Dryden Students Write...
June 2, 2021
Lessons Learned from Bugs Bunny
Inspired by a column titled "Lessons Learned from Bugs Bunny",
students explored what they gleaned from their favorite TV shows, movies, and books.
Putting their thoughts into words, they created their own "Lessons Learned" pieces.
Here is the third of four episodes. Join us next week for the season finale!
Life Lessons From TV Shows
by Audrey Napolitano
Introduction
There are many different ways of influence that inspire growth through television shows, movies, and books. Growing up, these concepts teach us how important life lessons contribute to our lives and teach us how to treat situations as they arise. Even as you get older, shows, movies, and books teach us valuable life lessons that could/ will potentially arise as we get older and mature into adults. There will continue to be increasing growth as adults as well, especially when new parts of life start (independence, higher education, careers, marriage, and children). I’ve had many shows, movies, and books inspire me to dream and believe in myself by seeing the positions these characters have overcome and the advice given through situations that have occurred throughout such shows/movies/books.
Modern Family
“Family Is Family. Whether It's The One You Start Out With, The One You End Up With, Or The Family You Gain Along The Way.”
The quote stands out to me because it states how it doesn’t matter how you end up with your family, they are still family and family will always mean a lot to you. It also symbolizes the importance of family and how important it is that you care for your family and how they’ll always be there for you as well. The quote is from Gloria in the show, who married Jay, and she and her son became part of the family, which she expressed was different for her, but she is always glad she was able to become part of the family.
Modern Family is about a whole family and their struggles and chaos together. One part of the family is the Pritchett family which consists of Jay Pritchett (Ed O’Neil), Gloria Delgado (Sofia Vergara), and Manny Delgado (Rico Rodriguez). Then there's the Dunphy family which consists of Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell), Claire Dunphy (Julie Bowen), Haley Dunphy (Sarah Hyland), Alex Dunphy (Ariel Winter), and Luke Dunphy (Nolan Gould). Lastly, there's the Tucker family of Cameron Tucker (Eric Stonestreet), Mitchell Pritchett (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), and Lily Tucker (Aubrey Anderson- Emmerson). All of these families are related making a big family (Jay is Claire and Mitchell’s father).
Modern Family taught me that family is very important, even if your family is chaotic. Modern Family also taught me that it is important to be yourself and always encourage and support your family. Finally, Modern Family taught me how not all families are normal (families are different), and arguments are very common within a household.
Fresh Prince of Bel-air
"Dad, Don't Do Anything Stupid! You Haven't Updated Your Will Yet."
This quote really reflects what the tv show Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is about, which is a rich and spoiled family, that throughout the show understands the real worth of their money. The quote is from Carlton in the show, who expresses throughout the seasons how entitled he is, but also learns how money doesn’t get you everything and real depth, that may not include “daddy’s money”.
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is about a very successful family, obviously living in Bel-air. The family consists of Will Smith, Uncle Phil (James Avery), Vivian Banks (Janet Hubert/ Daphne Maxwell Reid), Hilary Banks (Karyn Parsons), Carlton Banks (Alfonso Ribeiro), Ashley Banks (Tatyana Ali), Jazz (DJ Jazzy Jeff), and Geoffrey (Joseph Marcell).
I learned that you can always rely on family and friends. Also that some families are aggravating but families are always going to love each other and be unified. I also learned the quality of money and how it isn’t always good to rely on its aspects because it doesn’t get you everywhere in life.
Gossip Girl
"Gossip Girl Here, Your One And Only Source Into The Scandalous Lives Of Manhattan's Elite." - Gossip Girl
The quote is one of the most famous and common quotes from Gossip Girl. This is one said at the beginning of every episode by the anonymous, Gossip Girl herself. This is said before she is about to give some extravagant gossip about the group or their friends/ family.
Gossip Girl is about a group of elite New York City teenager friends whose parents are all very successful but scandalous individuals. They live crazy- fabulous and elegant lives (as well as dramatic), but in the end, they always come together to support each other. The friends are Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester), Serena Van Der Woodsen (Blake Lively), Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley), Nate Archibald (Chance Crawford), and Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick).
Gossip Girl taught me to always count on your friends and to always know who your enemies are. I was also taught about New York's most elegant people, and the lives and chaos they live.
Mrs. America
"I Didn't Get Anywhere In My Life Waiting On Somebody's Permission."
The quote is said by Shirley Chisholm, who was a presidential candidate in the late 60s. She is known as the first African American woman delegate for a presidential race. At the time she was very influential and empowering for Women’s Rights as well as Racial rights and all together advocated along with Gloria Steinem for the Equal Rights Amendment.
Mrs. America is a non-fiction re-enactment of the late 1960s- 70s ERA marches and protests. It gives each opposing side including re-enactments from Gloria Steinem (Rose Brynes), Shirley Chisolm (Uzo Abdula), Bella Abzug (Margo Martindale), Jill Ruckelsh (Elizabeth Banks), and Betty Friedan (Tracey Ullman). Against the opposing forces of Phyllis Schlafly (Cate Blanchett) and Alice Macray (Sarah Paulson).
Mrs. America made me mad at times when the opposing side (Phyllis Schlafly) made their arguments, but other than that I enjoyed learning and hearing about Gloria Steinem's side. This series on Hulu made me feel very empowered to stand up for myself in the future and also form a very strong political aggression (which isn’t always good back I believe it is important for some instances). I also felt like I got an inside look into the ERA fights and I learned a lot about the amendment.
Conclusion
There are many different ways of influence that inspire growth through television shows, movies, and books. Growing up, these concepts teach us how important life lessons contribute to our lives and teach us how to treat situations as they arise. These forms of entertainment serve to help us develop into adults, and advance past important life moments. Even as you get older, shows, movies, and books teach us valuable life lessons that could/ will potentially arise as we get older and mature into adults. There will continue to be increasing growth as adults as well, especially when new parts of life start (independence, higher education, careers, marriage, and children).
Grey's Anatomy Life Lessons
by Sophia Peter
Have you ever paid close attention to what the actors in tv shows or movies are really saying? In almost every single tv show or movie the actor could be trying to teach us, the audience, a lesson. I personally don’t watch a whole lot of tv shows or movies, but one show that I watch on a regular basis is Grey’s Anatomy. Grey’s Anatomy is a medical-based drama centered around Meredith Grey, an aspiring surgeon and daughter of one of the best surgeons, Dr. Ellis Grey. Together the characters discover that neither medicine nor relationships can be defined in black and white. Real life only comes in shades of grey. Over the last 14 seasons I have watched, I have noticed that the actors are trying to teach me something. In the list below I have listed 5 quotes from Grey's Anatomy that teach you invaluable lessons about life
1. Find your person
Grey’s Anatomy has its fair share of romantic relationships and crazy friendships, but when it comes down to it, it’s the friendships that always stand out. This show has taught us to find your person. The person that makes you feel good about yourself, the person who is always there for you no matter what, and the person you can be open and honest with. In the show, Meredith and Christina are each other's person. When it came down to it, Meredith was always helping Christina out and Christina was always helping Meredith. Once Christina left then it was Meredith and Alex. They were so close that Meredith officiated Alex’s wedding. While watching the show you can really see how these people communicate with their person and how they would drop anything they are doing to help their person. The lesson learned is, find your person. You don’t need three, just find one and stick with him/her/
2. Embrace the journey no matter where it takes you
Throughout the show, Meredith was hit with so many roadblocks. She fell in love, got married, became a mom, had a miscarriage, and lost her husband. Despite everything she had been through she never stopped or gave up. When she had a miscarriage she pushed through and kept going, when her husband died she took a little break but after that, she came back bigger and better. The lesson learned is no matter how hard things get, the journey is probably leading you to somewhere beautiful.
3. Never underestimate your own strength
Almost every single character showed great strength every day. When Ameilia was in the operating room making a tough decision, she didn’t let it get the best of her. She used what she had known and everything that she had learned and made a decision. Ameilia didn’t break down crying or run out of the operating room. She knew she was capable of it and that she had the strength to do it. Even when Meredith was fighting to make the Catherine Fox Foundation reality. Meredith didn’t give up, she knew she could do it, so she did. The lesson learned is never underestimate your own strength. No one else knows what you are capable of doing, so if you’re going to do something then do it.
4. Put yourself first even when it feels wrong
During the show, several of the characters tend to put other people first and they worry about themselves at a later date. This wasn’t the case for Callie and Meredith. In Callie's case she wasn’t happy with her marriage, and after her wife, Arizona, had been in a plane crash, it just made things worse. Callie found herself doing everything from Arizona, even before the plane crash. She didn’t want to leave Arizona, but she wanted to be happy. Now, in Meredith's case, after her husband died she took her kids and left town. She stopped working and just left. Meredith was trying to do something for herself. She wasn’t worried about other people, the only thing she was worried about was herself and her kids. So in both of these cases, Callie and Meredith tried to put themselves first even when they didn’t want to or they thought it was wrong. The lesson learned is to put yourself first even when it feels wrong. Don’t let other people walk all over you and take control of you. You are your own person, and it’s your life, not theirs.
5. Your future doesn’t depend on anyone but yourself
In the show, it seemed that everyone thought their future depended on their significant other. Especially when it came to the relationship between Meredith and Derek. Meredith didn't think she could go on without Derek. Now, after Derek died, she's more successful than ever. She thought she would never be happy again. The same thing happened with Izzie and Denny. When Denny passed away Izzie sat in the bathroom on the floor crying because she thought her life was over. Then, she ended up marrying Alex. The lesson learned is sometimes losing someone is the greatest way to see your potential. Yes, it’s nice to have people around that are important to you, but sometimes it can hold you back from succeeding
When watching tv you may have never realized that the actors are trying to teach you a lesson. The lessons that the actors are trying to communicate to the audience can be very helpful. So, next time you’re watching a movie or a tv show, pay close attention to what the actors are saying and if they are trying to teach you a lesson.
Lessons Learned
by Evan Shirling
I don’t often stick with a single series of shows very often. I am always jumping around looking at every channel on DirecTV, but recently I took interest in a show called House. The show focuses on the work life and personal life of Gregory House. House is a genius doctor that works at a medical university. Every episode, a patient with a strange medical anomaly is sent to his office where he and his team must figure out what's wrong and how to fix them. Although House is a genius in his work life, he’s made some stupid mistakes in his personal life. Dr. House is a drug addict to many things depending on the episode, and he always tends to push people away just when they get close to him.
This show has piqued my interest because of not only his hilarious people skills, but because he always knows how to fix the problem. Something that many people want is to be needed in a time where nobody else could do it. House lives this situation every episode. It drives you to think that you could figure out the problem too as if you are just the quiet member of the team. Another thing that keeps me watching is a cliffhanger at the end of each episode, whether it be House overdosing on drugs or him making a personal connection with someone, it always stays interesting.
Through all the sarcastic remarks, overdoses, and medical miracles, I have discovered a few lessons this show teaches. I don’t mean medical lessons on what the symptoms of cancer are, I mean moral lessons from watching Gregory House's miserable personal life. No matter what happens in each episode, House always has someone that has his back. He pushes them away in the hard times, but they are always there for him. The lesson is to always be a friend to someone because you never know how messed up their life is until you help them through it. That and don’t do drugs.
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