The Truth Shall Set him Free

Title:  The Truth Shall set him Free

Name: Jane Kasukonis

Personal Response to Film:
       I had a positive personal response to The Thin Blue Line by Errol Morris.  I have always enjoyed watching documentaries and looked forward to watching a documentary in class and analyzing it.  I tend to gravitate towards murder/mystery documentaries and television shows.  I like the suspense, different angles of thought, and the excitement of coming to the conclusion.  I enjoyed watching The Thin Blue Line because of the interview style Morris used as well as the different re-enactments throughout the film.  The re-enactments were important to show that the truth is hard to find.  Each re-enactment was slightly different which was key in showing that the truth is hard to find and there were many different perceptions to this case. 

Summary of Critical Article: 

       The article I chose to read was The Thin Blue Line and the Ambiguous Truth by Lucien Flores.  This article describes how difficult, or easy, it is to persuade someone’s opinions and beliefs.  There are many interpretations of the truth in this specific case and Morris is on the side of innocence.  Flores analyzes different scenes in The Thin Blue Line to show how Morris convinces his audience of Randall Adams’ innocence.  Morris does this by focusing on how the interviews and re-enactments were constructed in the film.  For instance, the re-enactments have little changes to each of them.  This is to show how difficult it can be to reach the truth and how easy it can be to be persuaded.  The re-enactments take form of a film noir by having the scene dark and shadowy, dramatic, and mysterious.

       The article talks about how and why scenes are constructed but, also the validity of Morris’ story.  Morris conducted 3 years of research that included many interviews and discussions with police officers, judges, the district attorney, the defendant, and three supposable eyewitnesses to the murder.  Flores reminds his audience that Morris truly believed in Adams’ innocence and this why the documentary is constructed the way it is.  It is made to persuade the audience that Adams is in fact innocent.

Response to Critical Article:

      My personal response to this critical article is I believe it can be easy to persuade someone’s thoughts.  Flores talks about the beginning of the case and how Adams was depicted as a drifter, someone to not care about, and a possible predator.  Right away jurors, officials, and the public have a negative bias towards Adams.  His guilt will only stem from the initial stereotype given to them by the police.  On the other hand, Morris may do the same thing and give us the other side of things.  In his documentary he uses different techniques to invalidate eyewitnesses and show persons of the defense as trustworthy.  An example used in Flores’ article is the interview with eyewitness Emily Miller.  Her interview gave the audience an untrustworthy perception of her, as well as invalidate anything she said.  Morris achieved this by editing her interview to make her look unbelievable.  He sandwiched her interview in between other interviews that undermine and discredit Miller, giving the audience that thoughts that she can’t be trusted. 

      I enjoyed reading this critical article, as I usually have throughout this semester.  The article gives me a different look at how and why the film was created the way it was.  Nothing is done by chance, if I have learned anything from these articles it is that every detail is meticulous and planned.

Consideration of Critic’s Use of Critical frameworks/concepts:

     The critical framework used in the critical article has a formalist interpretation.  The article clearly discusses points of view, different tones set with each interview, and the layers that were incorporated in creating The Thin Blue Line.  Flores presents information in his article in a critical way by evaluates many different pieces of the documentary to conclude with an overall analysis for the audience.  Flores also uses repetition of stating Adams’ innocence to persuade his audience, which in turn shows his personal belief in the case.

Film Analysis:

      The scene I will be analyzing is the interview scene with Emily Miller.  I chose this scene because it stood out to me as strong evidence of persuasion in invalidating Adams’ conviction.  Morris is specific with every detail of this scene to discredit what Emily Miller has testified.  Morris uses child-like music in the background while Emily Miller is talking.  She is also discussing her childhood dreams of becoming a detective or a wife of a detective.  Morris uses these statements in the interview to undermine anything Miller says.  Morris also play a clip from the detective show Miller is talking about so, the audience doesn’t even see Miller speaking some of the time.  The audience is watching this ridiculous black and white detective film clip while Miller is speaking, which was also purposeful in Morris’ portrayal of Miller.  Throughout the interview, Miller is also smiling most of the time.  This documentary is about a murder trial, which is a very serious matter, and the other interviewees were never filmed smiling.  Miller has an untrustworthy feel because she is smiling during this interview, like it’s a joke or a game for her to indulge in.  This was tactful in Morris’ editing to persuade his audience to form a negative opinion of Miller.  This scene analysis ties in with the analysis of the critical article.  Morris also placed interviews before and after the Miller interview that discredited Miller.  This technique amplified the audience’s dislike of Emily Miller.

References

Flores, L. (2012). The thin blue line and the ambiguous truth.

Once Upon a Time in the West

Title:  Once Upon a Time in the West

Name: Jane Kasukonis

Personal Response to Film:  My personal response to this film is overall a positive one.  This film has many different elements, some making it odd but, interesting.  The western movies I have seen differ from this film.  An example of an odd element of this film is the profound silence and natural sounds used.  Music was definitely an important part of this film but, it was not a main element.  The use of natural sounds like train whistles, boots clicking, horses whinnying, and water dripping made this film very different.  Being a person who enjoys music and is emotionally effected by music, I was surprised at how interested I was in the lack of music in this film.  The natural sounds gave me a sense of being present, being part of the film.  Music gives a film a fantasy element, because we don’t go walking around through life with our own theme song.  The natural sounds in this film gave a more realistic effect.

            One thing I reacted negatively to, was the abundance of men and their portrayal of power.  Women were scarcely found in Once Upon a Time in the West.  Jill, the main female character, did not have much power.  She always has a forlorn look on her face and the male characters have no emotional reaction to her.  She was just there to make coffee.  One thing that surprised me though, was Jill never seemed to play the “damsel in distress”, which is another element that makes this western film different from others.

Summary of Critical Article:  I chose to read the chapter on composition.  This chapter breaks down different film elements that were used to compose different shots of this film.  Major film techniques described were framing, depth, and camera movement.  Many examples were given for each technique described to provide evidence of the composition of shots.  For example, framing was a key technique used throughout the film.  Doorways were used to frame characters and help provide dramatic entrances or shots.  The use of backlighting in the doorway was described as giving a mysterious and dramatic shot.  Framing through doorways also gave the viewer a comparison of the vastness of the scenery behind the doorway or character.  “The brightness of the treeless West contrasts dramatically with the dark interiors of the West, the vastness of the landscape with the cramped interior.” (p. 122). 

            The Composition chapter also describes similarities of Sergio Leone’s artistic film technique to other filmmakers.  Different movies are supplied to provide examples of similarities to Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West.  An example used in this chapter is the comparison to William Wellman’s Public Enemy.  Both of these film directors use the camera as showing the character’s place of destiny.  The camera will be in the place that the character is coming or going to.  For instance, when Frank falls to the ground and to his death, the camera is already there to capture the deadly expression.  The camera is showing Frank’s destiny of death before he falls.

Response to Critical Article:  I enjoyed reading the Composition chapter, it gave me a better grasp of different film techniques.  The methods used in different film makers, such as Sergio Leone, are used specifically and tactfully to evoke emotion and purpose.  The main point of this chapter was that none of the shots captured were by chance.  All of the shots were critically analyzed and created with purpose.  The use of framing in this film was evident to me, and after reading this chapter I gained a better understanding of why Leone did this.  The dramatic effect of framing and the lineage is artistic and pleasing to the eye.  The chapter gave many examples of the different composition techniques used, and then explained why they were important.  It was a very interesting chapter to help connect the artistic cinematography used in this film.

Consideration of Critic’s Use of Critical frameworks/concepts:  The framework used in the critical article has a formalist approach.  It describes the many pieces that are put together to form this work.  For example the setting, points of view, and symbolism.  There is room for interpretation and finding meaning to different elements of the film.  The author, John Fawell, of The art of Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West: A Critical Appreciation interprets different film elements and gives them meaning.  He fits all of the techniques, or pieces, used to make one whole critique. 

Film Analysis:  The film segment I have chosen to analyze is one of the final scenes, where Harmonica and Frank meet at their duel.  This scene has many different elements but, I will be focusing on the setting, colors, and camera shots.  The color of each character’s costumes are symbols of the character’s meaning.  Harmonica is wearing white pants and a white jacket.  The white represents the good side, already foreshadowing who the winner of the duel will be.  On the other side is Frank wearing black pants and a black coat.  Throughout the movie Frank’s costume became more and more dark until the duel at the end, and he was wearing all black.  This symbolized Frank as the bad side, which foreshadowed his doom.  The vastness of the landscape or setting is also an important element in this scene.  Frank and Harmonica are small and almost forgotten when standing in front of the large mountains.  This symbolizes how much these two men are not important, and how they will both be lost to the wild of the West. 

            The camera shots are also very important to analyze in this scene.   Very close up shots are used to get the viewer at a personal level with the character.  Close up shots are used to evoke an emotion and may make the viewer uncomfortable.   

Close up shots of both characters give the viewer insight to what the character must be thinking or feeling.  The director will also use close up shots to build suspense and this is important in this particular scene, because of finality of it.  The duel is the final meeting of these two characters and has been building to this moment the whole movie.  


Reference:

Fawell, J. (2005).  The art of Sergio Leone's once upon a time in the west: A critical appreciation.  McFarland and Company, Inc., Publishers.  London, England.

Jane's Blog

Title:  Oh Toto!

 Name: Jane Kasukonis

Personal Response to Film:  The Wizard of Oz has been a movie that I have grown up with.  It reminds me of wanting to travel to Oz and the possibilities of what really is over a rainbow.  I think this movie is wonderful in so many ways.  The sepia filter to the vibrant color, once Dorothy reaches Munchkin Land, grabs the viewer attention on a whole new level.  The musical aspect of the movie has the viewer singing the songs for days.  Watching it now, I have a more symbolic view of the characters. 

            It was interesting to discuss this movie with my family, specifically my parents.  My mom is not from the States, whereas my dad is.  They have very different views on this film and what it represents to them.  My mother discussed watching the film when she was younger and feeling it was over the top, silly, and very “Hollywood”.  My father on the other hand has a feeling of childhood fun and magic.  His family made watching The Wizard of Oz an all-night event. 

Summary of Critical Article:  I read Jerry Griswold’s There’s no place but home: The Wizard of Oz (1987). The article has a few main points it covers.  The first topic is the similarities between America and the Land of Oz.  Different U.S. cities are compared to the places in Oz.  For example, Griswold refers to the city of Oz as Chicago (p.463).  The article also discusses the differences between the book and the movie.  It moves to a deeper look into the meanings behind the Wicked Witch of the West, Toto, and Aunt Em.  There was also discussion about Dorothy’s party of guides through Oz, the Tinman, the Lion, and the Scarecrow and what they symbolized.  Finally, Griswold made comparisons to other fairytale stories, such as Cinderella and Hansel and Gretal, throughout the article.  He analyzed that they have things in common, like the idea of home.  In these fairy tales, including The Wizard of Oz, the characters want to get away from home.  In the end though, home is where they find themselves wanting to be.

Response to Critical Article:  A new concept this article brought to my attention, was the comparison of Oz to America.  By comparing each place in Oz to a state or city in the U.S., I could see yet another side of this movie I haven’t seen before.  The Wizard of Oz is so diverse in its underlying meanings and different symbolisms.  It was interesting to read about another perspective. 

Consideration of Critic’s Use of Critical frameworks/concepts:  The critical article had a few different frameworks it drew concepts from.  The first one was more of a historical framework.  The beginning parts paralleled Oz and America at that time.  Different cities, like Chicago, were discussed and compared to the city of Oz.  Another framework this article drew on was the psychoanalytical concept.  Griswold had a deeper analysis of personalities within the characters of the film and correlations between characters in Oz and characters in Kansas.  One particular analysis I found interesting was the idea that Toto represented of Dorothy’s personality.  Dorothy is always happy and feels everything is right when Toto is around.  When he isn’t, she is worried and frightened. 

Film Analysis:  There is plenty of symbolism in The Wizard of Oz. One that I have just learned about is Toto and what he may represent.  In the critical article, Toto is described as part of Dorothy’s personality.  The more I reviewed the film, I began to understand where this symbolism was coming from.  Toto is always with Dorothy, he is a major priority for her.  The idea that Toto symbolizes Dorothy’s spirit of adventure and fun. 

            Sound is another large element of this film.  The music pulls emotions from the viewer, which connects them more to the movie.  For example, when Dorothy lands in Munchkin Land, it’s the first time we are seeing bright colors.  That sets the tone for what emotion we have during this scene.  The music that follows is very upbeat and has major tones.  This evokes happiness in the viewer.  This feeling also parallels Dorothy’s excitement and happiness to be out of dreary Kansas and in wonderful Munchkin Land.  Non-musical elements are also noticeable in the film.  Sounds during the cyclone included the chickens squawking, fierce winds, and crashing boards.

 

Works Cited (MLA) or References (APA)

References

Griswold, J. (1987). There's no place but home: The wizard of oz. The Antioch review, 45(4), 462-475.