Pawn Sacrifice

Luciano Coelho

Opinion Piece

Oct 10 2015

How interesting does it sound to hear someone make a connection between the game of chess and the Cold War? Pawn Sacrifice is based on a true story. Its main character, Robert James Fischer aka “Bobby Fischer”, is based off of an American World Chess Champion of the same name.

           

Tobey Maguire’s portrayal of Bobby was very appropriate. He showed us that while Bobby may have been paranoid at times and angry at other times, when there was peace and quiet Bobby was a masterful chess player that simply could not be beat. His angry outbursts were believable and marked the peak of Maguire’s acting in this movie. That’s not to say that he was not believable when he played calm Bobby. Looking back at it, I cannot think of a better actor to play Bobby in this movie. Maguire looked the part and acted the part, even in the scene when he was on the phone talking with his sister and having a nervous breakdown and communicating his paranoia to her.

Behind the scenes shot of Bobby crying to his older sister over the phone.  

All of Pawn Sacrifice had a somewhat subtle Cold War mood, and this mood was captured perfectly by the constant use of blues and grays that were so present in the movie’s environments. Some of the scenes take place in Iceland, during what looks like   the late hours of the day. Iceland’s lack of trees and vast landscapes capture the bleakness and cold that many felt during the Cold War. The two rooms where Bobby broke Spassky in order to become world champion were also filled with the colors blue and grey.

To the right, one of the main characters approaches Bobby
 saying that  he wishes to help Bobby with his problems
 concerning the Russians and beating them.

Not all of Pawn Sacrifice is blues and grays, though. Minus a sunny beach scene where he wakes up and sees the current world champion, Spassky - then proceeds to yell at him “I’m coming for you!” - much of the movie is shown in warms sepia tones. These warm sepia tones make the movie feel intimate, though not intimate in a romantic way. In fact, it is far from it. These warm sepia tones make the viewer feel a warm connection to Bobby’s human side, which mostly consists of concerned, angry outbursts and paranoia. These sepia tones bring us closer to his mad genius self. Though these tones make us feel a connection to Bobby’s inner self, it must be noted that Bobby has no romantic interest throughout the movie. The focus is on his moods and paranoia, all of which stem from his brilliant and masterful involvement with the game of chess.

Here we see Bobby’s hands opening his telephone

 to see if the Soviets bugged it.

There are a few seconds of romantic intimacy in the movie. At one point Bobby is very angry at the way Russian chess players are treated, and while shouting and yelling outside the motel he is staying in, he meets a girl. We very briefly see her a few times in the movie. He agrees to give her his virginity and the movie immediately goes back to chess and Bobby’s personality problems, which again all seem to stem from his involvement with the game of chess. This very brief romantic involvement, if you can even call it that, serves to remind the reader that chess is Bobby’s life, and everything else is merely a distraction or some sort of problem.

The strange thing about the movie is that Bobby’s human side doesn’t seem very human at all. Because the only sign of humanity we see from him is paranoia and concern about how the Russians treat the game of chess and their native players.

Bobby playing chess against several players at once.

The movie mentioned the Cold War as a war of perception, and Bobby went as far as to say that the Russians were more or less cheating in order to keep up the appearance that they were superior and smarter, because their chess players were the best in the world.

At the end of the film, the audience is shown real images and clips of Robert James Fischer along with written text explaining the aftermath of his life after the match with Spassky. It is a very sad ordeal. We learn that Bobby turned down millions of dollars in endorsements and was arrested for vagrancy before being granted asylum in Iceland, a few years before his death.

            All in all Pawn Sacrifice is a decent watch. Maguire was on point playing Bobby Fischer and so were the other two actors who played the men that helped him, one who was a priest and one who handled his publicity and finances. The movie gave us a close view of the type of person that Bobby was. The landscapes and colors captured the mood of the movie, and one could not walk away without feeling some compassion for Fischer. If you enjoy the typical “mad genius” story, this movie is for you.

             

After arriving in America, where do our immigrants go? And what kind of education do they take as a first step?

Milin Huang
2/12/2015

After arriving in America, where do our immigrants go?  And what kind of education do they take as a first step?

According to a recently published report, newly arrived immigrants are nowadays more educated than they have ever been in the past.  These immigrants are more motivated, and whether it be for themselves or for their children, they are coming to America in order to make a better future. 

In some countries, such as China, current trends suggest that children should begin formal education at an increasingly earlier age.  That being the case, the system sets that age at around two years, and many critics of the idea claim that children are losing their childhood. For that reason, many Chinese parents may decide to leave the country for places like America in order to allow their children the opportunity to enjoy their lives as children and develop a better view of the world than they would back in their home country.

Immigration and similarly related topics have received widespread attention in America. After all, many tax dollars are being spent on programs to help immigrants and ensure that our borders are safe from illegal immigrants.  In regards to those who do arrive legally, proper education and networking play a critical role in helping our new immigrants learn to adapt and become productive members of society. Where do they end up? How do they make a living? Where are they getting educated?

Our journalists went to the Adult Learning Center of Osceola County Florida (ALCO) to investigate. ALCO provides English as a Second Language (ESOL) and General Educational Development (GED) classes among a large variety of classes for adult learners.  The students think that learning and improving their English is the first step to make a connection with society after immigrating to America. The ESOL classes provided by ALCO begin at level 1, and continue until the student has reached level 6, which then transition the student into academic classes.  With the academic classes, students can use their newly acquired English skills to learn real skills that they can use in school and job applications.

ALCO receives immigrants from all around the world, many of which have little English skills.  They explain by learning English, they will open doors to not only be able to communicate with others, but also find a job in America, and even transfer from English learning center to university level classes. However, as learning a language is a long process, they may need to both study and work at the same time.

Our journalists interviewed several newly arrived immigrants and questioned them on their origins, and what their plans are moving forward:

Michelle

Mishelle moved to America with her family from Venezuela.  Although originally she didn’t want to come, her mother convinced her that she could find a better future in America.  After arriving, she enrolled in classes at ALCO to improve her mastery of English, and at the same time, she found work as a Designer’s Assistant making costumes, decorations, and fashionable attires.  She also picked up a second job as a waitress in order to save up money for the future.  She found that American people are generally kind, and much more relaxed than people in her homeland, but she worries that she is often judged based on preconceived notions about her origins. Her next step aspires to get admitted into a university to study Digital Design. 

Kathy

Kathy came with her son from Taiwan to open a new chapter in her life, and has been residing in the United States for 6 months. She is acquiring academic skills at ALCO in order to complete a program at TECO in Medical Coding.

Juliana

Juliana comes from Colombia, and has been living in America for one year.  Back in her home country, she studied industrial engineering for two years, and before completing her degree, moved to America where she has been working to improve her English so she can continue to follow her dreams of becoming an industrial engineer. 

Aldo

Aldo moved to America from Venezuela just six months ago, and in that time he has made headway in his goals to getting a job as a Mechanical Engineer.  He is currently taking advanced English classes at ALCO, and is looking forward to the day he can take academic  classes in at a university level again.

Carolina

Carolina worked as a Lawyer in her home country of Venezuela before she decided to come to America.  At ALCO she has worked on English and academic classes, and is pursuing an associate degree as a Paralegal.

Dodie

Ms. Dodie is an instructor at ALCO where she teaches advanced ESOL and various other academic classes to adults, mostly recently immigrated.  She has worked in the industry for 20 years and has helped and encouraged countless students to take the next step in their lives.  Ms. Dodie works to animate people to improve their English, and take advantage of career centers at the school in order to help students build critical skills in interviewing, resume writing, group work, and negotiating.  The majority of the students are focused on mastering their English in order to land a job to get on their feet, but Dodie maintains that, “students don’t necessarily have to have perfect English, just good enough to take the test, and pass the certification.” Students who come with certifications and training in their home countries are encouraged to continue pursuing their careers by being directed to the appropriate channels where they can adapt their skills to their new environments in America. When students leave her class, she continues to support them by acting as a powerful connection to the rest of society.

Zon

Zon comes from Burma, where she studied medicine for five years out of a seven year program.  Her sister, who had previously gone to America, suddenly presented her with an opportunity to immigrate, and she made the jump.  Living paycheck to paycheck and working in the service  industry, she has bounced in and out of depression, but nevertheless, she continues to attend classes at Valencia where she hopes to complete the necessary prerequisites necessary to advance her dream. Indeed, she dreams of being remembered as a person who will have made medical breakthroughs particularly in the fields of biochemistry and psychiatry. No doubt, someone as busy as her needs to decompress regularly, and she enjoys releasing stress by reading books, writing in her diary, and playing keyboard.

Niurka is a counselor working at Valencia’s East Campus, Niurka, mentioned if you want to attend Valencia, you must either have a HS diploma or GED certification.  However for immigrants the situation may not be so clear cut.  For example, if you cannot get your HS or college transcripts, meaning, you don’t have a four year diploma, then you can try to get a course-by-course evaluation on sites like the World Education Service (wes.org), or Josef Silny & Associates (jsilny.com). Therefore, if you are a college student, but you haven’t finished, then you may have to take some general education classes, such as Humanities, and Language Arts, before you are allowed to transfer to larger universities.

Immigrants are an important part of the American society.  In fact, besides the native Americans, all citizens of the American continents are all either immigrants or descendent of immigrants. Even in the 21st century, America continues to attract many people to start a new life.  Receiving education will become a good step for them to begin living in America.


To see an in-depth interview with one of our featured immigrants, click here.

In-depth Interview with Zon Mimi Thwin

Milin Huang
2/12/2015

Zon has gracefully allowed us to include part of her interview transcript below:

Milinzy:

Why are you here in America?

Zon:

Because I was thrown into this situation and I chose to continue. Sometimes things are not my choice. I was given these situations to deal with. They were opportunities and challenges.

Milinzy:

How do you handle work and study?

Zon:

When I first started my college semester in summer, I took Monday to Thursday morning classes and worked in evening. I didn’t do well at all as my sleep was disrupted. So I switched my work schedule in the summer B [semester], and gave myself one whole day off every week for studying and rest. This fall semester, I separated out school days and work days with one day off. I pay full attention in class, prepare the topic ahead, and try to maintain good sleep. This does not always apply to my last class of the day at night time. When I am tired, I cannot pay full attention. Mainly the deadlines and stress from it help me get things done as I cannot care about perfection at such time. 

Milinzy:
To be able to work less hours to give time for studying, we need to cut expenses. How do you save money?

Zon:

Electricity and food is the most basic expenses. So we save money mainly through these. We don’t do laundry with few clothes to cut frequent laundry trips. We hang them dry instead of using dryer. We do not use AC even on hot days. So we also do not need to [take a] warm shower on those days too. We cook at home and rarely eat outside.

Milinzy:

Do you miss your family and friends?

Zon:

I have [moved on from] those times. I am pretty much occupied to live my life now. I do not currently have many friends because I cannot take the likely coming up stress yet, as I know about my highly sensitive personality. I could not yet spend enough money to socialize, hang out with friends. Neither my family nor my friends could do nothing about my current situation. Emotional support? Meh! Friends could not understand me because this is totally different here. My parents can relieve me sometimes but not in every occasion. My sister has been my only friend and a guidance. I think the ugly truth changed me from indulged, irresponsible, immature person to a more reliable companion for my sister. 

Milinzy: 

You mentioned that you were depressed for some time after arriving.  How did you deal with depression?

Zon:

I searched online for the surest, least painful, and easiest way to [commit] suicide. I know plastic bag suffocation is the easiest [method] and cause of death that is the most so that there will be least trouble for the remaining family members. But I wanted to make sure about the success rate. Nine times out of ten is a failure. The consequence is living the rest of one’s life with [a] damaged brain. The surest way is to shoot [yourself] into the head. I [have tried putting] a pillow on my face and tried suffocating. That is when I realized human beings have a natural instinct and will to survive. I was coward enough to try [with a] gun. I decided, if I do not even mind giving up my life, I will sacrifice myself to give meaning to the people around me. That is how I continued my life and I got a job. No more severe depression. Nothing really could shake me more than when I felt useless and meaningless. All that I have now is some tiredness.

Milinzy:

What differences are there between America and Burma?

Zon:

• America has good facility at school.
• Relaxed posture while in class.
• A lot of land and not dense, mostly there are houses in contrast to compact tight space building in Burma.
• People in Burma do not smile to strangers.
• Racial issue – There are rarely any situations of racism in Burma, although it is made up of 7 major races and more than 300 minor races. People even have great interest and friendliness to those of other ethnicities.
• In my homeland, the family does everything for me. Here, I have to get things done on my own.

With Every Breath He Takes

Author: Milin Huang
Project: Photojournalism
Date: December 01, 2015

Talmadge Bryan was born on a small island off the coast of Nicaragua, by the name of Corn Island, to an English-speaking community at the height of the Great Depression in 1934.  As a boy, he studied hard in his native Corn Island, and when he completed all the classes offered there, he moved to Bluefields, a city on the eastern coast of Nicaragua, to continue his education.  A motivated student, he had a fascination with subjects such as Physical Science, Literature, and Music.  His hard work during is formative years reflected very well on him, and he was invited to study Mechanical Engineering at a vocational school in London.

"I'm very old now, my face is full of wrinkles."

"But I am still happy, because music makes me smile, and I can share it with others."

Between him and his four siblings, Talmadge was the only one who ever studied abroad.  His time in London was spent studying and learning new cultures and meeting people from around the world.  It was at this time that he began to develop an interest in international politics and languages. He picked up some Russian, and although he never achieved fluency, he continued to look for ways to practice. By putting his mechanical engineering to good use, Talmadge learned to configure his radio to pick up signals from all over the world, and he would excitedly show others that he was broadcasting news reports from far off places such as Germany, China, and Russia.

"Since my hands tremble and shake, I need to practice again and again."

"And my wife hears me from the other room and joins me to sing our music together."

"Sometimes I like to sit down and enjoy my family and friends making music."

"But other times the music fills me with the energy to dance!"

"I can no longer wait! I must join them and play!"

While still young, Talmadge developed an ear for music, and became proficient in both the keyboard and the organ.  He often played at church and always aspired to eventually become a choir director.  His dream came true after moving back to Nicaragua, where he met his wife Dina, marrying her in 1957.  Together, they directed their local church choir and performed many hymns.  Talmadge and Dina had five children together, Dina, Talmadge, Susan, Sandy, and Pablo, who all inhereted their parents love for God and music.

"Finally, the day has arrived."

"Together, with my daughter who carries my music..."

"...and my incredible wife..."

No longer working, Talmadge spends his days surrounding himself with the music that he grew up with.  Talmadge has embraced the latest technology to find new music to practice and read on his Apple iPad.  He continues to perform at church, and keeps his life busy researching new music, singing with his wife and family, and religiously watching Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy on television.