Monty Python

1. About Monty Python

An Anglo-American comedy troupe that became widely known in the late 1960s and 1970s for its irreverent, fast-paced television series. The show featured skits, such as the “Ministry of Silly Walks,” and highly original graphics. The members of the group included Graham Chapin, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin.

Works Cited （参考文献）

"The Definition of Monty Python." Dictionary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 July 2016.〈http://www.dictionary.com/browse/monty-python〉

2. Representative Sketch

The Ministry of Silly Walks is a compilation of walks that are performed within a strange, weird and “silly” way that allows others to view it in a humorous fashion. This was first noticed within the Monty Python show performed by John Cleese which was viewed in a universal positive response upon other resulting in parodies.

Works Cited （参考文献）

"The Ministry of Silly Walks." Know Your Meme News. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 July 2016.〈http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/the-ministry-of-silly-walks〉

3. About the Performer
John Cleese was born on October 27, 1939, in Weston-Super-Mare, England, to Muriel Evelyn (Cross) and Reginald Francis Cleese. He was born into a family of modest means.he was often tormented for his height, having reached a height of six feet by the age of twelve, and eventually discovered that being humorous could deflect aggressive behavior in others. He loved humor in and of itself, collected jokes, and, like many young Britons who would grow up to be comedians, was devoted to the radio comedy show, "The Goon Show," starring the legendary Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan, and Harry Secombe.Cleese did well in both sports and academics, but his real love was comedy. He attended Cambridge to read (study) Law, but devoted a great deal of time to the university's legendary Footlights group, writing and performing in comedy reviews, often in collaboration with future fellow Python Graham Chapman. Several of these comedy reviews met with great success, including one in particular which toured under the name "Cambridge Circus." When Cleese graduated, he went on to write for the BBC, then rejoined Cambridge Circus in 1964, which toured New Zealand and America. He remained in America after leaving Cambridge Circus, performing and doing a little journalism, and here met Terry Gilliam, another future Python. Cleese lives in Santa Barbara, California.

Works Cited （参考文献）
"Biography." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 19 July 2016.〈http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000092/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm〉

4. My Reaction 

      A. Reaction Point - Punchline

• 定義-The culmination of a joke or story, providing the humor or climax.
• 例-Because of their dislike of finishing with punchlines, they experimented with ending the sketches by cutting abruptly to another scene or animation, walking offstage, addressing the camera (breaking the fourth wall), or introducing a totally unrelated event or character.
• 略-The animations were written by Terry Gilliam

B. Reaction Point - History

• 定義-The study of past events
• 例-Monty Python greatly innovated the British comedy style.
• 略-Pythons gave great influences to many pop cultures. In addition, the history of British comedy style is often divided into pre-Python and post-Python because of its great influence.

C. Reaction Point - Irony

• 定義-The expression of meaning through the use of language signifying the opposite, typically for humorous effect.
• 例-They dealt with the royal family, nobles, politicians, gods, religions, etc. Of course sometimes their comedies were criticized.
• 略-British people love irony and humor. Almost all of Python's member have a superior academic background. So they could make such intelligent comedies－though at first sight, those looks very stupid.

D. My General Opinion
My favorite sketch is "Killer Joke". British people thought German people were not very good at joking, so it was irony.But sometimes I cannot understand why a sketch is fun, because don't know the British culture and history very well. So if you are knowledgeable about them, you will enjoy Python's comedies.

      

Gucci 2015 Spring Summer Show

I. About the Clothing Brand:Gucci

 Gucci was founded by Guccio Gucci in Florence in 1921.With beginnings at the end of the 19th century, the Gucci^{[10][11][12][13]} company became one of the world’s most successful manufacturers of high-end leather goods, clothing, and other fashion products.

Works Cited （参考文献）

"Gucci." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 05 July 2016.〈https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gucci〉

II. About the Designer

As a teenager in the early 1900s, Guccio Gucci was a lift boy at the Savoy Hotel in London. Inspired by the elegant upper class guests and inspired luggage by companies such as H.J. Cave & Sons, he returned to Florence and started making travel bags and accessories. He founded the House of Gucci in Florence in 1921^[1] as a small family-owned leather saddlery shop. He began selling leather bags to horsemen in the 1920s. As a young man, he rapidly built a reputation for quality, hiring the best craftsmen he could find to work in his atelier.^[2] In 1938, Gucci expanded his business to Rome. Soon his one-man business turned into a family business, when his sons Aldo, Vasco, Ugo and Rodolfo joined the company.

In 1951, Gucci opened their store in Milan and two years later, the company expanded overseas with the opening of the Manhattan store.

Works Cited （参考文献）

"Guccio Gucci." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 05 July 〈https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guccio_Gucci〉

III. My Reaction

A. Reaction Point - accessory

• something such as a bag, belt or jewellery that you wear 
• Bags are most famous accessory of Gucci
• Many kinds of Gucci's bags have "Sherry Line" sometimes called "Ribbon Line". The line has green and red lines which modeled a girth of harness. Horse is symbol of celebrity.

B. Reaction Point - symbol

• A mark or character used as a conventional representation of something.
• Gucci has symbol mark "GG" mark on its many kinds of accessories. 
• From the end of the 1960s, "GG" mark which was taken from Guccio Gucci's initials has been started to use on the accessories. It became the beginning of Gucci monogram boom.

C. Reaction Point - apparel

• Clothing that serves as dress or decoration 
• Gucci is famous for bags or purses or watches, but there are also clothes, shoes, jewelry or perfumes. 
• Every products of Gucci has elegant atmosphere and gives a lady wearing it elegant  mood.

D. My General Opinionted
I have never had any Gucci product because it is quite expensive and has adult mood. Now I know Gucci's history, so have been interested in this brand.  Gucci family and Patrizia's history is really like a film, so please check that.

 

Robinson Crusoe(1954)

　

Robinson Crusoe (1954)

I. About the Film

Robinson Crusoe (Spanish: Aventuras de Robinson Crusoe; also known as Adventures of Robinson Crusoe) is a 1954 Mexican film by director Luis Buñuel, based on the novel Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. Both English and Spanish versions were produced.
On 30 September 1659, the aristocratic British Robinson Crusoe's ship sinks and he miraculously survives on a deserted island somewhere in South America. He retrieves a dog, Rex, and cat, Sam, from the shipwreck together with some supplies, weapons, clothes and tools and builds a shelter. He soon learns how to survive by cooking, farming, harvesting the crops. Then the loneliness begins to haunt him, especially after the loss of Rex. When he sees a group of cannibals in the island, tension and fear become part of his life. Later he saves the life of a savage that was going to be eaten by the cannibals; he names him Friday and they become friends. When Robinson Crusoe sees Caucasians on the island, he finds that Captain Oberzo was the victim of a mutiny and he helps him to retrieve his ship.


Works Cited （参考文献）

"Robinson Crusoe (1954 Film)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 21 June 2016.〈https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinson_Crusoe_(1954_film)〉
"Robinson Crusoe (1954 Film)." IMDb.com, n.d. Web.  21 June 2016.〈http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044386/〉

II. Versions of the Film

According to the International Movie Database (IMDb), there are ten film and TV series versions of the story. One of them, "Kasei chakuriku dai 1-gô" is set its setting in Mars. These are listed below.

Robinson Crusoe (2016)
Robinson Crusoe (1997)
Crusoe (2008) (TV Series) 
Robinson Crusoe (1954)
Kasei chakuriku dai 1-gô (1964)aka "Robinson Crusoe sur Mars"

Robinson Crusoe (2013)
Mr. Robinson Crusoe (1932)
Zhizn i udivitelnye priklyucheniya Robinzona Kruzo (1973) 
Robinson Kurûsô (1970)
Robinson Crusoe (1927)


Works Cited （参考文献）

"Robinson Crusoe" IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 22 June 2016. 〈http://www.imdb.com/find?ref_=nv_sr_fn&q=Robinson+Crusoe+&s=all〉

III. About the Lead Actor-Dan O'Herlihy

Irish-born Dan O'Herlihy decided not to follow in his father's footsteps, forsaking the life of an architect in favour of the acting profession. The tall, distinguished-looking university graduate boasted a rich, resonant voice, which enabled him to easily find work in radio plays, as well on the stage. He first came to note as a small part actor with the Gate and Abbey Theatre Players, on occasion putting his architectural qualifications to use as a set designer. His first leading role was in Sean O'Casey's play 'Red Roses for Me' in 1944. During one of his performances in Dublin, he was spotted by the director Carol Reed and cast as an IRA terrorist in Odd Man Out (1947). This, and another London-produced film, Hungry Hill (1947), resulted in good critical notices , prompting another genial filmmaker, Orson Welles, to cast O'Herlihy in the role of Macduff for his Mercury/Republic production of Macbeth (1948). While this enterprise was far from successful, O'Herlihy's rugged, bearded appearance for the Scottish play sufficiently impressed Luis Buñuel to cast him in the titular role of Robinson Crusoe(1954).He died in February 2005 at the age of 85, leaving his papers to the care of the University College Dublin, from where he had obtained his degree in architecture way back in 1945.

Works Cited （参考文献）

　　"Dan O'Herlihy Biography"IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 22 June 2016.〈http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0641397/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm〉

IV. My Reaction

A. Reaction Point - Characters

• 定義 - Characters are persons, or animals or natural forces represented as persons, in a work of film or literature.
• 例 -The protagonist is Robinson Crusoe who washed ashore a desert island and lived on it.
• 略 -He was a believer in colonialism and before washed ashore the desert island, he went to Africa to get slaves who let them work for his farm in  Brazil. Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish castaway who lived for four years on the Pacific island called "Más a Tierra" has been said to be the model.

B. Reaction Point - Setting

• 定義-The context in time and place in which the action of a story occurs.
• 例-There are lots of scenes of sands and forests.
• 略- The desert island Robinson lived is somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean on September 30, 1659. The filming location was mainly the west coast of Mexico. Exterior shots were filmed near the city of Manzanillo in the Mexican state of Colima.

C. Reaction Point - Mood

• 定義-A story's atmosphere or the feeling it evokes
• 例-This story has an idyllic mood. Robinson Crusoe didn't show any strong emotion.
• 略-Robinson Crusoe took a matter‐of‐fact attitude to living on a desert island. He looked enjoy his life instead.

D. My General Opinion
I first felt Robinson Crusoe Dan O'Herlihy played was sexy but in the latter half, I could not think so. English in this film was a little easy for listening. Sometimes I lost the story, then I checked wikipedia or other web pages for help. 

My Featured Novel

I. About the Novel: Moby Dick

Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is a novel by American writer Herman Melville, published in 1851 during the period of the American Renaissance. Sailor Ishmael tells the story of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaler Pequod, for revenge on Moby Dick, the white whale which on an earlier voyage destroyed his ship and severed his leg at the knee. The novel was a commercial failure and out of print at the time of the author's death in 1891, but during the 20th century its reputation as a Great American Novel was established. William Faulkner confessed he wished he had written it himself, and D. H. Lawrence called it "one of the strangest and most wonderful books in the world", and "the greatest book of the sea ever written". "Call me Ishmael" is among world literature's most famous opening sentences.

Works Cited （参考文献）

"Moby-Dick." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 31 May 2016.

〈https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moby-Dick〉

II. Versions of the Novel in the Mass Media

A. Movie Versions

The Sea Beast（1926）

At the beginning of the story, Ahab (John Barrymore) and his half brother Derek (George O'Hara) compete for the affections of a winsome minister's daughter, Esther Wiscasset (Dolores Costello). Meanwhile, an albino whale has been eluding harpooners, and bears the scars of many failed attacks against him. The animal's fame has reached epic proportions. One day, Ahab and Derek are on the same whaler as the whale heaves into view. Ahab raises his harpoon to kill the beast, but at that moment, Derek pushes him overboard and Ahab loses a right leg to the whale. Not long after this incident, the shallow Esther rebuffs Ahab as her suitor once she catches sight of his peg leg. Heartbroken at this turn of events, Ahab blames neither Esther nor his brother; instead he transfers blame and an undying hatred onto the whale. The following saga of Ahab's pursuit of the whale takes on the aura of a super-human quest, far beyond the proportions of its first motivation.

In the Heart of the Sea（2015）

This is a 2015 American-Canadian-Spanish biographical historical disaster survival-drama thriller film based on Nathaniel Philbrick's 2000 non-fiction book of the same name, about the sinking of the American whaling ship Essex in 1820, an event that inspired the novel Moby-Dick. It was directed and produced by Ron Howard and written by Charles Leavitt, the film stars Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin Walker, Cillian Murphy, Tom Holland, Ben Whishaw, and Brendan Gleeson.　In 1850, author Herman Melville visits innkeeper Thomas Nickerson, the last survivor of the whaleship Essex's last voyage, offering money in return for his story. Nickerson initially refuses, but finally agrees when his wife intervenes.

The story turns to 1820: a whaling company in Nantucket has refitted the Essex to participate in the lucrative whale oil trade, and 14-year-old Nickerson signs on as a cabin boy. The owners hire veteran whaler Owen Chase as first mate, though he is disappointed not to receive a captain's commission. The captain is George Pollard, an inexperienced mariner from an established whaling family who envies Chase's skill and popularity. Chase and Pollard clash, leading Pollard to sail into a storm against Chase's advice, nearly sinking the ship. The two agree to put their differences aside rather than risking their reputations by returning to port without profit, and soon, the crew kills their first whale, a bull sperm whale.

B. Animation Version

Hakugei: Legend of the Moby Dick (白鯨伝説 Hakugei Densetsu）（1997～1999）
This is an animated Japanese television series, based on Herman Melville's original novel Moby Dick. However, this adaptation used futuristic outer space as the setting, with "whales" being large abandoned spaceships instead. It aired from 1997 to 1999, albeit with a suspension of new episodes from November 1997 to October 1998. 

Works Cited （参考文献)

"The Sea Beast." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 31 May 2016.〈https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sea_Beast〉

"In the Heart of the Sea (film)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 31 May 2016.〈https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Heart_of_the_Sea_(film)〉
"Hakugei: Legend of the Moby Dick." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 01 June 2016.〈https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakugei:_Legend_of_the_Moby_Dick〉

III. About the Author：Herman Melville

 Herman Melville was born in New York City in 1819. He worked as a crew member on several vessels beginning in 1839, his experiences spawning his successful early novels Typee (1846) and Omoo (1847). Subsequent books, including his masterpiece Moby-Dick (1851), sold poorly, and by the 1860s Melville had turned to poetry. Following his death in New York City in 1891, he posthumously came to be regarded as one of the great American writers.

Works Cited （参考文献)
"Herman Melville." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 01 June 2016.〈http://www.biography.com/people/herman-melville-9405239〉

IV. My Reaction

A. Reaction Point - Character
The protagonist of this story is Ishmael but there are more attractive characters.
 ・Captain Ahab:He was more impressed. He has a strong feeling of attachment to Moby       Dick, so sometimes he became too aggressive. 
 ・A first mate Starbuck:He was always calm and sometimes remonstrated against Ahab’s behaivor. He was so cool! The coffee chain Starbucks derive from his name.

B. Reaction Point - Setting

・The latter of 19th century USA:This story is set in this age when whaling prospered.  
・Where Moby Dick was found:I do not want to say that before you read this story, but I also want you know that very much. Amazingly, Moby Dick was founded in the Pacific Ocean off Japan. 　

C. Reaction Point - Appeal
・This is an adventure story and sometimes there are the scenes that whalers battle with Moby Dick,so this story will make you thrilling.

・Some episodes come from the Bible. In addition, the character’s names ’’Ahab’’ ’’Ishmael’’ also come from the Bible.

D. My General Opinion
I have never seen whale in my life and after reading this book, I have wanted to watch whale directly even more. But more manageable one is better.