"...you know, I'm also from 'The Hood'..."

So, taking a different approach to this blog entry, I'd like to take this opportunity to talk a little bit about myself.

I myself grew up in SoCal in the early 90s and I definitely remember all of these types of experiences, portrayed in this film. It's a bit hilarious to think that I could almost have a root in that culture. In fact, I would hear stories from family members present at and around the time of my birth, that mostly included gang activity, stereotyping, drugs, and sex. The coolest thing, i think is the story of my mother witnessing gang activity and then experiencing the 1989 San Francisco Earthquake, all on the same day. You know all those famous pictures of that viaduct thing collapsing, trapping all of those cars and people? my mom was there somewhere, pregnant with me; she was safe outside the viaduct, thank goodness.

What sucks is that my own personal accounts of the early 90s, in general, is a bit fuzzy. Specific memories i really remember is like, the song "The Sign" by Ace of Base, the film Interview with a Vampire, and the first Casper movie starring a young Christina Ricci and Bill Pullman. That's about it.

Anyways, on to the film...

Getting over the fact that it was really dark, I think it was an awesome film, awesome, in the literal sense, that i was in awe. The music, the food, the clothes, everything, definitely came back to me. I found myself humming along whenever we heard music, laughing whenever i saw obvious 90s fashion, and felt a bit melancholy when i saw the food and such at the welcome home party. It took me back to another part of my life. My favorite and most strongest memory is walking down a sidewalk and hearing hip hop coming from houses and passing cars, a definite feature in the film.

one particular scene that caused me to stop and think was the scene where everyone takes Ricky's dead body home, causing everyone to scream and cry. Ricky and Doughboy's mother turns and cries hysterically in Doughboy's arms and then switches to anger and screams, "You did it! You did it!"

What i found most interesting is that, obviously, HE didn't kill him, but essentially, the TYPE OF PEOPLE Doughboy figuratively represents and generally models himself after, did. I thought that that was an interesting point.

"Good, fellas..."

I really liked this film. i mean, hands down, it is really good.

Just like what henry was trying to explain in the film, we as the audience, side and root for the bad guy. (he was talking about jimmy by the way.) but regardless, yes, i did want the "bad guys" to win and conquer every situation that was thrown at them, but a part of me wanted henry out of it.i felt like henry didn't deserve a lot of the consequences and bad situations that he got sucked into.

One character, the only character, i didn't like was tommy. he was too cocky and a lot of his decisions doesn't seem justified, just like what was said in class. his ego was too large. i did not like his character.

What I really liked was the scenes near the end of the film revolving around henry and cocaine. Throughout those scenes, I thought he was just hallucinating the whole "helicopter" thing. That surprised me. i laughed really hard, in my head of course, when the police were there. i was wrong. henry was not hallucinating. haha

"A Place in My Dislike Pile"

Ok, where do I start. here is my list of comments while watching the film yesterday:


I definitely notice the "screen wipes"...uhhhhhhg it's distracting....

im amazed how fast romance can develop

wait, why didnt they put the top up?


the scene where george goes to the party, i did not like some of those camera angles like the somewhat shot reverse shot between a girl and george and george mistakes her hello for her friends.

GEORGE IS A SCHEMING BITCH.

i think the bird sound effect right after the drums was a bit dramatic...uhhhgggg

there is an excessive use of the cross-fading transitions in this film. it's making my dizzy.

the drums and close up shots are over-the-top.....i want to die.

i did not like the close up shot of george crawling up to the camera.

so "hardly eating anything" is something?

"another woman stashed somewhere someplace".....im really hating all of things things....

fainting huh? oh, and how did the mother know that she fell in the first place?

anti-climactic ending...gahhhh



Anyways, as you can already tell, i did not enjoy the film as much as i wanted. I definitely thought the drmatic sound effects and music and close up shots were over-the-top. I do not like this film. enough said.

"Double Awesomeness"

So let me start by saying, one of the coolest things happened when i did a but of research into Barbara Stanwyck. but more about that later.

I really liked Double Indemnity. I liked the transitional shots, as well as the development and establishment of story and character; i felt that the characters stayed true to themselves as well as the story. For example, someone in class pointed out that Phyllis is a bit squeamish when it came to killing. I very much agree.

My favorite character in the film has to be Walter. I really resonated with his character because he was always thinking but at the same time he knew he had to "keep it cool" and not get caught. He almost sounds like a crazy man, though he did KILL a man, with the way that he narratively explained what he did to the recorder. He had that look of deep thought on his face. To be honest, I find myself making that face every now and then.

So, the best part is seeing Barbara Stanwyck work her magic yet again in a film, as a femme fatale no less; it was very rewarding. Yet, it gets better.

So, in my Sociology 372 class last semester, I got to watch A Star Is Born, featuring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March, directed by William A. Wellman, a film about a young woman who changes her name and becomes a star. She falls in love with another actor yet her stardom goes beyond that of his and their relationship suffers. A Star Is Born is my favorite "Classic Hollywood" film.

After looking back at some old essays, and then researching Barbara Stanwyck, I realized that part of my essay last semester mentioned that people believe that the A Star Is Born film is based on Barbara Stanwyck's life.

So then I was like, "...Wait. 'Barbara Stanwyck' is not her real name?" It turns out, her real name is Ruby Katherine Stevens. who knew?

She's definitely one of my favorite actors, I've also watched The Lady Eve and Lady of Burlesque.


This really is a great surprise.

"Grapes of Dreams"

i found it really interesting that someone commented on the title and it's reference to the events in the film. It makes sense though, "many small dreams, all connected in the family."

I really loved the fact that music was used sparingly, and that if there was a n absence of music, there was sounds of nature conflicting with the sounds of machinery; a theme of what the Depression was all about. The theme song, or at least the song that comes on whever somthing important happens or something sorrowful happens, i've actually heard before. I can't exactly pinpoint where I've heard it before, but I want to say the 90's cartoon, Rugrats, specifically Tommy's mom humming it.

Anyways, another aspect of the film i really like was the dramatic lightin used on Henry Fonda's character; I loved the lighting in the scene in the abandoned house at the beginning, and the scenes where Tom reunites with Casy and When Tom kills the man that killed Casy. Those night shots were really dramatic and really, in my eyes, artistically juxtaposed.

What's up with these people?

Gold Diggers of 1933 was by far the least of my favorites. I'm glad that we got to experience a "musical" yet at the same time i feel that the musical portion is what also hindered it.

What I felt most about what I didn't like about it was that there was a strong lack of character development and character depth. I feel like it would have been better to focus on two or three stories rather than try to give glimpses of 7 characters. I'm not sure exactly how people in the past perceived the story and characters, yet i personally feel that it could've been better.

I felt like everything was rushed. I don't think it needed, per se, a "wholesome" ending if it meant spending more time getting to know the main characters. I felt, for example, that Brad was a flat character, even though his situation, him hiding his blue blood family ties, gave his character some complexity. I was always expecting more from his character, and i got disappointed when i didn't get it.

I did though respect Carol, more so than Polly, who I thought the film was going to focus. I kept asking why Polly wasn't around and I kept asking why the film seemed to revolve around her at the beginning but then doesn't.

I was actually really disappointed with this film but I hope it gets better.

Women Empowerment......nice.

Ok, so today's film, Babyface, was, let's say, unorthodox. I'm not even entirely sure if I could name another movie that has the same portrayal as Lily Power does for this film. What I found really interesting was that she had no shame doing the things she did, choosing the decisions she chose, etc. up until the end, of course. Though the film obviously exposes the "double standard" within the parameters of gender roles, etc., this film hit the nail right on the head, and then some.

Ok, hold on, there is one film i could think of, Pretty Persuasion(2005) by Marcos Siega, featuring Evan Rachel Wood. The main character plays, basically, a promiscuous, scheming bitch who manipulates and has sex with everyone around her, male and female, to get what she wants. So, in that regard, I do know of a film, but Pretty Persuasion was filmed just a few years ago, where as Babyface was filmed in the 30's, right before the establishment of "the code." I'm surprised that such a topic and story could even be fathomed at that era. I guess the 20's were not the only decade of "craziness."

I'm still in shock, in shock from the train car scene. My jaw hasn't come back up yet. I just never knew women at that time could be so direct and evil. I'm surprised Bette Davis wasn't offered that role. She's always type casted as "the bitch."

So anyways, one thing that I want to discuss further is the camera angles and how they were always upward movements and such.

It does make sense that the film is about a woman who gets what she wants and "climbs her way to the top," a bit literally actually, since she stepped all over all those men. Yet, the specific idea that i wanted share was that idea of "when you reach the top, there's no where else to go but down."

Throughout the film, the exterior shots of the bank corporate building kept getting higher and higher, as if we would never see the top. Yet, when we finally do, it was too late, Trenthold tried to commit suicide. "Coming back down from that high," that rush of being rich and powerful, and gaining back her sense of humanity, she was able to give up her material earnings.
I'm really glad the film ended the way it did, not just symbolically with the camera angles, but with the character development as well.

Bravo.

When gangsters turn up the charm...

One of the biggest things I've noticed with gangster movies, like Scarface and The Public Enemy, the main characters, though being a sly and deceptive, are charming and successfully seduces the girls that they're interested in. What is most interesting is that they could treat the girls horribly, or even just say sexist things to them yet they still "fall in love" with him.

In The Public Enemy, the main character, Tom, seduces a girl off the street into his car and excessively flirts with her. What makes this scene really apparent is that she responds with the same magnitude of enthusiasm that he came on her with; She happily hops into the back of his car and he gets "touchy-feely" with her.

In Scarface, Tony manages to make Poppy, another guy's "property," "his girl." At first, she plays it off that she hates him and ignores him but he tries harder and harder to "get on her good side." He eventually grows on her and then she eventually falls for him.

I guess this says something about American culture at that time. It says "men could be players and women are supposed to be submissive."

Once More with Feeling...

Redskin was amazing.

What I really enjoyed was that they established character with more dialogue and a deeper story.

It's not that I didn't enjoy the other films we've watched so far, but i was constantly begging for an even better film. After we watched Within Our Gates, I was basically screaming "once more with feeling!!"

What I liked most about Redskin was that the characters were very distinct. I didn't know that sort of character development and establishment was possible as such in silent films. I say bravo.

One scene in particular that I feel strongly about is the scene where the film jumped 10 years into the future. I think that though, at first, it wasn't clear who these adults were, I believe that they framed it and sequenced it in the perfect way that I knew exactly who they were. The only detail that I had a problem was that the actors playing adult Wing Foot and adult Corn Blossom looked too much like, basically, white people with a slight tan, not a tan, but a slight tan. Other than this small detail, I had no problem relying on my experience of sequencing to be convinced that the people on screen were the two kids fro the previous frame.

In addition to this, the sole fact that a silent film made a "time jump" without title or footnote made this film even more commendable to my taste. I was really excited for what the film established in the first ten minutes; i wanted more to happen. "More" is what I got.

I was really satisfied with the climax of the story, specifically the fight scenes. I was glad that I could see the fight scenes from different angles, the way that they are framed today. I was worried that they would be similar to previous "fight" sequences where it's basically a steady-cam filming one long continuous shot without movement.

This brings the next point that I want make, the shots in Redskin were significantly shorter than the ones in previous films. Even if there were long continuous shots, at the least, there would be something happening that would be a reason to not cut away to a next frame, and then, on top of that, usually the long shots would be panning shots anyway, like the shot of Wing Foot running, trying to race the two guys to make claims for the oil.

Other than that, I'm really enjoying these films....keep them coming.

Love Scenes and Strong Women

To be honest, I was not confident that I would respond, in positive attitude, to the silent films we've seen in class. I was worried that I wouldn't appreciate many of the standards nor styles of that era of film. I didn't really enjoy Birth of a Nation and I watched only the first half of the Great Train Robbery prior to the class and I didn't exactly have "strong feelings" toward them. Yet I proved myself wrong seeing more of them and seeing that silent films do carry a depth that I thought they lacked. I'm glad for that.

I really enjoyed both Breaking Blossoms and Within Our Gates for a number of reasons. I never knew that topics such as abuse, rape, or even "the gangsta ways" were portrayed in these sort of films, early on. I guess, in a way, since the MPAA was not formed until later on, all topics were fair game.

One scene that I found really memorable in Breaking Blossoms is that one image of Cheng leaning beside Lucy while she was lying in bed and he was just smiling at her. I think what made this image really strong for me was that first of all, there was a tint of pink on the film, and second, that specific camera angle was distinct but uncommon. I feel that I was uncommon for the fact that most positions like that are filmed, I feel, from either over the shoulder of the subject leaning, looking at the subject on the bed, or beside the bed, looking up towards the subject leaning. then, of course, there would be sight lines to match up since the scene is between two subjects. Seeing that specific color scheme and camera angle has left a great impression on me and how i view these films.

A scene from Within Our Gates that i resonate with is basically any close up shot of Sylvia. I feel strongly with these shots because, since were following her story, and because it is a silent film, the only real way to know what she's thinking and what she's feeling is seeing her pain and seeing her expressions through those close ups. The story is supposed to be an emotional journey through the eyes of Sylvia and the only way to do that is to see what she goes through and she how she feels and see her confidence to keep going. I might be a bit bias here, since i look up to strong female roles, such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Ellen Ripley, Jane from Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Echo from Joss Whedon's Dollhouse, etc., but I can honestly say that I feel like adding Sylvia Landry to this list because of many similar qualities. Sylvia fought through heartbreak and kept going, she risked her life to save a child as well as those she cared for and loved, a man tried to hurt her but she fought back, and she thought through problems and got to a solution, all traits that the other women also have, respectively.

These films really left a lasting impression on me. I hope the other films do the same.

-RMBAS

Alrighty, I'm set....

I'm ready for ENGL 339!!