I have some reviews which I would like to share with you lovely readers!
Labyrinth (1986) Directed by: Jim Henson Starring: David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly
This is probably one of my favourite movies of all time. I love the fantasy genre and Labyrinth is no exception. The plot is simple: 15 year old Sarah (Connelly) is fed up of having to look after her baby brother Toby, while her father and his new wife go out almost every single weekend. Life is just not fair for her. But that's all about to change, when she wishes away Toby to the Goblin King Jareth (Bowie). It is implied that Jareth is in love with Sarah and he sets her a challenge - she has to make her way through the labyrinth in order to find Toby. But, there's a catch - she only has 13 hours to do it and the labyrinth is a lot more complicated than Sarah thinks.
Although ridiculously cheesy in some parts, Labyrinth has moments of tension and adventure. David Bowie croons his way along with songs written especially for the film. Of course children all over the world are scarred for life when they see that Bowie's pants are a little bit too tight (watch the film and you'll see it, it's hard not to). The film was panned by critics when it was first released, which is surprising as three great creatives worked behind it: David Bowie, George Lucas and Jim Henson, the creator of The Muppets. However throughout the years Labyrinth has become a classic and is one to add to your DVD collection.
Pushing Daisies (2007-2009) Created by: Bryan Fuller Starring: Lee Pace, Anna Friel, Kristin Chenoweth, Chi McBride, Ellen Greene, Swoosie Kurtz, Jim Dale
This was one of my favourite TV shows as a teenager and still is one of my favourites. It was one which was cancelled too soon, Pushing Daisies was pulled from the air only after 22 episodes. The plot: A young man called Ned is a pie maker and runs a restaurant called appropriately "The Pie Hole." However, Ned has a special power. He can bring the dead back to life by just one touch. Like most things however there is a catch, bring someone back to life for more than a minute and something else has to die in its place. Things get complicated when Ned's childhood sweetheart, Charlotte 'Chuck' Charles is murdered. Ned finds Chuck in a morgue and brings her back to life, however he cannot bear to lose her again. So instead someone else dies in Chuck's place. With Ned's talent, him, Chuck, Olive (Chenoweth) a waitress who works at the Pie Hole and Emerson Cod (McBride) , a private investigator solve murders, which are set within a whimsical suburban world. The show is also narrated by Jim Dale, who explains every event in the series and when recalling a murder story often starts with the line "The facts were these..."
Pushing Daisies never really got a proper ending and the finale episode 'Kerplunk' was severely rushed (probably due to the 2008 Writer's Guild of America Strike). However, Fuller has said in interviews that their may be a follow up to the series, in the form of a movie or a Broadway musical/theatre show. We will just have to watch this space.
Monday night I was just settling down to sleep, but not before I had one last look at my Facebook news feed. I had no idea what was coming next....
A friend posted on his wall that he was putting his phone down to go to bed and the notification pinged in. That notification was that the actor and comedian Robin Williams was found dead in his home in Tiburon, California. He had hanged himself.
Normally when a celebrity dies I generally don't get affected. It's not that I have a heart of stone, I'm quite the opposite, very sensitive. This time it was different. I had hoped that the Facebook post was a hoax, so I checked the BBC News App, in my opinion if it's on the BBC it's official.
I went through to the living room to break the news to my sister and turned on the television. Sure enough on the BBC News channel, the news was coming through just right there and then. There it was in bold, red writing: ROBIN WILLIAMS DEAD AT 63. I then told my mum and at first she didn't believe me, but she checked her iPad and of course there it was. Robin Williams was gone.
I just couldn't comprehend how such a talented actor could be gone so soon. As kids, my sister and I loved watching Robin Williams especially in Mrs Doubtfire, where he proved that he could be anyone he wanted to be through his impersonations. Many actors can either be funny or be serious, with no in between. Robin Williams could make you laugh one minute, then cry the next. His switch between his comedic and serious acting was impeccable. He was the actor and still is the actor which no one dislikes. It's devastating to have lost perhaps one of the best actors and comedians in Hollywood. It goes to show that fame and money isn't everything and even those who are so incredibly gifted still suffer. They are human after all.
I don't want to go into too much about depression, but there are people out there right now who are suffering from it and have no one to talk to. It must be awful with all these thoughts bottled up inside and feeling like you have no one to talk to. Suicide seems like an easy option, as Robin Williams had said in an earlier interview: "Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem." Believe me, it is not the only option. Your life is too precious to throw away, no matter what problems you're facing. If you're going through depression and anxiety right now, talk to someone. It may help save your life. For Robin Williams, it was too late. However, we shall remember him for the wonderful roles he played in film and television throughout the years. It's not goodbye, it's "Genie, you're free."
This day was probably the most important day of my life. I
wore a white dress, had a train (of sorts), and was sitting in a gorgeous
theatre while organ music was playing, waiting to walk down the “aisle.”
Before you say
anything, no, it was not my wedding day – I have not yet found my future
husband (or rather he hasn’t found me) and besides I still have a career to
establish and a big, bright, beautiful world to explore.
It was my graduation day!
My family and I got up early and headed off into Aberdeen,
where I would check in at His Majesty’s Theatre (where the ceremony was held)
at 9.30, ready for it to start at 10.30. I made my way to my seat and caught up
with some of my classmates, when all of a sudden my cousin came to greet me.
After taking a few serious and silly photos, she made her way to her seat in
the balcony and I returned to my seat in the stalls. The ceremony started and
after a few speeches and someone being given an honorary degree it was our
turn.
This was the important moment. It was our time to shine. We
were shuffled backstage, ensuring that our hoods were on right and they weren’t
falling off our shoulders. Nerves were running high, with students wondering
whether they will trip and fall flat on their faces or worse take a tumble down
the stairs.
We were directed by university staff where to go and when to
go. For those of you who have seen The
Hunger Games I felt like Katniss Everdeen waiting to go on to the stage
before her television interview. Pretty nervous and knowing that every second
counts when making a good impression. However in a flash, I was being capped by
the Principal, shaking his hand, then collecting my scroll and officially
becoming Miss Rachel Summers, BA (Hons) Media.
Once the ceremony was over, the rest of the day was spent
taking photographs, being told by my dad that I had to ‘smile’ and not grimace,
when all the time I was smiling! It got annoying though after a while, but the
photos came out really well. I went to the Forum bar and had my first glass of
Prosecco, boy is that stuff good, but it fairly goes to your head! A quick
lunch and selfie opportunity in Costa, I was soon on my way again to get
professional photographs taken, then a few photographs taken with the lion statue
outside the Cowdray Hall. I had a few hours left before I had to hand my robes
back, so we went to the Art Gallery, which was also to show my cousin who hasn’t
been to Aberdeen a lot before.
I felt like a Hogwarts Professor going around the Art
Gallery in my robes and that elicited a few stares from people. Well, they know
that it’s graduation week, I am not used to getting so much attention and can
be very self conscious about how I look. Never mind though, I felt great in my
robes and my mortar board. I looked around the gallery, finding an interesting
painting of the crucifixion set in the ravines of Macedonia and an exhibition
of Aberdeen soldiers in World War I, with some interesting artefacts such as a
songbook called ‘Songs from the Trenches’ and a WWI nurses’ uniform.
After much gallivanting and with a quick drink at Triple
Kirks, my cousin had to drive the three hour journey back home to the central
belt, I thanked her for coming and being a part of my special day. It was at
that point that I had to return my robes sadly and then we headed over to
Goulash, a Hungarian restaurant to have our meal. It was absolutely delicious,
but in modern terms I think I’m carrying a Hungarian food baby!
If I could start
Wednesday all over again, then I would do it in a heartbeat. Below are some
photographs of the special day.
And some photos from the Graduation Ball which was held the next night:
Me with my Comm with PR pals: Jodie, Hannah and Lisa
Me and Dyan - one of the first people I spoke to when I re-started fourth year. She has since become a really good friend.
Me and Jodie - another really good friend from uni.
Before going out to the ball. Picture taken in my back garden :P
Just realised I didn't take a picture of the shoes I wore to the ball. Here is a photo of them from the good old Internet:
Graduation dress: Lipsy @ ASOS Ballet pumps: H&M Ball dress: Coast @ Debenhams Glitter heels: Debut from Debenhams
Netflix is great, as I can watch new films which I probably wouldn't buy on DVD and are not available on YouTube. However, one film I would buy on DVD is Whip It. I saw an advert on TV for it when it was released in cinemas, but never got round to seeing it. Now I have seen it, I know what I was missing.
Whip It is the directorial debut of Drew Barrymore. In the film, Ellen Page plays Bliss Cavender a 17-year-old girl who lives in a small town in Texas and is forced by her mother (played by Marcia Gay Harden) to enter beauty pageants, have good prospects, find a good husband and have the opportunities which she never had herself. Bliss wants to get out of her small town and out of The Oink Joint, the restaurant that she works in.
Her opportunity arises when she sees some girls on roller skates come into a shopping mall and they leave leaflets advertising the Texas Roller Derby. Bliss, curious goes with her best friend Pash to see what it's all about. She goes and is taken in by the sport, however there's a problem: over 21's only. Bliss lies about her age, much to her friend's horror and lies to her parents saying she's taking an extra SAT class at a school, while participating in the roller derby.
Roller derby is a contact sport, which is played by two teams of five members roller skating in the same direction around a track. Someone is assigned to be a "jammer" who scores points by lapping members of the opposing team. Whoever wins the most points, wins the game. It is known that roller derby is played approximately 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, nearly half of them outside the US. (According to Wikipedia). The film's title comes from the 'whip it' move, in which one player grabs their teammate's arm and throws (whips) them across the track, in turn the player flies past the opposing team and scores four points for their team. It can be a great Team players call themselves derby names, which sometimes reflects on their personality and the aim of the game. Bliss's derby name is Babe Ruthless, I looked up what mine would be and it came up with Rhubarb Rhumble. At first I wasn't sure, but I actually like it now. Don't know how good I would be on roller skates though!
Whip It is a very enjoyable film which stars Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden, Drew Barrymore, Kristen Wiig and US talk show host Jimmy Fallon. Whip It shows that if you keep persevering, you will succeed. Other important messages within the film show that winning is not everything, as long as it's something you love doing and girls, do not get taken in by a man if he doesn't treat you right (a.k.a cheats on you). If you're a fan of indie films or just any film about sports, then I would definitely recommend Whip It.
Whip It is available to buy on DVD and also available on Netflix.
She felt alone, lost, abandoned
in this dark world. Every day she would walk the streets trying to catch a
glimmer of hope. What hope was there for her? She could not return home. He
would be there, trying to sell her off to men twice her age. What could he see
in that anyway? What had he hoped to gain from it?
The girl pulled her tattered,
ragged coat round her thin bony shoulders. The night was bitterly cold; the
streets were illuminated with neon billboards enticing people to come into the
den of illicit affairs. Men were cat calling and wolf whistling at her,
thinking their sounds would catch this rather attractive female like she was a
prized possession. A possession which once used could be thrown away.
She fled down the streets, away
from the district, away from these disgusting men, away from home. The girl
came across a street in which people left their washing to dry on a line high
above the ground and jazz music oozed from every apartment window. However it
was not the jazz music which attracted the girl to the street. In the middle of
the street was a beautiful, grand building, the windows adorned with stained
glass. She walked closer to the building, the light illuminating the stained
glass windows. Her brows furrowed when she saw the picture on the window, why
would this beautiful building have a picture of a young man being horrendously
tortured on a wooden cross? Just as she was about to walk away, an old man came
out of the building. He had seen the girl looking in through the window. From
her appearance, he gathered that she was involved in the sex trade. From his
appearance, she gathered that he was a religious man of some sort. However, the
old man knew it was wrong to judge the girl so he invited her in. When he
realised how thin and frail she looked, he immediately fetched her warm coffee
and a hot meal. The girl looked up at him and told him that this was the first
meal she had eaten in three days. The old man’s heart ached for her and he knew
that this was someone who he could help.
He explained to her that he was
the minister of this church and had been for over forty years. She explained
that she had run away from a father who sold her off to men for sex. When
describing the harrowing story, she started sobbing and said that she wanted to
get away, to get away from her father, to get away from her past and to start
over. She said that this building looked warm and comforting, but she was
confused with the picture of the man on the cross on the window. The minister
smiled and told her that man was the Son of God, also known as Jesus Christ or
The Lord. He then proceeded to tell her that His story and many others are
recorded in a book called the Bible, but the most amazing thing is that Jesus
is alive today and when he died on the cross, he died to take away the sins of
the people because He loved us so much and still loves us. The girl was amazed.
She was amazed that this man would die for her. Wiping away her tears she
thought of her father, of her dead mother and the life she had led so far. The
minister told her that he would pray for her, he put his arm around the girl
and bowed his head. He thanked God for bringing the girl into the church. He
prayed that she would come to know Jesus as her friend and to understand that
He has plans for her life.
Once he had finished praying, the
girl started sobbing again and buried her face into the minister’s chest. All
that emotion that had built up inside her for all those years, that anger, that
hate, that sadness was now all coming out of her. She did not want to hurt the
men that hurt her; instead she wanted to forgive them. She should have hated
her father; instead she wanted to love him. All the painful memories came
flooding back which she had tried so hard to forget. The emptiness and the
loneliness she had felt through the years were unbearable. She wanted a new
life, a new start; she wanted to have a purpose. She got on her knees and she
cried out to the Lord to help her. Instantly, she felt as if a huge weight was
being lifted off her shoulders. The pain had eased and for the first time, she
felt free.
One year later, the girl was no
longer cold, alone or afraid. The church welcomed her with open arms and she
set up a refuge for women involved in the sex trade. Many of these women came
in just like she did, were given a hot meal and a warm drink and told about the
love of God. Some of the women had seen and known the girl from the district and
were now touched that she was now helping them to get off the streets and to
realise that their lives are precious to God and worth so much more.
This is what made the girl so
thankful to have stopped by that church on that cold winter’s night.
"Unicorn. Old French, unicorne. Latin, unicornis. Literally: one-horned: unus, one and cornu, a horn. A fabulous animal resembling a horse with one horn." - The Last Unicorn, pg. 14
I may describe myself as a three year old trapped in a twenty-three year old's body. I can be described as a Peter Pan like character - I refuse to grow up and remain in the times where I could watch fantasy/Disney films and not be judged for it. Well, I am still that excited little child who is drawn in by the stories and animation displayed on the screen in front of me. I don't care and I would take an animated kids film over a horror/thriller/action film any day.
In this post, I am reviewing the film The Last Unicorn (1982). Based on the book by Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn tells the story of a lone unicorn who is the last of her kind. The unicorns were chased out into the ocean and presumably killed years ago by a mysterious ghost-like creature called the Red Bull.
The unicorn goes on a quest to find out where the other unicorns have gone and whether they can be rescued. Along the way, she meets an amateur magician called Schmendrick, Molly a bandit'swife, gets kidnapped by a carnival owner called Mommy Fortuna and then escapes, is turned human and taken to the castle of King Haggard and Prince Lir, with whom she falls in love.
It is different watching your favourite childhood films as an adult. Many adult themes and jokes which go completely over your head as a child stick with you as a grown up. You wonder how on earth the film makers manage to subtly put them in, but they do. However in this case, the film is based on the book which reading it is aimed at children over twelve, those who are maturing from childhood into adulthood. The unicorn represents purity, specifically the part when the unicorns visited the young girls who would soon be of marital age. These girls of course were virgins and it is nice in a sense that The Last Unicorn displays a sense of innocence and when that innocence is taken away prematurely it can be completely devastating.
The Last Unicorn has an all star cast, Mia Farrow, Jeff Bridges, Christopher Lee, Angela Lansbury, Alan Arkin and Tammy Grimes lend their voices to the colourful collection of characters. The film features the music of the band America (who performed three of the songs on the film's soundtrack) and a glorious, magical soundtrack composed by Jimmy Webb (who wrote all of the songs featured in the film). I am reading the book at the moment and so far the film has stayed true to the book, in terms of dialogue and also characterization. The author Peter S. Beagle wrote the screenplay for the film, so of course the film would stay true to the book. Both the film and the book portray feelings of regret and love, which unicorns cannot express, however this unicorn can. She also confronts the Red Bull who will drive her out to make her species extinct.
The Last Unicorn is one of my favourite films of all time. Not only is the musical score absolutely gorgeous, but it is animated, animated as in hand drawn, which is so much better than computer generated imagery in my opinion. We sometimes miss the days where it took years to painstakingly hand-draw each picture frame by frame. Films such as The Last Unicorn are films that we treasure, they are films we grew up with but even now we can enjoy them and hopefully one day I will be able to enjoy them with my children.
The Last Unicorn is available to buy on DVD. The book is available to buy from any online retailer.
This analysis of The Hunger Games (2012) was a piece of coursework submitted to pass the Cinema and Society module of the BA (Hons) Media course I studied towards at Robert Gordon University (RGU). Hopefully it will interest fans of the film and the books.
1.0 Introduction
The Hunger Games (2012) is the first
film made in the Hunger Games trilogy, directed by Gary Ross and based upon the
novels by Suzanne Collins. Set in a post-apocalyptic North America, the country
of Panem is made up of twelve Districts. Each year, “as penance for past
rebellion, every year a boy and a girl from each District are randomly selected
as “Tributes” and required to participate in the “Hunger Games,” a fight to the
death between the twenty-four participants that is broadcast live throughout
the nation.” (Hibberd 2013 p. 172). Katniss Everdeen (played by Jennifer
Lawrence) is a sixteen-year-old girl from District Twelve, whose sister
Primrose (played by Willow Shields) is chosen to fight in the 74th
Hunger Games, however “in order to save her sister Katniss volunteers in her
place.” (Hibberd 2013 p. 172). After Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) is chosen
as the male tribute, they “are taken to the Capitol for training.” (Hibberd
2013 p. 172).
Milner (2003) as cited in Williams
(1980 pg. 196) says: “utopia and dystopia dealt respectively with ‘a happier
life, a more wretched kind of life.” The Hunger Games falls into the dystopian
genre, as the people from the Districts, particularly the lower ones are living
in poverty, while those who are higher up and those who live in the Capitol are
rich and living a life full of wealth.
The three key scenes looked at in
this analysis are the Reaping, in which the boys and girls of District 12 are
lined up and picked at random to fight in the Hunger Games, the scene in which
Katniss and Peeta are on the train and they enter the Capitol for the first
time and the final scene is the ceremony in which the Tributes for the Hunger
Games are shown off to the Capitol. These scenes have been chosen because they
introduce the audience not only to the main characters, but also how important
these scenes are in establishing the narrative. These scenes are also
important, as it shows what could happen in a post-apocalyptic society if
people turn against the Government, however in Panem there is no escape from
the Government force, which is the Capitol and its’ leader President Snow, as
anyone who tries to rebel against the Capitol will be killed. The Reaping scene
in particular is important as it gives a brief backdrop into Panem’s history
and how the Hunger Games were established in the first place. The film “can be
described as a steady flow of applications of cinematic techniques –
mise-en-scène, cinematography, editing and sound.” (Bordwell 1985 p. 50) Ideology
will also be discussed within this analysis of the Hunger Games. Hess (1978)
describes ideology as a “relatively systematic body of ideas, attitudes, values
and perceptions, as well as, actual modes of thinking.” These will be discussed
within the key scenes in the next section of this analysis.
2.0 Reaping Day
The first scene chosen is ‘Reaping
Day’. This is probably one of the most pivotal scenes in The Hunger Games, as
it is the scene where Katniss volunteers to save her sister’s life. The scene
starts with the children of District 12 walking to the Peacekeepers and lining
up to be registered into the Reaping. The formalism used in this film is the
fabula and syuzhet. Bordwell (1985 p. 49) says “the imaginary construct we
create, progressively and retroactively, was termed by Formalists the fabula (sometimes translated as
“story”). The fabula is then described as requiring the audience to create the
story of the ongoing inquiry while testing hypotheses about past events.
(Bordwell 1985). This fits into this scene in the Hunger Games, as Effie
Trinket introduces a propaganda film, which was made by the Capitol and
narrated by President Snow. This film tells the audience about the past
rebellion of Panem, as President Snow (Donald Sutherland) explains there was a
terrible war and “Brother turned on brother until nothing remained.” As
punishment for the rebellion the Districts would offer up one male and one
female to fight in the Hunger Games. The victor of these Games would then live
a very wealthy life, in which Snow reminds the people “that it would serve as a
reminder of our generosity and our forgiveness. This is how we remember our
past. This is how we safeguard our future.” This shows that no matter what
happens, the people of the Districts of Panem will always be subject the
Capitol and the children of these Districts are not safe from being chosen.
The other formula, “the syuzhet
(usually translated as “plot”) is the actual arrangement and presentation of
the fabula in the film. It is a more abstract construct, the patterning of the
story as a blow-by blow recounting of the film could render it.” (Bordwell 1985
p. 50). This applies to how the film’s story is carried out by use of the
actors, props, lighting which is explained in the next paragraph.
As shown in a previous chapter The
Hunger Games “can be described as a steady flow of applications of cinematic
techniques.” (Bordwell 1985 p. 50). This includes mise-en-scène which means to
put into the scene. The lighting of this scene is bright, however has a grey
tint to it, which could contradict the fact that these children will be sent to
their death. As shown in the photo at the beginning of this section, the
director cuts to a wide shot of the stage and where the people are standing to
focus on the main characters faces. Effie and people from the Capitol are high
up on the stage, while the people from District 12 are below, which symbolises
the Capitol’s power over the Districts. In relation to the costumes, the people
from District 12 are dressed in dull colours, such as grey and brown, while
Effie Trinket sticks out in this scene, dressed in bright purple – this shows a
contrast between her and the people from District 12, in which the District
people are a lot poorer and more oppressed than those who come from the
Capitol. The mood created by this is very tense, as the director cuts away to
the faces of the children, then to Katniss, then Gale and then to Primrose when
she is picked (see Appendices A, B and C). The process happens so quick that
the characters do not really have time to process what has just happened or
what is going to happen.
2.1 Scene 2: Entering the Capitol
I can't find a clip of the scene on Youtube, so instead I have put 'Entering the Capitol' from the film's soundtrack.
The second scene is when Katniss and
Peeta arrive at the Capitol for the first time. The ideology is clear in this
scene as it “represents the interests and views of only one class... For
example, the educational system clearly discriminates against all but those
with money and power.” (Hess, 1978) What Hess is saying fits into The Hunger
Games, as the people who live in the Capitol are privileged, are rich and dress
extravagantly compared to those who are from the Districts. It can also
represent the society in which we live in now, with governments of some
countries letting their citizens starve and live in poverty, while they are
very wealthy.
When the Capitol is first shown on
screen, immediately the viewer is drawn to the aesthetics of it. This includes
the tall buildings of the Capitol which overshadow the rest of Panem, as “the
architecture of the dystopian cityspace functions as a synecdoche for the wider
catastrophe that has overcome their respective populations.” (Milner 2004 p.
267) This means that he Capitol is referred to as something else, something
which reminds the citizens of Panem that they have the power to do whatever
they want. The Capitol has built itself back up after the early rebellions and
has come back bigger and stronger.
s The Hunger Games is set in a
post-apocalyptic world, the buildings of the Capitol are futuristic and it
shows Panem is as “a class-divided city, vertically stratified.” (Milner,
2004). Those who are in the lower districts, Districts 11 and 12 are not cared
for, while the top districts Districts 1 and 2 are favoured by the Capitol. The
buildings serve as a remainder to the people that they have power and that they
cannot escape.
2.2. Scene 3: The Tribute Parade
The Hunger Games tributes are shown
off to the Capitol for the first time by riding in chariots to an applauding
crowd. The ideology behind this is the media spectacle and how the world is
watching this event happening. It fits into this scene, as according to Kellner
(2003 p. 1) “political and social life are also shaped more and more by media
spectacle.”
It is noted that this scene in
particular relates to Ancient Rome which “had its orgies, its public offerings
of bread and circuses, its titanic political battles, and the spectacle of
empire which parades and monuments for triumphant Caesars and their armies,
extravaganzas.” (Kellner 2003 p. 1) Mockingjay the third book in the Hunger
Games trilogy explains how Panem got its name from the Latin saying “Panem et
Circenses translates into ‘Bread and Circuses’. The writer was saying that in
return for full bellies and entertainment, his people had given up their
political responsibilities and therefore their power.” (Collins 2010 p. 249) This
particular scene in The Hunger Games shows that the districts are there for the
Capitol’s entertainment and the people of the Capitol are able to eat a lot of
food, as much food as they would like. The tributes are then taken out to be
shown to the Capitol citizens on chariots, which is a reflection of the
gladiatorial games in ancient Rome, in which “spectacles of death were not only
relatively normal events in ancient Rome, but were looked forward to by both
the peasant and aristocratic classes and men and women alike.” (Cowles, 2011).
It is shown in this scene that only the Capitol citizens look forward to these
Games each year, as they as a class are not forced to participate in these
Games and therefore view it as entertainment. The idea of the spectacle of
death “served the purpose of [...] punishing the people.” (Cowles, 2011). Going
back to the Reaping scene, the Hunger Games were put in place as a punishment
for those who rebelled against the government.
The music played in this scene is
from the soundtrack and is called ‘The Horn of Plenty’, which is the national
anthem for Panem. The music is strong and powerful, which tends to create a
controlling, authoritative environment. The tributes are shown in their
chariots, while the citizens of the Capitol are cheering and applauding them,
this is a reflection of Roman times as “many of these spectators saw the
bloodshed and death of the gladiators as fun and even relaxing.” (Cowles,
2011). It is also known that the “popularity of these shows can be explained by
the Roman love and desire for violence.” (Cowles, 2011). This works well in the
narrative, as in later scenes the Capitol watches the Games for entertainment
and even place bets on who is going to win. It is also important to point out
that the whole country of Panem is watching the Games, including the districts,
whose children are participating and are watching nervously to see whether they
will survive and come home as the winner.
he character Katniss enters the
spectacle wearing a suit which generates fake fire and the crowd respond to this
in a huge way. The director starts with a close up of her face to which she is
confused as to how the Capitol views this as entertainment. The editing then
cuts between the Capitol citizens cheering and screaming with delight, then
back to Katniss who is trying to take everything in around her. Peeta tries to
hold her hand, initially she refuses, but he persists saying, “C’mon, they’ll
love it”. They unite and the crowd applauds the two tributes from District 12.
This can represent that even those from the poorest places can be favoured by
those who are rich and it also shows that the difference between the rich and
poor is considerably large. The scene focuses on the main characters and
introduces us to the main antagonist of the film, Snow who in the scene is
shown towering above the citizens, which demonstrates his power. Katniss’s
nickname is ‘the Girl on Fire’ and this is foreshadowed with the flame outfit
which she wears at the tribute parade.
3.0 Conclusion
These scenes have been important in establishing the
narrative and the ideological ideas which are presented in them. The conflict,
which is The Hunger Games is eventually resolved, as “Katniss and a fellow
tribute wins the heart of the audience. Eventually the pair uses their
influence to overcome the deadly designs of the capital.” (Canar, 2009) The
Hunger Games also reflects history, in particular the chariot scene which
reflects Ancient Rome with the “spectacle of empire with parades and monuments
for triumphant Caesars and their armies.” (Kellner 2003 p. 1) The messages of
the film are very clear – with the Capitol have power over the Districts and
how that can easily be overthrown, which is explained in later Hunger Games
stories.
Recently thanks to my sister I have the wonder that is Netflix installed on my phone. This is down to the fact that a number of people have persuaded me to watch Breaking Bad, which I haven't done yet. Oops guys! Soon I promise!
I'm not really a huge fan of horror films or thrillers, this is mainly due to the fact I'm really jumpy and I detest gore (however some films and programmes I've seen recently are trying to desensitize me). I am a huge fan of comedies however and fantasy films. The one genre I love the most though is Disney (which can be counted as a genre, right?) I was flicking through the Children's Films section (you can tell I'm a grown up) and I stumbled across a Disney film which I heard of, but never seen called The Black Cauldron (1985). I remember going into the Disney Store in Aberdeen as a child and seeing the film being re-released on video and I tried to persuade my mum to buy it for me, however the shop assistant warned that it was very scary for children. So that was the end of that and a disappointed Rachel left the store.
Fast forward a few years and I'm watching the film on Netflix for the first time. I now totally understand the shop assistant. Within the first eighteen minutes of the film I had already jumped out of my skin about eight times (which is unusual for a Disney film). Most fantasy films are based on books and The Black Cauldron is no exception. It is based on the first two books of The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. The book series itself is based on Welsh mythology and many of the characters in the book series have Welsh names. Reading the reviews on Amazon the books are much, much better than the Disney adaptation so I am tempted to have another sneaky fantasy book buy from there - sorry I'm waffling too much, back to the review.
The Black Cauldron follows the story of a young boy called Taran (or Taran the Wanderer as he's known in the books) an assistant pig-keeper who dreams of being a hero. He works on Dallben the Enchanter's Farm and then learns that Dallben's magical pig Hen Wen is in danger. Taran has to take Hen Wen to safety, however both Hen Wen and Taran are kidnapped by the villain of the piece, The Horned King who wants to revive the dead and rule the world using a mystical, magical Black Cauldron. While escaping from The Horned King's lair, Taran befriends Princess Eilonwy, who is also trying to escape, Fflewdurr Flam, a court jester who has also been imprisoned by the Horned King and Gurgi, a creature who is a cross between a "man and a beast". Taran and his friends must retrieve the cauldron before the Horned King gets his hands on it and rescue Hen Wen, whose magic involves seeing the future, the events which will take place. Apart from the devil and skeletal like Horned King, there is an annoying goblin-like sidekick, who always gets strangled by the Horned King whenever he let Taran and his friends escape.
The Black Cauldron was different from any other Disney film that I have seen. Firstly, it is very dark - for an animated Disney film. If you think this is some happy-go-lucky musical Disney film like I thought it was going to be, then I'm afraid you're in for a disappointment. If the film scared me as a a 23-year old woman, then how scared would a 3-year-old child be? I admit I do sometimes like dark films, however this particular film I just did not enjoy at all. It doesn't have any songs in it, but I am pretty glad it doesn't, as it really would not fit in with the film's nature. The storyline is very disjointed, but this could be due to the fact that 12 minutes of footage ended up on the cutting room floor, mainly graphic scenes which included the revived skeletons (called the Cauldron Born) killing off The Horned King's living soldiers. Apparently on it's first screening, mothers stormed out of the cinema with their wailing children and the film had to be cut twice in order to avoid a PG-13 (equivalent to a UK '12' rating) or an R (UK '15 rating). That was very unusual for a Disney film at that time and The Black Cauldron has been known as "the film Disney tried to bury." It is not surprising that on it's release the film only made half of it's $44 million budget.
The Black Cauldron is a film which I would avoid watching again and it is a shame as I love fantasy stories and it had great potential, but unfortunately the storyline and the very dark nature made the film fall flat on its face. If you enjoy Disney animated films then I would not recommend it, but if you want something that's a little different, then give it a try. Instead I will read The Chronicles of Prydain to see if the books are better than its Disney counterpart.
Left: The Black Cauldron (1985) - original theatrical poster
Fun fact: Princess Eilonwy, the heroine of the film was not inducted into the Disney Princess line due to the film's poor performance.
Recently I watched the animated classic 'The Swan Princess' which was made in 1994. The film and its sequels, 'The Secret of the Castle' made in 1997 and 'The Mystery of the Enchanted Treasure' made in 1998 were highly enjoyable and great childhood favourites. It was when I was searching for The Swan Princess, that I found out there was a new Swan Princess film, called 'The Swan Princess: Christmas'. I decided to give it a watch, since I loved the original 'Swan Princess' trilogy. Well, what can I say? This film was awful. Why was it awful? Well, here are the reasons.
The previous three films were in hand-drawn animation. This one, was in CGI. Now, I'm not knocking CGI as there are some brilliant films which are made with computer animation. However, this CGI made the film look cheap and tacky, as if it were just put together for some badly made 3D computer game. The graphics are just not good at all, and Odette's eyes, well her eyes just look plain weird and at points can make her look pretty creepy.
Ugh! See what I mean? I can't imagine being a kid now and watching this. Odette would scare me. Although this is only for a few scenes, most of the time she actually looks all
right, but nothing compared to what 2-D animated Odette looks like. (If you want to see what 2-D Odette looks like, then check my previous post of my review of 'The Swan Princess'). Why did the have to ruin such a classic kids movie with this type of animation? I just do not know.
Moving on to the next reason why this film is just awful and can be very painful to watch in parts is the singing. As this film is set at Christmas there are a lot of Christmas songs, including the beloved traditional Christmas carols. But these songs have been given the auto tune makeover and really is agonizing. The first Swan Princess was a genuine musical film, now this? This just sounds exactly like a Bieber and One Direction fest. Bleugh. I suppose the target audience of young children like that kind of music, but what about the generation who was brought up on the first Swan Princess? I despair.
Okay, the plot goes like this: Odette and Derek are spending their first Christmas together at Queen Uberta (Derek's mother's Kingdom). The Kingdom is busy preparing for a Christmas Eve concert and Odette is doing various tasks to help other people in the Spirit of Christmas. Meanwhile, a black cat called Number 9 (he has lost all of his previous eight lives, hence his name) tries and succeeds to lure Derek to open the chest of the Forbidden Arts, which has Rothbart's ghost living in what I presume is hell. Rothbart manages to escape and haunt the castle as a ghost, while trying to figure out a way to get his human body back also known as come back to life. Rothbart is also weak, because the Spirit of Christmas overpowers the Forbidden Arts, but he will find a way to destroy Christmas. There are soon conflicts in the castle, especially between Lord Rogers and Queen Uberta and Derek and Odette will do everything in their power to stop Rothbart from destroying Christmas. It seems a good enough plotline, however it's not. It's really cheesy in parts and there is a scene in which their is a parody of Star Wars light saber fighting between Uberta and Rogers, which was just completely unnecessary and a really cringe worthy. Odette's animal friends Speed, Puffin and Jean-Bob are also in this film and honestly, apart from the cat, they were the best things about this pitiful excuse of a film.
You can watch this film with your kids if you want. If you're a fan of The Swan Princess however, trust me, this will be an hour and a half of your life which you will never get back.
If you want to buy it, The Swan Princess: Christmas is available on DVD. The Swan Princess, The Swan Princess: Secret of the Castle and The Swan Princess: Mystery of the Enchanted Treasure are all available on DVD.
Okay, so here is another movie review. This movie, unlike my last review is 20 years old come November. It was released in 1994, animated, it's NOT Disney (surprise there!), directed by ex-Disney animator Richard Rich and based on a famous ballet called 'Swan Lake' by Tchaikovsky. If you remember this movie from your childhood, I'll give you brownie points. Give up?
Okay it's...
The Swan Princess!
I first watched 'The Swan Princess' when I was around 5 or 6 years old. I had it on VHS (I'm showing my age here to all you spring chickens!) and I must have worn the tape out as I seemed to watch it a lot. I fell in love immediately with the gorgeous scenery, colourful characters and of course the catchy musical numbers.
This past week I wanted to relive my childhood and thanks to the wonderful invention that is YouTube enabled me to watch The Swan Princess as an adult.
The film was just as wonderful as I remember. In case you haven't seen it yet, I'll give you a brief outline of the plot: Princess Odette is born to King William (and a mother I presume, although you never see the mother of Odette, nor is their any mention of her) and as a baby is betrothed by her own father to Queen Uberta's son Prince Derek. If Derek and Odette fell in love and got married both William and Uberta's kingdoms would join together. Derek and Odette grow up and meet every summer, detesting each other, until when they meet as adults and then instantly fall in love with each other. However Odette calls off the wedding, as Derek presumably only wants to marry her for her beauty and she and her father King William return to their Kingdom. However, an evil sorcerer called Rothbart wants to take hold of William's kingdom and when they return home, Rothbart attacks William, Odette and his army. Derek finds out about this and goes to find Odette. He stumbles upon Odette's father who is *SPOILER ALERT* dying and asks him how this happened. William replies with a riddle, which perplexes Derek: "The Great Animal... It's not what it seems." William dies and Derek makes a search to find Odette as he believes her to be alive, despite everyone else in the Kingdom, including Derek's friend and trusted counselor Lord Rogers, who thinks she is dead.
Meanwhile, Odette has been kidnapped by Rothbart and he puts a spell on her which turns her into a swan during the day and back to her original human form at night. However she can only be on Swan Lake to turn back into a human. Rothbart asks Odette to marry him every night so she and him can rule her father's Kingdom together, however she always refuses. While Odette is trapped in the spell, she makes friends with some very special animals: Speed, who is a lazy, slow turtle, however in the water he can be very fast (hence his name), Jean-Bob, a French frog who believes himself to be a Prince and wants Odette to kiss him, so he can turn into his "true form" and Puffin, an Irish erm... puffin, who is regimented however, he is very kindhearted and protective of Odette.
Derek finds Odette and asks her to come to the ball the following night so he can make "a vow of everlasting love" to her, however Rothbart finds this out and he ensures that Odette will not attend, as at the night of the ball there is no moon. No moon equals no human form and no chance of getting to the ball. But, there is always a way to a happy ending.
All in all, The Swan Princess has a consistent plotline for a children's film and the transition between scenes moves pretty easily. The musical numbers are jazzy, romantic and Broadway Musical-esque and seem to fit into the film seamlessly and helps the viewer to relate with what is happening on the screen and what is happening at this part of the story. As a young girl, I loved Odette's dresses, they were all so beautiful and I particularly liked the black and red one she wore to the ball, when *ANOTHER SPOILER ALERT* Rothbart's hench woman went to the ball disguised as Odette. Odette I would have to say is probably my favourite animated female and definitely my favourite Non-Disney Princess, as her hair is incredible (seriously, who would love blonde wavy locks) and is strong-minded. She knows that she wants to be known for more than just her looks and that definitely shows throughout the film, with her courage, wisdom and strength which ultimately helps her to defeat and defy the spell and to get Derek, the man she loves.
Of course, every good film has to have humour in it for those lighter moments and this comes in the form of Puffin, Speed and Jean-Bob. Jean- Bob's antics to get kissed and turned into a Prince do seem a little far fetched, however at the end when he thinks he has turned into a human Prince, he tries to woo the ladies but to no avail.
I would give this film a 4 out of 5 star rating just because it's one of the best films I've seen as a child, however it still isn't as good as Disney films. I will let it slide because of the colourful scenery, characters and the songs, including 'Far Longer Than Forever' which was nominated for a Golden Globe. If you want to watch a kids film other than Disney, then The Swan Princess is the one to watch.
