I know this is a little late but I just came across these quizlets with the terms we have been studying for the exam — thought I would share! If you have a quizlet account, you can check yourself to see the other ones that are available to help you (I only pasted a few below but there is more!)

https://quizlet.com/72630451/the-film-experience-chapter-2-flash-cards/

https://quizlet.com/72637778/the-film-experience-chapter-3-definitions-flash-cards/

https://quizlet.com/99290620/the-film-experience-final-vocab-flash-cards/

See you all tomorrow morning 🙂

We can only attempt to guess the true meaning behind a lot of the occurrences in the film. If you research the meaning behind the film’s title, Magnolia, you while uncover a ton of theories (and lies). One person said the director Paul Thomas Anderson named the movie Magnolia because the characters kept blossoming like the characters… one person said it was because a lot of the movie was filmed on some street called Magnolia.. and the most interesting one I read about said that the title Magnolia came from the title of a ship called Magnolia (or something similar).

What, according to the film, is the nature and role of media?

I think the nature and role of media, based on this movie is to “put on a show” and entertain. However, if you look behind the curtain you see there is a much different story going on. I think the book The Influencing Machine touches upon some of the same lessons that this film teaches about media.

I honestly thought I knew how the movie would resolve itself… but I definitely was not expecting the raining frogs and the absurdity that happened at the end. I think the element of surprise that was presented in this film, after all that suspense, shows what media is really for as well. Surprising the audience and “putting on a show”/

 

After watching The Rope, and not picking up on any of the indirect/hidden gay references… I was interested to know of any other old movies that may have done the same thing. I found this online and thought it was interesting.

http://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/2015/02/20/16-must-see-classic-gay-movies-you-were-born

Bringing Up Baby (1938) is a great example of the type of film that became possible once sound came to movies. This movie is considered a screwball comedy, which is known for witty dialogue, fast talking, and independent heroines. Susan Vance’s baby is a leopard in the film

Bringing Up Baby, as classical Hollywood film, also represents an increasingly dominant form of narrative that existed in the 1930s and 1940s. There structure includes 3 basic features (which we see in Bringing Up Baby) .. 1) the narrative focuses on one or two central characters. 2) these characters move a linear plot forward.. and 3) the action develops according to a releastic cause and effect logic.

Overall we can see that Bringing Up Baby shows some of the new advancements Hollywood made in film in the late 1930s and 1940s.

Nosferatu was the first film portrayal of the vampire, originally released in 1922. I did not expect it to be that horrifying without any sound. However, it was very frightening … largely due to the expressions of the characters in the film and the quotes that went along with the scenes to give you an idea of what was about to happen.

 

German Expressionism is quite apparent through this black and white film. I was surprised at how the expressions of the characters were so telling of what was happening (or what was about to happen in some cases). The shadows and lighting were a major indicator of what sort of mood was being portrayed. The gestures of the characters were also very telling of what was going on. The way the Count Dracula looked and moved in general was terrifying. I can see how this movie really set the stage for the many vampire films and shows to come.

 

 

After the first class, I was so intrigued by the beginning of Apocalypse Now that I watched it that very evening. I could not believe that this movie was made in the late 1970s… given how well produced it was. It made sense that the movie won many awards. I eventually realized that I was one of the few people that had never heard of this movie. Whenever I bring it up to friends, they all knew about it already. I guess it is great that I am taking this Film & Media studies class for several reasons. One of the reasons is that I clearly did not grow up watching the iconic films that everyone else seemed to.

I think I loved Apocalypse Now so much, not just because of the production and acting, but also because I was in the right mood when I watched it. In Jonathan Gottschall’s The Storytelling Animal, there is an emphasis on the idea of “emotion contagion” and how oftentimes the emotions of others can cause you to feel that same way. I think unconsciously we are aware of this and so we enjoy movies more when we are already in the mood that the characters may be in as well.

Every year, the most difficult time for me is the end of spring semester and the very start of summer. I am not a fan of transitions and change, and although summertime is usually associated with fun and happiness… for me the summer is usually a time where I do a lot of deep thinking and self reflection. I think that I picked up on a lot of the hidden meaning behind symbols in Apocalypse Now because I was already searching for meaning in other aspects of my life. I just found it very interesting that The Storytelling Animal talked a lot about the science behind humans and how we interact with media and how we create stories or interpret them. I made a lot of connections between the book and my experience watching Apocalypse Now.

I learned so much from the first day of class that I began to see television, movies, and any video/media in general from a new perspective. Although I do not like some types of change, I am very open to changing my perspective. Because I know the more knowledge and experiences we attain, the more likely we are to view things differently. And that is a good thing!

ALSO…. I mentioned Joseph Campbell’s A Hero With A Thousand Faces during the first class… if you were interested in knowing why that was relevant, here is just one of the slideshare presentations I found that relates Campbell’s book to Film & Media: