Des Moines

I read about the movie Serpico on a list of 125 must-see movies on the net. The movie is about a real-life NYPD (New York City Police Department) officer Frank Serpico who went undercover to expose the corruption in the police system. The great Al Pacino plays the titular character, who is an honest police officer in a completely corrupt police force. The movie tells the story of Serpico’s life from the time he joined the force in 1960 to the time he resigned in 1972. The movie starts in 1972…

beauty does effect a person’s fate, because it effects confidence (in either positive or negative way) and the way people value you. Cyrano de Bergerac was a brilliant man with a hideous face who loved his cousin Roxane. In this amusing story, Cyrano wants to win Roxane’s heart but he “cannot” because he thinks that he is to blemished. In the first act in Cyrano de Bergerac by Anthony Burges, Cyrano challenged a man to a sword fight while he recites a poem. In act two Roxane tells Cyrano that…

Aguirre, the Wrath of God created an accurate portrayal of Lope de Aguirre’s quest for El Dorado in 1561. Using a firsthand account from Aguirre himself, Herzog is able to accurately show what happened. Aguirre, the Wrath of God is a 1972 German film written and directed by Werner Herzog. The plot focuses on a group of conquistadors who are in search of the legendary city of El Dorado. The main protagonist is a Spanish soldier named Lope de Aguirre who, along with others, is tasked to build a…

The Film “Serpico” starring Al Pacino, Follows the career of a fresh face rookie cop from his graduation at the academy to the unfortunate end of his career. Based on a true story, Serpcio discovers that he is one of the very few officers within the New York City Police Department who has no interest in accepting under the table money or participating in unethical and illegal behavior. This film highlights many errors of the NYPD in the 1960’s. It shows that at this time the police were not held…

Erika Robb Larkins’ ethnography entitled The Spectacular Favela: Violence in Modern Brazil documents Larkins time spent doing fieldwork for her dissertation in Brazil’s largest favela Rocinha from 2008-2010. The book discusses themes of drug trafficker control within Rocinha and other favelas, the concept of spectacular violence, as well as the commodification of the trafficker image by Brazilian and foreign outsiders. Larkins dissects the role that violent spectacle plays in the everyday lives…

For the style of the hat that represents my identity, I chose the beanie. While formerly restricted to mainly hipsters, they’re now open, or more wearable, to everyone. I chose this style as beanies are quite comfortable, and that is my preferred state. Additionally, it is a pretty plain style compared to others as I don’t like to stand out too much. They also keep your head warm, and I’d much rather be warm than freezing. In addition, the color of my beanie would be black. Not only does black…

Paul Volponi writes a unique book called “Rucker Park, Setup” where two kids face street reality but in the worst way possible. J.R. and Mackey have been waiting their whole lives to win the trophy at Rucker Park, basketball is their life. Mackey would never be home due to his Mom's boyfriend always making Mackey feel miserable, so you could always find him there at Rucker Park. Rucker Park is home to some of the most famous & competitive players in street ball history. Money has a huge factor…

Life in the Favelas By Eli W. Favelas started because of the independence of slaves in 1888. The former slaves then moved near big cities and create small neighborhoods, called Favelas. They had to make their own houses on free land because they did not have any money. In the 1950’s a large influx of farmers moved to the big cities because they were not satisfied with the amount of money, which increased the size and population of the Favelas. This influx of population caused the Favelas to…

Money does not equal happiness. As shown in “The Necklace”, “We Were Liars”,and in my personal life, it may be nice to have money, but it cannot buy you true happiness. In “The Necklace”, Madame Loisel longs for wealth, and when she finally gets to taste the wealthy life, it doesn’t last more than just one night. And yes, it did satisfy her, but only temporarily for a short while. In “We Were Liars”, the main character, Cadence, comes from an affluent family, and even though she has…

The Medici’s wealth surpasses everyone else wealth because of the business with the Catholic Church. The Medici family can deny anyone a loan and not worry about consequences. Both families control geographic areas of Northern and Southern Europe. Dukes of Burgundy owned land from Holland all the way to central France. Philip the Bold, father of Philip the Good, gained large amount of territory through political marriages and other strategies. According to Marilyn Stokstad, Philip married his…