An essay about the movie, Midnight In Paris

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Harold Sowards
Fys 2 pm
4 November 2013
I. Reflection
I would want to live during Elizabeth I’s rule in England. I chose this time period,
because the country was more at peace with one another and the outside world than any other
time. There was a sense of equality and with a woman ruling more empathy and less executions
and religious freedoms. There were a lot of famous playwrights during this time as well,
including Shakespeare and Marlowe. A few famous adventurers were also present in this time
span, such as Drake. Also, she ruled with a council, which shows that there is some sort of
limited democracy going on.
I would defiantly want to live in England has well. The culture would be a lot more
sophisticated than our time period in literature. Plus, there would be less pollution and more
influences on exploring. I just think it’d be cool to see plays reenacted in their original content
instead of the various degrees of nostalgia performed in today’s plays.
One challenge that I would have to deal with would come in the later years of her reign,
which would be a higher tax burden due to an economy struck by war and a bad harvest. I think
that I could overcome this challenge if I would have saved some of my profits from earlier in my
life and spend them in this time. However, I could also go on sea faring expeditions and raid
ships and make money that way. The problem though would be how I deal with hunger, because
that is a primary drive for society, so I think that I’d be forced to eat leftovers and things I find in

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the streets. Also, losing friends and family to the wars would cause a great sadness that I’d need
to overcome as well, which only happens with time.
For challenge one, I would have to say inquiry based thinking would be important
because it’d help me be able to evaluate my money level and how much I have left to spend and
how much food I have. Also, ethical and civic thinking, because I’d have to be able to relate with
other people going through the same pains but from different classes. Metacognitive Thinking,
when I have to get used to my friends dying and have to readjust to having a limited staple of
food. Communication fluency only when I have to talk to others about their situations. Creative
Thinking, if I decide to go out on adventures and raid ships, because not many people would
decide to do that at this time.
Dan Pink’s aptitudes used for challenge one, would be story because you must have a
story to why you are in the predicament. Play especially when it’s just you out on the open seas.
Empathy and sympathy, because you are going through the same pains as everyone else and you
must work together to fix the overall problem while understanding how someone feels about a
particular cause.
The second challenge I would be facing would be the war and the possible invasions of
Spain. This is kind of like a fear most people would have because most of the North part of
England was in rebellion. I would mainly hate being drafted, because I don’t know how to shoot
that well, but also afraid of dying. I’d say to overcome this, I would have to train to be a better
soldier just in case, pray that nothing bad happens to me or my family, and rely on Elizabeth I
and the council to come with a diplomatic solution of peace. However, after the Armada is
defeated, I would say that the whole hope of ever winning another war would be just demolished.

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For the second challenge, I would say that communication fluency is needed for the
queen and the council so they can communicate effective strategies to the soldiers and also to try
and make effective peace treaties with Spain. Information Literacy because I would want to stay
up to date about all the news on the situation. Intercultural Thinking, because I would want to
assume that Spain feels the same way that we do about the situation. Creative Thinking, because
I would have to find a way to practice becoming a soldier. Ethic and Civic Thinking, when I are
associate with other people who either feel or don’t feel the same way as I do.
Dan Pink’s aptitudes would be story, because there is a story of war to follow. Also,
design because war strategies are being made and made peace talks being negotiated and created.
However, I have a sense of meaning because all wars are based on some type of problem or
resentment that is going on.
The last problem I would have to face would be religious differences. Although there is
religious freedoms there, the only main choices are either Puritans or Catholics. Since I’m a
Christian, I would find it very difficult to readjust to a completely different religion that might
go against what I believe in. The only way I can see that I’ll be able to cope with this would be
if I had religious tolerance and learned to adjust to the differences. I could also try and get
persecuted and start up the Christianity sect there in England.
I would say that ethical and civic thinking is important here because I’m dealing with
different religions and I have to be tolerate of their beliefs. Communication Fluency because I
have to be able to talk about different religions and know what is acceptable in certain
conversations. Intercultural thinking because I have to be able to be diverse in my religious
aspects. Metacognitive thinking, because I have to be able to think about my religion and how

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different religions differ from it. Also, maybe information literacy if I have to do research on the
subject.
Dan Pink aptitudes in use are meaning because I feel that religion is always meaningful
and story because religions bring interesting stories.
II. Problem Solving
1a. Story
This implies to the overall movie has it has a plot. However, I think it also it has to go with the
events that Gil has going for him in his mind with all the artists and writers. Also, there is an
underlying story about the growth of a writer as Gil goes from movie script writer to a novelist.
1b. Information Literacy, because he read about all the artists and writers that he is seeing.
Communication fluency in him being able to talk to them about the works of art. Metacognitive
thinking because he has a different way of thinking about his writing and his life from the people
in the past.
2a. Play
Gil has a sense of play imagination when he is at the parties with the 20s people. There is the
sense of music also involved. There is even, a sense of dancing involved. I could also make the
argument that play is used when he writes his book because he likes it.
2b. Intercultural Thinking when it comes to being able to experience the music and the dancing.
Information literacy in him being able to know what to write about. Creative Thinking, when it
comes to being able to fix solutions and know what situations to listen to certain music.