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smokeybrand · 4 years ago

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Watch the Throne

Singular Point has finally revealed it’s version of the Big G and, i must say, it is pretty f*cking amazing. I knew it was going to be dope from the leaked concept art but in action? Holy sh*t! It can give Shin a run for it’s money! The reveal got me thinking about all of the Goji over the years so i wanted to kind of explore that. I wanted to revisit some of my favorite, and not so favorite, Goji designs. Also, this blog needs more Godzilla content.

10. TriStar

I hate this Goji so much. It’s been all but disowned by the fandom and, indeed, is referred to as Zilla in official materials because it doesn’t deserve to be called God. That movie did nothing to help it’s case. However, the animated series all but redeemed the character. The character, not the design. This thing is the worst and edges out Showa strictly because it’s not Godzilla in any form. It’s a goddamn iguana pretending to be a velociraptor. Sh*t whack, son.

9. Showa

Showa makes this list based strictly on nostalgia and it’s contribution to the overall mythos. Every major addition to the franchise, be they characters or monsters, occurred during this period. I mean, they gave me MechaG and we all know how much i love that metallic beast. Hell, he might get one of these lists one day, too. As a design, though? This Goji is definitely not my favorite. More than that, there were SO many! Goji looked different in every film and not in the sense of fixes or critiques. This was the era where Toho was cutting budgets and corners so, often, the suits were damaged and never properly repaired. As such, Godzilla looks like varying degrees of sh*t thought out. Showa gets a lot of credit strictly because it was my introduction to the series, first Godzilla film i ever saw was Godzilla versus Mechagodzilla but let’s be honest; Showa Goji looked like ass. Dude was a clown and the realization of that was a hard one to accept after seeing Gojira, Return, and Shin. Like, what the f*ck, Toho?

8. Earth

I don’t like the Godzilla trilogy. They’re terrible films. I do like the ideas presented therein. I like the idea of Ghidorah being this inter-dimensional, planet eating, energy beast. I like the idea of the Shobijin being a race of Moth people. I like the idea of Godzilla being the progenitor of every other monster in the world after twenty thousand years or whatever. I love the idea of MechaG city. There is a lo of great sh*t in there, a lot of potential, but the films just sh*t the bed upon execution. Also, they were kind of ugly as sh*t. I think they would have benefited from being classically animated rather than the cheaper, CG, modeling. That went a long way to me disliking the execution. I Was watching these things and all i could see was that new Berserk series. All of that said, it’s a great design. I love how they combined Monsterverse and Millennium. It was super awesome. And massive.

7. Shodai

i mean, how was i going to leave the very first Goji off this list? It’s the genesis, the Alpha, the beginning. Without the progenitor, we wouldn’t be talking about the dynasty. I just really love this design. As a cat who grew up in the US, i didn’t get he opportunity to see this thing, outside of toys and such, until i was an adult. We got Godzilla with all of the edits and Perry Mason. It wasn’t until decades later that we got to see the original vision of Gojira and, let me tell you, what a difference editing makes. This movie is bleak, emotional, and exhausting. It’s a true horror film and you feel that throughout. Gojira is a force of raw, unmitigated violence, destroying everything in it’s wake but also leaving a radioactive wake as it passes. It’s the gift that keeps on giving, just like the atomic bomb. I love this film and it deserves it’s place in the Criterion Collection. It’s a masterpiece of cinema and a masterclass in atmosphere.

6. GMK

GMK is how i see Godzilla in my nightmares, which is fitting because it is Nightmare Godzilla. Motherf*cker is literally the wrath of dead Japanese, killed during WWII. It’s very similar to Shodai but in a literal sense, not figurative. GMK IS the accumulated sins of the Japanese for their transgressions during WWII, not the ideal of their suffering at the hands of the atomic age. I love that juxtaposition but, more than that, GMK is straight up malevolent! Dude is here to leave a body count and it goes about that with aplomb. A lot of cats in the community wouldn’t rank Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack very high on their list of favorite films but that Goji is the most menacing I'd seen since that first Heisei outing. Like, holy sh*t, did this thing come for the pain!

5. Monsterverse

I was burned hard by the first attempt at a US Goji as a kid. F*cking TriStar dropped the ball on that one, especially considering the mock up of other versions I've seen over the years. So, going into Godzilla 2014, i was a little sus and considering we didn’t even see a fleeting glimpse of the Big G until half the movie was over, i thought for sure we Yanks sh*t the bed again. We did not. Monsterverse Goji is one of the best Goji designs I've ever seen. I love how large it is and the fact that he got those thunder thighs. I love how he has both lungs and gills because, you know, amphibious. Love the way his dorsal plates light up individually when he fires his atomic breath. I love everything about this dude and I'm glad that Toho opted to extend the deal with Legendary. We get Monsterverse content going forward which means more of their Goji, even if these assholes keep pounding Kong down my throat. If i had to pick just one iteration, i would have to give it to King of the Monsters Goji. That dude, so far, is peak Monsterverse Godzilla for me. Plus, i mean, Burning Godzilla is just straight up chef kiss.

4. Heisei

For me, Heisei is peak Goji. It captures everything i think Godzilla should be, like, the classical interpretation. It calls back to Shodai while updating the overall form to a modern aesthetic. I believe that the very first of those films, the first version of this Goji, is the best. Godzilla Returns or, Godzilla 1984 as it’s known here in the States, is, in my opinion, the strongest of all the Heisei Goji. It captures the spirit of malevolence which Godzilla continued to have throughout this run of films. He’s never really a hero but, at best, anti-hero, and all of that can be traced back to his absolutely terrifying first appearance. Plus, i really like the multiple rows of teeth. That sh*t wigged me out as a kid. Heisei isn’t my favorite but, when i think of Godzilla, it is the first one to pop into my head.

3. Shin

I love Shin. It’s design is ridiculous and the power set seethes with originality. Everything about Hideaki AAnno’s monstrosity is just so anti-Goji but it works so brilliantly. The way it mutates and grows into this malignant stack of cancer and radiation and exposed musculature is absolutely traumatizing. It’s dead, fish eyes make sure you understand that this thing is, at best, a beast of instinct, devoid of any level of intelligence. More than that, the fact that the motherf*cker can focus it’s Atomic Breath into a whole ass plasma beam is ridiculous and the fact that it can fire it out of it’s entire body just f*cks me up. Not only is Shin Godzilla in my top three Goji films all-time, but so is it’s version of Goji, itself. That motherf*cker is just plain terrorizing.

2. Millennium

Look, i know i said that when i thing of Goji, i see Heisei but Millennium’s design is hard to not put this high. It was the first Goji to radically redesign the King since, i would say, Showa? I mean, it still looks the part but those dorsal plates, that face, and that mouth absolutely scream originality. The shape of his chest ad the slimming of it’s overall form, gives Goji a sense of improved mobility and we see that in films like Godzilla vs. Megaguirus. No longer is he this lumber nuclear disaster. Instead, he’s this fast paced, agile, atomic apocalypse that slips whole ass Black Holes. I love the look of Millennium and my favorite is definitely the first one intrigued in Godzilla 2000. It took me by complete surprise and has had a pretty safe, nostalgia driven, spot in my heart.

1. Ultima

Listen, i adore this design SO much. I know this guy is the newest to take the stage and placing him at the one spot on my list might be a little sus but, for me, it’s peak Goji. I think Ultima has achieved this level of rarefied air specifically because it’s the newest version of our malevolent King. Ultima is every Godzilla ever created, rolled into one. He has the dorsal plates of Millennium, the build of Heisei, the forms of Shin, the size of Showa, The face of Shodai, the destructive power of Earth, and the forms of Shin. Ultima earns the name as it is, quite literally, the best parts of every Goji in Toho history. Plus, look at that dude. That design is straight up monstrous! It’s aggressive, visceral, and cannibalistic. It’s real hard not to put this one at the top of my list.

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ziggykazenzakis · 8 years ago

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i heard medium is a dyieng website so imma drop here all i had there just to have it somewhere

Schedule

12:02 — Get up slowly, smoke the first cigarette. Find out you’re out of toothpaste.

12:10 — Watch the new episode of Men Are Important, a show about the world where Men Are Important.

12:32 — Fall asleep in the middle of Men Are Important.

13:11 — Wake up nervously, smoke the second cigarette. Eat something.

13:17 — Download a collection of short stories by someone incredibly obscure, some comic books, bit of contemporary french cinema. Never open downloads.

14:00 — Go to the store to get groceries and toothpaste, come back with cigarettes, white wine and frozen pizza.

14:23 — Write post for Community Buzzfeed, titled “28 reasons my God is better than yours”.

16:00 — Go outside.

17:00 — Point fingers at journalism majors.

19:27 — Tell strangers at a bar how comic books and radio are close as mediums.

20:52 — Get hit in the face.

22:12 — Come home, write an essay on cultural significance of 400 Blows (never watch 400 Blows). Smoke fourteenth cigarette.

23:49 — Look in the mirror.

00:28 — Read Batman comics, open another pack of cigarettes.

01:02 — Read Batman comics, but ironically.

02:37 — Think of your own grandeur for prolonged periods of time, do absolutely nothing.

03:58 — Find the strangest porno possible.

04:49 — Try to fall asleep, cry silently.

12:02 — Get up slowly, smoke the first cigarette. Find out you’re out of toothpaste.

bad joke from 2014

a man walks into a bar man drinks and drinks as he tries to drown his sorrow in cheap yet over-priced liquor which is probably watered down too he comes to a realization epiphany, perhaps not even that though because he spent the most of his adulthood trying to shrug off that idea deep back into the ether he comes to a realization that whatever he does is meaningless meaningless beyond the point of comprehension he doesn’t care for dead philosophers mind masturbation nor for the idea of time and space being the same intertwined thing all he knows is that his actions have no impact on the world around him none

after that setup you might expect a cheerful twist or an absurd one nihilism is intensely boring you might think, “it’s not about the journey it’s about the destination, honey” well first of all, don’t patronize me secondly, we can still get back to the base of this anecdote some slapstick comedy, maybe? or salvage the entire thing with some pop-cultural references that y’all hate but pretend to love it’s actually quite an art, to be pretentious whilst talking about Batman of all things

man keeps on drinking he looks up at the tiny TV atop the bar it’s a rerun of some sports game is that what they called? sports games? the whole thing is ridiculous and way past my control over it commentator says, “stop wallowing in self-pity” man is confused he looks to his left he looks to his right he looks right at the screen and gulps a shot of whiskey “that is what you’re doing with your life? little cry-baby anyway, back to you Johnson” “the game is quite a race today, folks…” and the voice trails off barkeep already saw the game he doesn’t care it’s not like there was much to care about in the first place man pays the bill leaves a tip not too much, not too little he goes home he’ll try to forget and he’ll inevitably fail

the bar was called “Huge Sweaty Balls” are you happy now that’s the punchline that’s the joke you’ve been waiting for everything is fucking great

Banned Names

Amir left the subway, avoiding stranger’s gaze, awkwardly tapping into it ever so often, apologizing as much as he can for snow-covered ten gallon hat using only his eyes. Through side streets and backstreets, which lead to crooked steps, which lead to a heavy door, which leads to basement. Hit aperture with his hat, bowed a bit, came in. Through hallway, and must shake hands with everyone, came. “Sorry guys, slept through”, Amir said. “What’s with the hat, did Haggard die?”, said Jim. “I’ve decided, that the band is called Astral Cowboys”.

“No”, said Thrasy. “Why?”, said Amir. “Cause that’s some fucking bullshit. I disagree”, said Thrasy. Thrasy was sure that the might one is the right one. Not many people agreed with him on things but less have tried to argue.

“Your will and we would have been called Wacky Eugenics”, said Amir. “I like it”, said Jim, not expecting spited glances from both sides. “And what would that be, in your idea? Delta Witchhouse?”, said Thrasy. ��Nah, pretty casual psychedelics”, said Amir. “Why not just post-punk”, said Jim, fully expecting spited glances from both sides.

“Alright”, said Amir, “Astral Cowboys, gimme something better”. “Heinous Crime”, said Thrasy. “Circumstances”, said Jim. “No, Complications”. “Upvotes From The Underground”, said Jim. “If you won’t take it seriously then shut the fuck up”, said Thrasy. “A Kilo Of Potatoes”, said Jim.

“You got some bad ideas, Astral Cowboys”, said Amir. “Where does this preconception comes from, that you got the final word?”, said Thrasy. “Main vocals, lead guitar, lyrics — who else?”, said Amir. “Richards rules the Stones”, said Thrasy.

“Imma smoke”, said Jim, and left. “And one who dares to think that Astral Cowboys is a good title for anything should not write anything let alone songs”, said Thrasy. “It’s a good title! Intentionally kitsch but comfortable, relaxed, some chick shit, in a good way”, said Amir. “Here’s what’s going to happen”, said Thrasy. “Justice will be accomplished. Great, strong people been showered in mud by the weak, time and time again. Because they were allowed to. We’re going to punk. And it won’t be a riot. It will be anger. My holy mission is to continue what the Ramones started, convinced conservatives and a bunch of beautiful, rare bastards. I’m going to hit you, and you are going to hit the ground, and the band shall be called Circumstances. Or whatever the hell, Jim had some good ideas, but not Astral Cowboys, chief”.

Jim looked at the falling snow under the light of the street lamp. As he was lighting up a cigarette, he thought that he should learn to draw. He opened up a two years old text file on his three years old phone which was titled “bandnames.txt” and contained such as “Damn, A Burger? Don’t Mind If I Do”, “The Whatnots”, “No Weekends” and so on. He added “Ciet Vong”, which put up the file at the top of the list, threw the cig into a snowdrift, and walked back.

Jim walked in on a couple of grown children, trying to wrestle somewhat, and to hit, and not to damage all the appliance around. “How about Homoerotic Subtext? For a band name”, said Jim.

The band was standing and smoking. “We wasted three paid hours without touching the instruments”, said Amir. “Next week, same time?”

et in arcadia ego

looked barely dead and the cats started chewing on my thigh. They are sure that I’m dead, that I have no need for it, and that the still warm flesh is much more enjoyable than dry feed. The screens around blink with bright imagery of sin. Pick up the phone, look at the list of recent calls, which consists of the same number. After a click, beeps, before someone could reply, say “large pepperoni”, tell address, say, that I won’t need the change. Full cats fell asleep under the warm screens. After an hour to the dot, knock on the door. A kid paler than me holds a large white box the content of which is covered in sand round-shaped bread. He left without saying anything with his ten percent tip (cause death isn’t a reason to be uncorteous). Someone vaguely familiar comes in, full of energy, greets, tells how someone somewhere robbed a bank and uploaded the video of it on one of those sites. Says that if you take a city map and connect all the banks and their subsidiaries you’ll see a pentagram made of pentagrams which are made of pentagrams. “Dude, the main problem with you-know-who is that he didn’t transform hell into heaven but just sits there being a cog”, he says. After a brief pause, I say “we gotta call some five acquaintances and play some basketball”. “Good thinking, dude, good thinking. If all’s well we gotta smash some ATM afterwards. I don’t know why people don’t do it all the time, those things don’t look that hardy”, he says. We leave, the weather is perfect.

untitled

Sportscaster screams “verbiage” when I’m on a stroll Decribing empty vistas filled with horny patrols My dead self is my best self mind not in Malcolm’s way Beware of feedback loops every step of the way Give me a reason to leave my poorly assembled set To this very day les tricoteuses make content

Well you have ears and you have eyes Don’t listen to me look at some other guy There’s some courage to be had Writing down history of victorious empty heads It must be side effect of broken sleep patterns Finding rhythm and beauty in fecal matter

Stinging bland colors exorting a laugh Soundbites of worst to offer, what a fun life I’m asking others how to feel Plateauted yet again it’s no big deal When there’s light again over parks and backdoors I’ll try to mute proclivities towards bromide and havenots

My Dear Friends

The only thing here separating a lion and a man is a lousy moat. Jack Drowsey stands alone in Miami Zoo and stares at the animal. The sun is high on this weekday, Jack ignores a text from his boss, the lion looks back at Jack serenely, Jack puts phone on silent when boss calls, the lion yawns and stretches, Jacks turns the phone off when his wife calls. Jack leaves the zoo and gets in a car for which he has a key. Turns the ignition on, rips off BMW Dealership sticker off the glass and drives. He spent four years in Florida and never seen an alligator, but plenty of idiots. When Castro died, he saw a miami cuban and a skinhead hug. He drives among palm trees and potholes and thinks of his childhood in rural California. He had two friends, Barney and Billy. Barney now lives in San Francisco doing “some gay bullshit”, as Jack calls it. Billy died a few years back, OD’d on Xanax. It gets dark as he crosses the state line. Back in Bakersfield, Jack, Barney and Billy had a game. There was this guy everyone called just Dirty who had a real oxy problem. He was about twenty, but no one knew for sure, while Jack and the gang were all thirteen at the time. The goal of the game was as follows: get Dirty in a cage. They had a cage. The game was usually lost, except for that one time, when Billy told Dirty that if he stayed in the cage for an hour, they’d give him twelve dollars. Dirty walked into the cage, the boys locked it and left. From then on, Dirty was the wiser. Jack has been driving for three days straight now. Once, Barney had a Problem, he wanted to enlist. This curly pudgy kid, the kind who listens to Talking Heads, seventeen at the time, decided he had enough. He shaved his head, started running in the morning, talking about some evils from abroad gathering upon our doorstep, with nothing but vile intentions under their brown skins. Jack didn’t really care, he was happy for his friend to lose some weight and get a better chance at getting laid, but Billy was fuming. For three weeks there were constant arguing, until the two stopped talking and shaking hands altogether. Two months later, Jack’s birthday, which he saw as an opportunity to reconcile his buddies. They spent most of the night at the opposite ends of the room until they were drunk enough to get into some altercations. The previously routine arguing quickly turned when Billy yelled “Bash the fash!”. He must’ve forgotten that previously an artsy cunt spent time working on his body, while Billy was smoking weed and telling young women that they should all look more like Suicide Girls. Barney broke Billy’s nose, who was then smiling and coughing blood laying on the ground. Barney cried a bit. Everything returned to normal. Jack is approaching LA. He hadn’t slept, he hadn’t eaten, he stopped at a gas station once and got a bottle of water. He shuts his eyes for a second at an intersection and a truck is swift and merciless. Now he’s in LA, of sorts. It’s snowing. Dirty approaches him, but he’s clean, and he’s dressed up as Elvis. “Hi, Jack, remember me?”, says clean Dirty. “It’s me, Bruce”, he says. “You’re dead, buddy. Billy is here too, you wanna meet him? Or maybe someone famous first, how does a date with Rita Hayworth sounds to ya, huh, old pal?”, says Dirty. Jack keeps walking, Dirty follows. There’s no sunshine, only snow. There are no cars and Dirty is the only person around. Where would be banners and posters and billboards that advertise a multibillion industry of boredom is nothing; all of them show nothing. “Where are you going, you little shit?”, says Dirty, and Jack finds himself to be thirteen. He keeps walking. “You think I don’t remember? Here it’s hard to forget. All you do is remember”, says Dirty to the kid. “Where the fuck did you even find a cage?”, says Dirty, stops walking, mumbles something, pulls out a cigarette. Jack stops walking too. “We were just kids”, Jack says. “Whatever, asshole. I don’t care. There isn’t some lesson to be had here. Just go”, Dirty says, puffing on a newport. Jack is adult again, and he keeps walking. Until he sees Billy, whose skin is whiter than the snow around. “Why did you leave them?”, he says. Jack punches Billy in the shoulder. “Why did you leave us?”, he says. Billy can’t handle the punch and falls on his ass. “You and Barney seemed to have it figured out, somewhat. He with his art, you with your wife and a job. Not a great job, but a real job, doing something, being able to afford shit and all. I had absolutely nothing. I had no one. I did not leave you two, you did that before. I had bills, I had no fun, I had an easy way out. I took it. What’s your excuse?”, says Billy. And Jack has none.

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mrmichaelchadler · 7 years ago

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Thumbnails 6/13/18

Thumbnails is a roundup of brief excerpts to introduce you to articles from other websites that we found interesting and exciting. We provide links to the original sources for you to read in their entirety.—Chaz Ebert

"The Wizardry of Frank Oz: Why You Must See 'In & Of Itself'": My spoiler-free review published at Indie Outlook of Oz and Derek DelGaudio's extraordinary show running through August 19th at NYC's Daryl Roth Theatre.

“The rigorous specificity of DelGaudio’s illusions are not unlike the painstaking detail of Oz’s puppeteering, both of which are brought to life by the performer’s uncompromising honesty. It’s impossible to leave ‘In & Of Itself’ without forming your own thoughts about the illusory essence of identity. To me, Kermit’s ‘real self’ has no relation to the sanitized mascot favored by Disney and is more akin to George Bailey from ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’—a good soul prone to frustration who is ultimately saved by the community he built. Bailey is a lot like my father, a man who had plans for his future that were disrupted by the cruel turns of life. He has spent the years following his retirement as a full-time caregiver for my mother stricken with Multiple Sclerosis, and this identity has begun to engulf the others that have defined his life: social worker, friend, brother, frustrated actor, part-time rapper, Abe Lincoln enthusiast, even husband. Illness can also overtake one’s identity, though my mother has never allowed herself to be defined by her disease. Apart from reawakening our childlike sense of wonder, the great gift of ‘In & Of Itself’ is in how it affirms that each of us is—and deserves to be seen as—more than just one thing. Frank Oz is not just a Muppeteer. He is an actor, a director, a humanist, a father, a husband, a rebel, one of our finest entertainers and, in my opinion, an artist of the highest order. ‘In & Of Itself’ may close in two months, but it will forever remain in my heart.”

"Elon Musk and the Unnerving Influence of Twitter's Power Users": Essential commentary from Felix Salmon at Wired.

“How did Twitter become the world’s most anarchic social media platform? Well, one good way of finding inequality is to look at the difference between mean and median. In an equal set, they’re the same; in an unequal world, they can be wildly different. (Ask yourself, for instance, what would happen to the mean and median net worth of the individuals in your office if Bill Gates were to walk through the door.) On Twitter, while the median number of followers per account has always been just 1, the mean has been steadily rising. It was 208 in 2012; it was 707 in 2016; and it’s probably much higher today. Having a million Twitter followers used to be an astonishing achievement; now someone like Katy Perry can add 10 million followers in less than a year. Similarly, Elon Musk has added 5 million new followers in the past six months. (Five years ago, by contrast, his follower count stood at a comparatively normal 225,000.) This isn’t a case of a rising tide lifting all boats: Twitter, as a platform, is growing notoriously slowly, with total monthly users growing only by about 11 percent in the past 3 years. The really amazing thing about Katy Perry’s 110 million Twitter followers is not its absolute magnitude as much as the fact that the site’s entire monthly active user base is only about three times that size.”

"Rooting for Female Anger": Amber Tamblyn chats with BuzzFeed's Alanna Bennett about the #TimesUp movement.

“‘I was able to just sit and be a real sounding board for him,’ she said, adding that Tarantino ‘understood in that moment how severe the accusations were’ but that he ‘was also really blindsided by it, by the scope of it.’ Tamblyn’s goal was to listen — but also to guide. ‘I more or less told him what I would tell any man, which is to own the way in which you were complicit in this,’ she said. ‘Own your complacency. Say it.’ As she wrote on Twitter shortly after their dinner, Tamblyn viewed it as a ‘come to Jesus conversation.’ The crux of her stance was the importance of facing one’s sins; of speaking out publicly as a crucial step in how the industry moves forward in dealing with toxicity and rape culture. So Tamblyn connected Tarantino with Jodi Kantor, one of the New York Times journalists who reported out the Weinstein story. (Tarantino has confirmed this.) Tamblyn wanted Tarantino to face the woman who had spoken to Weinstein’s alleged victims while reporting the story. ‘I felt like that was a really important full circle that he needed to come to.’ As a result of her guidance, Tarantino issued a statement on Weinstein through Tamblyn’s social media. He also talked to Kantor for an interview in which he said, among other things, that when it came to Weinstein, he’d known ‘enough to do more than [he] did.’ ‘It was just sort of about helping him get there,’ Tamblyn said. ‘I feel like that would be the title of my memoir someday: Helping Them Get There.’ She paused, then added a subtitle: ‘The Story of Men.’”

"How an L.A. agency became a Hollywood go-to for connecting with multicultural audiences": According to Makeda Easter of The New York Times.

“In the past, Hollywood’s marketing efforts were mostly aimed at white audiences. But as the industry shifts to capitalize on an increasingly diverse nation, marketing tactics have also had to change. These efforts require more nuance and cultural sensitivity to successfully engage young people of color, women and LGBTQ communities. Cashmere’s ability to relate to diverse audiences comes from the demographic breakdown of its staff, which strongly skews young and multiethnic, said executive vice president Ryan Ford. Chung has also prioritized the importance of women, aligning with content and products that have women at the forefront. Half of Cashmere’s leadership roles are filled by women and several, including the vice president of client services and marketing and vice president of publicity, are staffed by women of color. ‘It’s what he built as a philosophy, we are who we market to,’ Ford said. The focus on millennials, defined as people born between 1981 and 1996, led the agency to take a social media-first mentality when designing marketing campaigns, allowing it to directly tap into millennial culture. From creating a buzz around Marvel’s game-changing black superhero movie, ‘Black Panther,’ to managing social media and public relations for ‘Grown-ish,’ the spinoff to the popular TV show ‘black-ish,’ Cashmere’s presence can be felt throughout the industry.”

"Old people can't open new tabs and it's fueling our descent into hell": A must-read article from The Outline's Kevin Munger.

“Video is the next frontier in disinformation propaganda, and the way that YouTube currently operates contributes to the problem. The Guardian published a small experiment demonstrating the polarizing capacity of YouTube: begin with a fresh browser history, search for a video about Trump or Clinton, and start watching the top recommended videos. You’ll quickly end up on the partisan fringe (and more often on the conservative fringe). Now imagine that instead of the dozens of videos purporting to prove that Obama is a Muslim but are actually just videos of old guys with webcams yelling at you, your grandparents found a realistic fake video of Obama saying that he couldn’t believe how easy it was to steal the Declaration of Independence and replace it with Sharia law. As Peele and Peretti's video shows, it may be a matter a months before this possibility becomes a reality. My personal fear is that we’ll see at least a few of these videos during the 2018 Congressional election; there are plenty of resources for debunking national-level fakes, but if a even small number doctored videos depicting candidates in key races fake-confessing to have orchestrated Pizzagate and/or be a Russian double-agent were spread via anonymous email campaigns 48 hours before Election Day, the balance of power in Washington could be manipulated before anyone knew what happened.”

Image of the Day

Amanda Mull of Racked makes a convincing case for why Dove's "body positivity" ad campaign "is a scam."

Video of the Day

youtube

A glorious tribute to the late master of animated cinema, Isao Takahata ("Grave of the Fireflies," "Only Yesterday"), created by Ebert Fellow Carlos Aguilar and Conor Holt of the One Week Only Podcast.

from All Content https://ift.tt/2y4Km0F

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geekysweetie · 7 years ago

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This Is US - Season 1 and 2 Review

It’s not often that I choose to write about (or really even choose to watch) American television. That’s because in my opinion, the writing in American drama is often inferior and the characters not as emotionally engaging as Asian dramas. Season 2 had already started when I finally got around to watching Season 1 of This Is Us, the show that would change my opinion of American Dramas. – Don’t get me wrong. I love me some drama regardless of what country it originates from.. but I distinctively recall for example, when “Fault of Our Stars” came out, how much praise it was being given, as being the saddest movie of all time, ever, by radio and TV critics and movie-goers across our nation. I watched the film and was left feeling, mostly, nothing at all. That’s IT?! I thought to myself as I contemplated the movie for the next few hours. Sure it was “sad” – but these people (who praised the film so heavily) have clearly no idea what a “sad” movie even is. Go watch a Kdrama, and then come back and tell me “Fault of Our Stars” is still the saddest thing you’ve ever watched. When it came to American dramas, they seemed to fall into one of 2 categories, smut filled soap operas that never end (versus the concise, beginning, middle, end, 24 episode formula of most Kdrama), or into a predictable, but enjoyable, feel good romantic comedy chick flick (where a happy ending was almost guaranteed). It’s rare to find a “serious” American drama that can evoke the same empathy and sympathy and devastation and heart ache that most Kdramas can cause the audience to feel. “Fault of Our Stars” (as well as “The Notebook” and other similar films) attempt to create a sad love story, but still I’m often left feeling less emotion than I expected (although admittedly, “The Notebook” did have both myself and my best friend running to the restroom to grab tissues as we started sobbing at the ending).

Anyways, this post is not about Kdrama, nor is it about “Fault of Our Stars” or everything that American TV / Cinema does “wrong” when it comes to writing an emotionally moving film…

This post is about “This is Us”, the drama that would change my opinion of everything that American TV / Cinema does “wrong”. I remember for months seeing previews, and being like oh yeah, I want to watch that, but pushing it off on the back burner as my back log of things to watch, games to play, and things to do IRL grew longer and longer. Over the next several months, “This is Us” was often discussed in the office where I work. This increased my curiosity and desire to sit down and binge watch it.

And from the first episode, I was not disappointed. It grabs you in. It had twists and turns and unconventionality. It took place in Pittsburgh (being an hour north of there (and soon to move within minutes of the city, this made it even more relateable to me). It was not the typical white-wash American sitcom family. Here was a family of mixed races, tackling some serious dark and depressing issues. Alcoholism, Drug Addiction, Infertility, Adoption, Weight Loss, and a very dysfunctional family. A family with real problems, problems with their marriage, problems with their careers, problems with their kids, problems with their family members.

It was raw, it was personal, it was unlike anything I had ever seen on American TV.

I binged through the first two seasons over Christmas break.

And the series returns tonight 01/09/18 with new episodes.

I won’t reveal much in this review about the story thus far in the first 2 seasons. I think that part of the success of this drama is how it throws some amazing curve balls at you and completely blindsides the heck out of you, which heightens the emotional impact so much more. In fact, the first episode might be quite confusing at first. The entire series is told through jumping here and there from past and present, including different periods in the past, and different families and perspectives and characters and it gets complicated fast. Everything is connected. It’s one of those shows you can only really appreciate and enjoy by watching from the very first episode, and never skipping a single show. The more you watch, the more everything begins to make sense, and the more invested you become in continuing to watch what happens next.

Anyways I’m obviously a fan of this series. It is with love and respect for the amazing writing (and music score, and acting, and pretty much everything) that I write this review.

Title: This is Us

Network: NBC

Length: 43 Minutes per Episode, Currently 2 Seasons with new episodes airing tonight 01/09/18.

Genre: Drama

Where to Watch: This is Us Seasons 1 and 2 are available on Hulu

Geeky: 3/5 This drama is likely to appeal more to girls than guys, due to the fact that it is not an “easy” show to watch. It’s not the type of show you come home to, put on, and mindlessly just enjoy. It requires critical thinking and piecing together the puzzle pieces from episode to episode as complexity grows each week. There are conflicts, but they are matters of the heart, struggles of human kind, and society as a whole. You will not find action and excitement here; however, Pittsburgh locals, and Steelers fans, or anyone dealing with dysfunctional family problems will relate easily to this series.

Sweetie: 5/5

Overall: 72/80 90% A- “Excellent Drama for Girls”

Concept: 10/10 The concept of the story, the way everything is interconnected and woven together, the excellent writing, acting, music, and execution, the loveable but flawed characters, and how relatable it all is makes the concept and overview of this series easily a 10 out of 10.

Story: 8/10 – The story can be confusing if you jump in mid-season, and it can even be confusing for long time fans. There are many questions left unanswered, and to find those answers, the story skips and hops all over in piece meal fashion. One moment, the big 3 have not even been born, you’re watching their parents in their early 20s, the next moment, the big 3 are about 10 years old, then the next moment they are days old, then the next moment, the big 3 are in their 30s. This would be the only complaint I could give as to the story.

Now for what the story does right, it tells us a story about a middle class northeastern family from Pittsburgh PA. They love the Steelers, they love going out to the bars in downtown Pittsburgh, taking their kids camping in the woods, fishing, hiking, celebrating the holidays Christmas, Halloween, Birthdays, and all, and the realities that come with life in Pittsburgh, PA such as shoveling their cars out from 6 feet of snow, the attitudes regarding racism and the roles of gender etc in the workplace back in the 70s and 80s in Pittsburgh’s prime.

But this isn’t just any other American family. This family is different. A white family raising a black kid, a black kid searching for his birth parents, a community that judges the family from all angles. A family that lost a child, but gained a child. And a family raising 2 remaining white babies along side the black baby. The saying “Love Makes a Family” has never been more true than it is in this drama.

But even parents with the best intentions and pure love for each other and for their children still make mistakes. Some of those mistakes we can never recover from. Some of those mistakes will cost some members of this family their lives. And other mistakes will cause members of this family to spend the rest of their lives searching for answers.

With each surprising plot twist and turn, we learn more about this unconventional American family. What mistakes did they make, what secrets do they hide, what went wrong? And above all, the love the family has for each other, the love that exists despite all of these devastating mistakes, the love that exists even beyond death. Love, self love, self identity, sacrifice, marriage, careers, raising a family, the struggle is real. We feel their struggle, that’s why we keep watching. We want to see how they overcome the pitfalls of life that so many of us face also in our own lives.

Characters: 9/10 Dysfunctional is the word I would use to describe this family, or in fact every single character within this drama. That’s part of what makes this series work so well. It plays on our sympathies, it makes the characters raw, real and relateable. Addiction is also a central theme. Whether it’s Jack and Kev’s alcoholism, Randall’s Obsessive Compulsion and Anxiety, or Kate’s weight problems. These characters are flawed. Sometimes those flaws can be presented a bit heavy handedly and repetitively, which is the only flaw I could give to the unique cast of characters.

It’s also interesting how the characters cannot “escape the sins of their fathers”. Just as Jack resented his father, he turns out to be the same in many ways, and Kevin realizes he too is exactly like them. And even though Beca hates her mother, thinks she expects too much and is controlling, Beca turns out to have the same expectations and behaviors towards her own daughter.

In this way we are shown, no one is perfect. Parenting is not easy. It’s easy to judge what our parents do wrong. It’s easy to blame them for messing up our own lives. But in the end, we control how our future looks.

The big 3 are at different stages in their lives. Randall is married with 2 beautiful children and a loving wife. A successful career and big house. Kate is slowly climbing out of her past problems, she finds a new man, which brings new challenges, but she also finds confidence in herself and realizes her dream to pursue her career and goals despite her age and appearance. Kevin is perhaps the most flawed of the big 3. He is unable to handle relationships, unable to feel anything, he has burred his emotions for so long concerning tragic events in his past. He has messed up his career, and now has to start over from nothing. He will try desperately to cling to the past, and still not acknowledge his problems. Those problems will grow when addiction enters the picture, and just when things seem to be going well for Kevin they will all fall apart again. Similarly, Kate in season 2 is going to have a huge upswing of luck, prosperity, and achievement, only to lose it all again.

Life is full of ups and downs. It’s this roller coaster ride that keeps us watching each episode. We begin to care more and more about the Pearsons because of how raw and real and flawed the characters are.

There’s much more to it than I have revealed here. Like I said, the best part is to watch and be shocked by each new rise and fall.

Casting: 9/10 – I think the show is well cast. My only small critique, and coming at it from the angle of my blog being for young teen/young adult women, is I would have liked Kate’s love interest to have been more handsome. I feel like in American film/TV it is really common to see a fat male character with a beautiful wife, but it’s far less common to see a fat female character with a fit husband. It’s almost taboo in American society to see this combination. And as a fat girl myself in real life, dating currently a fit guy, it’s a match I would like to see depicted more on American TV. Stop perpetuating the misconceived notion that a girl is only as good as her weight. Stop perpetuating that a fat girl can only ever be worthy of being with a fat guy. This isn’t true. Slender guys, Muscular guys, all different types of guys, like fat girls too.

Yes, being fat is unhealthy, and seeing Kate’s struggles with her weight, infertility, and struggles with her pregnancy, all hit very close to home for me as well, since I also have fertility issues due to PCOS.

Anyways, you can hate on me, and call me out and say by my criticizing Kate’s love interest simply because he’s bald and fat, that I’m a hypocrite, because I’m saying then a Man is only as good as his weight – and that’s not really true. that’s not my point or what I’m trying to say, but I think many readers may view these comments as such attacks. I think the character that Kate’s husband plays is smart, funny, and genuinely sweet and a great person. Kate is lucky to have him. Kate would STILL be lucky to have him even if Kate was a size zero and he remained overweight. The scene in the coffee shop where he gets to announce their pregnancy is maybe my favorite scene in the entire series. His love and devotion for Kate is demonstrated time and time again. They are possibly “America’s Sweethearts”.

People like him are hard to find in ANY shape size color or whatever. And the actor playing him does fantastic so this isn’t about his ability as an actor either.

But in a show that CONSTANTLY pushes the envelope on touchy sensitive issues such as alcoholism, domestic abuse, drug addiction, homosexuality, racism, discrimination, etc, It seems like a missed opportunity to push another issue, by giving Kate a partner that would be unconventionally acceptable by society’s standards for a “fat girl”.

As a fat girl myself, and now recently dating a fit and active guy, I am well aware of society’s view of what is “acceptable” for a “fat girl” when it comes to dating. 9 times out of 10 when we go out, the waitress assumes it’s separate checks, even if we go there often, even if I’m cuddling, rubbing his back, flirting, or etc, obviously we are together and out on a date. I’m well aware too of the looks and stares we get when we go out. And probably of the whispers and other comments made behind our backs. And this is in part shaped by what we see on TV. Society doesn’t hold those same misconceptions for an overweight man with an attractive female.

We laugh it off, because who are they to judge us, our happiness, our relationship, our compatibility. But still, Hollywood could be doing more to break down these stereotypes and barriers. They could pair a fat girl with a hot husband. They could cast a fat girl in a main role, and NOT make it about her eating addiction and weight loss, they could, but they don’t, and This is Us is no exception to this.

What we see in the media, also shapes our realities. Hollywood should have a responsibility to do more to stop sexism, racism, and stop hate against people on their weight, religion, sexual orientation, or any other “less desirable” (as perceived by society “norms”) traits.

Randall and Kevin would both be considered hot or attractive, and what do they get, hot wives/girlfriends (although Kevin’s relationships are a hot hot mess).

And yes, Kate does have a wonderful happy loving awesome relationship. That’s wonderful, but why pair the only fat chick in the sitcom, with an equally fat guy? Also why make Kate’s who character so obsessed with her weight. Calling attention to how it’s such a huge negative thing. Meanwhile in countless other sitcoms we see fat or ugly men with smoking hot wives. Let’s reverse that stereotype just one time. I want to see a serious tv series like this, with a very overweight actress such as Kate, with a happy, healthy relationship, with a man that society would deem to be “above her station” and a character who is confident, happy, and content with her body size/shape and just owns it. Yes, we all know that being fat is not healthy, it affects your life in numerous negative ways, from fertility issues such as what Kate has, to heart disease, diabetes, and just lack of energy/stamina. We don’t need a TV show to remind us of this (because society reminds us of this every day). Instead what we NEED is a TV show to show us some kindness, some hope, some ray of light, in a world with very few “role models for fat girls”.

I am here to tell you, that even though TV will never show you that “ray of light” it exists. It’s real. There are REAL men, fit, athletic, muscular, handsome, sexy men, who love big girls. Who love and RESPECT big girls, who love you for you, for the person you are inside. Your heart, your mind, your unique wonderful qualities that make you you. As well as loving you for your curvy body. Loving, loyal, devoted to you.

Do you know what my boyfriend told me on our very first date? He told me all of the reasons why he liked me / was interested in getting to meet me / know me better. Because I’m different from other girls, because I’m real and genuine, and loving, and kind hearted. Because I’m myself, I’m not fake, I’m not shallow, I never judge others. I accept and love and support him. But also he genuinely likes and is attracted to big girls. I’ve seen photos of his exes, and they were even bigger than me. So it’s not just him saying that to please me. As unbelievable as it may be, there are fit guys who love big girls. And not only because they are big. But for all of the reasons that make them a wonderful person. Relationships shouldn’t be superficial. (so once again you might be calling me out here with my critique of Kate’s boyfriend in This is Us because he DOES treat Kate like the queen she is no matter how big he or she are.) But so could any man, regardless of his weight. Why only show fat actresses with fat men? When will hollywood realize that a woman’s value is more than her dress size. I have a wonderful relationship with a fit muscular guy and I’m a 200 lb girl. We share some things in common, but we also show each other new and interesting things, and take interest in each other’s interests. We have never spent a weekend apart ever since we first met, almost 6 months ago now.

I still think every time I go out with my boyfriend that I have the best looking guy in the room, or even in the world. And I find it unbelievable. Why? Why am I always so surprised and thankful and feel so shocked? Because of society’s norms, society’s expectations, society’s judgements. And what forms and shapes those judgements is the media. Magazines, movies, TV shows. We grow up looking to those. It’s a subconscious thing. You can deny it all you want and say you’re not superficial, but the truth is, you don’t even realize how it is shaping your judgement and notions.

Fat women often cast as sidekicks, comic relief, never taken seriously, never in a lead role, never in a “fairytale” type romance with a “prince charming”. If anything at all, paired with a man who society would equally judge and find fault with (at least their outer appearance).

I guess my bottom line is this… They could have written the character of Kate’s husband the EXACT same way, kept ALL of the scenes exactly the same, showing his silly side, his love for Kate, his willingness to let go of any pride or the lengths he would go to to publicly display his love for Kate, Kept all of that, and just cast someone better looking in the role – he still would have had the same qualities that make us love their relationship so much. While no longer perpetuating the stereotype of a fat girl not being able to have a happy relationship like this with an average or even handsome guy. Cast her with someone like Kev or Randall and then we’d REALLY have a show that pushes the envelope.

Acting: 10/10 – The show is emotionally engaging because not only of the excellent writing but the equally believable and convincing acting.

Music: 10/10 – I love the ending theme as well as many of the other tracks used throughout this drama. Many fans have asked repeatedly for Jack’s theme to be released on itunes store. As of yet it does not appear to be available for purchase. Take a listen below to Jack’s Theme.

youtube

Visuals: 8/10 – The nostalgia of the 70s 80s, and 90s are depicted through the different time skips back through the story. Although the show is a drama with no special effects or big budget visuals, the show does an excellent job of depicting life in western Pennsylvania. I would know since it is also my home.

Overall: 72/80 90% A- “Excellent Drama for Girls”

This Is US – Season 1 and 2 Review was originally published on GeekySweetie.com - Geeky & Kawaii Anime, Tech, Toys, & Game Reviews & News

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albanflandin-blog · 8 years ago

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Design Context Essay - Timelines in the stories

FLANDIN Alban

GIRARD Mihajlo

SPOILER ALERT: Possible spoils about the following movies:

Deadpool, Very Bad Trip, Usual Suspects, The Lord of the Rings, Cloud Atlas, The Fountain, Interstellar, Arrival, Following, Memento, Mulholland Drive, Réalité, Sin city, Gone Girl

Introduction

Most stories have always been told in a linear manner, be it in literature, cinema or storytelling in general. In essence, one way storytelling has always been the most logical choice since immemorial times, even during the first periods of humanity, for example, bards and poets would sing about knights’ stories from their birth to their exploits and finally their end. Stories would follow life’s course, that way they were easy to tell and easy to understand thus making them less confusing for the listeners and more captivating. Nowadays, these patterns are still used in today’s books and films but producers and writers become more and more keen to mixing up their storyline and making use of non-linear timelines to add complexity and originality to their works. Consequently, numerous processes regarding timeline manipulation became more and more popular like flashbacks, time travelling, etc… Certain producers go even further by making timeline manipulation become a major aspect of their stories itself. We will therefore seek to understand how the management of a film’s timeline can become a major aspect in its storyline and enhance the intrigue. In order to do so, we will first explain more in detail why the linear storytelling pattern is the one most widely used still to this day. We will then talk about the most commonly used ways of mixing up the timeline in one’s film and its impact on the story. Finally, we’ll see how some producers make the timeline become the major aspect of their scenario and the pros and cons it has in contrast to the classic way of telling a story.

I – Classical timelines and chronological development of the storyline

Most films today use linear narration techniques meaning they try to display scenes in a chronological and natural order. They aim for a consistent and understandable experience in which the spectators can relate either to the characters or the action. This process adds a realistic dimension to the story as the characters’ lives are displayed chronologically, just like a normal human’s life would unwind. Aristotle was one of the first people to highlight the importance of a well-constructed story in his dramas, logically, a story must have well-defined beginning, to set-up the main plot, middle, to introduce the action and its climax and finally ending, where the problems faced by the characters are resolved. His theory is expanded upon by Gustave Freytag in 1883 who proposes a new model based on Aristotle’s, called the Freytag Pyramid in which the story generally follows a defined narrative plot comprised of 7 distinctive parts:

- An Exposition phase, where the characters are introduced along their relations to each other, their motivations, goals as well as the context and environment they live in. Furthermore, the story displays what the main characters have to defend and what they have to loose.

- The Inciting Incident, where the main problems the characters are going to face are displayed as well as the beginning of their conflicts against the antagonists, if there are any.

- The Rising action, where the story builds up upon the conflicts and problems of the characters and the plot gets more exciting.

- The Climax, is the moment that the Rising action builds up too, the most intense part of the story.

- The Falling action then represents the events that happen after the climax that lead to the resolution and end of the story.

- The Resolution where the main problem or conflict is solved by either the main character or someone else.

- Finally, the Dénouement represents the end of the story where all the secrets, questions or mysteries which remained still after the resolution are solved.

This narrative model implies implicitly a linear narrative approach to telling a story (The resolution of a problem should arise after it is evocated). It is used in most movies where the director doesn’t want his spectators to know more than the characters they are watching. This allows the film to keep the tension going through the whole action phase and captivate its audience with action rather than questioning. Now linear narration doesn’t necessarily mean non-complex story, even though a lot of films nowadays use this kind of pattern to concentrate on other aspects. We can see it very clearly in most blockbusters today where directors trade story complexity in order to focus on making the action scenes look more interesting and impressive with the use of special effects and such ( Yes we are looking at you Michael Bay). In the end, the linear way seems like the most logical choice for a film producer to tell a story easily. But cinema is not only used as a way to tell a story but make the spectator experience something new and original, even though some producers manage very well to make use of linear narration to produce complex and engaging stories, some take the liberty to apply to their stories more thought out narrative outline to bring the spectators into their own world with their own crafted codes and make Cinema shine artistically.

We will now see the most used means of breaking linearity in Cinema today in the second part of our essay.

II – The common tools used to make non-linear timelines

One of the retrospective tools most used in Cinema today is the flashback. It allows the film to communicate important information that had not been previously revealed during the story and eventually fill story gaps and questions the viewers could have asked themselves. It can also be used as a mean to make the viewers understand a character’s actions, be it the protagonist or the antagonist, by showing elements of their past that can explain their behavior or emotions. There are mainly two types of flashbacks, the objective flashback that shows something that happened in the past without the characters necessarily mentioning anything about it. It gives the viewers information that even some of the characters may not have themselves, In Gone Girl (David Fincher) a flashback explains why the wife of the main character has disappeared while he himself is ignorant as to the reasons why. Then there is the subjective flashback, which doesn’t really break the story’s course as it is mainly following one of the character’s point of view, it is sometimes used to back-up talk with images, when one of the characters is telling his story for example. There is a good example in the hateful eight, when the character played by Samuel L. Jackson explains to another one how he killed his son. In this case the flashback is often used by producers to respect one of the main principals of Cinema, the “Show and don’t tell” as a linear dialogue would be way less engaging for the viewers. It is part of one of the cinema’s paradox, to avoid talk shows as much as possible and focus on what can be shown to the viewers and what can be explained to him without too much dialogue. It gives importance to certain aspects of the characters or the story and it lifts a problem we can have with linear narration that makes it hard to give consistency to the story and keep the viewers interested as everything is revealed from the get go. Either way, the flashback in general is a powerful tool to break storyline linearity as it allows some parts of the story to remain untold and create narrative gaps that will keep the viewers questioning until said information is revealed. It gives a realistic feel to the characters’ lives not in regards to how it would unfold but how it would be felt with its proper emotions, memories and marking events. Even though the flashback is a tool used by producers to break storyline linearity and put emphasis on certain aspects of the story, there are also other processes like ellipsis that settle only on focusing on important parts of the plot while keeping its order.

Certain movies resort to flashbacks as the main way to tell their stories:

- “Deadpool” in essence has a very basic plot in its present form and relies mainly on flashbacks to explain the hero’s story and how he got to the point he is now.

- “Very Bad Trip”, where the main goal of the characters is to find out what happened to them the night before their hangover, mainly by flashbacks triggered by videos of themselves or testimonies from people that were there.

- “Usual Suspects” makes use of flashbacks to illustrate the testimony of the main character to the police (Even if we learn at the end that what he says didn’t really happen).

The main limit of the flashback process is that you can make the film confusing for the viewers by making them loose the notion of the timeline or story order, thus flashbacks need to be correctly delimited in the story and carefully inserted with the use of special effects and such.

There are other basic tools that are used to make the intrigue less linear, in the same vein as the flashback we have the flash-forward that shows elements of the future that are bound to happen eventually. It can be presented either as a prophetic vision or an alternative future. It can give sense to the character’s actions by showing what they have to aim for or what they have to prevent from happening and display clearly what is at stake for the viewers to see. In “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”, the queen of the elves shows to the main character what will happen if he fails his quest to destroy the ring of Sauron.

Even though these processes break the linearity of the storyline of the movies in which they are used, the movie still keeps its linear construction. So in our third part we will see some examples of movies where the non-linearity of the timeline is one of the major aspects of the plot, which is sometimes even entirely constructed around it.

III – The timeline as a major part of the scenario

We will now talk about films based around a nonlinear construction. Certain movies choose to show multiple characters evolving in different eras by either by following a linear construction like in “2001, A Space Odyssey” where each story is showed completely before the movie transitions to the next, more recent one. In contrast, in “Cloud Atlas”, the directors tell six different stories in different ages and alternate scenes of each one of the stories. The plot bounces between timelines just like in “The Fountain” (Aronofsky) even though we can imagine that some of the stories are only symbolic and do not really happen, just like the part in the future. This way of telling the story brings dynamism into the movie and draws close to the TV shows’ ways of teasing what will happen next, a lot of scenes just end up on at a point in the story that leaves us wanting to see more (Especially in Cloud Atlas). To a lesser extent we can also talk about “Sin City” where many different stories are told and even though they happen at the same time, each one is shown separately and the movie goes back in time when a new story begins.

In certain movies, timeline manipulation appears like a consequence of the plot itself. In “Edge of tomorrow”, the main character is thrown into a time loop and comes back to the beginning every time he dies while keeping his memories, desperately trying each time to fix the mistakes that led to his death. By doing this, the movie scrambles the viewer’s expectations as in essence, the main character could end up doing the same things over and over again. This lets the producer try to impress the viewer and renew his experience with the same scenes but with different outcomes.

In “Interstellar” the timeline mainly follows the law of physics, as an example when the main characters arrive on a planet where gravity is really strong, time flies by more “slowly” than the people that had stayed far away from the planet. The most interesting thing we can talk about the timeline of this film is when the character of McConaughey goes into the black hole and becomes able to interact with objects of the past. By doing that, the character transcends time and tries to influence his past self not to become his present one. Here too, the timeline creates a story loop which links the beginning and end of the story, more or less like in “Back to the Future”.

On some other films, there is only one story and nothing in the scenario would justify a non-linear narration in itself. But it’s the producer’s choice to just tell his story in another way, in Arrival, Denis Villeneuve tries to trick his audience by showing what appears to be flashbacks but is in reality flash-forwards revealing that the main character had in reality visions about the future making her face difficult decisions. Sometimes, timeline manipulation is an integral part of the intrigue of the movie, for instance, in “Following” by Nolan, the story of the main character is told originally, scenes from three different periods in his life are mixed up together and put end to end to form a confusing puzzle that the viewer has to resolve. The viewer can differentiate each periods of the character’s life by looking at his face: he first has long hair, then short hair and a beaten up face on the last part. It gives a disconcerting feeling to the viewer during the movie and finally a sense of accomplishment when the pieces of the puzzle are put together. It is also the case for “Memento”, by the same director, it is the story of a guy that lost his short term memory due to a rare condition of amnesia. To bring the character closer to the viewers, the film is constructed upside down, each scene ends where the previous one began. By doing that the viewer, just like the amnesic character, does not know what has happened before. In consequence, the director creates complicity with his viewers and totally changes the classical stakes of the usual movie, here the story begins with the main character killing someone and the whole interest of the movie is to show the steps that led him to doing that. As we said before, using this process can give a feeling of accomplishment to the viewer when he finally solves the puzzle, but this narration can also be used to create a confusing experience where plenty of interpretations are possible, just like in “Mulholland Drive” by David Lynch, where the movie is divided in two parts, one where the character played by Laura Elena Harring (Camilla Rhodes) is with Betty the other where she is with(Played by Naomi Watts) and Diane (Naomi Watts too). Many interpretations are possible about what the signification of each part is. This confusing effect is even more present in “Réalité” by Dupieux: this film tells a story where there is, in the beginning, a big border between two timelines, dream and reality but the more the story goes, the more the border becomes thinner between each timeline, to the point that we can’t distinguish whether the scene is a dream or reality. To conclude, the manipulation of the timeline in an intentional way can really create an original and unique experience for the viewer, furthermore, if the process is well done it can enhance the intrigue.

Conclusion

We’ve seen why linear narration has always been so popular being the easiest way to tell a story without losing the viewers and letting the director focus on other part of his film even though it has its limits. To face them, a lot of movies nowadays began using “classic” tools and processes that could allow them to mix up their storyline and timeline such as flashbacks and flash-forwards as we have seen. Finally, some directors decided to produce movies that embraced timeline manipulation fully and make it an integral part of the storyline to add originality to their films and make their viewers experience new emotions and discover a new way of entertainment by trying to decipher the true meaning of the story.

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mihajlogirard-blog · 8 years ago

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Design contexts essay

Design contexts Essay