Friday, December 21, 2012

Taking a Closer Look at Homeland

Media Reviews

Before the break, one of my friends and I decided that one show we really wanted to get into and catch up on was the show Homeland, starring Claire Dames and Damian Lewis (one of my favorite actors, totally coincidental that he happens to be a ginger), which comes on Showtime (another favorite of mine). I had almost forgotten about this decision, but when one becomes bored late at night, shows are the best cure. So I have worked my way through all 2 seasons of Homeland so far, and this is my review of the show.

SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT!!!


One thing that I liked about Homeland was that the first episode got me hooked. There is nothing worse than being excited for a show only to have to sit through about 6 episodes of blah in order to get to the good stuff. Luckily, Homeland presented me with an intriguing story right off the bat, and I continued watching without that bad taste in my mouth with which some shows leave. The story goes that Sergeant Nicholas Brody, a prisoner of war over in the Middle East for over 8 years, has returned home to a lot of fanfare, and has earned the status of hero to most people. One of the people who are suspicious of him is CIA agent Carrie Mathison, who thinks he has been turned by Al Qaeda. The first season details the cat-and-mouse between Mathison and Brody, with their paths becoming more and more intertwined as the story deepens. With the ending of the first season with a failed suicide attack by Brody against upper echelon government agents and politicians, this is where the show got me on the hook. Not that the show is perfect by any means, but what I believe to be the biggest motivator for watching a show is: does it get your heart pounding? And the answer to that for Homeland is: yes.

The first season managed to keep my attention for each episode; an accomplishment of which few other shows have been able to do. My one issue with Homeland is this: it's intro. Showtime has always been a channel that has interesting and well-put together intros to their shows; but Homeland's intro makes me just think: meh. It's not bad, but it's really not outstanding either, which is surprising given the other shows on the channel have great intros. I know this may not seem like an important critique, but if you're going to be watching something episode after episode, week after week, it better be good.

Right now, the topics that this show delves into are hot topics in our nation. Politics, intelligence agencies, terrorism, religious radicalism, and a few others are some of those hot button issues that the show seems to reflect on. The way the show reflects on these issues is in and of itself a reflection of how our society is dealing with them I believe. The way the show depicts politics is pretty accurate in that it depicts it in a way that reflects how the majority of society sees politicians and the people in Washington. The topic of religion, however, is where I think the show really shines. That first moment when Brody is in his garage, washes his hands, pulls out his prayer mat and begins to say his morning prayers was nothing short of stunning. I found myself in awe, even though I knew he was the 'antagonist' of the show and must have some kind of marker to be so, I still was just in shock at seeing that. The show portrays Muslims as real people with actual feelings and issues of their own, which I think is refreshing from the stale view which most media takes on Islam.


Now, I have not begun the second season yet; however, I have seen reviews and they seem to point to it just simply adding on to the intrigue and plot with more great twists and more outstanding acting. Damian Lewis has always been one of my favorite actors since Band of Brothers, but I think this takes the cake. That first moment when you see him start praying in Arabic in his garage was a watershed moment for me in regards to this show. That kind of jaw-dropping moment doesn't come often in television, but this show managed to really pull off it's story in a sleek, psychological, and intrigue-filled way. I will revise this review when I have finished Season 2, but I'm hoping my opinion won't be much different than it is now; which is this: this show is just simply amazing. Go watch it if you can.

-M

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

3 Steps to Prepare for Spring Semester

College Tips

I hope all of you fellow college people are enjoying your Christmas break! Want to know the best way to really enjoy it? Start thinking about your spring semester, duh! I know, since it's cold most everywhere, the warm embrace of spring semester seems too far away to even think about, but time keeps going during Christmas break, whether it seems like it or not.

But really, it's coming faster than you think and its going to come whether you like it or not, so better to just suck it up, buckle down, and get ready for it. So here is my fool-proof 3-step plan to get ready for the semester that always seems to go by the quickest:


  1. Plan a spring break trip. That's right. Number one thing is to plan a spring break. Now is the perfect time to start planning a fun trip so you don't get down to the wire and have nothing going on for spring break. Now, I'm not a fan of those crazy spring break parties that go on down in Panama City, so I'm recommending avoiding those so you don't catch something. I'm more advocating for something like a trip with friends to the beach, a favorite city, things like that. We've all started spring semester and told ourselves, "I'll get around to planning something later", or my favorite, "Let's just get in the car and go". Stop right there. That never works. Spring break comes faster than you think, and spring break trips cost money. Usually when everything is just thrown together someone ends up paying for everything and getting paid back in "I'll get you next time bro." Don't fall into that. Talk to your friends, sit down and pick a spot, call ahead and get rooms, and actually plan something. You'll have a lot more fun because you can just jump in the car and focus on having fun instead of figuring out food, rooms, money, or even where to go.
  2. Do some class scouting. I know, I know, why on earth would anyone want to think about classes over a break? Well, breaks don't last forever, so get over it and do some class research. Pull up the list of class you're taking next semester, and start doing some research. Head over to www.ratemyprofessors.com, and take a look at who exactly you'll be listening to for the next few months. It'll pay dividends to know what they like, what they don't like, if they are easy, if they are tough. Next, look up the class you are taking, and see exactly what is going to be included in it. Knowing a little bit of the subject material beforehand can never hurt, so do a few google searches and look up what exactly applied trigo-metro-astro-cosmo-pysch-account-ology is. Finally, look at what textbooks you'll need. Make sure to print out a list of the books you need and do some scouting on Chegg, Amazon, and the rest of the internet because we all know, if you buy your books from the school bookstore, you are being duped and of substandard intelligence.
  3. Do some schoolwork. Last but most certainly the worst, yes, doing some kind of studying or school-related activity over the break will be good for your spring semester. What is worse, taking 15 minutes a day to stay fresh with info from your major, or forgetting everything you learned this past semester? If you said the latter, well then there isn't much hope for you. One thing I've found helps keep me sharp and prevent the memory loss we all know happens over Christmas is to study. I know it sounds crazy and no one will believe me, but I know that just leisurely doing about 15 minutes worth of studying once in a while over the break is a cure-all for that inevitable loss of knowledge brought on by friends, family, ham, presents, and all the other miscellaneous items that accompany Christmas.  Maybe pull out some notes from last semester, do some Google searches on the things that your next classes are going to cover. Get familiar with the information that is going to be presented in detail, so that way you won't come into the spring semester feeling like you've had a lobotomy. 

That about wraps it up folks! Don't be like the rest of your classmates and waste your Christmas break away. Follow these 3 steps and your spring semester will be much less burdensome. 

Cheers,

-M