Halloween Questions

1) Comment on the camera angles used in the film. What impact does the camera angle have on your reception of the film?

Many of the camera angles used in the film gives you the point of view that Michael Myers has. The first scene in the movie does this exact thing, when Michael walks up his stairs to stab his sister, and eventually kill her. I felt like the camera angles give the movie even a larger feeling of suspense and spookiness. Many of the most important scenes in the film are shot from the perception of Michael Myers, and this gives the viewer a better understanding of Michael.


2) It seems that Michael takes on the role of the voyeur (person secretly watching others). How does this impact your reception of his character? Describe a scene in which this voyeurism occurs and comment on it.

Anytime a character in a movie is a voyeur I automatically think the character is creepy, and capable of bad things. It does give Michael Myers more depth as a character because you know the man isn’t just randomly killing anyone, he stalks his prey and then eventually kills. The scene where Michael is in Laurie’s backyard while Laurie is on the phone was a scene where Michael’s voyeurism is brightly shinning. I felt like when Laurie saw Michael she should have acted upon the fact that a masked man has been stalking her the entire day. Laurie’s inability to do this results in the death of three of her friends.

3) Many things that Michael does are blamed on "kids" in the film, such as stealing the gravestone, breaking into the hardware store, etc. Why do you think that is?

The main reason that many of these illegal acts are blamed on kids is simply because kids are capable of doing such things. I thought that Sheriff Brackett showed a lot of ignorance when Dr. Loomis confronted him at the hardware store. The ignorance that Sheriff Brackett showed eventually results in the demise of his own daughter. The blaming of these things on the kids of the town also provides a little bit of foreshadowing. It gives the viewer a feeling of assurance that no adults in the film are going to get killed by Michael, only the kids of the town. The assumption that the kids stole the gravestone and broke into the hardware store also provides a symbol for the things the kids are doing, that isn’t wholesome or right.

4) How would you describe Michael Myers as a child and as an adult? Who does he choose as his victims? Why do you think he chooses them? How or with what tools does Michal choose to kill his victims? Why?

Michael Myers as a child is just as unhinged, as he is when he is an adult. Michael never say’s a word throughout the entire movie, so it’s hard to say if he has any compassion or any emotion at all towards his victims. He hides behind his mask the whole movie, except for a split second when it is taken from his head. Michael always chooses teenagers as his victims, and each teenager he kills is sexually active. Even though the viewer isn’t assured his sister has sex before being killed, it is assumed that she did. He chooses sexually active teenagers because he likes to see the pain that they endure at his hand because he never got to have the life that his victims had. In my opinion Michaels killings were partly because he was jealous of the things that his victims were capable of doing. Of course, this doesn’t explain the first killing of his sister, but it can be a good explanation for the last three victims. Michael either kills his victims with a knife or strangles them to death. He uses the knife because he used one to kill his sister. He wants to carry out his murders the same way, if possible, that he did when he killed his sister. I felt like when he used the telephone wire to strangle one of his victims, he did it to show the dependency that the kids in the film have on social interactions over the telephone.

Halloween

I'm not going to lie, it was an awesome break to watch Halloween in class today. I don't think I've seen the movie in at least five years, and I've never critically thought about it. After watching the film I started to think that if you abstain sexually and you're involved in a horror film situation, you'll stay alive. It seem's that current horror films glorify sex, where as Halloween is a film example of sexual abstinence being a wonderful and life saving thing. I really enjoyed the movie even though I'm not really big into horror films. The camera work as well as the dialogue made the film seem like it was an independent film. Jamie Lee Curtis' acting was a bit over the top at times, but not nearly as bad as some actors in modern day horror films. Now I just need to think about what movie I want to watch today or tomorrow and then write about on Thursday.

Ghost World

1) What happens in the graphic narrative? What feelings does the piece evoke? What is the purpose of this piece? Who is the intended audience? What is the tone?

In Ghost World, two girls, about twenty years old, exchange stories and talk about things that had happened prior to their conversation. There isn’t really a solid plotline; the plot consists of the girl’s everyday experiences. The piece evokes a feeling of conformity and normalcy. The purpose of the piece is to describe the everyday experiences of two very close friends. The intended audience is most likely teenage girls. I felt the tone was very bland and normal.

2) How does the black, white, and blue coloring impact your perception of the narrative? Why does the author/artist choose to use a blue wash instead of just using black and white only? What feelings does the color blue evoke?

The black, white and blue color impacts my perception on the piece by adding a third and equally bland color. The shade of blue that the artist uses evokes no real emotion for me. I feel like the shade of blue could be switched with the color grey, and the piece would evoke the same emotion and feeling. If anything I think that shade of blue gives the piece a very normal feeling, like the piece needs to conform to a set of guidelines.

Bonnaroo Lineup

Ok, so the Bonnaroo lineup just came out today. For those of you who don't know what bonnaroo is, it's pretty much the best music festival ever. This years lineup is stacked with great bands, from alternative music to hip hop. Now, the only question is how the hell will I be able to get work off for an entire week to travel down to Tennessee and have a ton of fun for a week. A couple of my favorite bands are playing, The Black Keys, Widespread Panic, My Morning Jacket, Arcade Fire and STS9. There is no way I'm going to miss this festival. Two of my friends already have a plan for the week, we already know who's driving and what route were taking, now all of us just have to find a way to get work off for an entire week.

Howl, By Allen Ginsberg

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked,
dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix,
angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night,
who poverty and tatters and hollow-eyed and high sat up smoking in the supernatural darkness of cold-water flats floating across the tops of cities contemplating jazz,

-First four lines of Howl, By Allen Ginsberg

Q1- Where is this poem taking place?
- You can tell that the setting for the first part of Allen Ginsberg's Howl is in some sort of city. You can easily tell that this poem takes place in a city because he mentions negro streets, which at the time could mean a place like Harlem, New York. It is also obvious it is a city setting because he mentions floating over the tops of cities.
Q2- What is the point of the first part of Howl?
- This part of the poem has to do with people that Ginsberg knew, that were destroyed by drugs. " starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix,".
Q3- What sort of art could possibly go with this poem?
- I feel like an oil painting would be the best artistic medium to go with this poem. A painting depicting a certain ghostly like frame of a man with the backdrop of a big, bustling city would be perfect for this poem.

Spring Break

Words can't describe how excited I am to not have class for an entire week (spring break). I'm already sick of school and there's still a long way to go. Even though I have absolutely nothing planned over spring break, I'm still excited to sit on my butt and do nothing. I should look for a job for the summer, but that can be saved for when I actually get home for summer. I'm debating on whether I should go up north with a buddy of mine or just stay home. I really don't care for going up north and doing the same things there I can do at home. The only hope I have for my week off is to not get too sick/annoyed of my parents right away. Off to take a test. YES!