2.9 Personal Response

Text Type: Lyrics Title: Earth Song Artist: Michael Jackson Michael Jackson’s “Earth Song” is about the damage humans have done to the earth through environmental destruction and wars, and it also asks the listener if we notice or even care enough to do something about this destruction. When I first heard this song I knew it  would be very strong and meaningful, as the entire song is filled with rhetorical questions to really get the listener thinking. I noticed the questions in the first and second verse were about the environment and mankind’s greed, the pre choruses were exposing the issue of humanity’s wars within itself. The last verse is encouraging the listener to do something about it. At first I felt guilty for the damage mankind has done to the earth, but after listening to the entire song I found it so inspirational because there is so much passion behind the lines. I am a strong believer in protecting our planet, and Michael Jackson has given the planet a voi...

Text Type: Lyrics Title: Same Love Artist: Macklemore and Ryan Lewis The song “Same Love” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis is about gay and lesbian equality, and tells the listener how society negatively affects these people and their outlook towards their lives. It also includes race and religion as other points of equality in the text. In the beginning the song stereotypes gay people through Macklemore saying “When I was in third grade I thought that I was gay ‘cause I could draw, my uncle was and I kept my room straight”. This really struck me because I realised as he was saying it I used to believe in the stereotype that if a boy was creative and neat, it was often believed that he was homosexual.   The first idea I noticed in the lyrics was the idea that we all are equal to each other, regardless of sexuality, race or religion. Most of the second verse is focussed on equality among all people. I think this is important for readers because it shows how us humans are ...

Title: Soul Surfer Director: Sean McNamara   Text Type: Movie The movie ‘Soul Surfer’, directed by San McNamara is about overcoming life’s difficulties and never giving up on your dreams, and how the support of friends and family are really important through this process. The movie is based on a true story of a teenage girl who is extremely passionate about surfing, who lost her arm in a shark attack. The movie is about how the shark attack impacts her everyday life as well as her surfing career, and how she adapts to her new life without an arm. I had already watched the film as a child so I knew the storyline, but my first thoughts on the film was how inspirational it was for me. I connect the film to myself because I am going through something similar; an injury that is impacting my life in a massive way just like the loss of arm impacts Bethany. I am currently recovering from a concussion, which even though it isn’t a visible injury, it is visibly taxing, and means...

Reading Response 3 Title: The Outsiders Author: S. E. Hinton Text Type: Novel The novel “The Outsiders” by S. E. Hinton is about the importance and influence of family and friends, and tells the reader how society stereotypes social classes and the effects this has on each member. The Outsiders is a coming of age novel with the main conflict being two gangs rivalry; the upper class west side ‘Socials’, and the lower class east side ‘Greasers’. At the beginning of the novel, the protagonist Ponyboy, (a Greaser), gets beaten up by a group of Socials within the first three pages. My first thoughts on this was I feared for Ponyboy, and was worried about how violent the rest of the book was going to be considering the main character almost got stabbed. I immediately related the book to myself because I was in a run-down part of Auckland City when I began reading the book, so the fear Ponyboy had and the tension built up as he was walking home alone was something I could direct...

Reading Response 2 Title: Divergent Author: Veronica Roth Text Type: Novel The novel Divergent by Veronica Roth is a coming of age novel about a 16 year old girl named Beatrice who is faced with challenges with finding her identity. Beatrice lives in a society made up of five different factions that people live in based on their very different characteristics. Beatrice is born into the selfless faction Abnegation, then transfers to brave Dauntless after a choosing ceremony for all the 16 year olds. Before the ceremony, Beatrice discovers she belongs to a small group of Divergents, which means she fits into multiple factions because her identity is so separate from each individual one. Beatrice discovers being divergent is dangerous, and is warned not to share her information with others because the government won’t hesitate to harm her to keep the social order among the factions. The novel is about Beatrice’s struggles finding her identity, and keeping ahead in trainin...