Review: A Man For All Seasons

The 1966 version of A Man for All Seasons begins with the Cardinal asking to speak with Thomas More, who is played by Paul Scofield. The cardinal agrees with King Henry VIII’s plea to divorce his wife Katherine of Aragon. The King wants to divorce his wife because he believes that it is her fault that they are unable to conceive a male offspring. Without a male offspring, the King is unable to relinquish power, when that day comes.

Cardinal Wosley argues with More, because he is the only entity of the Privy Council who refuses to agree with the divorce. More admits that the pope will not allow it to happen, so Cardinal thinks it is best to coerce him into it.

Upon further visits from the King himself, More refuses to grant the annulment. This then leads to the beginning of an altercation between the two. King Henry even threatens to blackmail  Thomas More or even relieve him of his duties as a member of the Privy Council .King Henry decides to just redesigned the entire Catholic church, and names himself “supreme Head of the Church”, allowing him to do what he wants.

The aspect of this movie that struck me the most was how much it can be compared to today’s more modern government. Deception and hurt play a huge role in government back then, as it does today. Throughout the adventure, More learns that Rich, someone he thought he could trust, is actually being forced by Cromwell to eavesdrop on him.

Even as many around him prove to be fake or untrustworthy, More still holds to his morals and refuses to be led astray.More even finds his daughter with a guy she hopes to marry. However, something that is very evident in even marriages today, the two children are different religions. Thomas More refuses to allow his daughter to marry him, unless he becomes a Catholic.

What also struck me was how chauvinistic King Henry VIII was; he believed that he was above everyone else. This can be seen when he announces himself as “Supreme Head of the Church “forcing the bishops and parliament to denounce themselves.

Once King Henry gets his way and is able to marry Anne Boleyn, he cant even be happy that, he even demands that More attend his wedding. The movie ends with Thomas More being beheaded, and his head is stuck on traitors’ gate, proving that once again, the King has abused his powers.The iconic and intelligent movie raises the age old question,can a man serve two masters?

Are Magazines Doomed?

 In the age of the internet are magazines doomed?

Doomed? Not necessarily, but a decrease in revenue for magazine companies has steadily been increasing over the past few years. I believe that eventually all types of print media will become obsolete, however that time isn’t in the near future. Magazine will only be doomed if newspapers die first. For now, access to magazines has become somewhat of a hybrid, as they are available both in print or online. However, both cost money, so the company won’t lose much profit if they were only available online. Companies would in fact save money because they no longer have to spend money on the products used to physically make the magazine. Advertisers will still be able to advertise, they can provide more advertisement by using pop-ups online which force people to notice the product.

Some magazines offer the same substance both online and off, but making it free to view online. Many may think this is bad for the magazines profits; however they break even, as advertisers are able to increase their exposure. This shows that no matter what happens to the print magazine niche, the companies themselves won’t be affected much.

One of the benefits of online magazines is the fact that content can constantly be updated. If a story is developing, the facts that are currently known can be published without knowing the entire story. As more facts surface, the story can be updated accordingly. This way, magazines aren’t risking the entire “you heard it hear first” effect.

Another great benefit of the internet is interaction. Many, if not all magazines allow its readers to interact with the writers, by posting comments on the story, whether it be positive or just constructive criticism. Websites can also fulfill the aspect of  interaction by having polls, concerning topics that interest the readers. This is in the magazines interest because if people see that the magazine makes efforts to be suit the reader, they keep coming back.

The internet also allows for more forms of communication and the allowance of more space. This allows for videos to be watched, which is often easier to comprehend than print. Also, videos allow for more emotion to shine through, captivating the reader even more. Even simpler  than video, is purely a greater influx of pictures and words. More words allow the reporter to pass more information to the reader. A larger amount of pictures will help fill in all the gaps left by the story.

So, magazines aren’t doomed, YET. But today there is a wealth of knowledge at our fingertips and without too much effort one can become informed on just about anything happening in the world. The Internet is leading the way in the civilized world of new information.

Wiz Khalifa Releases New Mixtape

Last week Wiz Khalifa announced the title of his first album,deemed “Rolling Papers",due march 29th. So it came as a surprise when Wiz dropped a mixtape late last night,with no publicity whatsoever titled “Cabin Fever". After listening to the tape once,I loved it and I’ve had it on repeat all day.My favorite track on it would be “Gangbang" with fellow upcoming rapper, Big Sean.Wiz shows that he is truly here for his fans and to release enjoyable music,rather than please the industry.Hopefully this 9-track freebie is just a peek at what he has planned for his debut album Although its nowhere near as good as his acclaimed “Kush and Orange Juice",  its still worth the download. Click the link to download,Enjoy! Cabin Fever

Wiz Khalifa, Bruno Mars and B.o.B Cover VIBE

The new VIBE cover is great. It’s nice to see three artists that were once considered underground now considered “pop”. What’s even cooler is seeing such a diverse group of people be able to come together, all to support music. One of the artists B.o.B, rose to fame after his song “Airplane” and was later signed by T.I’s label, Grand Hustle. Bruno Mars has had hit after hit including “Grenade” and ”Just the way you are”. My personal favorite would be Wiz Khalifa. I’ve been listening to Wiz for a few years now and it’s nice to see him get the credit he deserves. Here are a couple of quotes from each of the artists, enjoy!

WIZ KHALIFA:“Potheads and hippies, we flock. We’re peaceful as hell. You don’t hear about my concerts getting shot up or people getting beat up because they was too high and turned into a weed monster.”

BRUNO MARS:“I’m a fan of young Elvis. And I’m a fan of the story, how he freaked out white America by doing this Black rock’n’roll. He would go onstage shaking his hips, and people were freaking out. They said, “You can’t film him from the waist down.” To me, that’s fucking awesome.”

B.o.B:“My loyalty is not to any corporation; my loyalty is to the music. That doesn’t mean that I don’t work with corporations, it doesn’t mean that I don’t.”