I Can Do Bad All By Myself

Medea and Madea: What do they have in common? I mean it. Regardless of whatever impression he gives in his movies, Tyler Perry is a smart man from New Orleans baby! WOO! NOLA REPRESENT! There must be a reason that he chose the name Madea. Discuss.

"Without Me" by Halsey is Medea's hype up song?!?!?

Found you when your heart was broke
I filled your cup until it overflowed
Took it so far to keep you close (Keep you close)
I was afraid to leave you on your own

These are the opening lyrics to the song "Without Me" by Halsey. While we were discussing Medea in class the other day, the song popped up in my head and I realized Halsey's song relates directly to Medea's story. Verse 1 (shown above) reminds me of when Medea and Jason first met. She did everything in her power to help Jason get the Golden Fleece.

I said I'd catch you if you fall (Fall)
And if they laugh, then (bad word)' em all (All)
And then I got you off your knees
Put you right back on your feet
Just so you could take advantage of me

Onto the pre-chorus... This is when Medea finds out Jason completely used her to get the Golden fleece, made babies with her, then peaced out just to do the same to another woman but this time to get a better title.

Tell me, how's it feel sittin' up there?
Feelin' so high, but too far away to hold me
You know I'm the one who put you up there
Name in the sky, does it ever get lonely?
Thinking you could live without me
Thinking you could live without me
Baby, I'm the one who put you up there
I don't know why (Yeah, I don't know why)
Thinking you could live without me
Live without me
Baby, I'm the one who put you up there
I don't know why (Yeah, I don't know why)
Thinking you could live without me
Live without me
Baby, I'm the one who put you up there
I don't know why (I don't know why, yeah, yeah)

And lastly, the chorus. When I see this part I picture Jason on a levitating throne in a King's robe and crown while Medea's brewing up a plan. She's telling Jason, "Enjoy your throne because you won't have it for long." "Thinking you could live without me," in other words, "I'm planning on killing you... and our offspring."...dun...Dun...DUN...

Medea so far......

My overall question for y'all in this blog post is ..... Do you like or dislike the character Medea as of right now (before finishing the play)? Personally, I feel super bad for her because of the whole Jason left her for the new Princess of Corinth situation. Also, he kind of just left her there to support herself and their two sons without his help at all. He just left to make a new life for himself and doesn't even look back to his family he has already made. So, I like her and feel bad for her in that sense. But on the other hand, I don't really like her plan. I don't think killing Jason, Kreon, and the Princess will get her very far or solve any of her problems. I mean she was already supposed to be exiled but she begged for one more day and she got it. So she already is not on Kreon's "good side." Her plan is to kill them on this day and have her revenge. Not the smartest idea but I guess she is so in love she didn't know what else to do. So, what do y'all think about Medea as of right now?

Links for Oedipus and Medea

Plays are meant to be performed, so I have put links for Oedipus and Medea for you to watch if you choose to do so. Mind you, the translation is not exactly what is in our book because translation is an art, not a science. Oedipus uses the classic greek masks to indicate character while Medea is simply actors traipsing about the stage. Enjoy

Oedipus Rex
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TonLOAkc1OY

Medea
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNiriEzx5ss

Trump & Oedipus (Co-Authored by Brandon & Andrew)

       In July, President Trump spoke to Ukrainian President Zelensky and strongly implied that US aid would be withheld until such time as the Ukrainians investigated Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden. In August, a whistle-blower within the Intelligence Community filed a complaint that the Inspector General found to be credible and urgent. Two weeks ago, a formal impeachment inquiry began in the House of Representatives, and the unofficial transcript of the phone call was released. Last week, Rudy Guiliani, the President's personal attorney, was subpoenaed by the House of Representatives, and the President asked the nation of China to investigate the Bidens. 

       In Oedipus Rex, we see a monarch that is both insecure and overly confident. These factors combine to bring about his downfall. We see these same factors at play in the current scandal. The President acted similarly to Oedipus and chose to act off of his insecurities by asking a foreign government to dig up dirt on a political opponent. He then responded to the fallout of this action by acting overly confident, releasing the transcript of the call, and prompting other governments to interfere in the election. Much like Oedipus, this fatal combination of insecurity and over-confidence may lead to the President's downfall. 

Sources:

https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2019/oct/03/timeline-trump-impeachment-inquiry/

https://intelligence.house.gov/uploadedfiles/20190812_-_whistleblower_complaint_unclass.pdf

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uyWKAGgHIqDEORgjOyo0uq7JOXzhxOQf/preview

LAST MINUTE!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mScdJURKGWM

CLICK thE LINK ITS A SONG ABOut oeDIPUS! WE READ THAT BOOK! MRS. KING IM TRYING!

THE JOKER

I am going to give the most basic of plot overviews to start off my post so that I don’t spoil anything. The Joker can be described as a movie about a mentally ill , incredibly poor, and rejected member of society who is driven towards a life of violence due to how he’s treated on a daily basis. That is all I will say about the movie. I am mainly making this post because I feel like the movie and it’s message relates really well to some of the podcasts we’ve listened to recently. Many people in society often grow up in poor communities with little parental guidance in life and are driven towards crime as an outlet. These members of our society slip through the cracks and their struggles are neglected and not cared for or treated. These criminals have been offered no hope for a better future, nor  any promises of help, yet we wonder why they lash out. I think this movie was a perfect example of how rehabilitation methods that this country depends on are not effective, and lower income communities who have a strong reputation of violence are not being met with the type of attention that they need. Anyone who feels like they have no purpose in life is bound to take action until they are recognized by other members of society; unfortunately, far too often are these actions violent and attract the attention of the law. Waiting until someone ends up in prison to attempt to “rehabilitate” them should not be the case, and letting people get away with being overlooked or ignored while they’re struggling on a daily basis is bound to lead to destruction. Understanding why people do what they do, and showing sympathy for their situation will be far more effective than a long prison sentence.