...“Mr. Brooks” I chose to do my term paper on the film “Mr. Brooks.” The Plot of the Film consists of the main character; Earl Brooks who is played by Kevin Costner, owner of a successful box business, who is married to a devoted wife, which they have a loving daughter together and love unconditionally. But Mr. Brooks has a terrible secret that he has been able to hide from everyone. That terrible secret happens to be that he is a psychopathic serial killer who is known in media as the “Thumbprint Killer.” Being a wealthy, successful businessman recently honored by the Portland, Oregon, Chamber of Commerce as "Man of the Year" as well as a philanthropist no one has ever suspected him. Being unable to control his horrific addiction, Brooks gives in to his sadistic, all too real alter ego “Marshall” played by William Hurt. A pesky, voyeuristic witness “Mr. Smith,” played by Dane Cook catches him in the act of his latest crime. The rush that Mr. Smith felt after seeing Mr. Brooks brutally kill a couple he used to watch and take pictures of while engaging in sexual activities has set him on a path of destruction and he is taking all the wrong steps to get there. Then there’s the detective, “Tracy Atwood,” played by Demi Moore who has been on the case for quite some time without Mr. Brooks knowledge of it adds a few twists and turns to an already terrifying game of cat and mouse. The way the script has been written, is a “moral” one. You have a man, “Mr. Brooks” who is fighting...
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...Garth Brooks was born Troyal Garth Brooks on February 7, 1962 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Garth is the youngest of six children and was born to Troyal Raymond Brooks and Colleen McElroy Carroll. Garths father was on his second marriage when he meet and soon later Garth’s mom. From his first marriage he brought over four children. Once Troyal and Colleen were married that had two more children one of them being Garth. Garth grew up in Yukon, where as a child his family had weekly talent nights where every child was required to participate and either sing or do a skit. Garth’s mother died in 1999 from throat cancer. Garth grew up singing and performing but music was not his first love he loved sports. During his high school Garth played football, baseball and...
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...poets who have set the bar pretty high for upcoming poets. Gwendolyn Brooks poems present different voices and characters in each poem she writes. Each is encountered with different problems she found important or controversial that she usually has witnessed take place in her own life. Brooks demonstrates different voices depending on which topic shes discussing in the piece and what character she feels would portray the topic the best. Gwendolyn Brooks was born in Topeka, Kansa, but then moved to Chicago at a very young age. She grew up with very supportive parents who always pushed her to try her best, and although they were not the wealthiest family, they stayed positive and very close. When Brooks was old enough to attend high school she attended 3 different schools. Hyde Park High School, which was the leading white school in her city, then she transferred to an all black school, Wendell Phillips, and lastly, the integrated Englewood High School (“Blacks”.)...
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...Rap Culture in Comparison to the Tone of Hughes and Brooks Today it is hard to get into a car and turn on the radio without hearing a song about money, sex, or fame. Modern day rap culture tries to force those three things on our population through their music and lyrics. They have changed many people’s perception of the perfect life through their tone, music, and lyrics. Many poems help express and can relate to the tone of the modern day rap culture. The tone in the poems, “Red Silk Stockings” by Langston Hughes, and “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks, can be tied to the tone in rap culture and express many modern American values. Rap culture in the twenty first century has exponentially grown and in turn has influenced daily American live. Today, everyone is exposed to this new rap culture that is developing everywhere. Rap culture started in about the 1970’s in New York City (Sullivan). In those days rap was about everyday life and race but has greatly change since then. Rap songs these days are all about sex, money, drugs, women, cars, and practically any material thing. Many songs talk about how rich the rappers are and the extravagant ways they live. Most songs in rap culture have poor grammar and language. These songs are crude and talk about women only as sex. The view points of modern day rappers are extremely clouded because of what they talk about and how they live. The tone of the Hughes and Brooks poems help to show the tone and expression of modern day rap culture...
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...It is evident that the poem “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks (1960) is a group of school age kids that are living on the “edge” so to speak. They leave school to go play pool, drink, and just be carefree with no concern of their education or their safety. Brooks (1960) used the words, “We Sing sin. We Die soon” which implies that they will die at an early age because of the life style they live it suggest they are living day by day on the street. The tone and irony are two literary devices used in this poem. The tone in the beginning is somewhat uplifting, but then quickly becomes saddened at the end when death is suggested. The other would be irony which is used many times throughout the poem. Brooks (1960) uses “SEVEN AT THE GOLDEN SHOVEL”, to set the scene of the poem. The word seven and golden usually implies lucky and money. The irony used: a pool hall would not normally be golden, it is usually very dark and a shovel usually brings hard work to mind and they are using a pool stick that doesn’t require any hard work. Just fun and games. The literary devices chosen implied that they have no real direction in their lives and no concern what so ever of their education or even themselves. Listening to the poem read aloud gives a whole different meaning in my thoughts and is so beneficial. Gwendolyn Brooks gives an introduction of the reading before she reads the poem aloud and explains why she wrote the poem. She saw these boys in passing of a pool...
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...Brooks Brothers - the arbiters of all things preppy introduced a style of suit in the 1950s which was markedly different in cut from the English suits then being worn by East Coast establishment figures. The Brooks Brothers "Sack Suit," also known as the Ivy League look, was boxy, not fitted - straight up and down, not tailored at the waist. The shoulders were softer and narrower, not as stiffly padded as those in upright English models. The jacket was relatively short, particularly by today's standards, and had one centre vent. This comfortable if unsexy suit became the uniform of the American businessman, and it definitely influenced Italian designers, who also produce loose and less stiffly constructed suits. However, there are so many variations in suit design these days, across all national borders, that it is hard to identify one particular national style. Brooks Brothers probably still makes these square 1950s-style suits. I wouldn't know - ask your dad. Double-Breasted Suits These always seem dressier to me, and flashier, than other suits. They are often favoured by portly men, as their uniformly cylindrical silhouette camouflages the bulbous figure. But I think they look slick on slender men, too, particularly if they are fairly fitted. Here's the tricky thing to note about doublebreasted suits: the number of buttons varies. Again, the more modern the suit, the higher the buttons will go, and the less shirt-and-tie will be exposed. There ...
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...Nevertheless, due to the many serial killers that plague this country, they have come from a very unstable background mostly during the childhood years. Within this essay I would like to discuss not only what has been learned throughout the semester but also bring to light the possible reasons as to why serial killers kill and why society has such an enormous fascination with them. According to the dictionary a serial killers is a person who commits two or more murders at different times. Serial killers are extremely intelligent and some have most likely obtained a degree of some sort. This sort of intelligence is evident in Mr. Brooks, Dexter, silence of the lamb and perfume. All of the main characters in both the films and novels are very intelligent. They can also be well-respected individuals like Hannibal Lecter who was a psychologist, and Mr. Brooks who was a businessman with a family. They are difficult to detect and that is the purpose, they blend in with society. We all know the many serial killers now, but why? Why did they become serial killers? Many serial...
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...movie Herb Brooks is setting goals before he even gets the job. After all the years of embarassment play by the U.S.A he felt a new strategy and outlook was needed. He wanted to implement a hybrid of the Russians and Canada to change the way they played. Goal setting is important even for a coach so they challenge themselves as well as the team. Coach Brooks in the beginning had to overcome the doubters to show the committee he was not just another coach and wanted to do it all his way. He chose the team and set his roster without the approval of the council. He took the players he wanted and worked them harder than ever before. From the beginning there was a lot of sport socialization were players from same universities stuck together. You had rival universities from Minnesota, North Dakota Boston University and UMass. Coach Brooks chose his team without consulting any advisors and explained to his assistant as “I’m not looking for the best just the right ones’. This was one of the ways he was looking to change the team. Two rivals on the team get into a fight. Before this you could see how this affected one of the top stars who had the issue. You can see how the fight early on between the two rivals helped to end the disparity and let them get back to the hockey. This helped their team building so they could perform and concentrate on the game. Herb Brooks “Skating, passing, flow creativity, this is what this game is all about not old rivalries”. Coach Brooks works the team...
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...In his first chapter "The Shift" Brooks believes that Americans have become self-centered. He tells us that this leads to selfishness and pride and praises a more humble approach to life and living. He reminds us that we are all built from "crooked timber", which our character must be built from the flaws that are an integral part of our lives. Brooks begins to give us historical examples of people who built model lives from their "crooked timber". He starts with Frances Perkins, who was a trusted advisor to Franklin Roosevelt and his Secretary of Labor for twelve years. Perkins is humble, highly competent, hardworking, and genuinely interested in the welfare of other people. He states that "She is willing to surrender the things that are...
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...2015 Tarnished Gold Chicago poet Gwendolyn Brooks was the first African- American female poet to win the Pulitzer Prize and went on to serve as the U.S Poet Laureate from 1985-1986. Among Brooks’ many works is the short poem; “We Real Cool” which sums up the reality that youths will have to face if they lose school. “We Real Cool” was written during the Civil Rights Movement in 1959, a period of great segregation. In 1954 the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to segregate schools in the case of Brown vs Board of Education, however segregation was still prominent in society and this frustrated many African- Americans. Aside from separation, the effects of Segregation caused a lot of black youths to lose sight of their role in society and what it meant to have a bright future. By being told that they do not belong numerous times, being victims of prejudice and being treated as inferior they began to impact their outlook on life. Consistently being told that they have no future led youths to believe that it was nothing more than a false pretense, as seen in the boys who seem to be struggling with identity. Anyone who has ever played hooky can relate to “We Real Cool”, instead of attending school seven young men decide to hang out at a bar and play pool. Brooks is attempting to send a message through her poem and she accomplishes this through the use of symbolism and word choice. According to Gwendolyn Brooks, one day as she was walking through her Chicago...
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...Op-Ed Columnist The Odyssey Years By DAVID BROOKS Published: October 9, 2007 There used to be four common life phases: childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age. Now, there are at least six: childhood, adolescence, odyssey, adulthood, active retirement and old age. Of the new ones, the least understood is odyssey, the decade of wandering that frequently occurs between adolescence and adulthood. Skip to next paragraph [pic] David Brooks The Way We Live Now During this decade, 20-somethings go to school and take breaks from school. They live with friends and they live at home. They fall in and out of love. They try one career and then try another. Their parents grow increasingly anxious. These parents understand that there’s bound to be a transition phase between student life and adult life. But when they look at their own grown children, they see the transition stretching five years, seven and beyond. The parents don’t even detect a clear sense of direction in their children’s lives. They look at them and see the things that are being delayed. They see that people in this age bracket are delaying marriage. They’re delaying having children. They’re delaying permanent employment. People who were born before 1964 tend to define adulthood by certain accomplishments — moving away from home, becoming financially independent, getting married and starting a family. In 1960, roughly 70 percent of 30-year-olds had achieved these things. By 2000, fewer than 40 percent...
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...and awed at the telling. This essay we will look at Terry Brooks’ The Sword of Shannara. Brooks’ work is done in the literary art form, but how does his work relate to our world view of myth? What is used in his work as mythic symbolism? Is it modern myth or old myth presented in a new light? These questions will be addressed in this essay. In the Sword of Shannara, Brooks takes the reader into world that resembles ours today, but is indeed very different. Brooks weaves a tale that could be seen as a past long forgotten or a look into the future, where mythological creatures are no longer myth, but living breathing beings that coexist in the human world. The myth in his work is not the characters he has created, but the legend and tale of an ancient sword, which symbolizes the truth that not all beings can accept about themselves. Brooks’ tale parallels the everyday life and thoughts that exist in the world today, but outside of the normal bounds that one would be used to. Common across myth throughout time and seen here again in Brooks’ work. Brooks introduces the young man who is on a quest, but with a twist. The birthright that this young man is to claim is not a throne, but a legendary sword, that has become myth in the world in which he lives; also we have the ever present struggle between good and evil. The themes found throughout Brooks’ work parallel that of myth throughout time. Brooks like Tolkein uses mythic symbolism throughout his work; not...
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...Writing about Literature –Com 1102 September 28, 2011 “We Real Cool” “We Real Cool” is a very short poem that can have a different meaning and theme depending on the reader. I did some background information on Gwendolyn Brooks, the author of this poem, and I realized that knowing some of her background information really helps the reader. By knowing this information the reader can understand and appreciate her poem and its message. During a public reading Mrs. Brooks is known for saying, “I wrote [We Real Cool] because I was passing by a pool hall in my community one afternoon during school time, and I saw, therein, a little bunch of boys – I say there in this poem, seven – and they were shooting pool. Instead of asking myself, “Why aren’t they in school?” I asked myself, ‘I wonder how they feel about themselves?’ and just perhaps they might have considered themselves contemptuous of the establishment…” (Shmoop Editorial Team) This quote helps the reader understand the thought process of Brooks and helps define the general message of how the boys were wasting their time. “We Real Cool” has astoundingly only a subtitle and eight lines. The first sentence we read which is the subtitle says, “The Pool Players. /Seven at the Golden Shovel.” (860) Brooks starts the poem by introducing seven pool players at a local pool hall called the “Golden Shovel”. (860) I found the name of the pool hall intriguing because it means much more than a shovel that is gold. Gold can imply the...
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...Case 1: Miracle Case Study Coach Herb Brooks is an exemplary leader who was decisive to the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team winning the gold medal. In this movie, Kurt Russell plays Herb Brooks, the US team coach whose hard-nosed approach turns a group of undisciplined college players into an extraordinary and inspiring hockey team. Coach Brooks uses many characteristics that describe his approach to leadership. First characteristic would be that Brooks was very inspiring which is a positive characteristic and is consistent with TLC’s characteristics of exemplary leaders. Coach Brooks inspires confidence in his team by presenting a convincing game plan for beating the Soviets by showing the U.S. team complete faith that they can beat them. Brooks has a very inspiring speech before the Russian game by saying “if we play them ten times they might wine nine. But not this game. Not tonight. Tonight we are the greatest hockey team in the world!.” The U.S. team was very inspired and regardless of how intimidating the rival team was, Coach Brooks was able to carry his group of players all the way to Gold Medal. Other characteristics that describe Brooks are intelligent, determined, and very ambitious. Coach proves at the end of the movie that he was indeed intelligent and that his game plan was credible all along. He didn’t have many believers initially, but he sure proved the world wrong. Coach Brooks is not your typical coach; he uses many different approaches to build his team by making...
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...Gwendolyn Brooks. The three elements that I found interesting in this poem will be reviewed. The elements are image, tone, and symbol. I will explain how these elements affected my response to the poem all together. In addition also explain my reaction to the contents of this short poem. Along with clarifying if these elements caused me to focus on just one aspect of this poem over other poems. When I first read this short poem. I was baffled as to what it meant. I reread it several times and still cold not comprehend what it meant. Then I listened to the We Real Cool speech given by the author of The Pool Players Gwendolyn Brooks. She goes on describing how she was inspired to write this poem. Brooks goes on to explain how one day she was walking in her community one afternoon during school time. As Brooks was passing by a pool hall she saw a seven little boys shooting pool in that pool hall. “ Seven boys in a pool during school time. The pool players, seven at the Golden Shovel”, (Flynn, Richard, 2000, "The Kindergarten of New Consciousness": Gwendolyn Brooks and the Social Construction of Childhood). Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2901386. “ Brooks goes on to explain instead of asking herself, why are they not in school? She asked herself , I wonder how they feel about themselves? Did they consider themselves to be contemptuous of the pool hall? Brooks goes on to describe that it was the month of June. A month everyone loves”,(, Gwendolyn Brooks , 1960, The...
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