Everyone needs a sidekick

Natalie Abraham

MDIA 1020

EVERYONE NEEDS A SIDEKICK

My sidekick’s name is Sphinxette. She does not speak except to me, she is only loyal to me. Sphinxette knows wherever I am and if I am alive, dead, or in danger. Her powers include strength, telepathy, and the ability to fly (reason why she wears 3 belts on her abdomen) she is also a very skilled sword fighter and she never misses with the thigh packed guns. She is my constant protector through life and although the myths say sphinx are benevolent and violent, Sphinxette will only kill if the time is needed. Like Batman, we do not kill if at all possible. We will not become monsters.  

Up, Up and Away

Natalie Abraham

MDIA 1020

UP, UP AND AWAY?

11.     Batman: he does not have a primary power but battles evil with his strength and cool gadgets that he always has.

22.     Superman: most definitely is his primary power is strength… even though the fact that he can fly is pretty sweet.

33.     Wonder Woman: I think her primary power is the Lasso of truth

44.     The Incredible Hulk: obviously he has strength

55.     Iron Man: uhhh… genuius billionaire playboy philanthropist

66.     The Thing: also strong

77.     Mr. Fantastic: primary power= elasticity

88.     Flash: also obvious, super speed

99.     Wolverine: his primary power would be his healing ability, not the tallons

110. Storm: although her primary power is the ability to create natural disasters I feel like a hurricane or tsunami is the most effective.

If I could choose one superpower it would be the ability to breathe under water because I have always wanted to explore the ocean ever since I first watched Disney’s The Little Mermaid. If I had to choose between invisibility or the ability to fly I would choose the ability to fly because I want to be able to not have to drive places. I find getting in and out of cars inconvenient, I would never have to worry about losing my car or my car keys if I could fly. However, the difficulty of flying would be that when it is snowing, raining, or just in general cold then I would not want to fly at all.

Did you hear that film? Apocalypse Now

Natalie Abraham

MDIA 1400

            The film that I chose to watch was Apocalypse Now. From the very beginning the use of sound told the story of Captain Willard and his mission (IMDB.com). Most of the sounds were of war and wild life. There was a non-stop buzzing of helicopters, and when asked in an interview (salon.com) Walter Murch said “It was something that came up long before the film ever got made. There was a lot of discussion because what made Vietnam different and unique, was that is a helicopter war.” The sounds were ever present and used in a way that made me feel captured within the mission because it was such a dynamic sound experience. As battle scenes took place sound effects were implemented in order to emphasize the events taking place. The music for this film was mostly within the rock genre and gave the film a very masculine and rebellious tone, which is understandable due to the fact that it is about war. As the mission becomes a part of the story and Captain Willard heads into the jungle, sounds of the wild life are more frequent and used to scare the audience in certain scenes. When any character speaks their voice is clear and strong. The sound of their voices made me feel weak and terrified of what will happen to Captain Willard on his mission. As I listened all I could think of was terror. I was only watching the movie, so how could I ever expect to understand what veterans went through as they lived the horror. In the playboy bunny scene it is clear that the helicopter is coming towards the post and slowly opens up to the surrounds of the headphones so we can feel the full impact. An example of a diegetic sound would be the soft party music playing when Willard goes to learn of his mission at the hut. The music presents the characters just as relaxed as the sound being played. A big difference between watching and listening was amount of fear I had. I had more fear as I watched because I could see what the sounds were trying to make me understand, and as for listening I was less scared because it was just mainly helicopter sounds and some deep and meaningful rock music. The story lies in both aspects of sound and picture, these two texts are a team that can make the audience feel a certain way. The sound works with our emotions by the pitch and tone (Media and the Creative Process). And as the sound is toying with our emotions the pictures are dragging our attention left and right with special techniques. Walter Murch describes Apocalypse Now as “ a grand opera with blood flying all over the place and decapitated heads rolling down the aisle” (moviescope.com). With the help of hearing all of these voices, sounds effects, and music the theme of this movie would be the horror of war and its damaging psychological consequence.

Script vs Film: Princess Bride

Natalie Abraham

MDIA 1020

Script vs. Film: The Princess Bride

            From the very beginning there are only minor details that differ between the script and the film of 1987. As the movie opens all we see is a baseball video game with a few coughs from an off-screen sick child. The script describes the coughing more frequently than the film displays but even with the amount of coughs from the young boy the audience can tell he has a cold. There is not much reason to over exaggerate a cold, most people understand what a few coughs indicate. Once The Kid’s Mother comes into the room to check up on him she only kisses his forehead as she checks how his fever is doing. However, the script wanted the Mother to fluff pillows but there would be no point to that actin because throughout the whole movie The Kid never uses his pillows because he sits up while intrigued with the story from Grandfather. As the camera pans around the room we see plenty of posters and action figures that characterize the boy as an athlete or just someone who is very playful. As originally written the walls are grey and monochromatic with some liveliness brought in by The Kid’s decorations. Since the Grandfather has arrived both script and film go hand in hand until we get to the scene between the characters of Inigo and Westley (dressed as the Man In Black). This is the first time the two heroes meet and as Inigo swears on his father’s name that Westley will reach the top, he does not raise his hand high with blazing eyes. This may be a minimal change from the written story but as the movie continues Westley reaches the top of the Cliffs Of Insanity and sits on the closest rock near him instead of the giant one that still has left over rope wrapped around its base. A big difference between the script and film is as Inigo decides to tell the story of his father’s death and ask if Westley has six fingers on his right hand, Westley does show the camera and Inigo that he only has five his character never shows the normality within the script. This difference is interesting because we have to wonder that if the movie followed this detail would the audience never see his hand and then wonder if the Man In Black was also the six-fingered man. Another difference between the film and script is that during Inigo’s story he does not tell the audience of the theater that he was specifically scared by the special six-fingered sword that he now possess. As we move further into the whole work, Humperdinck is catching up to where Buttercup is within her route of capture. He is given a GREAT WHITE HORSE by William Goldman but in exchange Christopher Sarandon is given a dark brown horse to parade around on. One explanation for this change could be that the audience needed to take Humperdinck as a serious, powerful, and intelligent man instead of a pompous palace boy that is chasing his bride to be around the countryside. Towards the end there has not been differences between these two texts for quite some time until Westley returns for Buttercup. Goldman describes that as Buttercup makes the heart felt and memorial lines of her love bond with Westley, Humperdinck pulls her into her room by her hair. Although that would be a powerful presence brought by the prince, he strictly grabs her right arm and moves her down the hall with his strength. As the script has less words left to be and the film time is running out Buttercup is in the honeymoon suite after the wedding ceremony about to commit suicide. But as she pull the box holding the dagger we see that it is an old and plain wooden one unlike the jeweled one that contains a very deadly looking dagger. Most of the changes between the two texts are minor and that is because sometimes a movie cannot provide the emotions a book can, and sometimes a book cannot provide the visuals a movie can.