Course Critique

Was the course too easy? too hard? How did the work load compare with other similar courses like Sociology, Psychology, World Religions?
The workload for this course is bearable and reasonable. Procrastination is not advised, that's a definite.
However, I thought the quizzes were hard to score. 0.5% for each question is a lot. Would prefer if its more than 20 questions. Perhaps, additional subjective questions or an essay.

What were your favorite films? Least favorite? What movies would you add/subtract from the course.
Favourite films: Night and Fog, Singing in the Rain, Chinatown, Spirited Away, Some like it Hot, Paris is Burning
Least favourite: Birth of A Nation, The Man with a Movie Camera, Dr Strangelove

What were the most enjoyable ET’s? Least enjoyable?
Most enjoyable ETs : Pandora's Box, Singing in the Rain, Chinatown, Spirited Away
Least enjoyable ETs: Birth of  A Nation, BattlEship of Potemkin and Triumph of The Will

Did you come away with a deeper understanding/enjoyment of cinema?
Definitely, especially movie sequences and the hidden meanings behind every movie. Also, I learn the key signs of every genre. Eg: Noir with dim lights, cigarette smokes, fedora etc I would not have noticed fine details of movies if I have not taken this course. In fact, I learn to analyze movies now rather than just "watching" them.

Were the lectures interesting? boring? so-so?
This is rather subjective.. It depends on individuals and their interest. For me, I like the humour and sarcasm Chairman Rey added in his lectures and Chairman is not afraid to touch on issues like sex and homosexuality. Also, I like the fact that Chairman Rey relates his personal experience as an American in his lectures. Eg: growing up in New York.

Was the blog an effective teaching tool? If not, why not? Would a textbook have been better?
I definitely prefer blog than text book because it is easy to access. Text books are long-winded. Text books are heavy and inconvenient to be carried around. Not to mention, the cost of a text book is hefty.

What would you tell another student who is considering taking the course?
- Do not procrastinate in writing ETs.
- Take this course only if you appreciate the assortment of movie genre. Do not take it if you are not adventurous in watching movie.
- Do not take this course if you hate analyzing and writing essays.
- Do not take if you are unwilling to sacrifice for screenings

What are two things you would tell me to do to make the course better?
- Increase the number of questions for the quizzes.
- Maybe, add screenings of current films or award winnings movies. Good ones of course. Eg: Forrest Gump, The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption, Curious Case of Benjamin Button


Thank you, sir! I have learned a lot about movies through this course.
All the best and have a good life !

The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons

The Da Vinci Code is a controversial movie released in 2006 as it practically questions the beliefs and foundations of Christianity. The story discusses on the possibility of Jesus Christ having descendant as there are facts pointing that Mary Magdalene was carrying Jesus Christ's bloodline during his crucifixion. Meanwhile, Angels and Demons was released in 2009 and this mystery/thriller movie touches on the rise of an ancient secret society of scientists, known as The Illuminati. In the movie, it is said that The Illuminati is plotting a scheme to bring the Catholic Church down. Despite the different roots that trigger the mystery,the backdrop to both stories are similar which is the Catholic Church.

There are boundless similarities between The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons. For instance, both are directed by Ron Howard, both are adapted from novels written by Dan Brown and both main character is the same known as Robert Langdon, a Harvard symbologist played by Tom Hanks. Apart from that, in both stories, Langdon and a female companion race across Europe in a mission to resolve the mystery. However, what I intend to discuss is how both movies mislead us in finding the real masterminds. Clearly, how the masterminds are revealed in both movies are very well thought by the writer. In both movies, the writer intelligently imposes the mastermind as allies, misleads the audience to the wrong mastermind and exposes masterminds after making the audience believe that the mystery is resolved.


An obvious similarity in both movies is the writer imposes the mastermind as allies. Thus, Joseph Campbell's The Hero's Journey can be associated to both movies. In The Hero's Journey, one typical archetype that we usually see is the Allies, the characters who help the hero through the change. In The Da Vinci Code, Leigh Teabing is introduced as an enthusiastic researcher of the Holy Grail. He aligns himself with Langdon and Neveu by sharing his knowledge in the Holy Grail. In addition, he helps Langdon and Neveu to escape from the cops by his plane to London. Also, he camouflages by putting on a scene with Remy. In that scene, Remy pretends to take Teabing as a hostage, hence, making us think that Teabing is also the victim. Likewise, in Angel and Demons, Camerlengor Patrick McKenna is introduced as a papal court official, who has temporary control over the Vatican as the The Roman Catholic Church mourns for Pope Pius XVI's death. He is seen as the hero's ally as he grants Langdon's request to access Vatican Secret Archive in order for him to examine Galileo's book. Also, he plots a scheme by pretending to be the final victim of the murder in order to frame Commander Richter. Lastly, to earn a place as a candidate of the new Pope, Camerlengor plots to save the Vatican City by flying the helicopter and parachutes out from the helicopter as the antimatter bomb explodes. Thus, leaving the audience to think he is the good person.

Remy

Commander Richter

 


Apart from that, both movies mislead the audience to the wrong mastermind. In The Da Vinci Code, we assume that Remy is the Teacher which is known as the mastermind of the entire havoc and murder. This is because he releases Silas, the albino monk who murdered Jacques Sauniere. We are make believe that Remy is the Teacher because he points the gun at Langdon as he demands for the cryptex. Furthermore, we thought Remy is the Teacher because he admits that he is the Teacher when Silas questions him. This scene takes place at Temple Church. In the church, the lightings are in low key lighting where dimmer lighting is used in order to create a mysterious and dangerous mood. Likewise, in Angels and Demons, we thought that the Illuminati is the commander of the riot at the Vatican City. What leads us to think that the Illuminati is the commander of the cataclysm is because of the ways and symbols they used to create riot. Hence, I believe it is highly associated to semiotics. For instance, at the beginning of the story, we believe that Illuminati is the mastermind when Langdon deduces that the four cardinals will die at the four altars of the "Path of Illumination. The word "Illumination" have us to make assumption that it has got to do with The Illuminati. This is known as symbolic sign. The movie also successfully deceived us by making us believe that Commander Richter is part of the Illuminati as he is seen holding a gun and Camerlengor on the ground, branded with the Vatican's symbol on his chest. Similarly, this scene takes place at Vatican, a church. The lightings  used are also in low key lighting to create a dangerous ambiance.

Sir Leigh Teabing

Camerlengor Patrick McKenna

Besides that, both movies also expose masterminds after making the audience believe that the mystery is resolved. In The Da Vinci Code, Teabing's identity as the real Teacher is revealed after making us believe that Remy is the Teacher. His identity as the mastermind is revealed when Remy is dying after being poisoned. As the camera slowly tilts, we see Teabing's face then only we realized he is the real Teacher. When Langdon and Neveu are at Newton's Tomb, Neveu discovers tracks made by cane marks and as she says "Teabing was here", Teabing reveals himself and explains the sinister plan that he has plotted. When Neveu discovers the tracks, semiotics can be applied to the sequence. This is because she could instantly tell that Teabing was here just by looking at the cane marks because Teabing uses a cane to assist himself in walking. Therefore, this is known as indexical sign where an effect of relationship between sign and signified. Correspondingly in Angels and Demons, the mastermind which is Camerlengor is exposed after making us believe that Commander Richter is the culprit of the Illuminati. Camerlengor's identity is leaked when Langdon and Vetra use Richter's key to watch a security video. As the camera zooms into the screen, a flashback shows, revealing Camerlengor as the mastermind behind the murders of the original Pope, the cardinals and the antimatter robbery. In fact, the Illuminati has got nothing to do with the anarchy, instead, everything is wholly schemed by Camerlengor. Therefore, in the cases for both movies, both the Allies, Teabing and Camerlengor are then discovered to be the Shadows of the story. 


In conclusion, both movies deceive the audience by imposing the mastermind as allies, misleading the audience to the false mastermind and exposing the masterminds after making the audience believe that the mystery is resolved. As an audience, I believe that all these elements are added in order to create a twist at the ending, which leave the audience to ponder about the story, in another word, mindboggler.

Work Cited

"Angels & Demons." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2012.
"Hero's Journey." The Writers Journey.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2012.
"Lighting." Cineaste. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2012.
"Semiotics." Cineaste. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2012.
"The Da Vinci Code." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2012.
"The Shot." Cineaste. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2012.

Up & Away

I have chosen  Pete Docter's Up to be compared to Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away by. This is because both animations have very similar Hero Journey's outline. Apart from that, I chose Up because it is my all time favourite animation. It has a combination of both tearjerker and comedy. Up has a wonderful plot with an immense meaning behind the story. It's an animation about eternal love, friendship and adventure. Not to mention, I absolutely adore Russell, the stumpy lead character in Up. Sir, if you have not seen Up, please watch it. You won't regret.

Firstly, The Ordinary World stage is very similar. Both the lead characters, Chihiro and Russell are brought up in urbanized area. At the beginning of the movie, we can see that Chihiro is surrounded by materials like Adidas and dad's Audi. Similarly, at the beginning of Up, we know that Russell is a city boy because his first appearance is during the construction at Carl's place, which means that the setting sets at the city.

Secondly, both animations have the stage known as Crossing the Threshold. In Spirited Away, Chihiro crosses the threshold to a mysterious and deserted land . In comparison to Up, Russell crosses the threshold when he becomes an accidental passenger when Carl detaches his house from the land using helium balloons.

At the Approach stage, there is an obvious shift from the intended mission to a much more important mission. Initially, Chihiro's mission is to rescue her parents and to get out from the mysterious land. However, her mission changes when she decided to help Haku by paying a visit to Zeniba to return the golden seal. Likewise, Russell's mission is to earn his 'assisting the elderly' badge. However, Russell's mission shifts when Kevin, his new giant pet bird is kidnapped by Muntz. Russell gathers his courage and insists on saving Kevin even Carl refused to do so.

Both movies have very similar leading characters, Chihiro from Spirited Away and Russell from Up. Firstly, we can see that both the characters are in similar age range, Chihiro at 10 and Russell at 8. Also, both of them are brought up in cities. Besides that, both the characters are similar in terms of personality. Both Chihiro and Russell are rather oblivious and immature. In addition, both characters gained something meaningful  and valuable at the end of the story. Chihiro gains courage and an unforgettable experience from the mysterious land. Similarly, Russell becomes the real wilderness explorer, not to mention he earns himself a father figure, which is Carl.




The mentors in both animations are very similar too. Haku, from Spirited Away is always there to look after and protect Chihiro. For example, he looks for Chihiro as soon as he gains consciousness because he is afraid that Chihiro might encounter danger dealing with Zeniba. In Up, Carl is protective against Russell. When Russell left Carl to rescue Kevin, Carl follows Russell because he knows that he will be in danger. Together, they save Kevin from the evil Muntz.


Both animations portray the transformation of the characters from childhood to adulthood at the end of the story. Initially, Chihiro was a pampered and dependent girl. However, at the end of the story, she transformed into a confident and independent girl. We could see from her reluctantness to enrol in her new school at the beginning. However, after her journey, the fact that she is enrolling to a new school does not bother her any more. Similarly to Up, Russell was a young wilderness explorer scout but, a not so capable one. However, Russell became a courageous and capable wilderness explorer the end of the story. This can be seen when he is able to climb the dangling pipe in the air because he is motivated to save Carl. Meanwhile, at the beginning story, he is unable to climb the dangling pipe.

Work Cited

"Hero's Journey." Hero's Journey. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2012. <http://thewritersjourney.com/hero's_journey.htm>.