Hamlet

Hey have not been on blog in awhile but happy i am back on. The film Hamlet that was shown in last class was good. Its been a while that I have seen Hamlet or read the book but the modern film was interesting even though i was trying to keep up with the dialogue. I guess that i am not used to shakepeare's way of conveying his messages through all the characters but after i seen it for the second time in class. It started to make more sense to me. It reminded me of the modern day R0meo and Juliet. Hamlet was one of the good films that we have seen in class so far. And how they incorparted Bill Murray I have always watched him in films and he plays more of a comedian so it was weird to see him in a more serious atmosphere. Hamlet and his over dramatic way of dieing was interesting but in a good way. I want to see the film again so maybe i can raise some more questions about this modern Hamlet.

hamlettttttttttttttt

as someone else said it reminded me of the new romeo and juliet, and its very cool in that respect. it uses traditional older language with new age visuals to draw you in, and give a sense of relevance. but what i dont like about these is that the language is too detached and scripted, never seems natural to me. espicially in our new age world, people think and take time before speaking in much simpler terms, but speaking with such speed and in an adamant way, seems super out of place in our time.

again i expected bill murray to be funny, and since it isnt a funny play in any way it was disappointing to me. ophelia was very bland and a confusing character.

and again with the language i was totally lost, i couldnt keep up. but select words and their actions are what allowed me to piece together the plot.

hamlett

I liked the movie, it reminded me of the newer version of "Romeo and Juliet".. Kinda wish they made more Shake Spear movies into modern movies. I get a sense to understand them better. I was kinda wondering about the whole deal with Ophelia as an actor. Was she suppose to be on drugs or somtin? Was Julia Styles suppose to lose it as she did in the movie or was that somtin just added. That's about the only part im confused with. Really liked how it was modern and how basic things like cell phones and laptops were used in the movie.

Hamlet

To tell the truth, I am not a big Shakespeare fan because the stories, I feel, are difficult to understand unless told back to me in everyday English. After awhile I got use to the language and could somewhat recognize the message and storyline. The fact that the movie wasn't the really old movie, but a newer version, also helped. There were a few captivating scenes in the movie that stuck out in my mind. One of scenes that was intriguing was when Ophelia was burning pictures and the burning pictures turned into another scene. That to me is genius. I enjoy seeing those kind of traits used, very clever. The music that was strategically put in each scene really captivated the mood for that moment perfectly.

I really like the scene where Hamlet puts a gun to the man's head and quotes the infamous "to be or not to be" line. One thing I noticed was how Ophelia never really was able to speak up about her true feelings for Hamlet. It's like one of those things were you watch a movie and you keep kind of telling the character in your head "Come on! Speak up! Do something!" But of course they can't hear you, it's a movie. The end of the movie was tragic as many of Shakespeares stories are. I never thought I would enjoy a movie like this, but I truly did.

Hamlet

When I first heard that we were going to watch Hamlet with shakespearean dialog, I was not looking forward to it. In all honesty I thought even though I having trouble understanding the language at times, the modern setting really helped me better understand certain situations; while having a cast of actors that i am familiar with that would also catch my attention, actors such as, Julia Styles, Ethan Hawke, and Bill Murray

A scene that was able to help me better understand the dialog, was when polonius was talking to laertes; Bill Murray was able to pull off a concerned father figure to Laertes, like when he sneaks money into his jacket pocket. I felt that Julia Styles character Ophilia was very a very closed character in the film. Although she had strong feelings for Hamlet, she always obeyed her father even though it seemed as if she never really wanted to.

Another scene i found to be interesting, was when Hamlet was in the movie store, in the "Action" section and contemplating to himself about what he should do to avenge his fathers death. And as he is contemplating revenge, the movie "The Crow" is playing on the tv's in the background, which also happends to be a movie about revenge.

My favorite scene from the movie is the ending of the film. I thought it was the most exciting part of the film which caught my attention most. Something that confused me though was if Hamlets mother, the Queen, purposely drank the wine with the poison. Her facial expressions made it seem as if she purposely drank it, but i really wouldnt understand why she would. This scene actaully had me feel the tension rising between each character, until they eventually all "snapped".

I didnt expect to enjoy this movie as much as i actually did.

Hamlet

I have seen many versions of Hamlet especially the Kenneth Branagh version and I have to say that I liked this version the best. I think it is because of its use of modern technologies and the fact that it takes place in modern times, it uses things that we can all relate to even though it still uses the language Shakespeare had written it in. I really liked how Almereyda made use of things like fax machines and e-mails to send messages, also how he uses times square and that giant screen to show certain things (Denmark Corporation). I also felt that I was better able to understand some of the dialogue with a ll the visuals that he used. As far as Almereyda's choice of actors I have to say that I thought they were good choices, as they were able to put their own sort of twist on the characters. At first I thought Bill Murray was going to make his character into one big joke, and when he didn't I was very surprised. To me he made the character a loving father just trying to look out for the best interest of his children. I also really enjoyed Liev Schreiber as Laertes. What I enjoyed most about this film was the way Hamlet was portrayed. There was definitely a different feel to Ethan Hawke's portrayal then what I have seen in the past. I liked that fact that he was a film student and that he was doing a documentary on his life, I felt that some of the clips you see on the TV screens helps you understand what he is seeing, what his perspective is. I found it very interesting that Almereyda chose to put the to be or not to be soliloquy in a blockbuster, right in the middle of that action section. I felt that, that scene gives you some insight to his character and whats he's thinking about at that time, whether to take action and seek revenge or not to. I also thought showing the Crow in the background of the scene was a great idea because that move is centered around seeking revenge for someone who was killed viciously just like Hamlet's father was.
Overall i really enjoyed this version of the film. I do have one question about the last scene that i wasn't able to figure out from other versions of the play that I have seen. In this film I felt that Gertrude knew that Claudius was going to poison Hamlet and took the wine to save him, was she supposed to know?

Hamlet 2000

I think analyzing the dialogue in a film such as this would be a silly waste of time. The methods used to convey that language, or the delivery on the other hand are paramount. Ethan Hawke definitely gave a very different feel to the character than Kenneth Branagh did to be sure. What I feel is often lost in modern telling of Shakespeare, is the lowbrow undertone. Hamlet is not intended to be as difficult to understand as it is. New English was the common speech when this was written and much of the humor, vulgar and easily understood. The fact that we have such refined actors portraying these parts may sometimes take away from it, though many compensate. The usage of non-Shakespearian actors gave a different view on things. Ethan Hawke’s Jersey upbringing shows when placed next to several British born actors with vast stage-experience under their belts. The lack of accent alone changes the inflection for many of these characters, but Hamlet stays as introspective and frustrating as ever.
The transformations are actually done with a deft touch. The changing from rulers of a nation, to CEO’s of a corporation seems to fit quite well. Hamlet as an aspiring indie film maker is perfect for a guy that lives in his head and fails to act. Ophelia’s artistic streak compliments him well. The play turning to an amateur film functions well to send Hamlets message. Almereyda uses Copy Machine, Video Camera, Pixel-Vision, Desktop Computer, Laptop, Television, Landline, Car-phone, Answering Machine, Photographs, Payphone, Facsimile, and Teleprompter in place of many monologues and soliloquies or to show distance between characters. The replacing of Fortinbras with a Newscaster was executed well, but not something I like to see lost. I suppose old home movies are meant to replace yoricks skull, but again I think it fails to fully capture the feeling completely. The limousine seems a sensible replacement for a businessman’s private chapel, though I should think his office more fitting.
The usage of modern landmarks and stereotypes is utilized well, if not a little over the top. Ophelia living across from a Key Foods with glaring price reduction signs might be a bit much, and the run down building might be downplaying her status a bit much, though her handwritten name on the doorbell is a nice touch. The citadel which is the main building is a properly imposing sight with a convenient rooftop to match. The Hippie Goth club was an amusing tough to compliment the always goofy Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Blockbuster in this story functions as good as any place would for hamlet’s Soliloquy, the Crow a sensible film, and the action section key. I think the film over-simplifies a lot of the lot, and is forced to omit much that makes the play so intricate, but does provide a different view on Hamlet for once. It is worth watching, but against the spirit of what Shakespeare did to hold onto a dialect unspoken for a few hundred years.

Storytelling

First and foremost i have to say that this movie is another crazy pick, but i loved it. It took me a while to realize that the film had two stories in it. In the first story the young girl i feel is looking for some sort of validation for her writing and self worth that she allows herself to sleep with her teacher so that he can have a different opinion about her writing. The shocking thing is that the experience gave her something to right about that had character, depth, and full of emotion. and the teacher even says its better than her last work.
the second part of this film to me shows more about the art of storytelling and how people perceive your story and what you can turn one story into. Scooby wants to tell his story and the sensitive side of it, but at the end he realizes that Toby has turned his story into something totally different. i cant wait to talk about this film in class to see what everyone has to say.

Storytelling.... Gone Bad **(and late)**

This film Storytelling was an interesting film. The first thing id like to bring up is the fact that there are two different stories in this film. The two different sections of the film is an interesting tactic to use in film. This gets the audience thinking and wondering if there is any sort of connection between the film. While watching this film, i thought that there was going to be some sort of connection between fiction and nonfiction parts, but they were two different stories with no correlation with each other. In terms of film making, this film did leave us with a sad and in a way can be described as a cliffhanger.
Vi was an interesting character. She was a weak character and only thought people were out to get her. Her boyfirned marcus was a character that wanted sympathy. I didnt like his character at all, but yet again shaped Vi into her character. The professor had a rugged appearance and was a very intimidating character. He was a prestigious writer with his own personal opinions that would affect his students so much. He also had a very cocky character, and that side of his character would take advantage of his students. I think the professor had the most interesting character because they showed us who he really was. He secretly was a perverted rapist that knew he would get away with anything with his students who look up to him. His feedback to his students papers or stories are very on point and he tells it as it is.
In the non fiction section of the film, the main character scooby was a very interesting and timid character. He wasn't really sure what he wanted. He was very indecisive character and had no real care for the world. The film had a typical family. A mother and father, a son who was confused and messed up, a middle son who was athletic, funny and cool, and then the youngest son who was curious, honest and smart. This collaboration of characters are used in many films, to show an "ideal family". The filmmakers character is out for himself and has no real care for the family or even Scooby. HIs film was about scooby and how H.S students are so stressed about college and what not. The non fiction part has a beginning (introducing the characters and family), a peak(Scooby finding out that someone is willing to help his dream of becoming a Late night talkshow host) and an end (Tragic ending of his family being killed). The ending of this film is perfect for the sequence of events that are going on. The main character Scooby is not motivated by anythign and thinks that he doesnt need college to become what he wants to.But when he realizes things, his life starts to fall apart, His brother gets sick, the documentary was a sploof and did nothing to help him.
Solondz idea of blocking out the sexual part was genius, It did not show anything but we still were effected greatly by what was going on. We still were cringing at what was going on. It satisfied the ratings compnay, and it satisfied and fullfilled his set of mood he was trying to make us feel.
Overall this movie was interesting and different than most. Id like to see some more of Solondz films and see his style of film-making.

Hamlet

Overall im not a shakespeare fanatic, perhaps because it's so difficult to comprehend. I've seen romeo and juliet as a film before and the style is very similar to that of Hamlet's Film. Im still a little confused on what exactly was going on in the hamlet film because at the same time your trying to understand or translate what the character is saying and put it together with the image or scene your viewing at the moment. The good thing about watching a shakespeare film versus reading it is that the images help you sort of put a story together of what is happening. I read on the main class page that you said, the film used various forms of communication through out such as, email, fax etc. I didn't notice that until you mentioned it and it is interesting. One of the scenes that stuck through my head was the scene where Ophelia was in the bathroom and she begins to burn the pictures and then the flames turn into another scene of the film. Also the images and quotes being said through the fisher price machine was captivating. I hope that we can discuss the film more in detail :)

Hamlet

To tell you the truth, Hamlet was difficult for me to understand! The way they were speaking was a bunch of gibberish to me, they were talking way to fast and low. The part that interested me the most is when Hamlet was killed Ofelia brother. I have to watch the movie again so that I can understand it better and enjoy it, and this time I'll watch it with subtitles!

Storytelling, a little bit late

What I find most fascinating about the first half of this film, 'Fiction' is how easily it manipulates our feelings. I am inclined at times to pity Vi and Marcus based on how it is shot, and at other times to be disgusted by them. In my opinion not a one of the characters is likable overall, nor do I believe they are intended to be. Each character represents a certain stereotype or the antithesis to one. The sheltered white rich girl from suburbia is looking for her next cause to make her life mean something. The crippled guy being coddled into believing he has ability with overly sappy sentiments. Then there is the narcissistic older black professor standing above all these sheltered ignorant white students toying with them at his leisure. The film has some success in showing us that each of these characters has reasons for their actions, and feelings to coincide. This makes the characters a little more relatable.
The 'rough sex scene' is definitely a raw scene. It is pivotal to manipulating our emotions and honestly sickened me a little. This man holds a position of authority in the classroom, has years of experience and is far more confident in himself then any of those students. This girl is no true victim though. She is not stupid, but is so wrapped up in her idiotic principles that she just goes along with the situation. He stays as clothed as possible, all in black, following his calm drink of what is probably scotch, and proceeds to mentally degrade Vi as he physically dominates her as well. The giant scarlet box only lightens the scene at all because it gets you thinking about the ridiculousness of the censorship in the first place. Mr. Scott does nothing illegal, but I hold it to be unethical and immoral.The Livingston’s represent the very definition of Suburban Jewish stereotypes, their selfless charity work with no real knowledge of its uses, and their using gifts as bribes to get those donations. The young jock so concerned for his image, and the intelligent young brother with his pure vile innocence. The father that worked to get where he is, and the underappreciated Latina maid working even harder coming from a large family with a convict son further this. Scooby represents the born jaded, never worked a day in his life confused teenager.
Just as Vi has the ability to act better, so does Scooby. He makes choices to be as unmotivated and lethargic as he is. To be so lazy and numb as to enter into a sexual relationship with someone of a gender you don't even appear interested in is clearly not healthy. This is moments after he points a gun at this character. The film begins to use Toby as a method of drawing out more from him and his family. Much as Mr. Scott does, Toby thinks himself superior to these people, and exploits them on an even grander scale. Toby exhibits many of the same traits he seems to condemn in Scooby, having no noteworthy accomplishments.
The movie is enjoyable and has its merits. The shifting of perspectives and characterization is used very well. In Fiction the characters are all unlikable, but have their moments that engender sympathy. In Nonfiction the characters develop a little more and give you a more concrete view. The in film documentary helps to show angles of the parents otherwise unseen and a clearer understanding of the reason for exploitation. The two halves work quite well together in exploring stereotypes and exploitation.

Sidenote: On IMDB.com when you look up Storytelling, the first recomended movie is Freeway.

Storytelling

Fiction- I didn’t really care for this part of the film. I didn’t like the main character Vi, I found her very two faced and full of it. Vi is all upset about what went down with her and her professor and writes a story to make people feel sorry for her and she kind of insinuates that what happened to her was rape. I don’t feel sorry for her at all and don’t believe what happened with her and the professor was rape. I think she knew what she was getting herself into the second she sat down with the professor at the bar and she may not have liked how he treated her while they were having sex but she knew the kind of person he was when she saw the pictures of the other girls he’s been with in the bathroom. If she didn’t want to have sex with him she could have left and I don’t think it would have been racist. I just think Vi tries to play this cool persona but really she’s just trying to get attention.

Non-Fiction- I liked this part of the film a lot better than Fiction. I found the characters a lot more entertaining and the ending of the film was deffinatly very unexpected. I thought the best part of the film had to of been the little brother. The things that came out of his mouth were so rude and ridiculous it was like he had no filter. The movie was different at some parts I couldn’t stand the family especially the way they treated the maid she would cook them dinner then sit in the kitchen and eat alone while the family ate together and then at the end of the film I felt sorry for the family. The family was snobbish and treated their maid poorly but they didn’t deserve to all be murdered. I especially feel sorry for Scooby the director of the documentary made him out to look stupid and he has lost his entire family.

I’m excited to watch hamlet this week I have read the play and have seen a two different films portray the book. I think it will be very interesting to see a modern day take of a classic Shakespeare novel. I saw the modern version of Romeo and Juliet and liked it a lot so I’m hoping for the same experience in this film.

unfortunately i wasn't in class last week. had to get the car fixed ... again... i figure i'll find out any missed information tonight in class. from the way the blogs looked we didnt start anything new so i think i may be ok

Storytelling

I was finally able to see Storytelling this past week and can finally catch up on my blog.

After watching Nonfiction I didn't know what to think, it left me thinking did that really just happen? I couldn't believe that Consuelo would kill all of Scooby's family like that. I do have to say the I did feel sorry for Scooby. He was kind of the disappointment or the different one in his family, he wasn't popular like Brady or Smart like Mikey, he didn't know what he was or what he wanted to be and his father pushed him a lot to try and get him to do what he wanted Scooby to do. I think he was looking out for his best interest and his future but I don't know if he did it the right way. When Scooby finally does figure out what he wants to do with his life, he gets the opportunity, and he's finally a little more content about his life, but then he gets made a fool of by Toby and his dreams are crushed. Then to top it off he goes home to find his entire family dead. You can see Scooby's pain in the scene where he sees the screening of Toby's documentary, at first he thinks this is going to be his big break and he's finally going to get what he wants, then as he's watching he sees how Toby made him and his family out to be a joke, and you see how humiliated he gets, and than finally he just looks so sad and crushed.
I'm not sure how exactly I feel about Toby, but I think I'm leaning towards not liking him. I think he takes advantage of this family, especially Scooby, and exploits them turning them into a joke just so he can get ahead in his career. I think what Scooby says to him at the end of the movie when he says that Toby can use the death of his family to make his movie a hit, so how betrayed and crushed Scooby felt.
I just have to say that Mikey really irritated me throughout that whole part of the movie!
I felt that Fiction was very dark and depressing. I'm not sure I believe that Vi was raped, she knew what she was getting into when she walked over to her professor and she knew what she was looking for. But I don't feel she deserved to be so humiliated like the way she was. When the professor said to Vi that once you write something down it becomes fiction, I thought it was a smack in the face to Vi because they both know very well that it happened.

I look forward to watching Hamlet in class tomorrow, I just hope we get to watch it this time without those stupid subtitles.

Storytelling: Fiction and Nonfiction

Okay. Bottom line is that Vi was definitely NOT raped. She was in awe with her professor and wanted his attention. She wanted to have sex with him. These kind of people who make up stories for whatever sick reason is ridiculous. This shows what kind of twisted people we have in our world. The ones who make up lies and do whatever necessary to get what they want. This movie seemed to be very depressing and showed that life isn't always rainbows and butterflies so to speak, life can be werid, and everchanging.

In NonFiction, I was shocked. The ending of the movie was very upsetting. I felt kind of sorry for Scooby because he had attained everything he ever wanted. He had fame and wealth, but it all came crashing down. He lost all that had true non-materialistic value to him. The youngest son was all too brutally honest, but I guess in a way it's a good thing to be so blunt, though certain times call for certain attitudes. He was clearly the most curious and the most assertive in this film. I could tell he had a good head on his shoulders and destined to do great things possibly.

I would also like to like to add that I am looking forward to watching Hamlet. I've read the book and I am curious as to what the movie is like.

storytelling

after watching Storytelling, it made me think about how much power people in authority have over us, like in the part 1 of storytelling which the professor Mr. Scott basically took advantage of Vi. He was able to convince her to have relations with him even after she started doubting herself. The vibes that he gave out was very controlling even from the beginning of the movie. Vi was also a vulnerable student that want the acceptance of anybody, including Mr. Scott. The most distrubing part of the movie was that after the incident happen, and she was telling the story in class, he was able to tell her that she was wrong and the feelings that she felt were wrong because deep down she wanted to be with that man again. To me it felt like he was raping her again but emotional by disregarding her feelings on it.

Part 2 wasn't as emotional. The whole movie your heart goes out to scooby because you see how toby repeatedly takes advantage of him and poor scooby never even notices it. The fact at the end that after the family passes away because of the maid, scooby showed no emotion beside the fact that he gave toby a great documentary.

Storytelling: ficton non ficton

Going back to the things we discussed in class about vi and scooby how they were both in a way vulnerable and didnt know better, i'm going to disagree. I don't feel the least bit bad or sad for Vi. She is an adult and knew what she was getting herself into. She is the one who went out looking for sex that night, and she is the one who made the first move on her professor. Knowing that his status in the University would get him whatever he wanted, was possibly a turn on for her, besides the fact that he was black, she admitted she admired his work. She was NOT raped, nor was she forced to do anything.

Scooby wasnt vulnerable either. He agreed to do the documentary and although he was younger, he chose to exploit himself. I disagree with the comments made in class that he was lost and did'nt know what he wanted in life. He knew what he wanted, he wanted to be on tv, be a tv host, he knew he didn't want to go to college, he knew his sexual preference and he knew what he was doing with the other kid. Vi knew what she was doing also, but when it didn't turn out the way she imagined she turned and blamed someone else. She is the one who is lost, who doesnt know what she wants or who she is. Scooby knew all along.

Storytelling: Fiction/ Nonfiction

I'm sorry I'm late!!! I think Fiction was very interesting because the girl who was in the seminar class wanted to be "liberal" in a way. She wanted people to know that she doesn't discriminated against anyone. She wanted the professor to know that she doesn't discriminate, in a way I knew that the professor knew that she was a type of person that likes to express she is open minded or else she would think that people will look at her as a racist or prejudice. The professor had other victims like her in his writing seminar class too, which he likes to take advantage of their vulnerability. Nonfiction was a typical rural suburban rich family, some of the scenes was unexpected. At first I was thinking that this movie is boring but then it got interesting because as he was getting documented his life became more interesting. And the whole thing about the lady Consuelo killing the family for revenge was funny.... well not funny but unexpected again.

Back to class

Its nice to get back to class today, I haven't really had a pleasant vacation. Any way, I just wanted to write something to start to get back on track with my blog. I havent found story telling the movie any where in montreal so I hope to get the movie here today and watch it.

i found the little clip on the main class blog interesting. Reality shows are everywhere now and i dont think that they will be going away in the near future.

Hamlet

I am very excited to see this movie actually. this happens to be one of my favorite shakepheare plays. Ive actually a couple of plays and ive seen this movie already but it was so long ago. so i cant wait to revisit all the plot twists that im sure the movie entails, if its just like the play. Now that i am fimiliar with the way of narrative structures and the treatment of characters i just might be able to have a full understanding of the film...lol

Storytelling
We watch very interesting movies in this class. Storytelling was strange and sort of depressing. I think it showed the ugly side of life and how everything isn't always sugar coated. Like Vi sleeping with the writer who basically raped her, thinking it would be something positive, turned out being a complete nightmare. And Scooby's life was a mess, and how there are alot of evil people in the world who could care less. I dont know how many people could identify with the problems the characters faced, but the director definitely got his point across. Racism was depicted really well. He pretty much got all of the stereotypes people generally associate races with. Like the rich Jew, the agressive sexual black guy, the stupid naive white girl who will do anything, the pot head with no ambitions in life, the Spanish cleaning lady, etc. The red box in my opinion was a great way to mock the rating system.

Camera Eye
Its so true people do change in front of a camera!! I dont know what it is, i guess its fun to want to be observed. It's like we become someone else, someone we want others to like. poor kid who was getting beat up thats terrible.

Hamlet
Im interested to see how this movie is made. I like the idea of turning something "classic" into something modern. It will probably be more interesting to watch no offense to Shakespeare movies. I cant wait to see how Hamlet can be portrayed in a NYC life style.

also professor is there any way to make up for not so good grades on our papers?

story telling

fiction: i wasn't a fan of this part of the film, in actuality i disliked all of the characters. the kid with cp for trying too hard to get sympathy and really making vi feel like crap. vi was two faced to both her bf and the professor and in hte end trying to stir up sympathy too. she tells the story as if it was rape, but shes the one who approached him and went through with everything without fighting back or saying no. the professor really manipulated vi, but can't say he was horrifically wrong because she let him, she approached him.

non-fiction: i liked this part of the film because of its comic nature, but it was a little rediculous at times and the ending with the house being blown up is horrible. we spoke how mikey the little brother was pure evil, but i dont think so. he may have been offensive to the maid, but he was only telling the truth, and when he hypnotized his father, right before it the father told him it wasn't going to be ok and that they were lying to eachother saying it will be to not depress each other. so i don't feel that the hypnosis was too wrong. the father was pushing scoob to go to college and used his influence to make him do so, but he only wants him to wise up and have himself a future.

a common trait between the two films is people being people. in both films each character was either portrayed as both innocent, and wicked, but in actuality its just human nature where they are both. except for the maid ... she blew up a house so to hell with her.

the red box scene i wanted to say was only disturbing at close up when u saw her face, in agony and having to say what he wanted her to say, and the box i feel did make it worse. but its the dialogue that made the scene bad in my opinion, especially given what she chanted to herself 2 minutes prior to her self in the bathroom

wanted to throw this out there in a totally unrelated note. i was watching the show "everybody hates chris" with my little brother the other day and well there was an episode where he convinces his teacher to have the class watch movies and write papers on those as opposed to reading books ... i said thats a great idea! and then i realized im already taking that class!

Camera Eye

The short story on Camera Eye, was pretty funny and like other people in the class have said very true. It shows just how obsessed with fame and wanting to be a star people can be. Like how, in the video clip, all the kids wanted to been in front of the camera reporting about different things that were going on. What I thought was a little sad though was when the kid was being beaten and instead of one of the other kids trying to help him, they all stood there "reporting"and "filming" what was going on. It just showed how much this trend that had been started got out of hand, like most media today.

I also began reading the information on the Hamlet we will be watching next class. I love Shakespeare and have seen many of the film adaptations of his works, but I have never seen this one. I feel that this interpretation of Hamlet, will be very different from most of the films I have seen. From what I have read the setting of the film, modern day New York City, and the use of modern technology should be very different. I think it is very funny that the director of the film decided to put the famous "to be or not to be..." scene in a Blockbuster. I have seen the version of Rome and Juliet that is supposed to be more modern replacing swords with guns, horses with cars,etc. But I feel this version will be different because again, from what I have read, it focuses more on the use of everyday technology. I look forward to seeing it.
I unfortunately have not been able to get a copy of storytelling yet which means I cannot comment on it yet, but I am working on it.

Camera Eye

Haha this video was funny, but true. everyone has become obsessed with reality and being the star. I found the way they showed this through the video pretty funny though. All the different cameras, and all the different stories that they were reporting. The kids seemed to get so entangled with their new hobby that even when they saw a fellow student being pummeled, they just stood there trying to get the best shot. In the end though I'm not totally sure if the kids are into the reality shows, or into getting the best shot.

Fiction

I felt like these were two tottaly different movies at first, but then as we began to talk and speak about them i started to realize all the familiaralities they had with eachother. In fiction the main character seemed very sympethetic, but i feel like it was only to make her feel better about herself. She had a boyfriend with C.P, and i felt like the relation was just out of pitty and that she was almost using him to inprove her image. In the bar scene you can see that she just wants to please anone, because she admediatly throws out what ever she said to her boyfriend and totaly sides with her professor. The sex scene was deffinantly awkward, but i feel like she has it coming to her. she is deffinantly not in control at all, and just has to go along with what he says. As for the red box. It seemed unecacry, not because that scene didnt need to be cencored, but if they were gunna cencor it they might as well cencor the scene that it kept flashing back too, where she is being pounded up against the wall, because that scene seemed just as offensive.
In Non Fiction, there seemed to be a troubled man whos dabbled in a little bit of everything, tryng to find and fufill his dream. so he sets off to document the present day teenager, and on his journey finds scooby. Scooby is a very bland character, who seemes to be lost in his own body. He's not really sure what he wants to do with his life, he just knows that he wants to be on t.v or slightly famous. the camerea fallows him around documenting his choices and decisoins, kind of turning the story into a comedy. The reality of the story was that scooby was just totaly and utterly lost, and just falling deeper and deeper in despair.
I enjoyed the movies as a whole, scoobys story more then fictions. i found myself feeling bad for scoob and the way his parents treated him. In fictions i felt that she got what she deserved and that there was no way to get around it.

When I was taking a glance at the blogs I was surprised to read about the red box in fiction. I did not think the scene was that bad without the red box; actually, I felt that the red box made it worse. I was thinking about how censorship has changed in only a decade. In 2009 film The Last House on the Left, there was a graphic rape scene. I believe that this demonstrates an improvement on how film makers can express their creativity in the views without being limited.

Camera Eye Documenting our Lives

The clip on Camera eye was comical and informational at the same time. I like how in the beginning of the clip it shows how the first camera was and how it was such a big commotion and trend! Its unbelievable how far we've gone in technology with cameras where as before they had to use a simple camera and focus more on techniques and certain angle shots, today many producers still use the old methods but through the use of computers and high advanced cameras they are able to do so much more in a scene. I also liked the scene in the end where the little boy gets beat up becuase everyone is focused on their fake cameras. the narrator states that cameras have been destroyed and that everyone wears a mask when they are behind a camera, meaning that no- one shows who they really are when a camera is present even if its fake. Just like reality tv today, is most likely not even reality.

the camera eye posting was interesting because he says something along the lines that the memory of that fight and everyone recording it with a toy camera and no one stopping to help the kid is something that still disturbs him. That people behave in a different way infront of a camera whether its real or not. Thats true. The things that are out there especially now in todays world are people who portray themselves to be something that they are not. MTV had a true life episode the other day of 3 people who are completly lonely and depressed in real life...over the internet they are porn stars, and rock stars. the same concept as the camera, you behave a different way than who you are in real life.

I didnt see my post from tarnation up there?? I honestly thought tarnation was one of the deepest films i'v seen. The original $218 budget and the significance of the events in the film is nuts. Every scene is strong and almost disturbing, which in my opinion most of the time are the films that you will remember. Putting his life events out there like that is to me admirable. We have a tendancy to disclose only what we want people to know about us...or share only the happy times but in reality life isnt always happy and the things that happened to him in his life does actually happen all the time around us. Human nature is to supress painful memories and painful events, he actually put his pain and suffering out for the world to see, almost like a huge billboard "this is who i am" i definately respect that. As twisted as it all was, i was speechless and honestly thought it was one of the best films ive seen, true life and the way he put the spotlight on his experiences definately woke me up.

Documenting Our Lives

i though the little clip that was on the blog was so cute, and its true now all you find on television is reality tv. The whole world is so facsinated by being able to watch other peoples life. Also i found every rasict that they would make him take the initmate scene out because it was two people of different race. Am glad that he made put in his contract that he can put that red box in because everyone should be able to see what America think is "acceptable" in movies.

Storytelling

I began reading the information on storytelling and I think that the concept of having two different stories in one movie is going to be a little different than what we're used to. Especially two stories that according to what I read are supposed to have nothing to do with each other. I have seen movies where there is more than one story but they usually relate to each other in some way. Which is why I feel this movie will be different. I love the fact that the director chose to cover the "inappropriate" scene with the red box to mock the people who decide what rating the movie should receive. In a way it was his way of throwing it back in their faces and saying he thought it was ridiculous. I will not be able to make it to class to see the film, so I was wondering if the movie was easy to find so I can watch it on my own.