Hollywood Censorship

The Hay's Code was "a code to govern the making of motion and talking pictures." Its aim was to censor the public from content that was deemed unwholesome. For example, criminals were not allowed to be depicted in a positive light, and methods of crime like lock-picking were not to be explicitly shown, so that the audience would be less inclined to imitate the film. Hollywood most likely followed the code because they favored conformity; they already censored their productions and they welcomed anything that would bring them justification. Furthermore, audiences did not necessarily care that the movies were being censored, and the studios made a lot of money off of the regular release of pictures. Today, the audience craves drama, it is a part of our culture to sympathize with the criminal. Entire movies are created on the basis of explaining to the audience how a group of eleven men broke into a casino's safe and walked out with 150 million dollars.

Silent Film Review Part II

1) The Great Train Robbery

Directed by Edwin S. Porter

-used colored frames

-introduced the establishing shot

2) Birth of a Nation

Directed by D.W. Griffith

-effectively used mise en scene to convey a character's mood or their situation

-found innovative uses for close ups

3)Arrival of a Train at Station

Directed by The Lumiere Brothers

-had a documentary style, a real-life feel

-the camera did not move at all, not the slightest panning shot

Silent Film Review

Metropolis

Directed by Fritz Lang

-Chiaroscuro lighting

-Special Effects

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Directed by Robert Wiene

-Chiaroscuro lighting

-Unrealistic sets

A Trip to the Moon

Directed by Georges Melies

-First fantasy film

-First film to tell a fictional story

The General

Directed by Buster Keaton

-Stunts

-High key lighting

Modern Times

Directed by Charlie Chaplin

-Slapstick Comedy

-Effective use of music to attach an emotion to a character.

Photobooth/Keynote Project Critique

Group 1

Organization: 3

Each topic was related, they talked about the type of film that came out of different countries.

Creativity:2

Not very creative, but not uncreative.

Entertainment:2

The recording parts kept the presentation entertaining.

Group 3

Organization:2

Creativity:2

Entertainment:2

Group 4

Organization:3

The two speakers understood the genres of film well.

Creativity: 3

I enjoyed how they used Chaplin to teach about comedy and the montage at the end.

Entertainment:3

The way the videos divided the text slides, and the chaplin segment in particular, was very entertaining.

Chaplin vs. Keaton

Chaplin

-Slapstick

-Joke after joke

-Less focused on story

-Faster paced

Keaton

-Situation comedy

-Jokes more related to story

-More structured plot line

-More space between jokes

Critiques

Marissa Tong - She has a very, very pretty watercolor painting. She says that it was all on a whim, but my personal interpretation is that the road symbolizes Jack's journey throughout the novel, the fire represents his past, and the lips and alcohol bottle are obviously events in the novel. She later explained that the brown blob in the corner is a walnut, but I digress.

Ashley Rockwell - Her collage accurately represents Jack's life, not only by portraying events with imagery, but through the arrangement of the pictures on the poster; they are scattered, which to me represents how hectic and confusing Jack's childhood was. Also, I think that use of phrases combined with the imagery was a great idea and that it adds depth to the collage.

Matt Reiss - Matt also made a collage, but unlike Ashley's, his was arranged on a computer. That is not to say that it isn't a great collage; it is a wonderful work. Although he used common images from the movie, they were altered and arranged in a way that brought more meaning to them. For example, he took the portrait of jack, enlarged it and set it next to a large American flag, so that it covers half his face, which gives it a more serious tone. It gives it a sense of drama.

Graphic Novel Choice

I choose you, Maus-kachu!