Quantum of Solace Faces Worldwide Competition

 

 

The new James Bond film, Quantum of Solace, was released recently bringing in a vast crowd of viewers across the United States. The film should be even bigger than its predecessor, “Casino Royal,” and finished the week at No. 2 in the box office, behind “Twilight.”

But will the film be a hit in Europe? Critics seem to think so. But other films are expected to do equally well on the continent, specifically the UK and Spain. There seems to be speculation that James Bond may not be enough to satisfy the attention spans of audiences. “Quantum of Solace” will face off against 3-D animated films “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” and Disney’s “Bolt.” The films ranked No. 4 and 3, respectively, this week in the U.S. behind solace.

An interesting question arises from all of this, “Are movie audiences slowly getting tired of the serious action films and more interested in the light-hearted animated comedies?”

Remarkable Writing: Christmas May Be Slim This Year

I found this article to be interesting since the holiday season is right around the corner and to be remarkably written.

Many parents have taken to writing to toy companies this year to convince them to stop advertising toys to their children.

Because of the economic crisis, families don’t have enough money to give their kids as many toys this year. Parents are in conflict on which toy to give their kids, and it only makes it harder when the kids see so many choices on television.

A Commercial-Free Childhood campaign is behind the letter writing, and is composed of roughly 1,500 members who have contacted the top 24 toy companies. They are not asking them to take their commercials off the airwaves, but rather to direct them at the parents rather than the kids.

The lede was one part of the article that really caught my attention:

In a season that inspires earnest letters about toys, one notable batch is being sent not by kids to Santa’s workshop but by parents to the executive suites of real-world toy makers.

It plays on the annual Christmas tradition of kids writing letters to Santa, except this time, the tables have turned.

The article also contains some quotes that I found to be very helpful in expressing the information.

“I had one parent who said she’d prostitute herself to get what her child wants,” Almodovar said. “It’s heartbreaking. They feel inadequate as parents. I try to tell them, worry about your home, your heating bill — but they’re the ones who have to look into children’s faces, the children saying ‘I want this, I want that.’”

I thought this article was exceptionally powerful in showing how heartbroken the parents felt at not being able to afford all the presents their kids wanted for Christmas.

Overall, the article was not only an interesting read, but displayed many of the qualities to make it an exceptionally written article as well.

Exceptional Writing: Coverage of the Mumbai Terrorist Attacks

Over the past several days, the news has been dominated by coverage of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. One story that especially stood out to me was posted on CNN’s website earlier today. This story gave an Indian commando’s account of what it was like to enter the hotel in an attempt to free the hostages. 

From the very beginning of the story, the writing stood out as exceptional. Vivid words conveyed images and details that made me feel as if I was watching a video of the commando’s story, through his eyes, rather than reading words on my computer screen. 

“Inside the blacked-out Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, hallways were littered with bloodied bodies.” 

This lead begins the article, instantaneously transporting the reader to the hotel alongside the commando. Throughout the rest of the story the author describes how “the sound of gunfire and explosions reverberated throughout the hotel’s atrium” and the “pitch-black halls” that the commandos navigated. The author describes the confusion of the commandos about the number of terrorists inside the hotel “were there many, or only a few who continued to change positions?”

When a crisis like this happens, people around the world want to know all of the details instantly. The job of a journalist covering such an event is to relay the information to the people. This journalist went above and beyond that duty, relaying images to the people through remarkable writing.

Vadim Isakov

Freedom of speech is not guaranteed. Americans take the basic rights we enjoy for granted because they are the basis of our government and country. People have and will do almost anything to gain these basic rights. The freedoms we enjoy came with a price that our founding fathers and Americans felt. We are lucky to have these rights, but we cannot take them for granted and forget that we live in a free nation. Many of my closet friends are from nations that do not have freedom of speech and press; they consider themselves very fortunate to be living in America.

Even though I appreciate the rights we are privileged to have, it was a shock to hear Vadim Isakov speak. A journalist from Uzbekistan, Isakov sees freedom in a simple bookstore. He stood in front of the political section and felt a rush of what freedom really means. He was not going to be arrested for reading a book.

“I felt the greatest sense of freedom,” Isakov said, “that I had never felt before in my life.”

Rows and rows of books both criticizing and agreeing with different governments: this is the ultimate freedom to a journalist from a country under a dictatorship. Isakov had been threatened numerous times by the government. It is not uncommon to be beaten up or injured if a journalist publishes content that is not agreeable with the government.

Isakov raises an important question: what is freedom? After hearing him speak about his gratitude of the freedom of the press, it makes me rethink my answer. Freedom of speech and press are so ingrained into our culture and government that sometimes we need a reality check to appreciate them. We must take pride in our freedom. Freedom allows us to pick up a book criticizing President Bush, to write a controversial article and to voice our own opinions. These opportunities are not enjoyed around the world as Isakov showed us.