https://youtu.be/Y5vmo_oUnJo

I’ve used the first two minutes of this clip in my analysis.

 

Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuarón enraptures several different themes in today’s society giving credence to the damage that war can create internationally and externally, while entertaining the idea of what infertility can do to a dominant species in society. A significant scene towards the end of the film, expresses just how important the role of women and children are in times of distress. In this scene (which roughly being around 1:31:00) main character Theo is shielding Kee and her newborn child from multiple gunshots from outside. He is shown trying to get her out of the building and far from harm’s way. However, in this scene of heavy warfare, there is a momentary ceasefire and the Fugees (immigrants), counteracting militia, and military soldiers take a moment to observe the child. Through study of Mise-en-Scéne, cinematography, and editing, one can further understand the significance of this scene and what meaning it gives to the film as a whole and the role of its characters.

Mise-en-Scéne

            This scene is incredibly realistic as people have seen war footage and the damage that it can do to a building. In this scene, sounds of gunfire and bombs are continuously going off in the background and lends to the reason why the walls are shot up and the building is in disarray. There are several misplaced bricks in the background used as props and the characters are covered in dust from the the has ricocheted of the wall from gunshots and destruction. Their clothes are very worn and bloody from their own wounds or other’s blood. More importantly, when the camera continues to switch between Theo’s point of view as he’s walking down the hallway and what is behind, you can see a wounded woman sitting on the ground, and notice people behind them still being shot at. This signifies that a war is still occurring despite the visual of people actually shooting. When a man approaches them at the steps, he is holding a gun to both Kee and Theo. This prop not only connects us to the background sound but amplifies the dangers to come outside of the building they are trying to leave from. To the next group of soldiers who continue to ceasefire, we see their expressions change. Like the intial man with the guy, the soldiers’ faces change to one of determination to awe as they gawked at the baby Kee clutched to her body. Without the continuous presence of the supporting actors stopping in the tracks as they interacted with Kee and her baby, it would be hard to identify that the baby was the most significant factor in the scene. Further, the costuming of Kee, Theo, and the Fugees in contrast to protestors with Guns and the military, allowed us to see the different positions each character played and how vulnerable Kee and Theo were to being harmed.

Cinematography

With heavy observation, I’d argue that scene was recorded with handheld shots because the camera remained slightly unsteady causing tension and anticipation. In addition, there were several following shots, and a lot of refocusing and cuts to display the expressions of Theo and Kee and the expressions of the Fugees and people shooting. In the beginning of this scene, there is a shallow focus on Kee and Theo, which signifies the baby they are protecting is most important. However, the shot is still long enough to capture the mayhem around them and show what dangers they encounter. Where ever, Theo and Kee move the camera follows. For example, as they fall to the ground the camera tracks their movements and remains low until they get back up again. While they are down, the camera remains low, but angled upwards towards the two. The camera continues to slightly shake which instills a feeling of uncertainty in viewers as you are forced to wonder what is going to happen next. It then begins to zoom-in to Theo’s face as his expression changes and forces you to wonder what he is looking at.

The setting in the film present a strong sense of realism and often forces me to reflect on the environmental activism advertisements that show heavily polluted areas, albeit land, water, or air. The movie showed areas we very much could associate with real-life however, the way they were presented exist in areas of the world already, and could possibly be something we continue to interact with in the future should people continue to live unsuitable lives. I could go out on a limb and also note that whenever Theo was faced with a lot of turmoil from outside forces, he was in a highly industrialized area (near his workplace or where the Fugees were held captive). Scenes were he was running (really driving) away from the madness in order to get Kee to a safe haven, were in the country with a lot of green landscapes. Here we can think of Jasper’s home and the safe house that Leon took them to. Roads that lead to these places seemed pure and untouched.

Below I’ve attached still frames from moments that I believe truly address pollution. In the effort, I say that infertility in this case symbolizes the way in which war and malicious practices can damage the Earth. If done too much, it can also cause irreversible damage like oil pollution in the Amazons.

In this frame, I wanted everyone to pay attention to what is being shown outside of the guarded window. The train passed a large amount of what appeared to be garbage. This could have given credence to they way in which we carry out waste practices. Waste today is taking up a lot of land mass, using remote areas of trash islands.

 

 

Cows could have been a natural prop to the open land shown on the sides as Jasper and Theo were driving. HOWEVER, these cows were set on fire. This could have been referenced to bad farming practices like slash and burn or the mistreatment of animals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This shot was a mobile frame following Sid’s truck. When heading to the detainment center, you noticed a lot of degradation to the land as the bus Sid is driving Theo, Kee, and Miriam in turns into the opening gates. At the forefront, you can see a barrel in the water (could have been filled with oil), muddy water and pathways that damage the grass areas. In the second frame, notice on the bottom left the dirty sewage water being leaked out and the dead animal. Past the road and at the top of each frame you can see heavy clouds of smoke from towers, and what appears to be an urban skyline. This reminds me of driving on the highway in New Jersey and looking as massive factories.

Each of the shots were backgrounds and showed the car that drove onto roads as minuscule. Environmental damage is all around us, and yet it isn’t really treated as a priority. Pollution is mentioned once in passing by the Christian protestors in the beginning of the film. Yet, most settings and landscapes chosen are portrayed as damaged in several parts of the movie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bringing Up Baby was pretty funny from start to finish. Here you have a troubled paleontologist paired with a free-spirited woman (although some may refer to her as absentminded) trying to find a leopard. Just going off of the title I assumed that the show would be about a married couple raising a child, but it was the complete opposite. I argue that this movie was about letting go and learning to appreciate life. Further, one should always focus on what makes them happy and not be assuaged by the judgement of others. I’ve gathered this solely based on the change of character portrayed in the main character, David, as he interacted with Susan.

 We first notice that David may be unhappy when his fiancee, Alice, insinuates that he nails his meeting with Mr. Peabody in order to guarantee a million -dollar donation to the museum. While he is most excited to get married and enjoy his honeymoon, Alice is more concerned with David finishing the remake of the dinosaur. She says  “Once and for all nothing will interfere with your work” and “Our marriage must entail no domestic requirements of any kind.” David face continues to drop when he realizes that his wife wishes not to have children and only wants to focus on the future of the museum.

Throughout the film, he continues to try to impress Mr. Peabody to get the donation (probably for his wife’s sake) but Susan always gets in the way of that. First with stealing his golf ball and car at the golf course, ripping his suit at dinner, and later (after she’d drawn affection for him) she sends his clothes to the cleaners knowing it would delay his wedding. While he’s well aware that she continues to inconvenience him, I noticed that after agreeing to help Susan look for her missing leopard, he stops worrying about missing his wedding day and practically gives up on trying to be liked by Mr. Peabody. Instead, he concerned with getting the Leopard back to Susan’s grandmother to make Susan happy.

Towards the end, Alice confronts David in the Museum when the fiasco is over and says that she doesn’t like the change in David that he has endured while spending time with Susan, and decides to leave him. Although he seemed discouraged, as soon as Susan arrived and told him that she had gotten him the money for the museum (which essentially was what he was after the ENTIRE movie), he did not seem in the least bit excited. However, what he did realize was that he was in love with Susan. In the bigger scheme of things, him realizing that his time with her (Susan) was the most fun he’d ever had, was an indication that he wanted to do more with his life. Frankly, after the dinosaur collapsing it was probably much easier to leave his career at that final point. Susan represents the change in his life as she made a big impact on him in such short time.

 

Apocalypse Now garners numerous thoughts and images that provoke different themes and ideas of the United States. We come across fear, horror, and insanity in order for Francis Ford Coppola to properly convey what he wishes to. Different times throughout the movie we also encounter ideas such as hope and good conquering evil. One particular idea that comes across in the movie is that of insanity and madness, directly as a result of war. Each character in the movie is affected by this madness in some fashion. We have Willard, who goes mad in the sense of the story of Kurtz controlling his mind, and forcing him to think extraneously about what could happen to him. Then we have Lance, who is so out of it on psychedelics and other drugs that his young mind simply went lucid during the fighting. Then there is also Kilgore, who does not play as prominent of a role as others, but goes mad in the sense that the war has become a game to him, something that he is unsure what he is going to without. His madness can be directly contributed to his time spent during what can be presumed numerous wars. Of course, the one particular scene that shows this is that of the Army invading the beach, where Kilgore gives a legendary monologue. The beach scene with Kilgore extravagantly implements mise-en-scene, editing, camera, and sound to portray the theme of madness as a result of war.

 

Be harsh and let me know!

Here is the clip I was talking about in the upcoming movie, as compared to the bystanders witnessing the bridge scene in The General.

Story Analysis: Allegory of the Cave meets Odyssey meets modern war

-Apocalypse Now’s opening scenes could be no clearer as to how the movie will pan out, it is immediately evident that it will be a tale of destruction and rapid decimation of potential paradise. Coppola, in my historically backed opinion did an excellent job in depicting the mayhemic nature of the Vietnam War. In Copola’s own words, “My movie is not about Vietnam…my movie is Vietnam”. In essence, the signature motifs and themes that were central to the movie were based on the question of how far man was willing to go into their own realm of darkness, it questioned the unspoken realities of warfare (everything is malicious and brutal) and similarly to “Batman” toyed with the traditional protagonist/antagonist role.

 

Protagonist/Antagonist: Historically from an American perspective, the Vietnam War was a tale of American defense of democracy against the straits of demonic communism being pursued by VietCongs as they attempted to dismantle the Vietnamese government.In this movie, it can quite easily be assumed that Vietnam’s government and the US military will be the heroes of the story. Contrary to this thought, Coppola correctly depicts the manner and nature of the war, every time the  different/new infantries of the army you see a consistent reintroduction of savagery and evil, in fact there is rarely if ever any direct contact with the VietCongs at least in a manner in which they are seen as savage. In fact, in every interaction with the natives of the land, you see the American troops (the supposed crusaders of justice) behaving as inhumanely as possible. This is not simply a tale of destruction rather a tale of banality of violence, and seeing to which point we can become most banal while maintaining sanity.
This is where Kurtz, Willard, and quotes like “never get off the boat” and Kurtz’s quotes like “horror and moral terror are your friends and if not they are truly enemies to be feared” kicks in to the forefront. The boat throughout the movie reflects the idea that the deeper you go, the more lost you get, so when you leave the boat completely you have left your humanity. This is the inherent contradictions of war, often fought in the idea of the proper way to live contrasting lives, a quest for the civilized and full pursuit for humanity…however to get there the winning army must act in the most inhumane way. Kurtz reflects the dedicated patriot, once lost in the darkness but still on the boat of humanity…he returned from Saigon before reaching the apex of what he thought a soldier to be, someone willing to die for their country. Willard on the other hand represents the soldier who will go to any distance to attain victory for the states. He essentially came out of retirement to fight Vietnam, because the United States just wasn’t doing it right. In the eyes of war, Kurtz is the protagonist and the further Willard goes up the river he realizes it and almost becomes Kurtz. His transformation into a true warrior is when he sacrifices Willard for the greater good of the war.

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.

 

 

The General is such a fascinating movie to me. Having never seen a silent film in its entirety, it was eye opening to experience one that is so action packed and filled with everything except words. Being an English major, I have a believe that words the single most powerful thing in the world so for a whole movie to have no speaking and still be able to effectively produce a movie is astonishing. Of course, the quotes would often pop up when they were necessary, but other than that the understanding of the movie has to derive from sound, props, and emotions. The most obvious use of media utilized for the movie is music. There is music being played from the onset of the film. The music is chose to keep pace with the action as well as simultaneously being used to set the mood, an element that is also used in modern films, with more emphasis on the mood portion. Throughout the movie, there is a large amount of props used as well. The most glaring props being the variety of trains, but all of the obstacles and objects that were being used to throw trains off course were vital to telling the story. The emotions of the characters can be seen in their faces as well as their body language and actions. The glares and smiles that come across each character’s face tell a story in itself. Overall, the movie exceeded my expectations. In the 21st century, an action movie is filled with technology and all sorts of effects that are only viable in today’s world. The use of other film elements to properly make an action movie in 1927 is something that blows my mind. Wouldn’t it be pretty cool to have a silent film with Leo or Denzel as the star?

Chapter 1: The first chapter if a book is a very efficient way for an author to grab the reader’s’ attention. The first chapter of The Storytelling Animal did just that. Originally, I had not planned to make this chapter one to talk about, but it was incredible. The one main conclusion to take is simple: everything is or has a story. Whether it be a daydream, reality TV, sports, or a well-written novel, everything has a plot in a sense. Relating to novels, the part I found most interesting is how written words essentially give readers no more than an outline. The text paints pictures for readers, but it is left to the reader’s imagination to fill in all the blanks of the scene. The Moby Dick scene being described, for example, is extremely vivid and shows what is going on, but there are so many extra details such as clothing and facial features that the reader must create. Having some knowledge of the WWE, the Vince McMahon portion of the chapter was also intriguing. Obviously pro wrestling is “fake”, but everything else that tells a story filled with drama is “fake” in the same sense. McMahon, as a business mogul, understands what it takes to release a good product for fans. Likewise, he understands the process of the human mind and consequently uses pro wrestling as a storytelling outlet. Packed with everything that a best-selling novel has; drama, good, bad, evil, victory, defeat. All of those elements are present in the WWE. This chapter served as a good precursor to the rest of the book. It helps readers prepare for what is to come by illustrating just how vital storytelling is.

Chapter 8: This chapter takes a dive into the world of real-life memories and how they can often be construed in a variety of ways. I particularly enjoyed this chapter because of the real-world elements it presents. Although our minds are filled with everlasting memories, it is not uncommon for our minds to piece together fictional elements that help support our stories or memories. The first tale that Gotschall presents is perhaps the most interesting. David Carr, a well-respected writer for the NY Times, lived a dangerous and often questionable life in his early years of his career. Alcohol and cocaine had his life on a bad path which resulted in a more than eventful day with his friend Donald. As the story goes along and we reach the end with the part about the gun, we learn it was David who had the gun, not Donald. The whole story David was convinced that Donald was threatening him with a gun, but in reality it was David threatening the life of Donald. While unrelatable, it fascinated me that such a vivid and eventful story could have such an important detail misconstrued. Gotschall continues the chapter by pointing out examples of memoirs that are almost entirely fiction, written by authors using an alias that are just trying to tell a story, a story that they did not experience first-hand. The portion regarding 9/11 also caught my attention. “Flashbulb memories” are relevant to everyone who has experienced trauma. Every person who experienced the world when 9/11 happened could probably recall their location and other simple details, but often times those memories are distorted by lies and perception that often enhance the story being told. This chapter made such a fantastic connection to real life experiences for readers. We all continue on with our life and memories, but those memories can easily be altered in order to best fit what we want the story to be.