Newsworld

Q: Are there any prominent symbols in this story? What are they, and how are they used?
A: I feel like the most prominent piece of symbolism is this story is Newsworld itself. Newsworld was a symbol for a major piece of anyone’s childhood, that feeling of growing up, and not knowing where you’re headed in life. It represents that piece of your childhood that was so important to you when you were younger.


Q: What connections did you make with the story?
A: We’ve all had that feeling of seeing something nostalgic and wishing we could go back to a time where we enjoyed it so thoroughly. Like the kids in this story I think we’ve all tried at one point in our lives to revisit something nostalgic that made us happy as kids and it just doesn’t deliver the same satisfaction we wish it did. The kids in this story experience that feeling when exploring Newsworld at night and seeing the exhibits they have so many stories about, off and empty.


Q: What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium? What medium would you use?
A: If I were to take this story and turn it into a film I would try and keep the experiences as vague as possible while still maintaining visually stimulating images on screen. I’d like to make the main character’s experiences relatively ambiguous for the sake of an audience being able to relate to the feelings of nostalgia. I’d add a little more about the fact that the kids are getting ready to apply for colleges and go their separate ways because that was a difficult.

 

Rushmore Comic Page

Analyzation of Wes Anderson Films

I am absolutely in love with Wes Anderson. I had heard a lot about him being in film school but this project gave me a reason to watch some of his films. He has such a unique style not only in terms of visuals but in his characters and storytelling techniques. His use of quirky characters and one-point perspective has such a warm and pleasant feel that makes his films so fun to watch. I watched Moonrise Kingdom, Grand Budapest Hotel and a short film by him called Castello Cavalcanti. Each of these films shared similar the feeling of warm colors, interesting characters and a tremendous understanding of framing and the importance of compositional balance.

            First of all, I really enjoyed how he, like many other directors, has favorite actors to work with like: Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray.  When directors do that it establishes almost a family-like bond between the actors and director and that’s a very pleasant thing to know while watching the film. It’s like when I was in high school making movies with my buddies; I wouldn’t try and reach out to fin d the best possible actors to convey deep, emotional characters I had written. I’d write goofy scripts with my friends already in mind already knowing who would play whom. I still prefer doing that to this day which is another reason I really connected with Wes Anderson on a directorial level. Another thing that was frighteningly similar between the two of us was our use of one-point perspective in our movies. His is obviously more refined and exaggerated but used just the same. Ever since I saw Napoleon Dynamite I loved that style. It is such a great way to express awkwardness or even how lonely, or perfect a character may feel. You can express so much with this one angle and it all just depends on how you balance your frame.

            I think that the term Auteur can definitely be applied to Wes Anderson’s films. Not only does he actually write his own movies, but his artist influences are so apparent as style choices that it is hard to imagine the movies being remade by any other director. I did a bit of research to see if I could find out where this style came Wes Anderson studied theatre production in school which is where that exaggerated symmetry and balance comes from. Before reading that I describe Wes’ style as the “dollhouse point of view” because the way the camera is placed and movies throughout the scene reminds me of looking at a cut away of a dollhouse. I watched scenes from Life Aquatic and he takes a cross section of the submarine so you can see all the different characters doing their own thing in different rooms. Wes also took a lot of influence from the French filmmakers. Style choices like the yellow font; his music choices and framing are all reminiscent of French films from the 70s/French new wave.

BENEDICK SPACE CAPTAIN (Act II, Scene 3 Benedick talks about not falling in love)

The Dewbreaker

Like I said in class, I found that the writer of this book did a really good job of walking the line between creating a character that was and was not relatable. In some sense I found myself becoming more engaged with the story because of this. I didn't end up liking it because I completely relate, or putting it down because it's the exact opposite. Instead, I was more engaged, walking this tightrope, actively trying to figure out the main character. 
          I was quite engaged at the very beginning of the story when it seemed like the focus of the story would be on the disappearance of her father. That's also when I found it to be the easiest to relate to Ka. I was disappointed when that mystery so quickly solved itself and was forgotten and took a completely new turn and became more about the relationship between father and daughter. I also felt that the story lacked proper closure, regardless of whether or not it was a section of a bigger story there should have been a little bit more conflict so that ending up where there did felt better. I am close with my father so I found it hard to empathize with Ka and her almost annoyance with her Dad having feelings, and then not getting upset for him throwing the sculpture into the water. On the other hand, I have had my falling outs with my dad so in that sense I can understand the fight.