Transcendentalism Pop Culture Project BY: ally Ellis

Noncomformity

NonComformity

“The fault-finder find faults even in paradise.”

-Henry David Thoreau, "Walden"

The movie "Hidden Figures"

Hidden Figures is a movie that was just released in 2017. It sets in a time period where black women had little to no rights. An African American math teacher was able to help Nasa send up an space ship into space. This is a good example because she goes against what everyone was saying and the negative people in the world.

Three women crossed racial lines and gender lines to help the world. If we think about this time period most of the African Americans would just take all the hate and mean words that everyone else was saying. These girls who did something about it really show the meaning of a nonconformist. A nonconformist is someone who does what the believe they do not follow the status quo.

Now if we look at some of Thoreau writing you could see that he really would love this movie. Non-Conformity is the main subject in this movie because they are not just stepping over one boundary there stepping over two. Women in this time period were supposed to stay home, take care of the kids, clean, cook and make sure everyone needs are taken care of. But these women were teachers and the even helped NASA. They changed the world. Men probably did get jealous of these women and did not want there help on this new invention but, without those women we might not have been able to send the Space ship up.

Self-Reliance

Self-Reliance

"Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string”

- Henry David Thoreau, "Self-Reliance"

Ben Underwood

Ben Underwood is a African American boy who at the age of two was diagnosed with retinal cancer. He got surgery to get ride of the cancer but, that meant he would be blind. Instead of relying on a dog or a cane he would use a clicking system to get around. This clicking system is called Eco-location usually used by Bats. He died January 19 2009, at the age of 16 from the same cancer he had in his earlier life.

Ben Underwood is a great example of being self-reliant. As anyone else who is blind would get a cane or a dog, he wanted to be able to do everything on his own. As stated in the article by mydeathspace, "A cancer called retinoblastoma took both of Ben's eyes when he was a toddler, but he never let his blindness prevent him from navigating the world"(mydeathspace). As he grew older he became even more self reliant by joining different sports teams and doing different activities.

He was the first human to use Eco-location and this made him become very self-reliant. Without figuring out how to use Eco-location he would not have been able to do all of the activities such as basketball,skating, and ext. Thoreau would really like this man. This is because he is a thinker and is very self-reliant. In conclusion, he is a great example of being self-reliant because instead of doing what everyone else who was blind did he relied on himself. He also made the impossible possible.

Importance of nature

Importance of Nature

“In the woods we return to reason and faith. Their I feel that nothing can befall me in life -no disgrace, no calamity….”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Nature"

The movie "Avatar"

The movie avatar came out in 2009. It was a great movie many people loved watching it. The beautiful nature was shown in the movie many times and brought me to awe when I was watching it. The main character also learned how to love the nature like the native people do.

In the movie, The native people show how much they love nature. The only thing they know is how to live in nature. They love nature very much and try to prevent it from getting hurt or ruined. Without nature they would not be able to survive. As you watch the movie you learn that they are a very loving, strong, and humble group of people. This is probably because they live and are always surrounded by beautiful things..

In this movie they believe that this big oak tree is sacred and that you should respect it. They also believe that it helps them with balancing there lives. They respect nature and being around nature has changed them as people. As you watch and see how respectful they treat the plants you will then notice how respectful and kind they are to each other and there peers. Nature is also a good way to focus on yourself. The main character in this movie has such a strong personality. She does not care what other people think. Now say we move her to a different setting she might be fine for a while but, then she will start losing some of the beautiful things nature has taught her. Nature plays a big role in Avatar and really shows what nature can do for you if you slow down in life.

Favoring intuition over reason

Favoring Intuition over Reason

“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.”

- Henry David Thoreau, "Walden"

Bethany Hamilton

To this day, Bethany Hamilton has been showing the world that following your heart is the best decision you can make. As a little kid Bethany loved to go surfing with her family and friends. One day she decided to go surfing with some family friends and got bit by a shark. After being taking to the hospital and many hours were spent believing that Bethany would not recover. She recovered but they were not able to save her arm.

Bethany Hamilton is a great example of doing what she loves and achieving the impossible. In the movie ,soul surfer, it shows her life and the difficulties she has been going through. In one scene in the movie, she just got home from the hospital. The simple daily things were not so simple and easy for her. After a couple days she started to ask her dad when could she get back on her surf board. Everyone was telling her she would not be able to surf again. The doctor told her that she would not be able to get back on the board. Following her intuition she got back on.

One more scene in the movie, she was in the water trying to get on her board. The waves kept pushing her down and she could not get on her board. After trying and trying she decided to give up. She saw her rival the next couple days where she had a few words to tell Bethany. This gave Bethany another push. She started working again going against what everyone was saying and following her intuition. Thoreau would really love Bethany because she is a great example of following your heart even when it is thought to be impossible.

Simplified life style

Simple life

“Live your life. Do your work. Then take your hat.”

-Henry David Thoreau, “Conscience”

The movie "The Longest Ride"

In 2015 The Longest Ride directed by George Tillman Junior came out in theaters. This movie is about a girl in college falls in love with a bull rider and has to decide to stay in the country with her true love or move to the city for a job. As you watch the movie, you can see how the country life is much easier and is simple.

In the movie, there are many different times where it shows a simple life. The first example would be when they both went on a date to a isolated lake. No one was around them, it was just them and they had the lake to themselves. They had no worries and everything was very simple. After Dinner they jumped into the lake. They were not stressing about anything. There simple life gave them less stressful experiences.

Another example in the movie was when she decided to stay in the country and she was sitting in her art museum. The art museum was empty, quiet, and she had no work. As her true love pulled up in his truck in front of the museum she hopped up. She was able to pick up her stuff and leave. In the city we are always rushing around having millions of things to do. If we slow down an have a more simple life, We might be able to stress less and get things done faster. This example is a great example of showing a simple life because, you can really see the difference between an simple life an a chaotic life.

Credits:

Created with images by esiul - "plant nature live" • laterjay - "odd different lockers" • NASA Goddard Photo and Video - "'Witch Head' Brews Baby Stars" • FlashBuddy - "girls women happy" • Ömer Ünlü - "BLUE" • Moyan_Brenn - "nature" • Zienith - "avatar lady woman" • Robbie1 - "Hearts" • troy_williams - "Bethany Hamilton-3" • Christopher.Michel - "The Simple Life" • emilio labrador - "None Too Friendly"

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