Cant Stop Wont Stop ( 89 - 189)

Summary:  So far in Cant Stop Wont Stop, the author introduces one of the most famous Dj's of our time, who is actually recognized as beginning hip hop, and he goes by the name of Dj Kool Herc.Clive Campbell, Dj Kool Herc, was originally born and raised in Jamaica, he was the oldest of six children, born to Keith and Nettie Campbell. His father was involved in the working class and had a job that was somewhat recognized and involved with politics, but his father was smart and did not involve himself with the 2 Jamaican political parties. His mother on the other hand wanted a better life and decided to move to America to pursue a career in nursing; she saw that the public schools were free and wanted to move their immediately. Keith on the other hand protested, but eventually went along. The children, one by one would come and slowly adapt to America. In the Bronx, where they lived, Nettie made sure to protect her children from the drugs and violence that they were surrounded by. She made sure that no one tried to stick a needle in Clives arm or trick him into buying or selling drugs or anything of that matter. Through the years, Clive became more and more comfortable, involving himself in sports and becoming very popular and even got his name from the kids always calling him Hercules. From then on Herc developed more and became one of the most brilliant Dj's alive. He had his own little technique called the "Merry Go-Round," where he would take verses of different records, play them back and then combine it and mix it with the verse of another song to make it fit. He Dj'd for many parties and even assembled his own clique of Dj's and dancers. Overtime, he developed more and became better after each party, as he got older he moved onto a more mature scene and Dj'd at clubs, started hosting his own parties and events.
Dj Herc was just one of the many Dj's introduced, another notable Dj would be Bambaataa. Born and raised in South Bronx Bambaataa was a very strong and empowering individual. He was a man that changed the world in both a musical aspect and physical, like life changing as well. He was apart of the spades gang, which does not come as a surprise because he grew up around activist, especially his mother and uncle. From the novel, Bambaataa had come along way, from being apart of an active gang to actually trying to change and shift that gang into an organization. He was somewhat like everyone else is at times, stubborn, and not trying to get help from anyone, but his trip to India and him focusing more on the bigger picture made him come to realize that the world was not what it seemed. He created the Zulu nation in hopes to recruit youths from all around so that the violence and fighting could stop. The Zulu nation was "returning the nation to an era of style, celebration and optimism." The Zulu organization may have looked somewhat gang related, but the main focus was to survive in life. To gain knowledge and teach others, to be open minded about dealing with all that walks, talks, or occurs on this earth and so on. Some people weren't for the Zulu nation, but Bambaataa made sure that all the youth in Bronx knew that the peace was here and that they were ready to move forward whether they liked it or not.

Quote: " You had some Christian groups that came around from different churches, radical reverends that came out and spoke to a lot of the street gangs. Some of us just pushed it aside. (Chang 100)

Reaction: My reaction to this quote is somewhat neutral, i don't really feel much because in a time period where there was so much activism, revolution, and violence etc. that it didn't come as a shock for me that someone would say this. Bambaataa was part of the Spades, so the whole fighting attitude did not come off as a surprise to me. Many people tried to get the youth out of gangs, but when you have that one superior feeling or the feeling that you want to conquer and take over just because you can, there's really no helping or stopping them, which is why i think that Bambaataa said that he just brushed it off. However, what did surprise me was his transition after he said that. As i read more Bambaataa was starting to have a change in attitude, he started looking deeper into the struggles that everyone had or has faced, the meaning of 'superior' and why the "white man" did what he did. Later he even won himself a trip to India and was amazed at how Blacks had their own business and were contributing just as much to the country as anyone else. As opposed to America where Blacks aren't "able to do anything." He brought his knowledge back to the Bronx and hoped to stop the violence and fighting through his organization. That transition made me happy, to see someone that didn't want help or brushed help off to actually becoming the help and creating an organization to stop the violence and reach out to kids that were in his shows was very empowering to me.

Can't Stop Won't Stop (7-89)

Summary: Can't Stop Won't stop is a novel about the history of hip hop in all areas and aspects. From hip hop legends who changed the world. The Dj's and Mc's who set out the blueprints and let the younger generation add more floors to what has become a lovely building. First starting out with the African Americans, Afro-Caribbean, and Latino families taking over the formerly known neighborhoods of the Jews, Irish, and Italian. The white gangs preyed on the new arrival of their neighbors, which resulted in beatings and running street battles. The blacks, as a form of self defense, formed their own gangs, but later their purpose started to change. It went from being only for self defense to power and sometimes just for kicks. Political organizations like the Black Panther party and the young lords competed with the neighborhood gangs for the hearts and minds of the youth. However, all of this meaning the whole world of Hip Hop started in the roots of Jamaica. Reggae has been referred to as rap musics elder kin. The story behind it runs deeper than just music, but music does play a key role in the history. Especially during the 70s, Bob Marley and the roots generation had developed after Jamaica had received its independence from Great Britain in '62. They reacted to Jamaica's national crisis, its global reconstruction, and its intensified violence and so on through music. They pulled global popular culture into the third world. Their story can be viewed as " the prelude to the hip hop generation." (Chang 23). The formation and beliefs of Rastafarian was also a key factor in this development. A popular genre in Jamaica now, reggae, was also talked about as it came into power after World War 2. The ranks of live musicians had decreased and sound systems started to take over. The sound systems, with their powerful amplifiers, democratized sound pleasure and leisure by making dance entertainment available to downtown sufferers and strivers. Also played a key role in politics, as Jamaica's Labour Party and National party fought for dominance and the stress that came from that had people turning to music; the melodies were " like political polls set to melody and riddim." Which showed that politics was involved in music and artists expressed their stance on situations like this in a calming way, by using music. However, in the Bronx, things were going a little bit differently. At the time of the sixties and seventies, there was a lot of violence going on and many revolutions. Different gangs and or ethnic groups were fighting to stop racism and to create a better life for the blacks and Hispanics living in the Bronx. The only problem was that everyone was for themselves, the black gangs were against the Hispanic gangs and if they weren't against them than they would be against the whites that were trying to get their land back. Soon all the violence and retaliation came to a closing as police became more involved. The NYPD's Bronx Youth Gang Task Force came and was back in business, these police officers talked to to gangs and told them that they ultimately were the biggest and most powerful gang in the city and would that they would lose. Cops even tried to join gangs but were not successful, so they went to different measures. They would arrest a group of men that they thought were too large and charge them with unlawful assembly. The gangs soon started to ease up and change was starting to occur. The peace treaty made before was starting to show progress as the leaders of some gangs like the Ghetto Brothers had been signed to a label and recorded songs. They even came out with an album that had a strong message to the world about the Ghetto Brothers and what they represented.

Quote: " If the Ghetto Brothers' dream comes true, the 'little people' will be 'little people' no more, and make their own mark in this world." ( Chang 64).

Reaction: This quote is very strong, because it came from a gang member who was going through a lot at the time. People were being killed from  left to right and the fact that they had each other to overcome the violent times of the 60s and 70s was great. However, in this message, i see the Ghetto Brothers leader talking about the "Little people" as being everyone and not just the little people in their area or town. The messages that they were sending i think summarized the hardships that they have been through, but at the same time, they try to make it out to what the other gangs have gone through as well. And the fact that they continued to sell more and more records was very moving to me because even though their records weren't number 1 or top selling they continued to make songs that people can listen to for entertainment as well as to gain knowledge about what was going. It was also empowering to look at what Afeni Shakur said about how the government was trying to destroy them because they couldn't control them and how "wars against oppression are always successful" (Chang 46). Her whole statement and mindset i think made a small connection to what the Ghetto Boys were/are doing and that was to send the message to their audience and to show the government or whoever was trying to control them that they would be successful and ultimately get their message across about fighting for what is right and showing the hardships and obstacles that they had to go through in order to become successful and equal.

Reaction to Movie

The Film version of It's Kind of a Funny Story was good, i enjoyed watching the movie, but i have to say that it wasn't as good as the book. The book put a lot of Craig's main problems into detail as well as some of the main reasons why he had become depressed. However, the movie focused on a couple of more important things that you couldn't really visualize well as you were reading. The movie as a whole focused on a lot of different aspects like the patients in the hospital, how people look at them, Craig's family and friends, Bobby's life and the enjoyment of staying in a mental hospital where no one feels that they belong. Another thing with the movie is that it didn't focus too much on Craig's life in the beginning, instead they cut straight to the point and periodically showed flashbacks of his life as he lied in his bed. The book however, started from scratch and went step by step of what changed him and explained each and every aspect of his life. The film also used a lot of zoom shots as well as medium shots which were used perfectly, especially when Bobby was talking to his family, you couldn't see his face, but you could see the body language of his wife as she was yelling and screaming. There were a few close ups and fade scenes.The close-ups were everywhere, sometimes they were there to show comedy and other times they were there to show the strong emotion that someone was feeling.There was also a lot of shot-reverse shot scenes, especially in scenes were they was dialect, mainly between Craig and Noelle, his friends, Bobby and his family. There were also a few Track shots, in the middle when Craig and Noelle were speeding down the hallway in happiness, ready to get away from the hospital madness for a day and also when Craig and Bobby had their escape day as well. The ending also had a track shot were Craig was riding in a park with his bike, but they had that whole scene at an angle so that you can physically see him riding his bike. Overall, the film was entertaining and a great way to learn about life in different perspectives. Looking at different struggles that people face really helped me and others understand that sometimes you have to just take a deep breath and be thankful for what you have and also, just like Craig said to end off a great movie, to just "Live."

Review for movie

1."Mr. Galifianakis’s is everywhere these days - the most in-demand tubby comic sidekick since the heyday of Jonah Hill, which I guess was about six months ago. Mr. Galifianakis’s Gleasonesque movements and deadpan, behind-the-beat timing serve him well in this role, as does his ability to seem completely in earnest even when his actions and utterances are bizarre or nonsensical. Bobby is credibly troubled, neither a holy fool nor an over-the-top goofball, and his moments of wisdom are as believable as his bouts of instability"

I agree with this Review from the New York times, because the film was good for Galifianakis, he fit his character perfectly and played the serious guy, but still stayed in his element as a comedian. He was able to make his condition fun and at the same time didn't show much depression. When ever he entered a room his energy and overall presence would make the mood happier and somewhat calm. He used his popularity along with his witty personality to amuse others as well as himself. With his calm, cool and collective approach to life, it was hard to see his problems, he didn't like admitting his problem and looked at his reason for being in the hospital as a joke and often referred to it as a "vacation." Overall, they made his character perfect and the cast the right guy because even though he does have a problem, through his attitude he shows viewers that sometimes you have to just live life. Even when things aren't going the way they seem and people may think your unsuccessful and a bad example, just like his wife did, you just have to keep moving and prove people wrong. He showed that he wanted to do it for himself, but at the same time he still lived life and enjoyed every single minute of it.

2."It’s Kind of a Funny Story" is an admirably empathetic movie, and as the father of a newly fledged New York high school student, I don’t hesitate to recommend it to the legions of children and parents who are fans (or who should be) of Mr. Vizzini’s book. I fear, however, that my approval is somewhat damning."

The movie is definitely a movie that i admire, I did feel somewhat sympathetic for some of the people in the hospital because people judged them and didn't even get to know them before even giving them the time of day. It was hard seeing all of these people with problems that weren't being treated like human beings. The movie didn't depict the exact inside of a mental institution, but i felt that they portrayed it better, as in happier and a little bit less depressing then a real institution might be. They showed togetherness and developed friendships throughout the film, especially with Craig and his roommate. Craig and his roommate Muqtada were very distant because Muqtada was a homeless man that had a lot of problems and did not want to ever leave his room. Over the course of his stay there Craig was able to persuade him into going beyond the room and even played Egyptian music to make Muqtada feel at home. Through his time here Craig was able to see people lives and their struggles and was able to look at his life and help himself as well as others. I agree with recommending this to others whether you're a Fan or not because this book can help you as well as others, especially family on understanding others and where they come from.

3. "As I said: I approve! But missing is the sometimes awkward, occasionally self-conscious but unmistakably authentic energy that characterizes Mr. Vizzini’s prose and also, more important, the zest and irreverence with which he approaches difficult themes. That the plot has been changed hardly matters, but the brazenness and flair of the original have been diminished."

I agree with Scott, because in the movie there were a couple of scenes that were missing that awkward moment were one does not feel confident enough to tell their problems. I saw a small scene where that happened, when Craig asked Bobby why he was in the hospital in the first place, that moment was awkward because he paused and ended up not even answering the question. I felt that there needed to be more moments like that so we can actually guess why Bobby was there in the first place. They didn't really focus too much on his life and in the end just kind of cut him out of the picture which kept me wondering whether there would be a sequel or if he just left the hospital and no one heard from him again. I also admired Vizzinni for approaching a theme like this especially when the suicide rate has been increasing, like i said it gives you a chance to look at where these people are coming from and the struggles that got them there. Also the fact that the movie was changed up a bit didn't really matter to me because the main theme and topic was still very well focused on and even brought out other themes and foreshadowed a couple of lives to show the bigger picture that i definitely didn't see in the book. The movie was original and stood out, it brought up things that you couldn't really get out of the book, like his friends attitudes towards him, his parents reaction, the turning point for Craig, Bobby and many others in the hospital was well played out during the movie and i think that Vizzini did a great job with the book and an excellent job transforming it into a movie.
　
Scott, A.O . "A Coming-of-Age Tale, Set Among the Sad." Movie Review -Its kind of a Funny Story. New York Times, 7 October 2010. Web. 23 February 2011. <http://movies.nytimes.com/2010/10/08/movies/08funny.html>.

It's kind of a Funny Story ( 304 - 444)

Summary:So far in the novel  Craig is still adjusting with everything and is getting used to the hospital and its schedule. Although he sometimes does continue to think about how he should be in school working or somewhere other than where he was now. He also takes time to try to tell his friends about where he really is, but doesn't seem to have enough courage. You can also see how some of his real friends like Aaron and Nia are actually worried, while others like Scruggs and Ronny call and leave him messages about pot. Other than that he has gotten along better with his roommate Muqtada and even got him to come out of the room. He even introduces Solomon to Muqtada and Muqtada feels honored because after 17 days the "Jew" has finally spoken to him. With all the friendships and happiness going around, Craig gets a call from his principal and immediately hangs up. He's still in the in denial mode and doesn't want people to judge him or lose his chance of going to his dream school and becoming successful. Craig stresses so much about this school and lets out his frustration while talking to Dr. Minerva. He's very angry and when Dr. Minerva asks why not another school, that's when everything comes out. Craig talks about how he wasted a year studying to get into that school and this is where he ends up. And how he doesn't want to be crazy anymore, that he only wants to be a little crazy and only wants to be in a place like this to volunteer and never wants to come back again. The doctor sees that he's getting better and wants to fix himself. For the rest of the time, Craig forgets about everything else and focuses on whats happening now, which was him in the hospital getting better. He even brings out the hidden artist in him and draws a brain map, he gets his musical talent on and even gets enough money to have a pizza party and even finds Muqtada his favorite music. He gets his father to buy Egyptian music and once Muqtada hears the music he is up on his 2 feet and out of the room once again, but this time completely. He even starts dancing and everyone else starts to have fun and enjoy. That's when Craig suddenly realizes everything and comes back to life. He questions his thoughts on killing himself and even helps someone other than himself. Upon his departure, Muqtada even Thanked him and told his parents that he was a good boy and that he helped him. This was probably a great overall experience for Craig because he developed so much in 5 days. Before he would look at Muqtada as if he were an alien, but now Muqtada and Craig are close friends, hugging, and wishing each other good luck. Craig was able to help himself when he felt that no one else could. The hospital, patients and doctors showed him the way and he completed it. He was also able to see life in a different perspective and at the end of the day was able to see how much value it had to it. From Bobby, to Noelle, Muqtada and more Craig was able to grow as a person and met people that weren't afraid to be different and accepted themselves. Craig was also able to accept his condition and learned how to control it and become stable. Now as he leaves he knows what to do in order to keep his dream going and that is to just live do everything and stop thinking about it. Like Vizzini said "Live for real," don't live in a dream, make the dream a reality and be yourself.
Quote: "My brain doesn't want to think anymore; all of a sudden it wants to do" ( Vizzini 443)
Reaction: This is great news because this is towards the end where Craig expresses how he feels now and how hes not thinking about bad things or hardly anything at all, instead hes just doing them. Hes eating, breathing, running, drinking and more. He doesn't throw up anymore instead he releases his waste and enjoys life as a whole. He talks about reading, making maps, talking to people, riding his bike, taking tests, getting to school and more. He goes on about all the things that he has done and/or is going to do and highlights the enjoyment of life. For example, at the end he talks about how you shouldn't give up your life because you can actually help people like Bobby, get people books or music that they want to hear, volunteer at Six North (the floor of his hospital), help people like Muqtada, show them how to draw, make maps and more. He's basically showing how there is so much to live for and that you shouldn't waste your time thinking about ways to end such a beautiful thing because you really don't know how much you can change. He ends of the novel with telling Craig to live, and that's what i think the main goal was and that was to live. People constantly say that life is too short, so the best way to make it interesting and fun is to just live in it. Be active, socialize, go out, have fun and don't spend a minute second guessing yourself or what you want to become. Its your life and you get to live it the way you want.

It's kind of a funny Story (151 - 304)

Summary: So far Craig has been talking more and more about his problems and we are able to see the roots and the beginning of his downfall. He opens up more once he has checked himself into the hospital and reminisces about how he worries that being "this way" has affected him and wishes that he would just get better and move on to becoming successful. He starts to feel better and feels good knowing that the hospital will help him. After talking with Dr.Barney about his family and the strong support from his sister, Dr. Barney even admitted to himself being depressed and when asked how he become successful and most importantly better, he told Craig that he helped himself by taking the medications and seeking help. Craig felt more confident and even admitted to the fact that he knew he wasn't crazy and that he just needed help, which showed the transition from being down on himself to actually believing that he could help himself and fight this depression. After settling in the hospital and getting papers signed and calling his mother to tell her the news, Craig meets Bobby, one of the adult patients there, and instantly they become friends. Bobby gives him a tour of the place and lets him in on the kinds of things they do there and his personal reflection on the treatment towards patients. Craig also has a chance to meet his new roommate Muqtada, although they did not get along well, due to the fact that he sleeps/lies in his bed all day did not affect Craig much at all.  At Lunch Craig gets more situated and talks to more of the men about his reason for being here and is even invited to sit down with some of the girls which got him a little excited because he had a small thing for a girl named Noelle. As his time moves slowly Craig starts to get use to everyone and their "conditions" as well as their habits and faces them as if they were easy homework problems. He isn't quite used to the whole mental institution life and is a little ashamed because he thought that his friends would judge him and think that he was crazy. Slowly Craig is starting to develop, for the 5 days that he has here, they're going to make sure that he does and that he does not try to drift away from the main focus, and that's getting him better and stable.


Quote: " If you had to take insulin and you stopped, and you were taken to the hospital, wouldn't that make sense?" (Vizzini 240)

Reaction: This quote makes a lot of sense because it was said to Craig by Dr. Mahmoud as Craig argues about the hospital not being the right place for him. He feels that he does not belong and has second thoughts about his condition and does not feel that this is the way that it should be cured. However, Dr. Mahmoud comes back at him and lets him know that the hospital is her to help and it is not here to cure you, but to make you stable again.  However, Craig still does not seem to be convinced and turns on to his depression again and tries to convince Dr. Mahmoud that depression is like a stage in life and that it is something you have to deal with; that it was "one way of coping with the world" (Vizzini 240). This shocked me because Craig was going back to his old self and looking at being miserable as a way to live and to just handle all of the crazy things that go on in the world. To me it seemed like he was drifting away from the main concern and that was the fact that he wanted to kill himself. Craig was being controlled by the condition he was in and judged almost everyone in the room except for looking at himself and actually seeing that he does relate to half the people in the room. Instead of doing that he's doubting himself and his wise decision for checking himself into the hospital and seeking help for himself.

It's Kind of a Funny Story. (1-151)

Summary: It's Kind of a Funny Story so far has introduced a couple of main characters. The novel first starts off with Craig,the main character, who right off the bat tells us that he is struggling with depression. With no hesitation he stated " Its hard to talk when you want to kill yourself" (Vizzini 1). Craig in the beginning of the novel seems very troubled and helpless. He has a small Circle of friends that he likes to smoke with as way to relieve stress but as the novel goes on he reminisces about how he used to be and how his depression wasn't so apparent. Craig was very studious and had a small social life. He wanted to get into one of the top schools in New York called Executive Pre-Professional High School. In order to do so he studied extremely hard for a whole year, he had stopped hanging out with friends and focused more on the exam. He eventually finds out that he does get into the school and celebrates with one of his new friends Aaron. From what i had saw in the Novel, Aaron was one of the main reasons why Craig started smoking in the first place, although it was a stress reliever you can also see how it was affecting him. He is also having problems with adjusting to his best friend going out with the girl of his dreams; constantly talking about how much they have fun together isn't the easiest way for Craig to deal with their relationship. Overall, there's a lot going through his mind and he is trying to figure it out one step at a time, with the help of his friends and their "way" of relieving stress, Craig is somemwhat convinced that he is getting better, but has his doubts from time to time. His friends don't notice much, but Aaron does see small changes in Craig's life and questions his meaning of happiness. He was ecstatic about getting into the High School of his dreams, but had a difficult time adapting to the new school. While talking to the doctor at the clinic, Craig explains that some of his suicidal thoughts come from the stress at school. He feels that he cannot even compete because everyone is smarter than he is and that is what has been bringing him down. While there he also talks about the support from his sister, he says that his little sister is always there and how she "Cares" and wants him to get better. However, when talking about his parents he's more down about them and says that they didn't waste any of their time and that it was just a chemical imbalance. How they would sign all the forms given to them in order to get him better, but it seems that they're not really focusing on whats wrong with him altogether. It seems as if they're looking at his condition as a cold or a fever and by giving him a bunch of medicine he will get better in an instant. Which I think is a key factor in Craig's depression.

Quote: " I thought...you haven't really lived until you've contemplated suicide. I thought like it would be good to have a reset switch like on the video games, to start again and see if you could go a different way." (Vizzini 102)

Reaction: This quote is very true and i was somewhat surprised that I was able to see exactly what he was talking about because i pictured it in a different way. From my view Craig is saying that you've never really lived until you face your fears and are suddenly not afraid anymore. In this case Craig, i believe is afraid to kill himself, but wants to know what it feels like, but the only problem is once you do it there's no turning back. Which is why he looked at and wanted life to be like a video game where you can just press restart and start the game all over again with a whole new plan. For me, i think that everyone feels that way from time to time, especially when they make a huge mistake, they just want to start over and forget about everything and avoid the mistakes that they made the first time.