PowerPointing a Finger at Epics

The link below will take you to my Wiki. Click on the PowerPoint Presentation link to learn a little about the Epic Genre and film.

http://criticaltechnicalities.pbwiki.com/The+Epic+Genre:+PowerPoint+Presentation

To My Wiki and Beyond

Below is a quick link to my wiki. It contains related works to my blog entries as well as links to other helpful resources.

http://criticaltechnicalities.pbwiki.com/

Spielberg, I Am Not

Venturing into the world of movie making, even just with photo clips, has been a challenge. Between the technology and nitpicking, I was stumped for a long time. I have managed to put together a small production which lacks many of the creative elements a movie usually depends on, music, motion, plot, but I celebrate the little successes. The link to this movie is at the bottom of the post; feel free to revel in my directorial debut.

What my movie does have:

• Personal images


• Transitions


• Opening Title and Lead-in


• Title with images


• Minor video effects (fade in or out)


• Closing Credits

What my movie lacks:

• Universal appeal


• Plot


• Music

Hopefully I will have more chances to explore the tools of Windows Movie Maker and improve my skills. Maybe someday I'll even have a film with moving images! You never know.

http://criticaltechnicalities.pbwiki.com/My+Video

Mighty Immaturity

Group: 29 Ninth Grade Students, male and female

Film: The Mighty

Watching my students view anything, from the morning announcements to clips from Romeo and Juliet, can be an education. The responses will always range from "That was stupid" to "I loved it!" I was able to observe my 9th grade class watch The Mighty over a three-day span while studying unlikely heroes. When the film had run its course, and the lights had gone back on, it was time for discussion. Here is where the real fun begins. It never fails that some kids will simply state, "I didn't get it." They usually were not trying "to get it," but that is their perrogative. On the other hand, I have the female student who cannot stop crying because the young, crippled Kevin died. She can only sob, "It was so sad! Why'd he have to die? Where's the happy ending?" She obviously missed the part when Max discovered his true intelligence as a result of Kevin's short interaction in his life. The middle of the road responses are usually the safest, if also the most generic. "It was inspirational," "It touched my heart but was unrealistic," and "I liked it." Altogether, uninspirational.

What I have found when using film in the classroom is that students cannot connect the importance of a film to a lesson. They see the 120 minutes as relaxation time; they zone out. Applying the central theme to the short story we had previously read, "The Scarlet Ibis," never occurs to them. Luckily, they were given a worksheet to fill out during the movie which asked for similarities and differences between the short story hero, Doodle, and one of the heroes of The Mighty, Kevin or Max. Without this unsubtle prompting I'm not sure they would have retained any valuable information. When it came to writing a comparison/contrast essay about Doodle and their chosen hero, it was like pulling fingernails. They couldn't remember all that Kevin did or how Max reacted to certain situations. I heard "I don't remember" about a million times over two days.

Now why do students do this? Is it a lack of long-term memory? Is it the brain's automatic response to shut down when confronted with a big screen? Whatever it is, the students all felt that basing an essay on a film was difficult. Using the experience for more than just visual enjoyment had not occured to them, even when specifically told ahead of time that the essay was to follow.

The chasm between media and academics is very wide still. The teacher struggles with effective integration, and it turns out the student struggles with building a mental bridge between the two. Hopefully by the time I show them Romeo and Juliet they will have made those connections. TV and film are not just for pleasure, but for learning as well.

Teenagers: Where Have the Innocent Smiles Gone?

One would think searching for pictures of teenagers on the Internet would be easy. There are so many teens out there, and they all seem to have digital cameras. The truth is that these pictures are available, but not "easy." Upon typing the phrase "teenagers" into Flickr, a photo site, I was first bombarded by teenage breasts. Girls ranging from early teens to early twenties were posing with their tops down, shirts covered in water, or skirts hiked to their waists. The next phase was the drug phase. A collection of photos showed several drug-addicted teens living on the street together. Their faces were gaunt, their clothes a little ragged, and smiles were extinct from their mouths. From this collection the pictures moved into more music oriented shots, then posed shots showing teenagers sullen, sleeping, or angry. What I didn't see on a regular basis was a teenager with a smile on his or her face. Sure, a few of the obscene shots had a girl with a seductive tilt to her lips, and there are the girls smiling at their cell phones, but a good shot of a teenager simply smiling at the camera was as rare as the Hope Diamond. I can only wonder, where have all the smiles gone? Are teenagers just that angry? Are they all depressed? Do they smile when there's no one around? I will have to continue the search for more happy teenagers. Wish me luck.

Below is a link to my collage of teenage images

http://criticaltechnicalities.pbwiki.com/Teenage-Collage

Damn the Man, Analyze the Empire: Two Critical Perspectives of Empire Records

A film that has been a favorite of mine since my tweens is Empire Records. It is the sort of film which young audiences enjoy watching, quoting, and possibly mimicking, but mature adults often frown and say, "I don't get it." Now that I've grown and matured, at least a little, I will take another look at the film that entered my life about twelve years ago.

Semiotic Analysis:

The film Empire Records is full of symbols which relate directly to the culture is was made during. There is a slight "MTV" feel to both its setting and editing. Several images with float in and out of screen as the acting continues in the foreground. In the ten minute clip I have posted, there are several symbols that pop up for a second or two or longer. One symbol is the black and white dog with its head cocked to the side. This is very similar to the dog on the HMV music label (His Master's Voice). This ties into the central theme of the movie; music is a necessary part of life. Also edited into the film is a short montage of images that is very reminiscent of a music video. This montage includes a pretty woman smiling blankly and a train rushing into a tunnel. These images are set to heavy metal music and are another tie-in to the "MTV" culture which holds great appeal to the younger generation. These musical symbols reach out to the audience because the majority of people have some interest in music. The music represented in the film is a mixture of rock and metal which is directed at the younger audience.

Other symbols that pop up are the orange "Music Town" aprons , the shaved head of Deborah , and the long hair of the majority of the males. When the manager, Joe, reveals the owner's plans to turn Empire Records into a chain record store called "Music Town," he pulls out several orange aprons and tosses them at the employees. These aprons are frowned upon and eventually vandalized with black spray-painted Xs on them to show the characters dislike of commercialism and conformity. When mocking the uptight rules of "Music Town," Gina strips down to just the apron and struts around asking, "Welcome to Music Town, may I service you?" Deborah shaves her head after a failed suicide attempt to show her deep depression. She is rebelling against the female standard as well as the "happy" people around her. This change is often remarked on by the other characters and leads to an intervention of sorts. The head is also often rubbed as a sign of comfort against her depression. The long hair that is worn by almost every male character shows the large rebellion against the more clean-cut corporate world that is encroaching on Empire Records. Even Joe, a middle-aged man, wears his hair at chin-level as he fights to preserve Empire Record's individuality. The only main male character who doesn't wear his hair long is Lucas who takes on a monk-like personality during the film. The shorter hair is to give off a wiser vibe.

Feminist Analysis:

Empire Records has very stereotypical male and female characters. The men are the protective, wise, decision-making characters (for the most part), and the women are categorized as brainy and meek, slutty, and depressed and sulking. Joe, the oldest of the cast, is all about making everything right while helping out the youth under his care. Lucas, dressed in black, represents otherworldly wisdom and spouts zen bits of gibberish such as "Who knows were thoughts come from; they just appear." A.J. is the lovesick teen who must make the first move to win his lady. Mark is the wild party guy with all the jokes and physical humor. Eddie is the stereotypical stoner with straggly hair and 'dude' tossed into every line. Each male character is decidedly masculine; there is no crossing lines. The females are placed into even smaller boxes of characterization. Deborah is the rock-and-roll chick covered in tattoos, piercings, and a negative attitude. She shaves her head at the beginning and sports a wrist bandage to show her angst. Corey is the brainy but beautiful girl who plans to attend Harvard but is secretly hiding her use of speed from the world. Gina is the pretty slut who wears revealing clothing and pouts attractively at the men but is secretly worried she'll end up unloved and alone.

Now there is a reason the characters stay in their little roles, never venturing into the depths of real character development. Young audiences don't want to see a character drastically change when they already fit a mold which the viewer can see him or herself in. Each character has his or her sympathizers, teens who are also struggling with a similar issue. If the characters were to suddenly grow up... then the audience would have to imagine such a thing happening in reality. Oh no! Instead we get a comfortable layout of characters which are predictable. The puzzle pieces fit together without any of that pesky deep thinking. The youth can watch a character and say, "They are just like me!" while the adults say, "Was I ever that one-dimensional?"

In conclusion, the film does not stand up to the test of time, or should I say the test of maturity, but I can still sit back and enjoy it if I don't think too hard. Instead I grab at the one-liners hoping there will come a time when I can fit "Damn the Man" into a conversation.

Empire Records -Allan Moyle, 1995- Part 3