Good or Evil?

Sources

The Unforgiven clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SO5VO2ixWY

Blade Runner clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhbQX92fFRM

 

I chose to do my analysis on the final scenes in the movies, Blade Runner and The Unforgiven.  Recently we have been talking a lot about the portrayal of the, “evil other” and the different ways that people depict them through pictures and film.  In my opinion both movies did an exceptional job of depicting the evil other throughout the movie; however, I chose these scenes because I thought they were unique from other movies in the way that they were able to shift the audience’s perception of good and evil in the final scenes of their movies. 

Analysis: The Unforgiven

 Personal

My first reaction to this scene is a reaction of admiration.  I thought the way that the filmmaker changed the setting and the mood of the scene to correspond with the transition of William Munny from good to evil was amazing. 

Historical

The Unforgiven has been considered by many people to be the greatest western ever made.  The lone cowboy surviving in the wild frontier, rescuing the girl, and killing the bad guys has been and continues to be a major piece of American identity.  The film goes against more traditional westerns because it is difficult to differentiate between good and evil.

Technical

The scene begins with the two bounty hunters waiting at a previously designated spot to receive their payment for killing two men.  The men that were killed had cut up the face of an innocent prostitute who was shown as the “whore with a heart of gold” and up to this point the character William Munny has been portrayed as the good guy.  Earlier in the movie they showed the possibility of Munny being a stone cold killer, however, it was made unclear whether or not the stories were true.  Regardless of the past events, Munny did not appear to be the cold blooded killing type.   He had been a calm and reserved individual up to this scene and he showed no signs of aggression, even after he was nearly beaten to death by Little Bill (the perceived bad guy) he still showed no signs of aggression or any signs of wanting revenge.  All he wanted was to get paid and go home.  As the prostitute arrives to pay Munny, she informs him that his friend Ned had been captured and killed by Little Bill for killing the men responsible for the disfiguring of the other girls face.   At the moment that Munny heard about the death of his friend there appeared to be an instant switch in his personality.  It is at this moment that he appears to cease being the good guy and becomes the “evil other”. 

The scene was filmed outside which created a high-key and cool lighting with no cast or attached shadows.  The lighting of the scene is representative of the fact that the viewer still thinks they know who Munny is as a person.  The framing of the scene is taken at a close- up which allows the viewer to see his face clearly, which does not create any sense of mystery.  As the scene progresses and Munny learns of his friend’s killing there is a sudden shift in perception.  He speaks in a tone that he has never used before and his face forms an angry looking scowl on it.  It is at this moment that the transformation appears to take place.  He angrily grabs the bottle of whisky from the kid and began to drink heavily while the prostitute told him about all the evil things that his friend Ned had said that he had done while being tortured, such as killing women and children as well as a U.S. Marshall.  In the scene the bottle of whisky acted as a signifier.  Munny had refused to drink earlier in the film and his act of chugging the whisky signified that he was reverting back to his old ways and becoming someone other than who the audience had come to know. The scene ends with the kid telling Munny that he was not like him and that he would never kill again.

The scene breaks and opens with a long shot of Ned in a coffin in front of a bar with a sign around his neck which serves as another signifier.  The signified is that if you kill without the consent of the law you will also be killed.  The lighting of the scene is low-key; the only light source comes from the torches on each side of the coffin which emits a warm lighting.  It is very dark and raining very heavily with thunder in the background which seems to signify the darkness and rage that has formed within Munny.

The scene continues inside the bar, Little Bill is giving a speech inside the bar about how they are going to go out the next day and catch the remaining killers. For the first time Little Bill is seen as possibly good due to the fact that he is surrounded by the townspeople, which shows that the majority of the people agree with his actions.  He is the sheriff of the town and the only people we have seen him beat have been law breakers.  The negative perception was created throughout the film with his brutal methods, however, at this moment he is suddenly seen differently.

The lighting in the bar is the Rembrandt style of lighting that is a warm and low-key lighting which created various attached shadows on the faces of the people.  As Munny enters the bar one side of his face is somewhat lit with fast falloff on the other side.  The viewer is unable to see his face which shows that we cannot tell if the character we are looking at is the same character we have seen throughout the movie or someone else.  The framing of the scene is a medium shot which also made it difficult to see his face which added to the mystery.  The fire behind him seems to act as a signifier.  It appears to signify hell fire showing Munny as the bringer of death and possibly the devil himself.  As he enters the room he pulls out his shotgun which serves as an index vector which points and direct attention to the men he is aiming at.  What happens after has been described as one of the best gun fighting scenes ever resulting in Munny killing an unarmed bartender, Little Bill, and four other men.  It is questionable whether or not Munny was the good guy or the bad guy, he did kill a lot of innocent men however he also allowed many of them to live.  The part where he kills Little Bill is especially confusing, Little Bill says something to the effect that he did not deserve to die the way he was about to die.  He made a reference to the fact that he was peacefully building a house; however, he also told Munny that he would see him in hell to which Munny agreed which adds to the confusion.  The scene ends with Munny riding out of the town into the darkness and the storm.  There was some connotation and denotation in this scene which was evident in the symbol of the white horse that Munny rode away on.  Good characters are commonly thought to ride white horses while evil characters often ride away on black horses.  I think the white horse was a signifier that signified the conflict between good and evil with Munny since he could not be fully characterized as one or the other.   The scene ended with Munny riding off into the darkness or the unknown; it seemed to leave the viewer wondering which man was leaving the scene, the good one or the bad one.

Ethical, Cultural, and Critical

Ethically the scene was filled with various things that crossed the line in terms of what some people might have seen as ethically acceptable.  Examples include sin, reference to the devil, prostitution, murder, and alcohol.  As I mentioned earlier culturally the western is synonymous with American culture.  Critically it is very difficult to tell whether or not Munny or Little Bill were good or evil.  The reference to seeing each other in hell may suggest that they were both evil.

Analysis:  Blade Runner

Personal

Whenever I watch this movie or this scene I always see something new.  It is one of those movies that leaves room for different theory’s because everything is not fully explained.  I love the way that the filmmaker was able to portray the replicants as the evil other throughout the movie then in a matter of moments pull a 180 and switch their perception from evil to good.  The movie is about a group of replicants that appear like people but are actually manufactured people that are used as slaves and workers throughout the galaxy.  Deckard is a Blade Runner, his job is to hunt down and kill replicants when they escape.  The final scene begins during the final fight between Deckard and Roy.  Deckard has already killed the other escaped replicants and Roy is the only one remaining.  Up to this point the replicants have been portrayed as killers and a menace to society, they are dangerous, on the loose, and Deckard is the only one who can stop them

Historical

The Bible is the only reference that may have inspired this film due to the various biblical references.  Other than that I thought the film was very original.

Technical

The scene opens with Deckard running around in as state of fear; he is running as if to escape from something.  He appears to see a route of escape; however, Roy comes from no where and blocks the path.  Deckard is startled by him and obviously afraid.  He runs and makes a desperate leap from one building to the other but he does not make it and finds himself holding onto a beam for dear life.  The scene goes to a close-up of Deckard as he hangs on the edge helpless and vulnerable.  The filmmaker sets it up to show that he is at the mercy of the bad guy Roy and is most likely finished.  The lighting of the scene is low-key.  The only light appears to be a spot light that flashes off and on Deckard’s face only illuminating it for a brief moment which seems to show that his life could end at any moment.  Roy slowly enters the scene; his frame is illuminated with a back light which makes him appear as a shadow.  His shadow acted as a signifier which signified darkness, the unknown, black and evil.  He disappears just as he is illuminated which adds to the mystery and fear towards him.  The screen then goes to a close up of Roy and shows him holding a dove with his arms crossed.  He is fully illuminated by a spotlight directed towards him.  The dove serves as a signifier throughout the scene, however the signified varies.  At this point in the scene the dove appears to signify life in the presence of death.  Roy is posed with his arms crossed like people when they are placed in their coffins.  The dove signifies life, he is holding tightly onto the dove as if to show that he is clinging tightly to life in the presence of sure death.  The dove is also white which is illuminated along with Roy for the first time; the sudden illumination of Roy is the first indication that Roy is in fact good.  Roy then takes a gigantic leap across the building like Deckard; however, Roy makes the jump easily.  This adds to Roy’s depiction as the “evil other”.  The dehumanization method is used often in depicting the “evil other” and it is done well in this case with the depiction of superhuman strength and physical capability.   The scene moves to an over the shoulder shot of Roy which shows his perception from Deckard’s point of view.  Roy is definitely portrayed as evil in this scene; he is covered in shadow and mist making it difficult to make out his figure.  He emerges from the shadow and the camera shifts to a close up of him displaying his gashes on his face which add to his threatening image.  Roy simply observes Deckard in his hopeless situation causing the audience to question his motives The spot light again begins to come and go illuminating and then un-illuminating Roy’s face creating the desired emotion created by the scene which is the conflict of Roy’s perception of good or evil.  He begins to talk to Deckard which adds to the suspense and feeling of the unknown.  He speaks to Deckard about the fear he is currently feeling and describes to him that what he is feeling is what he has felt for a majority of his life.  Roy gets a sickening smile in his face as if to show that he is relishing Deckard’s pain and fear.  However, at the exact moment that Deckard loses his grip and begins his certain plunge towards death Roy catches him and lifts him up with one arm, displaying his un-human like strength.  In this moment the audience is shocked to realize that Roy would save the life of Deckard who would have killed Roy in an instant if he had the chance.  Roy throws Deckard to safety and the scene depicts Roy’s dominance over Deckard by showing him stand over Deckard in a long shot.  Roy then sits down at Deckard’s level making him seem almost child like.  The scene then shifts to a close up of Roy.  The lighting is emitted from the back light at a very high intensity making Roy appear supernatural and almost godlike.  Roy is very near death in this part of the scene and the lighting acts as a signifier signifying the “bright light” people supposedly see when near death.  He then goes into a deep reflection of his life, where he makes the point to Deckard that in his short and seemingly miserable life of labor he saw and experienced things that most people do not experience in a hundred years.  After expressing his love of life Roy then has a memorable quote that expresses his acceptance of death.  “All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in the rain; time to die.”   Roy slowly drifts away and as he dies the dove that he had held so tightly throughout the scene flies away into the sky signifying the migration of his soul, freedom, and peace.  The screen then goes to a close up of Deckard who closes his eyes for a couple seconds and then opens them again signifying the change in Deckard’s perception as well as the audience’s perception of Roy.  In the scene Roy was exposed to the audience as far more fit and deserving to live, than any other human being.  In the moment the viewer realizes that Roy was not the bad guy that he was portrayed to be throughout the film.  He was the product of evil present within society and humanity.      In a matter of moments the audience’s perception shifted from seeing Roy as “the evil” other to seeing themselves (the human race) as the evil other which in my opinion was amazingly well done

Ethical, Cultural and Critical

Ethically some people may have a problem with the idea of something manufactured having a soul as well as the various killings.  Culturally and critically the film makes people think really hard about themselves and how their own actions in everyday life could be seen as either good or evil.

Conclusion

The scenes both used lighting in order to portray the shifts from good to evil and vice versa.  The Unforgiven used the day time shot to show Munny as a good guy and then after the switch they used the storm during the night to show him as evil.  Similarly Blade Runner used shadows and slight glimpses of light at first to depict Roy as evil and then after the transition he was shown in bright divine light.  Another thing that both films had in common was their use of rain.  The Unforgiven used it to help show the rage and unstable state that Munny was currently in.  The filmmakers chose not to use rain until this scene and it was sudden and complimented the change well.  Whereas Blade Runner used the presence of rain throughout the film allowing it to creatively compliment Roy’s dialogue at the end.  Furthermore, both scenes used a signifier to signify their character’s change of perception.  The Unforgiven used the whisky to show the switch while Blade Runner used the dove.

The Unforgiven portrayed Munny as good throughout the movie and then switched and showed him as bad; whereas, Blade Runner portrayed Roy as bad throughout the film and then changed and showed him as good.  Both films used the concept of killing differently in the final scenes in order to portray the characters as good and evil.  In The Unforgiven Munny killed an unarmed and helpless man where as in Blade Runner Roy saved an unarmed man who was unarmed simply because he disarmed him.  Another concept that was done differently in both films was the way they handled the concept of death.  Munny had no emotion about it, he seemed to feel like whenever it is your time, then it is your time no questions asked.  He did not seem to cherish his time but rather hate it.  Roy on the other hand was grateful for every moment he had and accepted death with a sense of appreciation for the time he was given.  

That’s Questionable #11

I think that it is questionable for an individual to have any valid opinion on any subject after simply watching or reading one news story from one media source.  I think that for an individual to have any opinion at all in any news story they should read several accounts of the story from different media providers and different sources.  I have had skepticism myself about the biases of many forms of media but I never thought of it as biased enough to affect my own personal opinion of the story.  After this weeks assignment I was amazed to see how different the articles and the images used to depict the stories were from one media source to another.  I decided that if I had read one of the stories and not the other my opinion would have in fact been different.  However, after hearing both media sources and analyzing them I think I was able to see both sides of the story and arrive into a medium that I though gave me a much clearer opinion of the story.

Assingment #11 CNN and Al Jazeera

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/04/29/china.tibet/index.html

CNN Image

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E58A875E-A3BD-4914-B747-FF2A09D2CC58.html

Al Jazeera image

The two images were used to portray a story in which seventeen men from Tibet were charged and convicted of crimes they allegedly committed during riots in Tibet’s capital last month.

 

The first image is from CNN’s website.  The picture was taken in the court room apparently during sentencing.  The high-key lighting of the picture allows the viewer to see everything that is going on in the photo clearly.  The picture was taken in the court room and everything appears orderly and mellow which is a direct contrast from the mood of the crimes for which the men were convicted.  The bright orange jackets worn by the accused men draws the viewers attention against the background and the surrounding of the photo which all seem to blur together.  The fact that the men are all standing together is another interesting choice in terms of framing.  The row of defendants serves as an index vector pointing to each additional defendant.  If the photo had been taken of one of the defendant’s I think there would have been less sympathy, however, whenever there is a large group, people sympathize more because it is not just a rogue individual it is a group with a common belief. 

 

The other image which was used for the same story on the Al Jazeera website is a photo of the actual riot that took place in Lhasa.  The picture shows the extent of the damage that the individuals were charged for creating.  This picture is much darker then the first photo creating a sense that whatever is going on is definitely wrong.  The picture was framed to incorporate the large clusters of people that were present during the riot.  The image is not clear at all and makes the viewer question what they are actually seeing.  The fire and the bright yellow and red color that is emitted definitely grabbed the viewer’s attention.  I could not make out exactly what the demonstrator’s were burning which added to the feeling of not knowing what exactly was going on. 

 

In my opinion Al Jazeera did a much better job of covering the story.  I thought that the image as well as the actual story provided by Al Jazeera put fourth a lot more detail and insight.  I thought that the CNN story was biased towards the defendant’s and the Tibet people and painted the Chinese as “the other”.  The picture they chose was in a court room which is commonly associated with the theme innocent until proven guilty.  The viewer is unable to decide if the men in the photo are actually guilty.  On the other hand I thought Al Jazeera’s photo was much more objective.  It showed the extent of the damage that the men caused which leaned towards the Chinese viewpoint; however it also showed the vast amount of people at the riot which made the viewer question if the 17 men could be held fully responsible or if they were even deserving of their sentences.  

 

Thats Questionable #10

Something I found questionable from the video we watched last week in class was the idea that we can truly understand and portray evil.  The video portrayed different nations of people and their cultures as evil and the true enemy.  However, every country portrayed the other guy as the bad guys and themselves as the good guys.  So who really are the good guys?  The one thing that every country’s depiction of evil had in common was that they were all images of people.  Some pictures were meant to depict people as beasts or animals, but they were still meant to show the evil of people.  I think it is Ironic that we depict people as animals to portray the evil of humans when I cannot find a single thing that is evil about animals.  The only thing negative about animals is that they kill for their food which is perfectly understandable.  People kill thousands of sharks a year with giant nets erected to keep sharks from killing people.  However when a shark does actually kill a person which is very rare people have been known to freak out and kill thousands more until they get the shark that did it.  The movie Jaws could be considered the scariest movie ever made due to the hysteria it created as well as the varying amount of fear it created.  I am a surfer and  I like to say that I am not really afraid of sharks, however, when I am  in deep water and even shallow water waiting for waves the thought of a 15 foot monster with razor sharp teeth lurking below me is always in the back of my mind as well as many others.  I know a lot of people that will not even go into the ocean for the fear of sharks, even though you are like a million times more likely to die in a car accident on your way to the beach.  Whenever I think of defining evil I often think of it as something that was created in the minds of humans.  We do things to animals and each other that just do not seem to make any sense.  Many people recognize that there is a problem however they do not do anything about it.  We know many people are starving, we know that animals are mistreated, yet we continue to drive the 20,000 dollar car that we truthfully do not need.   Whenever I think that I can truly define people as evil I see many people do good deeds, I see people act kindly to each other and I always see the potential for good.  In the end I always come to the fact that good and evil are impossible to truly define.  Everyone in their own hearts knows the difference between good and evil.   The problem is that everyone has their own idea of what good and evil truly are, and that is where the boundary line is drawn and sides are chosen.   Truth is elusive, good and evil are the product of perception.

Assignment #10 The “Evil Other”

Personal-

 

In my opinion Darth Vader is the ultimate villain and the best portrayal of the true face of Evil.  I chose Darth Vader as my depiction of the “Evil Other” because besides being the perfect symbol of evil, Darth Vader also had a human side that was portrayed through Anikan Skywalker who was seen as good.  I think the character shows that people are born goon and that it is only because of various temptations and through your own individual choices each day that you either stay good or become evil.  In Anakin’s case his lust and desire for power initiated his switch from good to evil.  

 

Historical-

 

Historically Darth Vader and the evil empire have several things in common with other perceived enemies in American culture that were given the title of the “evil other”.  The evil empire itself could be a symbol of the Nazis during World War II the way that they took over country after country in Europe much like the evil empire takes over planet after planet.   Just like in the Star Wars movies with the rebel alliance standing against the evil empire, The U.S., Great Britain and Russia formed the allied powers that fought against the Nazis and their goal of world domination.  The Death Star could also be perceived as the equivalent of the Atomic Bomb even though we were the ones who dropped it on Japan.  The name “storm troopers” even came from World War I as the name given to specific units in the German military whose role was to use heavy armor to storm enemy trenches.

 

Technical-

I chose a variety of pictures to help portray Darth Vader as the “Evil Other”

 

The first picture I chose is an extreme close up of the image we come to recognize as Darth Vader’s face.  The background and the mask are black and the only way we are able to recognize the features of the mask is because of a spot light that seems to be coming from above.  As we saw in the film in class a common technique used to portray the other side as the enemy is to dehumanize the enemy.  There is very little about Darth Vader that can be perceived as human other than that he talks and he has arms and legs.  He appears to be more of a machine than a man.

 

The second picture I chose is a long shot of Vader that shows his size as well as the rest of his suit.  As you can see Darth Vader is almost completely covered in black, which signifies that he is indeed evil.  His light saber is also red, the color of blood that symbolizes death, evil, and even communism which is another evil other.  Darth Vader also stands at a larger than life height of eight feet tall which again goes with the video description as showing the enemy as monsters and freaks.

 

The third picture is a picture of Anikan Skywalker before he becomes Darth Vader.  I chose this picture and Darth Vader as my character because it shows that the enemy is not always what he seems to be.  The picture is lighter, and not nearly as threatening as the other pictures.  It shows that although we may see the enemy as a certain way we might not be seeing the whole picture.

 

The fourth picture I chose is of Anikan Skywalker as a kid.  I chose this picture because it shows that all enemies and allies were once just little kids and it reminds us that we aren’t as different as we might think.

 

The final picture I chose is a close up of Darth Vader without his mask on.  The picture is still dark and it still has an evil feel but the contrast of his pale white skin shows that although he is covered with black, darkness, and evil there is still a person within that has some good in it.

 

Ethical, Cultural, and Critical

 

Ethically I have absolutely no problem with Star Wars.  I first saw it before I was in kindergarten; I know this because I had to have my mom read me the subtitles when Jaba the Hut was talking.  It was the firs movie I was allowed to see that showed people fighting and killing each other and I think my parents allowed me to see it at such a young age because there is never any blood and most of the people that die are storm troopers.  Plus tragedy is apart of life and kids have to experience it sooner or later.  I still get sad when Luke’s friend from ho me gets blown up at the end of episode 4.  Culturally Star Wars is considered by many people in American culture to be “The Epic” of our generation.  It is compared to other great epics such as The Iliad and The Odyssey.  Critically thinking I think Star Wars makes the point that sometimes who you perceive to be the enemy may in fact be the good guys.  The movies are centered on Anikan Skywalker.  He loses his way for a while and thinks he is doing good when he is actually doing evil.  In the end of the movies he does realize the fault of his ways and in his final act he destroys what he had defended for so long. 

 

Thats Questionable #9

I have been reading several blogs from other students on the last assignment and a common idea that was present in many of them was the theme that women are oppressed and have little rights in a male dominated society.  I completely agree with this statement, however, something that is questionable from the statement is whether or not all or even a majority of the women in these societies agree with the statement as well.  I may be wrong but over the last few years due to various bombings I have seen several images of women mourning the deaths of their husbands on the news.  The women were not dancing and celebrating because their male oppressor’s had finally been destroyed, they were in a state of deep mourning.  Not all men in these cultures are as oppressive and evil as many people may think.  Many women do not feel oppressed or mistreated in these cultures because they were raised in the culture and they have no idea of life being any different.  Their culture is a very strict and religious culture and the men are not the only ones who believe its guidelines.  I know it is hard to believe but not everyone in the world want to live like Americans do.  We have T.V. and we have fully powered houses but we also work more than any other country in the world.  Changing the point of view of an entire nation is not an easy thing to do and I think we as Americans often get ourselves into trouble with the rest of the world by pushing our beliefs and our culture onto them. 

Assignment #9

Personal-

 

When I first look at this image I think about when I was a kid and how much I looked forward to going to the theatres to see Disney movies and other kid movies like The Mighty Ducks and The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  When I was a kid I did not really have any thoughts about the fact that the movie took place in the Middle East.  I did not know anything about the region other than it was a desert and that it was hot there.   The only thing that I thought about the people that lived their was that they wore different clothes and lived in different types of houses, other than that I thought that the people there acted a lot like the people where I lived.  I had no idea about the history of hate between the two nations.   I did not pick up on any of the stereotypes or lack of stereotypes in the movie when I was a kid and the movie definitely gave me the feel that everything is alright in the region and that they live almost like people in the U.S. 

 

I chose this picture of Jasmine from the movie Aladdin as my true generalization of Arab femininity because I thought it actually did a good job of representing the clothing that rich Arab women wear around their homes.  At first I thought of the character as the complete opposite of what people think to be a portrayal of Arab women.  I thought it was the exact opposite of a stereotype; however in my cultural and regional geography classes I have learned that under the body sheet that they wear also known as a burka, Arab women wear incredibly expensive clothes.  Jasmine is at home when she is wearing her somewhat revealing outfit and when she goes into town she does where a robe.  In my opinion Jasmine represents what is hidden under their full body sheets.  The outside world obviously never gets to see the women in their clothes because they are required to wear their burka’s in public.  Although I do not agree with it the burka does seem to serve its purpose at the cost of equality and independence.  Women are forced to wear the sheet so that men are not tempted to commit adultery.  However when they are around family the women are allowed to wear their gowns and other clothing

 

Historical-

 

The historical meaning of this image is that women in the Middle East are not known for exposing any part of their bodies in public.  They are basically known for and thought of as walking fabric.  The image that many people have of women in the Middle East is women that are covered from head to toe in clothing.  The significance of the image is that there are still people under those robes.  People in the U.S. may think that this is weird and they may not even understand but our culture not fully understanding their culture is not something new.  The cultural difference between the Muslim Middle East and Christian America and Europe is not something that has just started to happen.  The religious and cultural battle has been something that has been going on for years and it looks like it is going to continue long after we are gone.  

 

 

Technical

 

Lighting and Color

 

The lighting of the picture is difficult to describe due to the fact that it is a cartoon.  I think the image has a high-key lighting that is evenly distributed throughout the picture.  The background of the picture is hard to see giving me the feeling that there is no background lighting. 

 

Jasmine definitely stands out from the dark background and the contrast of her bright colored and revealing outfit grabs the attention of the viewer.

 

Composition and framing

 

The photo was taken as a close up so that the viewer’s attention is focused on Jasmine.  There is some amount of head room however the picture does have a small cramped feeling.

 

The signifier of the picture is the clothing that Jasmine is wearing and the signified is that under the body sheets they wear there is still a beautiful women.

 

Ethical, Cultural and Critical

 

Ethically and Culturally I do not have a problem with the image and I don’t think very many other Americans would have any problems with the image either.  However if a woman in the Middle East dressed like this and walked outside she could possibly be stoned and killed by her own family.  Americans are much more accepting of people that look different then they do as well as people who practice a different religion.  On the other hand many people in the Middle East are not nearly as accepting of people who act, look, or believe anything different from what they do.  In America we do not allow homosexual people to marry each other, in Iran they do not allow people to be homosexual because they will kill them if they find out. When someone is caught stealing in America they are given a trial, we put them in jail and rehabilitate the individual so they can someday rejoin society.  In many middle eastern countries if someone is caught stealing they cut off their hand and sometimes a foot so that they can never physically steal again.  It is important to remember that although we view them as somewhat barbaric, chauvinistic, and unequal their culture views us as a nation of sex, drugs, and rock n roll.  They think we are a nation of sin that spends its time drinking, partying, and making babies.  They dislike our culture and they definitely dislike our support of Israel.  Thinking critically you can see why we are two nations that do not get along with each other, we are so different from one another and communication and understanding is almost non existent.   

 

 

 

Thats Questionable #8

Something that I found questionable from last week’s lecture and this week’s assignment was applying Lester’s six step method to analyzing film.  I think that for analyzing film their might be another method that may be more affective.  The six step method requires you to first discuss your gut reaction to the film then the historical and technical etc.  I found that when I was describing my gut reaction to the film I wanted to include examples that I would later use in my technical description.  This made it difficult to describe and analyze the film.  In this case I think that I would have been able to describe the scene in the film much more affectively if I had not had to worry about what order I needed to analyze everything.   The problem may have been that this was the first time that I have analyzed a scene from a film, but I definitely had a problem following Lester’s steps.

Assignment #8

I could not figure out how to get a youtube video onto the blog so I had to settle with some pictures

 

The movie that I chose was John Carpenter’s The Thing.  I chose to do my assignment on this movie because I think the director did an excellent job of creating suspense and the fear of the unknown.  Plus it is also one of my all time favorite movies.  For anyone who has never seen the movie it is about a group of researchers stationed in Antarctica who come into contact with an alien that has the ability to replicate anything it comes into contact with.  Throughout the movie the researchers struggle to figure out who is human and who is a Thing.  The movie takes place in the middle of nowhere in Antarctica.  They are secluded from the outside world and they have no one to help them but themselves.  They have to rely on each other to survive however they can not completely rely on anyone really because they do not know if they are a thing or not. The main theme created by the movie is the fear of the unknown and the director does a great job of creating this feeling through both audio and visual techniques.

 

The scene I chose to analyze is the final scene of the movie where the two survivors McCready and Childs meet up with each other.  The generator has been destroyed and both men know that there is no chance that they will survive.  The catch is that they know that the thing can survive in freezing temperatures.

 

Personal

 

The seen opens with McCready walking over to a pile of rubble to sit down.  At the moment the audience is under the impression that he is the only survivor of the group.  The scene is very dark only illuminated by the fire of the explosions in the background.  McCready is alone drinking whiskey when Childs a character who had previously gone missing walks up to join McCready.  The two men confront each other and ask where the other was previously.  The audience knows that McCready is not the Thing however there is no way of knowing if Childs is the Thing or not.  The scene creates a great feeling of the unknown.  McCready asks Childs where he had been and he replies that he thought he saw someone and chased after him.  McCready has no way of knowing if what he says is true and admits that even if he did he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.  The two men know that they are going to die as soon as the fire from the explosion dies down.  The movie ends with the two just sitting in the dark and McCready staring off into the distance waiting to die.  The first thing I think when I see this scene is wow that is one of the best endings I have ever seen.  The entire build up of the movie and the setting of the scene mixed with the dialogue and the music at the end creates one of the most exciting feelings of suspense a movie can create and then it ends, I thought it was brilliant.

 

Historical- 

 

The movie was a remake of Howard Hawk’s film in 1951.  Although the films had similar plots John Carpenter’s version was much more exciting and entertaining.

 

Technical

 

Lighting and color

 

There is little to no color in the scene.  The majority of the screen is black and the only color is the white of the snow near the fire.  The lighting is definitely a low key lighting that is also warm.  The scene is very dark, the only light emitted is the light from the fire in the background.  The faces of McCready and Childs are lit in the Rembrandt style.  Both of their faces have fast fall off on one side of their faces adding to the mystery.  The lighting of the scene has a huge significance in relation to the scene.  The darkness represents the unknown, fear, death, all of which are present in the scene.  The fire another symbol of fear and death is the only form of light.  The darkness and the unknown mixed with fire and fear sets the mood for the scene perfectly.

 

Composition and framing

 

The scene starts as an extreme long shot of McCready and switches to a close up shot that switches back and forth from Childs to McCready.  The extreme long shot at the beginning of the scene ads to the mystery of the shaded character.  The audience does not know that the character is McCready until they switch to the close up. 

 

In terms of composition the part where Childs point’s the flame thrower at McCready serves as an index vector.  It shows the distrust between Childs and McCready.  The fire also seemed to be a graphic vector due to the fact that it was the only thing that contrasted the darkness of the scene. 

 

Audio

 

In my opinion the audio portion contributed more to the overall feeling of the scene than anything.  Besides the dialogue the background sound during the conversation was the sound of the fire crackling along with a steady and mysterious sound of the piano and violin.  The music does an amazing job of creating suspense and mystery.  The music at the very end of the movie is my favorite part of the whole movie.  It is a simple base line; all the musician is doing is strumming the string twice.  Bump Bump……. Bump Bump….. Bump Bump……  I think this simple base line is one of the creepiest sounds I have ever heard and it was perfect for this movie.  Another funny thing about the base line is it just ends after two notes, the listener might think something like is that the end, just like you feel at the end of the movie

 

Ethical, Cultural, and Critical

 

Ethically and Culturally I found no problems with this scene of the movie, some people may have had a problem with the violence of the movie and the idea of aliens but other than that I thought it was fine.  Critically speaking this movie really makes you think a lot.  Every time I watch the movie I try and figure out who was taken over first and who is the thing at what times.  The ending is the greatest example of this because the movie ends without the audience learning if the thing was destroyed or not.  I love movies with surprise ending and I really like movies that don’t end.  I think this movie did a great job of building suspense and then providing no punch line.  The suspense continues long after the movie is over and forces the viewer to think critically about what they just saw.