stranger than fiction stuff

Harold Crick, in the movie Stranger Than Fiction, faces many troubles as he discovers a voice is narrating his life, telling of his inevitable death sooner than he would like. In his situation, you'd have questions too. He wants to know if he can change his fate, and tries drastically to do so, but finds out the voice is still there, and he's still doing things that will lead to his death. The only way he feels that he may actually be able to stop the narration is by contacting the author who is telling his story, and ask her to stop. After he finds her, he asks her to change his fate. She does in the end, so in some ways people see this as an indication that they can change their fate. The matter is really up to us; some believe we have this power, some don't.
Harold also wonders if he has the freedom to choose for himself, and stop the story. He tries making extraneous decisions, like doing nothing at all, but he finds out that these actions are part of the story, too. Everything he tries to do to mess up the story end up just going along with it. Harold feels defeated, and starts to accept his fate like it is, learning the lesson that even if we think we can choose for ourselves, we have no way of telling that those choices are not a part of our fate. We don't know if we're really choosing or not.
The movie Stranger than Fiction tries to address some common questions of fate and free will, but ultimately does not bring us any closer to making a firm decision on which belief is correct. The truth is, we'll never know if we make our own choices, if we can change our fate, or if there is such thing as fate. And maybe we weren't meant to find out.

Fate vs. Free Will vs. Determinism

I would like to think that everyone is in complete control of their own lives, but it has come to my attention that while we do choose our personal actions, our environment shapes these actions. Our surroundings make things available to us, and without them, we cannot just do whatever we want. Think of it this way, you are hungry, and you make a decision to eat something. But, if you happen to be in the environment of a barren desert surrounded by nothing but sand, eating isn't really an option, so you can't do what you've just decided to do. We can make decisions for ourselves, but that doesn't mean we can always follow through with them. With this in mind, I believe in free will, but with limits by our environments. If our environment allows it, we can do it. This idea seems the most plausible to me, because the concept of destiny is fishy to me. Sure, some people may believe in it, but it is impossible to prove. Who would decide our destinies? God? What if I don't believe in God? Then who decides what I am to do with my life? I'll tell you who. Me, and my environment.

battle royal

The boxing match scene represents the white man's power over the black race at the time. Whites usually had the authority to make black people do whatever they wanted, and the white blindfold that covered the fighters' eyes is a symbol for the blacks being manipulated by the white people into doing these things. The fight represents a struggle for dignity that the blacks are constantly taking part in, but by fighting this losing battle, they were in fact losing any pride that they had, rather than gaining respect. This paradoxical situation was likely what the white oppressors had in mind when they set up this boxig match. They wanted a laugh at the blacks' expense because they felt this race was inferior to them, which symbolizes slavery as a whole.

The man with enormous wings

In this story, the man with enormous wings symbolizes hope, and I think that he was indeed an angel. I think he came to the house of Pelayo and Elisenda not to bring the child to death, but rather to make them money to keep the crabs out of the house and to make the child well again. It appeared as though he meant for everything that happened to happen, because everything worked out in the house owners' favors. The angel was so patient and endured torment and ridicule just so that the couple could charge admission to see him, and therefore making a lot of money to support their child and fix their house. His purpose was to help the family at all costs, and he somewhat sacrificed himself to do so.

Cathedral

1. Explain the irony that shapes the story

At first, the narrator is apprehensive about having a blind man in his home. He seems to not understand how one would live if he were blind, or how different their lives would be, or how similar. As the story progresses, the narrator warms up to Robert and he begins to include him in his activities. When Robert asks the narrator to help him draw a cathedral, he agrees and seems to put his heart and soul into helping the blind man. After closing his eyes, he is put into the position of being blind, and still has to complete a simple task which usually requires seeing. Robert ends up teaching the narrator that seeing isn't everything, and the narrator learns how Robert learns things. While he was trying to teach the blind man about what is it like to see cathedrals, the narrator ends up learning what it is like to not see them...what it is like to have to feel them.

Podcast final draft

I believe in the importance of loyalty. I believe if you stick by your friends, family, and/or co-workers, they are very likely to do the same for you, which will come in handy one day.
In the summer after ninth grade, I was walking with some of my friends when i overheard them talking about one of my other friends who was going to start a new school in the fall, the same school that one of the girls I was with goes to. She was laughing, and asking who my friend was going to hang out with, because it wouldn't be her. Someone made an attempt to bring me into the conversation, but I simply said, "She's my friend, I'm not going to talk about her," and kept walking. It was such a little thing to say, but it made me feel good to know that I had shown loyalty to one of my good friends. Often times, someone won't realize that once she bad-mouths one of her friends, someone else listening is likely to relay her sour message to the victim in a noble act of loyalty. I think it is a quality that comes naturally to most people. As soon as we hear a slander, we immediately have an urge to tell that person. However, whether or not we act on that urge is completely up to us.
I help my friends out as much as I can, because I know they are all good people. If i try to think back to all the times a friend has helped me out, I find myself overwhelmed. My mind flies through times when a buddy has let me borrow her clothes, shared her lunch with me, helped me study for chemistry, or helped me cope with a conflict in my life. On countless occasions, my friends have shown true loyalty to me and stuck by my side, whether it was through a boring day trip to Athens to watch my brother compete in a cycling race, or when someone said something hurtful towards me. Because they do this for me, I try my hardest to be there for them, whether or not it is very convenient for me.
We can't always put ourselves first, which is an extremely tough, but valuable, lesson we all find ourselves coming to terms with as we grow up. Sometimes, it will be about me, sometimes it won't. There must be a balance when it comes to loyalty in a relationship, or else one side is likely to wane. Movies and television sometimes depict friendships where all the focus is centered on one person, and show the ruthless consequences that come with that type of "loyalty." Backstabbing, sabotage, or abandonment, anyone?
We all need people to aid us along our own ladders to success, although some are more hesitant to admit this than others. Personally, i graciously accept advice from those i trust, and know it is because of them that I am here. Without fail, I know my best friends will stay up late talking with me on the phone after something significant has happened. Without their comfort and security, I would feel alone and helpless. I would not be the person I am today without their help all throughout my life. My experiences, good and bad, with my friends have shaped me into a more honest and loyal friend, and I can't help but thank them for those, even the bad ones. Each interaction I encounter molds the way I treat my friends. So I say, stay true to those around you, because without loyal friends, we pave a vulnerable path through life.

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"Do you have one really funky sequined space suit Bowie, or do you have several ch-changes?"

-Flight of the Conchords