Gregory Lopez
Film History
Journal
“The Graduate”
1) Fresh college graduate Benjamin Braddock is locked into an affair with Mrs. Robinson, the wife of his father's business partner and then finds himself falling in love with her teenage daughter, Elaine. Through their happenstances, Benjamin determines that they have nothing in common but also picks up that Mrs. Robinson was required to give up college and marry someone she did not love when she became pregnant with her daughter, Elaine. Mrs. Robinson stresses to Benjamin that he should unwind and appreciate his youth while he still can. Upon arriving to the Robinsons' home to take Elaine out again, Mrs. Robinson threatens to disclose to Elaine her previous relationship with Benjamin. However, Benjamin preemptively exclaims the specifics of his affair to Elaine before Mrs. Robinson can proceed with her threat. Upset and heartbroken, Elaine returns to Berkeley and cuts off all communication with Benjamin.
2) Throughout the 1960s an immediate social, political, and artistic change was happening in America as a new generation fought to regroup its understanding of gender in the face of how their parents understood it. During this time, the women’s liberation movement and new ideas about masculinity pursued to break out of the 1950s suburban example that had been the norm, predominantly in terms of male and female relationships. This shift was portrayed in several films of the 1960s and forms the thematic essential of the film “The Graduate.” What is most captivating about this certain film in terms of gender is the way it reproduces the shifting understanding of gender of both males and females and of different ages as well.
http://www.articlemyriad.com/113.htm
3) The article relates to the screening because the film introduces two young people who are on the threshold of coming to terms with a new connotation of individuality and gender and also offer the older generation and its stable suburban standards. Wedged in the middle of these representations of gender is the mysterious character of Mrs. Robinson who exemplifies both the new understanding of femininity as well as the old masculine ideals that her suburban society is established upon. With such an impulsive combination of mismatched gender notions and generations, this film presents an almost perfect representation of the gender skirmishes of the 1960s.
4) “The Graduate” orbits around the story of Benjamin, a topical college graduate, who is at a main point in his life. Caught between adolescence and adulthood, he is examining meaning in the upper-middle class suburban world of his parents. While at home between schools, he begins a sexual relationship with the wife of a neighbor and family-friend, Mrs. Robinson. Uncomfortable with his own sexuality, Benjamin and Mrs. Robinson continue an affair for quite some time, during which she asks him to promise to stay away from her daughter, Elaine. Things become complex when Mr. Robinson and Benjamin’s father attempt to organize a date between the two young people. Not wanting to disrupt his mistress’ demand yet caught up in the wishes of his parents, Benjamin takes Elaine on a date, which is catastrophic as Benjamin tries to push her away. Ultimately, however, the affair between Mrs. Robinson and Benjamin is exposed and Elaine goes to school. Benjamin halts his affair and essentially stalks Elaine at college, hoping to win her back. She is engaged to a man her parents find reputable and is about to marry him, but at the last minute Benjamin takes a cross-country trip to try to stop her marriage. To the dismay of Mrs. Robinson and the other guests, he is successful and the two escape together. I thought this movie was a classic. It was a compelling screening that grasped my attention with ease, especially being a college student who is on the verge of graduating. I thoroughly enjoyed this film and would absolutely watch it again.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Citizen Kane
Gregory Lopez
FILM 2600: Film History
Dr. Cathleen Londino
Fall 2011
“Citizen Kane”
1. In regards to Citizen Kane, Its multifaceted and gloomy theme of an emotionally-futile man is told from numerous, unpredictable perspectives and points-of-view, which were metaphorically interconnected by the jigsaw puzzle in the film. Several different characters, which included the associates and friends of the departed, provided an occasionally inconsistent and perplexing representation. The film tells the heart-rending epic story of a 'rags-to-riches' child who inherited a fortune, was taken from his down-to-earth environment, as well as his father and mother. He was raised by a banker whom he disliked, and became a resplendently affluent, arrogant, and vigorous newspaperman. He made his reputation as the liberal, perfectionistic campaigner of the underprivileged, and set his pompous mind on a political career, until those political dreams were shattered after the leak of a reckless 'love-nest' affair with a singer. Kane's life was corrupted and eventually self-destructed by greed to fulfill the American dream of success, fame, wealth, power and immortality. After two failed marriages and a conversion into a morose, outlandish, and tyrannical monster, his final days were spent alone, miserable and unhappy before his death in a withdrawn retreat of his own making - a gloomy palace filled with countless possessions to recompense for his life's overall emptiness.
2. http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewArticle.asp?id=20042
3. This article relates to the screening because it gives an overall impression and run-down about the film. For instance, it states that "Citizen Kane," released in 1941, was ahead of its time in cinematography. Many long cuts, showing action in real time, fill the film and the few short cuts are taken mainly to emphasize dialogue. This story of newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane is based loosely on the life of William Randolph Hearst, who fought the release of this film into theaters. The article goes into detail about how this film, shot in black and white, uses the space of the audience's screen to show a well-focused insight in the field of vision. Lighting is preserved through low key lights and sharp angles of hard light, with characters all remaining in focus. Characters in the beginning of the film are shot almost in silhouette lighting, mainly focusing on voice and dialogue rather than the actual visual images. Symbolically, the public is in the dark about who Kane was and became. The older Kane gets, the darker shots become, reflecting pragmatism of cinema in the beginning of the film, but changing to extravagant and excessive with the passage of time. The perspective of the author in this article about the film gives the reader a clear insight about what the film is intended to say and why the message is important through symbolic dialogue and a captivating storyline.
4. A film known to many as Citizen Kane, and known by few, lives up to the hype even if it's not the so-called best film ever made. I honestly didn’t think the film wasn’t going to be as good as it was. I loved the message behind the movie, characters and the sequence of events .Everything fell into place in the movie, which kept me at the edge of my seat. I would definitely see this movie again due to the fact that it is without a doubt, one of the best movies of all time.
FILM 2600: Film History
Dr. Cathleen Londino
Fall 2011
“Citizen Kane”
1. In regards to Citizen Kane, Its multifaceted and gloomy theme of an emotionally-futile man is told from numerous, unpredictable perspectives and points-of-view, which were metaphorically interconnected by the jigsaw puzzle in the film. Several different characters, which included the associates and friends of the departed, provided an occasionally inconsistent and perplexing representation. The film tells the heart-rending epic story of a 'rags-to-riches' child who inherited a fortune, was taken from his down-to-earth environment, as well as his father and mother. He was raised by a banker whom he disliked, and became a resplendently affluent, arrogant, and vigorous newspaperman. He made his reputation as the liberal, perfectionistic campaigner of the underprivileged, and set his pompous mind on a political career, until those political dreams were shattered after the leak of a reckless 'love-nest' affair with a singer. Kane's life was corrupted and eventually self-destructed by greed to fulfill the American dream of success, fame, wealth, power and immortality. After two failed marriages and a conversion into a morose, outlandish, and tyrannical monster, his final days were spent alone, miserable and unhappy before his death in a withdrawn retreat of his own making - a gloomy palace filled with countless possessions to recompense for his life's overall emptiness.
2. http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewArticle.asp?id=20042
3. This article relates to the screening because it gives an overall impression and run-down about the film. For instance, it states that "Citizen Kane," released in 1941, was ahead of its time in cinematography. Many long cuts, showing action in real time, fill the film and the few short cuts are taken mainly to emphasize dialogue. This story of newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane is based loosely on the life of William Randolph Hearst, who fought the release of this film into theaters. The article goes into detail about how this film, shot in black and white, uses the space of the audience's screen to show a well-focused insight in the field of vision. Lighting is preserved through low key lights and sharp angles of hard light, with characters all remaining in focus. Characters in the beginning of the film are shot almost in silhouette lighting, mainly focusing on voice and dialogue rather than the actual visual images. Symbolically, the public is in the dark about who Kane was and became. The older Kane gets, the darker shots become, reflecting pragmatism of cinema in the beginning of the film, but changing to extravagant and excessive with the passage of time. The perspective of the author in this article about the film gives the reader a clear insight about what the film is intended to say and why the message is important through symbolic dialogue and a captivating storyline.
4. A film known to many as Citizen Kane, and known by few, lives up to the hype even if it's not the so-called best film ever made. I honestly didn’t think the film wasn’t going to be as good as it was. I loved the message behind the movie, characters and the sequence of events .Everything fell into place in the movie, which kept me at the edge of my seat. I would definitely see this movie again due to the fact that it is without a doubt, one of the best movies of all time.
Grapes of Wrath
Gregory Lopez
FILM 2600: Film History
Dr. Cathleen Londino
Fall 2011
“Grapes of Wrath”
1. John Steinbeck grew up in California and observed the troubles of the migrant workers, or Okies, as they were so-called because many of them migrated from the dust bowl of Oklahoma. He worked beside them, visited their camps, and traveled to Oklahoma as he researched this phenomenon. As a result, The Grapes of Wrath was conceived and then, published in 1939, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1940. When the rain wouldn't fall, and the crops couldn't grow, the dust still blew and the days and nights still proceeded. They were jam-packed with the dry, infertile earth, in this hard time known as the Dust Bowl. Farmers such as the Joads in this screening and in the book lost their farms to the banks as well as their family history. Unable to come to a conclusion to solve this matter, they packed up and headed for California with hopes of finding work in order to prosper and survive with the bountiful land that had multiple, luscious growing seasons in store. Although it seemed like the Promise Land, when they arrived, they found that they were part of a great migration and there wasn't enough work for the masses, little to none for them to survive. There was a huge prominence on the importance of family values, ethics, and morals. Social injustices were depicted as well and assisted in making this an efficacious, compelling screening that many can relate to.
2. http://www.helium.com/items/1180767-john-steinbeck-the-grapes-of-wrath-dusk-bowl-okies-oklahoma-joads-family-hooverville
3. This article relates to the screening because it basically talks about what the film was about, where the idea derived from, and how it was conceived and developed into such a timeless masterpiece. The articles states what’s especially resonance about the Graphs of Wrath. It discusses how it epitomizes human latent strengths and evident weaknesses in the face of struggles and hardships, implying that often the weak becomes stronger and the strong weakens under unrelenting pressure. This was in accordance to The Grapes of Wrath since it was about the Joad family's adversities and struggles in Oklahoma during the Great Depression and later on in California. The Joads, like many farmers, were in calamitous financial quandaries and incapable of paying home mortgages or buy farm equipment that was essential to maintain and sustain their farms. Consequently, many of the Dust Bowl farmers were required to move to greener meadowlands, leaving behind all their belongings except what they could take in their automobiles.
4. Personally, I enjoyed the screening for many reasons, as well as the book. The author/director examines the causes behind the suffering, asking and answering from his perspective the definitive questions about land ownership, the use of power, government's role, the nature of justice and the principles of capitalism. He clearly sponsors the lower classes working collectively through unions. He points a reproachful finger at wealthy property owners for thoughtless policies meant to maximize profit while forcing laborers to work for less than cheap wages. These controversial views make the screening very interesting in its own way. The whole film in general is brilliant and makes it understandable through its cinematography why it’s regarded as a masterpiece.
FILM 2600: Film History
Dr. Cathleen Londino
Fall 2011
“Grapes of Wrath”
1. John Steinbeck grew up in California and observed the troubles of the migrant workers, or Okies, as they were so-called because many of them migrated from the dust bowl of Oklahoma. He worked beside them, visited their camps, and traveled to Oklahoma as he researched this phenomenon. As a result, The Grapes of Wrath was conceived and then, published in 1939, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1940. When the rain wouldn't fall, and the crops couldn't grow, the dust still blew and the days and nights still proceeded. They were jam-packed with the dry, infertile earth, in this hard time known as the Dust Bowl. Farmers such as the Joads in this screening and in the book lost their farms to the banks as well as their family history. Unable to come to a conclusion to solve this matter, they packed up and headed for California with hopes of finding work in order to prosper and survive with the bountiful land that had multiple, luscious growing seasons in store. Although it seemed like the Promise Land, when they arrived, they found that they were part of a great migration and there wasn't enough work for the masses, little to none for them to survive. There was a huge prominence on the importance of family values, ethics, and morals. Social injustices were depicted as well and assisted in making this an efficacious, compelling screening that many can relate to.
2. http://www.helium.com/items/1180767-john-steinbeck-the-grapes-of-wrath-dusk-bowl-okies-oklahoma-joads-family-hooverville
3. This article relates to the screening because it basically talks about what the film was about, where the idea derived from, and how it was conceived and developed into such a timeless masterpiece. The articles states what’s especially resonance about the Graphs of Wrath. It discusses how it epitomizes human latent strengths and evident weaknesses in the face of struggles and hardships, implying that often the weak becomes stronger and the strong weakens under unrelenting pressure. This was in accordance to The Grapes of Wrath since it was about the Joad family's adversities and struggles in Oklahoma during the Great Depression and later on in California. The Joads, like many farmers, were in calamitous financial quandaries and incapable of paying home mortgages or buy farm equipment that was essential to maintain and sustain their farms. Consequently, many of the Dust Bowl farmers were required to move to greener meadowlands, leaving behind all their belongings except what they could take in their automobiles.
4. Personally, I enjoyed the screening for many reasons, as well as the book. The author/director examines the causes behind the suffering, asking and answering from his perspective the definitive questions about land ownership, the use of power, government's role, the nature of justice and the principles of capitalism. He clearly sponsors the lower classes working collectively through unions. He points a reproachful finger at wealthy property owners for thoughtless policies meant to maximize profit while forcing laborers to work for less than cheap wages. These controversial views make the screening very interesting in its own way. The whole film in general is brilliant and makes it understandable through its cinematography why it’s regarded as a masterpiece.
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