AS Film Studies has come to a finish! I've really enjoyed the first year. I feel the exam went really well, I cannot watch any form of media without analysing it.
I am happy we created something completely different from my piece for Media. I felt the whole experience was good for me, as I have never been the actress for a film before. I definately prefer being behind the camera, but I am happy with our final piece.
I cannot wait for next year.
I have enjoyed looking at American and British films, but World Cinema is where my passion lays.
This blog is now closed.
Thursday, 23 April 2009
Tuesday, 21 April 2009
Reflective Analysis
For this piece of coursework I worked in a group with three of my colleagues: George, Jake and Callum. Our initial idea was to make a piece of film exploring OCD. The obsessive theme intrigued us; we wanted to create something obscure. Once we established this concept, we studied the subject OCD. On the internet Jake found several articles on other people’s compulsions and weird behaviour. I also thought it would be a good idea to look at how the media interprets OCD. I found a two minute clip from Grey’s Anatomy portraying a patient with obsessive-compulsive disorder. It was a slightly over exaggerated portrayal. The media tend to exaggerate everything; I did not want to make an over the top piece of film about someone with OCD.
After much discussion, the OCD concept then developed into this idea of focusing on me and my sketchbook. Once we had this idea, we discussed our film inspirations. Callum mentioned the film Requiem for a Dream and the notion of repetition was brought up. We agreed this would be an excellent way of paying homage to the film. I also thought it would do well in depicting the mindset of the character we wish to portray.The next thing we needed was a title for the film. At this stage we lacked creativity, and were just looking for a temporary title. Again, said in jest someone suggested the title Work Tara Work. Although it sounded like a cheap parody of the German film Run Lola Run, we actually quite liked it.
We were then told to take on a role. Of course, I was going to take on a role of performer. As we did not use much dialogue, I improvised on certain things such as: body language and positioning. I found this part of the production really interesting. We all got along, and we used everyone’s ideas and contributions. Callum took on the role of the editor; Jake directed the film and George worked as the assistant cameraman. We filmed over the course of two days.
For both of those days Jake and I were there. Together the three of us planned and set up the mise-en-scene. We filmed most of the establishing shots on the first day for continuity reasons. This way we would only have to get close-ups and less important shots the following day. The filming took place in an art room. I thought this would be the ideal place to film. It was a messy art room. I thought this was a good idea, and showed connotations of frantic behaviour. Jake placed magazines all over the tables, and threw pencils everywhere. The guillotine was placed at the end of the table and was angled slightly to the left. It was looking brilliant. To complete the setting my sketchbook was placed directly in front of my chair: portraying myself as untidy yet hard-working. Several tracking shots took place that day. We did many panning shots from several different angles. I really like establishing shots, they are important as they show the audience my surroundings. They get a chance to see my working environment and this helps build up an impression of the character. During the filming process, on both days we used a broadcast camera. The camera remained on the tripod for most of the filming. I, myself am not a fan of hand-held camera work. Whilst Jake was filming, he suggested we at least try it. Jake managed to get some good footage hand-held. When shooting point of view shots, the camera was not on the tripod.
On the second day it was George, Jake and I. This is where the close-ups took place. When one was filming,
I directed the other to photograph the filming process. This time round, everything was done handheld allowing the camera to get as close as possible. I usually detest close-ups, but as the focus was on other body parts such as my hand and mouth I didn’t mind as much. To pay homage to Requiem we filmed a series of extreme close-ups such as: masking tape being pulled out from the roll, tip of pencil lead snapping. We recorded these things over and over again. So we had more than enough footage and got used them more than once and in different places. When filming the close-ups, we also captured sound. Sound is a very important part of our short film. To create tension, in post-production we planned to over exaggerate the noises. When it came to editing we had over seventeen minutes of footage. Once we established the opening sequence and the narrative structure it was fairly straight forward from there.
The editing process was a long, overwhelming yet rewarding journey. When working in a group, there is always going to be disagreements. After many disagreements, we managed to put all our sequences together and create Work Tara Work.
After much discussion, the OCD concept then developed into this idea of focusing on me and my sketchbook. Once we had this idea, we discussed our film inspirations. Callum mentioned the film Requiem for a Dream and the notion of repetition was brought up. We agreed this would be an excellent way of paying homage to the film. I also thought it would do well in depicting the mindset of the character we wish to portray.The next thing we needed was a title for the film. At this stage we lacked creativity, and were just looking for a temporary title. Again, said in jest someone suggested the title Work Tara Work. Although it sounded like a cheap parody of the German film Run Lola Run, we actually quite liked it.
We were then told to take on a role. Of course, I was going to take on a role of performer. As we did not use much dialogue, I improvised on certain things such as: body language and positioning. I found this part of the production really interesting. We all got along, and we used everyone’s ideas and contributions. Callum took on the role of the editor; Jake directed the film and George worked as the assistant cameraman. We filmed over the course of two days.
For both of those days Jake and I were there. Together the three of us planned and set up the mise-en-scene. We filmed most of the establishing shots on the first day for continuity reasons. This way we would only have to get close-ups and less important shots the following day. The filming took place in an art room. I thought this would be the ideal place to film. It was a messy art room. I thought this was a good idea, and showed connotations of frantic behaviour. Jake placed magazines all over the tables, and threw pencils everywhere. The guillotine was placed at the end of the table and was angled slightly to the left. It was looking brilliant. To complete the setting my sketchbook was placed directly in front of my chair: portraying myself as untidy yet hard-working. Several tracking shots took place that day. We did many panning shots from several different angles. I really like establishing shots, they are important as they show the audience my surroundings. They get a chance to see my working environment and this helps build up an impression of the character. During the filming process, on both days we used a broadcast camera. The camera remained on the tripod for most of the filming. I, myself am not a fan of hand-held camera work. Whilst Jake was filming, he suggested we at least try it. Jake managed to get some good footage hand-held. When shooting point of view shots, the camera was not on the tripod. On the second day it was George, Jake and I. This is where the close-ups took place. When one was filming,
I directed the other to photograph the filming process. This time round, everything was done handheld allowing the camera to get as close as possible. I usually detest close-ups, but as the focus was on other body parts such as my hand and mouth I didn’t mind as much. To pay homage to Requiem we filmed a series of extreme close-ups such as: masking tape being pulled out from the roll, tip of pencil lead snapping. We recorded these things over and over again. So we had more than enough footage and got used them more than once and in different places. When filming the close-ups, we also captured sound. Sound is a very important part of our short film. To create tension, in post-production we planned to over exaggerate the noises. When it came to editing we had over seventeen minutes of footage. Once we established the opening sequence and the narrative structure it was fairly straight forward from there.The editing process was a long, overwhelming yet rewarding journey. When working in a group, there is always going to be disagreements. After many disagreements, we managed to put all our sequences together and create Work Tara Work.
Sunday, 19 April 2009
Hey, even the Mona Lisa's falling apart
Discuss some of the similarities + differences between the two films you have studied for this topic with particular reference to narrative and genre features
Both films, American Beauty and Fight Club share similar messages that they seek to communicate. They were both made in 1999 and share some similarities. Visually they are both completely different interestingly enough. Fight Club uses edgy, fast editing techniques. It was perceived as ground-breaking for its visual style in cinema. Whereas American Beauty does not use high-tech editing technique but it still beautifully cut together. Both films were described as the ‘most talked film of its time’.
Throughout the film there are several references and subtle digs at the American Dream. By doing this the audience learn that both directors, Sam Mendes (American Beauty) and David Fincher (Fight Club) are very cynical when it comes to the ideologies of The American Dream. It isn’t hard to see that the directors do not agree with the ideologies that constantly surround us. The director’s thoughts on the Dream are represented through key elements such as narrative structure and the characters. For example for me Fight Club’s Tyler Durden is the voice of the director, David Fincher. It is quotes such as: “Right. We are consumers. We’re the bi-products of a lifestyle obsession” and “Hey, even the Mona Lisa is falling apart” which stand out for me. There are several moments throughout the film where I feel David Fincher is making a connection with the audience through the character. When Tyler says things like: “Murder, crime, poverty, these things don’t concern me. What concerns me are celebrity magazines, television with 500 channels, some guy’s name on my underwear” I feel Fincher is angry with what the world has become.
I feel that Sam Medes does the same in American Beauty through the protagonist Lester Burnham. There is a scene in which Lester comes onto Carolyn and instead of giving into temptation she tells him to stop as he is going to spill beer on the sofa. When Lester argues that is it just a sofa, Carolyn screams: “This is a $4,000 sofa, upholstered in Italian silk”. It is this next line where the voice of Mendes is present. “This isn’t life, it’s just stuff. And it’s become more important to you than living. Well, honey, that’s just nuts. It seems to me that Fincher and Mendes share the same opinions.
Another thing both films have in common are the themes that they both play on. The films challenge pro-consumerism through their protagonists. Both American Beauty and Fight Club feature a wide selection of characters all different in their own little way. To me, each character has something unique about them considering how dominated they are by stereotypes. When it comes to their personal values the characters are not all that different from each other. They both feature characters rooting for different sides. In American Beauty, Carolyn Burnham and Jack are everything the American Dream stands for. They rely on the pro-consumerist ideologies to fulfill mental happiness. Whereas other protagonists such as Lester Burnham and Jack’s alter ego Tyler Durden live for something more meaningful. The two protagonists in both films are very similar from one another. Fight Club's Tyler Durden and American Beauty's Lester Burnham are both on a quest for physical embodiment. They struggle with masculinity and live joyless lives. They constantly seek happiness but they do so in a different way in which Carolyn and Tyler Durden do. I feel that both films deeply play on the idea of different stereotypes.
Fincher’s characters are a combination of stereotypes and facts. One in seventeen Americans (about six percent of the population) suffers from sever mental illness. Fight Club’s protagonist Jack is a prime example of this. It can be argued that he does not suffer from a metal illness. He actually suffers from insomnia which is a symptom not a disease. The fact that he imagine an alter-ego shows the audience that he is not all there.
Both films explore the theme voyeurism, particularly American Beauty as its tagline is 'look closer'. Again, this theme is explored through the character's actions. The audience forever sees Brad Pitt's character walking around in the fight scenes. He is a critical observer and this also emphasizes his strength as a character. American Beauty's Ricky Fitts is also an observer in a more obvious way. Fitts is never seen without his camera. He documents things he finds beautiful throughout the film. To some extent he is similar to Lester and Tyler as he also lives for the more important things. He is constantly picking up on the smaller, more important things such as Janey's expressions. Disfunctionality plays a big part in both films. I feel every character in both films embody this one way or another. For example American Beauty's Jane craves human contact and some sort of a relationship with her father. On the other hand Marla craves sexual contact in order to feel better about herself. Marla (Fight Club) and Jane are different, fresh representations of females. They challenge the hegemonic values of feminity and beauty. The two of them do not fit in anywhere; this is enlightening to see characters that are not a walking stereotype. Although it could be argued that they are the ‘misfit’ stereotype.Fight Club and American Beauty both immediately challenge the American Dream through narrative and a voice-over. They also both begin at the end of the film, challenging usual narrative convention. The two films feature homoerotic overtones and to some extent can fall under the black comedy genre. These overtones make the audience uncomfortable and thereby keep them from anticipating the twist ending.
Both films, American Beauty and Fight Club share similar messages that they seek to communicate. They were both made in 1999 and share some similarities. Visually they are both completely different interestingly enough. Fight Club uses edgy, fast editing techniques. It was perceived as ground-breaking for its visual style in cinema. Whereas American Beauty does not use high-tech editing technique but it still beautifully cut together. Both films were described as the ‘most talked film of its time’.
Throughout the film there are several references and subtle digs at the American Dream. By doing this the audience learn that both directors, Sam Mendes (American Beauty) and David Fincher (Fight Club) are very cynical when it comes to the ideologies of The American Dream. It isn’t hard to see that the directors do not agree with the ideologies that constantly surround us. The director’s thoughts on the Dream are represented through key elements such as narrative structure and the characters. For example for me Fight Club’s Tyler Durden is the voice of the director, David Fincher. It is quotes such as: “Right. We are consumers. We’re the bi-products of a lifestyle obsession” and “Hey, even the Mona Lisa is falling apart” which stand out for me. There are several moments throughout the film where I feel David Fincher is making a connection with the audience through the character. When Tyler says things like: “Murder, crime, poverty, these things don’t concern me. What concerns me are celebrity magazines, television with 500 channels, some guy’s name on my underwear” I feel Fincher is angry with what the world has become.
I feel that Sam Medes does the same in American Beauty through the protagonist Lester Burnham. There is a scene in which Lester comes onto Carolyn and instead of giving into temptation she tells him to stop as he is going to spill beer on the sofa. When Lester argues that is it just a sofa, Carolyn screams: “This is a $4,000 sofa, upholstered in Italian silk”. It is this next line where the voice of Mendes is present. “This isn’t life, it’s just stuff. And it’s become more important to you than living. Well, honey, that’s just nuts. It seems to me that Fincher and Mendes share the same opinions.
Another thing both films have in common are the themes that they both play on. The films challenge pro-consumerism through their protagonists. Both American Beauty and Fight Club feature a wide selection of characters all different in their own little way. To me, each character has something unique about them considering how dominated they are by stereotypes. When it comes to their personal values the characters are not all that different from each other. They both feature characters rooting for different sides. In American Beauty, Carolyn Burnham and Jack are everything the American Dream stands for. They rely on the pro-consumerist ideologies to fulfill mental happiness. Whereas other protagonists such as Lester Burnham and Jack’s alter ego Tyler Durden live for something more meaningful. The two protagonists in both films are very similar from one another. Fight Club's Tyler Durden and American Beauty's Lester Burnham are both on a quest for physical embodiment. They struggle with masculinity and live joyless lives. They constantly seek happiness but they do so in a different way in which Carolyn and Tyler Durden do. I feel that both films deeply play on the idea of different stereotypes.
Fincher’s characters are a combination of stereotypes and facts. One in seventeen Americans (about six percent of the population) suffers from sever mental illness. Fight Club’s protagonist Jack is a prime example of this. It can be argued that he does not suffer from a metal illness. He actually suffers from insomnia which is a symptom not a disease. The fact that he imagine an alter-ego shows the audience that he is not all there.
Both films explore the theme voyeurism, particularly American Beauty as its tagline is 'look closer'. Again, this theme is explored through the character's actions. The audience forever sees Brad Pitt's character walking around in the fight scenes. He is a critical observer and this also emphasizes his strength as a character. American Beauty's Ricky Fitts is also an observer in a more obvious way. Fitts is never seen without his camera. He documents things he finds beautiful throughout the film. To some extent he is similar to Lester and Tyler as he also lives for the more important things. He is constantly picking up on the smaller, more important things such as Janey's expressions. Disfunctionality plays a big part in both films. I feel every character in both films embody this one way or another. For example American Beauty's Jane craves human contact and some sort of a relationship with her father. On the other hand Marla craves sexual contact in order to feel better about herself. Marla (Fight Club) and Jane are different, fresh representations of females. They challenge the hegemonic values of feminity and beauty. The two of them do not fit in anywhere; this is enlightening to see characters that are not a walking stereotype. Although it could be argued that they are the ‘misfit’ stereotype.Fight Club and American Beauty both immediately challenge the American Dream through narrative and a voice-over. They also both begin at the end of the film, challenging usual narrative convention. The two films feature homoerotic overtones and to some extent can fall under the black comedy genre. These overtones make the audience uncomfortable and thereby keep them from anticipating the twist ending.
Tuesday, 31 March 2009
Comparative Analysis - Fight Club & American Beauty Characters
Characters in Fight Club
Jack
Tyler Durden (Jack's alter ego)
Marla
Bob
Characters in American Beauty
Lester Burnham
Characters in American Beauty
Lester Burnham
Carolyn Burnham
Jane Burnham
Angela
Frank Fitz
Ricky Fitts
Jack and Lester - both struggling with masclinity whilst trying to re-define themselves. They both live joyless lives, they are consumers seeking happiness.
Jack and Carolyn - both pro-consumerist ideology to fulfil mental happiness, but deep down they are very unhappy.
Tyler and Lester - both quest for physical embodiment/ power, strength, endurance.
Tyler and Ricky - both observers/voyerisitc.
Tyler and Frank - both believe in traditional fighting values. (Frank forever wanting his son to fight back).
Frank and Bob - the most feminim characters in the films. Bob = no balls, 'bitch tits' Frank = he break downs, he cries, qualities of a woman.
Marla and Angela - both searching for gradification and fulfillment. They both have a constructed identity and deep insecurities, creating a false persona. They both crave male attention and in a sense are lost, they don't know what to do with themselves.
Marla and Jane - both disfuntional characters that don't fit in and the two of them are different representations of beauty. They challenge the ideologies of feminity and beauty, but are beautiful in their own right.
Marla, Angela and Jane - the three crave male attention. for Jane it's about male human contact, not sexually driven. She craves a father figure and some sort of relationship with her father. Whereas for Angela and Jane, they crave sexual attention from men in order to feel better about themselves.
Jack and Carolyn - both pro-consumerist ideology to fulfil mental happiness, but deep down they are very unhappy.
Tyler and Lester - both quest for physical embodiment/ power, strength, endurance.
Tyler and Ricky - both observers/voyerisitc.
Tyler and Frank - both believe in traditional fighting values. (Frank forever wanting his son to fight back).
Frank and Bob - the most feminim characters in the films. Bob = no balls, 'bitch tits' Frank = he break downs, he cries, qualities of a woman.
Marla and Angela - both searching for gradification and fulfillment. They both have a constructed identity and deep insecurities, creating a false persona. They both crave male attention and in a sense are lost, they don't know what to do with themselves.
Marla and Jane - both disfuntional characters that don't fit in and the two of them are different representations of beauty. They challenge the ideologies of feminity and beauty, but are beautiful in their own right.
Marla, Angela and Jane - the three crave male attention. for Jane it's about male human contact, not sexually driven. She craves a father figure and some sort of relationship with her father. Whereas for Angela and Jane, they crave sexual attention from men in order to feel better about themselves.
Comparative Analysis - Fight Club & American Beauty Opening Sequences
Both films conform to the expectations of a title sequence by:
- Introducing a protagonist
- Establishing a narrative
- Drawing the audience in
How are they similar?
- Both openings immediately challenge the American Dream through narrative
- Both openings feature a voice-over
- Both openings start at the end
- Both openings work hard to establish character, mood, tone, pace and thematics (The thematics being: dysfunctional families, destruction, anarchy, consumerism, power, control and most importantly subverting the Dream).
Both protagonists (Jack, Fight Club and Lester, American Beauty) are disfuntional, imprisoned, dissatisfied. On the face of it the two opening sequences look completely different, the cinematography in Fight Club is nothing like the cinematography in American Beauty. The score/soundtrack is different also, but these openings both take the audience on a journey through the characters and their mindsets.
- Introducing a protagonist
- Establishing a narrative
- Drawing the audience in
How are they similar?
- Both openings immediately challenge the American Dream through narrative
- Both openings feature a voice-over
- Both openings start at the end
- Both openings work hard to establish character, mood, tone, pace and thematics (The thematics being: dysfunctional families, destruction, anarchy, consumerism, power, control and most importantly subverting the Dream).
Both protagonists (Jack, Fight Club and Lester, American Beauty) are disfuntional, imprisoned, dissatisfied. On the face of it the two opening sequences look completely different, the cinematography in Fight Club is nothing like the cinematography in American Beauty. The score/soundtrack is different also, but these openings both take the audience on a journey through the characters and their mindsets.
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
Tuesday, 27 January 2009
The American Dream
Today's lesson was good :)
We looked at The American Dream and started to look at how Hollywood portrays it. I think this is going to be an interesting topic, because I am not sure if I am for it or against it. It's a tricky one.
First we did a brainstorm of The American Dream, like words or phrases that we associate with it.
The American Dream
- Justice
- Achieving Fame (Andy Warhol - 15 minutes of fame)
- Money
- Generations
- Opportunity
- Marther Luther King
- OBAMA
- Suburban Communities
- Democracy
- Marriage, family
- Rags to riches - one extreme to another
- Pursuit of Happiness
- High Profiles - cult of Celebrity
- Destiny
- "Jobs we hate..buying shit we don't need" - Fight Club
- Freedom
- Different classes
- Equality
- Moneyyyyyy
- Not just one American, but every American
Funnily enough, the perception we receive of America is actually a country which is uncomfortable with all these ideologies of the American Dream.
America comes across as this country with all the answers, the land of hope and opportunities. But it is really so perfect?
Statistics - from book Measure of America (Sarah Burd-Sharps, Kristen Lewis, Eduardo Borges Martins)
- Nearly third of all female murder victims were killed by intimate partners
- The majority of Americans cannot aford health insaurance
I want to get this book and read it!
There are many Hollywood films that embrace the ideologies of The American Dream, but there is also several others that are very 'anti-American Dream'.
For
Pretty Woman
This film as we all know is about two completely different people from different areas with different backgrounds and how they have freedom to climb the social ladder.
Hollywood often plays on this fairytale notion, such as ideologies of happy endings, princes/cess.
Basically, wealth talks + opens doors.
Coming to America
Again there is an ideology sold and America is represented as the land of dreams and particularly in this film not just for people who live there.
Against
Fight Club
I love this clip.
This clip represents this notion of what I like to call The American Cycle.
We go to school, get a good education. 'Graduate'
We then get a or are expected to get a good job, and for what? to buy things and to maintain a household.
This is the part that I am torn by.
The American Dream is essential to all of us.
To some extent I am very anti-American Dream, but on the other hand I like to think I have ambition? I don't really know, I am passionate and wish to look into this with more detail.
THEN we listed the films we remember and know that embody ideologies of The American Dream..
Filims
American Beauty! (Possibly the best film ever made)
Toy Story
The Lion King
Independence Day
Truman Show
Coach Carter
Sister Act
The Wizard of Oz
& So on...
AFTER ALL THAT :)
We started to watch the beginning of The Pursuit of Happyness. I have never seen it but I heard it is a bit of a tear-jerker, but of course being a Hollywood movie it is going to have a happy ending. Although I am more interested in cynical films that deconstruct, unravel and challenge the American Dream. I still gave this film a try and to be honest I can't wait to see the ending :)
In the opening I noticed a number of things.
- Emphasis on the Y, Will Smith's character always picks up on this mistake as it is written on the wall.
- There are no capitals featured in the title sequence, I couldn't figure out what this might represent maybe I need to carry on watching the film.
- There are flickering images of one extreme to the other (rags to riches)
i.e. a homeless person on the floor, then a rich black happy man.
I also noticed the different sub-genres of the American Dream such as:
Education
- Will Smith asks his son "Can you spell everything your thinking of?"
- Picks up on mistake 'happyness'
- "Have to go to college to be a stockbroker" (Again coming back to this idea of having a good education in order to get a good, stable job)
Health
- Carries around a medical device with him, he seems to risk and put his life on line a lot for this 'unnecessary luxury'.
Poverty
- Needing education
- Wife working double shifts
- Struggle
- Priorities
- Needing to sell things
I found this lesson very, very interesting today. I can't wait to see the rest :) :)
We looked at The American Dream and started to look at how Hollywood portrays it. I think this is going to be an interesting topic, because I am not sure if I am for it or against it. It's a tricky one.
First we did a brainstorm of The American Dream, like words or phrases that we associate with it.
The American Dream
- Justice
- Achieving Fame (Andy Warhol - 15 minutes of fame)
- Money
- Generations
- Opportunity
- Marther Luther King
- OBAMA
- Suburban Communities
- Democracy
- Marriage, family
- Rags to riches - one extreme to another
- Pursuit of Happiness
- High Profiles - cult of Celebrity
- Destiny
- "Jobs we hate..buying shit we don't need" - Fight Club
- Freedom
- Different classes
- Equality
- Moneyyyyyy
- Not just one American, but every American
Funnily enough, the perception we receive of America is actually a country which is uncomfortable with all these ideologies of the American Dream.
America comes across as this country with all the answers, the land of hope and opportunities. But it is really so perfect?
Statistics - from book Measure of America (Sarah Burd-Sharps, Kristen Lewis, Eduardo Borges Martins)
- Nearly third of all female murder victims were killed by intimate partners
- The majority of Americans cannot aford health insaurance
I want to get this book and read it!
There are many Hollywood films that embrace the ideologies of The American Dream, but there is also several others that are very 'anti-American Dream'.
For
Pretty Woman
This film as we all know is about two completely different people from different areas with different backgrounds and how they have freedom to climb the social ladder.
Hollywood often plays on this fairytale notion, such as ideologies of happy endings, princes/cess.
Basically, wealth talks + opens doors.
Coming to America
Again there is an ideology sold and America is represented as the land of dreams and particularly in this film not just for people who live there.
Against
Fight Club
I love this clip.
This clip represents this notion of what I like to call The American Cycle.
We go to school, get a good education. 'Graduate'
We then get a or are expected to get a good job, and for what? to buy things and to maintain a household.
This is the part that I am torn by.
The American Dream is essential to all of us.
To some extent I am very anti-American Dream, but on the other hand I like to think I have ambition? I don't really know, I am passionate and wish to look into this with more detail.
THEN we listed the films we remember and know that embody ideologies of The American Dream..
Filims
American Beauty! (Possibly the best film ever made)
Toy Story
The Lion King
Independence Day
Truman Show
Coach Carter
Sister Act
The Wizard of Oz
& So on...
AFTER ALL THAT :)
We started to watch the beginning of The Pursuit of Happyness. I have never seen it but I heard it is a bit of a tear-jerker, but of course being a Hollywood movie it is going to have a happy ending. Although I am more interested in cynical films that deconstruct, unravel and challenge the American Dream. I still gave this film a try and to be honest I can't wait to see the ending :)
In the opening I noticed a number of things.
- Emphasis on the Y, Will Smith's character always picks up on this mistake as it is written on the wall.
- There are no capitals featured in the title sequence, I couldn't figure out what this might represent maybe I need to carry on watching the film.
- There are flickering images of one extreme to the other (rags to riches)
i.e. a homeless person on the floor, then a rich black happy man.
I also noticed the different sub-genres of the American Dream such as:
Education
- Will Smith asks his son "Can you spell everything your thinking of?"
- Picks up on mistake 'happyness'
- "Have to go to college to be a stockbroker" (Again coming back to this idea of having a good education in order to get a good, stable job)
Health
- Carries around a medical device with him, he seems to risk and put his life on line a lot for this 'unnecessary luxury'.
Poverty
- Needing education
- Wife working double shifts
- Struggle
- Priorities
- Needing to sell things
I found this lesson very, very interesting today. I can't wait to see the rest :) :)
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