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I loved this movie.  This was my third time watching it and it was just as good as the first.  It's one of those "feel good" movies that you could watch over and over again.  I thought the characters all fit their roles perfectly and the story, although historical, was portrayed in a very entertaining way that made me want to keep watching.  The content in it was really powerful and the movie really moved me.  It made me really happy when Jackie's teammates were finally accepting of him.  Even though I never felt like there was truly 100% acceptance from his teammates, I liked how they went from being completely terrible racists to people who understood that Jackie was just like them.  Jackie was a truly inspiring character as he continued playing the game he loved and standing up for his race as a whole, even though it seemed like the majority of white America was against it.  A small part of the movie that really bothered me was when a father and his son were at one of the games and you could see that the young son was bothered when the people around him began yelling racist things at Jackie.  But, once his dad began to yell with the rest of the crowd, he joined in as well.  This just showed how quickly and easily racism was passed on and it was sad to see it manifest itself in such a young child.  Overall, I loved the movie and thought it was very inspiring, making me question what my true purpose in life really is.

I think Jackie Robinson really helped break the racial barrier in sports in America.  When he was playing major league baseball, he had a lot at stake.  People were sending him and his family death threats, which can't be easy to deal with, and he received a lot of hatred.  When people shouted terrible things at him, he had to ignore them and be the bigger person, which had to be extremely hard to do.  We must learn from people like Jackie to do what you want to do and act in the most respectable way possible, regardless of what other people say or do.  He showed that if you're determined, you can persist through a lot of obstacles.

I could use Jackie's values to break a lot of my own barriers.  Determination is something that's very important to me right now since I'm a senior and will be in college next year.  I'm determined to complete my schooling so that I can be successful.  I'm sure there will be times where it'll be tough to stick to my studies when there are so many distractions, but with the right amount of determination, I'll be able to balance my school work and all of the fun things college has to offer.  Teamwork is also something that's very important to me as I'm a part of several teams, such as Mock Trial and the school tennis team.  Teamwork involves putting in good effort and being supportive of the other people on your team.  Commitment also ties in with teamwork because in order to be a good teammate, you need to be committed to the thing that your team is a part of.

I somewhat agree with Jackie's quote, "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other's lives."  I partially agree with this because the way you impact others is the way your remembered, and when you're gone, all that's left are memories.  Thus, the way your remembered is what most of your life summed up to, so it's important to leave a good impact on others so you can be remembered in a positive light.  I also think it's important to do some nice things for yourself in life, too.  You could leave an incredibly good impact on others but feel unfulfilled.  It's important to set personal goals for you to accomplish, too.

Cinderella Man

I think the title of this movie is Cinderella Man because James Braddock came from nothing after the Great Depression hit and worked hard to achieve success.  He was the underdog.  Unlike the ugly stepsisters in Cinderella, he didn't have everything handed to him.  He was faced with the devastating effects of the Great Depression and worked his way up to the top in his boxing career.  I really loved the story.  I thought it was a very inspiring and heartwarming movie.  I found myself developing feelings for the characters and I was rooting for the Braddock family as a whole, hoping they would work out their financial issues in such tough times.  I really did like James because he was a good parent and husband.  It was clear that he was selfless and would go to any extent to provide for his family, even if that meant taking on a job lifting heavy objects with a broken hand.  One scene that really showed how caring of a father he was, was when he gave his meal to his daughter even though he must have been starving.  Each family has their own struggles.  Several families today, and throughout history, struggle with financial issues, especially with the unemployment rate being so high and it getting more difficult to obtain a job.  I think our children will find it very difficult in the future to get jobs.  Everything is getting more and more competitive.  More schooling and skills will be required to get jobs.

Although stealing goes completely against my character, I would definitely stoop to that level if my family hadn't eaten in a week.  I wouldn't form a habit of stealing, though.  I would continue to search for job opportunities or find alternative ways to make money.  I feel like the ethics of this decision could be understand in certain situations.  If a family consisted of parents who were too lazy to work and make money to provide for a family, then stealing would certainly be unethical.  But if a family is truly undergoing a financial struggle and has tried their hardest to get a job, then I think an exception can be made and this can be considered ethical if it doesn't become habit.  I'm sure no one would feel good about stealing, but it isn't the worst thing that could be done if it came to a starving family.  I don't think anyone could say that they wouldn't steal in such an awful situation unless if they were actually put in that situation.

Although I feel bad for Max Baer's family after they had to deal with the negativity that was brought to Max from the movie, I definitely think it made the story more interesting that they changed his character.  The movie wouldn't be quite as interesting without an antagonist/"villain".  If Max was portrayed as a man devastated by his killing of his opponent, he would almost become a protagonist along with James and would take away from the suspense of the fight.  With a likable opponent, people watching the movie wouldn't know who to root for.  It's typical Hollywood and it cannot be expected that everything is portrayed accurately.  If it were, the movie would become more of a documentary.  I don't think that what they did was unethical, it was within their rights to do that.  Maybe to justify it more they could've had a written paragraph on the screen once the movie ended explaining Max's true character.  I don't think it took away from James Braddock's story at all, but only heightened the intensity.  But, if Max's true character was portrayed, then it would take away from James's story.

I thought the scene where Braddock begs for money from the same men that brought an end to his boxing career was sad.  I felt bad that it came to the point where he had to do that.  I'm sure it was humiliating for him and came across as a bit pathetic, but I'm sure it also took guts to admit how badly he needed the money and put himself out there like that.  I think he did the right thing by asking them for the money because it was a last resort and they were the exact people who left him broke once they ended his career.  Instead of stealing or taking from others who couldn't afford it, he went to those who could afford to, and should've, helped.  I think this moment helps define Braddock as "Cinderella Man" because he took matters into his own hands and found a way to provide for his family.

Tombstone

At first, I thought I would definitely dislike watching Tombstone seeing that it came across as the typical old western movie with cowboys.  As the movie progressed, though, I definitely began to like it more.  I think the actors did an amazing job overall.  Wyatt's wife perfectly portrayed the role of a distressed, crazy wife and I definitely felt badly for her.  I really enjoyed the friendship that Wyatt and Doc shared; it seemed as if they would risk their lives for each other regardless of the circumstances.  I got very emotional during the scene where Wyatt and Doc had their last conversation on Doc's deathbed.  Doc was a very likable character and seeing him die definitely upset me.  One thing I didn't quite like about the movie was Wyatt's relationship with Josephine.  I didn't think there was any romantic buildup, it was just very random.  Almost like a fairy-tale "love at first sight" type thing.  Also, it upset me how he was so clearly involved with her while he still had an obligation to his wife.  I think that he should've handled things with his wife before being with another woman.  I thought the gun fight was pretty weak and that the movie needed more action, even if it wasn't historically correct to have more.  A scene I really liked was when Doc, as sick as he was, dealt with Ringo himself.  It was extremely courageous of him and really showed how much he valued Wyatt's friendship.  Some parts of the movie were a little unclear to me and I think they should've made a point of clarifying more of what was going on.  Overall, I thought it was a good movie and definitely taught me a lot about this topic that I had never really known anything about.  I don't think I would recommend it to someone if they were just looking for a typical movie to watch, but if someone had a passion for history or western movies then I would definitely recommend it to them.

I think what makes an event legendary is if it sticks out in history/people's minds.  Using this movie as an example, if someone were to hear of the town "Tombstone", they will most likely automatically think of the gun fight that occurred there.  What makes an event legendary depends upon if it is memorable and sticks out in people's minds.  Much like the qualifications for making an event legendary, a person would be considered a legend if they are remember for a specific thing.  I think that Wyatt and Doc are definitely both legends for the way they ruled the west and definitely through their time in Tombstone.  I don't think that there is too much of the "Wild West" that appeals to me.  The people overall seem rather unintelligent and closed-minded and I feel like there isn't any privacy there.  The only thing that does appeal to me is riding around on horses!

Glory

I never thought I was a fan of older movies but the movie Glory showed me otherwise.  It's not when the movie was made that matters, but the content it displays.  The movie was very moving as African Americans fought for a country that had treated them so terribly.  They risked their lives, and were extraordinarily brave in doing so, for the freedom of potentially themselves if they lived through the battles, and for all other African Americans.  While the average white male fought simply for the Union or the Confederacy, African Americans fought for their race.  What they were fighting so hard for had so much meaning to them.  I was very touched and invigorated by the movie as it gave me an entirely new insight to African Americans finally being able to join the army, a topic I had never really thought of before.  I was inspired by the characters of the African American soldiers because of their bravery.  A couple of scenes really stuck with me.  One of these scenes was when they had their first battle in the woods and they were very empowered while fighting. You could tell by watching them that they felt a sense of freedom while fighting and that what they were fighting for amounted to so much more than what any white solider was fighting for.  They seemed fearless. And when they won the battle, they were cheering which I wouldn't think is typical for soldiers to do.  The other scene that stuck with me was the one that occurred the night before the battle at Fort Wagner.  Instead of fearing for their lives, the soldiers were singing and talking about how they weren't afraid to die, especially if it meant dying for their freedom.  That scene truly showed what these men were fighting for.  I would definitely recommend this movie as it has an amazing message and shows that for African Americans, the Civil War was so much more than a battle between two parts of the country, but rather a battle for the freedom of their race.

Personally, I could never join the military because it would scare me and I don't think that combat solves any problems, but I do have much respect for the people that care about the country and the people in it enough to risk their lives.  I feel like joining the army in the Civil War days was much different than it is today.  Back then, I feel like people joined because it was more common and considered the noble or patriotic thing to do.  America was a newly free country and people were motivated to fight hard in order to keep it together since they had already fought so hard to gain their freedom from the British.  To just give up on it would make those previous years of fighting all for nothing.  I do think that the men of the 54th Massachusetts are heroes not only because they fought for a country despite how badly they had been treated by its people, but also because they fought so bravely for their freedom.  I do think that Shaw is a hero for training and leading these men as it was a task I'm sure not many other white men would take on, but I do not think that he should have to be considered a hero for what he did.  But since racism and slavery were still were prevalent, he was a hero.

This story is significant because it shows how human African Americans are in a time when they were treated as less than human.  While white males were mindlessly killing each other off in battles, African Americans fought for something so much more important and meaningful.  The leadership of the 54th at Fort Wagner showed just how fearless those soldiers were.  When things were dangerous and risky, they charged ahead and continued to fight for what they believed in rather than backing down.