An old house with a neat lawn. The front door of the house opens and an old man steps out. An old man is wearing khaki pants, a coat, and a billed hat , as he relaxingly closes the door to his house.
He is walking on the street and looks to his left. He sees an electronics store where a customer is helping out another man who is getting an item for his son; his son is very exciting, eager to get his hands on the device.
The man arrives at old fashioned coffee shop. He lethargically opens the door. The waiter behind the counter says to the old man “good morning Bob” the old man replies “good morning”. “black coffee like always?”. “Yes, thank you”. The waiter then asks him “Are you sure you don’t want to try our new espresso?” The old man grunts. The old man takes out some crumpled old dollars and places them on the counter. The waiter puts the daily newspaper on the counter in exchange. The old man takes the seat of his choosing. The waiter puts a napkin on the table. He grabs the daily newspaper, and opens it up. In the corner of the of his eye he sees two kids playing their video game. He waves the page in front of him to reestablish his vision.
The old man gently moves the chess piece across the table. His counterpart then places the opposite colored piece across the table. The old men have a casual conversation about their recent lives. The old man, continuing his conversation, is about to move another piece when a kid knocks over the table. The old man is looks confused. The little boy casually reacts “ohh” and continues running and plays with his friends. The old man’s friend asks the old man if he wants to start over. The old man begins to put on his jacket “no my son is coming over with his kid. I haven’t met the boy yet”. He walks away with his hands in his pockets.
The old man is sitting on the couch when the doorbell rings. Father walks in and greets the old man. Father is about to introduce his son, but he is playing his videogame: “Ey i told you to put that away in the car, say hello to grandpa Bob”. “Hello”. They pause for a second. Father says “I brought some food”, they all transition to the dinner table where they take out the boxes of food.
As the dad sets up dinner, the kid resumes playing his video game. The old man seems a little concerned. He looks around his house to remind himself of his purity.
They finish up eating as the old man and father talk. Father excuses the kid. once he leaves, the old man questions why he raising his kid that way. The father is a bit skeptical, but concludes “Things aren’t the same as they use to be”. The old man seems to be irritated, and looks back down at his food.
One day, the old man is reading on his chair, when he hears the little kid scream in anger. The old man walks in and the boy is screaming at the game. The old man does not understand why the boy is mad. The boy continues to scream. The old man yells at him to quiet down, and he breaks the game. The kid begins to cry in confusion. the old man tells the kid to relax, but the kid ignores him, and screams louder. Father walks in “what is going on?”. The old man tries to explain himself, but the kid, much louder and abrupt, is also telling his dad what had happened. The dad goes over and picks up the broken game. Father is appalled by the old man, and tells his son “Jessie, I’ll buy you a new one, lets go” . .. “You can’t do this dad, you need to understand that you cant”. The old man is very confused, and doesn’t understand what he did wrong, as his family walks out the door.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Ideologies in Film
1) Ideologies in film refer to the meanings, virtues, or values that attempted to be portrayed in a film through its different elements. These elements include great concentration in the plot, a narration, in the characters, or perhaps even in the setting (time period and location). These different approaches the film makers have fall under two categories: explicit and implicit. Explicit ideologies is what a character or the director/producer decide is the subject behind the film. This is usually portrayed in the surface in the film. On the other hand, implicit ideologies require more analytical thinking, for it is not direct, but is left in the hands of the audience.
2) One actor that generally appeals to me through his strong-hearted, tough persona is Samuel L. Jackson. Samuel L. Jackson usually plays the role of a strong character who goes beyond the expected to achieve what he desires. In Pulp Fiction, he plays a bad ass detective who serves justice very harshly to his culprits. In the beginning of the film, he opens by reciting a rather scary biblical quote before he kills a man. Another film that reflects this strong character is his role as a coach on the movie Coach Carter. His aggressive character allows former thuggish players to cooperate and brings them to the championship. He defies the typical rules set by the league by expecting more from his players/students. Last, his role in Snakes on a Plane also depicts his expected role, as he takes control over all of the passengers on the plane and leads them to safety against vicious, poisonous snakes.
3)One film that i really enjoy is the film Gladiator, and I enjoy it so so much for its acting, especially from the antagonist Commodus played by Joaquin Pheonix. I like this character so much because the filmmaker gives him a discrete complexity to his character. All he initially wants in the film is to be loved and cared for by his father, but his inability to receive this love flusters him, turning him to be a rather bad and evil person. The values that i am being asked to reject is that resentment is a very bad characteristic, for Commoduses resentment for Maximus (protagonist) eventually leads to his death. His character generally disgusts the audience; thus, allowing, on the other hand, a stronger bond with the protagonist. The final consequences from a film maker's anticipation can be dramatic, because things may not turn out as wanted.
4) Film ideologies or eras may begin to change, for the society around us may change. Large, global, or even national events may affect a film makers decision of what he wants to film. This is also due to the fact that society usually prefers things that are more current. Along with that, film eras may change because new trends that are successful will be followed by other film makers because they now it was successful. This is very apparent in the recent film Avatar.considering how successful this film was, many other films following this one tried the 3d effect, fantasy type films because they also thought it would be successful like Avatar was.
5) I believe films can effect me without me being consciously aware of it. The arts have a subliminal effect to many; they are able to manipulate its audience as pleased. perhaps this is because in films, we become attached to the characters to an extent in which we admire them. this admiration wants us to mock some of the characteristics that the characters in the film hold. This is also exemplified by the fact that film was used as a propaganda tool for Lenin prior to World War II in order for people to be encouraged to support the war effort.
6) Suspension of disbelief is when we ignore the realism within films, and apply realism to the setting of any fictional film in order for the audience to be more compelled to the film. We "suspend" the fat that the film is in a very unorthodox setting also for us as an audience to enjoy it more. This is apparent in the film 300. This film takes place in very active and uniquely colored settings in order for the audience to be more visually appealed, despite the fact that we know it is fake. It enhances the effects of the film, making the film more awful and, thus, more successful.
7) The financial supporters of the film do have an influence on the ideologies of the film. Since they are immensely contributing to the production of the film, they are given a large say in what is going to be produced in the film. Although they are not the creative minds developing the plot or the story, they contribute to the over arching themes or values that they wish to be developed. This is also true not only in films, but in T.V. shows and other forms of media such as commercials or internet advertising.
2) One actor that generally appeals to me through his strong-hearted, tough persona is Samuel L. Jackson. Samuel L. Jackson usually plays the role of a strong character who goes beyond the expected to achieve what he desires. In Pulp Fiction, he plays a bad ass detective who serves justice very harshly to his culprits. In the beginning of the film, he opens by reciting a rather scary biblical quote before he kills a man. Another film that reflects this strong character is his role as a coach on the movie Coach Carter. His aggressive character allows former thuggish players to cooperate and brings them to the championship. He defies the typical rules set by the league by expecting more from his players/students. Last, his role in Snakes on a Plane also depicts his expected role, as he takes control over all of the passengers on the plane and leads them to safety against vicious, poisonous snakes.
3)One film that i really enjoy is the film Gladiator, and I enjoy it so so much for its acting, especially from the antagonist Commodus played by Joaquin Pheonix. I like this character so much because the filmmaker gives him a discrete complexity to his character. All he initially wants in the film is to be loved and cared for by his father, but his inability to receive this love flusters him, turning him to be a rather bad and evil person. The values that i am being asked to reject is that resentment is a very bad characteristic, for Commoduses resentment for Maximus (protagonist) eventually leads to his death. His character generally disgusts the audience; thus, allowing, on the other hand, a stronger bond with the protagonist. The final consequences from a film maker's anticipation can be dramatic, because things may not turn out as wanted.
4) Film ideologies or eras may begin to change, for the society around us may change. Large, global, or even national events may affect a film makers decision of what he wants to film. This is also due to the fact that society usually prefers things that are more current. Along with that, film eras may change because new trends that are successful will be followed by other film makers because they now it was successful. This is very apparent in the recent film Avatar.considering how successful this film was, many other films following this one tried the 3d effect, fantasy type films because they also thought it would be successful like Avatar was.
5) I believe films can effect me without me being consciously aware of it. The arts have a subliminal effect to many; they are able to manipulate its audience as pleased. perhaps this is because in films, we become attached to the characters to an extent in which we admire them. this admiration wants us to mock some of the characteristics that the characters in the film hold. This is also exemplified by the fact that film was used as a propaganda tool for Lenin prior to World War II in order for people to be encouraged to support the war effort.
6) Suspension of disbelief is when we ignore the realism within films, and apply realism to the setting of any fictional film in order for the audience to be more compelled to the film. We "suspend" the fat that the film is in a very unorthodox setting also for us as an audience to enjoy it more. This is apparent in the film 300. This film takes place in very active and uniquely colored settings in order for the audience to be more visually appealed, despite the fact that we know it is fake. It enhances the effects of the film, making the film more awful and, thus, more successful.
7) The financial supporters of the film do have an influence on the ideologies of the film. Since they are immensely contributing to the production of the film, they are given a large say in what is going to be produced in the film. Although they are not the creative minds developing the plot or the story, they contribute to the over arching themes or values that they wish to be developed. This is also true not only in films, but in T.V. shows and other forms of media such as commercials or internet advertising.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Writing About Film
The first type of film papers is formal analysis. A formal analysis paper is similar to a passage analysis paper in a book: it focuses on small, yet vital portions of the film, and analyze it in relation to the film as a whole. This focus allows for scrutiny of the different aspects of film making, such as: how the director manipulated lighting, the dialogue, the coloring, the framing, and the editing of a particular scene. This also allows the writer to get insight on the director's intent as reflected n that particular aspect of the film.
The other type of film papers is film history. This type of writing reflects the history that the film made, the history that the film reflects, or the history of making the film and its intent. For instance, the film, 'The patriot" reflects the U.S. war of independence and their victory. Also, the film Taxi Driver perhaps reflects Robert Dinero's own youth, as he was surrounded by a terrible environment in New York.
Another type of film writing is Ideological papers. These papers target to extract beliefs that are withheld in a film. Directors intentionally portray certain beliefs within a film in order to condone them or negate them. This type of writing delves into the director's intent and how he portrays his intentions through settings and characters.
Another is culture studies. This studies the culture portrayed in the film as shown by character virtues and the setting they are placed.
The last type of film writing is discussion of the auteur. This focuses on on the single individual or vision that created the piece. Assuming this, it is a critique of their approach on the vision and how it is portrayed to the audience.
annotating a film sequence is labeling each shot in a sequence and determining how it contributed to the sequence as a whole, and thus, the film as a whole. This is very beneficial because it is a great preparation to analyze and look at the film as a whole.
What is meant by "Thinking behind the Frame" is to research or wonder what is behind the work that is physically seen. This includes the author's intent, and how it may relate to his/her biography. Along with that, look at the film in context of the time and period and what had occurred during that time and why the event portrayed is important to that time period.
The other type of film papers is film history. This type of writing reflects the history that the film made, the history that the film reflects, or the history of making the film and its intent. For instance, the film, 'The patriot" reflects the U.S. war of independence and their victory. Also, the film Taxi Driver perhaps reflects Robert Dinero's own youth, as he was surrounded by a terrible environment in New York.
Another type of film writing is Ideological papers. These papers target to extract beliefs that are withheld in a film. Directors intentionally portray certain beliefs within a film in order to condone them or negate them. This type of writing delves into the director's intent and how he portrays his intentions through settings and characters.
Another is culture studies. This studies the culture portrayed in the film as shown by character virtues and the setting they are placed.
The last type of film writing is discussion of the auteur. This focuses on on the single individual or vision that created the piece. Assuming this, it is a critique of their approach on the vision and how it is portrayed to the audience.
annotating a film sequence is labeling each shot in a sequence and determining how it contributed to the sequence as a whole, and thus, the film as a whole. This is very beneficial because it is a great preparation to analyze and look at the film as a whole.
What is meant by "Thinking behind the Frame" is to research or wonder what is behind the work that is physically seen. This includes the author's intent, and how it may relate to his/her biography. Along with that, look at the film in context of the time and period and what had occurred during that time and why the event portrayed is important to that time period.
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