Since their conception, documentaries have strived to broadcast intriguing and captivating stories, pushing the boundaries of cultural norms and comfort zones. In 1972, Albert and David Maysles discovered a fascinating tale of a mother and daughter inhabiting a dilapidated Long Island mansion, Grey Gardens, which later became the title of the film. Lee Radziwill, the sister of former First Lady Jackie Kennedy, approached the filmmakers in hopes of capturing the haunts of her childhood (Sutton, 2014), but the lens quickly shifted from Radziwill to her aunt, Edith “Big Edie” Beale, and cousin, “Little Edie.” The film falls within the participatory mode of documentary, which focuses on the interaction between the filmmaker and his or her subjects. …show more content…
During the entire film, this sound that has a place within the natural story world further adds to the argument that the past and present are two separate and conflicting times. Remarkably, the Maysles rely on diegetic sound for a majority of the documentary, using little to no sound effects or background music. The film opens with the pair fighting over the cat’s escape. The camera exists closer to the elder Edith in this moment, so despite her daughter’s yelling in the background, she easily overpowers the audio. Actions similar to this weave themselves into the film in its entirety, mother trying— and succeeding— to shift the camera’s lens to her. A dark undertone to the film is the younger Edith’s inability to escape her mother’s clutches, nor the confines of Grey Gardens. Her shrill shrieks show concern for the lost feline, but also hide her anger; a cat escaped before she could. As the camera pans towards the hole in which the cat escaped from, the second Edith frets over the Long Island Villagers holding another raid upon Grey Gardens. Obviously, the state of the mansion has ruffled feathers in the upper crust neighborhood, but the Beales change nothing about the home. As mentioned before, the Maysles jump cut from manicured lawns to the overgrown mess of the ladies’ home for evidentiary editing, but what makes the scene particularly striking is Little Edie’s words …show more content…
The scrapbook scene previously mentioned switches to Little Edie pondering the past on the porch, specifically her life during World War II. She admits, “I would have just enjoyed every single minute, just done everything… but I never had a chance to do anything like that”, citing her mother’s illness as her reason for not tailing her friends into the Red Cross and across the globe. Rotting away with her senile mother is not the future she imagined as the It girl of the Hamptons. Her present disappoints, yet she does nothing to change her situation. She hides behind excuses of helping Big Edie to pardon her lack of action. The younger Edith envisioned herself marrying and having children, but her mother acts as the one hurdle she cannot surpass. Now middle-aged, her chances of fulfilling her girlhood dream are gone. The closing-in walls of Grey Gardens do not help change the woman’s perspective either; sagging walls and boarded-up holes further remove her perfect future by highlighting the passage of time. A jump cut lands the action on an elevated deck looking over the unkempt garden and a fight between the Beales. Little Edie screams at her mother, “I missed out on everything” and name-drops Jack Kennedy, citing a benefit he hosted that she missed due to “mother and the cats.” New York Magazine writer Gail Sheehy rented the
During the Talladega 500, Cal Naughton Jr., Ricky Bobby's former best friend, pulled ahead of Ricky, allowing him to slingshot around his car and pass Jean Girard. Though Cal and Girard were teammates at Dennit Racing, Cal disregarded this and jeopardized his team's success to aid Ricky in the movie Talledega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. This moment was crucial to Ricky, he having fallen from grace, going from NASCAR's top driver to being let go by Dennit Racing. The love Cal exhibited was a selfless form of love that was centered entirely around Ricky's happiness, not his own. Because of this selflessness, Cal compromised his own agenda, winning for Dennit, and disregarded personal consequence in hopes that Ricky would win the race. If you truly love someone as Cal loved Ricky, you must sometimes compromise your own interests for their benefit.
The forward-tracking movement as used in Ernie's restaurant suggests the forward-tracking shot that is used throughout the film to show Madeleine has an allure for Scottie. Ernie's scene evokes the backward-tracking shot used throughout the film to show how Scottie is bonded to his object of desire. Together they bring out the character that an individual is playing in the film. The camera movement in Ernie’s Restaurant brings out forward and backward tracks that defines the point-of-view structure, but here the camera movement does not straight forwardly articulate a point of view. Instead, the camera is self-consciously sets up to show the relationship between the elements of the point-of-view structure that the rest of the film enacts.
middle of paper ... ... Whereas before Janie was aware of her silent thoughts and how they pulled her away from her love for Logan and Jody, now those same silent thoughts preserve Tea Cake for her in perpetuity. And in Seraph on the Suwanee, Jim’s departure allows Arvay to realize the chasm between her and her past, and in so doing, realize that her struggles portray a woman destined to be a caregiver.
The movie Dope, written and directed by Rick Famuyiwa, follows the story of Malcolm through his senior year of high school in the Inglewood California. He lives in a poor neighborhood, with only his mom, yet he still strives for greatness. He has a couple of friends, and they all love 90’s hip hop culture. They try to do their best to stay out of trouble and away from bullies. Malcolm sees a girl he likes and ends up following her to a drug dealer’s birthday party. When the cops bust the birthday party, he unknowingly goes home with all the drugs and the gun that the drug dealer owns. This sets off a wild chain reaction, as he now has to sell these drugs to payoff the supplier, who happens to be the Harvard Alumni that Malcolm’s needs approval
Edith Ewing Bouvier-Beal and her namesake “Little Edie” Bouvier-Beal live in a dilapidated mansion in the Hamptons in squalor. “Big Edie” rarely leaves her bed which is surrounded by trash and refuse. She even cooks using a hot plate from her bed. Little Edie reluctantly serves her mother, and feeds the multiple cats and wild animals such as raccoons that populate the filthy flea ridden house
Being essential to the characteristics of a few of the main characters, Evelyn Couch, Ruth Jamison, and Idgie Threadgoode. While during one of Evelyn’s usual nursing home visits, she happens to strike a conversation with an old kind card of a woman (Ninny Threadgoode) who happens to brighten her day with the telling of stories from the past. As she begins Ninny recounts tales of her sister-in-law Idgie a young free spirited girl who always seemed a cut above the rest, but however, differed from others in the sense that after her older brother Buddy’s untimely death she began to close herself off to others around her. While before then was always different as she was a girl who enjoyed rough, noisy activities traditionally associated with
signifies to evade the realities of her life and the life of Janie. When Nanny
Through her three marriages, the death of her one true love, and proving her innocence in Tea Cake’s death, Janie learns to look within herself to find her hidden voice. Growing as a person from the many obstacles she has overcome during her forty years of life, Janie finally speaks her thoughts, feelings and opinions. From this, she finds what she has been searching for her whole life, happiness.
The flashback commences by recounting the years leading to Janie’s childhood through alluding to Nanny and Janie’s mother Leafy’s, life difficulties. Nanny is raised in slavery and was raped by her slave master, which led to Leafy’s birth. She had to flee in the night and hide in swamps during the war to protect her daughter. They go to live with a white family; the Washburn’s who are very accommodating. Once Leafy is older, she is raped by her white schoolteacher, leading to Janie’s birth. Leafy is absent through Janie’s life, so Nanny becomes her caregiver. Due to the abandonment of her parents, Janie is uncertain about her character and is lacking parental influence. Nanny raises Janie vicariously, so she will not encounter the same obstacles. Under a pear tree one day, Janie observes a bee pollinating a flower. She determines that this is how love is supposed to look. Love is passionate and never selfish or demanding. One day she kisses a boy named Johnny Taylor, whom Nanny does not approve. Nanny’s beliefs and authority on Janie’s life cause Janie’s abrupt marriage, before she can discover her true identity and spirit.
Sex, love, depression, guilt, trust, all are topics presented in this remarkably well written and performed drama. The Flick, a 2014 Pulitzer Prize winning drama by Annie Baker, serves to provide a social commentary which will leave the audience deep in thought well after the curtain closes. Emporia State Universities Production of this masterpiece was a masterpiece in itself, from the stunningly genuine portrayal of the characters of Avery and Rose, to the realism found within the set, every aspect of the production was superb.
Once Janie was of age to have serious relationships, Janie’s grandmother tried to guide Janie in the direction of the upper class and money. The point was so that Janie would never have to work a day in her life and only have to fulfill her normal housewife duties. But once word got
In the documentary “Fed Up,” sugar is responsible for Americas rising obesity rate, which is happening even with the great stress that is set on exercise and portion control for those who are overweight. Fed Up is a film directed by Stephanie Soechtig, with Executive Producers Katie Couric and Laurie David. The filmmaker’s intent is mainly to inform people of the dangers of too much sugar, but it also talks about the fat’s in our diets and the food corporation shadiness. The filmmaker wants to educate the country on the effects of a poor diet and to open eyes to the obesity catastrophe in the United States. The main debate used is that sugar is the direct matter of obesity. Overall, I don’t believe the filmmaker’s debate was successful.
District 9 is a film that takes us into a realm of a different world from the one that we know now. It combines extraterrestrial life with immense science fiction to illustrate a story we could only imagine to ever actually occur. Although it was created for entertainment purposes, the motion picture can be compared to many different types of individuals and situations. District 9 displays many underlying concepts throughout the movie about racism, prejudice and discrimination. While studying and analyzing the plot and characters, these concepts became more translucent to me, the viewer. This paper will discuss the treatment of District 9 residents and equate their treatment to people with disabilities.
When strange things begin to occur in the mansion, Edith
Maude, played by Ruth Gordon, radiates energy and is plagued with the fear of not living. She also shows a distaste for authority. This is exemplified in nearly every scene, especially the scene with Harold and Maude in the woods. The ambiance feels almost fairy-tale induced. She helps Harold in seeing why life is worth living, as she (and the film) chase their own obsessions, and she is not troubled by what anyone else thinks (much like the film).