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I really enjoyed reading "Proxima b". I loved that it was very humorous and it included a bilingual dialogue! I was quite confused at the beginning with what or how the tittle would end up relating to Judy's situation and her rejections. However, it is a play that we could actually relate too. Maybe we're not astrophysicists or doctors of any kind, but in the sense that anything we are trying to accomplish or 'think' we might then have someone take our hopes down, always sucks. Mirta came out of the nowhere for Judy and though she was even very bothered by her presence and humming, she practically was the only one to hear her out, give her hopes and hype her up when she was feeling her lowest. She was something like a blessing in disguise? After reading this play i am aware of how our theme should be present in our piece but not literally thrown at the readers. Also i was able to see different tactics one can use such as humor and a different language in order to make the play very entertaining and interesting for the readers!
ReplyDeleteVictoria Rodriguez
What I like about the What I don't like about the 10-minute play by Dr. Robert Paul Moreira is that even the young lady the astrophysicist was treating the old lady with a bad attitude Mirta always worry about Judy because she told her you need my help and she decided to share her blanket with Judy it was very kind of Mirta. Judy was getting cold since she only has her lab coat I think Mirta was not a bad person but she was a bit stubborn and she wants to do her own thing. I enjoyed the end of the play when Judy and Mirta were singing Twinkle star together I like the fact that they reconcile. What I did not like about the 10 minute play Proxima B is that Judy was treating Mirta so bad a because she was there with her telescope watching the sky whose was called Mirta I know the Mirta shouldn't be right there in front where Judy was sitting and invading 3 parking lots, I don't justify what Mirta was doing was fine but I didn't like the way Judy answered her back saying I'm not your mijita. You need to get out of here, take your chair, your telescope, your blanket and leave me alone. Mirta is already 70 years old and I think there was a better way for Judy to speak to that lady. The most surprising thing is that she is an astrophysicist a professional to speak that way to an elderly woman. You need to show respect to the elders. Just like my mom says this saying Spanish “ Si no cabe la prudencia en ellos que quepa en uno”
ReplyDeleteOscar A. Jacome Serrano
Although Proxima B was funny, there was a lot of gloom in it as well, especially from Judy. She is trying her best to make her research known to the scientists, but it seems like they are shutting her down. She takes all her anger out on the woman that she meets at the park which I thought wasn’t cool of her at all. The reason is because the woman was minding her business, but she had to deal with Judy the whole time nagging her to leave or move her car correctly. However, the woman knew how to ignore Judy and actually try and request her help because of how much Judy was showing off. Towards the end, the woman even offered her a jacket because she was cold, but I think Judy’s anger and stubbornness was getting in the way. Judy even tried to call her husband to pick her up and talk about her bad day but he is busy at the moment, so she gets even more angry. I think this play taught me that when you’re down, don’t take it out on others because they could be of assistance in some way or they can help get you out of the mess you are in. Always be kind and open with everyone.
ReplyDelete-Alec De La Garza
What I like about the 10-minute play by Dr. Robert Paul Moreira is that even the young lady the astrophysicist was treating the old lady with a bad attitude Mirta always worry about Judy because she told her you need my help and she decided to share her blanket with Judy it was very kind of Mirta. Judy was getting cold since she only has her lab coat I think Mirta was not a bad person but she was a bit stubborn and she wants to do her own thing. I enjoyed the end of the play when Judy and Mirta were singing Twinkle star together I like the fact that they reconcile. What I did not like about the 10 minute play Proxima B is that Judy was treating Mirta so bad a because she was there with her telescope watching the sky whose was called Mirta I know the Mirta shouldn't be right there in front where Judy was sitting and invading 3 parking lots, I don't justify what Mirta was doing was fine but I didn't like the way Judy answered her back saying I'm not your mijita. You need to get out of here, take your chair, your telescope, your blanket and leave me alone. Mirta is already 70 years old and I think there was a better way for Judy to speak to that lady. The most surprising thing is that she is an astrophysicist a professional to speak that way to an elderly woman. You need to show respect to the elders. Just like my mom says this saying in Spanish “ Si no cabe la prudencia en ellos que quepa en uno”
ReplyDeleteOscar A. Jacome Serrano
I really enjoyed Proxima b, I think we’ve all been Judy, or at least I have, trying to be in the world of writing and film is a lot of “no’s” and “maybe later’s”. Maybe Judy was having an off day but in the beginning I sometimes couldn’t see her frustration with the Mirta. Even thought the park was closed, I feel that it wasn’t Judy’s place to tell her leave. After her ending dialogue I could see a little bit of frustration toward Mirta. As Judy is describing the vastness, and quiet of outer space, she talks about how she would go, probably to escape everything, something I could very much relate to. Throughout the play when Judy was talking to the Heinmann, Nagafuchi, and Stan there was a lot of word repetition with “sir”, and “Stan”. I wondered if there was a reason for this, while reading it I definitely thought it flowed good and I enjoyed the repetition but it seemed a bit symbolic to me, although I might be reading into it too much. This story also left me wondering why Judy hated “twinkle, twinkle” so much, especially because of the fact that she was an astrophysicist, I’m not saying she should LOVE the song, but I just didn’t expect her to hate it. I feel that there’s a bit of a “trauma”, for lack of a better word, that goes along with her hate for the song, I would really like to pick Dr. Moriera’s brain about it. Overall, it was a great read!
ReplyDeleteAisha Teegarden
I really did like Proxima B, I loved the Spanish that was told in the story. I love the woman and how sassy she was too. Reminds me of my grandma in some way as well, but I liked how nothing was going right for Judy. Everything just seemed to just kept piling and piling and the woman was just speaking her mind. In a way I think the woman is someone that really doesn’t care what people think. Though it seems she has a big heart enough to care for a stranger who was mean to her, and still wrap her in a blanket. I don’t know if the woman was real or not. I want to say yes, but I’m not so sure at times, maybe since it’s around Christmas I’m thinking of things like the ghost of Christmas? I think Judy really needed someone like the woman to help her out of that little stump as much as she was rejecting it. In the end the one that actually listened to her in the end was a stranger. I don’t know I really just enjoyed the story, and it really warmed up my heart and me feel good.
ReplyDelete-Alyssa Rangel
Reading Proxima B I was able to identify myself with the character at some points just because it’s so hard being a certain way that everyone expects you to be or that you think you should be. When spanish is incorporated in it, I feel like it is targeting people from the RGV since we talk a lot of “tex-mex” where we mix it up. Hearing the name “Judy” i always think of the “judymoody” books and I feel like it fits perfect with this character. The only thing I couldn’t relate to was the “astrophysicist” part because well, i work in retail BUT it felt cool reading something that I hadn’t read much about before. Like a change and a lot of the times in pieces that i have read they have more common jobs that one hears a lot. I really enjoyed reading this and can’t wait to read it in class to see the difference from reading it out loud in comparison to your head.
ReplyDelete- Cecilia Cantu
Proxima B is a very interesting story. I like how the hint of racism, sexism, elitism, and classism are spread throughout the story. The distinction between Judy and the Woman is very interesting as well. The classism between them is made very apparent when Judy begins to yell at the Woman and list to her all her accomplishments like her job title, her degree and the fact that she is sooo much better than her and would never associate with someone like her. It’s interesting because I actually see that a lot amongst the Hispanic community. The “higher class” Hispanics or Mexicans look down upon the working class and say to themselves “pobresita,” as if the “lower class” need their help and sympathy. Especially in any type of service environment you always hear the spanish equivalent of “do you know who I am” and it’s very sad to see/ hear, actually. At some point we’ve all started from the bottom and had to make our way up but then we forget that until something happens that makes us humble again, much like when Judy realizes that this was the worst day of her life and finally warms and softens up to the woman. As if now that Judy is brought down, they are at the same level.
ReplyDelete-Bethanee Campos
I like this play. It keeps a tone that feels very familiar or real to me. I can’t quite put my finger on why that is though. A few possibilities come to mind: somebody being too wrapped up in their work or what they want to do around Christmas time is a rather famous trope. Judy even acts somewhat scroogy to the lady who just wants to watch the stars. Eventually, Judy lets herself be comforted by the woman which she seemed so upset at. These are tropes which I like quite well. It differs from them in a few notable ways though. Letting the woman comfort her does not solve any of Judy’s problems except perhaps her chill. If it was meant to be a classic Christmas story this would be a rather atypical ending, but I don’t think there was any intent for Christmas to be a defining point of the story. Rather it casts a specific scenario that brings out an emotional response in Judy. After realizing this, I looked elsewhere for a theme to the play. To me, it almost seems to ask the question: what happens to someone when their hard-fought work or whatever they’re dedicated to becomes unimportant to everyone else?
ReplyDelete-Christopher Hinkle
Proxima b caught my attention by being bilingual, because you tend not to see that as much. Also, because it was very humorous. Although the story was funny, I remained confused on why the titles was the way it was. I wondered how it related to Judy and her situation. I honestly think that Mirta really came out of absolutely nowhere and Judy just seems to be annoyed by her presence. In reality, Mirta was sort of like a blessing without her realizing it. After reading up on this play, it gave me a better understanding on how themes should be portrayed. I think this play also taught me that when someone’s feeling down, the anger shouldn’t be taken out on somebody who is only trying to help and be there for that somebody. Always be kind to everyone around you, because you may never know their situations or anything that person might be going through. Overall it was a great read, because it was truly a relatable piece that almost anyone can connect with. When I’m upset, I try my hardest not to take it out on other people.
ReplyDeleteClarissa Partida
Proxima B was interesting mainly because of how relatable Judy was. A common thing that I’ve noticed, and I’m not saying that it is a bad thing, is the fact that many plays if not all the plays we have read, end in an ambiguous way. We never truly ever find out what happened or what will happen. It leaves me to question why her boyfriend? Is leaving her stranded on Christmas eve and whether he cares or not. Apparently, he does not, as she starts to cry. I myself like to know all aspects of what is going to happen or what is currently occurring in the story, but I know that a story that ends in ambiguity creates more of a reaction than giving the audience an actual ending. We saw that in love on the b train, I’ve seen it in Virginia Wolfes works and currently in The remains of the day by Kazuo Ishiguro where a butler never truly tells us what is going on or how its going to affect the plot or as a matter of fact, himself. I am curious to find out why many authors choose to handle it like that, but if it works it works.
ReplyDeleteJonathon Morin