By Amber Habron
Tag Archives: featured story
This weekend’s Thunder events excite students
By Rachel Lamb
Every year during mid-April an event called Thunder Over Louisville kicks off the beginning of the Kentucky Derby Festival. This event includes an air show, venders, many different activities, and fireworks.
Thunder Over Louisville is tomorrow. Many students are looking forward to that day, as this weekend approaches.
“Staying up all night after the fireworks is my favorite part,” said sophomore Hannah Knauer.
Others have a different opinion on their favorite part of the day.
“My favorite part is getting to see the airplanes fly over and do tricks in the afternoon with all of my friends,” said freshman Matthew Dunlap.
Senior Timon Stermer agreed that he also enjoys spending time with his friends.
“I look forward to Thunder every year because the people I spend the day with make it a fun experience.”
However, not everyone sees this event as a fun experience overall.
“The large crowds tend to put a damper on the evening,” said sophomore Heather Bouch.
She is not the only one that dislikes the exceeding amount of people. Knauer added to what Bouch said.
“That loud, mess of people is my least favorite part of the whole day.”
Thunder Over Louisville still offers a fun opportunity, if people can make the best of it.
“I have gone for the past five years and look forward to going again this year,” said Stermer.
Columnist shares his views on censorship
By Isaac Mathewson
Most children at some point in their lives have been told that they cannot watch an R-rated movie or read a controversial book because of its risqué material.
These laws, however, apply to more than just children who are too young to understand the material. There are some images that the public refuses to present in fear of offense to others or even physical harm.
In just about every art form, whether it be film, or literature, there are rules to what people can and cannot show. Although it is good that people take note to these images, some have taken these laws too far and many believe that these laws interfere with free speech. I am going to explain the problems of censorship and how it affects our rights as Americans, but mostly in terms of art.
For thousands of years, artists have depicted images that feature adult or inappropriate material. These include depictions of violence, nudity/sexuality, racial slurs, and drug use. These images are often strictly for adults and are not to be seen by children, at least not without adult supervision. In the early days of cinema, the Motion Picture Production Code forbade gratuitous violence, language, and nudity in film with few exceptions. In 1967, with the release of Bonnie and Clyde and the beginning of the “New Hollywood” era, the Motion Picture Association of America created the ratings system that rates a film’s suitability for audiences.
Many films, books and other art forms have been banned from the public for numerous reasons. In 1915, D.W. Griffith’s controversial film The Birth of a Nation was banned from many theaters and to this day many cities in the United States continue to ban the film from release. The same can be said for J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, which was banned from many schools for a time.
While the latter was banned mostly due to adult themes and language, The Birth of a Nation was banned because it apparently glorified the Ku Klux Klan. Whether that is true or not, it does not seem fair to ban such a film simply because the director is displaying his beliefs. It is also unfair to ban a book or any other art form simply because it has adult themes.
This brings me to my next point. There are many groups of activists that want art to be family oriented and nothing more. The most famous of these groups is the Parent Television Council, a Christian, conservative activist group whose goal is to ban everything on T.V. that is “harmful” to children. Many big-named adult sitcom writers such as Seth Macfarlane, Trey Parker, and Matt Stone have been the targets of the PTC. Macfarlane once stated that the PTC is like Hitler and are only doing this to spread their religious beliefs.
Religion is another major issue when it comes to censorship. Whenever a T.V. show such as South Park or Family Guy satirizes a religion, it is almost always the target of controversy. Perhaps the most controversial subject of them all when it comes to censorship and religion is the portrayal of Muhammad, the prophet of the Islamic faith. Muslim extremists will not allow anyone to feature Muhammad in any art form and death threaten anyone who does. What is interesting is that the South Park episode “Super Best Friends” featured Muhammad but did not receive very much controversy, but when the episodes “200” and “201” were released, there was an uproar from Muslim extremists that resulted in the episodes being pulled off the air for good.
The main point that I am trying to make is that censorship is overdone and activists are hypocrites and they interfere with free speech. Parents like to think about their children and what they watch mostly because they believe that it is their main source of education and communication. They believe that T.V. shows like Family Guy are giving them the wrong ideas about society and that they “rot their brain.” The truth is very few children ever do anything wrong because they saw it on T.V. and if they did, they probably were crazy to begin with.
It is good that we take censorship seriously and that we take responsibility of what our children watch. Nevertheless, there are still activists who take it too far and they hide their kids from the truth about adult material without explanation besides the fact that it is “bad.” If we do not tell our children the truth, they will never understand the world and they will never respect art. So I say this to all parents; if your child ever asks questions about violence or nudity in art or even real life, please tell them the truth, they are just curious.
‘Divergent’ movie divides student opinions
By Peter Hyle and Christian DiMartino
Last night, the highly anticipated movie Divergent was released to theatres. It is rumored that this newly adapted book series will become the next big franchise like Harry Potter and The Hunger Games. Students at FC have mixed feelings regarding the hype the upcoming release has gained from media.
Students that have read the books are generally excited to see how the movie will compare.
“I’m really anxious to see the movie, mostly because the books were so great. I didn’t think it would make a good movie at first, but the trailer actually looks good. I have high expectations after watching it,” said junior Madison Rice.
Even students that did not read all of the books are still looking forward to the film itself.
“I really have no idea what it’s about, but from what I’ve heard I expect it to be very thrilling and exciting,” said senior Brittany Harris. “I’m sure it will be an interesting movie.”
Others, however, are worried that the film will ruin the unique qualities that made the books so popular.
“I honestly don’t know if I like the fact that the book has been translated into a movie. They can either follow the book pretty well or they can fill the storyline with useless, random junk,” said junior Allison Burkhart.
As for the Divergent movie turning into the next big franchise, students are unsure if it has what it takes to stand next to franchises like Harry Potter and The Hunger Games.
“I don’t think people will give this movie any real attention because everyone keeps comparing it to The Hunger Games. The books are completely different and I’m sure the movies are too, but they just appear to be similar so everyone thinks it’s a rip-off,” said junior Lexie Byrd.
There are also some that think the movie deserves more attention and praise than the movies it is being compared to.
“I enjoyed reading this book more than The Hunger Games, that’s why I think it will be a better movie. People are going to go crazy over it,” said freshman Savannah Conrad.
Overall, most people who enjoyed the book seem to be anxious for the release of the movie, whether it lives up to their expectations or not.
“Whether it’s good or bad, it’s still going to draw in a lot of attention. My only real concern is that people will be turned away from the books if the movie is really bad. Trust me, no matter how the movie turns out, the books are still worthwhile,” said Rice.
#SPEAKOUT: Columnist reflects on self-help book
By Danielle Sheally
One of the most despised books at Floyd Central by far is the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. I can understand why students feel this way, but if they actually read in detail I feel like the response would be different.
The career information class in which we read this book is required for every FC student. The 7 Habits book is actually stemmed from a book the author’s father wrote called The 7 Habits of the Highly Effective Adult. I don’t know about the adult version but, in the teen version it covers things from being the best person we can be, to what we can do if we’ve been in an abusive relationship. The books passages aren’t very long but if we get bored with that there’s always pictures or quotes from people on every page. What makes this book so effective, is that it gives personal accounts from people who are going through a certain situation in each section. This helps us feel like we’re not the only ones going through a certain problem.
Even though this book is required at Floyd Central in taking this class, students learn how to take a rough situation and turn it into a positive experience. Also, this books helps teach time management and gives us tools towards managing out time successfully throughout life. The book gives us suggestions like making charts so we can see how much time we’re spending on things throughout the day. He suggests to us to get the important stuff out of the way first so we can do the things we want to do later in the day. With this book I’ve been able to implement several of the tools he teaches into my life.
The 7 Habits have taught me to get over things I can’t control in my life. When I am in control I need to find something like my reaction to problems or how I do in school to focus on. Something that really affected me was when he talked about the differences between proactive and reactive people. I learned that a proactive person thinks through problems and goes after what they want. A reactive person never thinks ahead and waits for things to happen to them (I’m about 80 percent proactive and 20 percent reactive).
So, after you hear the mixture of negative and positive about this book, I challenge you to see what side you’re on.