Aidan's ELA Blog

I chose Rita as my character to do an alphabet for.

A is for the Arguing that Rita does in court.

B is for how Busy Rita is all the time.

C is for the Court cases she does.

D is for the Drama that she’s going through in court and in her own home.

E is for the new Emotions she’s experiencing.

F is for being a Famous lawyer.

G is for Getting to know her son better.

H is for her Husband, who’s treating her wrongly.

I is for how Important her career is to her.

J is for her job that she values highly.

K is for Kicking down Sam’s door.

L is for the love that she needs to give her son.

M is for the Mistakes she makes, and her trying to fix them.

N is for Neglecting her son.

O is for the Opportunity she’s given when working with Sam.

P is for the Passion that she carries with her career.

Q is for the Questions that she asks.

R is for Rehearsing her court cases with Sam.

S is for her client, Sam, who she’s learning to care for.

T is for the Tears she has shed for Sam, Willy, and herself.

U is for the Unexpected changes that she’s going through.

V is for the Victories she’s had in court.

W is for Willy, her son, who isn’t getting the attention he needs.

X is for a xanthochroid, because Rita has light skin and blond hair.

Y is for the Yelling she does both in and out of court.

Z is for the amount of money that Rita charges Sam, which is Zero.

I Am Sam

Practically every movie produced uses its music to represent the feeling of the scene. The film I am Sam has quite an impressive soundtrack. All of the music implemented in the film is music by “The Beatles” but other artists redo it and use it as the soundtrack. The music helps to portray the feeling of the scene. For example, there is a scene where the main protagonist, Sam, is facing trial in court. The music becomes fast, panicky, and tremendously unsettling. Overall, the music is implemented in a very creative way to show feeling in the scenes.

Dynamic characters are a valuable part of any movie. They are people in a film/novel who learn new things and develop throughout the movie/story. There are lots of dynamic characters in I am Sam. Rita is an example. Playing as Sam’s lawyer, she’s learning a lot as the film progresses. She’s learning how important it is to love your child and, slowly but surely, she’s starting to respect Sam. Dynamic characters are used lots in I am Sam.

Most movies are told as one continuous story. The conflict is established, there are some rising actions, the climax occurs, and the problem in solved. However, I am Sam is very different, because the story is told in three distinct acts. The first act begins when Sam is having his first baby daughter, Lucy. This act continues until Sam’s parenting abilities are questioned, and the second act starts. Many people believe that Sam doesn’t have the qualifications to be a good parent. They are thinking this because Sam has a mental disability; his mind is compared to that of a seven-year-old. When the court cases finish, the verdict states that Sam doesn’t have the mental capacity to care for a child. The third act starts when Lucy is taken away from Sam and put into a foster home.

In I am Sam, one of the major conflicts arises when Sam’s mental abilities are challenged. Some characters are saying that Sam has the brain power of a seven-year-old. Despite this, Sam is still wise in some ways. He may not be very knowledgeable, but he says some very insightful things. For example, when Sam is trying to speak to Rita about his daughter, he says “If they took your son away, how would you feel?” He’s putting Rita in his shoes, and she feels empathy for him. She doesn’t want her son taken away, so she’s feeling sorry for Sam. There are various other occurrences like this one in the film.

Rita and Sam seem different at first, but it turns out that they’re more similar than you’d think. Sam and Rita are both parents. Struggling ones, at that. They’re both trying to be good figures to look up to, but they’re having a very hard time. Although it’s for different reasons, both Rita and Sam are feeling separated from their children. As the movie goes on, they continue to learn what it means to be a good parent, and they are trying to be the best role models they can. Sam and Rita’s lives are related to each other because of their children.

Professional movies hold their camera angles to high standards. Besides music, camera angles are also a crucial but subtle way of setting the mood. Since I am Sam is a very emotional movie, the feeling is critical. Camera angles are used very often. An example of this happening could be when Sam is in court. This scene is a very tense part in the movie, so the camera shakes frantically. The angles switch back and forth quickly, creating a feeling of panic and distress. On the other hand, the camera sits still during calming parts. There is quite a contrast in how the camera angles are used.

I am Sam isn’t very relatable to my life. I’ve never had kids, I don’t need a lawyer, and I don’t have any major issues with my family. However, there are still many ways I can relate to it. For example, there is a scene where Sam and his friends tried recording a message on their answering machine. While watching this, I chuckled to myself because I remembered something. A long time ago, my family and I tried to record a message on our answering machine, just like Sam and his friends did. I could relate to this scene, so the directors did a good job of making it relatable.

I corrected my first 3 paragraphs.