Blackbird // The Beatles

three symbols:
    -broken wings
    -sunken eyes / learning to see
    -night, darkness

The symbols could be interpreted to tell how the song is about the civil rights movement and the struggle for freedom and expression during the period. 'Broken wings', while not literal, could refer to oppression that people faced at the time. 'Sunken eyes' and 'learn to see' represents the hope for all people to be seen as equals. The reference to night could represent the future that lies ahead: for many people, the years around 1968 were uncertain, but through the lyrics 'you were only waiting for this moment to be free,' it's hoped that an opportunity is coming soon.

Shame // The Avett Brothers

The subject of the song is a relationship that ended badly, and the tome is remorseful. The word 'blame' in the song conjures up the image of more than one person being involved in a situation and that someone was a fault for what happened. It's obvious that the author feels bad, but how bad? The author speaks of 'boatloads of shame', which is a more elaborate way to say 'a lot.' Also, the author talks about his personality and his heart, which was 'posing to be as warm as yours.' This also adds to the tone of the piece, telling how he was colder than her, but in a figurative sense. The differences might have been what caused the relationship to end, but he wishes it wasn't that way.

"Love Language" - what is the purpose if the film? is it effective? what feeling are you left with and why? 

the main purpose is to raise awareness and portray how people with conditions like deafness are still human, just like the people who are watching the film. by involving the audience and getting the viewer to focus more on the exchanges and communication between the two characters. there are a few hints that the woman is deaf, but the audience might not notice. when it is finally revealed, the audience is convinced: someone with a disability is pretty much the same as everyone else and should be treated as such. one of the main things that I see is the idea of unconditional love and acceptance of a person, something that more people really need to understand. also, what if the two ended up together? what would the inside of their house look like? sticky notes everywhere? 

opener // 9.5.12

Harry Nilsson: Good Old Desk

S- a song about a desk that the narrator likes very much. the desk could be a symbol for something else, because it seems silly to write a song about a desk and have it be just that.

N- the writer of the song, who might be inclined to prefer the familiarity of his own desk over any other one. which most people can relate to. 

A- the people listening to the song. the audience might take the symbolism of the desk literally, or they may have their own views about the song and it's meaning. for some, it's a person, or an activity.

P- Nilsson, as the writer of the song, might have wanted to just say what he thought, without having high school students pick it apart. the audience can follow his lead by finding their own meaning and identifying with the idea that the song presents.

so what it if is about god? (three lyric examples)

-'keeping my hopes alive' - refers to how people find hope in religion

-'never seen it tease, always there to please me' - refers to how god is seen as fair, kind

-'isn't picturesque' - god might not be seen, but the narrator has faith in what he can't see

opener // 9.4.12

painting: 'the pinch of poverty'

S- poverty and family. there is a mother and her three children on a street corner selling flowers in the rain.

N- the artist (narrator) shows the people in the painting as looking unhappy and tired, mainly because of their  situation. the bright flowers show, however, that the artist believes that even in poverty, there are a few bright  things in life. (more on that later)

A- the audience would be anyone who sees the painting, but mainly the upper class, as they are the most likely to be patrons of the arts.

P- based on the audience and the subject matter, maybe the painter was meaning to make poverty more visible and understood in high society.

2 elements:

• color- the mostly neutral color palette and the way that the people blend into the background contrasts with the bight flowers that the girl is holding. this contrast could have been used to illustrate that the poor do have some things in common with most people: they enjoy and value the small sparks of color in life, and that their life isn't always bad.
• spacing- the way  that the girl is stepping forward, away from the rest of her family could represent how she has responsibility and independence to sell flowers and to help support her family.