Blog 5 ~ Decisions, Decisions, Decisions...

Relating back to the idea of the “Chem 20 Factor” in Ellen Goodman’s article about an infamous course in college, I’d have to say the high school version of this course would be the plain fact that the decisions a student makes directly interprets their success in applying for college.

Whether it’s deciding what class to enroll in (an AP class or regular class), the decision to study extra hard and do well in that class, or the decision to be respectful to teachers that can possibly write a fantastic letter of recommendation, the task of student decision-making can make or break their chances of admission into the college of their choice.

On the issue of a “screening process” for students, we can claim that these decisions are this aforementioned filter, and you’d be correct in claiming that this argument is quite, well, meta. I am basically chasing my tail on this one, but the truth is, this paradoxicality (that is sort of a made up word) is quite legitimate. While everyone in the AP blogging network is undoubtedly stating the obvious, I’d like to attempt to state a more, shall we say, off the wall perspective, because Mrs. Moe, I selflessly want to save you from that monotony.

The “Just Good Enough” Factor

Pretend you don’t know anything about college admission.

Let’s just say this little “mad-libs” is how you get into college. 

You get _______ grades,

do _______ on your SATs,

volunteer for a _______ cause,

show _______ behavior in class,

exercise ________ character,

write a ________ personal statement,

& do ________ in all your extracurricular activities.

Word Bank:   Great     Good     Mediocre

Now let’s just say you can directly relate the outcome with a school on these “levels.”

Mostly or all “Great”s: Stanford, Harvard, Yale etc.

Mostly or all “Good”s: UC Davis, UCLA, UC Berkeley etc.

Mostly or all “Mediocre”s: Humboldt State, Solano Community College etc.

(Less than “Mediocre”? Oh please, you’re not going to college! But that was a good try!)

So basically what I’m trying to illustrate is the typical understanding of the HUMAN POPUATION that has not personally endeavored the college application process.

In reality, the deciding factor is the people on the admissions board. Yes, you must achieve what is necessary to go to that specified college! That in itself acts as a filter, but typically the applicants are already aware of that.  In addition to high grades, a moving personal statement, and some proof that you care about the well-being of others of the same species, there is an unspoken factor of money and status (these go hand in hand like death and taxes). No one likes to admit it because it is not fair in the least, but that’s just the way it is. Nevertheless, the only thing a student can really do is try.

Extremely hard.

The Separation Factor

But then we move into what I call “The Separation Factor”. We separate the driven students from the naturally intelligent students (I’m not claiming these are mutually exclusive), and if you’ve got both, props for you! You are one exceptional human being! Personally, I would say I have possibly the most miniscule amounts of both attributes in students at the AP level, but in admitting this, I DO have something that many others do not have, a little thing I’d like to call “modesty.” The idea that you must have a little bit of BOTH attributes to succeed has everything to do with your upbringing/genetics, which in many cases, is extremely unfortunate. And the deciding factor for who gets in and who doesn’t all comes down to the decisions you, as a student, make in high school.

The High School Factor

Now, as I am at a loss for further explanation, I will begin forcing a less pressing sub-topic out into the open. The prompt is asking what aspect in high school acts as the Chem 20 course, and to be honest, that “course” is high school.

In popular media, we understand how high school can bring out the absolute worst in everyone; we’ve got catty cliques, bullies, etc. But this is completely the social aspect. The educational aspect of high school is, well difficult to say the least. I don’t think any student is not challenged in at least a few of his/her classes. Not everyone fully understands why the curriculum must be this way, or why there is homework. In a vague sense, high school truly tests our will-power and stamina and mediates the awkward transition from child to adult.  So when you ask about what makes students succeed or fail in their educational endeavors, it is the student succeeding or failing. School is tough, let me get that straight, but no blame should ever be placed on school for a student failing. Responsibility should always remain with the student, considering there is no alternative to school (besides dropping out, I guess).

The Conclusion Factor

So in this thousand-word-essay, I explained my viewpoints on one of the most obvious topics. I did, hopefully, explain it in a weirder way than most of your students, because blogs are almost always 1 point. ONE POINT!!! But I assure you that I put in just as much effort (if not more) in composing this blog, post, entry….thing.

Well, toodles for now.

Blog 4 ~ Ryan Gosling vs. Jake Gyllenhaal: Who is the Most Valuable Player?

Ode to the compare and contrast blog. I might have known this one was inevitable, and fortunately, this topic was immensely exciting to research.

“Compare and contrast two figures from popular cinema.”

And so I began drumming up ideas and scribbling down some names. Eventually, this led me to two actors with somewhat opposite personalities but some pretty wicked similarities. Both hold very honorable accomplishments to their name, and both have plenty of room—and time—to grow. So without further adieu, let’s introduce the contenders: Ryan Gosling vs. Jake Gyllenhaal. Who is the most valuable player?

Let’s begin with pointing out the obvious similarities. Both were born within a month of each other in the year of 1980. They both have brown hair and blue eyes, one older sister, and a recent knack for playing the edgier roles. Gyllenhaal and Gosling have been referred to as “heartthrobs” and the two have devoted their time and money in promoting social causes as well as raising awareness about many crucial topics of interest. Ryan and Jake are indeed friends, and were both nominated for an Academy Award (Jake for Best Supporting Actor and Ryan for Best Actor) within a year of each other. Both lost, but moved on in their careers and recently came out with a string of movies that have relatively positive critical review.

The photographs above show Gosling on the left and Gyllenhaal on the right. While looks are valuable to the actors’ overall popularity, it may be hard to believe that looks are not, in fact, the deciding factor.

So, how are we to judge?

In finding the most valuable player, we must (you guessed it) compare and contrast on many different levels and categories.

Ryan Thomas Gosling grew up in the city of Cornwall in the easternmost parts of Ontario, Canada. His mother was a secretary and his father was a paper mill worker and both raised him and his sister in the Mormon religion. After his parents’ divorce early in his childhood, Ryan was bullied relentlessly in school. In 1^st grade, he brought steak knives to school and threw them at his tormentors leading to his suspension. While in elementary school, Ryan was diagnosed with ADHD, which eventually led to his mother homeschooling him. When he was 12, Ryan and his mother moved to Florida after landing his first role as a performer in The Mickey Mouse Club. At the age of 17, Ryan dropped out of high school and moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.

Meanwhile, Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal grew up in Los Angeles. His father is a film producer while his mother is a screenwriter. He is a descendent of the Swedish noble Gyllenhaal family, and considers himself Jewish more than anything else. Despite his privileged lifestyle, his parents required him to volunteer at homeless shelters from an early age to instill gratitude for everything life has given him. Before he was even ten years old, Jake was receiving plenty of exposure to the filmmaking industry due to his family’s close ties in the business. He graduated high school and went on to study at Columbia University only to drop out after two years to focus on his acting career.

Six years and five films later, Ryan Gosling finally reached his breakthrough role. He was cast as the male lead in The Notebook, his co-star the now very successful Rachel McAdams. The Notebook was considered a sleeper hit, claiming instant unexpected popularity and is said to be “one of the best romantic movies of all time.” After its release in 2004, Gosling was a star. His exceptional performance in the film led to critical recognition, promoting him as an actor and two years later, he won the lead role in the independent film Half Nelson. His performance landed him an Academy Award nomination, along with four other very prestigious awards, finally winning the Best Actor Award at the Spirit Awards. After a long break from the filmmaking industry, Gosling reclaimed his success in the 2010 drama, Blue Valentine. The film was an “emotionally gripping examination of a marriage on the rocks” and introduced Ryan as a much edgier actor than his previous works. The same year, he starred opposite Kirsten Dunst in an even darker drama, All Good Things, inspired by the true story of Robert Durst and his suspected murder of his own wife. This year, Ryan has starred in three movies (post-production of his 4^th) that have been box office hits. He played a cocky womanizer in his first comedy, Crazy, Stupid, Love, the unnamed lead in his first action film, Drive, and the lead role opposite George Clooney in the political thriller, The Ides of March.

Similar to Gosling, Gyllenhaal starred in his first role in the 2004 blockbuster, The Day After Tomorrow. While the “idea” of the film was popular, the movie itself fell flat. Jake then turned to a different kind of acting in his theatrical debut on the London stage. He received exceptional reviews and was even named the “Outstanding Newcomer” of the year with an Evening Standard Theatre Award. 2005 started a prolific year for Gyllenhaal, where he received critical recognition for his three films; Proof, Jarhead, and arguably his most popular work, Brokeback Mountain. Like Gosling’s The Notebook, Brokeback Mountain, was a huge milestone for Gyllenhaal’s career. While not a conventional love story, the film’s significance has been attributed to the fact that it is a portrayal of a same-sex love story. The film ended up winning four Golden Globe Awards, four British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards, and three Academy Awards. It also scored Ryan a nomination for an Academy Award as well as Screen Actors Guild and a victory for the Best Supporting Actor BAFTA. In 2007, Gyllenhaal starred in Zodiac, followed by the dark 2009 drama, Brothers, and in 2010, Prince of Persia as well as Love and Other Drugs. His last film was Source Code, which premiered in 2011. The aforementioned feature films, however, received relatively indifferent critic reviews.

As you can see, Gosling and Gyllenhaal both have an outstanding collection of achievements to put under their belt. With their careers far from expiration, they really have nothing but time to improve and grow in their craft. While Gosling is presently in the center of a whirlwind of remarkable films, Gyllenhaal has definitely trumped the previous in the award category. While Gyllenhaal slowly built his career with a slow and steady claim to fame, it only took one movie to make Gosling one of the most sought-after actors in America. This has its consequences, though, with the foreboding implications of a “tortoise & the hare” race. It is feared that after Gosling’s streak of successes this year, he will quietly fade into oblivion, doing a few mediocre films here and there. Meanwhile, Gyllenhaal seems to have completed these phases just a few years earlier, with his streak in 2005. However, his mediocre-stage is now.

While Jake Gyllenhaal is a more established actor, Gosling definitely has the potential to push much further beyond Gyllenhaal’s capabilities. Gosling did not have the means to start his career in acting at such an early age. He pioneered his own way to fame as a self-made strategist while Jake’s upbringing and connections gave him a tremendous advantage in the filmmaking industry. When it comes to the art of acting itself, with all accomplishments aside, the better actor is hard to decipher, considering the fact that opinion plays a huge role in the different styles of acting. Ryan Gosling tends to be absolutely astounding in his portrayal of very dark and serious roles while Jake Gyllenhaal is commendable at just about any genre. While Gosling adds a convincing aspect of edginess, Gyllenhaal adds a unique incorporation of his own special personality. Ryan’s natural ability, however, is known to surpass every competitor, while Jake’s acting talent is always spot-on. However, a decision is to be made.  While both are extremely successful actors blessed with a tremendous career all before the age of 30, one must be named the more valuable player.

While each wins their own little battles, only one can win the war and the scale is surely tipped in Gosling’s favor. Even though Gyllenhaal’s foundation is sturdier, Gosling’s spontaneity in blowing his critics out of the water is undeniable. His accomplishments in acclaim do not add up to Gyllenhaal’s, but we have to remember, he had a late start. His shaky childhood shaped his remarkable capacity in being so edgy and interesting to watch, and his “dark and twisty” persona makes him simply an interesting figure as a celebrity. Furthermore, we should not doubt Gyllenhaal’s potential of reclaiming his popularity, as he is an outstanding actor who still has a bright future. But there is just something about Ryan and his irrevocable charisma that makes him the most valuable player.