The Mean Creek Essay #1

An important idea in the film Mean Creek directed by Jacob Aaron is bullying. This idea is conveyed through the verbal features of the dialogue used by George, and the visual techniques with the camera angles using a low angle. Through the use of these techniques we are able to understand the ideas much more clearly.

Bullying is an important idea in the film because this tells us how bullies can react to a situation, by handling them physically with their fists or false languages instead of talking and working through it. Gorege was described as the bully and expected that he could handle his problem physically with false languages, this made his problem even bigger than before by his victim, Sam who was convinced by Rocky (brother) to get back at him with a prank, "You know, if we hurt him, we'd be just as bad as him"(During Sam and Rocky's talk after school). "We were planning on stripping him butt naked, and swimming in the river, then leaving him to go home with no clothes on".In the quote Sam explains the prank to Millie to play on George to get back for beating him up in the past, by doing this Sam thought that the prank would make him feel better and superior, when instead it went all wrong to George's death.

The first technique that helps the viewer to understand the idea of bullying is through the verbal techniques of the dialogue used by George. In the film George uses false language and a loud tone of voice to get his message through his victims head. "I TOLD YOU NOT TO TOUCH MY ******* CAMERA! (As George was attacking Sam during school)...HIS DADDY SPLATTERED HIS BRAINS! ALL OVER THE WALL! HIS DADDY SPLATTERED HIS BRAINS! ALL OVER THE WALL!(During the boat trip yelling at Marty)". These quotes explain that George is an aggressive bully who will do anything in his will to get back at his victims, and to leave the message of never messing with him through the use of the dialogue in the film.

The second technique that helps the viewer to understand the theme of bullying is the use of the visual techniques by the camera angles with a low angle. In the film George is captured in a low angle to show that he is the bigger person in the shot. During the film when George was yelling at Marty about his father, a low angle of George showed that he was evil and taller that the camera had to change its angle, to point up and look at George's face. This angle describes George's features of when he gets angry and to place the audience in the movie where it looks like we're the victims of George too.

Both verbal and visual techniques help to convey the idea of bullying, but the best way to introduce another idea much more clearly to identify is the visual features of a close up birds eye view used to carry the idea of being bullied. This is one of the important ideas of being a victim in the film because it shows how victims are affected when they are being bullied. In the film while George attacked Sam for touching his camera, a close-up bird’s eye view was captured facing Sam looking down while George was now strangling him around his neck. This shot explains how Sam was affected by physically getting injured with a black eye, and when watching the scene the close-up birds eye view made Sam look much smaller and helpless than George.

In conclusion an important idea in the film Mean Creek directed by Jacob Aaron is bullying. This idea is an important idea in the film, because it introduces the negative sides of how bullies deal with there problems that it can physically and emotionally effect their victims. Through the use of the verbal and visual technique that has been shown in the film, it has made it easier and clearer to understand why the director uses certain shots to explain more about the scenes.

Should the drinking age rise to 21?

I firmly agree with rising the drinking age to 21, because many 18 and 19 year olds have been exposed to the toxic drink, that it has affected their health mentally, emotionally and physically. When drinking alcohol, the drink starts to affect their human organs e.g. liver, the brain, even when drinking and driving. However one drink could prevent diseases like coronary heart disease, but once you have a drink this toxic drink can easily become addictive.

Alcohol at 18 and 19 years of age can affect human organs, when a large amount has been consumed. Sources say that at 18 or 19 years old, the body is still developing to protect you from particular illnesses. One of the common organs that can be affected quickly is the liver. The liver stores sugar (glucose) for the body, and breaks down all the fat and protein from the food in the stomach. When the liver is affected by a large amount of alcohol consumed, one of the conditions is called cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is a disease in the liver, which causes bruises and internal bleeding. If the bleeding is not stopped in time, this could cause death. But if it is stopped in time, there is a slight chance that you may have a liver transplant.

Secondly the toxic drink can affect young nervous system, because the brain is also developing at this age. Our brain is one of the important organs from the human body, because it sends messages to move different parts of the body e.g. lifting your right hand up. When a large amount of alcohol has been consumed, the drink starts to affect our brains by removing previous memories, known as a black out. The toxic drink also effects our emotions where the brain cannot control them. But there is a slight chance that part of the brain that can be damaged, for a long period of time depending on how much is consumed.

Thirdly most of the car crashes caused, is by young drivers who have been drinking and driving. When the brain is not funtioning properly by the toxic drink, the brain will shut down in a matter of time while driving. This could mean loosing your vision, concerntration, coordination and crashing into objects or people. This could causing physical or menatl injuries e.g. broken bones or brain damage. Statistics show that over 1900 deaths were caused from drinking and driving.

However alcohol can prevent particular diseases from occurring. Coronary heart disease is a common disease in New Zealand, Russia, Australia and other countries. This disease is when the coronary circulation has failed; leaving narrow blood vessels to the heart with the blood flow decreasing. But this disease is only preventable if a small amount of alcohol is consumed. Another disadvantage of drinking at the age of 18 and 19, is how it affects family members by putting them through the stress of your health, and violence in New Zealand.

In conclusion I firmly agree with rising the drinking age to 21, because of the amount of harmful effects and activities caused by the toxic drink, on 19 and 18 year olds. Alcohol can ruin and effect human organs mentally, emotionally and physically, that it worries many family members. Not to mention that it has a major impact on our health that could affect the liver and brain. However there is a small possibility that diseases like coronary heart disease, can be preventable. But still a huge risk of drinkers at the age of 18 and 19 to put there life on the line.