I thought that the article, "Who Made the Film and Why?", was very interesting because it made me think about the process of movie production through a different perspective. I realized that in order to write a successful paper for Inquiry 2 that I have to really dig deep into the purpose behind the film, The Sound of Music, in order to truly interpret the film's historical role. Additionally, I am very enthusiastic to write about The Sound of Music because it has consistently been recognized as an excellent film since the day it came out, while individual's thoughts on other films have gradually changed over time. I think that if I do research on what was going on historically during the time period that the film was released that it would be a very strong backbone for my paper. I think what was going on while the film was being produced says a lot about how the audience reacted to the film and viewed the film. I do not think that this film has been redefined- I believe that will always be a well known and respected film. I am looking forward to re-watching the film and seeing if my idea of the purpose of the film is different from the audience back in the 1960s because I am, in fact, a contemporary viewer and times have changed.
I am having trouble deciding what Best Picture film I want to choose for Inquiry 2. I have not seen many of the movies on the list, so I am tentative on settling on one I haven't seen start to finish. However, I have heard that Gone with the Wind is a phenomenal film. What interests me about this film is the fact that it is still recognized with a lot of respect and appreciation (also- I love romantic movies). With many of the movies on the list, society now, for whatever reason, looks down on them. Gone with the Wind intrigues me because it is, to this day, considered very captivating. I wanted to watch this film for myself and do a lot of research to try to come to a conclusion as to WHY the audience believes it is so valuable. Before making my final decision on Gone with the Wind, I am going to rent it online and see if I am initially hooked onto the plot. According to the reviews I read today in class, I think that I am really going to enjoy it. I am excited for this Inquiry and for expanding my knowledge on the world of film, which I am truly quite unfamiliar with. I believe this film will also work well for the topic of this Inquiry because I will be, very easily, able to incorporate the historical context considering it took place during the Civil War.
After reading the revisions that were suggested on my rough draft, I have realized that I have a lot more work to do on my paper before I hand it in on Tuesday. The first thing I am going to try to improve on is my introduction. According to the comments that were left on my paper, my introduction didn't flow well and was difficult to follow. I think that I may break up my introduction into two separate paragraphs and clarify some of my thoughts for my audience. In general, I believe that I need to review the way I phrased many of the sentences that I wrote in my rough draft. Along with the introduction, I need to write a clear and concise conclusion. It is important that I wrap up all of my thoughts into a paragraph that is very telling of the argument I am trying to get across in my paper. I believe that a much stronger conclusion and a much stronger introduction will lead to a much stronger paper. I also want to expand on some of my thoughts, specifically when I touched on the way the director filmed the scene almost always just on her face, at the end of my draft. I think this is an interesting topic that can be expanded tremendously and I plan to do so when I revise this rough draft. I think that if I expand on my thoughts throughout the entire draft that I will have a stronger argument, which will lead to a stronger final draft.
I thought that the CCM article "A Changing Identity" was intriguing. I believe that the reason I felt this CCM article was so fascinating was because it was written about a graphic novel. I have never once read a graphic novel and after reading this analysis I am interested in reading one. Since I am so unfamiliar with this particular type of novel, I learned a tremendous amount by listening to the perspective of Lauren. I was extremely impressed by how the author, Lauren, picked out specific scenes/pictures from the novel to help back up her arguments. For example, Lauren discusses how the author of the novel does an excellent job of making the main character's identity change throughout the story very apparent. Lauren talks about Mazzucchelli, the main character, and how he walked away from the cold and pouring rain into a dirty subway, all alone. In her analysis, Lauren discusses how this was a perfect picture of how this was the lowest point in Mazzucchelli's life. Another interesting part of this analysis was when Lauren discusses the author of the novel's technique of "bleeding". Bleeding is when a "panel runs off the edge of the page". The author of the story incorporated this technique in her writing to paint a picture of how big the world really was around Mazzucchelli. Lauren did an excellent job of using specific examples to back up her points.
For Inquiry 1, I am interested in analyzing the film, Black Swan. I have seen this movie before, however I am excited to look deeper into the film's meaning and underlying message. The reason I decided to choose this film over many others is because I vividly remember my friends and I arguing about the central message of the film after it ended. Every single one of us viewed the movie from a different perspective and had different theories on why everything played out the way it did, which really interests me. I have to watch the film again to remember exactly what my perspective was, but I am almost positive I want to zoom in on the idea of the struggle one goes through while trying to achieve perfection. The main character in Black Swan, Natalie Portman, lives a life full of boundaries and expectations in order to be what she believes is "perfect"- it is quite fascinating. I am looking forward to this Inquiry because I am going to have the ability to analyze a film that I truly do enjoy, which will make this project very enjoyable, opposed to a chore.
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