Because I have such a bad impression on Groom's original book, I had the best time watching the film. The book review I wrote in the last entry is adequate to describe my negative thoughts about the book, I believe, so I will write mostly about the film in this entry.
The film had many improvements, the most conspicuous of which was the development of characters. Forrest, for one, was improved from the beginning-to-the-end idiot character to a character of emotional development. Dan, originially a strangely developed schizophrenic character, was re-illustrated as a lost lieutenenat who eventually finds himself. Jenny, an all-kind woman, somewhat became -- what people would call a female dog who takes advantage of Forrest, which was still fun because it was a much more exciting character.
The ramblings of the book was also shortened by the film, to give the story a much more consistent feel. That's all I have to say about that.
Nonetheless, the film could have been even speedier. That's because the film was too long, and, toward the end, gave the feeling of bore. Not too much bore, but certainly as much bore the book gave the reader.
But well, I guess boredom is a character of many critic-praised films.
2011년 12월 6일 화요일
2011년 11월 9일 수요일
Entry 4. Forrest Gump - Book Review.
Winston Groom's Forrest Gump is a journey of hardship and accomplishment, a critique of social prejudices against minority, a romance of the true love that avoids all cliche drama. In the first half, that is. And the last few paragraphs. The rest is Mummy and Star Wars and Tarzan and pretty much everything mixed up in a catastrophe that, fortunately for Groom, will at least be appreciated by some people. Like Jackson Pollock. And yes, I'm not a fan of action painting or ridiculous ramblings. (My apologies to Mr. Pollock, I am not being derogatory about action painting itself.)
The heart of what I'm saying is this. I don't see why Forrest had to become a ping pong champion and save Mao Zedong and travel to mars and fight with the Pygmies and become a millionaire just to see Jenny Curran already married. (And I actually am complaining about the unfinished love story, although I have some respect for this "true love.") The story was so irrelevant and wandering that I had a weak laughter going for seventy pages.
And chrissake, Dan. Dan was supposed to be this philosopher guy, a history teacher, until Groom turns his character up-side-down and makes a derelict and a demagogue and a con-man out of him. I don't complain if Dan's story is depicted thoroughly and tragically, but the brevity with which Groom deals with Dan -- now that's true tragedy.
Even an idiot could tell that the book would have been much better off without the exciting and childish adventures.
The heart of what I'm saying is this. I don't see why Forrest had to become a ping pong champion and save Mao Zedong and travel to mars and fight with the Pygmies and become a millionaire just to see Jenny Curran already married. (And I actually am complaining about the unfinished love story, although I have some respect for this "true love.") The story was so irrelevant and wandering that I had a weak laughter going for seventy pages.
And chrissake, Dan. Dan was supposed to be this philosopher guy, a history teacher, until Groom turns his character up-side-down and makes a derelict and a demagogue and a con-man out of him. I don't complain if Dan's story is depicted thoroughly and tragically, but the brevity with which Groom deals with Dan -- now that's true tragedy.
Even an idiot could tell that the book would have been much better off without the exciting and childish adventures.
2011년 10월 5일 수요일
Entry 3. One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest - Bromden
Chief Bromden is the most mysterious man in the short story. Hence I talk a bit about Chief Bromden.
Chief Bromden is an unreliable (not just that, but crazy) narrator who also partake of the story itself. Throughout the story, Bromden approaches sanity ("the fog is cleared"), but it does not change the fact that the narrator is unreliable.
Bromden's initial reasons for his hospitalization is not discussed in the book, and his past also revealed as bits of mystery and hints. His mental illness might have been triggered by his dark childhood memories of his father, chief of his tribe, meeting his decline, or the common World War II mental impact. These events might be the possible cause for his fear of authority. This is why he shows perfect subservience to the nurse.
Nonetheless, the mental oppression of power becomes lighter as McMurphy fights back the nurse. This is one of the important character themes in One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Chief Bromden is an unreliable (not just that, but crazy) narrator who also partake of the story itself. Throughout the story, Bromden approaches sanity ("the fog is cleared"), but it does not change the fact that the narrator is unreliable.
Bromden's initial reasons for his hospitalization is not discussed in the book, and his past also revealed as bits of mystery and hints. His mental illness might have been triggered by his dark childhood memories of his father, chief of his tribe, meeting his decline, or the common World War II mental impact. These events might be the possible cause for his fear of authority. This is why he shows perfect subservience to the nurse.
Nonetheless, the mental oppression of power becomes lighter as McMurphy fights back the nurse. This is one of the important character themes in One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Entry 2. The Shawshank Redemption: Film
The film Shawshank Redemption had several different aspects from the book, about which many people seemed really enthusiastic. However, my opinions differ. I think that the book had much more advantages compared to the book.
The first advantage that truly stood out was the tone of voice. Sure, Red in the film spoke lines exactly resembling those in the book, but the book's continuous tone of story-telling style was much better in conveying Red's voice. It is hard not to admit that one of the book's most conspicuous aspect was Red's voice, but the movie ruined that to a big extent.
The second advantage the book had (and the film ruined) was the length. One of the book's strongest points, I believe, is the length; the emotion and the depth of theme (freedom) is emphasized most effectively in the book's short length. Nonetheless, the film adaptation has become quite a long (142 min.) piece.
For these two reasons, I believe the film was not so better than the book. Too bad I couldn't say anything in the film-or-death air of the class.
The first advantage that truly stood out was the tone of voice. Sure, Red in the film spoke lines exactly resembling those in the book, but the book's continuous tone of story-telling style was much better in conveying Red's voice. It is hard not to admit that one of the book's most conspicuous aspect was Red's voice, but the movie ruined that to a big extent.
The second advantage the book had (and the film ruined) was the length. One of the book's strongest points, I believe, is the length; the emotion and the depth of theme (freedom) is emphasized most effectively in the book's short length. Nonetheless, the film adaptation has become quite a long (142 min.) piece.
For these two reasons, I believe the film was not so better than the book. Too bad I couldn't say anything in the film-or-death air of the class.
2011년 9월 14일 수요일
Entry 1. Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption
Entry 1. Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption
Since I completely forgot about keeping the journal in pace with the reading, it seems to me decidedly inconvenient that I finished reading the book. So I must start from the last impression I felt as I closed the book and work my way up from there.
So, first things first (or last things first, actually). I felt like crying when I closed the book. Or actually the pdf file. And that was in the middle of the Vector Calculus class, which was also a bit inconvenient, because looking slightly down at your screen is nothing to attract attention, but holding your head up so that you don't accidentally burst into tears or anything can be pretty conspicuous. And conspicuous it was.
Anyway, I am not a very emotional person. It takes a pretty impressive story to put water in my eyes. And the book did it. I'm not saying that this is any big deal, numerous movies and books have done it in the whole eighteen years of my life. But the real thing is, the book made me realize what crying about a story is all about.
What that means has a long history. I have never liked the fact that I am not a very emotional person, and I've tried my tears more than a dozen times by watching credibly sad movies. But all that were reflected in my eyes were just a bunch of tearful actors on screen and not a drop of tear. That happened with If Only, Leon: the Professional, and Story Sadder than Sad. And a pile of others of which I cannot recall the titles.
Naturally, I admired all the women in the world. They were always sobbing over movies and books. Sometimes even over poems. Man, I wanted to sob, too, but did not know how. So, to console myself, I made a hypothesis with a little information I read in a magazine. Maybe I were biologically impervious to sobbing. Maybe I did have the emotional and the intellectual nerve to feel the emotional factor that happened to make girls weep, but just did not have enough tear drops in my eyeballs.
And, as I read this book, I constantly thought of my hypothesis to see if I could feel anything at all if I could not cry. And I did. In every one of those moments of inconsolable institutionalization or vivacious victory of Andy and Red, I did feel it. A little windy feeling buzzing beside my ears. That was probably it.
So that is why I liked the book.
Since I completely forgot about keeping the journal in pace with the reading, it seems to me decidedly inconvenient that I finished reading the book. So I must start from the last impression I felt as I closed the book and work my way up from there.
So, first things first (or last things first, actually). I felt like crying when I closed the book. Or actually the pdf file. And that was in the middle of the Vector Calculus class, which was also a bit inconvenient, because looking slightly down at your screen is nothing to attract attention, but holding your head up so that you don't accidentally burst into tears or anything can be pretty conspicuous. And conspicuous it was.
Anyway, I am not a very emotional person. It takes a pretty impressive story to put water in my eyes. And the book did it. I'm not saying that this is any big deal, numerous movies and books have done it in the whole eighteen years of my life. But the real thing is, the book made me realize what crying about a story is all about.
What that means has a long history. I have never liked the fact that I am not a very emotional person, and I've tried my tears more than a dozen times by watching credibly sad movies. But all that were reflected in my eyes were just a bunch of tearful actors on screen and not a drop of tear. That happened with If Only, Leon: the Professional, and Story Sadder than Sad. And a pile of others of which I cannot recall the titles.
Naturally, I admired all the women in the world. They were always sobbing over movies and books. Sometimes even over poems. Man, I wanted to sob, too, but did not know how. So, to console myself, I made a hypothesis with a little information I read in a magazine. Maybe I were biologically impervious to sobbing. Maybe I did have the emotional and the intellectual nerve to feel the emotional factor that happened to make girls weep, but just did not have enough tear drops in my eyeballs.
And, as I read this book, I constantly thought of my hypothesis to see if I could feel anything at all if I could not cry. And I did. In every one of those moments of inconsolable institutionalization or vivacious victory of Andy and Red, I did feel it. A little windy feeling buzzing beside my ears. That was probably it.
So that is why I liked the book.
2011년 9월 2일 금요일
Hero's Journey Analysis on Kung Fu Panda
Group: 3
Our Film
Kung Fu Panda
Why We Chose It
The fact that the protagonist does not have the hero's ordinary characters at first, but changes into a hero would make an interesting analysis of the movie. The almost incredible voice casting of Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoff, and Jackie Chan was also interesting.
ACT I
1. Ordinary World
Working under the noodle restaurant chef, Mr. Ping (a goose), Po, the panda protagonist, admires the "Furious Five" and yearns to become a kung fu master.
2. Call to Adventure
Po, wanting to watch the kung fu tournament match, straps himself to a set of fireworks and rockets into the sky, crashing into the middle of the arena. This is when Oogway the Grand Master points at the space where he has fallen to announce the Dragon Warrior who could defeat Tai Lung, so Po becomes the chosen one.
3. Refusal of the Call
Shifu dislikes Po because of his out-of-nowhere origin, and the Furious Five make fun of him. Po is frustrated, and has second thoughts about his training.
4. Meeting the Mentor
Oogway is right beside Po when he says that he will quit, and assures him that he is the chosen one.
5. Crossing the Threshold
The next day, Shifu finds Po stretching. He reluctantly accepts him, and begins his training.
ACT II
6. Tests, Allies, Enemies
Despite Po's willingness, the Furious Five and Shifu will still not truly accept him.
7. Approach to the Innermost Cave
As Shifu finds out that, if motivated by food, Po could be trained, soon Po becomes an adequate kung fu fighter.
8. Ordeal
When Po opens the Dragon Scroll, thought to contain ultimate way to defeat Tai Lung, he finds that the scroll is empty.
9. Reward
He is frustrated at first, but when his father says that the gossipped "secret ingredient" of his noodles do not actually exist, Po decides to confront Tai Lung.
ACT III
10. The Road Back
Po goes back to the Jade Palace to face Tai Lung. Meanwhile, Tai Lung has defeated all of the Furious Five and is fighting with Shifu.
11. Resurrection
Just when Shifu is defeated, Po fights Tai Lung and wins.
12. Return with the Elixir
With Tai Lung back in prison, Po has brought back peace, or metaphorically the elixir, in the world.
Ponts of contention
As simple as the plot is, there was a controversy in what parts belong to numbers four through eleven. As "resurrection" is the part where a protagonist defeats his enemy, Tai Lung in this case, and it was not clear who the "enemies" would be. It was a difficult decision to make the "good guys" Po's enemies. Also, "reward" was another problem upon which we stumbled, as it could be interpreted as "meeting the mentor." Nonetheless, a good talk brought a point of consent.
Our Film
Kung Fu Panda
Why We Chose It
The fact that the protagonist does not have the hero's ordinary characters at first, but changes into a hero would make an interesting analysis of the movie. The almost incredible voice casting of Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoff, and Jackie Chan was also interesting.
ACT I
1. Ordinary World
Working under the noodle restaurant chef, Mr. Ping (a goose), Po, the panda protagonist, admires the "Furious Five" and yearns to become a kung fu master.
2. Call to Adventure
Po, wanting to watch the kung fu tournament match, straps himself to a set of fireworks and rockets into the sky, crashing into the middle of the arena. This is when Oogway the Grand Master points at the space where he has fallen to announce the Dragon Warrior who could defeat Tai Lung, so Po becomes the chosen one.
3. Refusal of the Call
Shifu dislikes Po because of his out-of-nowhere origin, and the Furious Five make fun of him. Po is frustrated, and has second thoughts about his training.
4. Meeting the Mentor
Oogway is right beside Po when he says that he will quit, and assures him that he is the chosen one.
5. Crossing the Threshold
The next day, Shifu finds Po stretching. He reluctantly accepts him, and begins his training.
ACT II
6. Tests, Allies, Enemies
Despite Po's willingness, the Furious Five and Shifu will still not truly accept him.
7. Approach to the Innermost Cave
As Shifu finds out that, if motivated by food, Po could be trained, soon Po becomes an adequate kung fu fighter.
8. Ordeal
When Po opens the Dragon Scroll, thought to contain ultimate way to defeat Tai Lung, he finds that the scroll is empty.
9. Reward
He is frustrated at first, but when his father says that the gossipped "secret ingredient" of his noodles do not actually exist, Po decides to confront Tai Lung.
ACT III
10. The Road Back
Po goes back to the Jade Palace to face Tai Lung. Meanwhile, Tai Lung has defeated all of the Furious Five and is fighting with Shifu.
11. Resurrection
Just when Shifu is defeated, Po fights Tai Lung and wins.
12. Return with the Elixir
With Tai Lung back in prison, Po has brought back peace, or metaphorically the elixir, in the world.
Ponts of contention
As simple as the plot is, there was a controversy in what parts belong to numbers four through eleven. As "resurrection" is the part where a protagonist defeats his enemy, Tai Lung in this case, and it was not clear who the "enemies" would be. It was a difficult decision to make the "good guys" Po's enemies. Also, "reward" was another problem upon which we stumbled, as it could be interpreted as "meeting the mentor." Nonetheless, a good talk brought a point of consent.
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