TWELVE ANGRY MEN… from a different perspective.
This is an assignment for my small group communication course, so I’ll be examining this film (which happens to be one of my all-time favorites) for its group problem-solving elements. Fun!

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Lesson One: The flaws of having appointed leaders
The most immediately apparent lesson involving functional (or, in this case, dysfunctional) small group decision making is the question of leadership and evolving roles of group members. Though there were many factors that contributed to the conflict of the jury members, one of the main complications was …

So my carefully thought-out (ha) opinion of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End…
I’ve heard quite a lot of complaints about this film, but I think maybe the issue here is that their expectations were too high. I went in expecting it to be fun, not good, and my expectations were fulfilled. Honestly, do any of us really watch the PotC movies thinking that they’re going to be spectacularly amazing, life-changing cinematic works? Probably not. I expected adventure, good special effects, some funny lines, and the usual quirkiness found …

It’s Friday night, I’m done with my blog post of doom, and somehow I find myself in front of my computer wanting to write another film blog post. For my international cinema class, we watched Fallen Angels on Wednesday afternoon. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. Every time I clear my head of everything else that’s going on, this film creeps in. I’m writing about it, but I don’t quite know where to start. I know that not all the students in my class had such a passionate reaction …

Alas, my only blog about Vertigo was cut cruelly short due to a sudden strike of inspiration. But fear not! For now all shall be revealed. Hopefully.

Carmen, I’d like to apologize for any confusion I may have caused with my discussion of the Vagina Dentata theory. I have not been saying that I believe this theory, or that it’s psychologically/socially valid, just that it’s an interesting viewpoint to examine. I believe that it is very important to examine different perspectives, especially when I don’t necessarily agree with them. This is a psychoanalytical film theory, and not even a very widely supported one, as is plainly stated in Freeland’s essay. But this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t …

Dr. Campbell, you should be absolutely thrilled, because–finally–I am going to talk about Vertigo. But just a little, for now. I figure it’s best if I deal with little chunks of the film at a time, because I want to be thorough. In fact, this entire post is going to cover just one scene. Ready?
THE GRAVEYARD SCENE:
First, let’s examine the way in which Madeleine is framed in each of the P.O.V. shots.

Notice any similarities? In nearly every single shot, she is in the exact center …

Yeah, yeah. I know I promised two posts ago to get serious about Vertigo, but…aahh! Sharks! This is what I do in place of sleep, apparently. I realize that I’m going really crazy with this sharks + YouTube thing, but I’ve noticed so many fascinating connections! Anyway, here are lovely trailers for the Jaws movies. It’s interesting to see how they change between films, and the affect that time has had on them, especially the more recent ad for Jaws, redone in a fairly comical way.[kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/qxbgpUoSNdk” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” …

I know I’ve done a lot of joking about shark movies in relation to the ‘toothed vagina’ theory (which, as Dr. Campbell pointed out, is actually an established psychological theory called Vagina Dentata that the author of my FTC essay was apparently unfamiliar with), but as a long-standing fan of ridiculously bad shark movies, I think they raise many important questions. Our society is fascinated by sharks. Why? Is it just the thrill of fear and the unknown? Or is it something more than that? The media have certainly capitalized …

So I was wasting spending my morning on YouTube, on a quest for clips from shark movies. And found, instead, this amusing trio of TV commercials:

These are splendid, but wait! There’s more! I found another video along the same vein as the Hitchcock version of It’s A Wonderful Life shown in class by Megs…”Must Love Jaws”. As if we needed more reasons to love YouTube.
And finally, for those …

This isn’t directly related to what we’re discussing in class, but I find myself very intrigued by this ongoing blog discussion about art and its value. After this post, I’ll give my full attention to Vertigo.
Call me morbid, but ever since I first glimpsed the painting “Watson and the Shark” (by John Singleton Copley) when I was about 6 years old, I’ve been in love with it. I don’t even know why, but perhaps this is a good opportunity to explore the effect it has on me, and on others …