Last week I said I had to do an essay, basically by contrasting/compairing a certain theme with a question, either by essays in our book, or by movies.
I've decided, mainly because I want to watch The Matrix as homework, to do this on reality. More importantly, since we need a question to work with: How do we view our reality (or just reality in general).
The movies I have been thinking about:
Wizard of Oz The Matrix Memento - My friend said it was a good thing on reality, because this guy can't remember anything and perceives what he thinks is the truth to be reality.
I've also sort of been leaning it to a "ignorance is bliss" sort of thing, and cut Wizard of Oz. I put that there, because in her reality, it starts off dull and grey, until she reaches this fantasy land and it's in color with musical little midgets and green witches.
I've also been thinking of possibly trying to tie Willie Wonka into it, but if I can't make any logical jump, I won't try.
Any suggestions, or ideas? Do you think this is a good idea?
Posted by Rappin' Ronnie Reagan (Member # 5626) on :
okay, i have to start out by using the obligatory homestar runner reference. you MUST refer to yourself as "The Yellow Dart" in the essay. it's +10 points. but, seriously, i think that comparing and contrasting the wizard of oz and the matrix is a good idea. you say something about how in the matrix, neo starts out in a fantasy world and leaves it to go to reality, while in the wizard of oz, dorothy begins in reality and later goes to the fantasy world. also, in the matrix, the fantasy world is seen as easier and nicer, i think, where in the wizard of oz, it's the other way around.
Posted by Nick (Member # 4311) on :
quote: I've also sort of been leaning it to a "ignorance is bliss" sort of thing, and cut Wizard of Oz.
If ignorance is bliss, then why aren't more people happy? Posted by T_Smith (Member # 3734) on :
Not like that, more of a "Is the truth better than a false reality" thing.
::shrug::
Posted by Nick (Member # 4311) on :
Whichever is more pleasant.
jk
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
You could also use "A Beautiful Mind" becuase of the guy's mental illness that causes him to have an alternate reality.
AJ
Posted by celia60 (Member # 2039) on :
memento is a great idea. if only i could think of a third movie with that same chick
i'm sure there's a way you could work donnie darko into this.
[ October 01, 2003, 04:31 PM: Message edited by: celia60 ]
Posted by T_Smith (Member # 3734) on :
::bump, because suggestions are helpful::
Posted by Shan (Member # 4550) on :
How about Elmo's Christmas and Miracle of 35th -or whatever the # was - Street
OR
(bows head in shame - I just can't think seriously right now, I'm sorry - I'll go away and stop mucking up your thread . . . )
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
Try Kurosawa's Rashomon. Reality ain't all it's cracked up to be.
Posted by celia60 (Member # 2039) on :
ooo, i haven't seen that one yet.
i'd suggested:
Fight Club Logan's Run The Usual Suspects
last night. i continue to be in shock that you haven't seen any of these.
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
Brazil: one of my all-time favorites, totally deals in reality, perception, love, insanity, and black humor
Memento: more complicated than just memory loss, but I can't explain without softening the impact. Possibly the best film since 2000, IMHO. Robbed of best picture oscar.
Eye of the beholder: Ewan McGregor and Ashley Judd are both fantastic. Very amoral and violent
Baron von Munchausen:another Gilliam masterpiece dealing with reality
The Fisher King: yet another Gilliam masterpiece with insanity and perceptions of reality as themes. Are we seeing a pattern yet?
The Andalusian Dog: Early surrealism, set designs by Picasso?[Dali] Almost plotless, bizarre [edit: I forgot Bunuel directed this!! They'll take away my film snob credentials now. . . It's only 24 minutes long, but you will have to watch it at least twice to start to grasp it ]
The Milky Way: Surrealist Luis Bunuel's strange and compelling tale of pilgrims on a pilgrammage to a holy shrine in Europe who go back and forth in time witnessing Christian history.
The Meaning of Life: Monty Python. 'Nuff said
Life is Beautiful: a father cushioning his child from the horrors of Nazism. Haven's seen it but it got good reviews.
Jakob the Liar: also haven't seen this, main character lies about Nazism in Warsaw Jewish ghetto
Raising Cain: John Lithgow's gives an absolutely brilliant performance as a homicidal doctor with multiple personality disorder. Possibly Lithgow's best perfomance. Directed by Depalma.
Dressed to kill: another Depalma. Plot simularities to Cain
If I research I could come up with more titles. If I was writing a film paper involving reality and perception, I'd probably pick Brazil, a film with insanity or mental disorder (Memento, Fight Club or Cain), the Matrix series, and either Rashamon, a surrealist film or a German Expressionism film (the Cabinet of Dr. Calgari) for a classic touch. Since you mention "ignorance is bliss", I might throw in one of the Nazi films I mentioned. Depending on the teacher, you might throw out the Matrix in favor of more obscure titles, or just mention it in passing instead of featuring it.
[ October 02, 2003, 02:40 PM: Message edited by: Morbo ]
Posted by Marek (Member # 5404) on :
What about Vanilla Sky he is in a dream for part of it, and even when he knows it is a dream and that he is controlling it he can harcly control it. Or Sphere the thoughts of the main characters are projected into reality, and can even become deadly, their perseption of where they are can actually alter where they are.
Posted by T_Smith (Member # 3734) on :
Oh man, how could I have forgotten Baron Mon Chausen!? And Jakob the Liar, I've seen, and I agree that I can spin that into my essay.
Celia, I will look into those if I have any time. I need to watch anyone that I haven't seen yet, before Sunday. So, if I have some extra time, I'll go rent at least Logan's Run. Posted by Marek (Member # 5404) on :
And for the choice that wil either get an A or an F depending on the teacher there is always Freddy V. Jason because so much of the plot is dedicated to Freddy being only as real, or as dangerous as his victims beleive him to be.
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
I don't really see Logan fitting into your topic. I second celia's Fight Club or the Usual Suspects though.
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
quote: This comical film will make any viewer question his beliefs--from religious fanatic to rabid atheist. While it may seem strange that Bunuel, a lifetime surrealist and professed atheist, would produce such a work, the filmmaker remarked in his autobiography, My Last Sigh, that THE MILKY WAY "evokes the search for truth, as well as the necessity of abandoning it as soon as you've found it." If that doesn't shed some light on Bunuel's intent, then perhaps his most famously ambiguous statement will: "Thank God I'm an atheist."
TV guide review of The Milky Way "Thank God I'm an atheist," I didn't know Bunuel said that.
Posted by celia60 (Member # 2039) on :
wow, how did i forget Brazil? seriously, i just looked at our dvd collection and pulled the ones titles that seemed relevant. how did i forget Brazil? criterion edition and everything!
Morbo, i think fight club is really the best of what he's looking for. donnie darko i find interesting enough on its own, but the whole reality v. illusion in that one is practically upside down, and it's probably my second choice. (would that fall under the mental illness catagory?).
**spoilers, t, stop reading this** Logan's run has 2 levels of illusion. the first, obviously carousel, which doesn't have a big "a-ha" to it. the second, well, they send him on a mission to find something that doesn't exist. there is such a strong belief by the populous that the computers cannot except the reality. how does that not fit?
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
Yeah, I guess you're right, Celia. I might not use it for a paper but it does have levels of truth/reality. It's told in a very linear narrative format though. I like films with very complex, confusing, surreal narrative structures, hence my love of Brazil (really all of Gilliam's work) and Memento. Posted by T_Smith (Member # 3734) on :
Ok, I think what I'm basically going to have as a thesis statement is: "What makes things a reality for people, whether its real or fantasy, is the hope and belief that there's something better."
Of course, I may change it a bit to accommadate certain films.
The reason being is this:
The Matrix- With the matrix, there was a perfect world that they originally had, that people didn't accept, as if it was some sort of dream. That's because they had everything there for them, there was no struggle, nothing to hope for. It wasn't real because of the lack of hope.
Wizard of Oz- She starts out hoping for some far off dream land ("Somewhere over the Rainbow"). It starts off dull, and grey, until suddenly she gets to her fantasy land. Of course, immediately she hopes to return to her house, thus making this completely stupid fairy land, into something believable for her, because that struggle was still there.
Baron Arnold Mousenchousenagger (sp)- Great example, specifically when he is in the whale. When there, he gives up hope, and begins to age again, and his fantasy-reality begins to die for him. (Ok, so I'm working on it.)
Jakob the Liar- Even though he was lying to people, people believed him because there was still that hope they would be rescued. They took his lies to be a reality because there was the struggle and the hope.
The Matrix: Reloaded- Agent Smith said something in it that I can try to tie in: "...because we all know, that without purpose, we would cease to exist. It was purpose that created us, purpose that binds us, that twines us, purpose that defines us... (etc)"
Again, I'm working on it.
Edit: In fact, just throw that out. ::goes off to rethink ideas::
[ October 02, 2003, 02:39 PM: Message edited by: T_Smith ]
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
Groundhog Day
Good thesis.
Posted by celia60 (Member # 2039) on :
again, donnie darko would work.
but not fight club.
morbo, yeah, but given the complexity of the other film structures, i'd think this would be a nice contrast.
[ October 02, 2003, 03:00 PM: Message edited by: celia60 ]
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
True, if you try to analyze 4-5 very complex films you can get too bogged down.
You need some madness in you're method (thesis)!. Brazil, Fight Club, or Memento all fit with that thesis.
[ October 02, 2003, 03:07 PM: Message edited by: Morbo ]
Posted by celia60 (Member # 2039) on :
oh, and which version of brazil? you could almost use the original v. the american one.
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
Maybe the Sixth Sense or The Others? Same concept, really.
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
Those are good ones, Book. In both films hope affects perception of reality.
Celia, sadly I cannot contrast different versions of Brazil. I only have a poor VHS version snagged off of cable.
Posted by celia60 (Member # 2039) on :
which one do you have? 90 minutes or longer?
please don't say 90 minutes!
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
I have seen both versions (I think), I just don't rememeber all the differences.
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
Videodrome, I forgot to poste it yesterday. Long live the revolution!
Posted by JonnyNotSoBravo (Member # 5715) on :
I would just like to point out that it was MY post that originally suggested the reality theme using the Matrix and Memento... and I think a great third movie would be Truman (I think this is the right name for the movie) starring Jim Carrey about an imaginary world set up for him since birth. Obviously reality is a major theme for this movie.
Edit: I couldn't type Matirx, er Matrix correctly.
[ October 04, 2003, 01:19 PM: Message edited by: JonnyNotSoBravo ]
Posted by rayne (Member # 5722) on :
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"Thank God I'm an atheist," I didn't know Bunuel said that.
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