Roger Ebert, a top critic from Chicago Sun-times, praises the movie in multiple aspects. The 28 minutes scene with no talking was discussed it his critic. Ebert embraces the meticulous construction and specific details. With a extreme tight budget, the director still did a perfect job on the movie. Instead of shrinking the money on stage properties, he found less famous actors who eventually flawlessly acted the movie. Ebert also highlights the opening that the director used closeups of actors’ eyes to show their characteristics. Ebert talks about how the first half of the movie gradually increase to climax by adding members to “the Stephanotis”. Then, in the second half, when each main character were being killed the climax fade away. He also talks about kidnapping the little boy and how interesting it was that the kid didn’t notice the kidnap.
# 4
New York International Children’s Film Festival (NICFF) was founded in 1997 by Eric Beckman with his wife, Emily Shapiro, attempting to draw that audience with features that are creative and provocative but without nudity or graphic violence. The purpose of the film is to define a more compelling film for their special audience, children. Currently, this festival is the largest festival for children and teens in North America, with an audience of over 25,000 attending the most recent event. Since 2000, all screenings have sold out in advance. This program is an academy qualified festival (one of the twos holds this honor).
Each year the festival presents 100 animated, live action and experimental shorts and features from around the world plus gala premieres, retrospectives, filmmaker Q&As, workshops, audience voting, and the NYICFF Awards Ceremony. But the festival has become much more than just an annual event; NYICFF now offers year-round film programming, a touring festival, an online festival, and film production workshops for children ages 6-16.
The program emphasize the children’s vote in making decisions of its winner. In addition, the film festival also hosts camp in which children are immersed in filmmaking workshops and classes lead from professional filmmakers.
# 3
Singin’ in the Rain
It was so fun just watching the movie. I was really fascinated by how those MV like songs are record. Well, I believe all of them might not be fun even. And how the actor’s skill of singing dancing, basically everything. There’s a particular scene in the musical when Don was traced by a track and he just grow bigger in the screen. The costumes are very suitable. Probably cost a great deal of money. The light was pretty good. Also at the ballet dancer’s dancing scene with the while dress, she was like a princess. And the movie probably used a lot of technics to get the scene done. I saw the powder under the dance’s feet. She must been using it for more fraction. It might be that the wind was too big. And I also researched a lot of fun facts.
# 2
sharing Kelly’s and my thoughts about super8 project
We decide to tell a story between a person or two and a doll (not sure what yet). The emotion is aimed as a gentle and warming comedy. We are going to use a regular speed. Also adding in cutting scenes (like the make something disappear vine) is also a goal of ours. We have not decide the whole story line but it might connect with the expression of the doll.2
# 1
WPA blog post
Claimed that “the primary task is to put people to work.” President Franklin D. Roosevelt took office in 1933 facing the remaining station of the Great Depression. Roosevelt advocated an idea of New Deal which would eventually alleviate the impact of the Great Depression. The Works Progress Administration, largest and most effective second New Deal agency, employed millions of unemployed workers. Roosevelt started with temporary works using Civilian Conservation Corps to pay people who were willing to build state parks and forests. The PWA was made to hire workers constructing national infrastructure. Harry L. Hopkins served of the most important administrator of WPA helping roosevelt to deal with the dilemma. WPA program focused on nearly every aspects of works. It used workers constructing roads to improve the national facilities. It also helped public health. The WPA poster collection considered as a significant part, helped artists getting jobs painting posters. These posters were designed to raise people’s awareness of health, community activities, publicize exhibits, etc.
“A good lunch” was a poster made by WPA Oklahoma art project. The poster initiated what a health lunch should like. Proposing the importance of getting enough meat, vegetables, fruit, and milk in order to balance the nutrition intake for a person. The sandwich was the most popular food in United States. Invented by a British statesman, the sandwich was designed as an easy taking health food. At the bottom of the poster, there were “WPA School Lunch”, the lunch was probably recommended for especially students and workers to take with them during the daytime as an effective tool to make them health. The tide of the Great Depression just gone for a short time, the poster also set a goal of making all the Americans to eat a good lunch. The color of the poster used blue red and white to emphasize the color of America. In another way it also highlighted nationalism and connected it with the health eating habit.
Daisy Miller Close Reading
Winterbourne’s abundant psychological activities towards Daisy relieve against the impact of cultural contrast between America and Europe. Confined by the conservative european culture, people in europe especially those who talk Daisy in the back cannot understand Daisy’s behavior. The surrounding influenced Winterbourne’s judgement. Strongly impacted by the european background Winterbourne regards Daisy as “a young lady whom a gentleman need no longer be at pains to respect”. (456) Loving Daisy, Winterbourne feels like being cheated as “looking at her companion and not reflecting that though he saw them vaguely.” (456) However, struggled by his origin connection with the new continent, Winterbourne questions himself “with a sort of horror” (456) hesitating wether Daisy’s behavior meaning what. Observed by her appearance, Daisy seems like a rich girl. Nevertheless her interests and knowledges don’t show her class at the same way. In another way it shows the American industrial revolution bringing up people’s economic estate but not education. Winterbourne seems considering more which contrasting with Daisy’s innocence way dealing with things. Blinded by the cultural gap, Winterbourne thinks “the riddle had become easy to read” (456) But that clearness actually reflects his confession “as if a sudden illumination has been flashed upon the ambiguity of Diasy’s behavior.”(456) European culture has limited women’s rights to communicate resulting in Daisy’s natural conversation with other male becomes a misunderstanding of her faithful love. Daisy wants to assimilate into the new community. Lacking of knowledges and sense of cultural differences she radically changes herself in a inappropriate way. At the same time, Winterbourne also shows his love by “fear that he was doing her injustice.” (456) which hints his recognition of her being a innocence girl.
Maggie close reading
Maggie, a naturalism novella, reveals the dark side of society by using strong scenes. This post mainly focused on chapter 17, page 984. The second edition of the book didn’t included this chapter because of it controversy. Nevertheless, the controversy powerful shows the complicity of Maggie demonstrating her revenge on verity of things by reversing the circumstance of herself. Describing Maggie as “a girl of the painted cohorts of the city” (984), the author demonstrates her change during only few month from a immaculate ignorant girl to a courtesan. Her horrible memory of Pete, the man who seduced her, evokes her reaction of “giving smiling invitations to men of rural or untaught pattern”(984) and the opposite of “usually seeming sedately unconscious of the men with a metropolitan seal upon their faces.”(984) On account of Pete pretending himself as a affluent gentle man, Maggie hopes to get out of her living condition by Pete. She never predicted a disaster would happens on herself. Maggie’s revenge on Pete and the society reflects the present situation. She probably lived in a rich life in evidence of her “handsome cloak”(984) and “well-shod feet”(984). However, it is also a fact how she drawn. Maggie steps on the “dryer spots upon the pavements”(984). The author uses metaphor describing the muddy pavements as the blundering society and depicting Maggie as the one stays on the dry side who eventually drawn herself in the mud. Maggie shows her lack of confidence by living as a debauched prostitute. Later in the passage when the “belated man in business clothes”(984) calls Maggie Mary. It emphasizes Maggie’s revenge on her mother by using her mother’s name as her prostitute pseudonym.
Last Source Evaluation: B.B. King – Life of Riley
Last but not least, my final source is a documentary, directed by Jon Brewer, named B.B. King – Life of Riley. I watched the whole movie last about 2 hours. It tells the story of B.B.’s life and the journey of him creating his blues. This movie also focuses on people that influenced his career.
The documentary tells the story from his born till the his later years. B.B. is the initial of blues boy came by Beale Blue Boys which described B.B. King. Looking back from the whole movie, I find it particularly interesting that he had influenced by women around him the most. The first one was his mother who inspired him and made him going to church every week. B.B. loved his mother a lot even she had passed away since he was only nine years old. She taught him always trying to show people the love he had. Another interesting point, BB’s twice marriage both ends with divorce, influenced by his career and influenced his lyrics of music at the same time. Discussing about segregation, B.B. fought as most of the colored people did. He bought a bus for his band not only to have a special transportation for his peers but also preparing boxed food for them in case they don’t have time to eat because some of the white only restaurants.
This source is the most helpful one which gives me a clearer sense of B.B. King’s life timeline. It gives me the inspiration of thesis and helps me confining my research area on the important women appear in his life. Including different aspects from his family members, friends and fans, this source personates as a more complete and authority piece. Lots of the informations, not occurred in other source, are more precise and effective.
B.B. King – Life of Riley. Dir. Jon Brewer. Perf. Morgan Freeman. MVD Visual, 2014.
Second Source Evaluation: The Arrival of B.B. King
The Second source I found helping with my research is a book called The Arrival of B.B. King by Charles Sawyer which is authorized by B.B. King. I focused on a chapter named “The arrival of B.B. King” under part two and the whole part three. The Appendices also interest me. I wish to focus on “The arrival of B.B. King” specifically. Related to my last source, this one also focused on his early life experience and the influence.
King’s character development fascinates me a lot. In this particular part, the author tells stories about King’s harsh childhood. Under a circumstance of being a poverty colored person, King had a tough early life. Nevertheless, he shows his positive attitude towards his life. King was worried about people’s comments about him. He was afraid to be called “illiterate”. So he started reading book when he had time. He was insecure about lots of things. But his positive attitude influenced him to get improvements. Winning the Grammy Award for 15 times, he discovered his own style of Blues. The key concept of the self-improving was discussed through the whole process. Discussing King’s morality, the understanding of King went deeper.
Even better than the last source, this one gives me a better sense of the stories and backgrounds of B.B. King. It’s a form of description instead of autobiography. It helps me narrowing my topic into Riley (B.B.)’s early life. I definitely need more investigation on B.B.’s particular songs and their inspiration. Drawing some connections between his terrible status early days and his later masterpieces. I suppose I will read more chapters of the book and research particular songs that B.B. wrote. This source helps me massively to get into the right direction of making a arguable thesis statement. I think self-improvement is one of the best details I can get for my research paper.
For further research, in order to find my thesis, I think I need change some aspects, find some video or musical datas that helps me investigate the project in a different way. I have an idea that my thesis would be something like, “B.B. King’s music pieces was influenced by his harsh childhood and an opposite attitude of life”, or even something more specific. The book source is not diverse enough. So I will try to watch some documentaries the next time.
Sawyer, Charles. The Arrival of B.B. King: The Authorized Biography. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1980. Print.