“Across the Universe” article… Blog Post 5

a) Important to understanding of the article:

-the beggining when the man is describing the opening scene

b)Puzzling in someway:

-“There are times when you can feel the strain, as the pictures don’t quite match up with the words”…i feel like it was necessary for some scenes like the lsd one

-Eddie Izzard…need to research him

c)Suprising:

-same director as the one that directed lion king on broadway

-33 beatles songs

-called a jukebox musical

d)Connected to own experience:

 

     Tripping ‘Across the Universe,’ Just a Little Clumsily is an article that describes one professional’s review of the movie Across the Universe. The article begins with the man, Bob Mondello, describing the significance of the opening scene to the movie. Basically, the opening tells and shows the viewer the whole movie in a short amout of time, kind of a summary of the movie. The first time viewer doesn’t know this though. In the review, Mondello states his opinion that some of the songs and the pictures that were meant to go with them were a little strained, hard to connect. His example was the scene for “I Am the Eggman” sung by Bono. He felt as if the words made no sense so all the director  was able to do was give them some drugs, and send them on a magic bus ride. Something that the viewer may find suprising about Across the Universe is that the woman who directed it, Judy Taymor, also directed The Lion King on Broadway. Taymor ended up using 33 Beatle’s songs in the making of the movie, and the songs are what tell the story. The songs were originally written almost 50 years ago, and were not meant to make a plot that was for the movie. But, some how, they ended up transitioning smoothely from one aong to the next, creating what Mondello referred to as a “juke box musical.” Mondello calles Taymor’s imagery “astounding” and also mentions the “anti-war stuff” that gives Across the Universe a “contemporary overtone.” (256)

 

“Tripping ‘Across the Universe,’ Just a Little Clumsily.” All Things Considered. (14 Sept. 2007): Literature Resource Center. Gale. Pierce College. 10 Nov. 2009 <http://www.pierce.ctc.edu:2061/ps/start.do?p=LitRC&u=puya65247&gt;.

 

http://www.pierce.ctc.edu:2061/ps/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=RELEVANCE&inPS=true&prodId=LitRC&userGroupName=puya65247&tabID=T001&searchId=R1&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=1&contentSet=GALE%7CA168687374&&docId=GALE|A168687374&docType=GALE&role=LitRC

My Chosen Movie

Honestly, this is not the first time I have had a hard time figuring out what movie I want to use for my paper. I love all Tim Burton movies, and I know them all by heart, seen them plenty of times. There are a couple of other movies that I have seen a couple of times that would be okay and safe for the paper, but I don’t want to go safe. I love to be challenged, and since this is our final, I want to make it the best that I can. I did my first review of Across the Universe.. and that movie is one that I can watch over and over. But I feel like if I were to use that, I would be taking the easy way out. It is still a huge possibility that I will be using that movie though. I was thinking that it might be fun to use an old horror movie. Like alfred hitchcock’s psycho. This movie changed the whole horror indistry, and Hitchcock was the expert of horror movies. I was also thinking of using a “Twilight Zone” movie that my mom has. We have a whole series thing. SO as of now, I’m not completely sure. I wanted to use a horror movie because to me it seems that maybe a horror movie would have more meanings that can be interpreted in different ways. Instead of the movie being a romantic comedy with a basic plot and moral, a horror story can have a crazy underlying message that rarely is picked up. We’ll just have to see….

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-uXsQdZuxo .. its 6 min and 42 seconds long haha

Sicko

I have just finished watching Michael Moore’s “Sicko.” Oh my Gosh. This movie has me up and packing, ready to move my family to France.

Michael Moore’s argument in this film is that people in other countries have great health care benefits, along with work benefits, education benefits, and child care benefits. Why are Americans not taking a clue from countried like France, Canada, and Cuba, and making health care universal?

Moore used a lot of different film techniques to get his point across. One technique would be to show old movies that had been played in the past that preached against universal health care and compare them to what has been said about universal health care these days. He also used personal testimonials of people who have been caught up in the health care system. No only were the stories real, but the scenes were shot in the homes of most of the people and they looked as if the videos were shot kind of like home videos. There wasn’t much fuss about the camara being shakey or the clip being random, that’s what added to the emotion of the scene. 

This argument would have been so much harder to portray as smoothly in an essay. Anyone who is well versed in politics and the government could write a persuasive essay about why the health care system in America is dumb and why we should look to France, Canada, and Cuba for ideas on how to run the system. But, because Moore chose to show and prove his argument through film, the argument was more clear, had more meaning, and was viewed by many more people. The testemonies of the people cheated by our health care system were only so emotional because they were actual people and they cried, laughed, and joked around as if they were sitting and talking to an old friend. If in an essay, these people would only be quoted. The emotion would be harder to portray, and the explanations would be too deep, they would end up taking away and distracting from the whole point of the paper.

The rhetorical function of comedy in Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11

“In contemporary societies, democratic or totalitarian, that cynical
distance, laughter, irony, are, so to speak, part of the game. The
ruling ideology is not meant to be taken seriously or literally.
–Slavoj Zizek, The Sublime Object of Ideology”

This quote is the one that started off the essay about how Michael Moore uses comedy in his documentaries.
Moore has had much success in being able to catch the attention of many audiences with his comedic and blunt
calls to action and political documentaries. Some seem to worry though that he “lacks the vision to break with
the satirical format that, with the success of Roger & Me, launched him into the highest echelons of popular documentary
film-making.” Humor is what Moore is using to catch the attention of everyone though, not just thouse interested in politics
and our government. Laughter helps “accentuate political messages.” Moore compares himself to the likes of Charlie Chaplin,
both comedians, both entertainers, and both political activists. Many of our leaders from the Democratic and Republican parties also use
comedy as a way of showing that they realize there is a problem, but realisticly, there’s not much that one person can do. Isn’t the old saying, “There’s always some truth to a joke?” or
something like that..”A people’s laughter, so to speak, that is driven by the seriousness of the issues presented,” which is
why Moore knows that by using humor, he uses to to present the matters that are most important to those who don’t normally pay
attention.

10/8/09 Youtube Movie Trailor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43aLbo-Y_W0

This movie has been one of my favorite movies since I saw it 4 or 5 times in theaters. It is such an artistic piece of work. When I first saw the trailer for this movie, I knew I had to watch it.

For those who have not seen it yet, Across the Universe is a musical- movie that strings together various popular Beatles songs to form a story that tells about love and war. The movie starts off with Jude (Jim Sturgess) living in his home town of Liverpool, and he is leaving to go to America and find his dad. As Jude’s goodbye scene is happening, the viewer is also being introduced to Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood) at her school prom. There is a sharp contrast between the scenes, Jude’s scene is dark and dank, Lucy’s is bright and structured. Both scenes are tied together with Jude and Lucy both singing “All My Lovin'”. Flash forward to Jude meeting Max, Lucy’s brother. He introduces Lucy and Jude, and it’s love at first sight. Throughout the movie, Lucy and Jude go through hardships that test the strength of their relationship. In the end, they show that no matter how hard the test, true love reigns.

Throughout the movie, the viewer is also introduced to symbolic characters such as the “Ken Kesey” character (Bono), who sneaks in the line “Tune in, turn on, drop out,” a line only those who have studied Dr. Timothy Leary would understand (for the record, I caught it the second I heard it in the theater :)), as well as a Jimi Hendrix inspired character, Janis Joplin, Andy Warhol, and others that I just can’t remember right now. Joe Cocker makes a cameo in the film as a hobo and a pimp, singing “Come Together”.

Serious issues of the time the film is set in are also brought up, most importantly, the draft for the Vietnam War. Lucy’s brother Max, is drafted, and sent to Vietnam. He ends up coming back after getting hurt, and that turns into a wonderful scene for “Happiness is a Warm Gun,” and a  cameo by Selma Hayek.

The appearance of the film is quite accurate to the time that it was set in. The streets of New York seem to give the idea that the film really was shot in the Vietnam War-era.

I recommend that everyone sees this film, it really is AMAZING.

Blog Post 1: Honda Civic Commercial

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

     This is the commercial for the 2007 Honda Civic. It is one of the coolest commercials that I have seen. All of the noises in the commercial are made by humans. The commercial makes the viewer realize that throughout the day, there are noises that go unnoticed. The CD player accepting a CD, the tires of the car on the ground, the wind on the outside of a car. The voices in this commercial demonstrate each sound intricately…and perfectly. While the commercial is quite interesting and catches the attention of the viewer, there is not anything said about the price of the car, which model of Honda it is, or any consumer quotes about the product. There are parts of the commercial that suggest different upgrades that the customer can get; a button the you push to start the engine, power windows, CD player, sun roof, and it also suggests the different terrains that the car could be driven on, but other than that, the viewer is clueless as to what is really being sold.

     This commercial was only aired in Europe (There is a slight clue that this is a European commercial, watch which side of the road the car is driving on.) This is interesting because you wonder why the commercial was not shown in America at all. Was it not bringing in enough revenue for the company? Would they think Americans wouldn’t like the commercial? It’s not really certain why the company decided to not show the commercial in America, and was pulled so quickly off air in Europe, but the bottom line is that the commercial is definitely fun to watch if you have spare time, or need a video for a college assignment.