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Medical marijuana is a difficult topic especially in Utah, you make some great points in this post but I have to say that I am still for medical marijuana and honestly Im for recreational marijuana as well but thats a whole there thing we don’t need to get into. Medical marijuana, like you said is used for many reasons. It Is used to relieving nausea and vomiting that chemo causes is many people, It can help relieve chronic pain and much much more. While yes I do agree 100% that more testing and studying should be done on medical marijuana I still believe it should be legal. Marijuana is safer than other medications that are total legal and much more dangerous and addictive. Even if medical marijuana was made totally legal that doest mean that anyone would be forced to take it well you fall sick and others are recommending you take it, it would just be another option that I believe many people would be happy to have. Maybe its just 4/20 and im feeling the holiday but I think that medical marijuana should be legal so people have at least the option of trying it and seeing if it can help them live a less painful and more happy life! 

Medical Marijuana

Marijuana started being used as an herbal medicine around 500 BC in Asia. So why is it still illegal in some places today? In fact, Utah recently legalized medical marijuana in 2018 and because of many faith groups and the law enforcement, there is a lot of controversy with this law recently being passed.

Cannabis is another name for marijuana. It is used to help certain medical conditions and has many benefits associated with it. Some of these benefits include helping nausea, seizures, epilepsy, the effects that chemo has on cancer patients, mental illness such as anxiety and depression and chronic pain. However there are claims that marijuana has properties the public should be concerned about such as the effects it could have on the brain, the addictive substances that are found in it, and how it would affect teenagers in a society where it is legalized.

In this essay I will be arguing that marijuana should not be legalized for medical use, however after more research it could be reconsidered. I will talk about the issues we have encountered with regulating marijuana and what we should do to make it more effective. The essay will also describe how we have yet to find a “cure” associated with marijuana. And lastly, I will talk about other medications that have similar effects marijuana has and why they may be a better solution to the health issue one may be experiencing.

In 2018, Utah legalized marijuana for medical use, this controversy started when the proposition was written in June of 2017, spurred on by other states. This campaign had much opposition due to law enforcement and faith groups throughout Utah.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is opposed to marijuana and worry it could lead to a broader use if legalized for medical purposes. Two-thirds of Utah’s population is a part of this faith and many people argue that the church has too much of an influence in politics and specifically with this proposition. The Associated Press came out with an article in which someone named Madsen tells them, “If they’re going to put their thumb on the scale politically and force everyone to a standard, then I think they owe something of an explanation to the people. Not the other way around.” Madsen is referring to the LDS church.

Many wonder if marijuana has harmful effects; there isn’t a lot of science and research behind cannabis. The Toronto Star believes legalizing marijuana will be bad for kids. “If you look at underage drinking, our attempts to prohibit it have been far from successful. What makes you think it will be different with pot?” Some scientists claim it can have a psychoactive or mind altering effects on whoever uses it.

Medical marijuana is used for different things such as anxiety, cancer, chronic pain, depression, HIV/AIDS, Parkinson’s disease and much more. It has a lot of good properties and many in the community believe it should be legalized to help those who are in need the these benefits. It is currently being investigated that cannabis helps with the side effects that chemo has on cancer patients such as helping them get their appetite back, help them manage their stress levels, and also with all the pain they may be experiencing.

When marijuana isn’t regulated, things can go terribly wrong. There is a chemical in marijuana known as tetrahydrocannabinol, but THC for short. This chemical is what gives cannabis users the “high” they describe. THC has psychological effects and helps with things such as anxiety, seizures, stress, receiving an appetite, chronic pain and more and because of this,  people are trying to legalize it for medical purposes. However it can be extremely dangerous if you have too much THC in your system, and this is why we must regulate and have strict laws on the cannabis. There are actually many death cases each year associated with marijuana and the chemicals such as TCH found in it.

If you consume THC you could be at risk of schizophrenia, mania, and depression which leads to suicide attempts and sometimes completion. No matter how you take the THC, you are subject to these issues, however it is more harmful to ingest it through your lungs. It can lead to some major respiratory issues such as chronic bronchitis.  TCH has also been associated with reduced motor skills. Dr. Checkley explained to TheStreet news that if you have TCH in the blood or saliva, you have a 20% to 30% higher odds of a car crash. This is why it is possible to  receive a DUI when found with THC in your system while driving and you put yourself and other people in harm’s way.

On February 4th, 2019 nine children were taken to the hospital after eating gummy bears that had traces of marijuana in them at a school in Cleveland. The ages of the kids were 5 to 9 years old. They are reported to be in stable condition which is great news. It is believed that the parents of the student that brought the gummy bears to school were responsible for the accident.   

Children will literally devour anything you place before them. If elementary age kids are receiving marijuana, we are obviously doing something wrong with the way we are regulating the substance. If we were to legalize marijuana for medical purposes what are some things we can do to make sure it gets into the right hands and not in the hands of teenagers or even adults that abuse the substance? Until we figure out effective ways to regulate it, I do not believe we should have marijuana legalized for medical purposes and absolutely not for recreational use.

I believe there are a few ways we can regulate marijuana. It should be prescribed by doctor only for certain medical reasons. I do not believe anxiety and depression are a valid reason to get a prescription. We have a variety of medications that help with that. Cancer and chemo on the other hand is more of a valid reason because we don’t have a drug that helps with appetite like marijuana. If we prescribe the medication for very few medical reasons, it wouldn’t be as common such as ibuprofen, and it is more difficult to get in the hands of people that abuse the substance.

Another way to regulate marijuana is by making it only available in an editable form. Even though you still get the high this way, it is proven to be more healthy than ingesting it in the lungs. Smoking marijuana can lead to peer pressure as well, it is similar to smoking a cigarette and teenagers tend to smoke to fit in. By taking it in an oral form, I believe you can get rid of that belief that “smoking is cool” and it makes the marijuana used for medical reasons more that recreational.

Cannabis helps aid a few health issues however we don’t know of any curing effects associated with the marijuana. For example, marijuana helps with cancer patients like I currently talked about. Cancer is hard on the body because the patient has to go through chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is a medication that attacks rapidly growing cancer cells but it also affects normal healthy cells that grow rapidly. Therefore the patient experiences fatigue, pains and aches, vomiting and diarrhea, and lack of appetite. Marijuana helps with these pains and is known for helping nausea. Another perk of marijuana is that it helps the patient regain an appetite, because of this they won’t lose so much weight. But unlike chemotherapy, marijuana does not cure the disease. It only helps with the negative side effects the chemo medication creates.

Another thing marijuana helps but doesn’t cure is anxiety and depression. Anxiety and depression are extremely common, in fact, 18% of the population has experienced at least one of the two and it’s only getting worse. There are many ways to help anxiety without any type of medicine such as getting enough sleep, eating well-balanced meals, taking deep breaths and much more. However many of these things don’t help people that have extreme cases of the anxiety. I can personally relate to this because I have an extreme anxiety disorder and am on medication to help with it. Marijuana has properties that help those who struggle like I do. It has a chemical known as caryophyllene in it and that is what gives it some relaxing properties. Nadia Gulluni in a study described how caryophyllene shows a relaxing effect on the nervous system. Because of this however marijuana can be extremely addictive. But like normal anxiety prescribed medication, once it isn’t taken you will feel the effects of anxiety come back. It doesn’t cure the anxiety or depression, it only helps you cope with it.

Because marijuana has no curing effects and only helps with symptoms, it can be a very addictive substance such as opioids. One reason opioids are super addictive is because once you decide to stop taking them, you almost immediately get withdrawal symptoms that include stress, depression, restlessness, headaches, lack of sleep, and even suicidal thoughts. Marijuana has some of the same withdrawal symptoms, hence makes the substance possibly just as addictive as opioids.

Today, society has medications that help with almost everything. We have medications that help with the same things marijuana does such as anxiety and depression, nausea, epilepsy, cancer, and more. So why should we legalize marijuana when we have other tested medications that have developed for many years? Because marijuana hasn’t had a lot of research, we don’t know all of the impacts it has. Modern day medicine and marijuana both have negative aspects to them. Many of the modern day medicines hurt your liver if overused. Some of the medications include Acetaminophen found in Tylenol, Aspirin, and Naproxen. However it is proven that marijuana does harm the human brain, especially one that is developing in a teenager. The THC in the marijuana alters how the hippocampus part of the brain works. It is responsible for the memory formation and how you process information. Personally, I would go with the modern day medicine because it has had many more studies done over the course of many years and you won’t have harming effects if used right unlike marijuana. There still isn’t a right way to use it without getting the negative effects.

Opioids are extremely addictive and many people believe that marijuana is a better replacement because it has less addictive properties. The reason opioids are addictive is because it has a chemical known as opiates in it which create artificial endorphins that create warm, good feelings for the user. Once the user has taken the opioids for awhile, the brain gets tricked into stopping the production of endorphins naturally. The only way to get the good feelings is by taking more of the opiates. Once the victim tries to stop taking the opiate, they get withdrawal symptoms as mentioned before such as stress, anxiety, depression, lack of sleep, and other debilitating effects.

People argue that marijuana doesn’t have an addictive substance like the opiate in opioids, therefore it would be better to use marijuana instead. The problem with this is that marijuana may not have the addictive substance, but it has been shown to have the same withdrawal symptoms as I mentioned associated with opioids. Hence marijuana can still be addictive and you shouldn’t use it just to avoid addictions to opioids.

In conclusion, marijuana should not be legalized for medical purposes however after more research it can be reconsidered. Marijuana does not have any curing effects that we currently know about. There are modern day medications that treat some of the same things cannabis does. We also need to figure out effective ways on regulating the marijuana so it doesn’t get into the wrong hands such as young teenagers.

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I love this paper and I 100% am an advocate for Becky Hammon as well. She is a hard working, professional, and very qualified woman. Pau Gasol said it best when he said, “it would be strange if NBA teams were not interested in having her as a head coach”. I truly don't understand why a team wouldn't want a smart qualified person being there coach, regardless of gender. Having Becky become a head coach would be an amazing step for woman and I really hope to see this happen soon. Woman really should be given the opportunity to coach all the way up to professional levels. I am so glad there are awesome advocates like Pau Gasol who, while working with Becky said she would be a great head coach as Pau is someone who would know what it takes to be a head coach. In all working environments I hope to see more woman breaking these glass barriers placed above us. 

Aesthetic Critique/Review: Are Women” Qualified Enough” to coach Men’s Basketball?

“To me, it would be strange if NBA teams were not interested in having her as a head coach”(Gasol). From a player like Pau Gasol’s perspective, this says a lot about his female assistant coach’s ability to coach him and his teammates. This situation applies to all women because they have been dealing with “glass ceilings” over their heads in almost every industry outside of this for centuries. A glass ceiling is an invisible barrier that keeps women from moving up in any hierarchy. This is an issue in our society that has been resolved in some industries, but not many. Most recently, it has been highlighted in professional sports. Particularly, women are not being encouraged to break the “glass ceiling” of becoming a coach in men’s basketball.  One woman who is trying to break this “glass ceiling” to becoming the first woman to be a head coach in the NBA is Becky Hammon. She is currently an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs, and is very much qualified for a head coaching job in the near future. On the side that I am advocating for, people have said that hiring her, or any other qualified woman that aspires for this role, is mostly determined by what she would do if she gets the job. Then, the other side of it is the social norm, which is that women are not qualified enough to be able to be in this position. The idea of women breaking through this glass ceiling, to create new opportunities, should be something more people want to see for women in industries like coaching in the NBA.

I am an advocate for women like Becky, who have great resumes and experience in the game, to get the opportunity to be a head coach going forward in the NBA. This point of women getting the opportunity in the first place is key in this controversy.  This applies not only to women applying for a coaching job, but also for women who want a higher position in any job. I have a reason to care about this, because there are some amazing women out there that have so much knowledge about the game I love. They deserve a chance to share their knowledge, as coaches in the NBA. Women should get more opportunities to work their way up to be a head coach in men’s basketball, both at the college level and professionally, because there are many out there who would have the ability to do so, and can also give these men different perspectives of the game.

There are a lot of women who are great leaders in many industries, and not many people are taking that into account when they see that women are wanting to become head coaches in the NBA. Still, it is news when a man suggests that a women could lead a men’s basketball team. And that’s because men’s teams in professional sports don’t even seem to consider hiring a woman to coach their teams. Pau Gasol, of the Spurs wrote an open letter about female coaches, and said that his female assistant coach Becky Hammon is beyond capable of being a head coach in the NBA in the near future. This is just one of many advocates of this situation, and its proof that women can do remarkable things and change the lives of many people as leaders in this situation.

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I love the way you worded this whole post and I couldn't agree more. While yes stereotypes are not necessarly a bad thing they really aren't inclusive and they block out so much of the world. I love when how you said, “Authors and storytellers should show all people of different likenesses and from different background because all peOplE ARE DIVERSE AND BEAUTIFULL and this should be conveyed” I couldn't think of something more true. People are so awesome and the world is so cool and people and authors so be proud to show these differences because that is was makes life interesting!! And I agree with the J.K Rowling stuff too. She had 7 whole books to bring up the fact that Dumbledore was gay and yet she didn't... not once..... at all....? Seems a little fishy if you ask me.  Representation is awesome but doing it for publicity itsnt awesome. 

LGBT representation in literature

Okay, buckle in folks cuz you’re in for a long ride. I’ve been thinking about this for a while with the release of Crimes of Grindelwald and the whole Dumbledore controversy I’ve been thinking: JK Rowling did a crap job on her depiction of gay Dumbledore, and by that I mean her last-minute decision that he was gay to increase the diversity in her books. Don’t get me wrong, she could totally follow through with Fantastic beasts but, if she doesn’t, then it all really was just a publicity stunt

Let us begin, firstly, why does representation even matter?? One quote says this way better than I ever could so, here, “cognitively and emotionally identifying with fictional characters can increase acceptance of minorities, while reinforcing implicit stereotypes about how they look, act, and talk” they also continue by saying, “Identification is the vicarious experience through which people get sucked into the fictional world they are observing and come to see things through the characters’ eyes.  Identification can lead to empathy, which should increase acceptance of minorities”. (Identifying With a Stereotype: The Divergent Effects of Exposure to Homosexual Television Characters.) I mean, representation is especially important in children’s literature, as children are learning how to interact with their environment and understanding how the world is it is PRIME TIME for them to view healthy depictions of LGBT couples and individuals and begin to view it as the norm and create a more accepting rising generation.

Now, let’s jump in now that that’s out of the way, this whole Dumbledore issue rising the question:  how should authors write LGBT characters in their work? Well, after a fr*ck ton of research and no sleep because I just need to know, I’ve come to a conclusion. I would like to say it doesn’t matter because they are people, people with ranging beliefs, thoughts, and styles but then it hit me: How, then, do we encourage acceptance and create representation in literature and media if someone’s orientation not explicitly stated? And I realized, we are in a transitional period, and by this I mean one of acceptance. Those from older generations tend towards negativity and dislike to the LGBT community - not all - while those of younger have an increased acceptance rate but it’s still not seen as a norm nor is it seen, by all, in a healthy light. Because of this, it does need to be shown - and I mean more like them kissing their significant other, not some big scene about some guy named Mike being gay - in literature. One prRIMe example is Season two of the Netflix original Dragon Prince where it shows a healthy couple who care about their child and their nations and, oh snap, they’re woman. You’re introduced to this couple in a flashback, and, my absolute favorite part, when they first come on screen to when they are last seen not a single person seems shocked that they are gay, no one cares and they are only seen as two Queens trying to protect their nations. ANd It GETS BETTER, they have a family, a daughter, who is encouraged by their example to be strong and independent and If that’s not just one part of the amazing representation in this show I don’t know what is, but I digress. This is an amazing example of avoiding stereotypes and tropes to create believable characters that can relate with the audience and are just seen as people while their sexuality is known and still encouraging acceptance. However, when I say “Avoiding stereotypes” I don’t mean there are not people who fall under stereotypes, nor do I mean that is bad, I say this more to encourage a large variety of representation, that authors and storytellers should show all people of different likenesses and from different background because all peOplE ARE DIVERSE AND BEAUTIFULL and this should be conveyed.

I think the only way we can facilitate true acceptance is to re-enforce implicit stereotypes by displaying a large range of LGBT characters with varying origins, likenesses, and beliefs. And, hopefully, over time this hard work will normalize LGBT characters in literature and media. Back to Rowling, she did none of this. I’m upsetting spaghetti but whatever.

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The Past, Present, and Future We All Share

When was the last time that you sat soaking up the momentous memories of your youth? There is something in our natures that longs to relate to the stories that we see on the screens in front of us.  Coming of Age films have been increasing in popularity  in recent years which is evidenced by their  winning of many major movie awards. In 2018,  “Lady Bird” won a Golden Globe not only for Best Motion Picture for a Musical/Comedy but also for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture for a Musical/Comedy for Saoirse Ronan. ��Call Me by Your Name,” won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, and won AFI’s Movie of the Year. “Moonlight,” not only won 3 oscars for Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for Mahershala Ali, and Best Adapted Screenplay but also won a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture for a Drama. These films aren’t just critically acclaimed but the general public likes them as well. “Lady Bird” got a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 4.7/5 on Common Sense Media. “Call Me by Your Name” got a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes and 4/5 on Common Sense Media. “Moonlight” got a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 4/5 on Common Sense Media. Other than being Coming of Age films and getting many awards and high ratings what else do these movies have in common?  

The coming of age genre branches off of the German term bildungsroman, which means “a novel dealing with one person's formative years or spiritual education,” the two terms are often used interchangeably but there is a difference between them. The coming of age genre was first “invented” back in 1819,  by philologist Karl Morgenstern during his university lectures. These same ideas were later replicated by Wilhelm Dilthey who made the ideas popular in 1905.  Some of the older, popular coming of age films from this early era are:  “400 Blows,” which came out in 1959 and has 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.  The Mike Nichols movie “The Graduate” which came out in 1967,  won the Academy Award for best director and many more awards.  It seems however,  that there has been a new, fresh wave of coming of age films that are better than ever. This wave started with the release of  Richard Linklaters film “Boyhood”. “Boyhood”  is an incredible movie which took 12 years to film and it truly redefined the new coming of age genre.

After the release of “Boyhood,” many other incredible coming to age films came to be, as “Boyhood” was really a pioneer in opening the doors to a variety of  possibilities that directors could take in these films. This paved the road for films like “Moonlight”, “Lady Bird”, and “Call Me by Your Name.”  Each of these new Coming of Age films have many things in common, one of the things I want to focus on through this paper is that they are all set in the past. “Lady Bird” came out in 2017 but was set in 2002, “Call Me by Your Name” came out in 2017 but was set in the 80s, “Moonlight” came out in 2016 and was also set in the 80’s and “Perks of Being a Wallflower,” came out in 2012 but was set it 1990.  In this essay, I will discuss why coming of age film are set in the past and how the historical setting helps to show the essentialness and commonality  of the moments we all go through.

When referencing coming of age films,  Theskyid.com said, “We can never again experience the triumphs and failures of growing up. A movie, however, is the closest we can come to reliving this experience. This is why good cinema is so important. It can partially recreate those moments for us, and we can see a  part of ourselves in the onscreen performance.” In this article they also name many classic coming of age films and the feelings we get reminded of from watching them. For example, watching “The Breakfast Club” can remind you how terrible high school sometimes was. Or watching “Stand By Me,” can be a reminder of your childhood friends and how those relationships affected who you are today. The list can go on and on with these movies and the relatable feelings they bring to all of us.

Francois Truffaut, The director of “ 400 Blows,” believes the coming of age story is for everyone. He said, ”The coming-of-age film is timeless for a reason: It's the one experience directors can be assured every moviegoer has gone through” The director can be sure that to some extent, everyone has gone through these same emotions and feelings in his or her own life. Badgerherld.com said, when talking about the film “Boyhood”,  “The genius of this movie isn’t a shocking plot twist or creative story, but the truly enigmatic portrayal of human life” This description is relatable to most of these coming of age stories, the plot might not be wild and crazy but the feelings and emotions portrayed are incredibly relatable and touching to us.  

Coming of age movies aren't like any other movie genres out there. They have an element and feeling that you can’t get in any other genre. There is more to this genre than just a “teen movie”, a “teen movie” is a movie just about teenage angst. Hadley Freeman explains,  “The coming-of-age is a more soulful phenomenon: yes, it looks at teen life, but something deeper about the human spirit is revealed, and just because it might happen on a prom dance floor doesn’t in any way diminish the epiphanic uplift. Put it this way: with a teen film what you remember is the funny teen stuff, with a coming-of-age film you remember the emotions.” This genera has more emotion than most movies and that is one of the reasons that they are so widely excepted.

Most great coming of age films are set in the past and the historical setting of theses films help the message within them be clear and concise, modernity could blunt the message of universality. In today's world everything is moving a billion miles per minute. With new technology coming out everyday,  it’s hard to keep up with it let alone keep track of it all.  Things like social media didn't come out until the later 2000s. Facebook started in 2004, Twitter in 2006 and instagram in 2010. You can't look anywhere without seeing an Iphone having someone take a selfie or even hearing the latest news about a Kardashian. Technology is something that has pushed its way into everyone's lives whether we like it or not. So then why are so many of these new coming of age films set in a time before all of these new technological advances came out, not after them?

Not everyone can relate to the new age of technology. Not everyone grew up with the latest Iphone, or three thousand plus followers on instagram. Not everyone was worried about their crush retweeting their tweet or adding them back on snapchat. Millennials can relate to this new technology because they were coming of age when it all started to become popular. Baby boomers and older however,  cannot always relate to this new technology and the way it has changed how it feels to grow up. If these popular coming of age films that I mentioned before were set in the present,  they  would be totally different.  For example, in “Lady Bird,” she lies about where she lives and because technology wasn't as big in 2002 she was able to keep this going for quite a long time. If that movie was set now, lying about where you lives becomes a lot harder when everyone can look you up on “find my friends” and clearly see she is in another house everyday. In the film “Call Me By Your Name,” once the summer is over Oliver leaves Elio’s house and  their communication becomes quite slim. Around Christmas time Oliver calls the family to tell them he’s engaged to someone else. Elio is left shocked and heartbroken. If that was to happen now,  Elio would be following Oliver on Instagram and he would see all the pics Oliver is posting with this other girl and he wouldn't be shocked or surprised at all when they get engaged. In “Moonlight,” when Kevin and Chiron see each other again for the first time in a very long time, they have to get completely caught back up on eachother lives. If that was to happen in present day,  catching up wouldn't take so long because they have been following each other on Facebook this whole time. If these films were set in the present, imagine how different they would be, imagine  how non-universal and imagine quite frankly how boring these films could potentially be. They need the more historical setting so that everyone can actually relate to them.

Having these films set in the past brings a nostalgic feeling we can all relate to. Webster's dictionary defines nostalgia as, “a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for return to or of some past period or irrecoverable condition”. This is the exact feelings these movies bring to people. In an article by Alan Siegel, he talks about the role of nostalgia in our everyday lives.  Nostalgia has been shown to counteract loneliness, boredom and anxiety,” John Tierney of The New York Times wrote in a 2013 feature about the psychological study of the phenomenon. “It makes people more generous to strangers and more tolerant of outsiders. Couples feel closer and look happier when they’re sharing nostalgic memories. On cold days, or in cold rooms, people use nostalgia to literally feel warmer.” Nostalgia used to be considered a neurological disorder but now, in fact, it is looked upon as something that improves your mental health and even improves your daily mood.  These films all have a special element of nostalgia in them.  The movies with these past historical settings are doing this they bring us back to an older time that we can all relate to and by doing so they are improving our overall mental health.

Films set in these older time periods are set in times that all people know about. One does not have to have grown up in the 80s to know about the 80s. I grew up in the 2000s but I still know that if I start seeing leg warmers, mini skirt, parachute pants and some huge earrings that this movie is probably set in the 80s. Or if I start hearing only the songs like “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, “Wonderwall” and “Nothing Compares 2 U” then this movie is probably in the 90’s. Even though I didn't grow up in those time periods, I know people who have. Whether it is  a parent, a grandparent, a friend, or someone from a history book,  when we know people in these certain time periods they become more personal to us.  We can look at these films and see that these people that we know, who grew up in totally different times, still went through the same things during their coming of age moments, it really unifies us to  the themes in these movies. These cross-generational themes prove that movies that are made today but are set in the past really showcase the feelings and emotions that go along with coming of age perfectly. These movies that have been produced in the last couple of years but are set in the earlier time truly show that these ideas can be relatable to all. It doesn’t matter when they were made or what setting they are in, they still can relate to those who are in the time period they were in, the time period they were placed in, and all between.

A problem that I have heard many people say about this genera in particular is that all these films are “white as hell” and that these films are only written about privileged white upper class citizens. While I   do agree that  these films could always have more diversity, one could argue that almost all genres could use more diversity. If the people saying that were basing all their opinions off of teen  moves such as “Clueless” than yes you would be right in saying that film is based off of privileged upper class citizens.  But we have to remember coming of age films and teen movies are not the same. If you look at any modern coming of age films your perspective would probably change.  For example, the coming of age film “Moonlight,” is about the life of Chiron as he is growing up in Miami as a young, gay, African-American man. Or the film “Juno,” about a 16 year old girl who gets pregnant in highschool and her decision to not get an abortion and to put her baby up for adoption.  The list of these movies goes on and on for their originality and the fact that they all have relatable themes no matter the individual circumstances they are all going through.

Another problem people have with these movies is they say they are all about sex and that sex is the only theme in them. In many of these films the characters either talk about or actually do have sex,  but that is definitely not what this gerera is based on and there are certainly more themes and ideas to get out of these films than just that.  Many people think these movies only focus on the “sexual awakening” part of coming of age but that simply isn't true. Coming of age means many different things for many different people and each of these films show that beautifully. Coming of age really is all about choices, the choice can basically be boiled down to this,  do you want to live the life that society has made for you or do you want to live you own? These films all show this when the character chooses for themselves how they feel about gender, social classes, religion, many other issues including  sex. These films are not based around sex although that may sometimes be how they are portrayed. In reality,  they are based around growing up, choices and searching for one’s own identity.

The coming of age genre is very relatable. The themes and emotions in these films are something we can all personally relate to in each of our lives.  We may not have had the exact same life as the person we are seeing on screen. We might not be the same skin color as the person on screen. We might not have the same sexual orientation or  have the exact same problems. But we have all grown up, “Reliving your youth might seem possible for a while, while you watch a character go through the highs and lows of adolescence. And that may be reason enough to sit down and watch a good coming of age film that takes you on a  stroll down Memory lane”.

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Christine “Lady Bird” Mcpherson

Lady Bird,  the Globe Winner for Best Motion Picture and Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture in 2018 is an incredibly above average movie and is well deserving of all the award it received and was nominated for. Greta Gerwig could truly be considered the Michael Jordan of directing after this film. Rotten Tomatoes gave this film a rating of 99%, IMDb gave it 7.4/10, Facebook gave it 4.6/5 and 82% and google's users gave this film a thumbs up. Almost all who saw it have to admit Lady Bird is an incredible film.

This film is about the life of  Christine “Lady Bird” Mcpherson played by the incredibly talented Saoirse Ronan, as she is growing up in Sacramento, California. This amazing story can relate to so many people in so many different ways, and that is one of the reasons its so well received. One of the very relatable themes in this film is the relationship between Lady bird and her mother. Relationships with parents can be hard, relationships with parents can be strange, and relationships with parents are definitely not always easy. This is portrayed perfectly within the movie as Lady Bird is trying to get along with her mother, her hard working, argumentative, very passive aggressive mother who she always seems to butt heads. Not only that but with and her depressed father who just lost his job.

Lady Bird’s high school she attends a Catholic school. High School is hard for most people, everyone's want to fit in, no one wants to feel invisible or alone and this goes for Lady Bird too. While in school she has one friend Julie, Julie is an average kind of girl but an above average friend to Lady Bird. Who she tries to leave behind while shes fitting in with the “cooler” kids only for her to eventually come to the conclusion that she doesn't really like them or the person that she has to be around them (especially when that person's whole life is mostly made up). This film also shows how strange highschool and first relationships can really be, as her first boyfriend turns out to be gay and her second boyfriend is a cool kids who “hates money” and tries his best to live without it. I think some of us have somewhat similar stories about how our first “loves” seemed to play out. As Lady Bird is getting closer to graduation she wants to attend a collage in the east even though her mother told her it wasn't possible for someone with her “work ethic” to get in and either way they could not afford it. After applying for getting accepted to a school and having her father secretly help her apply for finical aid she make it to her west coast college she lived that dream that many people have. Getting out of their home towns and getting to a big city.

The ending scene is one of the most beautiful scenes in the whole movie. After Lady Bird gets to college she ends up having a rough night or two and ends up making a phone call to her mother.  This beautifully filmed scene switches back to a past clip of her driving through Sacramento, yes Sacramento, a city she dreamed about leaving for so long. While she is leaving  a voicemail to her mother,  she start out by her using her actual name Christine, she explains how the first time she drove through Sacramento she felt emotional,  As the background music starts playing she continues to talks about Sacramento, a place that she once hated and wanted to get away from, with such a longing in her voice. As the scene comes to a close you can’t help to tear up as she tells her mother she loves her and thank you. This scene is relatable it shows the true binding relationship that she has with not only her hometown of Sacramento but also the relationship that she has with her mother. That even when things are hard and you want to get away from home (something i think most of us have felt), that home and family no matter how strange it is will always have a place in your heart. This film is  not only incredibly well scripted but it is beautifully acted. It is a true masterpiece of its genera. The feeling left with you after watching this film is the right kind of feeling that every coming-to-age film should leave you with. It is a great movie that I would recommend to all.

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This is so true, who wouldn't want to be like Wonder Woman. She first of all Is just a beaker of happiness and joy she is always so positive and that is something we all wanna be like. She also is just a badass she can fight like no ones business and I love it. And she's stunning so yeah I think we all want to be like Wonder Woman!

Wonder Women really is Wonderful.

Wonder Woman. Her name so accurately describes who she is. Her abilities, her ideals. They’re all things that hook not only your attention but your heart as well. What’s not to like about her?  What makes her so amazing? Why is she so likable? She has a set of morals and ideals that majorly influence others to follow her way of life regardless of your super power capabilities. She is a divine product made from clay and gifted to the Amazons on a beautiful island full of beautiful people inside and out.

Wonder Woman’s ideals were perfectly framed in one epic scene in the most recent movie Wonder Woman played by Gal Gadot. The scene, “No Man’s Land,” where they need to get across the World War II trenches in order to continue their adventure encourages the audience to fight for what you believe is right, now matter how dire the situation may seem. It may sound cheesy but when taught by Wonder Woman cheesy is the last thing that comes to mind. She has a set of morals and ideals that majorly influence others to follow her way of life regardless of your super power capabilities.  This scene manipulates us into feeling that her cause, and any cause is worth fighting for by using a series of key tools in cinema such as the feelings that are portrayed by the actors, music selection, and cinematic strategies like the slow motion clips.

In the beginning of the scene they are making their way through the trenches and give her the tour, she sees all the pain and hopelessness with the soldiers. They make it clear from the get go that it seems like the Germans have the upper hand. But this scene isn’t exactly about what or whos she’s fighting but allowed for a full reveal of Wonder Women. Princess Diana sheds her cloak magically produces her shield and Wonder Woman blows everyone away. All of this is done in a very dramatic way building the scene along with getting the ball rolling with the emotions of the audience. Her comrades explain that it would be impossible to cross and you can see the indignation in her face and actions, the characters respond with open ended statements that not only push her to decide but also get the pieces to push us to choose what to do in a way. Of course we as the audience know that we aren’t physically there but when problems are presented in the way that this scene was they do feel like they are a part of it. All while this is done, the confirmation and intensity is built after watching the reactions of the characters as she carries out her decision to take all the fire. The soldier watching her put on her headband and take her cloak off was definitely feeling all sorts of emotions watching that go down judging by the look on his face. The amazement and support displayed by the other actors makes is something to be jealous of. Everyone wants to be depended on and supported and by seeing the success that Wonder Woman achieved affirms that what she is doing is good. In the scenes when the finally start fighting you’ll notice that very few Americans are shown getting shot and the Germans are falling by the dozen. Because of this the audience begins to feel that there is less chance of risk or being in danger by fighting for what you believe in.

People want to have their feelings manipulated. We as humans truly want to feel good all the time and there are things that we see in this movie that can help us feel inspired.  Wonder Woman’s abilities along with the abilities of her comrades can be interpreted as a reminder that we are one-of-a-kind and encourage us to life our lives to reflect that.

Wonder Woman, like Superman, qualifies as a what is considered a “Boy Scout” Superhero. I guess in her case it would be “Girl Scout” These are the types of Superheros that are consistently good throughout their existence, some may argue that they’re goodness is to the point that a trait like this it is unrealistic. Although that may be true in some case, that characteristic is a key ingredient in making us normal flawed mortals feel hopeful and drawn to Wonder Woman and other Superheroes like her. Everyone wants to be like her.

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The Best of Frank Ocean

Frank Ocean was born October 28, 1987 in Long Beach, California. Soon after, his family moved to New Orleans, Louisiana.  Many of Frank’s songs tie back to his New Orleans beginnings. Ocean first big mixtape,  named Nostalgia Ultra  was released in 2011. His first studio album was called Channel Orange., it was released July 2012. His second album was released in 2016 titled, Blonde.

After he released his first studio album  he had many interviews, played at many festivals and performed in many concerts , but almost a year later Frank had mostly disappeared from the limelight.  Frank says he doesn't really try to be a mystery man but instead he just says that's just how he is. After this absence,  he rarely posted on social media,  but when he did post he hinted toward a new album being made. Frank Ocean then posted a pic saying a new album titled Boys Don't Cry,  was to be released July 2015.  July came but no album was released.  This same scenario happened multiple times, Frank would say a realse date but the month would come and go nd nothing would be released.  On August 1st,  a black and white live video started on his channel. On  August 20th,  almost 4 years after his first release, Frank finally released his long awaited album, Blonde. Picking the best 5 songs between Nostalgia, Channel Orange, and Blonde was almost an impossible task. However, here are Frank Ocean's best top 5 songs.

#5 Bad religion

Frank Ocean's 5th best song, “Bad Religion,”  was released in 2012 on  the album Channel Orange. Less than 24 hours after the release of Channel Orange, Ocean posted on his tumbler an “open letter” about his current struggles and what this album was about. While many famous people would go on a talk show to explain something like this, Frank choose a different route in which he posted a small letter explaining that this album was mostly about his first love, the only thing that really surprised people was that this album was about a boy.

The letter that Ocean shared with the world is very open and honest. In it, he shares his experience of being in love with a boy he met when he was 19. He talks about how they spent the majority of the Summer together. In the song, “ Bad Religion,” Ocean writes about unrequited love. In his letter, Ocean says, “I sat there and told my friend how I felt, I wept as the words left my mouth. I grieved for them, knowing I could never take them back for myself. He patted my back. He said kind things.He did his best, but he wouldn’t admit the same. He had to go back inside soon, it was late and his girlfriend was waiting for him upstairs. He wouldn’t tell the truth about his feelings for me for another 3 years”.  In this song he says, “It's a bad religion, this unrequited love, to me it's nothing but a one-man cult, And cyanide in my styrofoam cup, I can never make him love me, Never make him love me”. The song is referring to his first love, this boy who he loved so much but who wouldn't tell him the same.  As the letter is wrapping up it says, ”Grateful that even though it wasn’t what I hoped for and even though it was never enough, it was. Some things never are.. and we were. I won’t forget you. I won’t forget the summer. I’ll remember who I was when I met you.” Frank Ocean's song “Bad Religion” is his 5th best song because of all of the ties that is has to his open letter.

#4 Ivy

“Ivy,” is Franks 4th best song. Some critics say this is one of Ocean's best work. This song is the second track of the album Blonde. This song is explained by some as a heartbreaking memory or dream. “The song has been likened to "a diary entry where a long-buried memory surges back into his mind in bits and pieces, with the "bittersweet angst" being compared to Brian Wilson, "mourn[ing]" that "We'll never be those kids again"” (wikipedia.org).

It is speculated that the song is called “Ivy,” because Ivy is a parasitic plant that isn't good for the tree surrounding it, much  like the relationship Ocean sings about in this song.  Frank is singing to someone who he was once close with until they realized that their relationship was toxic for both of them. This is Franks 4th best song because almost everyone can relate to this song.  Most people understand having a failed relationship. Many people know how it feels to be in a relationship when you are young that falls apart when you begin to grow up.  That's why the line, “You ain't a kid no more We'll never be those kids again” touches people so deeply, it reminds them of an old forgotten memory or dream that even if it didn't work out, “But we both know that deep down The feeling still deep down is good”.

#3 Self Control

Franks Ocean’s 3rd best song is “Self Control.”  This song was also released on Ocean’s 2016 album, Blonde. Something very unique in this song is the fact that Frank uses a lot of auto- tune. He uses the autotune to make his pitch sound higher. He makes himself sound higher because he wants to sound younger. Autotune isn't the only element that hints to a time when he was younger. In the first couple of  lines he talks about wet dreams and drugs which both  introduce the immature level he represents in “Self Control.”

The chorus of the song is him asking someone to stay with him, but as someone who is young often does, after extending the invite,  he says “it’s nothing”- to try to seem nonchalant and cool. Many people think that this song is also about his first love, the boy that Franks Ocean’s open letter was about. While the lyrics and autotune make this song very interesting, that  is not exactly what makes this Franks 3rd best song. The reason this is Frank's 3rd best song is because of the outro. He sings, “I, I, I Know you gotta  leave, leave, leave Take down some summertime Give up, just tonight, night, night I, I, I Know you got someone comin' You're spittin' game, know you got it”-    He repeats this multiple times. It's hard to put into words how beautiful this outro is. When talking about his songs, Frank once said, “They are just cords, just Melodys. I don't know what combinations of those objects make me feel how I need to feel but I know precisely the feeling that needs to happen.”  I think Frank gave everyone this feeling he is talking about in this outro.

#2 Pyramids

Oceans 2nd best song is “Pyramids.”  This song is on his Channel Orange album. This song is placed in the middle of the album. Not only that but the whole album is 62 minutes and 18 seconds. At Exactly 31 minutes and 9 seconds you are in the middle of this song “Pyramids,” the song changes totally and this marks the first half of the album and the last half and how they are very different.  

Within the song “Pyramids,” the first half is very different from the second half. This creative genius is what makes this Frank Ocean's 2nd best song.  The first half of this 9:53 song is about the ancient Egyptian ruler Cleopatra. The song starts with him talking about cheetahs because it is said that she kept cheetahs as pets. As the songs continues you discover that Cleopatra has been taken. It seems like the person who has taken her is promising her a good future.  The lyrics say, “We'll run to the future, shining like diamonds In a rocky world, rocky-rocky world”. Promising her a rich future with diamonds. In the beginning Frank says that Cleopatra was stolen, he then reveals that she actually left on her own free will and with that being said we come to part 2 of the song. The 2nd half of the song is now in present day, still with Cleopatra but a totally different Cleopatra. This Cleopatra is a prostitute. He says she is working at the pyramids (which is most likely a strip club). As Ocean continues the song,  you can easily tell the narrator of the story has fallen in love with Cleopatra. At the end of the song he says, “But your love ain't free no more.”  It seems as if the narrator of  both the first and second sections of the song have lost their lovers called Cleopatra.  This very in depth and intriguing story and its creative presentation  is what makes this song Frank's 2nd best.

#1 Novacane

The all time best song by Frank Ocean is “Novacane.” This song is the only one on my list  from Nostalgia Ultra, a mixtape that was produced in 2011. One of the first things someone might realize about this song is the spelling of “Novacane.”  In the medical world,  the word novacane is spelled novocaine and refers to a drug usually used by dentist for numbing. The different spelling of this word might not strike some as something significant but there are actually lots of meaning behind spelling the way Frank does. The word Nova means “A star showing a sudden large increase in brightness and then slowly returning to its original state over a few months” (dictionary.com)  The word “cane” has multiple meanings but here it's referring to a cane or a crutch as something that some people rely on in their everyday lives, such as a drug addict relies on drugs as a crutch or a cane in their everyday lives. After listening  to the song you can easily tell why it is spelled the way it is. This song is about a woman who like the nova star, increased the brightness is his life for a couple months until she left, and he was relying on her in his everyday life like a cane. It is also called “novcane” because after she leaves he is left completely numb to any other woman and to any other feelings in the way the drug novocaine leaves your mouth numb to feeling.

The reason this song is Frank Ocean's #1 song is because of all the double and even triple meanings within it. The lyrics are rich with these layered meaning and ideas.  After this woman leaves him,  Frank is extremely numb to every feeling. The outro of the song is the best part, he starts with saying “I can't feel a thing, can't feel, can't feel a thing,”  after that line is repeated he changes and starts saying, “I can fulfill her”. A change that is very subtle and most people don't even pick up on it.

Each song that Frank sings has a variety of meanings,  innuendo, and interpretations.  Every song has a story full of  beautiful and descriptive language. Frank is a genius and has added so much to the musical word.  These top 5 songs are more than just songs they are very personal narrations of his life and we are all blessed to know them.

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The Mysterious Mr. Ocean

Frank Ocean, a man who is talented enough to decline Kanye West's offer to help write one of his albums, was born October 28, 1987 in Long Beach California. Shortly after,  he moved to New Orleans and lived there till he was 18 years-old. His father left his family when Ocean was 6 years-old,  he was very close with his mother. Each of these elements have a definitive impact on his work. Ocean has built a career creating meaningful music full of raw and real emotion.  Unlike many current artists,  his focus has always been on his music and not on his public persona.  This divergence from what may be seen as the norm among popular artists has led to him often being labeled as being misleading and mysterious.  

Frank began his career composing for other people. He wrote songs for Justin Bieber, Beyonce, John Legend and many more.  After a while he became too comfortable with his life and decided to join a hip hop collective “Odd Future.”  This led to him getting his own contract with Def Jams Records.  Ocean released his first mixtape in 2011, it was titled Nostalgia Ultra. This album was Frank’s first big push to stardom. Rollings Stone wrote that he was a, “gifted avant-R&B smoothie”.  After Ocean toured with Odd Future, Def Jams wanted to re-release Nostalgia, Ultra as an EP.   The song “Novacane” was released  as a single, but the rest of the album was delayed, a common theme that has continued throughout Frank’s career. As Frank Ocean’s relationship with Def jams became rocky, they never released Nostalgia Ultra again. Because of this, the music from this album is not easily found and remains on the mixtape he released himself.  Throughout all of this turmoil,  Frank Ocean stayed out of the public eye. While it is commonplace for artists to publicly criticise record companies and their disputes with them, Ocean remained silent.  His absence from media causes him to be seen as rather mysterious,  yet this is simply because he cares about his music and he wants the focus directed on it and not on him.

In the few interviews  with which Frank Ocean has been involved,  he is often questioned about why people don't know much about him and why he stays out of the limelight. In his interview with Hot 97,  Angie Martinez asked  him,

“Why don't I know much about you Frank?” Frank: “I don’t know that’s just umm that's just my personality” Angie: “Is that on purpose, are you going for international man of mystery?” Frank: “I'm not even going for it it just kinda, kinda how it is” Angie: “You don’t really, I mean I know you live in LA but your vibes aren't giving me LA” Frank: “What are they giving you Angie” Angie: “I dont know it's very confusing to me its international man of mystery Frank Ocean”.  

Frank Ocean has been an artist who for the most part keeps to himself. In this day and age that doesn’t really happen and for many people it is  very confusing and odd to them. This makes Frank different, another thing Frank does that is different is how many times he has been misleading about new music. “Ocean announced he was working on a second album in 2013, but he's kept the music so deeply hidden that even Adele has expressed frustration. Yes, that Adele. "I'm just f***ing waiting for Frank f***ing Ocean to come out with his album," she told Rolling Stone in November 2015. "It's taking so f***ing long." Ocean's followers once found hope when a cryptic image of a library due date card appeared on his site. The date on the card was July 2016 with a photo caption that read "BOYS DON'T CRY #JULY 2016." Ocean's followers speculated on social media that the posting referred to the new album's title and release date.”  In the end an album named “Boys Don't Cry,” was never released, and nothing happened during July of 2016. This wasn't the last time Frank had been misleading about release dates and projects. The question people always ask is why?

Frank Ocean has talked about this feeling he gets when he makes the right music, and I don't think Frank will release anything if he doesn't feel right about it.  When talking about his music Frank once said, “They are just cords, just Melodys. I don't know what combinations of those objects make me feel how I need to feel but I know precisely the feeling that needs to happen” Frank Ocean knows this feeling he gets when he makes his music but I also think he knows the feelings that other people have when listening to his music. For example, there is a video of Frank singing “Self Control”,  one of his best and most beautiful songs, the video in 1 day already has 80.4K favs of twitter and 41.K retweets. The reason people like this video and this song so much is the feeling behind it. This songs gives people and I assume himself, that feeling that he talks about.  Frank Ocean isn’t willing to be pressured into releasing music simply because a date has been determined that the music should be ready. If Frank is missing the special feeling he gets from his music  he won't release it until l he feels  it's perfect. I don’t believe he is intentionally being misleading, rather he refuses to release music until he feels it is ready.

Another reason people speculate that Frank Ocean acts like he does is because he's following after the very popular artist, Prince. Frank Ocean has always been a huge fan of Prince, Ocean once said on his tumbler,

“HE WAS A STRAIGHT BLACK MAN WHO PLAYED HIS FIRST TELEVISED SET IN BIKINI BOTTOMS AND KNEE HIGH HEELED BOOTS, EPIC. HE MADE ME FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE WITH HOW I IDENTIFY SEXUALLY SIMPLY BY HIS DISPLAY OF FREEDOM FROM AND IRREVERENCE FOR OBVIOUSLY ARCHAIC IDEAS LIKE GENDER CONFORMITY ETC” (bold in original).

Because Frank Ocean is a bi-sexual black man,  he is part of the minority in his R&B genre of music.  Prince was a man who Frank really looked up to because he was always new, different are really himself. In an article written by Sean McPherson he said, “in Blonde I hear Frank walking around the space Prince created with a curiosity and detached, journalistic eye that can only come when someone else did the work of clearing the way”. But is this the only way Prince inspired Frank? After Prince’s death,  his friends and family began to find an abundance of  music that he never released, enough music for multiple albums, is Frank doing the same thing? Frank has had many times where he said he would release something but didn't. Some people think it’s because he just didn't make the music but I don’t think that’s the reasoning. I think that Frank did make all the music he said  he would, he just wont release it. But why? Frank Ocean might not have released this music because he wants what he puts out to the people to be perfect and he might not think this unreleased music is up to par with the rest.

Many people might say that the reason that Frank Ocean does what he does is because he just wants to troll his fans, that he really enjoys tricking them. That he loves the fact that not only his fans but also famous people just wait and wait and wait for his new music to come out. So is that why Frank Takes so long to release new music? Just to torture us? Of course not! Its because Frank Ocean is an artist who truly cares about the product he puts out. In each and everyone one of his songs there is so much detail, so much double meanings and it doesn't stop there. Every song is placed in a specific part of the album and every album has so much overlying meaning throughout the whole things. When talking about Franks music Trevor Noah said, “Frank Ocean makes me feel like my senses have been dulled all my life and only now I'm experiencing things for the first time. #Blonde”. Cole Cuchna, creator  of the “Dissect” podcasts, said when talking about Frank, “His meticulousness is pretty notorious in the industry and that really translates to his music. The stories that he’s telling on Channel Orange are so beautiful, deep and meaningful...and really thought through” I could add more quotes from people but you get the point, Oceans is an amazing artist who isn't here to troll his fans and the world, he just wants to make sure the music that he is giving the world is the best music that he can make.

In conclusion, Frank Ocean has a knack for music. He consistently creates and releases music that moves his listeners in positive and influential ways. Many artists nowadays make music that doesn’t have much meaning and they do it just for the money and stardom. Frank is different. He writes and performs his music from his heart and you can feel his emotion when you listen. It’s not just me that feels this way.  Many artists that have been at the top of the music industry for years now are constantly featuring Frank in their songs. Artists like Kanye West, Jay-Z, and many others. Many artists will release multiple albums in a year and the songs in the albums don’t have a lot of content in them. They release them because they want the money that comes with them. Frank isn’t like most artists. He takes his time to release top of-the-line music that really creates strong emotions to those that listen. He truly cares about his art and it shows. Frank was a huge fan of Prince. You can see the similarities in their style and tone. You might even say that Prince was an idol of Frank’s. Prince was a man that didn’t pay much attention to the opinions and thoughts of others. He did what he felt was right and didn’t let others influence his musical decisions. Frank took that lesson that he learned from Prince to heart and you can see that Frank has the same type of mindset. He lives the same way that Prince lived and you can see the same beliefs in his music. I think we can all take after Frank, he is unapologetically himself, something we could all work on. He takes his passions and magnifies it to the highest degree. He does what he wants to do and does not let the people or the industry around him affect how he lives his life. Cole Cuchna said, “I don’t know if he’s searching for perfection, but he’s searching for a level of perfection that is personal to him. He’s searching for a feeling and an emotion and he’s not going to compromise until it’s perfect to him” In life we should all be searching for our own personal perfection and in doing so I think we can all produce,  not just art but in all parts of our lives something that we are proud of.

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Novacane

Although Frank Ocean might not yet be a household name, for those who are fans of Christopher Edwin Breaux (aka Frank Ocean), we  know his songs are more than just a good sing along.  His songs have a rich depth of meaning. One element of his music that I love is he frequently has multiple and layered meanings within his music which make his songs interesting and fresh each time I listen. Frank began as a ghostwriter. He later joined  “Odd Future” in 2010 and released his debut mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra.  One of most popular out of the 14 songs on the mixtape, “Novacane.”  reached number 82 on Billboard Hot 100.

Novacane is a five minute song that is a great example of Frank’s talent of being able to say one thing but have it have multiple hidden meanings. One of the first things someone might realize about this song is the spelling of “novacane.”  In the medical world the word “novacane” is traditionally spelled “novocaine” and refers to a drug  used by dentist for numbing. The different spelling of this word might not strike some as something significant but there are actually several meanings behind  Frank’s spelling of the word. The word Nova means “a star showing a sudden large increase in brightness and then slowly returning to its original state over a few months” (dictionary.com). The word “cane” has multiple meanings but here it's referring to a cane or a crutch,  something that some people rely on in their everyday lives, such as a drug addict relies on drugs as a crutch or a cane to support them each day.

After listing to these songs,  you can easily tell why it is spelled the way it is. This song is about a woman who, like the nova star, increased the brightness is his life for a couple months until she left, and he was relying on her for support and strength, much like one who is unsteady or weak may rely on a cane.  It is also called “novcane” because after she leaves, he is left completely numb to any other woman and  unable to feel,  just like the drug novocaine leaves your mouth numb.

Novacane isn't the only drug talked about during these songs. He talks about when he met a woman at Coachella and how she handed him a bong, the drug inside made it so he couldn't feel his face, this ties back to the title of novacane. Later in the song he says “You put me on feelin' I never had, never had, never had and ever since I've been tryna get it back, pick it up and put it back now I'm somethin' like the chemist on campus but there's no drug around, quite like what I found in you”. After this woman leaves, Frank is constantly trying to find something that makes him feel like this woman does, much like a drug addict chases the high and the feeling they get from drugs.

The few examples I've written about just scratch the surface of how in depth Frank Ocean’s songs really are. From the title of the songs to almost every line written within them,  Frank always keeps the audience questioning and analyzing what his songs really mean. It takes a true artist to write such a creative masterpiece that almost everyone who listens,  picks up a different meaning from it. From Frank Ocean’s 2011 mixtape Nostalgia Ultra, to his most current album,  Blonde, each song is just as thoughtful  and meticulous as the one before.  

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Frank Ocean: Music Over Money

Alternative R&B music hasn’t been around that long. It began in late 1990’s to early 2000’s.  The best known alternative R&B artists are The Weeknd, SZA, Miguel,  and of course Frank Ocean. Like other artists, Ocean doesn’t like to be classified solely as an alternative R&B artist however, his music typically does fall into this category.

The thing that makes Frank different than the other R&B artists is the lack of him in the news. Most artists take to the news or social media about almost everything from  Kim Kardashian West tweeting a pic of her kids or The 1975 posting on Instagram their new tour dates. Almost everyone is constantly posting about everything they are doing, except Frank, he doesn't even have an instagram or a twitter. The reason that Frank Ocean stays out of the public eye is because he wants people to care more about his music and not about his life drama.

There was a 4-year gap between the release of Channel Orange and the release of Blonde. Gaps like these rarely happen with popular artists. There is huge pressure to produce when the market is hot and you are popular. By the end of 2013 Ocean was completely out of the public eye. During 2014 a few photographs of him in the studio surfaced. After that, there were a handful of hints referring to a new album. There was an occasional post about an album release date but several of those posts and dates would come and go with no album.  It was clear that something big was taking place. That Ocean was taking his time in the creative process. Unlike many artists,  he wasn’t concerned with everyone knowing what was happening in his day to day life. He doesn’t care about telling people what he had for breakfast or who he is hanging out with. He cares about the meaning behind his songs not the meaning behind his cereal choice.

Many famous people choose to go to a talk show after the release of an album,  but not Frank.  Less than 24 hours after the release of Channel Orange, Ocean posted on his tumbler an “open letter”  giving some explanation to the meaning behind his album. In this letter, Frank told the world that his album was mostly about his first love, and his first love was a man. If Frank Ocean’s primary concern was about money and fame he could go on a talk show and could have gotten lots of money for a “big reveal” like this but he chose not to. He chose to write a very personal letter that he only posted on his tumbler.  The letter was very vulnerable and intimate. You can tell that he wrote it himself,  from his heart and that it really meant a lot to him. In part of the letter Frank said, “4 summers ago, I met somebody. I was 19 years old. He was too. We spent that summer, and the summer after, together. Everyday almost. And on the days we were together, time would glide. Most of the day I’d see him, and his smile. I’d hear his conversation and his silence…until it was time to sleep. Sleep I would often share with him. By the time I realized I was in love, it was malignant. It was hopeless. There was no escaping, no negotiating with the feeling. No choice. It was my first love, it changed my life”. It is clear from even a couple of short lines, that this album was really important to him. He cares deeply about his music and this album and wanted to share with loyal fans the inspiration behind it. His focus was not on headlines, it is on the life experiences that he uses to create his music.

Prior to Frank’s albums coming out, he says almost nothing about their release. In the attention -obsessed culture that we live in, this is very rare. For example, before his last album was released, Kanye sent several crazy tweets. Taylor Swift deleted all of her old social media posts and posted a video of a snake hissing. The 1975 deleted all of their twitters and instagrams and each member  posted the same comic book style picture talking about the band breaking up. Each of these artists used these antics to create more attention and more publicity. Ocean quietly creates music with real, genuine emotion. He doesn’t need to rely on stunts and antics.  Frank Ocean cares about his music and he wants others to care about it too. He wants his fans to love his music not just him. He is not the kind of artist that cares about being popular or about having millions of followers on twitter or instagram. He just cares about his music and how it makes people and himself feel.

When talking about his music Frank cnce said, “They are just cords, just Melodys. I don't know what combinations of those objects make me feel how I need to feel but I know precisely the feeling that needs to happen.” Frank Ocean doesn't make music for the money or for popularity like Kanye or Taylor Swift he does it because it’s the best way to help him feel. The best way for him to get out all of his emotions and share them with the world. Ocean stays quiet and out of the public because he cares way more about the music than he cares about fame and fortune.