Second Line: Cyber Essay Response
Today we watched the short film: Second Line. Visit the following link for an interview with the director. I have pasted the cast information, along with a brief synopsis.
For those students not familiar with the New Orleans second line tradition, I encourage you to do some outside research to understand more fully the concept and how these Southerners honor the dead musically.
Respond to the post in a short essay, three paragraphs minimally. Tomorrow we will meet in L-202E at 11 a.m.
We spoke in class about the characters and themes, symbols...and the look of the film: dark, the landscape squalid, contaminated, tragic, stark...the setting isolated and isolating, as if the events take place in another world or even on another planet, certainly not the United States.
The mood we said was sad, the central character, MacArthur, angry, depressed...but then so is their employer....People seem to be up, but the mood is not a happy one.
I encouraged students to look at the images of the teddy bear and the machete: life and death. the cans-empty and full...the notion of being "canned" or fired.
We've got shock...shocking behavior by MacArthur when he finds the money and also when he kills the man who cheated him and his cousin. He snaps, one student says, but is this behavior consistent with what we know about him?
Later on, he is crying.
We note the facial expressions on the characters: the employer is making fun of MacArthur and he's drinking too much. He is careless with MacArthur's health and safety regarding equipment (masks and other protective gear.)
Is the murder, if a murder took place, was it justified? One student says she doesn't think murder is ever justified but learned from the film how one can be pushed to the edge and kill when he feels he has nothing else to loose.
I just assumed a murder is committed, but there is no blood on the machete, and there is noise heard after the two cousins escape. MacArthur beat the man up and then stuffed him in the camper where he'd probably sleep off the alcohol and the beating, probably not recalling much of the day.
It could be that MacArthur is crying because his day was ruined, and he is regretting taking the job, returning the money, losing his temper, getting stranded, being a victim of the levees breaking.... One student told me Thursday that MacArthur wouldn't have killed anyone. It would be completely out of character for him to do so. Why would ha=e want to add a murder to his already dwindling cache of luck?
Enraged, hot...flame. The weather is hot and so are tempers.
Payment...did MacArthur get paid? Did the employer get paid? Who was the second line for? What is the simple answer? What is the more complex answer?
Film Notes from http://www.tribecafilm.com/filmguide/Second_Line.html
Short Student Competition
[SSPLI] | 2007 | 20 min | Short Narrative
Directed by: John Magary
USA
New York Premiere
Interests: Drama
http://www.cufilmfest.com/films/second_line.html
Cast & Credits
Director: John Magary
Principal Cast: Al Thompson, J.D. Williams, Dane Rhodes, Karen Pritchett, Saida Arrika Ekulona, Brittany Parker
Screenwriter: John Magary
Producers: Geoffrey Quan, Myna Joseph, Nelson Kim
Director of Photography: Chris Teague
Production Designer: Mara LePere-Schloop
Music: Kai Gross
Program Notes
After MacArthur's savings are stolen from his FEMA trailer, he and his cousin Natt take work gutting a house. The Second Line was a national finalist for the Student Academy Awards® and has played at Sundance, SXSW, and the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
Today we watched the short film: Second Line. Visit the following link for an interview with the director. I have pasted the cast information, along with a brief synopsis.
For those students not familiar with the New Orleans second line tradition, I encourage you to do some outside research to understand more fully the concept and how these Southerners honor the dead musically.
Respond to the post in a short essay, three paragraphs minimally. Tomorrow we will meet in L-202E at 11 a.m.
We spoke in class about the characters and themes, symbols...and the look of the film: dark, the landscape squalid, contaminated, tragic, stark...the setting isolated and isolating, as if the events take place in another world or even on another planet, certainly not the United States.
The mood we said was sad, the central character, MacArthur, angry, depressed...but then so is their employer....People seem to be up, but the mood is not a happy one.
I encouraged students to look at the images of the teddy bear and the machete: life and death. the cans-empty and full...the notion of being "canned" or fired.
We've got shock...shocking behavior by MacArthur when he finds the money and also when he kills the man who cheated him and his cousin. He snaps, one student says, but is this behavior consistent with what we know about him?
Later on, he is crying.
We note the facial expressions on the characters: the employer is making fun of MacArthur and he's drinking too much. He is careless with MacArthur's health and safety regarding equipment (masks and other protective gear.)
Is the murder, if a murder took place, was it justified? One student says she doesn't think murder is ever justified but learned from the film how one can be pushed to the edge and kill when he feels he has nothing else to loose.
I just assumed a murder is committed, but there is no blood on the machete, and there is noise heard after the two cousins escape. MacArthur beat the man up and then stuffed him in the camper where he'd probably sleep off the alcohol and the beating, probably not recalling much of the day.
It could be that MacArthur is crying because his day was ruined, and he is regretting taking the job, returning the money, losing his temper, getting stranded, being a victim of the levees breaking.... One student told me Thursday that MacArthur wouldn't have killed anyone. It would be completely out of character for him to do so. Why would ha=e want to add a murder to his already dwindling cache of luck?
Enraged, hot...flame. The weather is hot and so are tempers.
Payment...did MacArthur get paid? Did the employer get paid? Who was the second line for? What is the simple answer? What is the more complex answer?
Film Notes from http://www.tribecafilm.com/filmguide/Second_Line.html
Short Student Competition
[SSPLI] | 2007 | 20 min | Short Narrative
Directed by: John Magary
USA
New York Premiere
Interests: Drama
http://www.cufilmfest.com/films/second_line.html
Cast & Credits
Director: John Magary
Principal Cast: Al Thompson, J.D. Williams, Dane Rhodes, Karen Pritchett, Saida Arrika Ekulona, Brittany Parker
Screenwriter: John Magary
Producers: Geoffrey Quan, Myna Joseph, Nelson Kim
Director of Photography: Chris Teague
Production Designer: Mara LePere-Schloop
Music: Kai Gross
Program Notes
After MacArthur's savings are stolen from his FEMA trailer, he and his cousin Natt take work gutting a house. The Second Line was a national finalist for the Student Academy Awards® and has played at Sundance, SXSW, and the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
posted by Professor Wanda's Posse at 12:06 PM
16 Comments:
Ashley Dorsett
Since my family is from New Orleans i grew up knowing about the second line band and alot about Madi Gras many of my unlces are apart of the Zulu Organization and 2 of my unlces have been voted in as the ZuLu King. The second line is very important to those who have passed away. It symbolizes new life after death they march after the casket playing music and dancing. My auntie who passed last thursady is having a second line band at her funeral on Saturday in New Orleans
Thanks Ashley for sharing. Sorry to hear about your aunt and Happy Birthday!
Mrs. Sabir i am not understanding what is it that you want for us to respond too according to the movie.
No i am not familiar with the Second Line because i am not from New Orleans but i do sympathize with whoever that has lost someone dear to them. Yes, you do want to pray that they make that journey across safely.
I enjoyed this movie "Second Line" and wished that it did not end the way that it did. It should have been longer.
As i was watching the film from the beginning i was kind of lost about what the plot was but then i realize that this guy Macarthur was just having a bad day. He first woke up to realize that someone had stolen his 600.00 out of his peanut can. As he ran around the trailer park he had no clue as to who did it.
So his cousin Katt whom seemed to me a little bit of a schemer said that they should go to work, but they had to hot wire this car.
They went to work for this white guy that promised them 90.00 for gutting his house. He did not specify if it was 90.00 a piece or just plain 90.00. All the man was mainly concerned with was just some cheap labor.
I felt that the man did not take them seriously because they were young and black most of all. The mans whole demeanor was that i don't care attitude. His wife was a little bit more open.
The man never did provide them with the safety equipment that they needed and just expected the work to get done.
Macarthur found a peanut can with some money in it which seemed a little ironic to me in the story. So instead of keeping it Macarthur wanted to show the guy that he was a genuine person and returned the money to him. The white guy just laughed it off. It seemed to me like a set-up just to see if they were just typical negroes.
Then the man had started drinking knowing that he had to return them back to where they had gotten picked up. But he suggested a sleep-over and that they could make hot chocolate and talk. That is when macarthur just had enough of the mans nonchalant attitude and carelessness and he snapped on him. He felt like the man was playing on his intelligence. So he killed him.
I think that they spared the wife because as they were leaving you can still hear here screaming. She tried to run for her life but Katt caught her and dragged her back to the trailor.
Not to be the one to condone violence but this man had no respect for Macarthur and Katt as men as well as human beings. Like it was said it was hot and Macarthur had already been having a bad day because his money had gotten stolen so that alone is enough to make a person snap. Then on top of that this man is playing on your intelligence.
In the end you can see that Macarthur regretted what had happened because he was crying on the way down the road. But it is so easy to get caught up in the heat of the moment when you feel like you are being played.
Caprice Eddington
i find that the murder by macarthur on the man is kind of justified because first the man he worked for pushed him over the edge and so he snapped. but then later he learned what that were was nothing to loose by killing. i don't think macarthur got paid period but i think the employer was paid. the second line was for people if you get pushed over the edge and you have nothing loose then it there is nothing you can do. i don't think there an simple answer for what macarthur did.
Ammnah Babikir
Eng.1A
To my understanding of the film, the second line seemed to go beyond the frame of mind and state of poverty that can ultimately blur the line of reasoning when one is faced with nothing but spiraling hardships. In this 20 min. film, two young men by the names of Macarthur and Kat are living in ghost town- post Katrina New Orleans. Macarthur had awakened to find that his stash containing $300 dollars had been stolen. This pretty much set the tone for the rest of the film. After asking his girlfriend for her car and getting shut down, both he and his brother Kat realized that they were not going to make it to work; they were spotted and picked up by an old white man who needed workers to gut his house. When they were halfway through the job, Kat came across a wad of money hidden in a peanut canister. Kat figured that finders keepers losers weepers. However, his brother turned the money into the man who hired them for the job. He thought that he would get a cut of the money for being so good hearted and honest but instead he received a shocked response and unnecessary confrontation. Although he tried to pay it no never mind, in his mind the level of tolerance and circumstance was beginning to be too much for him to handle. The final straw came when he was suppose to get paid $90 dollars each and instead, the man told him that he would only pay them $45. When it came time for them to leave and go home the whit guy had gotten drunk in the mean time and was making light of their situation. This brought on Macarthur murdering the old guy buy slicing him with the machete. At the end of the film the character Macarthur’s remorse came after realizing that he flew too far off his rocker.
In the film, “Second Line,” the mood from the film beginning to end seemed very sad and depressing because of the color and music. There are two men, MacArthur and Katt where MacArthur loses his money and he and Katt needed a ride to go to work so they tried hot wiring a car. Instead of stealing that car, they got picked up to do a different work for a house. While they were cleaning the house, MacArthur and Katt were continuously coughing so MacArthur went to the owner to ask for masks but he did not seem to care about their health. The man only payed MacArthur and Katt $90 in total, which would mean they would each get $45. Afterwards, they were all sitting together while the boys were eating and the man kept running his mouth while being drunk and MacArthur took it as insults and could not take it anymore and attacked the owner. Katt was surprised because MacArthur was suppose to be the “good” one. As they ran away, both were in shock and probably regret what they just did. The time was in New Orleans, after the Hurricane Katrina, which means everyone is very poor and everything is basically messed up.
P.Monique Washington
Eng 201A
1:00-2:50pm Mon/Wed
In the film “The Second Line” the murder of the boss to me was expected. Macarthur a young man from New Orleans was robbed out of $600 and was very upset about it. Macarthur and his cousin took on a job helping a man tear down his house for a fairly decent pay. I believe this man pushed Macarthur and his cousin over the edge and made them work harder then what they were paid. This mans’ house was wrecked from Hurricane Katrina and Macarthur and his cousin cleaned and tore down this house believing that they were going to get paid what was told, $90 a day to the both of them. Unfortunately this didn’t happen as planned. In the end someone lost their life because they were not honest people. I think that the film should have had a different ending but truth be told you shouldn’t play with someone’s money especially if you don’t know their situation. Not only did one take a serious loss Macarthur and his cousin still have to find a way to make ends meet. I believe that once you tell someone that you are going to do something you should do it and not play around with the situation. Honesty is the best policy.
Kylah Quintal
I am extremely confused as to how to respond, but i will try my best.
I came into the class late, so i missed the beginning, but this is my understanding:
The two guys appear to live in a very poor neighborhood, as well as living conditons.
It also appears to me as if, the white man is taking advantage of these two black guys: having them gutt a house, while neglecting to mention the fact that the house may have asbestos.
This man has also cheated the two guys out of the pay they believe they were promised.
In the end though it isn't clear if the character MacArthur killed the guy or not.
I believe the film is about two guys who perhaps grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, and are used to acting violently when they are put in situations that don't go as planned.
The tone I would say is melancholy; and the theme i would say is justice- wrongfully.
The two guys in their eyes, are teaching this guy who has sharked them out of their rightful pay. a lesson. By no means is this guy's possible death or beating justified- but in the two guys eyes it is.
After some time has passed, MacArthur begins to show some remorse for what he has done; showing he has some good in his heart.
Chesi Brown
Ms. Sabir
August 30, 2008
Essay to The Second Line:
The film The Second Line made me think alot. Life after the Hurrican in New Orleans was more difficult then I imagine. I heard about people losing their homes, and dead body floating around, and people standing on houses to survive. I even seen on the T.V what people were going through, but this film made me think of the situation like this could of been me. I ask myself, imagine this happening to you, but better yet imagine not knowing how to move on after your families, your job, and your home is taking. I have a friend by the name of Diana Smith. We met in the doctors office in 2002. She and I hit it off right from the bat. Thats my girl she funny and smart. Sometimes we have drinks and talk alot about our past. I know she been through a lot so I let her vent her problems or her pain out. She explains to me how she lost contact with her mother and her daughter father along with friends for two weeks. Her and her family begin to migrate to Texas or Alanta. She eventually moved to the bayarea because she had just graduated from colleged and got her masters degree in social science, and hearded the bayarea is known for having good paying jobs.
With all the tragedy in the world I'm just praying for any and everyone in the world to have a better life and for love and forgiveness in their hearts.
Hi Ms. Sabir,
After watching the movie "Second line", I had thought that those people must have been desperate about their life but they had stood up to begin a new life. However, the new life is not easy, they have to overcome many obstacles, including racism.
I really had no clue about the murder scene because I did not see any blood on the machete but I was sure that the white man was beaten up quite badly. I did not know what happened to the woman, though.
Last year, my Government teacher had shown me a video clip about Catrina in New Orlean so I kind of had the idea of how bad it is. People in New Orleans seemed to be hopeless. They had no job, no water, no electricity, absolutely nothing. They did not even get help so most of the problems were blamed on the Government.
I had done some research about the funeral in New Orleans and happened to know that the music for the funeral in New Orleans is called Jazz Funeral which is the name that was given by the observers outside of New Orleans. The tradition arises from African spiritual practices, French and Spanish martial musical traditions, and uniquely African-American cultural influences. It was widespread at the start of 20th century. The organizers of the funeral arrange for hiring the band as part of the services. When a respected fellow musician or prominent member of the community dies, some additional musicians may also play in the procession as a sign of their esteem for the deceased.
A typical jazz funeral begins with a march by the family, friends, and a brass band from the home, funeral home or church to the cemetery. Throughout the march, the band plays somber dirges and hymns. A change in the tenor of the ceremony takes place, after either the deceased is buried, or the hearse leaves the procession and members of the procession say their final good bye and they "cut the body loose". After this the music becomes more upbeat, often starting with a hymn or spiritual number played in a swinging fashion, then going into popular hot tunes. There is raucous music and cathartic dancing where onlookers join in to celebrate the life of the deceased. Those who follow the band just to enjoy the music are called the second line, and their style of dancing, in which they walk and sometimes twirl a parasol or handkerchief in the air, is called second lining.
Albert Dennie
Eng201 A
9/2/08
A s i have watched the "Second Line" in class i have come to really appreciate the life that i live. the two cousins were simply tryin to survive and make some money in a decent way when life took a turn for the worse. They were promised money and didnt get it they were promised a ride and didnt get it so macarthur took things into his own life and committed his offense. im not sure if thats exactly what i would have done but i do understand that something had to happen.
Mr. Matthew
"SECOND LINE" Summarizing essay
From what I saw there were two brothers in post Katrina New Orleans who desperately needed work. A caucasian couple hires them to do labor for cheap. In the midst of cleaning the couple's hurricane stricken house Macarthur seems to become more and more frustrated with the work conditions. As both he and his brother complete their day's labor they are given a proposal to stay and continue work the next day. As the husband whom hired them speaks of how he's too drunk to take them home Macarthur starts to show a little agrivation; for he and his brother want to go home for the night. Apparently Macarthur feels at this moment that the couple is poking fun at him and Katt. Feeling as if the couple is blatently disrespecting their previous agreement macarthur snaps into a sociopathic rage full of frustration.
Curtis
being in california during the catestrophic disaster that was hurricane katrina, i don't fully understand what it must have been like for the people who had to deal directly with it. Secondline actually gave me some insight on what it was like. Mac and Katt just wanted to get some work so they can provide for there family, and this shady character offered to pay them ninety dollars if they would clean out his house. the first thing that was shady was that he didn't even have enough safety materials for the two, and whenever mac would ask for a mask he would basically ignore him. after that i knew he wasn't going to pay them the full amount. at the end he got completely drunk and was not able to give them a ride home, and Mac had finally had enough and killed him with a machette he found earlier in the movie. im not saying that murder is right but after all that they had encounter i could see why Mac finallysnapped.
In the short film "The Second Line", the story being depicted was a tale of strife that two young men faced in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The young men who were the main characters were survivors of the disaster who struggled to rebuild their lives amidst the massive destruction.
MacArthur, the lead man, awoke one morning to discover that his life savings had been stripped away, only to leave him penniless. He and his cousin Natt, with whom he had been residing with in a Fema trailer, sought to make earnest income thereafter. They encountered an older fellow who needed assistance gutting his house which was now in ruins, and agreed to work for him for the day. After a mutual but vague agreement for payment, MacArthur and Natt began work. The conditions in which they were forced to work in were unsanitary, infectious, contaminated, sweltering, and dangerous to say the least. In the face of desperation and despair, MacArthur and his cousin opted to slave for the remainder of the day. At some point MacArthur stumbled upon a can which contained money. Humbling himself, he returned the contents to the rightful owner who was also their boss. While the two continuously slaved, their boss had a grand time drinking alcohol all day. Upon completion of the job, MacArthur and Natt requested payment, and a return ride home (which was previously agreed). Not only was he too intoxicated to take them home, but the old man had the audacity to chuckle, mocked them, and insist that he pay them a meagre $45 in which they were to split. At this point in time the two were fed up and at their wits end. They had finally reached their breaking point. After being robbed of all his life's savings, working under harsh conditions in the sweltering heat all day, and being meek enough to return the cash that he found, he was taken aback by the boss' nonchalant approach in the situation. It was then that he snapped.
In a turn of events, MacArthur and Natt immediately attacked the boss and his wife. The couple was viciously drug into their home, robbed, beaten, and seemingly slaughtered with a machete. The two suspects then fled the scene as they took off into the sunset.
At some point they finally came to a halt. A look of complete guilt and shame overcame MacArthur. Without fighting back tears, MacArthur's pain, misery, and despair once again resurfaced as he came to the realization that now he had just became another statistic...a displaced, undereducated, poor, young black man who had just committed murder. And as if the guilt wasn't enough, there was nothing he could do at this point to revoke his actions.
Ultimately Katt and MacArthur are a symbol for the disenfranchised people of the south (specifically low-income families and African-Americans) that have been traumatically affected by hurricane Katrina. The both of them are already in a terrible state of existance and the mistreatment and disrespect by thier employer finally pushed them over the edge. After they had lost thier homes, MacArthur also lost his life savings. The both of them snapped when they were stripped of thier dignity by yet another white man and the aftermath was disastrous.
The two main guy's where trying to make a living after hurricane Katrina which ever way they could. The MacArthur (the one with the bat) was up set in the beginning of the movie because someone stole from him ($600) from his trailer that was in a can. Towards the end they were renovating someone's house and found $300 in a can. When It was time to get paid the man only gave them $90 and said that was all he had, I guess what happen to MacArthur was to much and he lost it.
Sal C
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