In the ancient Greek dramas, the actors would wear masks. Even though the Greeks were able to design an amphitheater that amplifies the sound of an actor’s voice, they were unable to do so with the actor’s face and emotions. As a solution, they designed masks that exaggerated certain emotions as a way for actors …
Author Archives: Melynda Bretz
Drowning
I once had this dream where I fell into a lake. I didn’t know how to swim, so I started sinking through the murky water, unable to do anything else but reach my hand toward the light at the surface. I wasn’t panicking or struggling, it was just this peaceful descent into the depths, until …
Movie vs Movie: Who Wins?
There have been a few movie adaptations of The Great Gatsby. Many directors have strived to take the world Fitzgerald created and take it from the white page to the big screen. Jay Gatsby, the elusive gangster and Daisy Buchanan, the beautiful fool with her voice of money, both brought to life along with those …
Fitzgerald’s Perspective
There is a reason The Great Gatsby focuses on social classes and money. Fitzgerald himself grew up poor. He didn’t see himself as rich. He didn’t feel like he ever fit into the high society of wealth and money. He built himself from the bottom up. Knowing this, Gatsby’s character makes a lot more sense. …
Life On the Other Side
Imagine living in a world where wealth is the defining measurement of the worth of a person. If you don’t have money, then you’re nothing and no one. There’s this uncrossable divide between those with money and those without. You stand on the edge, staring across the gaping chasm. The only way to cross is …
Gaudy Costumes
Long ago, during the ancient times, the Greeks performed dramas. In these dramas, the actors would wear masks if it was a tragedy. The Greeks were smart and able to design their amphitheaters in a way that amplifies the sound of an actor’s voice. Unfortunately, they were unable to figure out a way to do …
Oppressed By Fame
Lately, we’ve been exploring identity and what really interested me was the concept between the talked-of self and the unexpressed self. One of the assignments I had to do was to explore the identity of famous people and the two celebrities that came to mind for me was Britney Spears and Billie Eilish. When it …
A Gangster’s Life
The tragedy of a gangster’s life begins with identity or the lack of it. The marking point of a gangster is the persona they create. Gangsters don’t start as gangsters. They start from nothing and claw their way up to success. They know what it’s like to be no one and have nothing. Take Gatsby …
Are We All Blind Men?
There’s this parable about blind men who heard that an elephant was coming to town. These men wanted to know what that elephant was like. Even though they wouldn’t be able to see it, they could still touch it and know that way. They made their way to the elephant and started to touch it. …
Insecurity or Confidence?
When looking at the character Myrtle, I’m not sure what to think about her. She changes her clothes 3 times in a span of a couple hours. Nick describes her clothes as a “costume” she wears. Along with her change of clothes, her personality also changes with each new costume. It’s like she’s trying to …