"...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.