LITR201-1402B-04 : Literature: A Reflection of Life - Essay Example

Literature: A Reflection of Life Literature: A reflection of life Drama as Plays Dramas are known as plays because they are intended for theatrical performance. As such, dramas are better acted out on a stage than read in a text. They, therefore, qualify as plays both in written word and during theatrical performance. Similar to plays, dramas are inspired and can be based on actual human experience and they seek to express certain themes including humor and death. In addition, the element of collaborative production and collective reception by an audience qualifies dramas as plays.

Most importantly, dramas are plays because actors do not necessarily replicate the things they do during performance in to real life (Telgemeier, 2012). The Experience of Watching a Play I once attended a play in a nearby community theatre. It was the first I attended a play and the sight of the actors in their costumes was exciting. Initially, I found the costumes odd but I later came to appreciate their effect because the actors kept changing them to suit and communicate a season or event (Krasner & Wiley Online Library, 2012).

For example, the actors wore nightgowns to indicate it is time to sleep and suits indicating they were going for formal life activities such as going to work. The mood of the audience changed with the given action on stage so that it was sentimental when the actors expressed love and gloomy when actors indicated they were sick. Seeing a drama performed on a live stage felt more believable than watching a film on television (Worthen, 2010). The Experience of Acting in a Dramatic Presentation As a member of my high school drama club, I got a chance to act in several dramatic presentations.

At first, it was difficult performing material from a script because I had to memorize the content and simulate it during live performance. After sometime, it got interesting because it expanded my creativity and imagination. I learned to connect the line of thought of a particular role and this helped me remember things that could have easily escaped my memory. Acting was exciting because it gave me a chance to explore other people’s points of reference through imitation. The improvement of my self-confidence and consideration for others is what crowned my interest and desire for acting in dramatic presentation (Knowles & Tompkins, 2003).

My Favorite Movie The movie, Dangerous Minds, is my favorite. It main characters include Louanne Johnson, the starring, Emilio Ramirez and Raul Sanchero her co-starring. Louanne comes out as a creative and resilient character in her endeavor to achieve what she set out for in her profession of teaching. Ramirez is portrayed as a bully who mistreats his colleagues because of certain unresolved issues. Sanchero is a humble character but who is not intimidated by the threats of bullies like Ramirez.

The movie is set in some Belmont, California in a high school dominated by African-American and Hispanic students. The student fraternity comes from a low-income community around the school characterized by drug dealing and other things typical of ghetto culture (Styan, 2000). The plot of this movie starts with Louanne Johnson getting a job in Carlmont High School. She tries to attract the attention of the students but they are too absorbed into their ghetto life patterns that they cannot concentrate in class.

Louanne tries several unconventional ways of getting their attention but she faces opposition from the school administration and the challenge of occasional fall out of the students to their daily life circumstances. She succeeds in the end and her class becomes committed and dedicated to education. One conflict in the movie is the clash between economic activities that attract students in a low-income area and the desire to remain in school. The other conflict is the desire to succeed in one’s career opposed by forces that seek to maintain the status quo.

Finally, themes in this movie include the plight of students in an underprivileged low-income area and change. The movie is one of my favorite because it is about hope (Wiles, 2000). ReferencesKnowles, R. & Tompkins, J. (2003). Modern Drama: defining the field. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Krasner, D. & Wiley Online Library. (2012). A history of modern drama./Volume I. West Sussex, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell.Styan, J. (2000). Drama: a guide to the study of plays. New York, NY: Lang. Telgemeier, R. (2012). Drama.

New York, NY: Graphix/Scholastic. Wiles, D. (2000). Greek theatre performance: an introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Worthen, W. (2010). Drama: between poetry and performance. Chichester; Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.