Film Extracts

The first film extract we watched was 'Don't Look Now'. The beginning of the film has a very eery and ominious feel as two children play in the yard. The quick cuts and camera angles between scenes add to the thriller grenre. The way the father seems anxious also creates an unsettling feeling for the audience, keeping them in constant suspense. The little girl is dressed in a significant red coat and when she drowns the previous pace of the scene is slowed right down. The audience experiences the pain of the father as he tries, in vain to save his daughter. I enjoyed this extract as it was dramatic and interesting.

The second film extract we watched was "The Umbrellas of Cherbour". It is a beautiful French story of two lovers who are seperated when the boyfriend is conscripted to go to war for 2 long years. The actors sing melodious tunes throughout the movie which add to the sadness and emotion of each scene. It is particularly dramtic when the train departs the station and as it pulls away the lovers eyes are locked as they are slowly being forced apart.  I really enjoyed this story as although sad had a touching and satisfying ending.

The final extract watched was called 'Bande a Parte'. It showed two men and a women dancing quirkily and unusually. It showcases the French new wave in Paris. At the time of its release I can imagine people being impressed and appreciative of the uniqueness in this extract. Nowadays there is so much originality and creativity in the world that dancing of that standard is way too repetitve and boring. I did not enjoy this extract and I couldn't understand the point of it.

They're Not Your Husband

'They're not your husband' tells the story of Earl and Doreen's tragic and hopeless marriage. Earl is an unemployed, cynical and pitiful man who is obsessed with how his wife looks to other people and treats her like a worthless piece of dirt. Earl starts this controlling act after two men at the coffee shop where Doreen work, witness her "rumpled and gray and a little hairy" thighs and joke about how "some jokers like their quim fat". He insensitively damands Doreen "lose a few pounds" and throughout her weightloss incessantly records her weight.

Doreen ignores her husbands incompetency and listens to his selfish requests. When she breaks her fasting diet, Earl calls her a "slob" and tells her to "Go ahead, eat! Go on!". Earl treats Doreen with no respect and trys to hide his own insecurities and patheticness by alienating his wife.

Raymond Carver writes with little description, besides one of  Doreen. Each of his sentences are to the point and are hardly emotive.

I didn't really enjoy this story and the disrespect and rudeness Earl treats his wife with anger and frustrate me. I also did not appreciate the bland ending.

Alfred Hitchcock's 1960's 'Pyscho'

At first when I watched Alfred Hitchcock's 1960's Pyscho I didn't understand or appreciate how truly unique this movie was in it's prime. I now realize that this was such a controversial movie because it was one of the first movies that introduced physical violence and darker themes.


The very first scene of the movie was unprecedented In it's depiction of sexuality, showing Sam and Marion as lovers sharing the same bed, with Marion in a bra. According to the Production Code standards of that time, unmarried couples shown in the same bed were a taboo.

This movie also produced one of the most famous scenes in cinema till this day. The shower scene, in which Marion is killed, radiates suspense and fear and was pivotal in cinema history. It set a new standard for horror films. Psycho was dubbed "the first psychoanalytical thriller." The sex and violence in the film were unlike anything previously seen in a mainstream film.

Another reason 'Pyscho' was so notorious in its time was because of the editing and uncommon plot structure of the movie. Hitchcock shocked audiences and broke many of the traditional conventions of movies at the time. The main character was killed off early and various unpredictable camera angles and sound effects were used.

The main themes intertwined with the movie are moral accountability, feelings of being trapped and haunting pasts. Marion Crane stole $40, 000 and struggles with the decision of what is right and wrong while Norman Bates is trapped by his dead mother in a life he doesnt not want. Norman is overtaken by his 'mother' and loses any ability to escape his twisted life.

Previously to seeing this film I watched the 1998 version of 'Psycho' with Vince Vaughn. I found it to be tacky and unsatisfactory in having any frightful effect. The original version is obviously much more successful in creating suspense and quality thriller scenes resulting in it being one of the most famous and controversial movies of all time.

Favourite Scene

One of my favourite scenes from a movie is from 10 Things I Hate About you.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=10+things+i+hate+about+you+poem&aq=f

In this famous scene Kat Stratford, a rebellious loner who unwillingly falls for the resdient bad boy, Patrick Verona reads aloud the poem she wrote describing the apparant 10 things she hates about him. It starts with  a bit of teacher student comedy but quickly leads to serious matters of the heart. The scene reveals the tension between the two characters by constantly switching between close ups of their uncomfortable faces. I particularly like the way camera pans around the room as she begins to read, adding more drama and weight to the words she is speaking. The scene is very relatable as it is set in a classroom much like the ones we sit in at our own school.

The heightened emotions seen are achieved through the close up of Kat's face as she reads the last part of the poem. Her voice becomes shaky and she starts to cry. As this is happening soft music starts to play in the background. The music is subtle and adds to drama, forcing the viewer to keep watching. The scene is memorable because it is so simply set but the emotions expressed cause the viewer to really feel for the characters.

The poem itself is quite heartfelt and honest and is successful in depicting the teen heartache of the characters.

Review of Odour of Chrysanthemums

When I first read through this extract I did not enjoy or appreciate it at all. I could not see what was being portrayed in my head and it all seemed very dull and depressing. After re-reading and discussing the characters, environments and themes I began to comprehend and understand the story better. I particularly like the author's descriptions of the scenery. "...flames like red sores licking it's ashy sides..."

Odour of Chrysanthemum- D H Lawrence

Comment in the setting-how does the author depict the people's surroundings?
The author depics the people's surroundings as gloomy and dismal. The landscape is described as " the fields were and foresaken". It appears to be a dull, dying environment that has a sort of hellish and dieseased feeling looming over it.

What are the people like in the extract?
The people of this story are joyless and unhappy. The environment affects the inhabitants and makes them hateful and frustrated. The characters work extremely hard but are in constant fear as most of the town's men work in the mines, which are very dangerous working conditions.

What is the message of the extract?
Through the grim and lifeless environment depicted the author is trying to show what life is like for the working class and how truly tiring their lives are. Another message exposed is the idea that sometimes the environment you live in can weigh and trap you down.

Place the story in it's context, in relation to the events.
The story was published at the beginning of WW1. This time was called the Great Unrest. England was just becoming mechanized and automated. The author is showing how the industrial age was taking over and communication was being lost.

My Reading History

Harry Potter Series

By  J.K. Rowling

This is my favourite series from my childhood and has remained a favourite in my teenage years.

The Little Princesses
By Frances Hodgson Burnett

One of the first chapter books i read by myself as  a kid. I also remember watching the movie and loving that too.

The Outsiders
By S.E. Hinton

I’ll always remember this book as an old favourite because it was the first real book I read with a death in it.

On the Jellicoe Road
By Melina Marchetta

This book has stuck in my memory as it was written differently to previous books I had read. It skips from different times.

Summer Sisters
By Judy Blume

This is my favourite story about friendship and growing up. It was one of the first books i read for a young adolescent.

Tomorrow When the War Began Series
By John Marsden

This is another great action packed series that stood out as a favourite.

Walkabout

In the short clip of the movie 'Walkabout' by Nicolas Roeg made in 1971, images of brickwalls, barriers and fences can be seen thorughout. These scenes depict a sense of seperation and being closed off from the world. The director is trying to show how the city isolates people from nature. The close up shots of people often did not show faces rather just their legs. This technique was used to symbolise how impersonal and indirect the inhabitants of the city become. The huge masses are faceless and a strong sense of anonymity is depicted throughout. In the classroom scenes the students all look identical and immaculately dressed. Their automated movements allow for no personality or individuality. The use of buildings and sky scrapers represents how big and detached the city is. When the shots of the father are shown, he is portrayed as very insignificant and meager in comparison to the looming dimensions above. There is few shots of nature shown but the ones we do see, although beautiful, seem to marked by mankind and civilisation. This just shows how superficial the western world is and how nothing is truly natural anymore. The scene where the father and mother are in the house gives an insight into how hollow and bleak the relationship is. A lack of communication can also be read from the scene.

Sylvia Plath-Superman and Paula Brown's New Snowsuit (1955)

1. BACKGROUND- TO WHAT EXTENT IS THE STORY AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL? (I.E. WHO IN REAL LIFE IS OTTO? HOW OLD WAS THE AUTHOR ‘WHEN THE WAR BEGAN’? (1941). DID SHE COME FROM WINTHROP? ATTEND ANNIE WARREN F GRAMMAR SCHOOL? (ETC)

Sylvia Plath was the same age as the narrater when World War 2 began in 1941. Her father was in fact named Otto, like the young girl in the story, and he too died when the girl was only young. Otto Plath died in 1940, the year before the war began, from a combination of advanced  diabeties and the gangrene that had infected his amputated leg. Sylvia Plath also live in Winthrop and attended Annie F. Warren Grammar School. It can be concluded that this short story is a true account of what happened to Sylvia Plath herself as a little girl.

Snowdrops by Leslie Norris

The snowdrops are symbolic of the boy changing after seeing the flowers. He changed from an innocent boy who carried a childish view of the world to someone who watched his teacher cry and finally begins to understand that there is other types of pain and hurt in the world. Throughout the story the boy begins to grow up and see that not everything is sugar and spice.

Boy
The young boy is very observant but only understands this on a surface level. A prime example of this is his unawarness to his teacher's loss. He lives in a magical world and new things leave him with a sense of awe. This can be seen when he is "incredulous" at the idea that he had cold bacon in his sandwich. He finally confronts the real world.

Edmund Jenkins
Has a higher maturity level and is not as niave as the boy. Can be described as matter-of-fact and is quite obviously the mischievious child of the bunch. Edmund is more aware of his surroundings and is not fazed by seei the snowdrops.

This short story was easy to read and comprehend but was not insanely thrilling or compelling. The writer did a good job of making the characters relatable.