AMNH Field Trip (Assignment)

On Wednesday, my Composition I class and I, embarked on our first field trip of the semester. That day’s destination was the American Museum of Natural History.

I was accompanied by two of my classmates, Zina and Ana, along with Ana’s friend, Rodrigo. Together, we toured the museum as a group.

Our primary objective: to visit the Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth and document our findings.

Now...I'd be more than happy to expound on that later, but for the moment I'd like to focus on the non-assignment related portion of our tour.

The first attraction to catch my eye that morning didn’t lie beyond the turnstile from which you enter the museum’s halls. Instead, it hung from the walls of its Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda. What I saw was a quote, and not surprisingly, it came straight from the lips of the "Great Conservationist", himself. It said, "There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness, that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy and its charm."

What I took away from that remark was rather simple; Roosevelt came to an early recognition of nature's majestic beauty, its intricacies, and thus its importance to future generations. The need to preserve its landmarks didn't have to be proven to him. He was able to reach that conclusion, himself.

After passing through the turnstile, we proceeded forward into the Akeley Hall of African Mammals. As we entered, memories of past visits to the museum as a child, with my father, began to flood my brain. I remembered that when I was little, much like the children who barreled their way past us for most of our tour, I used to press my entire body against the glass, so I'd be able to get the best view that I could, of every diorama.

Back then, going to the museum was almost like going to the zoo, in the sense that the animal dioramas looked so authentic they seemed real to me. At the zoo, however, the experience of seeing living animals in unnatural environments felt more contrived.

One of the observations that we were asked to make during the course of our visit, was to notice how the museum served as a type of media.

Every exhibit had its own ambiance, and possessed distinct visual or audio features.

The animal dioramas are, arguably, the most lifelike of all the exhibits in the museum. The fine attention to detail that was paid to each of the animals, and their respective habitats, is displayed prominently. The craftsmanship of every tree, leaf, stone, and piece of brush was superior in its quality. Each setting's landscape, which appeared to be hand-painted, had an elliptical shape; creating a panoramic like view. The structure of every, individual, terrain's surface was true to its actual geological features. Even the lighting used for the dioramas lent itself to their authenticity. For example, a particular setting in Cambodia, with its dense triple-canopy foliage, would appear almost dark, like night. Those elements, complimented by the sound recordings of indigenous creatures playing in the distance, generated a three-dimensional experience for those who peered into it.

Including Akeley, we viewed several other exhibits: Asian Mammals, Stout Hall of Asian Peoples, Mexico and Central America, and South American Peoples.

One of the more memorable features of the South American Peoples exhibit was a short documentary film about the threat of industrialization to the cultures of certain native Indian tribes; yet another example of the museum acting as a type of media.

By utilizing a wide array of media, the museum strives to recreate the natural environments of indigenous animals and ancient peoples, alike, in what all actuality is an artificial setting. To its credit, I think it's been a colossal success. If it wasn't, then why would people bother going in the first place?

The first few hours of our tour of the American Museum of Natural History were spent leisurely viewing other exhibits, before we began the daunting task of recording data (providing hard evidence of global climate change) at the Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth.

To be continued...

Ack-Gnosticism! (Assignment)

Gnosticism has been, by far, the most difficult system (What's next!?) for me to grasp. The ideas it contains are quite complex.

I suppose that the simplest way to characterize it is as a type of religious order; one in which its disciples believe in a series of principles that, basically, suggest humans are not mere mortals, but rather luminary beings. These souls are, initially, restrained by the limitations of their imperfect surroundings; a material world crafted by an entity known only as, the demiurge. To the Gnostics, the representation of this spirit can be interpreted in a number of ways: the God of Abraham, evil-incarnate, or a benevolent but flawed being. The demiurge coexists with yet another mystical being, only this one possesses a divine intellect that symbolizes the good, and transcends the realities of the primitive world. In order to liberate one's self from these crude boundaries, they must come into the spiritual understanding of gnosis, available only through "direct experience" or a comprehension of God. There are different Gnostic sects who espouse the belief that Jesus Christ was either the, aforementioned, "supreme being" of divine knowledge, or simply a pedagogue of Gnostic beliefs.

While attempting to comprehend the meaning of Gnosticism has been challenging, establishing the relationships between Gnosticism, The Matrix, and Allegory of the Cave is far less so. Using the information from the Wikipedia article I read, and what I've come to learn about the religious and philosophical subtexts contained within The Matrix and Allegory of the Cave, I feel relatively confident in being able to make certain associations.

The "monadic" figure that is referred to in the article represents Neo, of The Matrix. If you were to look up the word monad (from which monadic is derived) in the dictionary, you would discover that the first definition listed is, "the number one." Neo's name is, simply, an anagram for the word, one. Throughout the movie, Neo is referred to by his colleagues as "the one." Therefore, we can deduce that Neo is the "supreme being" who, ultimately, actualizes his potential, but not before he transcends his antiquated knowledge of the facsimile (real) world in which he lived. The demiurge symbolizes the Matrix program, which is similar to the lower realm in Allegory. The "archons" of Gnosticism serve as the praetorian guards of the material world created by the demiurge. They are the counterparts of the Matrix's "agents" that work to oppose Neo, from achieving his divinity, and the other resistance members. The culmination of these events, when based on the Gnostic beliefs, is the restoration of the world and its souls, through the spiritual awakening of the luminary being.

"A More Perfect Union" (General Discussion)

As you are already aware, there has been much debate over the past two weeks about, seemingly, inflammatory remarks made (on previous occasions) by the pastor of Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama: the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. On Tuesday, in response to the criticisms leveled against both he and Rev. Wright, Sen. Obama delivered (before a Pennsylvania audience) a long-desired speech on the issue of race in America.

Yesterday, I watched the speech in its entirety, and now that I've seen it, I feel compelled to share my opinion about it, with you. I don't think I have ever witnessed a more poignant, reasoned, and thoughtful address on matters of race and ethnicity. More significantly, perhaps, it was all encompassing. Sen. Obama called attention to, not only, the plight of Afro-American citizens, but also the hardships, misconceptions, and biases of all American citizens who have felt disaffected, at one time or another, because of issues related to race.

I find it disconcerting that, despite his progressive-minded discourse on an extremely divisive issue, some people still fail to acknowledge that Barack Obama was unequivocal in his repudiation of the comments made by Rev. Wright. It is unfair for anyone to suggest that he should have simply severed all ties with a man who has been like a father to him; who presided over his marriage to his wife Michelle, baptized his daughters, and served as the inspiration for his best-selling book, The Audacity of Hope. More significantly, the fact that some people's opinions on certain individuals and topics are based on them listening to a select number of sound-bytes, is saddening. To conclude that the profound message the speech contained was overlooked, if not outrightly dismissed in some cases, by any number of people, is a dreadful commentary on the American people's ability to reason.

In the hope that this message won't be lost on any of you, I have provided the full clip (and several others) of Senator Barack Obama's speech. You can locate it near the bottom of this page, and for future reference... any similar video clips of particular importance will be marked with the heading FYI (for your information).

Once again, I implore you to take the opportunity to listen to the speech. It is nothing short of remarkable, and anyone who hears it will surely be hard pressed to ever forget it.



Do you find this sermon to be obscene? You be the judge. Click here..."God damn, America!"

Allegory of the Cave (Assignment)

When I first saw The Matrix, nearly ten years ago, I immediately recognized the numerous religious overtones that the film contained. In truth, they were palpable. What never occurred to me, however, was the fact that it contained, not only religious, but philosophical references, as well. At the time, I knew nothing about the Allegory of the Cave. I, also, had no idea that the theme of my Composition I course would (in any way, shape, or form) pertain to The Matrix, either. These unforeseen chains of events have since, enhanced my perspective on the movie, itself. What I am curious to see, is whether or not explaining this, particular, concept (that, prior to last week had been completely foreign to me) will enable you to fully grasp the context of the passage, and how it relates to the film.


We were asked to read the Wikipedia article for the Allegory of the Cave. Allegory is an excerpt from, the Greek philosopher, Plato's book, The Republic. The excerpt includes an interpretation by one of the book's characters, Socrates. It describes two earthly realms; one that exists above the surface, the other below. In the lower realm, since childhood, certain groups of people have been held captive beneath the surface. Their limbs are shackled by chains that are bolted into the rock surface of the cave. More significantly, their necks are chained, which fixes their gaze on the walls of the cave in front of them. Located on a plateau above them, and obscured from their line of sight, is a large fire. The fire is used by another group of people to create silhouettes, using puppets of plants and animals, to pacify the prisoners below. As the story is being told, a theory is presented: What if one of the prisoners is released and is, suddenly, compelled to take stock of their imprisonment? You can infer that once the truth of their manipulation becomes known to them, they would then feel the urge to climb out of the cave, above the surface. Now, taking into consideration the fact that they've been enveloped in darkness for their whole existence, the light of the sun would be blinding to them. Once their eyes have adjusted to the brightness of the sun, they would then feel obligated to rescue their subterranean brethren. However, the return to the darkness of the cave would, once again, render them sightless, and thus destroying their ability of perception, forever.

The parallels that one can draw between The Matrix and Allegory of the Cave are many. Notice how the prisoners of the lower realm are similar to the human slaves of the machine-dominated world of The Matrix? The cave in Allegory is comparable to the simulated world of The Matrix, and the shadow puppets are used in the same capacity as the computer program designed to subdue the human race. The sun represents truth, or true knowledge, and like The Matrix, not everyone who has been freed from their captivity is prepared to accept the truth about reality, are they?

Fascinating stuff, isn't it? If you want to take these concepts one step further, you could (could being the operative word, here) apply them to the ongoing conflicts and issues regarding the, gradual, curbing of our civil liberties; that has been perpetrated on the American people since the attacks of September 11th.

If you're interested in reading more about the similarities between The Matrix and the Allegory of the Cave click here... Plato's Cave and the Matrix

Welcome to the Hotel Tangier

Hello, everyone! My name is Brandon, and it is my esteemed pleasure to welcome you to my blog, Hotel Tangier. Why the name Hotel Tangier, you ask? Well, my answer to you is... watch, The French Connection II. It stars my favorite actor, Gene Hackman; whose photo you can see behind the title of this blog. I love a sequel that doesn't require you to watch the first film (i.e. The Bourne Supremacy)... don't you?

I should note that this blog is, currently, a requirement for my Composition I course, at LaGuardia. So, you will see posts from time to time that may not be related to any particular theme, or topic of discussion. The post beneath this one is a (assignment) critique of the movie, The Matrix.

In addition to my posts, you will find: links to websites that I visit frequently, links to my fellow classmates' blogs, links to my professors' blogs, and some FYE (For Your Entertainment) YouTube clips (Only the best for my readers!).

So, again, welcome! I, sincerely, hope you enjoy my blog, and please... feel free to post comments.

"What is The Matrix?" (Assignment)

"What is The Matrix?" That was the question posed to audiences at the time of the film's release: 1999, nearly a decade ago. The answer to that query, however, simply cannot be summarized in a few short sentences. In fact, the film cannot be digested, entirely, in a single viewing. After watching it for the first time (for reasons of enjoyment, as well as necessity), I was compelled to see it again, and again, and again. That's how intricate a picture The Matrix was.

Without delving into the various religious and philosophical overtones the film contains, let me describe the overall plot of the movie, itself. The Matrix is a sci-fi/action film, about a post-apocalyptic world that has become dominated by a collective of machines, who use a digitized illusion to (unbeknownst to the populace), simultaneously, obfuscate and subjugate humanity; the purpose being, to harvest human beings as sources of energy. However, this tyranny does not persist, unimpeded. A rag-tag group of humans, miraculously freed from their bondage, coalesce their forces in an ongoing effort to combat the evil machine race, and liberate the rest of humanity. Though dedicated, they are simply no match for the sheer might of the machines; they are emboldened, however, by a prophecy handed down to them by a mysterious entity, of a Christ-like messiah who, inevitably, will defeat the machines, and deliver all of humanity.

Directed by the Wachowski Brothers (Bound), Andy and Larry, the film stars: (pedestrian actor) Keanu Reeves, Lawrence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Hugo Weaving. To their credit, the afore-mentioned Reeves and Moss are credible in their separate roles of, opposition group members, Neo and Trinity, respectively; their performances bolstered, in no small part, by the superb Fishburne (who, as opposition leader, Morpheus, steals the show) and Weaving (the evil Agent Smith). At a duration of, approximately, two-hours and sixteen minutes, The Matrix is a sci-fi tour-de-force; undoubtedly, one of the most innovative, imaginative, and spectacular films of its genre, for our generation.