, they make effort on putting significant facts in the film, making it somewhat informative. Having things like the astronomers, the space capsule shaped as a bullet and the Selenites made the movie interesting.

Well of course I also do have some critiques about the film. One thing is that, it is just like a series of photographs put into animation. I know it is a silent film but they could make it more lively and interactive. Another one is that I could not completely understand what the film wants to say. The movie has a shot of course though not in the modern way stories were told but it they should have a better way on how they could present the message of the story to the viewers. 

Kimberly Pacle

2013-02319

Time in Time

The short film is somehow hard to believe. Yes, it can happen but there’s just too much fictional stuff going on within the film. Nevertheless the concept and storyline is really something to commend about. Analyzing the movie we could see how technology was seen to be so powerful that it can wipe out an entire place in just a matter of minutes or seconds. This just shows that back then people believe that it is modern technology that could change and rewrite our whole history, society and politics. Science back then was portrayed to be the top of the power triangle.

If I were to adapt the movie to modern times, I would prefer to use a protagonist of a much younger age because I find it bizarre to see an old man still not knowing what is right from what is wrong. A teenaged boy on the other hand is a character that can be really manipulated easily because of its traits of curiosity and rebelliousness. I would change also the problem or habit of reading books into playing since for me reading is something that isn’t considered to be a bad custom instead it is a practice that everyone should consider. I would change the wife into a mother because ever since it is the mother who teaches their children moral values. .However I would retain the part where everyone vanishes and the boy would still be like Mr. Henry Bemis that realized that he already has all the time he needs to play but then comes the breaking of the glass part where he realizes that all the time that he has is useless. The boy then would wake up and realized the mistake that he has done. He hugs his mother and the movie ends.

Above all, I would highly recommend everyone to watch the video. Maybe after that most of us would realize what are the things that we should be really giving our time to. Time indeed is not gold, time is priceless so we should make every moment of our lives count. Who knows, one day we might wake up and see that everything is too late.

 Dela Cruz, Jeff Denver F.

2013-21915

Reaction paper: All the Time

                This episode of the The Twilight Zone is about Henry Bemis, a bank teller and a bookworm. His angry boss and wife complain to him that he is already wasting too much time in reading books. The next day he took lunch break in the bank’s vault and there was a sudden explosion making him the last man on Earth. The story ended with a tragedy because even though Henry Bemis was left with all the time and books, his glasses broke making him unable to see.

              If I were to make an adaptation of this, I would change the beginning of the story. Henry Bemis would not be addicted to books but to his gadgets. He would be using his laptop, iPad and phone all the time, even if he is in his work or at home. Then his boss and wife would be the ones telling him to get off his gadgets and read lots of books instead. And when the bomb explosions happens, Henry Bemis and all the people, including the boss and his wife, would be saved. Only the gadgets will be destroyed, making Henry Bemis switch his attention to books.

                I do not want this to happen in real life because that would be sad.  But I chose the gadgets to be destroyed rather than the books and other things just so that the real story would have a happy ending. 

Regina Alyssa L. Bargola

2013 - 68055

Reaction paper: A Trip to the Moon

                A Trip to the Moon is a 1902 French silent film. It is about a group of astronomers discussed and agreed on how to travel to the moon. They build a space capsule shaped like a bullet and landed safely on the moon. They faced and captured Selenites, alien inhabitant of the moon, and went back to the Earth.

                Movies of today have really gone into technological advances. It would be easy to make all those special effects as Computer-generated imagery or CGI. But for the film, I can say that it has poor cinematography because it is an old film. But if I were present in the first screening of the film, I would first comment on the technicality of the film, especially considering their limited technology. At that time, a colored film would be very surprising. And the fact that each shot was painted by hand is even more surprising. Its visuals were very imaginative because of the stage and camera tricks that made the film interesting and fascinating.

                Apart from the technicality of the film, the story itself would catch my attention if I were present at that time. I would be thinking that is it really possible to voyage to the moon and I would be thinking that the film is just a science fiction.

                Regardless of the time period, I can say that the film is very enjoyable and mind-blowing. It was very entertaining because it was loaded of creative ideas both in the story and in the way it was made. 

Regina Alyssa L. Bargola

2013 - 68055

Trip to the Moon?

Technology has its way of improving as years go by. The rapid development of new inventions has affected the method things are done or how it is presented to us. As time goes by the old devices were replaced with advanced gadgets. The era of handheld transceiver (more known to be as a walkie-talkie), typewriters and family computers is now replaced with an epoch of smartphones, laptops and tablets. Innovations like these do not only take place on the daily apparatuses that we use but even on the field of arts and mass communication.

A very good example is the way films are being done today than as it was before. At present we have the technology of animating objects using the power of computer. With this any visual effect that we can think of can be made possible. As for the part of the film production team, it is somehow easier for them to produce the movie with having less effort in manually drawing or painting each frame of their animated sequence.

The movie “Trip to the Moon” is one of those films that could be considered as vintage. It’s all about a group of men who traveled to the moon by being shot in a capsule from a giant cannon. They were captured by moon-men, escaped, and returned to the earth. It was created on the year 1902. Imagining how limited the technology the people only had before I must say that they really put a great effort in creating such film. The movie is in complete black and white but some says that it was already restored and was given color. The movie was purposely shown to our class in black and white which is somehow new to most us since present time movies are very much filled with vibrant colors. There were also no dialogues in the movie. The only audio that you can hear is the background music that runs for the entire film which sets the mood or emotion being portrayed in each scene. The graphics were not that clear and crisp. However, the details on each element of the movie were very precise and well created.

Improvement never ends. Technology will always continue to have advancement in terms of efficiency and quality. Comparing the way the movie “Trip to the Moon” was done to how present films are, we can say that there might come a time when movies like Cathcing Fire, Frozen or The Hobbit would be considered  to be vintage also because of the new and more advanced way of film making technology that could be available in the future.

Dela Cruz, Jeff Denver F.
2013-21915