Intro to Film Blog

 This week we focused on wrapping up the course and the materials we learned over the semester, while also reflecting back and seeing what we would want to be changed or what aspects we enjoyed. I think my favorite screen was actually Pan's Labyrinth. I think that del Torro did an amazing job with this film, especially including the costuming for all of the mythical creatures.  I definitely discovered that I prefer watching films with a group rather than individually. I know that some people in the class said they disliked it because other people would distract them more than just watching independently, however, I think it is the opposite for me as I found myself to be much more attentive to the films we covered when they were screened as a class.  I personally think that next semester for a Wes Anderson film that The Grand Budapest Hotel would be a very fun film to watch because of how fast-paced it is compared to the Life Aquatic. I am also a very big fan of old comedy...

  The Social Dilemma is a documentary created to show how social media is designed and tell people that it is designed specifically with addiction in mind. The documentary explains that this is all done by the companies to manipulate peoples views, emotions, and behaviors all while maximizing their profit.  I found this very interesting overall, escpecailly when the documentary dove deeper into the technology and artifical intelligence that makes apps like this possible. In specific, the interviews with software developers caught my attention as I am in my senior year of electrical engineering and there is a very strong influnece of coding in my major. This is certainly a heavy topic to acknowledge, especially if you have been able to stay unaware of just how much information about you is out there. It brings up the overall question of how do we reduce the dependance of these technologies that are doing nothing but selling off our information to the highest bidder. Unfortunetl...

I have never actually watched Jaws before, and because this was my first time watching the film I was fully captured by the story. I typically find it hard to become 100% invested in movies, and not get distracted but it was easy to only focus on the screen when watching Jaws. Overall, I think that this was an amazing movie and I wish that I had seen it before now.  In terms of the reputation of Jaws, it is iconic for its take on attack scenes, putting the audience in the place of the predator. During any of the attacks, we see the build-up to the events as if we were the killer shark. This type of shot adds a whole new level, and it is just one of the many things that elevated this film to reach its legendary, blockbuster status.  I also really enjoyed how no matter how much pushback from the mayor and others, Brody and Hooper did not want to stop until they were certain that the waters were safe for everybody to enjoy. This especially can be seen when they are on the boat wi...

Personally, while I agree that the film was very well done and the actors did a good job truly capturing the awkwardness and uncomfortableness of life, I was not a fan of the film. I think that Me and You and Everyone We Know very effectively shows the different types of relationships that people can develop, good and bad, as well as how they are developed, and how they grow either digitally (behind a chat screen) or through analog communication (posters in the window).  In specific, the relationship between the two girls and the man is very uncomfortable to think about and even more so to view. He is well aware of the fact that they are underage and that is why in the end he never physically does anything with them, however, things verbally said, or written in his case, still hold an intention. It is almost a fetishization of being with two young, young girls and being able to put faces and bodies to his fantasy. 

I think all of the groups did a great job with their projects, and whether you could see it on the screen or after, during the Q&A, it seemed like all of the other groups had a really good experience creating their films or trailers as well. One of my favorite films was the first one we watched, Merner Mystery. I think that the group did a great job of telling the story without any speaking parts. It was really impressive what every group was able to create with little to no budget at all.  I could tell that many groups took into account the things we have learned through the semester, either from the Moving Pictures book or from one of the many films that we watched over the course. For example, some groups were very creative with their shots and used written word and emotions to tell the story instead of relying on dialouge from the actors.  Overall, I am really glad that the fascination project became a group project instead of just an individual film presentaion. I thi...