Looking Out

    

Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures

    Recently in our Film 100 class we watched the movie Rear Window (1954) by Alfred Hitchcock. The movie was about a photographer, named Jeff, who injures his leg during a photoshoot. While recovering, he watches out his apartment window and spies on his neighbors. When one night he believes he witnesses a murder, he alerts his friend, a detective, who looks into Jeff's evidence. Jeff's girlfriend, Lisa, is involved in this case as well as she is not only curious after watching the strange actions of Jeff's neighbor, but she also wants to get closer to Jeff. Lisa is completely in love with Jeff, but being a wealthy woman Jeff believes she is too good for him and is unfit for his lifestyle. Being a photographer, Jeff not only does not have a lot of money, but he also travels a lot for work. 

   The prior paragraph is an explanation of the film dives that into the explicit theme of the film. Implicitly, Alfred Hitchcock explores ethics, relationships, and social classes throughout this film, as the photographer becomes engrossed by observing the lives of his neighbors. For this blog post I will be focusing on the theme of relationships.

    Even though Jeff's relationship with Lisa is the relationship that is the most focused on in the film, through the lives of Jeff's neighbors the viewers are shown other examples. Throughout the film we, the viewers, are introduced to three different generic couples. One couple who sleeps outside of their apartment in their fire escape, a newly wed couple who moved into an apartment together, and the Thorwalds. The Thorwalds are a seemingly unhappy couple, as the wife is ill and the husband goes to work and then comes home and takes care of her. Unfortunately, Mr. Thorwald is Jeff's main suspect for the death of Mrs. Thorward when one day Jeff notices that she is gone and Mr. Thorwald starts behaving strangly. Their relationship shows a gruesome take on the idea of a generic couple, as Thorwald questioned the idea that marriages lead to lifelong happiness. 

    This idea is further questioned by four single characters. Miss Lonelyhearts is a woman who despiratly wants a relationship to the point where she is pretends to have dinner with an invisible man. Miss Torso, on the other hand, is very beautiful and popular with men but she never has a lasting relationship with any of them. Ross is a songwritter who is typically seen playing his piano. He seems to have a lot of connections as in one scene he throws a party for those who are in a higher social class. Yet, he also has scenes of frustration when he returns home drunk, which showcase that in his life he faces some problems. Lastly, there's Miss Hearing Aid who is a artist who is either seen sleeping outside or carving a sculpture. All of these characters show individual parts of the overall theme of dealing with not having relationships, representing those who turn to fantasy, take on hobbies, or host parties or gatherings to cope. 

    Overall, what Hitcock seems to display is that people need company in their lives. The desire for company and finding that certain someone is important and normal. Yet, it is a bumpy journey that comes with loneliness and sadness. Furthermore, there is no right person as sometimes relationships do not work out. What helps is to surround yourself with good people who care and the rest will fall into play.  

Chapter 2

    Within Chapter two of our class textbook, Moving Pictures: An Introduction to Cinema, the information I've learned a lot of new information. What facinated me the most was that movies are 24 or more frames per second. The reason that knowledge piqued my interest was because this is something I should've pieced together sooner. As I've already discussed in my introduction blog, not only do I love animations, but I know how to make them as well. Part of knowing how to make animations is understanding the process and lingo, which is where I first learned about the term FPS, or frames per second. Animations are made frame by frame and then played either fast or slow based on the FPS the artist chooses. Typically my animations are 15 fps, as that is what I learned to use in my animation class. 

    Considering animations typically consist of drawings while movies are made using video cameras, I assumed that movies did not consist of individual frames. Yet, if played at a fast speed, an animation can flow smoothly as though it was filmed. Not only that, but under the photo app when one plays a video, it is a flowing line of individual shots. Although this does not change the way I view movies and TV shows, it confuses my brain. For example, this video of a hungry caterpillar that I recorded consists of individual shots as shown in the screenshot below.

   

    Some other information that intriged me was explicit vs implicit meaning. Explicit meaning is the obvious meaning of a film, painting, etc. It's what the viewer sees, and is intended to be obvious. Implicit meaning, on the other hand, is the hidden meaning behind a film or a piece of art. Another term for implicit meaning is the theme. 

    When creating film, directors typically have a specific theme in mind that they are going to. In my Visual Writting class, we are learning that viewers make meaning when it comes to art. So, I wonder if that same logic applies to films as well. Everyone has their own perceptions on things, meaning one person can see a film and think one way while someone else may see it a different way. Therefore, is implicit meaning determined by the viewer?

Unity

    For this week's blog reflection, we were instructed to answer a few questions regarding our favorite movie scene. The most impactful scene, in my opinion, is final battle scene in the movie Advengers: Endgame. For those who do not know about the Marvel cinematic universe, it is a series of movies about superheros  that all take place in the same universe. In the movie Advengers: Endgame, the main group of heroes, who are called the Advengers, have to find a way to restore their world after half of the world's entire population vinishes due to the actions of Thanos, the main villain. Just a warning for those who haven't seen the movie yet, I will be giving away important spoilers. So, if you don't want the climax and ending spoiled for you I'd suggest you do not read on or you watch the movie first and then continue reading. 

    The final battle scene is impactful because it contains a lot of pathos. When the villians seem to have the upperhand, all of a sudden almost every Marvel character in the MCU shows up to aid the Advengers. Each main character got a frame to appeal to the audience before the camera angle becomes a wide shot of all of them together. A heroic and energetic non-diegetic sound plays during this scene and continues into the battle between the heros and villians. All together, this scene creates a sense of empowerment and unity. 

    If this scene were done differently, it would've consisted of using shots of different groups. The wide shot of everyone together would've not been included. What was done in the movie was unexpected, and amazing. If I were the director, I would not have changed it. I do not have the expertise to improve upon the scene, only the perspective of a viewer. As a viewer, I thought it was an incredible and emotional experience. 

Image courtesy of MARVEL