The depiction of children in children’s literature is so different from their depiction in adult literature. In children’s literature the stories always have some sort of whimsical element. The novels and movies that we have studied this semester really showcase that whimsicality. I believe that this element is necessary because to keep children interested having that sort of magic is important. I think that the real question is what are these novels / movies trying to say about childhood. Is it innocence, insecurity, escape from a dreary reality, a need for adventure, or is it the way children learn life lessons? The answer is that children are depicted in each way mentioned above and secondly every novel or movie focuses on one or more of these questions and answers it.
Children are innocent beings because they have no real life experience meaning the literature that they read or the movies that they see prepare them for real life. All the children we have read about during this semester have been innocent but through their experiences have learned something therefore they leave some of that childhood innocence behind. Think about the children who have gone through portals and entered new worlds. These children have learned how to adapt and have learned what’s so nice and comforting about reality. They also learn to get rid of their insecurities or learn that everyone has these insecurities and that they are not unusual but just human nature. The idea of children needing to escape a dreary reality is for those children who feel sad or unhappy. These children can then sit down with a book and escape and as for the children within the novels they usually head or are forced into the alternate reality to escape from their boring lives. Perfect examples of that are The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, Coraline, Alice, and Harry Potter. Each one of these characters escaped the real world. I also think that when you are a child there are necessary things that must be done; one of those things is adventure and exploring. In many cases children love to go outside and explore and have an adventure. I think that that the exploration aspect is one of the many purposes of children’s literature because it teaches these children to go outside and play ball etc. Lastly one very important part about children’s lit is the fact that there is a lesson incorporated into the story. It now seems as though it is a requirement for those who write children’s literature. Wanting children to walk away learning something makes sense because children are learning about everything when they are young, trying to teach adults a lesson is useless because they would have already learned it or experienced it. There are several ways that these themes play out and because it’s aimed toward children the fairy tale take/option is very popular.
More specifically children are depicted through this fairytale lens. This meaning that the story follows the fairytale format and that directly correlates to the depiction of children in the novel. The fairytale format consists of a protagonist that has everything until something goes wrong enter an antagonist several events occur and then the climax followed by a resolution leaving the characters to all live happily ever after. Most critics and I see the error in this format. This format is usually unrealistic but to children that element doesn’t matter. The depiction of children is similar throughout the children’s literature genre because all the same questions are being answered and commented on leading to a streamlined account of everything.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Group Presentation Reflection
Group Presentation Reflection
Our group Sinead, Angela, Kevin, Brian, and Jason were in charge of the presentation of Diana Wynne Jones’s novel Howl’s Moving Castle and the film adaptation of Howl’s Moving Castle by Hayao Miyazaki. Before this class I had never heard of either the book or the movie, and when I first started reading I thought “what did I get myself into”, I was a little confused. As I read further and did some research on the novel, I began to really enjoy the book and was excited that our group had chosen this instead of some of the literature and films I was familiar with.
The job that I was tasked with for the project was discussing the ‘portal’ part of the novel and the characters. We as a group decided that to help make our presentation about the novel/movie really clear we thought it necessary to cover every character. The characters can get confusing fast because of all the identity changes. From that point I was able to just focus on the four main characters Sophie Hatter, Wizard Howl, Calcifer and The Witch of the Waste. I thought that it would be helpful to introduce the characters to the class by book and then by movie. This way the differences between the original and adaptation would be apparent. In addition I wanted to have a little fun so I thought that including a fun question like, “Did anyone want to marry Howl?” was a good idea.
Furthermore regarding the rest of the process our group came to realize that time had been creeping up on us and that it was time to start thinking about our presentation and meeting up. During class we got an email conversation started and then decided to meet out of class and watch the movie together. We met then and watched the movie and started our preliminary outline for the presentation and assigned roles. After that we decided to get our research done so that we could meet again and put together a power point presentation and figure out the slide order. At the next meeting, all group members were present therefore, we had to reconfigure the jobs so that everyone had a job to do. Once that was done we figured out which clips of the movie we wanted to show to the class and then discussed themes, the heavy depiction of war, and deciding on all of the other things that would be important in our presentation. After that meeting we were supposed to send our slides to Angela (Our Tech Queen) and she would put them all together in one power point and make it look aesthetically pleasing, which she did. Thanks Angela it was awesome!
On our presentation day we were all ready and prepared and we decided to meet before class just to make sure that we were completely prepared for our presentation. As far as our presentation goes I think we did well. The order of our slides was carefully thought out so that the class could easily follow our presentation, I also think that we added funny anecdotes and presented insightful ideas and concepts. We did go a little over the time but I really enjoyed the end when we had a class discussion and got hear from others their ideas and opinions on the book and movie. From what I saw I believe the class was interested in what we were saying and found our presentation to be informative and interesting. I really enjoyed getting to know some of my classmates a lot better; this was a valuable learning experience for me.
Our group Sinead, Angela, Kevin, Brian, and Jason were in charge of the presentation of Diana Wynne Jones’s novel Howl’s Moving Castle and the film adaptation of Howl’s Moving Castle by Hayao Miyazaki. Before this class I had never heard of either the book or the movie, and when I first started reading I thought “what did I get myself into”, I was a little confused. As I read further and did some research on the novel, I began to really enjoy the book and was excited that our group had chosen this instead of some of the literature and films I was familiar with.
The job that I was tasked with for the project was discussing the ‘portal’ part of the novel and the characters. We as a group decided that to help make our presentation about the novel/movie really clear we thought it necessary to cover every character. The characters can get confusing fast because of all the identity changes. From that point I was able to just focus on the four main characters Sophie Hatter, Wizard Howl, Calcifer and The Witch of the Waste. I thought that it would be helpful to introduce the characters to the class by book and then by movie. This way the differences between the original and adaptation would be apparent. In addition I wanted to have a little fun so I thought that including a fun question like, “Did anyone want to marry Howl?” was a good idea.
Furthermore regarding the rest of the process our group came to realize that time had been creeping up on us and that it was time to start thinking about our presentation and meeting up. During class we got an email conversation started and then decided to meet out of class and watch the movie together. We met then and watched the movie and started our preliminary outline for the presentation and assigned roles. After that we decided to get our research done so that we could meet again and put together a power point presentation and figure out the slide order. At the next meeting, all group members were present therefore, we had to reconfigure the jobs so that everyone had a job to do. Once that was done we figured out which clips of the movie we wanted to show to the class and then discussed themes, the heavy depiction of war, and deciding on all of the other things that would be important in our presentation. After that meeting we were supposed to send our slides to Angela (Our Tech Queen) and she would put them all together in one power point and make it look aesthetically pleasing, which she did. Thanks Angela it was awesome!
On our presentation day we were all ready and prepared and we decided to meet before class just to make sure that we were completely prepared for our presentation. As far as our presentation goes I think we did well. The order of our slides was carefully thought out so that the class could easily follow our presentation, I also think that we added funny anecdotes and presented insightful ideas and concepts. We did go a little over the time but I really enjoyed the end when we had a class discussion and got hear from others their ideas and opinions on the book and movie. From what I saw I believe the class was interested in what we were saying and found our presentation to be informative and interesting. I really enjoyed getting to know some of my classmates a lot better; this was a valuable learning experience for me.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Rough Draft Revised (this is the RD I brought to class)
Sinead Coleman
Professor Hatfield
English 312
27 April 2011
Rough Draft: Critical Essay
One of the various characteristics of children’s literature is the incorporation of a lesson. “Be careful what you wish for…” the ominous tagline from the movie version of Coraline. This tagline is part of the novel’s lesson that is forced upon the young reader. The same tagline could be used for those reading or watching Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. By integrating these lessons into children’s literature are we expecting children to grow up faster? The lesson that is incorporated into children’s literature raises issues, for the reason that children are expected to learn said lesson and apply it? In the novel Coraline by Neil Gaiman and Lewis Carroll’s novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland a lesson is taught, causing the reader to grow up and leave childhood behind.
The protagonist Coraline Jones is very similar to Alice the protagonist of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Both leading characters are strong female individuals both on the precipice of leaving childhood behind and entering the adult world, the two characters are pushed right over the threshold into adulthood by their experiences in the portal world. These characters are similar because they enter into a parallel world. Coraline enters a seemingly perfect world populated by all the people she knows and loves. Alice on the other hand travels down the Rabbit hole into Wonderland, a fantastical world filled with nonsensical creatures and characters. The reason that the characters are forced into adulthood is through their experiences in the fantasy world.
Coraline and Alice are alike because they have similar personalities and traits, and they are both looking for something more. Coraline like Alice is an explorer; she is intelligent, courageous, resourceful, and curious. Coraline and Alice are logical ladies but out of the two, Alice is the more logical girl. Alice is from the Victorian era and she has all the virtues that instilled in children, plus she is educated and she looks at her environment consists of clear, rational, and consistent rules and features. The logical side can be seen in both characters when they are talking to themselves, or talking to others.
The reason that Coraline and Alice travel into these parallel universes is because they are in search of something more and they are just plain bored. The protagonists are lead by other creatures into their prospective “other” worlds through fate and destiny. Coraline is bored at once because she has moved into a new house where all her neighbors are boring and her parents won’t spend time entertaining her. Coraline felt alone and had no human companions in this new house and its surroundings. Alice was bored too even though the reader is told that she has an older sister. She lives her life being a careful dainty girl. All Alice wanted was a little adventure and some freedom. Coraline is helped along towards the path to the other world by cat, mouse, and her silly neighbors. Coraline felt no disregard and deliberately disobeyed all those who had warned her about what was beyond the little door. Curiosity took over and Coraline traveled through the door into the parallel universe. Once in the portal she discovers that the portal led to an exact copy of her house. All the tenants were the same but they were all puppet like with buttons for eyes. This world is exciting and scary and Coraline had to explore this new world. Alice is led from the riverbank and her sister into a rabbit hole. She fell into the rabbit hole because while at the riverbank she sees a White Rabbit in a waistcoat that is checking a pocket watch. Alice is so curious and logical that she ran off in search of answers like where is the rabbit going, what is the rabbits name and why is the rabbit late? Destiny and fate are to blame because those were the driving force behind the girl’s disappearance into the alternate reality. Without the external push from the characters each girl might not have made it into the world and the story and lesson would be nonexistent.
While in the portal world each girl is confronted with issues that only adults deal with. These events are the catalyst that causes the jump from childhood to adulthood. The fact of the matter is that both girls encounter challenges and they learn and realize exactly what they want, and what is attainable in the real world. Coraline is confronted by the seemingly perfect world filled with parents who interact with her constantly, her toys have become more amusing and life that seems ideal. Alice enters into her seemingly ideal world because it is filled with new and interesting things unlike the real world where things are boring and logical. Both leads have to figure out how to deal with the elements that the portal world sends them. This type of adapting to the elements and not giving into the trickery is what sends them out of childhood because they can no longer be dependent they are forced to grow up and solve their own problems. Coraline has to realize that she doesn’t want this world that is being offered to her. Alice has to realize that she too doesn’t like this land called Wonderland. Both characters realize that they are happy enough in the real world and that they want to return to the real world and get out of the portal/ fantasy world.
The two similar characters are the children who are stuck in the portal world because they gave into the temptation of the Beldam and the Cheshire cat. Both of these characters relay information to the main character and protagonist. The children and the cat are helpful but they never take action they only just provide advice. Both characters heed the advice given by the children and the Cheshire cat. The children provide Coraline with insight into what the plan is of the Beldam and that she must leave. The Cheshire cat explains to Alice that Wonderland is a place filled with nonsensical creatures and that she is too logical and that is why she is the mad character and the other characters are not mad.. The cat points out that Alice’s behavior and burning curiosity set her apart from the other creatures in Wonderland.
*How they have learned from lesson and have completely grown up.
*Conclusion
PS even further revision will be posted shortly
Professor Hatfield
English 312
27 April 2011
Rough Draft: Critical Essay
One of the various characteristics of children’s literature is the incorporation of a lesson. “Be careful what you wish for…” the ominous tagline from the movie version of Coraline. This tagline is part of the novel’s lesson that is forced upon the young reader. The same tagline could be used for those reading or watching Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. By integrating these lessons into children’s literature are we expecting children to grow up faster? The lesson that is incorporated into children’s literature raises issues, for the reason that children are expected to learn said lesson and apply it? In the novel Coraline by Neil Gaiman and Lewis Carroll’s novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland a lesson is taught, causing the reader to grow up and leave childhood behind.
The protagonist Coraline Jones is very similar to Alice the protagonist of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Both leading characters are strong female individuals both on the precipice of leaving childhood behind and entering the adult world, the two characters are pushed right over the threshold into adulthood by their experiences in the portal world. These characters are similar because they enter into a parallel world. Coraline enters a seemingly perfect world populated by all the people she knows and loves. Alice on the other hand travels down the Rabbit hole into Wonderland, a fantastical world filled with nonsensical creatures and characters. The reason that the characters are forced into adulthood is through their experiences in the fantasy world.
Coraline and Alice are alike because they have similar personalities and traits, and they are both looking for something more. Coraline like Alice is an explorer; she is intelligent, courageous, resourceful, and curious. Coraline and Alice are logical ladies but out of the two, Alice is the more logical girl. Alice is from the Victorian era and she has all the virtues that instilled in children, plus she is educated and she looks at her environment consists of clear, rational, and consistent rules and features. The logical side can be seen in both characters when they are talking to themselves, or talking to others.
The reason that Coraline and Alice travel into these parallel universes is because they are in search of something more and they are just plain bored. The protagonists are lead by other creatures into their prospective “other” worlds through fate and destiny. Coraline is bored at once because she has moved into a new house where all her neighbors are boring and her parents won’t spend time entertaining her. Coraline felt alone and had no human companions in this new house and its surroundings. Alice was bored too even though the reader is told that she has an older sister. She lives her life being a careful dainty girl. All Alice wanted was a little adventure and some freedom. Coraline is helped along towards the path to the other world by cat, mouse, and her silly neighbors. Coraline felt no disregard and deliberately disobeyed all those who had warned her about what was beyond the little door. Curiosity took over and Coraline traveled through the door into the parallel universe. Once in the portal she discovers that the portal led to an exact copy of her house. All the tenants were the same but they were all puppet like with buttons for eyes. This world is exciting and scary and Coraline had to explore this new world. Alice is led from the riverbank and her sister into a rabbit hole. She fell into the rabbit hole because while at the riverbank she sees a White Rabbit in a waistcoat that is checking a pocket watch. Alice is so curious and logical that she ran off in search of answers like where is the rabbit going, what is the rabbits name and why is the rabbit late? Destiny and fate are to blame because those were the driving force behind the girl’s disappearance into the alternate reality. Without the external push from the characters each girl might not have made it into the world and the story and lesson would be nonexistent.
While in the portal world each girl is confronted with issues that only adults deal with. These events are the catalyst that causes the jump from childhood to adulthood. The fact of the matter is that both girls encounter challenges and they learn and realize exactly what they want, and what is attainable in the real world. Coraline is confronted by the seemingly perfect world filled with parents who interact with her constantly, her toys have become more amusing and life that seems ideal. Alice enters into her seemingly ideal world because it is filled with new and interesting things unlike the real world where things are boring and logical. Both leads have to figure out how to deal with the elements that the portal world sends them. This type of adapting to the elements and not giving into the trickery is what sends them out of childhood because they can no longer be dependent they are forced to grow up and solve their own problems. Coraline has to realize that she doesn’t want this world that is being offered to her. Alice has to realize that she too doesn’t like this land called Wonderland. Both characters realize that they are happy enough in the real world and that they want to return to the real world and get out of the portal/ fantasy world.
The two similar characters are the children who are stuck in the portal world because they gave into the temptation of the Beldam and the Cheshire cat. Both of these characters relay information to the main character and protagonist. The children and the cat are helpful but they never take action they only just provide advice. Both characters heed the advice given by the children and the Cheshire cat. The children provide Coraline with insight into what the plan is of the Beldam and that she must leave. The Cheshire cat explains to Alice that Wonderland is a place filled with nonsensical creatures and that she is too logical and that is why she is the mad character and the other characters are not mad.. The cat points out that Alice’s behavior and burning curiosity set her apart from the other creatures in Wonderland.
*How they have learned from lesson and have completely grown up.
*Conclusion
PS even further revision will be posted shortly
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Working Rough Draft
A Very Rough Draft of Essay
I am not sure of where I want to take this essay but here is a hint of where my thoughts are at…
There is only one way to describe children’s literature as whole and that is whimsical. The whimsical element is something that is necessary to include into every child’s book. The books that our class has read and studied this semester are especially good examples. Each book has a portal in which the characters enter, and once inside the new world that the portal opened up the most fantastical things happen. Is the reason why these elements are built-in is because without them would the mind of a child still be capable of understanding or be entertained by the story? I’m not quite sure of the correct answer but when I think of adult literature I don’t see the stories containing such whimsical and capricious elements. I know that a story has the potential to be an escape from reality. One of the most interesting gifts that literature offers is the transition into a fictional world, where the reader is taken into history or the future or even a made up world. The idea of being able to escape into a fictional world for a couple of hours is fabulous and could be just what the doctor ordered.
Creating that fictional world is the hardest task especially when it comes to children’s literature. The translation of an idea into a story for such a specific audience is tough. When the main audience is children the author is expected to focus on the mind of a child as a reference point therefore, there are several things that need to be studied. For example one of the aspects would be the character archetypes of the protagonists and antagonists. Another important task is to study the difference between the male and female characters and how their actions and emotions represent what a child should be doing, feeling or learning etc.
Are the children supposed to take these parable -like lessons that can be learned from these stories and then incorporate them into their own lives? What exactly is the point of children’s literature?
Please Note: I am going to add and revise shortly.
I am not sure of where I want to take this essay but here is a hint of where my thoughts are at…
There is only one way to describe children’s literature as whole and that is whimsical. The whimsical element is something that is necessary to include into every child’s book. The books that our class has read and studied this semester are especially good examples. Each book has a portal in which the characters enter, and once inside the new world that the portal opened up the most fantastical things happen. Is the reason why these elements are built-in is because without them would the mind of a child still be capable of understanding or be entertained by the story? I’m not quite sure of the correct answer but when I think of adult literature I don’t see the stories containing such whimsical and capricious elements. I know that a story has the potential to be an escape from reality. One of the most interesting gifts that literature offers is the transition into a fictional world, where the reader is taken into history or the future or even a made up world. The idea of being able to escape into a fictional world for a couple of hours is fabulous and could be just what the doctor ordered.
Creating that fictional world is the hardest task especially when it comes to children’s literature. The translation of an idea into a story for such a specific audience is tough. When the main audience is children the author is expected to focus on the mind of a child as a reference point therefore, there are several things that need to be studied. For example one of the aspects would be the character archetypes of the protagonists and antagonists. Another important task is to study the difference between the male and female characters and how their actions and emotions represent what a child should be doing, feeling or learning etc.
Are the children supposed to take these parable -like lessons that can be learned from these stories and then incorporate them into their own lives? What exactly is the point of children’s literature?
Please Note: I am going to add and revise shortly.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Disney Alice VS Svankmajer Alice
Alice VS Alice
Alice is such a well known character, why? I believe the reason is because she has been around for quite some time and the stories have been adapted and then adapted again into several different mediums like movies, video games, dolls and toys etc. Most Disney movies are now considered children’s classics and they are seen by many children hence the characters are often introduced to a new generation again and again. The Disney movie “Alice in Wonderland” was made in 1951 and is very different from another movie adaptation “Alice” created by director Svankmajer in 1988. The only similarity between these two adaptations is that they are based on the famous novels of Lewis Carroll.
The Disney version is very child friendly. “Alice in Wonderland” has all the classic elements of a children’s fairytale, meaning its vibrant color scheme, the dancing, the singing, the silly characters, and it’s animated. The Svankmajer version of “Alice” is dark and the setting is dirty and grubby. There are no happy elements for example there is no singing or background music it’s just Alice talking, the characters are robot like, hardly moving and not speaking, nothing in this movie is inviting it is scary and unnerving. Each of these movies has strong points, the Disney version is kid friendly and leaves you with a happy feeling and the Svankmajer version is not kid friendly it’s meant to be I think a statement piece. The characters scenes and motions are repetitive and they are meant to grate on your nerves and freak you out. Svankmajer wanted to focus on the dark and serious elements of the story and skip the wonderment and joy. Svankmajer picked up on the darker side of Carroll’s story and Disney focused on the lighter and happier side of Carroll’s story.
In class a lot of time was spent analyzing the tea party scenes. First the Disney version of the tea party scene is silly and colorful. The characters, the Mad Hatter and the Hare are singing about un-birthdays, asking Alice riddles, and everything at the table is moving. The characters in the Disney version have smooth movements and the characters in Svankmajer film are very robot-like, they don’t talk and there is no sound it’s just the same thing over and over. While watching the film I thought to myself how many more times could they repeat the loop of motions? The motions being the Hare’s eye falls out, the Hatter drinks his tea, and they move around the table to the next seat over and the rabbit rolls over to the next seat over and the rabbit rolls over to the next chair always going around the long way, then whenever his eye comes loose he just pulls the string and tightens it just to have it come loose again, and I really dislike when the animal (ferret?) would slither on to the table and lick clean the dirty teacups…gross! I couldn’t believe that Alice just stood in the doorway and watched, I would have been out of there quick! Both movies have a scene towards the end of the tea party where the rabbit appears with his watch and the Hare and Hatter attempt to fix it while actually breaking it. In the Disney version the White Rabbit just seems flustered and then upset and then runs off, while in the Svankmajer version the White Rabbit is livid and on the way out wipes the butter on his hands off on Alice’s socks. The biggest difference between the two movies is the characters and their personalities.
As far as Alice goes she couldn’t be more different in each movie. In Disney’s she is smart and level headed because she questions things. Plus she is emotional happy, sad, scared, homesick et cetera throughout the movie. In the Svankmajer film she is very docile, she talks for the characters and the camera does a close up of her mouth, but other than that she is very unemotional. Another noticeable thing about her disposition is that she doesn’t ever get very involved in a scene she is more of an observant presence, she is somewhat curious just like the Disney Alice. The visual interpretation of her character is very different in each film, in the Disney film she is very clean and is wearing a blue dress with a white pinafore and in the other film she is wearing a pink dress and she is dirty and her hair looks un-brushed. There is also a distinct age difference in the characters for instance the Disney Alice looks older and the Svankmajer Alice look way younger. I think that the difference in the clothing and age is the fact that one movie is focusing on the whimsical and the other is focusing on the sinister elements of the story. I also believe that each director focused on specific parts of Alice’s character that was described in the book and that is why the characters are similar and dissimilar.
Overall Disney’s version isn’t as faithful as Svankmajer’s, for example it focused on both of Carroll’s wonderland books where as Svankmajer just focused on the first book. Svankmajer kept the pig pepper scene and Disney did not. On the other hand Svankmajer did add the character in the tea party scene that would clean out the cups and Disney did not. As for their similar qualities Disney and Svankmajer both got rid of the wine.
These movies are truly adaptations because they are making a statement about the original meaning the book. The directors and screenwriters pick and choose the different parts of the book(s) that they want to include and then translate them into film. Each movie includes new elements and they also take out elements and even take parts and storylines from both books. By doing this each film is different. In general Disney focused on both books and portrayed the fun and lighter side of the books and Svankmajer focused only on one book and then portrayed the grim and darker side of the books. Each movie has something very special to offer its audience.
Alice is such a well known character, why? I believe the reason is because she has been around for quite some time and the stories have been adapted and then adapted again into several different mediums like movies, video games, dolls and toys etc. Most Disney movies are now considered children’s classics and they are seen by many children hence the characters are often introduced to a new generation again and again. The Disney movie “Alice in Wonderland” was made in 1951 and is very different from another movie adaptation “Alice” created by director Svankmajer in 1988. The only similarity between these two adaptations is that they are based on the famous novels of Lewis Carroll.
The Disney version is very child friendly. “Alice in Wonderland” has all the classic elements of a children’s fairytale, meaning its vibrant color scheme, the dancing, the singing, the silly characters, and it’s animated. The Svankmajer version of “Alice” is dark and the setting is dirty and grubby. There are no happy elements for example there is no singing or background music it’s just Alice talking, the characters are robot like, hardly moving and not speaking, nothing in this movie is inviting it is scary and unnerving. Each of these movies has strong points, the Disney version is kid friendly and leaves you with a happy feeling and the Svankmajer version is not kid friendly it’s meant to be I think a statement piece. The characters scenes and motions are repetitive and they are meant to grate on your nerves and freak you out. Svankmajer wanted to focus on the dark and serious elements of the story and skip the wonderment and joy. Svankmajer picked up on the darker side of Carroll’s story and Disney focused on the lighter and happier side of Carroll’s story.
In class a lot of time was spent analyzing the tea party scenes. First the Disney version of the tea party scene is silly and colorful. The characters, the Mad Hatter and the Hare are singing about un-birthdays, asking Alice riddles, and everything at the table is moving. The characters in the Disney version have smooth movements and the characters in Svankmajer film are very robot-like, they don’t talk and there is no sound it’s just the same thing over and over. While watching the film I thought to myself how many more times could they repeat the loop of motions? The motions being the Hare’s eye falls out, the Hatter drinks his tea, and they move around the table to the next seat over and the rabbit rolls over to the next seat over and the rabbit rolls over to the next chair always going around the long way, then whenever his eye comes loose he just pulls the string and tightens it just to have it come loose again, and I really dislike when the animal (ferret?) would slither on to the table and lick clean the dirty teacups…gross! I couldn’t believe that Alice just stood in the doorway and watched, I would have been out of there quick! Both movies have a scene towards the end of the tea party where the rabbit appears with his watch and the Hare and Hatter attempt to fix it while actually breaking it. In the Disney version the White Rabbit just seems flustered and then upset and then runs off, while in the Svankmajer version the White Rabbit is livid and on the way out wipes the butter on his hands off on Alice’s socks. The biggest difference between the two movies is the characters and their personalities.
As far as Alice goes she couldn’t be more different in each movie. In Disney’s she is smart and level headed because she questions things. Plus she is emotional happy, sad, scared, homesick et cetera throughout the movie. In the Svankmajer film she is very docile, she talks for the characters and the camera does a close up of her mouth, but other than that she is very unemotional. Another noticeable thing about her disposition is that she doesn’t ever get very involved in a scene she is more of an observant presence, she is somewhat curious just like the Disney Alice. The visual interpretation of her character is very different in each film, in the Disney film she is very clean and is wearing a blue dress with a white pinafore and in the other film she is wearing a pink dress and she is dirty and her hair looks un-brushed. There is also a distinct age difference in the characters for instance the Disney Alice looks older and the Svankmajer Alice look way younger. I think that the difference in the clothing and age is the fact that one movie is focusing on the whimsical and the other is focusing on the sinister elements of the story. I also believe that each director focused on specific parts of Alice’s character that was described in the book and that is why the characters are similar and dissimilar.
Overall Disney’s version isn’t as faithful as Svankmajer’s, for example it focused on both of Carroll’s wonderland books where as Svankmajer just focused on the first book. Svankmajer kept the pig pepper scene and Disney did not. On the other hand Svankmajer did add the character in the tea party scene that would clean out the cups and Disney did not. As for their similar qualities Disney and Svankmajer both got rid of the wine.
These movies are truly adaptations because they are making a statement about the original meaning the book. The directors and screenwriters pick and choose the different parts of the book(s) that they want to include and then translate them into film. Each movie includes new elements and they also take out elements and even take parts and storylines from both books. By doing this each film is different. In general Disney focused on both books and portrayed the fun and lighter side of the books and Svankmajer focused only on one book and then portrayed the grim and darker side of the books. Each movie has something very special to offer its audience.
Movie Review: Better Late Than Never
Movie Review and Analysis of She’s The Man
Source and Review: http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060316/REVIEWS/60314005
I have been a fan of She’s the Man (2006) because it’s just a silly heartwarming film that lets you escape into the characters world. The movie follows Viola who plays soccer on the girl’s team at Cornwall Prep but when her team was cut at school she decides she wants to join the boys’ team. The boy’s team won’t allow that because they think she isn’t good enough plus she’s a GIRL. Viola then takes matters into her own hands and goes to her twin brother’s school Illyria Prep, while he is in London performing with his band, to play soccer. She heads to the rival school while impersonating her brother so that she can make the team and prove to the other people that she is good enough to play with the boys. While at the school there are loads of hysterical mishaps and funny characters that draw the audience in.
For the reason that I was already a fan of the movie I began to notice while our class was reading Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” that the whole plot from the movie came from this play. In Roger Ebert’s review of the movie he picks up on the similarity between the plotlines. I can tell from Ebert’s review that he is very familiar with Shakespeare’s play because he points out the several parts where they are the same. First he notes the lead female characters similar situation where both of the female leads brothers are gone which allows them to impersonate a male character. Viola’s (Amanda Bynes) brother Sebastian is in London performing with his band while in Shakespeare’s play, Viola’s fears that her brother is lost or has perished at sea. For the reason that the brothers are missing in action the real fun begins and the trouble ensues. Another connection between the two is the names for instance Viola and Sebastian are twins in both with the same names as in the play, when Viola is impersonating a male her name is Cesario and that is the name of the popular pizza parlor, and lastly the Duke of Illyria named Orsino is in the movie as just Duke Orsino and the name of the country Illyria is the name of the school. One of the funny things about this movie and the play were the “interlocking romantic triangles” that arise. The most hilarious being that Olivia is in love with Viola, who she thinks is a man ( Cesario or Sebastian) and Duke is in love with Olivia, and Viola is really in love with Duke, so the whole situation is just comedic. Of course in the end of the movie and the play the characters end up with the right person.
Although the movie is not remotely realistic it is enjoyable. One of the reasons that it is unrealistic is the characters are too old to be in high school Tatum who plays duke was 26 years old at the time. Another notable point is that Bynes isn’t convincing as a boy but then again that is half the humor, seeing her get out of awkward situations like shirts and skins game at practice, getting hit in the crotch and not being in pain, or showering etc. it’s all in good humor. In conclusion Ebert’s review was honest and fair and gave the reader a reliable and knowledgeable perspective regarding the movie.
Source and Review: http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060316/REVIEWS/60314005
I have been a fan of She’s the Man (2006) because it’s just a silly heartwarming film that lets you escape into the characters world. The movie follows Viola who plays soccer on the girl’s team at Cornwall Prep but when her team was cut at school she decides she wants to join the boys’ team. The boy’s team won’t allow that because they think she isn’t good enough plus she’s a GIRL. Viola then takes matters into her own hands and goes to her twin brother’s school Illyria Prep, while he is in London performing with his band, to play soccer. She heads to the rival school while impersonating her brother so that she can make the team and prove to the other people that she is good enough to play with the boys. While at the school there are loads of hysterical mishaps and funny characters that draw the audience in.
For the reason that I was already a fan of the movie I began to notice while our class was reading Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” that the whole plot from the movie came from this play. In Roger Ebert’s review of the movie he picks up on the similarity between the plotlines. I can tell from Ebert’s review that he is very familiar with Shakespeare’s play because he points out the several parts where they are the same. First he notes the lead female characters similar situation where both of the female leads brothers are gone which allows them to impersonate a male character. Viola’s (Amanda Bynes) brother Sebastian is in London performing with his band while in Shakespeare’s play, Viola’s fears that her brother is lost or has perished at sea. For the reason that the brothers are missing in action the real fun begins and the trouble ensues. Another connection between the two is the names for instance Viola and Sebastian are twins in both with the same names as in the play, when Viola is impersonating a male her name is Cesario and that is the name of the popular pizza parlor, and lastly the Duke of Illyria named Orsino is in the movie as just Duke Orsino and the name of the country Illyria is the name of the school. One of the funny things about this movie and the play were the “interlocking romantic triangles” that arise. The most hilarious being that Olivia is in love with Viola, who she thinks is a man ( Cesario or Sebastian) and Duke is in love with Olivia, and Viola is really in love with Duke, so the whole situation is just comedic. Of course in the end of the movie and the play the characters end up with the right person.
Although the movie is not remotely realistic it is enjoyable. One of the reasons that it is unrealistic is the characters are too old to be in high school Tatum who plays duke was 26 years old at the time. Another notable point is that Bynes isn’t convincing as a boy but then again that is half the humor, seeing her get out of awkward situations like shirts and skins game at practice, getting hit in the crotch and not being in pain, or showering etc. it’s all in good humor. In conclusion Ebert’s review was honest and fair and gave the reader a reliable and knowledgeable perspective regarding the movie.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Breakfast at Tiffany’s is quite famous and has been adapted into several different mediums. The novella was first published in 1958 entitled Breakfast at Tiffany’s a short novel and three stories by Truman Capote. Then in 1961 the novel was famously adapted into the popular movie starring Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly and George Peppard as Paul Varjak and directed by Blake Edwards. Due to the success of the movie and the enchanting characters the various adaptations started a musical version premiered in 1966 in Boston but it was canceled after only four performances. Then only three years later ABC created a sitcom that never took off. Lastly the novel was adapted into a play for a production in 2009 at a London theater. This novel has been taken and changed several times to adapt to the different mediums. The only thing staying indefinitely the same was the name of the characters and the title of the novel. Throughout the different adaptations whole characters have been left out and time periods changed and the end.
To focus mainly on the first adaption from book to film there were several changes that made a big difference. The first notable change was the time period in which the story takes place. The time period in the novel was the forties and then in the movie the time period was the present meaning the sixties. I know that this change might not seem that important but it is. The importance of the time period is what makes the characters actions believable. I wonder why the people felt that the time period needed to be changed.
Another difference between the two was the nature of the Holly’s sexual relationships with the various men. Holly in the novella has slept and lived with several different men. The book also insinuates that Holly was pregnant due to her relationship with Jose a Brazilian diplomat. The movie however leaves all this information out of the movie. Then the movie explains that Paul is kept by an older married woman, and this was completely created for the movie. This type of character creation and the leaving out of these important details is one of the reasons why the movie is so different from the book. Although the time period and the relations of the characters was changed that wasn’t the biggest change that was made.
The biggest change that was made was the ending. The ending of the book has Holly do a one eighty and go against her nature. Instead of a remembrance of Holly, the narrator ends up convincing Holly to stay in New York with him by making her realize that, like her and her cat, they belong to each other. This totally changed the theme of the story. In the book, Holly is always traveling-searching for a place to belong, a place she never finds. In the book Holly lets her cat go and she leaves leaving Paul the narrator to wonder if she ever finds what she’s looking for. This change really angered Capote he felt that Paramount had butchered his story. I can completely understand why Capote was upset; they took the ending and finished with the typical ideal ‘Hollywood’ ending. Due to the ending that the movie has the whole theme and tone of the movie changed drastically and it makes you wonder if the movie would have been better with the actual ending that Capote had written.
Not to completely bash the movie there were several parts of the movie that were word for word and beautifully adapted. Yes, the story was changed to fit a movie format and the movie going audience but as a whole the film in my opinion translated some of the material from the book elegantly and accurately and lastly some of the scenes are perfect. The only way to truly judge a movie and book is to judge them separately.
To focus mainly on the first adaption from book to film there were several changes that made a big difference. The first notable change was the time period in which the story takes place. The time period in the novel was the forties and then in the movie the time period was the present meaning the sixties. I know that this change might not seem that important but it is. The importance of the time period is what makes the characters actions believable. I wonder why the people felt that the time period needed to be changed.
Another difference between the two was the nature of the Holly’s sexual relationships with the various men. Holly in the novella has slept and lived with several different men. The book also insinuates that Holly was pregnant due to her relationship with Jose a Brazilian diplomat. The movie however leaves all this information out of the movie. Then the movie explains that Paul is kept by an older married woman, and this was completely created for the movie. This type of character creation and the leaving out of these important details is one of the reasons why the movie is so different from the book. Although the time period and the relations of the characters was changed that wasn’t the biggest change that was made.
The biggest change that was made was the ending. The ending of the book has Holly do a one eighty and go against her nature. Instead of a remembrance of Holly, the narrator ends up convincing Holly to stay in New York with him by making her realize that, like her and her cat, they belong to each other. This totally changed the theme of the story. In the book, Holly is always traveling-searching for a place to belong, a place she never finds. In the book Holly lets her cat go and she leaves leaving Paul the narrator to wonder if she ever finds what she’s looking for. This change really angered Capote he felt that Paramount had butchered his story. I can completely understand why Capote was upset; they took the ending and finished with the typical ideal ‘Hollywood’ ending. Due to the ending that the movie has the whole theme and tone of the movie changed drastically and it makes you wonder if the movie would have been better with the actual ending that Capote had written.
Not to completely bash the movie there were several parts of the movie that were word for word and beautifully adapted. Yes, the story was changed to fit a movie format and the movie going audience but as a whole the film in my opinion translated some of the material from the book elegantly and accurately and lastly some of the scenes are perfect. The only way to truly judge a movie and book is to judge them separately.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
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