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I, Tonya

Director: Craig Gillespie

Screenplay: Steven Rogers

I, TONYA A movie based on true events and interviews. This movie highlights the story of the former US figure skating champion and Olympian, Tonya Harding. She was became the first American to successfully complete a triple axel move but her future in the activity was thrown into doubt when her ex-husband intervenes. Tonya was indeed a naturally gifted talented athlete but was disregarded by the association, since they prefer someone to be a portrayal of grace and has good image. Which led her planning to send death threats to her former competitor Nancy just to step out of the competition, but the plans got worse when her ex-husband, Jeff asked his men to bash Nancy’s leg instead of just sending threats. This film then highlights the January 6, 1994 “leg bashing incident” of Tonya’s competitor Nancy.

MAIN CHARACTERS

TONYA HARDING (Margot Robbie), former Olympic figure skater. She was never really accepted in the figure skating community for not inherently being the image of grace, breeding and privilege that the community wanted to portray, despite that she being a naturally gifted in the sport athletically. JEFF GILLOOLY (Sebastian Stan), Tonya’s ex husband. He and Tonya had a turbulent relationship on a need to be loved perhaps without truly loving the other. He was the one who shifted the plan of sending death threats to Nancy and altered it into bashing Nancy’s leg that lead her to step out of the competition. LAVONA GOLDEN HARDING (Allison Janney), Tonya’s mother. Despite that she paid for Tonya’s expensive figure skating lessons, she was very abusive toward her physically and emotionally, never believing that she was good enough in any aspect and pulled her from school to focus solely on figure skating. DIANE ROWLINSON (Julianne Nicholson), Tonya’s figure skating coach. She was Tonya’s first and longest serving coach, who, for good or bad, largely let Tonya be Tonya in the way she presented herself to the Figure Skating world. SHAWN ECKARDT (Paul Walter Hauser), Tonya’s ex-bodyguard and Jeff’s friend. He is a dim bulb who believed him to be a bigger player in the big scheme of life than he actually was. NANCY KERRIGAN (Caitlin Carver), Tonya’s competitor in figure skating but really was her friend. Unlike Tonya, she was everything that figure skating community wanted to be a representative. MARTIN MADDOX (Bobby Cannavale), a sport journalist and a fictional character. He who provides general commentary of what the sports media as a collective wanted out of Tonya and the Incident.

QUESTIONS

How realistic is the plot of this story? Aside from this film is indeed a true-to-life event, the amazingly flexible plot elucidates primitive happenings in our society this days. One is that the story highlighted the conflict love story between Tonya Harding and her husband Jeff Gillooly, this only explains how easy couples during this time gives up in love. It also showed how a person can be thoroughly abused if he/she still holds on even if it means gripping to a barb wire, though lacerated yet still chose to grip tight. Our society today needs a massive learning about marriage before indulging into it, to note that it is holy. Another one is that the story also emphasized how Lavona Harding, Tonya’s mother choked her to be the best she can be. It was shown on the story how her mother really wanted her to be best in the field of figure skating until such time that she physically abused her just because a lot can still do better than her. We should always put in mind that no passion will be furnished if it will go process beyond ordinary, time and effort is only needed and not conforming and abuse. With that lies the awakening of Tonya’s inner monstrous personality. Due to her mother’s approach, she became a beast in her own way, aloof and too competitive. That then made her to do everything just to reach her ultimate goal. It only proves how people strive to reach goals even without undergoing accurate steps. Sometimes we go way too far from the box just to prove ourselves. Our passion should be our anchor to instill ourselves from what is always right, not a driving wheel which we use to create our own route even if it means colliding with mountains or icebergs.   Lastly, what Jeff has done also proves that people will do everything just to win love again. It was in the movie that Tonya planned to send Nancy death threats to back out from the competition but Jeff planned even worst. We should always take into account that non-working relationships simply mean that you both are of different universe. Once it failed, it is very hard to repair, that’s why some do worst tasks just to win back love. The above inputs only proves how the movie I,Tonya is very significant. Its realistic plot really involved numerous dilemmas in our society these days.

Find a quote/line that stands out to you and explains why you chose it. “so… uhm, you… you would never gonna let me skate again? So , uhm.. I cannot.. I mean’ I’d rather do the jail time, it would only take me 18 months… they got 18 months, I’ll do that. Your honor, I don’t have an education and all I know is skating, that’s all I know… and I am no one if I can’t.. if can’t, skate. I mean, I am not some monster and I am just trying to do my best with what I am good with… and its like your giving me a life sentence.. Skating is my life, there lives my passion, and that without it, I… who am I?… I mean, I can’t do that… uhm, please, just send me to jail and I can still skate… just send me to jail and that I can still skate!” It was the line uttered by Tonya Harding in front of the court after the judge read and ordered her verdict including her complete detachment from the field of figure skating. This line simply represents how I adored this movie, Tonya, a very passionate character to which a lot can really connect with.   It was shown in the movie that even if Tonya Harding topped the US Figure Skating Championship and fell rank 1 on the national ranking, the association at first did not allowed her to take part on the 1994 Winter Olympics because they wanted someone who could be an image of grace. Her messed up relationship with her ex-husband Jeff made it very hard for her to be that perfect image representation of US Figure Skating. That’s why I became attached with the film, because like Tonya I may sometimes strive to fit in but people always disregard talent and rather shift toward emphasizing image. They prefer modality, I mean they wanted that form rather than substance. Just like her I will do anything to restore my passion, but I will clearly emphasize this one, Tonya went to shadows for her passion but I will keep the light for my passion. What I mean is that ‘though a lot will question my passion, I will still strive for my worth. Just like Tonya, she lived by her passion, it was her oxygen and by the time she was ordered to depart from it, it really touched my heart from the time she beg to the judge no to do it.   To highlight, we should always be careful of what we do or we plan to do, because whatever we throw will always go back to its thrower. We should just simply strive for our passion even if a lot degrades our capability, ‘though we may not reach our ends but at least we did it in the right way. Write a poem form a character’s viewpoint. The ice was clearly my companion,

The sharp skating blades were my foundation,

The cold ring was my preferred destination,

I knew figure skating was my passion.

I strive to top the food chain,

To rise above the mud of the past rain,

I not know such as failures nor pain,

Everybody knew my achievements were all insane

I tried to follow a path I thought was right,

I took risk to stay in the spotlight,

I knew I was with the crowd’s hottest sight,

That time, I knew nothing but “I and my triumphed fights”

I thought I was better at my state,

But the woman I first saw degraded my proud rate,

Hence I shifted in seeing that this is a talent innate,

And that conquering every battle is my fate

But the people around believed not on my ability,

They rather idolize someone who has better image and credibility,

Then was I left in insanity,

Does skills without image a disability?

Since then the battle for passion was lit,

The drive to reign started to spit,

In my mind, to slain should be met,

Then the quest required me no sweat.

Forgive me God, for I will do this action,

Threatening to death was my only option,

I am determined to do so and needs no conversation,

I surely will do so just to prove my passion.

But beyond my understanding my plans messed,

Every single cell was stressed,

The plan to send threats got worse,

Then I just wanted to escape as fast as a horse.

Trials aroused, fake speeches then came,

The newly born battle was unseen at the farther part of the lane,

My passion then suffered a painful sprain,  

And the achievements I worked, in just a snap, was found in the drain.

The passion I worked hard eroded,

My mischief and my efforts collided,

Once the verdict of complete ban from figure skating was said,

I completely felt I was already dead.

Then I knew this is worse than a broken bone,

This is worse than verdicts to imprison and be alone,

This is worse than raging throws of stone,

It is always worse than to softly kill your own.

Though I denied accepting the punishment,

Even if it felt stabbing every utterance of the statement,

But them removing my passion and just deal with contentment,

It felt, In a lifeless journey, I was being sent.

[a poem personally written from Tonya Harding’s Perspective]

#literarylog

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The Choice

DESCRIPTION OF THE AUTHOR

Mr. Nicholas Sparks, considered as one of the world’s best storytellers. He was born on the 31st Day of December 1965 in Omaha, Nebraska. He was a writer of the best-selling novels in the world, to name a few are the novels, “The Notebook”, “The Choice”, “A Walk to Remember”’, “The Rescue”, “Safe Haven” and many more. Truly, Mr. Sparks is one of this generation’s renowned author.

DESCRIPTION OF THE BOOK

“How far would you go to keep the hope of love?”

           The majestic question that the novels sought to answer. The Choice, a 2007 award-winning novel written by one of the world’s greatest storyteller, Nicholas Sparks. The said novels tackles about the choices we make each day, the choices we face in life. The main characters, Gabby and Travis, a perfect representation of a couple, the one who is firm his decisions and the one who may be challenged each day but stayed to be strong. Moreover, this novel elucidates some of the most important aspects in life; friends, love and family.

Q U E S T I O N S:

3. Based on what the characters say or do, what can you infer about their attributes/personalities?

           The characters of the book were formulated to carry out specific attributes; Travis Shaw and Gabby Holland.

           Travis Shaw, a veterinarian by profession, is a static character, since his character does not change for the whole story. He is always concrete about his thoughts, just like in the story, he never regrets any of his decisions and even if turbulence along the way occurs, he finds way to be firm in whatever he takes. Moreover, the book elucidates how Travis’ feelings for Gabby never changed. Though he knew that Gabby has a fiancé, he still pursued her despite of the occurrence of the unyielding times. In addition, the story also showed how he proved his loyalty to Gabby, because even if she suffered a coma for a non-specific time, his love never changed.

           Gabby Holland, an in tern medical student at the time she meet Travis, is a dynamic character, at the beginning of the novel she was defined as a young, strong headed, independent and a non-sociable woman but towards the end everything changed. In addition, Mr. Sparks also described her as an attractive redheaded. In the story, Gabby was the fiancé of Kevin, the son of the owner of the hospital where she was taking her internship. Then she meet a newly transferred neighbor, Travis. Her actions directly reflects how she was unsure of things. The story provided multitude of challenges for her, she was challenged through continually making choices in life, a choice for whom he would love and a choice for lifetime. Though a lot of unyielding times challenged her, she still stick to her made choices and never regretted of doing so.

           All in all, both characters developed attributes that are suitable for the said novel, the Choice.

31. Write a letter to the author/writer/director of your book/film.

To Mr. Nicholas Sparks;

         Sir, I am writing this letter to express my views upon your works. To tell you honestly sir I am not a wide rider nor a book worm, and was only forced to read for academic purposes. Even if I will force myself to be driven with will to read but the fire won’t even lit nor just spark. Once I though reading is something that does not really belong to my vocabulary and even concluded that reading novels and books isn’t really for me.

           Your book “The Choice” was endorsed by my classmate but I was unsure and was hesitant if the story line won’t amaze me. Believe me sir, I only said yes because I was stuck and had no choice. The moment I started to read your piece I was really in awe and was left astounded.

           Sir, I really wondered on how were you able to establish this kinds of plots that your stories never really failed to amaze your readers. The morale your stories provide really pinches one’s heart. If given a chance to meet you personally, I will really be honored because I would really love to know your own story, your colorful story.

           Mr. Sparks, I am very much looking forward for more interactions with you through your other novels. Thank you sir for helping me put on the fire and be equipped with passion, an infinite burning passion to love reading. Thank you sir for allowing me to transcend and go away from ordinary thinking. Thank you sir for touching my heart and showing me a different story of love that I never imagined of.

           I will end this letter sir with an assurance, the motivation you left me sir will be efficiently utilized. Thank you sir and I will truly pray for you and by the way I am also hoping for more stories from you.

 With respect,

Justin John Luis

50. Write a two stanza poem about your feelings with the story.

Emotions left me feeling I’m on a long ride,

The book indeed brought me to a whole new side,

That love is always a matter of choice,

That we should learn to ignore the temptation’s noise.

 Hearts will surely meet redirection,

Minds will indeed see re-calibration,

‘Coz just like any works of the great Nicholas Sparks,

“The choice” never failed to enlighten minds out of the dark.

#literarylog