Allen, Jacqueline - Final Blog

Over the semester I have come to learn a lot about Tim Burton. This class has opened my eyes to the more meaningful side of movies in general. Before this class I never thought much of movies and the deeper meaning of them. The director’s life or feelings toward a specific issue in society do matter, they incorporate those emotions and opinions into their own works of art, which in this case is film. For example, before this course I could watch a movie such as Big Fish and never know that the movie was created to show the relationship of a father and son who both have so much in common but neither of them take the time out to realize it.

My favorite Burton film that we got to watch would have to be Big Fish, that movie made me cry. . . TWICE! It was so heartfelt and happy, what if death is really like that? I really liked that movie because it made me feel like I was back in Mississippi with my grandfather during the summer with all of that southern hospitality and country accents. 

Now when I watch movies, literally any and every movie I watch I feel like I am a critique whose job is to analyze movies. I could be watching a scene and the lighting could be different in one part of the frame versus a separate part and my faces lights up because I know that something so small as lighting makes a difference in the entire meaning of that scene. I guess one could say that this class widens the perspective of it’s students, as every class should, but this class is different. This class is something students actually enjoy. You know? 

One thing I disliked about this class was Ed Wood, I absolutely hated that movie. It was terrible, I could not keep focus during that class. I also never understood why Tim Burton always uses the name Edward in all of his movies. 

Moving on, My first semester of college was easy yet rocky at the same time. This class taught me that I need to not wait ti the last minute to complete assignments and especially essays! However, I loved this class so much because Professor McCay was so helpful in everything. I changed my major and even got help with French. I am very thankful for the guidance she has given me. As for Loyola in general it is pretty dull. I am actually thinking of transferring somewhere else. I am on the fence though because this school has nice teacher to student ratios and a friendly atmosphere. Occasionally parties and unreligious related events would be nice... You know?

I wish this class has a second course of something that made us do the same things we did in this one. I love this Class if it had a major I would probably switch to it. Oh! I did not mention Pearl but I’ll miss her too! I love you Pearl! :)

Allen, Jacqueline - Sweeney Todd

What you see here in Burton’s adaption of Sweeney Todd is no surprise if you have already seen majority of his movies. Burton like many directors and artists of film have their own signature and a way to make a film theirs and recongnizable to a person just by looking at one scene. Burton’s signature is his dark witty play on up to date social and econoic problems that are widely common in any place. Such as segregation and conformity but even more noticable; Death. Burton uses death as his main focus in many of his films, but none had shown the evil gory side of death that is accompainied by murder like Sweeney Todd did. Canniabalism is not  very common through any place, it is frowned upon. It is seen as unhumane, it is literally man eating man! That phrase “man eat man” is used when describing how one must do anything to survive in this world. It is every man for himself and may the odds be in your favor. In Sweeney Todd this is noted as Todd purposely kills people of high stature and feeds the unknowingly to the poor people of London. One might say by feeding the high statured people of London to the peaseants they may become or inherit the soul and being of that person. I would agree with that because people do say “you are what you eat”, however I feel no mercy for these oblivious customers who soon become dinner because London at this time in age was corrupt from the ground up. People of high power, such as Judge Turpin, abuse their power and screw up the lives of many people who really did nothing to deserve such treatment. But To answer how Burton overcomes the relvusion about canniablism and murderis easy. Burton makes murder a righteous act in order to help ones self. He makes canniablism an act of humor because it is funny how all of these people could eat human flesh and not see a difference in the taste to any other meat. Canniablism is also still an iffy subject for Todd and Lovett… You did not see them taste a pie right?  The mudering of all of the higher people of London is also a shock, it is surprising how Mrs. Lovett could be open and have a full house every night and no one wonder, “hmm, I havent seen the priest lately.”

Big Fish- Allen

Burton merges the dark characters of big fish with Edward Bloom by making Edward appeal to those dark characters in away most people would be afraid to. Edward bloom is accepting of all people and treats them with the same respect a person of the society accepted norm would receive. Those grotesque dark people like Edward because he makes himself equal to them. As seen in the scene with the giant, Edward reasons with the giant and makes him feel better about his size difference. Edward reasons with the giant because he sees him as his way out of ashton. Edward likes the giant because he can use him as a friend to take the long journey out into the world with. When it comes to why Edward like any of the grotesque characters in Big Fish it is because Edward always finds a way that they can help him succeed in life or he wishes to help them. Edward is not a normal person, he does not judge people or see them as a different race. He loves helping people. It is as if that is his true calling in life. One could say Ed was put on earth to go through life and help other people. Edward has a gift more people of the world should possess. Everyone is equal in his eyes, no one is ugly or different everyone brings the same thing to the table. 

Ed takes the same approach with the witch in the swamp. He greets her with a polite personality and requests to see her eye. From that little meeting the two form a friendship he was not even aware that would come up in his life later. That’s the special thing about the type of person Edward Bloom is, his kindness is offered to everyone and most of the time he is not even aware that that kindness will benefit him and be returned to him. A perfect example of this is when he helped the poet rob the bank but it was a bust, once the poet became rich he sent Edward a large sum of money just for giving him “financial advice”. Ed's life is the real meaning of what comes around goes around. What you put into life is what you get out of it.

Allen- Planet f the Apes

Passivity is defined as “not reacting visibly to something that might be expected to produce manifestations of an emotion r or feeling.” To have emotion or feeling one must possess some level of morality. When something has morality it is considered to be human…or in this cause primitive. This blog is tough to explain because the apes are the ruling power and they do not look for humans to be humanistic, but primitive. They look for civility in the humans in order to consider them equal to themselves. Majority of the apes do not want the humans to be equal so they bully and ridicule them display their superiority. Through the prejudice displayed towards them, humans must decide to accept the hardships bestowed on them or fight back. However it will do nothing but harm them if they decide to fight back because that would only support the ape’s opinion on humans. Why would the apes decide to live equal amongst wild beasts?

Burton challenges the formation of a better person through continuous conflict in this film. Cpt. Leo Davidson developed the most through this film I must say. From the beginning of the film he was a man who was hard on apes and pretty much a jerk however through the escalation of the film he transforms into a complete new person.  In the scene where he is first captured after landing Davidson is introduced to the severity of how frightening the way animals are captured can affect them. They are beaten , taunted and murdered all to be captured and sold off. This experience makes Davidson somewhat remorseful on the treatment of his apes. In the next scene where he is a servant he is Attacked by Thade. Thade handled him as a carless human would do to an unresponsive chimp.

Through the conflict Davidson faced a more open kinder character formed. He evolved into a person that realized how one acts today can affect the future In a severe way. With this film I believe that Burton wanted to paint a picture of how humans today mistreat any and every resource we have. This movie can relate to all types of harm we inflict but the biggest one it speaks to is slavery. Even through the apes humans have are not technically “slaves” they can still feel entrapped in the secluded environment we see as home. We should respect the separation of wild and domestic things and leave them as they are.

Allen- Sleepy HOLLOW

In Tim Burton's adaption of Washington Irving's "Sleepy Hollow" he incorporated the theme and characters of the story along with bits of minuscule information to match. Tim burton keeps the story line relatively the same with the exception of Icabods profession and how the headless horseman lost his head. He also gave the horseman a new identity, he was a murderous ghost that is summoned by a grduge possessed step mother. 

To me Burton is only truly using the names from Irving's story to help I hands the horror effect of his movie. Burton's loose adaption of the film barely related to the story. To begin Icabod was a school teacher who was unattractive and lived pillar to post amongst the village. In Burton's adaption Icabod was a constable who was well respected and attractive. Unlike the story Icabod was more of important role to society. He had purpose but just as all of Burton's main characters his past still haunts him. He was not religious he based his thoughts soley on science. He neglected witchcraft because it reminded him of his mother that was murdered by his father.

The romantic relationship that linked Katrina and Icabod was more serious as well. Katrina was more than just a girl who would be his meal ticket for the rest of his life he deeply cared for her and she did the same for him. She went as far as protecting Icabod from any harm that may come his way. Brom Bones was so insignificant in the film. You almost think. Brom Bones who? Anofher factor Burton inhanced was The Headless Horseman. He have him the persona of a carnage hungry soldier who lost his head by his own sword in defeat 

In my opinion Burton made the story so much more worth listening to. He have the story depth and action. By altering the genre and turning it into a murder mystery he opened the door for such a larger audience. In my opinion he helped Washington complete a work of art. 

Allen - Mars Attacks!

        “It’s not what you are, it’s what you appear to be.” Professor McCay said that in our previous class. That in it’s entirety is true. Appearance is what people care most about. The personal lives of celebrities and roles models of any sort are kept in a vault to which only they know the combination. It is sad to say but over very own government follows this charade as well. The government is only concerned about their image. 

          In the film this is expressed when the president and his cabinet are first presented with the news of the earth being surrounded by the fleet of martians. While discussing how to handle the situation the conversation pretty much revolves around which tactic would allow the government to appear to be in the best interest of the vast majority of the United States. The president babbles about what he’ll wear and what he’ll say, completely ignoring the seriousness and danger in approaching this invasion without the  maximum force and protection for the United States. In consequence of wanting to appear friendly and being the first to be in contact with the extraterrestrial life the general is annihilated. Burton exposes the governments’ tendency  to buy the media. 

          Burton also makes a mockery of the military and it’s population of spineless soldiers. The general receives  a phone call from his wife before meeting with the martians and he exclaims in joy about how his plan to stay quiet and obey orders would result in him getting power some day. People of the military are literally sworn to obey the orders they are given no if ands or buts about the situation. in my opinion joining the military is just like giving away your freedom of speech or any freedom for that matter. It’s similar to just re-enrolling yourself into grade school. You must follow strict instructions and only speak when spoken to. It is a never-ending cycle of cloning people. The military is full of people who move up rank by obeying the orders of others of higher rank. Those of the higher rank are following the orders of the government who are initially only doing what they do because of the public acceptance they wish to receive. As more privates move up rank  they evolve into what they once disagreed with. 

        Conformity basically rules the United States and Burton has no regret for exposing that. He openly criticizes the poor care the United States is in because of the government in hopes more people will realize what is happening and dare to be different. 

Ed Wood - Allen

Tim Burton pays homage to a man who is credited with being the "worlds worst director". Ed wood plays a man, himself actually, who has a hard time labeling his physically sexuality. Burton pays homage to Ed wood by creating a film that mimicked the style wood used during his days of creating films. Burton uses black and white coloring along with awkward scenes and camera angle distortion.   Cinematically speaking, Burton’s technique in Ed Wood echoes the American film style of the 1950s in camera angles and lighting.  One of the most noticeable directorial decisions in Ed Wood  is the dramatic camera angles.  Used in their traditional convention, during moments of powerlessness and instability, such as when Bela tells Ed he wants to end his life, Burton effectively uses low highlighting tension, distortion, and the power struggle. 

Burton also manages to pay homage to Wood by incorporations the intense respect and admiration he possessed for Bela Lugosi, an old actor who is seen as "washed up" by the film community. Burton understands the admiration Wood had for Lugosi because h shares that same relationship with Vincent Price. Just as Wood did Burton uses Vincent Proce along with his past works as inspiration to help him create the works he has released today. 

Allen - The Girl With Many Eyes

The girl with many eyes is a poem about a girl with . . . many eyes, as you may have already guessed. This poem differs from any of Burton’s other poems because he actually puts himself in the poem. He drew a man with black and white striped shirt which is greatly affiliated with Tim Burton and majority of his work.

            This poem relieves Burton’s anxiety about outsiderness and abandonment. It does this by giving the main character a true friend/acquaintance for once. Burton himself takes on befriending the girl without any intention to harm or misuse her. He began talking to her and learned more about her. Even though she was different the girl with many eyes participated in many activities. Burton as a child was an outcast and seen as someone different. Society has a major problem with accepting people for who they are so Burton never had someone who was willing to break from the conformity of society and do the things he does to the girl with many eyes.

            The archetypes displayed in this poem are more of Tim Burton himself seeking self-individuation. Burton set himself apart from everyone else who stayed away from the girl with many eyes. By doing this he expresses how he would’ve liked someone to have reached out to him when he was a child. He also looked for the anima in her. He stated that she was really quite pretty, which is out of the norm for a person who is different. People who are different are generally always considered ugly because of their physical appearance. Burton may have found beauty in her under lying characteristics.

 In way Burton could be seen as the hero archetype in the poem. He is there to comfort the girl with many eyes and comfort her. One could even think further past what given in the poem and assume that The Girl and Burton grow old together. This supports the idea of Burton being her hero in a way. Sometime in between them growing old together Burton Was there to wipe every one of her eyes to stop the endless flow of tears in every direction. Its happy, ya know?

Allen- A Surburbia full of "Hypebeast"

        The suburbia Edward lives in is full of people who can be considered as "Hype beast". A hype beast is a person who follows trends for the sole purpose of impressing others. They do this because they have no sense of self worth or identity.

         In modern life people do anything to feel safe and accepted. They fear the challenge of being an outcast. In this case the people of this broken suburbia want to feel involved and apart of society so they have to follow the unwritten rules, which are basically just doing as the majority does. This town is dirtier tan the eye can see. There is a nymphomaniac, an overweight nagging housewife, a religious freak and a group of unbusy gossips.

         Edward Scissorhands goes through the easy part of acceptance as he first arrives to the city he undergoes the easy version of acceptance because he is new and different from everyone else, everyone wants to know who the creepy looking guy is. However, after while he is rejected and must now go through the true steps of being accepted. Edward must now follow the unwritten rules and attempt to conform .

         After all of the nonsense Edward faced he is exiled. Edward is ok with this surprisingly, he no longer wishes to be apart of a society so identical. He realizes that he is better and things are easier if he just separates himself once again. Since Edward has been alone once before he does not take it too hard, he continues to make art. To sum it all up Edward was not accepted by the society of that suburbia because they did not understand what type of person he was.

Who Says a Woman Can't Wear the Pants?

 

Catwoman is a more complex character than Vicki Vale on many levels. For starters Catwoman has a more intimate relationship with Batman than she did. Catwoman is also more of a danger to Batman if treated the wrong way or given too much freedom. Even stating that she can do evil things when given too much freedom is sort of an understatement. Catwoman can be equally powerful as Batman because she has no fear and with the weaknesses she does possess she knows exactly when to use them. This can be seen in the first fighting scene Batman and Catwoman share together, when Batman takes his first powerful hit at her she plays weak and says, "How could you? I am a woman!" After feeling guilty and sorry for her he begins to apologize until she flips the script and nearly kills him before the tables are turned again. This shows how powerful Catwoman is compared to Vale. It also shows how dangerous she was when it came to Batman as well. Batman was essentially weak for her. He was split between deciding if he was attracted to her or wanted to stop her from committing any other crime to the city. Catwoman in a way was Batman’s kryptonite.

When it came to Selena Kyle who had a relationship with Bruce Wayne she was more of the person in control. When the two get into deep conversation Bruce is pretty much puzzled by what it is that makes Selena who she is. He has trouble answers simple questions and gets tongue tied. So in both relationships Catwoman/Selena has the upper hand over Bruce/Batman.

Catwoman and Vicki Vale differ because they reside on two different levels of society. Vicki Vale was a woman who was well respected and listened to, she was a prestige photographer. Catwoman, Selena, was an oppressed secretary for a panel of rich and powerful men who undermined her intelligence. When in fact she was smarter than majority of them, she figured out what Shreck was doing while they all sat in confusion. The motives of Selena and Vicki were far from similar as well. Vicki wanted to help the city of Gotham by exposing who Batman was, while Selena wanted to destroy Batman and the male dominance of Gotham city. Saying that Catwoman was a well achieved femme fatale goes without saying. It is clearly obvious. Catwoman uses the stereotype that women are weak, her seductive personality and intelligence to get her way. All her evil means justify the ends of her trying to get rid of the corrupt society. In other words, Well done Mr. Burton.

Allen - Femme Fa-mistake

In the film “Batman” Tim Burton shows the obvious use of the film noir techniques. He has ominous darkness, distorted views and femme fatales.

                All throughout the movie you can see the urban landscape of that time. Along with that modern architecture you see the exaggerated use of light and darkness. The light and dark areas in scenes can be used to get the audience to focus to a certain area in the scene; however it can also be used to identify the good characters versus the bad. A good example of this technique is shown when the family is mugged in the opening scene in the alley. The family is pointed out by the light while the thug is shadowed on the side of the wall. Showing the family’s innocence and the thugs evil intent. Along with his use of light and dark Burton also is able to portray the feeling of claustrophobia in the movie. He does this by over crowding the streets with chaos and mess. The sharp focus and wide angle gives the viewer unsettled feelings and makes them feel uncomfortable. Nothing is as it seems in other words.

                One concept of film noir I feel Burton undermined and could have done much better was the use of femme fatale. It is as though he aimed in the right direction but someone missed the target a bit. In the reading femme fatales are described as dangerous, seductive and sirens who’s every action was aimed at satisfying a desire for wealth and power. He gave us the glamorous control role of Vicki Vale but she was not the slight bit of evil. As she sat at the desk of Alexander Knox it made me anxious to find out if she was some type of evil woman villain, but she was just a regular woman who wanted a bit of fame but fell for the dashing guy. If you had to label her in this movie Vicki Vale was a Damsel in Distress.  At every mini climax she stumbled into Batman was there to save her. On the other hand the reading also describes femme fatales as women who were restored to their inferior roles as domesticated and see their error of competing with a man. This is sort of true to the story. After the death of the joker and the acceptance of Batman as Gotham’s Vigilante Super Hero, Vale gave up her career as a photographer to go live with Batman. She must now wait on Batman to do his duties and come home to her as most homemakers do, without the marriage.

Allen, Betelgeuse

I believe that Americans refuse to incorporate the reality of death into their lives clearly because they have been blinded by the world of perfection.  Hmm... Americans are superficial. We all want the "American dream", which I guess would basically just be large houses, with exquisite material belongings and money. People risk their lives, and leave everything behind to become American, and have their chance at living that dream. This idea is supported in the movie when Lydia shows a picture of the ghost in their house. Her step mom and dad both deny the fact that ghost inhabit their home because death is just not something humans choose not to think about. It isn’t until Otho shares the idea that they can make a lot of money from having a haunted house that they agree with Lydia and beg her to get them to show themselves to them. Thus moving forward into the American dream, making money and buying bigger and better things.

 I believe that in the film, “Beetlejuice” even that image is portrayed, but at a lesser standard. In the beginning of the movie the Maitland’s live in a grand house and own a hardware store, which proves to make them a healthy living. These things can be seen as the “American dream” of that time, considering things weren’t so luxurious as they are now, then. 

 In the film I believe it denied the fact of death due to the fact that everyone who was dead continuing living in some sense. It can be argued that they lived their everyday lives as they did before without the actually responsibility that comes with being physically alive. Everyone who was dead had a different role in their everyday....lives? If that’s what should be said. The Maitlands still live in their house and read books and worked on the model. It’s like they were still on vacation just longer than they expected to be. Juno, the Maitland’s caseworker had a busy annoying job like any living person. Death is denied when Lydia first sees the Maitland’s, if death were being accepted Lydia would just like her parents be unable to hear or see them. That goes into saying people only can see what they choose to see.

             Death doesn't have a place in the American dream. There's no way to acquire riches if we die. That's why we choose to ignore it, and pretend it can't happen to us. Death is the inevitable end, there is no out running it, or changing your appointed time. Death is an anathema in American culture because Americans with their “anything is possible!” attitudes never want to give up and admit defeat when the time has come.

Allen- Introduction

Today everyone has been writing about their first week here at Loyola, however I am only on my third day! I was actually at LSU for the past week because I thought that was where I wanted to further my education as a college student. Long story short, I was wrong.

I came here to Loyola on Tuesday, early Tuesday morning. I got all my stuff together and became an official wolf pack member… I guess that’s what you’d call it? Any who, So far I can Loyola is way better than LSU! I am so happy I made that change to come here. This campus is absolutely awesome, everything is close to each other and the atmosphere is friendly. I actually haven’t made any friends here yet but I hope they come as the year continues.

I do not live on campus sadly, I live at my home in new Orleans east. I feel bittersweet about that because for one, I have a room to myself and access to free food 24/7 on the other hand I wish I did live on campus because I do not think I’ll be making friends with that constant interaction with my fellow students. I would love love love to make some friends though so if you are reading HI! I’d love to go out and chill one day. 

 My major is Biology, I am studying  to become a forensic scientist. I also hope to one day own a funeral home. Creepy some may say but I find myself to not be much of a people person. Dead bodies interest me because who doesn’t want to dissect a human body? I guess the fascination came with my love of science and the dissections I got to perform while I was in high school. It’s literally a privilege to go through a human body and dissect organs or whatever you please. In my second class on Tuesday I heard a fellow student talk about how she’s enrolled in a forensic science course, I plan to look into that soon.

So far this week at Loyola I have came to understand how much I love my nike tennis shoes. They are so comfortable even though I do not  have very long distances to walk. I have a load of homework with NO books. Unbelievable right? I’ll find a way. Being in college and being in my hometown may be a problem, I like to go out at night. It’s like my body is allergic to sunlight and having fun. So I will have to find a way to balance my enjoyment of night life and school work if I plan to succeed at such a prestigious university.