There is a show called Brain Games that teaches people why humans think and act a certain way. In the first episode, around 25:38 they begin to talk about how the sounds were created in Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. I thought this was interesting and related to the class where we began speaking about sounds. What interested me the most was that the sounds were not made how we would expect them to be made. I attached the link, feel free to check it out and if you want, watch the whole episode. Lafayette College is in the actual show a few times.

In the first movie “Children of Men” one of the main elements we talked about was the filming technique of a long shot. We learned about the difficulties and barriers that long shots created but we also learned how much of a pay off they created for movies. One thing I found that pertains to this, involves the oscar winning movie “Birdman”. There is a long shot in this movie that reveals the tough elements that “Children of Men” faced. I found it very interesting in a clip I came across, where actor Edward Norton, who stares in “Birdman”, is being interviewed by Jimmy Kimmel, were Norton talks about how terrifying it was to shot the scene because he did not want to mess it up. I loved the way Norton describes it and talks as a true human being who was afraid to make a mistake, because one mistake would ruin the entire shot. But after watching the clip I definitely agree that the long shot effort was completely worth it.

Today in class we discussed the importance and wrongful use of media literacy. I strongly feel that media is one of the post powerful and widespread sources of information and entertainment. Unfortunately, present day, a lot of people do not spend the time researching global issues and are solely concerned with local occurrences. It is important to be informed in the going ons across the world and the issues different nations face. Especially in the United States, research is is developing quicker than ever before and we are cultivating, discovering, or creating resources that many other countries do not have access to. This puts us in a position to at the very minimum influence and inform other countries, let alone prevent barbaric and ruthless actions in other parts of the world. With a widespread knowledge of what is going on people are more likely to do something to help others or prevent negative actions. While media can be easily manipulated and can be very opinionated, it is better to know about a situation even a little bit than to be ignorant to what is going on. I feel that without video people would not be well informed because simply, people do not take the time to sit down and read about what is going on.

Mr. and Mrs. Bakshi represent the very typical Bollywood father and mother pair. Mrs. Bakshi portrays the always nagging mother who tries to instill in her daughters the rigid values and customs that she believes in. She is the mother character who upholds societal values and passes them on. Mr. Bakshi, on the other hand, appears to be a mellow personality who always takes the side of the daughters. On first sight, it seems as though Mrs. Bakshi runs the house while Mr. Bakshi is in the background. This observation is as far from truth as it could be. In reality, Mr. Bakshi’s is the final word. For instance, there is a scene where Mrs. Bakshi tells Lalita that she will never talk to her if she doesn’t agree to marry Kohli (the always nagging mother). Mr. Bakshi who appears to be relaxing in a chair reading a newspaper passes the final verdict when he says he will never talk to Lalita if she agrees to marry Mr. Kohli. This representation of the rigid mother and mellow father appears in numerous Bollywood movies but is not the right representation of Indian families. It is true mothers are the ones who pass on societal and cultural values to their children but they aren’t so oblivious to what their children want. They are not unconcerned about their childrens’ happiness as Mrs. Bakshi and many other mothers in Bollywood appear to be.

The role of the “sissy” in film in the 20’s and 30’s was very interesting. Sissies were put into films just for comic relief it seemed. The directors made the sissies very dramatic and super flamboyant. I think they did this to make the sissy seem very out of place. He was meant to be viewed as weird and “not normal”. The introduction of Hollywood Censorship was also interesting. Directors did not use the sissy in the same humorous blatant matter. Directors had to rely on creativity to use a sissy in the 40’s and 50’s but the sissy was not the typical one that viewers were used to in the 20’s and 30’s. They were dark and villainous. It is interesting because in both cases the sissy is portrayed very different than the other characters in the film. The early sissy was very dramatic and flamboyant and overly peppy, while the later sissy was more monotone and viewed as creepy. Rather than flamboyant, the new sissy played a dark role. It is interesting how after rules changed, the sissy was differently played. Although they were played completely opposite of each other, the overall concept of the sissy not fitting in and being noticeably weird/different was a common trait.

I thought it was very interesting how the men in this said they learned how to do their hair, makeup, dress, and behave through the women in movies. I also thought it was very interesting that one of the gay actors said that even though the way the gay community was portrayed in movies was negative, he would rather have some sort of portrayal rather than nothing.

I went through several clips of the movie The Celluloid Closet. The movie depicts how the characterization of homosexuals in movies had made an impression on the general audience on how homosexuals actually behave. Armistead Maupin in the movie said that “I have always thought sex with another men would mean having to commit suicide.And I got that impression from the movies.”

The movie implies that  gays characters were depicted as a funny character to be laughed upon in 1920’s.However in 1950’s and later, homosexual characters were generally referred to as cold blooded villains. This made me think of what may be the reason such a big transformation was made.

Also, I felt that this may be connected to how JFK movie alleged gays to be conspirators in Kennedy assassination.

I found it very interesting in The Celluloid Closet that people kept discussing the realism of films and how they portrayed real life occurrence/ how they affected the way people acted. Tony Curtis said, “Cary Grant taught me hoe to treat a lady, how to dress for dinner..” and a female screenwriter goes on to say that life in Hollywood was “more like the movies than you could ever dream.” Movies effect the way people view certain  things and the way people develop opinions or stereotypes.  Gay and lesbian characters were portrayed as “prissy” and used to create comedy. Back in the early/mid 20th centuries a director could count on a gay character to make an audience laugh. This influenced the way people saw gay men and women in real life. They judged them and felt they were a source of comedy, and were not to be accept seriously.

Movies are can be such a powerful tool without it intending to be.

In class we discussed alternative story lines; breaking away from linearity through flashbacks or flash forwards. In Lone Scherfig’s romance One Day (2011) Emma and Dexter meet the night of their college graduation and the film cuts to the same date of the following year showing their buddying friendship and does so for 15 years as the two grow less close. We follow the two individual stories year after year as they both undergo life altering changes. The two separated lovers are finally able to make a relationship work and get married. The film jumps to the final year where unfortunately Emma is killed in a car accident. The film cuts from a a lonely Dexter back to the first day they met and shows everything that happened that day that they did not show the viewer before. I felt this was a really good example of breaking linearity. This break from linearity made the movie so powerful and touching because to the viewer, at that point, Emma was a ghost of sorts.

After watching the short film the Sandman in class, it reminded me of my favorite short film the Paperman.

Like the Sandman,  there is a lot of added non diegetic sound. It opens with the train rumbling by, which is an added sound, and the piece of paper flying by which was created to fit into the animation. The backround music goes along with the action in the film and fits with it. It makes the audience sad and then happy. Other added sound is the train bells, backround intruments,street noise, running. It does not have any words which makes it unique and fun to watch. It is a romantic and silly short film. I recommend it to all audiences.