¬ Lewis Carroll’s novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass (1865) and Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland (1951) share many similarities as well as differences in the contexts of the conjunction between time, stress, and death. There is a sense of time and stress that is put upon Alice when she enters and travels through Wonderland, affecting her emotionally and physically. Among the many reproductions of this classic story, the most recently released is the SYFY channels “Alice” (2009). Given the large gap in time between all three versions, “Alice” successfully portrays Alice’s journey through Wonderland, but with many twists. Just as the novel and Disney’s version focused on the motifs of death and time, SYFY’s version was able to as well with a modern day touch.
In “Alice”, the first indication of time that we see is the age of Alice. She is a grown woman around the age of 20 instead of a young child. Already she is faced with the pressures that came with time; a career of a karate instructor, attending to a relationship, and the obligation of financing a home with her mother. Her mother later mentions that Alice is “meticulous with dates”, which gives us an indication that she is now under constant pressure of the ticking of the clock and well aware of it. This fact was released when Alice and her mother discuss the exact time and date of her fathers disappearance when she was a child. Crossing into the theme of death, Alice continues a search via the Internet for her father, with the possible outcome of finding out that he has passed away. Later on in the movie, when Alice and her father are reunited in Wonderland, he then killed by a bullet that was meant for Alice. The Queen of hearts son, Jack, made this reunion possible by giving a watch to Alice. This watch, an obvious symbol of time, belonged to her father and was stuck on the time and date in which he disappeared, sparking the memory of that day and that Alice is his daughter.
Other obvious references to time were of course with the White Rabbit and the Hatter, just like the novel and Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, but “Alice” put a spin on to some.
For example, we are conscious that the Mad Hatter is stuck in a perpetual tea time, but in SYFY’s “Alice” Hatter is not held down by time, but rather is an owner of a tea shop. His character in this version is more involved with Alice and has more patients and knowledge. In face, the Hatter informs Alice that “wisdom is the biggest threat”. In contradiction to the pressure and stress of time in Lewis Carroll’s novel and Disney’s film, time in this sense could be a beneficial factor. With time comes knowledge, and in “Alice’s version of Wonderland, wisdom is a powerful tool and key for survival.
Death, another reoccurring theme in all three versions, was taken to a whole other level in SYFY’s “Alice”. Although there are many occurrences through the movie that is relatable to the novel and 1951 film, the most obvious and grand example in “Alice” is at the end of the movie when the factory where the Queen of Hearts and all that she rules resides. A more modern ending the story indeed; Alice doesn’t wake up from a nightmare, as she has done in every version prior, instead she and Hatter destroy the factory that drains emotions from humans (the “clams”, eventually killing them), as well as some of the queens people. This was such a strong reference to death; the killing of a hierarchy as well as a system that claimed the lives of humans in order to fulfill those of Wonderland.
¬ Lewis Carroll’s novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass (1865), Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland (1951), and SYFY’s “Alice” were all successful in signifying the motifs of time and death. Even though the advancements and alterations via the available technology led this version to have a different story line, it was still exciting to see yet another interpretation of the classic “Alice in Wonderland”.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Alice in Stephanie's Wonderland -extra credit
The concept of Alice in a "Wonderland" intrigued me and inspired a series of distorted furniture drawings. I included alice in the foreground, looking up at the tallest and unreachable piece. She is curious in the unattainable and the mysteriousness of that vague world which i put her in.
-Stephanie Wowk
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Alice- Through the Looking Glass
After reading Alice in Wonderland and Through the looking Glass I noticed Lewis Carroll’s intent to generate themes similar to each other in both novels. Drawing in on the ideas of nonsense and sense, and building on themes regarding identity. Although written years apart from each other Alice is at the center of both stories. This latter story, Through the looking glass, was more logical than the first and differed from it in both its style and direction.
At the introduction of Alice in Wonderland she finds herself in the "other" nonsensical world. A world very different from her reality, that being one of an Victorian culture. Alice enters this world, but it is very different in each of the stories. In Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, her curiosity and boredom leads her to follow the White Rabbit as he rushes passed her. A similar curiosity brings Alice through the looking glass when she notices lily ( one of the pawns ) crying. The fact that Carroll made lily a pawn reflects her her age, sobbing as Alice once did as a young girl upon her first arrival in Wonderland. Crying out of frustration and confusion after finding herself growing and shrinking at various stages. Something that Carroll does not repeat in Through the Looking Glass giving Alice some stability. Yet allowing her to run into the must unstable of a person, Humpty dumpty himself while through the looking glass.
Lewis Carroll Gives us the poem Jabberwocky. Some consider this poem to be one of Carroll’s nonsensical poems however when analyzed and put into comparison with the theme of the novel the poem makes as a warning. Letting children know that they will soon grow into adults reflecting Carroll’s theme of journeys showed to the reader in both Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. The boy setting out to defeat “IT“, is our journey through life trying to get through our trials. The dad is like our family and friends who encourage us to make good decisions and persevere. The defeat of the jabberwocky is our overcoming of sin and temptation. Our speaker isn't from any land that we know. He knows about animals called borogroves and bandersnatches, these nonsensical species; As Alice enters this land unknown to her with animals and beings that may or may not truly exist. This poem lives as an warning for Alice to be cautious.
Lewis Carroll presents the conflict with identity all through out both novels. We see Alice walking through the forest lost; according to the guard. “…he double checks looking at her, first through a telescope, then through a microscope, and then through an opera- glass. At last he said, 'You're traveling the wrong way.” Like a young girl on the wrong path, heading to a place where people aren’t who or what they seem.
'So young a child,' said the gentleman sitting opposite to her (he was dressed in white paper), 'ought to know which way she's going, even if she doesn't know her own name!”
In the scene the gentlemen dressed in white goes on to give Alice some wise advice to keep with her on her journey, he whispers, 'Never mind what they all say, my dear, but take a return-ticket every time the train stops.' This line in particular I think is important for Alice to remember, “always get a return ticket”. Allow yourself to always return back to who you are, in a sense letting Alice know that its fine to journey off and experience new things but as my mother always told me in my youth “remember who you are” because its easy to be changed by the world around you.
Alice enters the woods where things have no names and immediately forgets her own name. She meets a fawn and together they walk on. But when they reach an open spot the Fawn remembers that it is a deer and that Alice is human, and hurries away into the woods.
These reoccurring themes in both novels, identity in particular, are some that occurs in most young children’s life. All playing as Alice taking on the adventure of life and the transition / search of oneself .
LC
At the introduction of Alice in Wonderland she finds herself in the "other" nonsensical world. A world very different from her reality, that being one of an Victorian culture. Alice enters this world, but it is very different in each of the stories. In Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, her curiosity and boredom leads her to follow the White Rabbit as he rushes passed her. A similar curiosity brings Alice through the looking glass when she notices lily ( one of the pawns ) crying. The fact that Carroll made lily a pawn reflects her her age, sobbing as Alice once did as a young girl upon her first arrival in Wonderland. Crying out of frustration and confusion after finding herself growing and shrinking at various stages. Something that Carroll does not repeat in Through the Looking Glass giving Alice some stability. Yet allowing her to run into the must unstable of a person, Humpty dumpty himself while through the looking glass.
Lewis Carroll Gives us the poem Jabberwocky. Some consider this poem to be one of Carroll’s nonsensical poems however when analyzed and put into comparison with the theme of the novel the poem makes as a warning. Letting children know that they will soon grow into adults reflecting Carroll’s theme of journeys showed to the reader in both Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. The boy setting out to defeat “IT“, is our journey through life trying to get through our trials. The dad is like our family and friends who encourage us to make good decisions and persevere. The defeat of the jabberwocky is our overcoming of sin and temptation. Our speaker isn't from any land that we know. He knows about animals called borogroves and bandersnatches, these nonsensical species; As Alice enters this land unknown to her with animals and beings that may or may not truly exist. This poem lives as an warning for Alice to be cautious.
Lewis Carroll presents the conflict with identity all through out both novels. We see Alice walking through the forest lost; according to the guard. “…he double checks looking at her, first through a telescope, then through a microscope, and then through an opera- glass. At last he said, 'You're traveling the wrong way.” Like a young girl on the wrong path, heading to a place where people aren’t who or what they seem.
'So young a child,' said the gentleman sitting opposite to her (he was dressed in white paper), 'ought to know which way she's going, even if she doesn't know her own name!”
In the scene the gentlemen dressed in white goes on to give Alice some wise advice to keep with her on her journey, he whispers, 'Never mind what they all say, my dear, but take a return-ticket every time the train stops.' This line in particular I think is important for Alice to remember, “always get a return ticket”. Allow yourself to always return back to who you are, in a sense letting Alice know that its fine to journey off and experience new things but as my mother always told me in my youth “remember who you are” because its easy to be changed by the world around you.
Alice enters the woods where things have no names and immediately forgets her own name. She meets a fawn and together they walk on. But when they reach an open spot the Fawn remembers that it is a deer and that Alice is human, and hurries away into the woods.
These reoccurring themes in both novels, identity in particular, are some that occurs in most young children’s life. All playing as Alice taking on the adventure of life and the transition / search of oneself .
LC
Monday, November 30, 2009
Alice in Wonderland comparison- Stephanie Wowk
The story of Alice in Wonderland is a classic that has been reinvented over and over through the decades. Alice is a young girl who finds herself in a strange world ruled by imagination and fantasy. Alice approaches Wonderland as a courageous anthropologist, but maintains a strong sense of noblesse oblige.
The tension of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland emerges when Alice’s fixed perspective of the world comes into contact with the mad, illogical world of Wonderland. Wonderland functions as a symbol, but nothing clearly represents one particular thing. The symbolic fullness of Wonderland is generally contained to the individual occasion in which they appear. Often the symbols work together to convey a particular meaning.
Alice’s fundamental beliefs face challenges at every turn, as she experiences the toll of stress brought on my time as well as reoccurring references to death. There is a sense of time and stress that is put upon Alice when she enters and travels through Wonderland, affecting her emotionally and physically. It is odd for such strong and mature subjects such death and stress related to time to be incorporated in a children’s story. Comparing the original version, Lewis Carroll’s novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass (1865), and a later version, Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland (1951), there are many similar as well as drastically different examples of the conjunction of time, stress, and death.
The factor of time and stress that is put upon Alice when she enters and travels through Wonderland clearly affects her emotional and physical state. In Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass death is a constant underlying menace. Lewis Carroll states in the introduction of the novel “To read the Alice books is to plunge into a world of narrative distortions and nonsensical explanations”, ensuing the themes of the story to be that of irrational and challenging. Alice goes through moments where she faces death, narrowly missing it in some cases. Continually finding herself in these situations suggests that death lurks just behind the ridiculous events of Alice’s adventures in Wonderland as a present and possible outcome. An example is when the Mock Turtle sings a song about turtle soup. An eerie thing for someone or something to be singing about, but the Mock Turtle doesn’t show his fear in his possible future, which provides as an instance where death is introduced, but not in a frightening or sorrowful manner. Death appears as well in the first chapter when the narrator mentions that Alice marvels that after the fall down the rabbit hole she would think nothing of falling off of the top of her house, much less down the stairs, even though the narrator reminds us that both falls would most likely kill her. Alice takes risks that could possibly kill her, but she never considers death as something possible. The Queen of Hearts provides for us another instance where Alice is confronted with death. The Queens obsession ordering beheadings indeed frightens Alice, yet she still proceeds through Wonderland with courage that she will be unharmed.
Over time, she starts to realize that her experiences in Wonderland are far more threatening than they appear to be, insinuating that time is a key factor in Wonderland that relates to her stress and emotional levels.
In the first chapter when Alice is faced with the dilemma of becoming the right size to pass through a door, she is presented with a means in which to grow and/or shrink in order to continue on her journey. She becomes frustrated with the satiation that it is taking a lot of time and effort to overcome, and cries, resulting in a pool of water forming. Quickly finding a way to shrink in size, Alice found herself “a good deal of frightened at the sudden change, but very glad to find herself still in existence.” (Carroll)
Alice realizes how the pressures of time lead her to a change in her emotional state, consequently putting her in a state of panic. Striving to stay afloat in a sea of tears she believes that she “shall be punished for it now, by being drowned in my own tears!” (Carroll) The relationship of time causing emotional stress on Alice resulted in an action that brought attention to the possibility of death. Time has also affected not only Alice, but the Mad Hatter as well. By time stopping still at six o’clock, the Mad Hatter and March Hare are trapped in a perpetual teatime. The Mad Hatter, the March Hare, and the Dormouse are stuck carrying out an endless thread of pointless conversations. Alice has to adjust her own perceptions of time when she discovers that Time is a person and not merely an abstract concept. She realizes that not only are social conventions inverted, but also the ordering principles of the universe are turned upside down. Not even time is reliable, a stressful and unpleasant notion. As she proceeds throughout her journey, Alice continues to encounter problems that cause her to react with extreme emotion or reason. Her attitude quickly changes from calm and easygoing to short-tempered and grumpy numerous times in the novel because she either cannot make sense of a situation or she simply fails in her efforts to do something that aids her in her journey. Many of these problems are attributed to the strain of time, whether she is trying to keep up and eventually meet up with the white rabbit, or whether she is situated in an event where stress and frustration grows by the second.
Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland was created many years after the original in an animated film format. Although the novel incorporated images sporadically through the story, Walt Disney’s version is strictly visual which results in minimizing the amount of personal imagery and reasoning otherwise needed in Lewis Carroll’s novel. There are many differences between the two, structurally speaking, but Disney’s Alice in Wonderland still provides occurrences that spotlight the motifs of stress, time, and death. It seems as thought in Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, Alice is less struck by danger and threat, which can lead to death. Her curiosity and intrigue in Wonderland is greater than the possible fearful outcomes of her actions. In the novel Alice notes that after the fall down the rabbit hole she would think nothing of falling off of the top of her house, much less down the stairs, even though the narrator reminds us that both falls would most likely kill her. In the film Alice shows no concern to her plunge down the rabbit hole. She even bits her cat goodbye instead of yelling for help. Rather, she interacts with the objects on the journey down and is intrigued. Later, when Alice wants to pass through the door to follow the white rabbit and cries from her failing attempt, she does not tell herself that she should drown in her tears as punishment. Instead, in the film Alice is not afraid and less stressed about the situation. She even removes herself from the safety of the glass bottle to satisfy her curiosity of the Caucus-race. Although the stress of time is constant in both texts due to the White Rabbit as well as the Mad Hatter at teatime, the film includes some examples of time and stress that are not included or dedifferentiate from the novel. For example, when Tweedledum and Tweedledee find Alice while she is walking through the woods they first confuse her, but then grab her attention with offering to tell her a story. Alice is once again intrigued and listens to their story of the walrus and how he ate the clams, referencing death. After the story however, Alice wishes to be on her way but Tweedledum and Tweedledee will not excuse her. Wanting to be on her way and wishing to catch up with the White Rabbit, Alice grows impatient that time is wasting so she sneaks away from the two. Alice experiences the effects of time stress again towards the end of the film when she and the Queen of Hearts begin a game of croquet. In Carroll’s novel, Alice’s anger grows when the flamingo’s neck becomes limp and the hedgehog unrolls itself. It is impossible for her to play, but the Queen insists that she proceeds. Afraid that at any moment the Queen will give orders to have Alice’s head cut off, Alice asks the flamingo “Do you want both of us to loose our heads?!”. When the flamingo shakes its head and says “uh-huh!” Alice’s patient’s runs out and her anger increases. Here, the presence of death is starting to frighten Alice even though there is still a silliness that the flamingo seems to retain which makes the idea of death in the film not so serious. In the novel, Alice actually starts to laugh at the flamingo and the hedgehog when they start to misbehave. She seems less concerned about the risk of decapitation and more amused with the game and all that it was made up by.
Throughout the novel Time provides constant reminders that it can punish those who have offended it. Alice desires meaning, order, coherence, and sanity, quickly realizing that Wonderland is nothing of the sort and that she continuously will be faced with factors that breed stress, anger, frustration, and threats of death. I find it interesting that Lewis Carroll would include death as a reoccurring threat or outcome in the novel (as well as Disney’s Alice in Wonderland). As I read, I noticed that Alice would often make many ties to her own actions and death. It seems as though she is not afraid of the notion of an end, but rather accepting of it. Although, a constant, death seems to never fully follow through. Either it is just a thought or the act of death really does occur but is quickly dismissed with immortality. Also, the pressure of time and its accompanying factors of anger, frustration, and stress is a constant and strong motif that I also found important within these two texts. Alice, as well as other characters, seems to really be affected by time. It inhibits, delays, and/or stresses Alice and her journey through Wonderland, at times leading to her loss of temper and will to continue her efforts to make sense of things.
What’s intriguing about the incisions of death and time and stress in both versions isn’t so much the constant reminder of the two, but how a girl experiences them at such a young age. Alice’s involvement with adult situations is peculiar because she cannot possibly understand the sadness and weight of death. Also, it is very unlikely for a young girl to be affected by the constant ticking of the clock. Growing older and the development of responsibilities go hand in hand, as does the pressure to attend to all those responsibilities. Alice is at too young of an age to be involved in such engagements and should not feel the frustration of time, yet does. Both Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass as well as Walt Disney’s film Alice in Wonderland have the constant motifs of time, stress, and death that give the classic story its eeriness as well as its strong and powerful message.
The tension of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland emerges when Alice’s fixed perspective of the world comes into contact with the mad, illogical world of Wonderland. Wonderland functions as a symbol, but nothing clearly represents one particular thing. The symbolic fullness of Wonderland is generally contained to the individual occasion in which they appear. Often the symbols work together to convey a particular meaning.
Alice’s fundamental beliefs face challenges at every turn, as she experiences the toll of stress brought on my time as well as reoccurring references to death. There is a sense of time and stress that is put upon Alice when she enters and travels through Wonderland, affecting her emotionally and physically. It is odd for such strong and mature subjects such death and stress related to time to be incorporated in a children’s story. Comparing the original version, Lewis Carroll’s novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass (1865), and a later version, Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland (1951), there are many similar as well as drastically different examples of the conjunction of time, stress, and death.
The factor of time and stress that is put upon Alice when she enters and travels through Wonderland clearly affects her emotional and physical state. In Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass death is a constant underlying menace. Lewis Carroll states in the introduction of the novel “To read the Alice books is to plunge into a world of narrative distortions and nonsensical explanations”, ensuing the themes of the story to be that of irrational and challenging. Alice goes through moments where she faces death, narrowly missing it in some cases. Continually finding herself in these situations suggests that death lurks just behind the ridiculous events of Alice’s adventures in Wonderland as a present and possible outcome. An example is when the Mock Turtle sings a song about turtle soup. An eerie thing for someone or something to be singing about, but the Mock Turtle doesn’t show his fear in his possible future, which provides as an instance where death is introduced, but not in a frightening or sorrowful manner. Death appears as well in the first chapter when the narrator mentions that Alice marvels that after the fall down the rabbit hole she would think nothing of falling off of the top of her house, much less down the stairs, even though the narrator reminds us that both falls would most likely kill her. Alice takes risks that could possibly kill her, but she never considers death as something possible. The Queen of Hearts provides for us another instance where Alice is confronted with death. The Queens obsession ordering beheadings indeed frightens Alice, yet she still proceeds through Wonderland with courage that she will be unharmed.
Over time, she starts to realize that her experiences in Wonderland are far more threatening than they appear to be, insinuating that time is a key factor in Wonderland that relates to her stress and emotional levels.
In the first chapter when Alice is faced with the dilemma of becoming the right size to pass through a door, she is presented with a means in which to grow and/or shrink in order to continue on her journey. She becomes frustrated with the satiation that it is taking a lot of time and effort to overcome, and cries, resulting in a pool of water forming. Quickly finding a way to shrink in size, Alice found herself “a good deal of frightened at the sudden change, but very glad to find herself still in existence.” (Carroll)
Alice realizes how the pressures of time lead her to a change in her emotional state, consequently putting her in a state of panic. Striving to stay afloat in a sea of tears she believes that she “shall be punished for it now, by being drowned in my own tears!” (Carroll) The relationship of time causing emotional stress on Alice resulted in an action that brought attention to the possibility of death. Time has also affected not only Alice, but the Mad Hatter as well. By time stopping still at six o’clock, the Mad Hatter and March Hare are trapped in a perpetual teatime. The Mad Hatter, the March Hare, and the Dormouse are stuck carrying out an endless thread of pointless conversations. Alice has to adjust her own perceptions of time when she discovers that Time is a person and not merely an abstract concept. She realizes that not only are social conventions inverted, but also the ordering principles of the universe are turned upside down. Not even time is reliable, a stressful and unpleasant notion. As she proceeds throughout her journey, Alice continues to encounter problems that cause her to react with extreme emotion or reason. Her attitude quickly changes from calm and easygoing to short-tempered and grumpy numerous times in the novel because she either cannot make sense of a situation or she simply fails in her efforts to do something that aids her in her journey. Many of these problems are attributed to the strain of time, whether she is trying to keep up and eventually meet up with the white rabbit, or whether she is situated in an event where stress and frustration grows by the second.
Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland was created many years after the original in an animated film format. Although the novel incorporated images sporadically through the story, Walt Disney’s version is strictly visual which results in minimizing the amount of personal imagery and reasoning otherwise needed in Lewis Carroll’s novel. There are many differences between the two, structurally speaking, but Disney’s Alice in Wonderland still provides occurrences that spotlight the motifs of stress, time, and death. It seems as thought in Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, Alice is less struck by danger and threat, which can lead to death. Her curiosity and intrigue in Wonderland is greater than the possible fearful outcomes of her actions. In the novel Alice notes that after the fall down the rabbit hole she would think nothing of falling off of the top of her house, much less down the stairs, even though the narrator reminds us that both falls would most likely kill her. In the film Alice shows no concern to her plunge down the rabbit hole. She even bits her cat goodbye instead of yelling for help. Rather, she interacts with the objects on the journey down and is intrigued. Later, when Alice wants to pass through the door to follow the white rabbit and cries from her failing attempt, she does not tell herself that she should drown in her tears as punishment. Instead, in the film Alice is not afraid and less stressed about the situation. She even removes herself from the safety of the glass bottle to satisfy her curiosity of the Caucus-race. Although the stress of time is constant in both texts due to the White Rabbit as well as the Mad Hatter at teatime, the film includes some examples of time and stress that are not included or dedifferentiate from the novel. For example, when Tweedledum and Tweedledee find Alice while she is walking through the woods they first confuse her, but then grab her attention with offering to tell her a story. Alice is once again intrigued and listens to their story of the walrus and how he ate the clams, referencing death. After the story however, Alice wishes to be on her way but Tweedledum and Tweedledee will not excuse her. Wanting to be on her way and wishing to catch up with the White Rabbit, Alice grows impatient that time is wasting so she sneaks away from the two. Alice experiences the effects of time stress again towards the end of the film when she and the Queen of Hearts begin a game of croquet. In Carroll’s novel, Alice’s anger grows when the flamingo’s neck becomes limp and the hedgehog unrolls itself. It is impossible for her to play, but the Queen insists that she proceeds. Afraid that at any moment the Queen will give orders to have Alice’s head cut off, Alice asks the flamingo “Do you want both of us to loose our heads?!”. When the flamingo shakes its head and says “uh-huh!” Alice’s patient’s runs out and her anger increases. Here, the presence of death is starting to frighten Alice even though there is still a silliness that the flamingo seems to retain which makes the idea of death in the film not so serious. In the novel, Alice actually starts to laugh at the flamingo and the hedgehog when they start to misbehave. She seems less concerned about the risk of decapitation and more amused with the game and all that it was made up by.
Throughout the novel Time provides constant reminders that it can punish those who have offended it. Alice desires meaning, order, coherence, and sanity, quickly realizing that Wonderland is nothing of the sort and that she continuously will be faced with factors that breed stress, anger, frustration, and threats of death. I find it interesting that Lewis Carroll would include death as a reoccurring threat or outcome in the novel (as well as Disney’s Alice in Wonderland). As I read, I noticed that Alice would often make many ties to her own actions and death. It seems as though she is not afraid of the notion of an end, but rather accepting of it. Although, a constant, death seems to never fully follow through. Either it is just a thought or the act of death really does occur but is quickly dismissed with immortality. Also, the pressure of time and its accompanying factors of anger, frustration, and stress is a constant and strong motif that I also found important within these two texts. Alice, as well as other characters, seems to really be affected by time. It inhibits, delays, and/or stresses Alice and her journey through Wonderland, at times leading to her loss of temper and will to continue her efforts to make sense of things.
What’s intriguing about the incisions of death and time and stress in both versions isn’t so much the constant reminder of the two, but how a girl experiences them at such a young age. Alice’s involvement with adult situations is peculiar because she cannot possibly understand the sadness and weight of death. Also, it is very unlikely for a young girl to be affected by the constant ticking of the clock. Growing older and the development of responsibilities go hand in hand, as does the pressure to attend to all those responsibilities. Alice is at too young of an age to be involved in such engagements and should not feel the frustration of time, yet does. Both Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass as well as Walt Disney’s film Alice in Wonderland have the constant motifs of time, stress, and death that give the classic story its eeriness as well as its strong and powerful message.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
cinematography in the sevens
The Sevens
Magnificent seven by John Sturges, and Seven Samurai by the talented Akira Kurosawa both focus on a few themes closely related to each other. Revolving around small town villagers and farmers trying to prevent their crops from being stolen by bandits, as it is every crop season. Both films are shot, as your average classic western movie would be. Portrayed is our classic hero staring danger right in the eye, fearlessly taking on the adventure thrown in the direction of our main characters. In both Magnificent seven and Seven Samurai, parallels can be drawn between many characters in the film. The storyline subjects/ forces the camera to maneuver itself so that the viewer is able to Focus on not just the interaction between the villains and the heroes but the backdrop of these scenes.
In both movies we are presented with real western inspired shots. Because the fighting scenes are so frequent it adds to the cinematography of each film. The Western genre, particularly in films, the director continuously must portray the conquest of the wilderness, the subordination of nature in the name of civilization and or focus on the confiscation of territory/ grown goods in many other cases.
A clear parallel can be drawn between magnificent seven and seven samurai’s introduction and conclusion scenes. In the first scene we have the villain on horseback riding into town to confiscate the villagers fresh grown products. However in both of these introductions the viewer can only the silhouettes of our villains, we are left with the feeling of mystery. Only the battle scenes are clear and show the mountainous landscape. We know this after witnessing the first two “battle” scenes there are many resemblances between these three films, its reliance on tradition to overcome tribulation and the use of ceremonies and rituals all help add to the one theme that surfaces in both stories; its beautiful landscape.
Because these two films can also be looked at as a borderline coming of age story as well, the western theme plays along with that idea. In one case we have the traditional Western film, drawing automatic focus to men as power figures the gun fighter/ hero/ villain and woman as an object of commodity, or as an item to only be used for the maintenance of structure and order within the household.
In shots displaying our main Females in both Magnificent seven and seven samurai are generally in the foreground of an desert shot, to draw focus upon their beauty and striking facial features. We saw this in Magnificent seven when we are first introduced to the village woman.
These two evolved western films allow us to picture what it would feel, and look like living and fighting as a cowboy in the west. This, I'm sure, is the exact feeling John Sturges and Akira Kurosawa wanted to inflict on the viewer while watching Seven Samurai and Magnificent Seven.
LC
Magnificent seven by John Sturges, and Seven Samurai by the talented Akira Kurosawa both focus on a few themes closely related to each other. Revolving around small town villagers and farmers trying to prevent their crops from being stolen by bandits, as it is every crop season. Both films are shot, as your average classic western movie would be. Portrayed is our classic hero staring danger right in the eye, fearlessly taking on the adventure thrown in the direction of our main characters. In both Magnificent seven and Seven Samurai, parallels can be drawn between many characters in the film. The storyline subjects/ forces the camera to maneuver itself so that the viewer is able to Focus on not just the interaction between the villains and the heroes but the backdrop of these scenes.
In both movies we are presented with real western inspired shots. Because the fighting scenes are so frequent it adds to the cinematography of each film. The Western genre, particularly in films, the director continuously must portray the conquest of the wilderness, the subordination of nature in the name of civilization and or focus on the confiscation of territory/ grown goods in many other cases.
A clear parallel can be drawn between magnificent seven and seven samurai’s introduction and conclusion scenes. In the first scene we have the villain on horseback riding into town to confiscate the villagers fresh grown products. However in both of these introductions the viewer can only the silhouettes of our villains, we are left with the feeling of mystery. Only the battle scenes are clear and show the mountainous landscape. We know this after witnessing the first two “battle” scenes there are many resemblances between these three films, its reliance on tradition to overcome tribulation and the use of ceremonies and rituals all help add to the one theme that surfaces in both stories; its beautiful landscape.
Because these two films can also be looked at as a borderline coming of age story as well, the western theme plays along with that idea. In one case we have the traditional Western film, drawing automatic focus to men as power figures the gun fighter/ hero/ villain and woman as an object of commodity, or as an item to only be used for the maintenance of structure and order within the household.
In shots displaying our main Females in both Magnificent seven and seven samurai are generally in the foreground of an desert shot, to draw focus upon their beauty and striking facial features. We saw this in Magnificent seven when we are first introduced to the village woman.
These two evolved western films allow us to picture what it would feel, and look like living and fighting as a cowboy in the west. This, I'm sure, is the exact feeling John Sturges and Akira Kurosawa wanted to inflict on the viewer while watching Seven Samurai and Magnificent Seven.
LC
Fight, Fight, Fight!!: Combat in the Seven's Films
Fighting seems to be the most primitive and natural means of settling conflict. It is often said that a person feels the need to engage in some sort of physical violence when they do not have enough skill in language to express their anger verbally. But just as a picture has the ability to speak a thousand words so does a clenched fist. Since fighting is something so innate in human kind and it normally involves very little dialogue, it ends up translating quite legibly into film. Even though physical confrontation is not often acceptable in day-today life, it seems to be much more acceptable for characters to act out violently in movies. This could be because on screen brawls normally translate in a way that is universally understood. The fight as a universal symbol of communication is especially prevalent in Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai (1954) and the films it inspired John Sturges’s Magnificent Seven (1960) Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay (1975). Interestingly enough even though all of these are drawn from the same source, the conflict in each of these is portrayed quite differently.
The fight scenes in the film Samurai Seven seem to be so reminiscent of traditional Japanese culture. In one of the films opening scenes the viewer is presented with a scene that sets the bar for how we should view the samurai for the rest of the film; one of the seven samurai, Kyūzō, is seen dueling with a man. While the fights intentions initially seem to be for sport, Kyūzō’s challenger insists that if the match were being fought with real swords that he would surely win. After Kyūzō calmly remarks that his sword would kill him, his opponent challenges him to a real duel. He is promptly killed at the hand of Kyūzō’s skilled sword. This scene is done rather beautifully. The symmetry within the shot is enhanced by the films black and white aesthetic. As the two men battle, we are plagued by the silence that alludes to the death of Kyūzō pompous adversary. The only sounds we here are the pitter patter of their feet as they approach one another and the occasional grunt on behalf of the deceased. One strike from Kyūzō’s sword and the man fell silently to his death. I feel like the respect that the two men had for one another, even during this battle was something so connected with Japanese culture and history. Moreover, it creates a sharp contrast between the way combat is portrayed here and its spawn that came a mere six years later, The Magnificent Seven.
The first distinction I made between the fight scenes in Seven Samurai and Sholay lie in their individual mise en scène. For one, The Magnificent Seven has a much more modern aesthetic despite only coming four years after Kurosawa’s film. Further, its worth noting that the films color as opposed to black and white somewhat changes the tone of the movie. This ultimately gives the viewer the sensation that are watching an old western film which in conjunction with its orchestral score gives us a more relaxed feel even if the most tense of scenes. Their settings vary greatly which also changes the over all feel of the movie and how the viewer is expected to be affected by the action. While in Seven Samurai the fights are normally handled in the most dignified of manners on the Samurai’s behalf the battles is much less realistic and tense. For instance when one of the seven, Chris Adams, shoots town intruders in the arm, the man barely emotes when he is struck by the bullet. Obviously, the scene would be much more gruesome in real life. However, I feel that this illusion is set up not to depict reality like in Samurai Seven but to introduce a heroic illusion of the seven from the very beginning. Further, it also seems that even though the conflict is parallel in both films the way they are enacted physically is very different. In Seven Samurai the fight are a lot more focused and serious whereas in Magnificent Seven the fights appear to be much more theatrical. Sholay takes the theatrical element a step further not just throughout the piece but in a way that is specifically visible in their combats.
Sholay has quite a few vibrant and exciting moments; we are stimulated visually at moments like the festival of colors and our thirst for adrenaline is satisfied by a battle breaking out on the train. The battle between Veeru, Jai and Thakur Baldev Singh and those terrorizing them was so much more action packed. Moreover, it is the first of the three to incorporate modern movement in and how a fight in motion could be toyed with. The fight on the train is just so poignant because it sets up an interesting dichotomy between those on the train and those mounted on hourseback. Further, we see Jai and Veeru prove themselves worthy fighters in the film and as warriors to be feared.
-johanna
The fight scenes in the film Samurai Seven seem to be so reminiscent of traditional Japanese culture. In one of the films opening scenes the viewer is presented with a scene that sets the bar for how we should view the samurai for the rest of the film; one of the seven samurai, Kyūzō, is seen dueling with a man. While the fights intentions initially seem to be for sport, Kyūzō’s challenger insists that if the match were being fought with real swords that he would surely win. After Kyūzō calmly remarks that his sword would kill him, his opponent challenges him to a real duel. He is promptly killed at the hand of Kyūzō’s skilled sword. This scene is done rather beautifully. The symmetry within the shot is enhanced by the films black and white aesthetic. As the two men battle, we are plagued by the silence that alludes to the death of Kyūzō pompous adversary. The only sounds we here are the pitter patter of their feet as they approach one another and the occasional grunt on behalf of the deceased. One strike from Kyūzō’s sword and the man fell silently to his death. I feel like the respect that the two men had for one another, even during this battle was something so connected with Japanese culture and history. Moreover, it creates a sharp contrast between the way combat is portrayed here and its spawn that came a mere six years later, The Magnificent Seven.
The first distinction I made between the fight scenes in Seven Samurai and Sholay lie in their individual mise en scène. For one, The Magnificent Seven has a much more modern aesthetic despite only coming four years after Kurosawa’s film. Further, its worth noting that the films color as opposed to black and white somewhat changes the tone of the movie. This ultimately gives the viewer the sensation that are watching an old western film which in conjunction with its orchestral score gives us a more relaxed feel even if the most tense of scenes. Their settings vary greatly which also changes the over all feel of the movie and how the viewer is expected to be affected by the action. While in Seven Samurai the fights are normally handled in the most dignified of manners on the Samurai’s behalf the battles is much less realistic and tense. For instance when one of the seven, Chris Adams, shoots town intruders in the arm, the man barely emotes when he is struck by the bullet. Obviously, the scene would be much more gruesome in real life. However, I feel that this illusion is set up not to depict reality like in Samurai Seven but to introduce a heroic illusion of the seven from the very beginning. Further, it also seems that even though the conflict is parallel in both films the way they are enacted physically is very different. In Seven Samurai the fight are a lot more focused and serious whereas in Magnificent Seven the fights appear to be much more theatrical. Sholay takes the theatrical element a step further not just throughout the piece but in a way that is specifically visible in their combats.
Sholay has quite a few vibrant and exciting moments; we are stimulated visually at moments like the festival of colors and our thirst for adrenaline is satisfied by a battle breaking out on the train. The battle between Veeru, Jai and Thakur Baldev Singh and those terrorizing them was so much more action packed. Moreover, it is the first of the three to incorporate modern movement in and how a fight in motion could be toyed with. The fight on the train is just so poignant because it sets up an interesting dichotomy between those on the train and those mounted on hourseback. Further, we see Jai and Veeru prove themselves worthy fighters in the film and as warriors to be feared.
-johanna
Monday, November 9, 2009
Skeuomorphs!
Skeuomorph or Skeuomorphism is a term used in the history of architecture, design, and archaeology. It refers to a derivative object which retains ornamental design cues to structure that was necessary in the original.[1] Skeuomorphs may be deliberately employed to make the new look comfortably old and familiar,[2] such as copper cladding on zinc pennies or computer printed postage with circular town name and cancellation lines. The word derives from Greek, skeuos for 'vessel' or 'tool' and morphe for 'shape'.[3]
And thanks to Wikipedia here are some examples.
1. Decorative stone features of Greek temples such as mutules, guttae, and modillions that are derived from true structural/functional features of the early wooden temples,
2. Injection-molded plastic sandals that replicate woven strips of leather,
3. Various spoke patterns in automobile hubcaps and wheels leftover from carriage wheel construction,
4. Famously, fake woodgrain printing on thousands of modern items of plastic, Formica, or pressboard furniture,
5. Fake stitching in plastic items that used to be made of leather or vinyl and actually stitched together,
6. Tiny, non-functional handles on small maple syrup jugs,
7. A fiberglass boat with striations made to look like wood planking,
8. 80's Handheld LCD games translated into virtual LCD games. ex. http://www.skeuomorphgames.com
9. Non-functional air intake grille on the new (electric) Chevy Volt,
10. Elaborate lacing on children's Velcro-secured shoes,
11. Bowsprits mounted on the bows of steamships (which, having no sails, require no rigging),
12. Almost all of the digital depictions of buttons, sliders, dials, and other mechanical controls (which immediately suggest their functions to mechanically experienced users) on the buttonless surface of the iPhone and iPod Touch,
13. Jiggling needles of the tachometer and speedometer gauges at startup on the digital screen display in modern semi truck cabs,
14. Fake colonial window pane frames trapped between the large, twin glass panels of modern sealed energy-efficient windows,
15. Impressive, large-diameter concentric assemblages of black and silver "hardware" encircling the tiny objective lenses on most consumer-grade digital still and video cameras.
And a few of my own that I can think of are lights shaped like candles that my mom uses for Christmas, those starbucks coffee containers that are plastic but are made to look like the disposable ones, the option that your phone can been when you push a number to dial..like in the old touchtone phones. Im sure ive seen a bunch even in the last hour, but those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head, haha.
- steph
And thanks to Wikipedia here are some examples.
1. Decorative stone features of Greek temples such as mutules, guttae, and modillions that are derived from true structural/functional features of the early wooden temples,
2. Injection-molded plastic sandals that replicate woven strips of leather,
3. Various spoke patterns in automobile hubcaps and wheels leftover from carriage wheel construction,
4. Famously, fake woodgrain printing on thousands of modern items of plastic, Formica, or pressboard furniture,
5. Fake stitching in plastic items that used to be made of leather or vinyl and actually stitched together,
6. Tiny, non-functional handles on small maple syrup jugs,
7. A fiberglass boat with striations made to look like wood planking,
8. 80's Handheld LCD games translated into virtual LCD games. ex. http://www.skeuomorphgames.com
9. Non-functional air intake grille on the new (electric) Chevy Volt,
10. Elaborate lacing on children's Velcro-secured shoes,
11. Bowsprits mounted on the bows of steamships (which, having no sails, require no rigging),
12. Almost all of the digital depictions of buttons, sliders, dials, and other mechanical controls (which immediately suggest their functions to mechanically experienced users) on the buttonless surface of the iPhone and iPod Touch,
13. Jiggling needles of the tachometer and speedometer gauges at startup on the digital screen display in modern semi truck cabs,
14. Fake colonial window pane frames trapped between the large, twin glass panels of modern sealed energy-efficient windows,
15. Impressive, large-diameter concentric assemblages of black and silver "hardware" encircling the tiny objective lenses on most consumer-grade digital still and video cameras.
And a few of my own that I can think of are lights shaped like candles that my mom uses for Christmas, those starbucks coffee containers that are plastic but are made to look like the disposable ones, the option that your phone can been when you push a number to dial..like in the old touchtone phones. Im sure ive seen a bunch even in the last hour, but those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head, haha.
- steph
Friday, November 6, 2009
Samurai at the Met!
Hey everyone, I was roaming about the Met today and saw a new exhibition that opened. Its all about Samurai, their attire, weapons, and more. Unfortunately I couldn't spend much there so I didn't get the full experience. I would definitely recommend going and seeing it for yourself!
Here's the website..
http://www.metmuseum.org/special/se_event.asp?OccurrenceId={F8E9ACA7-5B17-471F-9394-D298E7E53159}&HomePageLink=special_c2a
-steff
Here's the website..
http://www.metmuseum.org/special/se_event.asp?OccurrenceId={F8E9ACA7-5B17-471F-9394-D298E7E53159}&HomePageLink=special_c2a
-steff
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
The Use of Landscape in the Seven's
Hi all!
This is the link to our film commentary:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6NnA7KAl_Y
Jai ho,
Johanna
This is the link to our film commentary:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6NnA7KAl_Y
Jai ho,
Johanna
Monday, October 19, 2009
Love: The Same Old Same Old in Romeo and Juliet
Just as every generation gets the vampire it deserves every era from the time of the Greeks and until today has gotten their very own Romeo and Juliet...
The story, as we know it, began as the Roman myth of Pyramus and Thisbe. Since its inception into our culture there have been close to no changes in the actual plot. It always begins with two households both alike in dignity--whether it be in Babylon, Verona or Manhattan. The children of these rivaling households always happen to be of the same gentle age--a boy and a girl. They meet, they fall madly in love, there families disapprove; tragedy ensues. Our Romeo is banished our Juliet dies and he upon finding this out soon joins her in the after life.
Its nearly impossible to believe that a story that was created in 500 B.C. is still so relevant nearly three-thousand years later. Not only has it been retold and adapted more times than I think it is possible to trace but it has found its way circulating throughout the media since it became possible to. From the page to the stage to the screen this classic story has permeated into every kind of media.
What fascinated us most with the two most recent film adaptations of Romeo and Juliet from 1968 and 1996 was that although they were created nearly three decades apart, they are each posses the same sentimentality. Despite the fact that the Juliet in the '68 version of the film is a brunette and the '96, we still feel them each to be Juliet. The clips from each unfurl in the same manner telling us that while each generation gets the Romeo and Juliet they deserve, in no adaptation has the basic emotion conveyed in the original story been skewed.
-Johanna
The story, as we know it, began as the Roman myth of Pyramus and Thisbe. Since its inception into our culture there have been close to no changes in the actual plot. It always begins with two households both alike in dignity--whether it be in Babylon, Verona or Manhattan. The children of these rivaling households always happen to be of the same gentle age--a boy and a girl. They meet, they fall madly in love, there families disapprove; tragedy ensues. Our Romeo is banished our Juliet dies and he upon finding this out soon joins her in the after life.
Its nearly impossible to believe that a story that was created in 500 B.C. is still so relevant nearly three-thousand years later. Not only has it been retold and adapted more times than I think it is possible to trace but it has found its way circulating throughout the media since it became possible to. From the page to the stage to the screen this classic story has permeated into every kind of media.
What fascinated us most with the two most recent film adaptations of Romeo and Juliet from 1968 and 1996 was that although they were created nearly three decades apart, they are each posses the same sentimentality. Despite the fact that the Juliet in the '68 version of the film is a brunette and the '96, we still feel them each to be Juliet. The clips from each unfurl in the same manner telling us that while each generation gets the Romeo and Juliet they deserve, in no adaptation has the basic emotion conveyed in the original story been skewed.
-Johanna
Seven Samurai - The Magnificent Seven: Stephanie Wowk
The 1954 movie “Seven Samurai”, directed by Akira Kurosawa, and the1960 remake of it called “The Magnificent Seven”, directed by John Sturges have many similarities yet differ enough to obtain their own style for a similar plot and story. For example, the plot of both movies entails farmers hiring mercenaries to help fend off bandits that pillage their farms. One of the main similarities between the “Seven Samurai” and “The Magnificent Seven” is the plot. In both movies bandits pillage a small village and the farmers are left with barely enough food to survive. In “The Magnificent Seven” Calvera and his men actually stop in the town and talk to the farmers, however, in “Seven Samurai” the bandits ride by and are overheard by a farmer about coming back when the barley is ripe. The farmers then have a meeting and decide to hire mercenaries. The two movies also have differences like the characterization of the gunmen/samurai in “The Magnificent Seven” as opposed to “Seven Samurai”. I believe such differences help place each film in their appropriate era and location, aiding to the demand of cinema at the present.
More specifically, the difference that I wish to focus on is the centralized character in both films; Chris Adams in “The Magnificent seven” and Kambei Shimada in “Seven Samurai” and how each portray, uniquely, leadership, knowledge, and modest strength.
The character Kambei Shimada in “Seven Samurai” depicts leadership of the group of samurai and was the first to be “recruited” by the villagers. He was first introduced in the film when he was selfishly shaving off his topknot in order to take full disguise as a monk. The purpose was to trick a thief/kidnapper that was hiding in order to rescue a child. “Kambei’s act it not milked for meaning. It is largely gratuitous, an immediate response made without soul-searching.”(Anderson, 1962) His actions did not seek retribution or acknowledgement that he has done a great deed and should therefore be praised for it. Also, the act of shaving off his topknot, a hairstyle that is significant to a samurai, signified and resembled a look that of a monk. He embodied his kind and caring person, while actually retaining his samurai status. This later becomes the reason as to why the villagers seek Kambeis help. His wit, modesty, intellect, and war-weary characteristics make him trustworthy and likeable.
Similar to Kambei Shimada in “Seven Samurai”, Chris Adams in “The Magnificent seven” reflects the same characteristics and moral but in the light of an American Western. Chris Adams was also approached by the townspeople to help protect their land and profits from bandits. He was elected similarly as to how Kambei Shimada was; by charitably performing an act that helped out the wellbeing of another. “He is revealed as a prototypal core-member who, uneasy over segregation of corpses in Boot Hill, uses his gun-slinging talents to stage a bury-in for a dead Indian.”(Anderson, 1962) Chris showed great apathy to the idea of discrimination against a different culture when no one else would show any respectability towards a dead man. This was similar to the act of Kambei Shimada shaving off his topknot and rescuing the child from the kidnapper, except Chris’s act of moral addressed the battle of segregation at that point in time.
“What isn’t more important is that reason why a man acts, rather the fact that he does act.”(Anderson, 1962) The implication of social consciousness in Kambei Shimada’s character in “Seven Samurai”, Chris Adams’ character in “The Magnificent seven” is important for the viewer’s sake. It amplifies and makes obvious the premise why Chris Adams and Kambei Shimada will go out of their way to defend those who sought their help. We see that it is in their good nature to help those who greatly yearn it. Both films do a great job in showing us the complex characteristics of the main character that forth holds the story overall in the same sense, individually in complete polar ways.
Bibliography
When the Twain Meet: Hollywood's Remake of "The Seven Samurai"
Joseph L. Anderson
Film Quarterly, Vol. 15, No. 3, Special Issue on Hollywood (Spring, 1962), pp. 55-58
Published by: University of California Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1210629
More specifically, the difference that I wish to focus on is the centralized character in both films; Chris Adams in “The Magnificent seven” and Kambei Shimada in “Seven Samurai” and how each portray, uniquely, leadership, knowledge, and modest strength.
The character Kambei Shimada in “Seven Samurai” depicts leadership of the group of samurai and was the first to be “recruited” by the villagers. He was first introduced in the film when he was selfishly shaving off his topknot in order to take full disguise as a monk. The purpose was to trick a thief/kidnapper that was hiding in order to rescue a child. “Kambei’s act it not milked for meaning. It is largely gratuitous, an immediate response made without soul-searching.”(Anderson, 1962) His actions did not seek retribution or acknowledgement that he has done a great deed and should therefore be praised for it. Also, the act of shaving off his topknot, a hairstyle that is significant to a samurai, signified and resembled a look that of a monk. He embodied his kind and caring person, while actually retaining his samurai status. This later becomes the reason as to why the villagers seek Kambeis help. His wit, modesty, intellect, and war-weary characteristics make him trustworthy and likeable.
Similar to Kambei Shimada in “Seven Samurai”, Chris Adams in “The Magnificent seven” reflects the same characteristics and moral but in the light of an American Western. Chris Adams was also approached by the townspeople to help protect their land and profits from bandits. He was elected similarly as to how Kambei Shimada was; by charitably performing an act that helped out the wellbeing of another. “He is revealed as a prototypal core-member who, uneasy over segregation of corpses in Boot Hill, uses his gun-slinging talents to stage a bury-in for a dead Indian.”(Anderson, 1962) Chris showed great apathy to the idea of discrimination against a different culture when no one else would show any respectability towards a dead man. This was similar to the act of Kambei Shimada shaving off his topknot and rescuing the child from the kidnapper, except Chris’s act of moral addressed the battle of segregation at that point in time.
“What isn’t more important is that reason why a man acts, rather the fact that he does act.”(Anderson, 1962) The implication of social consciousness in Kambei Shimada’s character in “Seven Samurai”, Chris Adams’ character in “The Magnificent seven” is important for the viewer’s sake. It amplifies and makes obvious the premise why Chris Adams and Kambei Shimada will go out of their way to defend those who sought their help. We see that it is in their good nature to help those who greatly yearn it. Both films do a great job in showing us the complex characteristics of the main character that forth holds the story overall in the same sense, individually in complete polar ways.
Bibliography
When the Twain Meet: Hollywood's Remake of "The Seven Samurai"
Joseph L. Anderson
Film Quarterly, Vol. 15, No. 3, Special Issue on Hollywood (Spring, 1962), pp. 55-58
Published by: University of California Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1210629
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Found Media Video-Stephanie
Inspired by the introduction to the tv show "True Blood", I collected found still images from different sources (NY Library Picture Collection, thrift stored, internet, etc.) to create a fast-paced short video inspired by the evolution of the classic "Romeo and Julet". From the ancient mythology origin of "Pyramus and Thisbe", to William Shakespeare's version through the medium of a play with actors, to present day movies such as Romeo and Juliet (1996), the idea in Stokers "Dracula" that every generation gets the vampire it deserves relates to the notion that every generation has received the "Romeo and Juliet" it deserved. The collection of images in juxtaposed in an almost subliminal fashion paired with the gloomy and odd-sounding audio attempts to show the evolution of "Romeo and Juliet" through the unpleasantness of war between families and how a strong passionate love for another person can lead one to death.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Girl, Oppressed: Female Sexuality in the Film Adaptations of Dracula
In her essay “Suddenly Sexual Women in Dracula,” Phyllis Roth proposes the idea that every instance of a female character expressing herself sexually in Bram Stoker’s Dracula is struck down. Based on the novel itself and several of the film adaptations of the original text it is evident that here several facets of the “New Woman’s” persona began to emerge. What’s interesting about the portrayal of this New Woman though is the fact that she is only seen fully through the female vampires in the narrative.
For the most part all of the women we encounter in Dracula are split between the typical Victorian female figure of the 19th century and her evolved successor. The Victorian woman is categorized a pure, clean, chase, mothering and of course never asserted herself sexually. The New Woman however is independent, well educated, sexually liberated and on the same level as any man. The character Mina Murray in each account seems to be more or less in tandem with these two archetypes. In Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 adaptation of Dracula for instance, Mina appears to be strong-minded and intelligent but at the same time her intellect goes toward helping her fiancé, Jonathan Harker, maintain his business. While this resonates clearly through Stoker’s novel and the other film adaptations, it is specifically clear here—especially during our first encounter with Mina; when discussing how much she misses Jonathan and wished they could have married before he departed, she dabbles slightly with the idea of stepping out of her Victorian role when she expresses desire to go and explore new and exotic countries. Shortly thereafter, this is stifled by a very subtle but still telling few words. “I wonder if we, I mean Jonathan and I, shall ever see them [strange countries] together.” For less than a second, the viewer sees Mina put herself on Jonathan’s level as a person with convictions in that one word, ‘we.’ This is quickly cast aside and she descends back down towards what people of the time would have believed to be her rightful place.
In Tod Browning’s 1931 adaptation of the novel, its seems as though most traces of the New Woman that we see in the text are mostly glossed over. While we still see the three vampire women that come to drink of Jonathan’s blood during the first few nights of his stay as hyper sexualized in comparison to the Mina and Lucy that we encounter, there are not very any other instances in the film that we see any of the female characters as strong or assertive. What this film seems to do primarily is perpetuate the ideals of the Victorian male figure. In this account, we see all the male figures as well educated and it seems as though they take it to be their personal mission to keep the women safe. Even Jonathan Harker, who when one on one with Dracula seems to be rather subdued tries to maintain alpha male status when talking to Mina. Further, there is much more emphasis placed on Van Helsing as a hero coming to Mina’s rescue as opposed to having her emerge as the heroine like she does in the novel.
The only instance in the Browning film that we see even of glimmer of the New Woman is during the falling action; Mina, having been confined to her room after being bitten by Count Dracula is found by her nurse in a fog wandering towards the terrace fully dressed. Jonathan comments that she is more beautiful than ever and looks like a ‘changed girl.’ It is clear in his demeanor that this change is a positive one and his body language indicates that he is more attracted to her before. For a few moments, she seems more confident and verbalizes that she feels more alive than ever. We see her as more liberated and when she leans in for what the camera deceives into thinking may be a kiss (when we obviously know that she’s got more cruel intentions) she is quickly met with horrid looks and dismay from Van Helsing and his men. This is totally logical—of course they want to prevent Jonathan’s transcendence into the vampire world. Looking into the scene a bit more closely though, it appears more as though that they are chastising her for asserting herself sexually. If this were an isolated incident, it could possibly easily be overlooked. However, in context this scene has a definite feel of male oppression over female sexuality and stifling to any inkling of the New Woman that may be present.
Lucy Westenra’s character is interpreted much differently in the Browning version than in the text or in the Coppola film. In the 1931 film, her character seems quite minimal in contrast with the other accounts. This seems to be directly correlated with the fact that the vamped Lucy embodies more traits of a progressive woman than its creators could absorb as truth. This seems so distinct and far removed from her portrayal in the Coppola film where she is hyper-sexualized as foreshadowed by the three vampire women that we encountered within the first few scenes. Even before she is turned into a vampire, Lucy is extremely sexualized; she makes several comments as to knowing what men want and is exceedingly flirtatious in comparison to Mina. Mina also notes that while she is slightly put off by how liberated Lucy is sexually, she is somewhat envious of her freedom.
While the portrayal of Lucy as a sexual being was still progressive, it also seemed like she does not fully embody the qualities of the New Woman. The only characteristic of the more evolved woman that Lucy really has is her being aware of herself as a sexual being. In the Browning film, she appears mostly uninterested in anything scholarly and she is not presented as having any real interests other than men. She is ditzy and seems to flutter from suitor to suitor. This issue seems to lie in the times that both the Browning and the Coppola films were created respectively and the stereotypes that surrounded women during both eras. During the early 20th century when the Browning version surfaced, it seemed as though the idea of the New Woman was brushed to the side and the men in the story take the reigns a bit more than the book leads us to believe. Surprisingly, as far as women have come since those days, the 1992 version of the film doesn’t deviate too far from those rigid gender roles. The message we as viewers seem to receive is clear cut: a woman who is in touch with her sexuality and one who is intelligent cannot be the same person.
With the exclusion of a few of her encounters with Dracula, Mina is seen as docile, sexually unaware and not wholly in command of her intellect as she only uses it to serve Jonathan. Lucy on the contrary is made out to seem like quite the floozy initially and then this hyper sexualized vampire goddess. Both films consequently also send the message about the male perspective on women overall. The girl who is more desired, Lucy, is only so because she seems sexually available in a subtle way. Once she becomes a vampire and is more assertive and challenges male dominance though, she is put to death and traded in for Mina who still embodies the ideal Victorian woman—submissive, chase, God-fearing, and so on and so forth.
It is very interesting how despite the fact that bits and pieces of the New Woman are scattered throughout Stoker’s novel and the Browning and Coppola adaptation of the story. While she is present in some form or character or another in each piece, neither film really ventures as far as to try to capture the essence of her that is portrayed in the novel. And the message that is transmitted through these pieces that a woman can’t be both intelligent and sexually charged is a saddening one.
Sources:
"Suddenly Sexual Women in Dracula." Phyllis Roth (pg. 411, essay in the back of text)
"Dracula: Stoker's Response to the New Woman" Carol A. Senf (JSTOR)
http://www.jstor.org.libproxy.newschool.edu/stable/info/3827492?seq=2&type=cite
Wikipedia for information on: "The New Woman," "The Victorian Woman," and "Victorian Masculinity"
For the most part all of the women we encounter in Dracula are split between the typical Victorian female figure of the 19th century and her evolved successor. The Victorian woman is categorized a pure, clean, chase, mothering and of course never asserted herself sexually. The New Woman however is independent, well educated, sexually liberated and on the same level as any man. The character Mina Murray in each account seems to be more or less in tandem with these two archetypes. In Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 adaptation of Dracula for instance, Mina appears to be strong-minded and intelligent but at the same time her intellect goes toward helping her fiancé, Jonathan Harker, maintain his business. While this resonates clearly through Stoker’s novel and the other film adaptations, it is specifically clear here—especially during our first encounter with Mina; when discussing how much she misses Jonathan and wished they could have married before he departed, she dabbles slightly with the idea of stepping out of her Victorian role when she expresses desire to go and explore new and exotic countries. Shortly thereafter, this is stifled by a very subtle but still telling few words. “I wonder if we, I mean Jonathan and I, shall ever see them [strange countries] together.” For less than a second, the viewer sees Mina put herself on Jonathan’s level as a person with convictions in that one word, ‘we.’ This is quickly cast aside and she descends back down towards what people of the time would have believed to be her rightful place.
In Tod Browning’s 1931 adaptation of the novel, its seems as though most traces of the New Woman that we see in the text are mostly glossed over. While we still see the three vampire women that come to drink of Jonathan’s blood during the first few nights of his stay as hyper sexualized in comparison to the Mina and Lucy that we encounter, there are not very any other instances in the film that we see any of the female characters as strong or assertive. What this film seems to do primarily is perpetuate the ideals of the Victorian male figure. In this account, we see all the male figures as well educated and it seems as though they take it to be their personal mission to keep the women safe. Even Jonathan Harker, who when one on one with Dracula seems to be rather subdued tries to maintain alpha male status when talking to Mina. Further, there is much more emphasis placed on Van Helsing as a hero coming to Mina’s rescue as opposed to having her emerge as the heroine like she does in the novel.
The only instance in the Browning film that we see even of glimmer of the New Woman is during the falling action; Mina, having been confined to her room after being bitten by Count Dracula is found by her nurse in a fog wandering towards the terrace fully dressed. Jonathan comments that she is more beautiful than ever and looks like a ‘changed girl.’ It is clear in his demeanor that this change is a positive one and his body language indicates that he is more attracted to her before. For a few moments, she seems more confident and verbalizes that she feels more alive than ever. We see her as more liberated and when she leans in for what the camera deceives into thinking may be a kiss (when we obviously know that she’s got more cruel intentions) she is quickly met with horrid looks and dismay from Van Helsing and his men. This is totally logical—of course they want to prevent Jonathan’s transcendence into the vampire world. Looking into the scene a bit more closely though, it appears more as though that they are chastising her for asserting herself sexually. If this were an isolated incident, it could possibly easily be overlooked. However, in context this scene has a definite feel of male oppression over female sexuality and stifling to any inkling of the New Woman that may be present.
Lucy Westenra’s character is interpreted much differently in the Browning version than in the text or in the Coppola film. In the 1931 film, her character seems quite minimal in contrast with the other accounts. This seems to be directly correlated with the fact that the vamped Lucy embodies more traits of a progressive woman than its creators could absorb as truth. This seems so distinct and far removed from her portrayal in the Coppola film where she is hyper-sexualized as foreshadowed by the three vampire women that we encountered within the first few scenes. Even before she is turned into a vampire, Lucy is extremely sexualized; she makes several comments as to knowing what men want and is exceedingly flirtatious in comparison to Mina. Mina also notes that while she is slightly put off by how liberated Lucy is sexually, she is somewhat envious of her freedom.
While the portrayal of Lucy as a sexual being was still progressive, it also seemed like she does not fully embody the qualities of the New Woman. The only characteristic of the more evolved woman that Lucy really has is her being aware of herself as a sexual being. In the Browning film, she appears mostly uninterested in anything scholarly and she is not presented as having any real interests other than men. She is ditzy and seems to flutter from suitor to suitor. This issue seems to lie in the times that both the Browning and the Coppola films were created respectively and the stereotypes that surrounded women during both eras. During the early 20th century when the Browning version surfaced, it seemed as though the idea of the New Woman was brushed to the side and the men in the story take the reigns a bit more than the book leads us to believe. Surprisingly, as far as women have come since those days, the 1992 version of the film doesn’t deviate too far from those rigid gender roles. The message we as viewers seem to receive is clear cut: a woman who is in touch with her sexuality and one who is intelligent cannot be the same person.
With the exclusion of a few of her encounters with Dracula, Mina is seen as docile, sexually unaware and not wholly in command of her intellect as she only uses it to serve Jonathan. Lucy on the contrary is made out to seem like quite the floozy initially and then this hyper sexualized vampire goddess. Both films consequently also send the message about the male perspective on women overall. The girl who is more desired, Lucy, is only so because she seems sexually available in a subtle way. Once she becomes a vampire and is more assertive and challenges male dominance though, she is put to death and traded in for Mina who still embodies the ideal Victorian woman—submissive, chase, God-fearing, and so on and so forth.
It is very interesting how despite the fact that bits and pieces of the New Woman are scattered throughout Stoker’s novel and the Browning and Coppola adaptation of the story. While she is present in some form or character or another in each piece, neither film really ventures as far as to try to capture the essence of her that is portrayed in the novel. And the message that is transmitted through these pieces that a woman can’t be both intelligent and sexually charged is a saddening one.
Sources:
"Suddenly Sexual Women in Dracula." Phyllis Roth (pg. 411, essay in the back of text)
"Dracula: Stoker's Response to the New Woman" Carol A. Senf (JSTOR)
http://www.jstor.org.libproxy.newschool.edu/stable/info/3827492?seq=2&type=cite
Wikipedia for information on: "The New Woman," "The Victorian Woman," and "Victorian Masculinity"
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Our Fair Lady
Lauren Cullins
OUR FAIR LADY
In the modern western world the body represents either masculine superiority or feminine inferiority. In the novel Dracula, by Bram Stoker he shows the emergence of the new modern woman.
The Author uses vampirism as an example of “mixed” identity, showing the relationship between desire and gender, making it clear how it promotes anxiety in the Victorian culture. We see the workingwoman, Mira, and the sexualized, Lucy and the penetrated victims (Dracula s three wives).
In the Movie Nosferatu and the 1931 edition of Dracula the display of females as sexual beings isn’t as prominent as in the novel. We see words like voluptuous, Desire, penetrate, and repulsive used repeatedly to show the heightened sexual idolization of the vamped women in Stokers Dracula.
“ Her breathing grew stertorous, the mouth opened, and the pale gums, drawn back, made the teeth look longer and sharper than ever….. her eyes, were dull and hard at once and she spoke in a soft, voluptuous voice, such as I never heard from her lips”(p.181)
These women in the novel give a pleasurable, thrilling desire to the opposite sex. It is Dracula’s bite that turns them into irresistible beings. Not that they weren’t “sought after” by men prior to the bite, as Lucy had three suitors; its just that after they are penetrated by Dracula they give men a “wicked desire” placed them in a strange hypnotic state and covered them with a “deadly fear”.
Lucy in the story represents Virtue and innocence as does Mina and women in general during this era. However Dracula bites her for the first time her sexual aura is heightened, becoming extremely sexualized by the men in the novel.
“Why cant a girl marry three men, or as many as want her, and save all this trouble¨.
Her sexual appetite not satisfied by one but possibly three or more men.
Bram Stoker uses Van Helsing, the doctor, philosopher, and metaphysician in the novel as a tool to maintain Victorian Gender codes. He is key, job also entailing the maintance of social structure.
Van Helsing tries to maintain gender categories by diagnosing Lucy and attempting to reverse her transformation from human to vampire. This is very important to Van Helsing and Jonathan. The likelihood of losing his or her social status is quickly pushed to the forefront of the mind.
To see Lucy and Mira “change” because of the coming of Dracula was Van Helsing´s main concern. He did all that was in his power to reverse Lucy´s transformation and to make sure the same didn’t happen to Mira. “Edward Westermark, was thinking about when he coined the memorable phrase “social adultery”. Here, then, is the real horror of Dracula, for he is the ultimate social adulterer, whose purpose is nothing if it is not to turn good English women like Mina and Lucy away from their own kind and customs”( http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp.)
One direction that both the movies and the novel shared was the common female prey; All vampires are Female other than count. He never seduces, or penetrates another male. Only by biting a woman does Dracula Penetrate a male.
“Your girls that you all love are mine already, and through them you and others shall yet be mine.”
In both movies we see sexuality and gender differently. Both films limit the focus on sexuality. In the movie nosferatu, Dracula’s three wives don’t appear at all. The only women Dracula seems to be intrigued by is Mina. The feeling so strong that while Dracula is preying on Jonathan its almost as if Mina can feel it and is being put under the same hypnosis from afar.
She actually wakes from her sleep and cries out Jonathans name as if to warn him or try and wake him from his trance.
While Jonathan is trapped in Dracula’s Castle he describes a dream or nightmare in a journal entry. He speaks of being filled with “a wicked burning desire” after being in the presence of Dracula’s three wives. This takes you into the male imagination.
“The fair girl bent over me till I could feel the movement of her breath upon me.. The girl went on her knees and bent over me simply gloating. There was a deliberate voluptuousness which was both thrilling and repulsive, and as she arched her neck she actually licked her lips like an animal.” (p48)
He, Jonathan, goes on to describes Dracula’s three women that appear to him in his dream as repulsive. Although the scene itself seems as if it would have been quite pleasurable had the removal of blood not been their main objective.
During the 1890’s if a woman was viewed as a sexual idol they could not be respected among the “higher” social classes, the class in which Jonathan, Lucy, Van Helsing, and Mira belonged to. “
Stoker simply wanted to show and represent the “ new woman of the Victorian Age” by creating Mina, the new workingwoman. Admiring her grace and class while still being sexualized. Showing both “conflicting sides” of this New aged Woman.
OUR FAIR LADY
In the modern western world the body represents either masculine superiority or feminine inferiority. In the novel Dracula, by Bram Stoker he shows the emergence of the new modern woman.
The Author uses vampirism as an example of “mixed” identity, showing the relationship between desire and gender, making it clear how it promotes anxiety in the Victorian culture. We see the workingwoman, Mira, and the sexualized, Lucy and the penetrated victims (Dracula s three wives).
In the Movie Nosferatu and the 1931 edition of Dracula the display of females as sexual beings isn’t as prominent as in the novel. We see words like voluptuous, Desire, penetrate, and repulsive used repeatedly to show the heightened sexual idolization of the vamped women in Stokers Dracula.
“ Her breathing grew stertorous, the mouth opened, and the pale gums, drawn back, made the teeth look longer and sharper than ever….. her eyes, were dull and hard at once and she spoke in a soft, voluptuous voice, such as I never heard from her lips”(p.181)
These women in the novel give a pleasurable, thrilling desire to the opposite sex. It is Dracula’s bite that turns them into irresistible beings. Not that they weren’t “sought after” by men prior to the bite, as Lucy had three suitors; its just that after they are penetrated by Dracula they give men a “wicked desire” placed them in a strange hypnotic state and covered them with a “deadly fear”.
Lucy in the story represents Virtue and innocence as does Mina and women in general during this era. However Dracula bites her for the first time her sexual aura is heightened, becoming extremely sexualized by the men in the novel.
“Why cant a girl marry three men, or as many as want her, and save all this trouble¨.
Her sexual appetite not satisfied by one but possibly three or more men.
Bram Stoker uses Van Helsing, the doctor, philosopher, and metaphysician in the novel as a tool to maintain Victorian Gender codes. He is key, job also entailing the maintance of social structure.
Van Helsing tries to maintain gender categories by diagnosing Lucy and attempting to reverse her transformation from human to vampire. This is very important to Van Helsing and Jonathan. The likelihood of losing his or her social status is quickly pushed to the forefront of the mind.
To see Lucy and Mira “change” because of the coming of Dracula was Van Helsing´s main concern. He did all that was in his power to reverse Lucy´s transformation and to make sure the same didn’t happen to Mira. “Edward Westermark, was thinking about when he coined the memorable phrase “social adultery”. Here, then, is the real horror of Dracula, for he is the ultimate social adulterer, whose purpose is nothing if it is not to turn good English women like Mina and Lucy away from their own kind and customs”( http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp.)
One direction that both the movies and the novel shared was the common female prey; All vampires are Female other than count. He never seduces, or penetrates another male. Only by biting a woman does Dracula Penetrate a male.
“Your girls that you all love are mine already, and through them you and others shall yet be mine.”
In both movies we see sexuality and gender differently. Both films limit the focus on sexuality. In the movie nosferatu, Dracula’s three wives don’t appear at all. The only women Dracula seems to be intrigued by is Mina. The feeling so strong that while Dracula is preying on Jonathan its almost as if Mina can feel it and is being put under the same hypnosis from afar.
She actually wakes from her sleep and cries out Jonathans name as if to warn him or try and wake him from his trance.
While Jonathan is trapped in Dracula’s Castle he describes a dream or nightmare in a journal entry. He speaks of being filled with “a wicked burning desire” after being in the presence of Dracula’s three wives. This takes you into the male imagination.
“The fair girl bent over me till I could feel the movement of her breath upon me.. The girl went on her knees and bent over me simply gloating. There was a deliberate voluptuousness which was both thrilling and repulsive, and as she arched her neck she actually licked her lips like an animal.” (p48)
He, Jonathan, goes on to describes Dracula’s three women that appear to him in his dream as repulsive. Although the scene itself seems as if it would have been quite pleasurable had the removal of blood not been their main objective.
During the 1890’s if a woman was viewed as a sexual idol they could not be respected among the “higher” social classes, the class in which Jonathan, Lucy, Van Helsing, and Mira belonged to. “
Stoker simply wanted to show and represent the “ new woman of the Victorian Age” by creating Mina, the new workingwoman. Admiring her grace and class while still being sexualized. Showing both “conflicting sides” of this New aged Woman.
Vamped woman
here is the vamped woman...
she seems to have a golden halo of light around her head.
its clear that she just finished drinking the blood of something/ someone, but who or what it was we dont know.
All that we know is what we see, her pale complexion, and purple lips.
her eyes closed, resting as she should be when the sun rises..
LC
Monday, September 28, 2009
Dr. Abraham Van Helsing
Dr. Abraham Van Helsing is commonly know as an M.D. , a Ph.D., and a D.Litt. (and in some versions) and attorney. He is a lonely, unmarried yet kind, fatherly, and knowledgeable. Although he is known as a wise man of medicine and folklore, his role and ways of practice in Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”, F.w. Murnau’s “Nosferatu”, and Tod Browning’s “Dracula” differ.
He is depicted as a man of science, a stern believer in the supernatural, distinguished, and educated in other worldly knowledge. Van Helsing’s approach to destroying Dracula and healing all those affected by him through these three versions in the aspect of science verse religion.
Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”, a Novel written in 1897, heightens the importance of the character Van Helsing. He is described by Mina (in chapter 14) as “A man strongly built, with shoulders set back, an indication of power.” Jack Seward describes him as “A seemingly arbitrary man with an absolutely open mind and a truest heart that beats”. “Dracula ardently professes to champion the cause of morality and Christian “reverence,” but all the while indoctrinating its readership in a system of nihilistic superstition rife with a sinister ideological overtones.” (.http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublication?journalCode=representations)
Stoker’s novel has the Victorian religious feeling by portrayal of vampirism as an infestation from a remote, superstitious foreign land. The beginning of the novel establishes Van Helsings religiousness when he keeps Arthur from kissing Lucy. He is not so much concerned with keeping his friends alive as much as he is with keeping them in God’s favor. Van Helsing take the role as the religious and well as the intellectual leader from here on. As he gathers together a group to monitor Lucy as well as Dracula, Van Helsing explains that they must do their “duty”, and that it was not a personal war at hand but merely a Christian obligation. His radical side is shown here, balancing out with the religious side. Another example of this radical behavior is what Van Helsing acknowledges the sacredness and power of the holy bread, yet uses it in a completely rational way. He uses the Host to seal Lucy’s tomb by mixing it together with clay. Althought out of the norm, the men never believe hat Van Helsing is being sacrilegious. It actually convinces the men that there must be some validity in his actions. This allows all of the characters to return to a more religious state. Van Helsing also uses religious icons such as holy water and the cross in defense against Dracula.
There is a strong sense of religious importance through the characters as well. On page 336, Mina cries out to God “the Almighty shuns my polluted flesh!” believing that God is punishing her. Van Helsing also uses scientific practices as well in the Novel by performing numerous blood transfusions.
“Christianity in Dracula is imagined above all as an agency for the pitiless eradication of deviancy.” (.http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublication?journalCode=representations)
Van Helsing through out the novel is very involved with all of the characters. His ability to use rational procedures along with religious practices gives him this understanding as this greater being.
F. W. Murnau’s 1922 film Nosferatu changed the importance of the character Van Helsing. Count Orlok (aka Count Dracula) was the stronger and main character in this version of Dracula. “Galeen (one of the writes of Dracula the novel) set thie story in a fictional north German harbour town named Wisborg and changed the character names. He added the idea of the vampire bringing the plague to Wisborg via rats on the ship.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nosferatu#Deviations_from_the_novel) “The story of Nosferatu is similar to that of Dracula and retains the core characters—Jonathan and Mina Harker, the Count, etc.—but omits many of the secondary players, such as Arthur and Quincey, and changes all of the character's names. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nosferatu#Deviations_from_the_novel)
What is interesting is that he left out the Van Helsing vampire hunter character. Without this character and all good that he would have done, the story was changed to a more religious and less scientific focus.
“In contrast to Dracula, Orlok does not create other vampires, but kills his victims, causing the townfolk to blame the plague, which ravages the city. Also, Orlok must sleep by day, as sunlight would kill him. The ending is also substantially different from that of Dracula. The count is ultimately destroyed at sunrise when the "Mina" character sacrifices herself to him.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nosferatu#Deviations_from_the_novel)
If Van Helsing were to exist in this film then Mina’s character would know less information about Dracula and there would be an educated set of helping hands to intervene with Nosferatu’s work. It also completely changed the way in which Dracula and Mina were eliminated.
Tod Browning’s film “Dracula” (1931) included the character of Van Helsing, unlike F. W. Murnau’s Nosferatu. Comparable to Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”, Van Helsing’s characteristics are that of religious and scientific practices; a strong willed with a stern head on his shoulders and passion in his heart. Although religious instances occur in Murnau’s film, Van Helsing is shown more as a scientific man (as we were introduced to him in the operation room as he underwent a procedure). Professor Van Helsing analyzes Renfield's blood, discovering Renfield’s obsession. (This is the scene where a microscope was used to show cells. A very scientific shot in the film.) The scene where Van Helsing and Harker notice that Dracula does not have a reflection in the mirrored top of the cigarette case aided as an example of how scientific practices were used to prove even superstitious ideas. This led to Van Helsing deducing that Dracula is the vampire.
Van Helsing also differs due to heightened want for revenge on Dracula. This was very clear when Dracula tells him that Mina is now his after fusing his blood with hers, and Van Helsing swears revenge by sterilizing Carfax Abbey and finding the box where he sleeps; he will then thrust a stake through his heart.
At the end of the film Dracula is forced to sleep in his coffin, as sunrise has come, and is trapped. “Van Helsing prepares a wooden stake while Harker searches for Mina. He finds her in a strange stasis, and when Dracula moans in pain when Van Helsing impales him, she returns to her old self. Harker leaves with Mina while Van Helsing stays. The sound of church bells is heard.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula_%281931_film%29#Reception)
The notation of church bells implies religious views as well as an idea that the Christian faith and all that is good overcame the devil and his work.
Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”, F.w. Murnau’s “Nosferatu”, and Tod Browning’s “Dracula” all have interesting ideas of the importance of the role of Dr. Van Helsing.
SOURCES:
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublication?journalCode=representations
· ISSN: 07346018
· OCLC: 45953560
· LCCN: 2001-214647
· JSTOR Coverage: 1983-2005 (Nos. 1-92)
· It Takes Capital to Defeat Dracula: A New Rhetorical Essay
Richard M. Coe . College English, Vol. 48, No. 3 (Mar., 1986), pp. 231-242
Published by: National Council of Teachers of English
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula#Reaction
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula_%281992_film%29#Differences_between_film_and_novel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nosferatu#Deviations_from_the_novel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula_%281931_film%29#Reception
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Critical Analysis: Poetry and Art -Johanna
For this assignment our group was instructed to create a visual and creative piece echoing certain elements found in Bram Stokers Dracula. Stephanie created two visual art pieces, one being an eerie interpretation of Count Dracula and the other being the oh so mysterious bag of our Van Helsing. Lauren crafted an intensely vivid and engaging poetry piece that feels very much inspired by Stokers writing style.
Stephanie's Dracula is honestly quite chilling. I feel that since charcoal as a medium by nature has a tendency to give whatever its depicting a sense of brash intensity, its use really sets the tone here. Since her Dracula doesn't necessarily take the form of what I would categorize as a human like any other, it is clear to the viewer that we are looking for something more here. Elements of the earlier version of the film are evident here as well; the shape and structure of the hand for instance definitely reflect a certain level of familiarity on the artists part with the Dracula that has been memed many times over. Further, I felt it to be very creative of Stephanie to choose his medical bag to draw attention to the shroud of mystery that surrounds Van Helsing. This drawing (and its eternal place in cyber land) as an interpretation of the text highlights the many different ways in which a primary narrative can inform so many different forms of art and move through the media to be retranslated.
Lauren's piece, I felt, really captured the essence of the text. We are briefly introduced to a world of doom and tension, warned of danger and ultimately informed that we would inevitably lust for this sanguine attacker. These elements to me are things that we as readers of Dracula pick up on almost immediately so it was interesting to read a literary piece from a different genre, time and place that is still able to capture those emotions in a different way.
Stephanie's drawing of Dracula and Lauren's poem interact on a certain level. My first instinct was to say that they felt opposing since the Dracula depicted here (sorry, Steph!!) is not what I would call lustful at all. However, I now get the sense that despite his creepiness, Dracula's vampireness puts him in a whole other class--"vamp-sexy."
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Creative Writing-Lauren
Programed to rise after dusk sets,
he who controls the children of the night.
endless life after death, A ghost of history
his shadow luminescent in the dark, cold
his one goal to to strip you of your human essence
Beware... after the sun sets
his longing for you flesh may draw him near
no mercy, a sanguinarian; type... yours preferably
Fiery eyes
stops at nothing
You long for a kiss from the pale creature, A spell that your under
You lust to see him again, in your dreams or nightmares
an attraction stronger than any felt before
how do I end this bitch..
he who controls the children of the night.
endless life after death, A ghost of history
his shadow luminescent in the dark, cold
his one goal to to strip you of your human essence
Beware... after the sun sets
his longing for you flesh may draw him near
no mercy, a sanguinarian; type... yours preferably
Fiery eyes
stops at nothing
You long for a kiss from the pale creature, A spell that your under
You lust to see him again, in your dreams or nightmares
an attraction stronger than any felt before
how do I end this bitch..
Lc
Visual -stephanie
Van Helsing's medical bag. I chose this object as the "vague" object because through out the novel this item was always seen as mysterious to a few of the characters. I thought it compared well with Van Helsings mysterious personality as well.
..a messed up Dracula. haha
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