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Week 5 Critical Quotations - Chloe Ziegler

Critical Quotes

One of the most memorable quotes from the movie is when E.T. says "Phone. Home. E.T. phone home" as he points through the window at the sky. In this scene Elliot, Gertie, and Michael all realize that E.T. has a home and that he is from outer space. It is such an important scene in the movie though because he is learning to communicate and they know that he needs to get back home eventually.

Another quote I liked from the movie was when Elliot says to E.T. “You could be happy here, I could take care of you. I wouldn't let anybody hurt you. We could grow up together, E.T.” This made me sad though because Elliot really started to grow a bond with E.T. but he had to go back home eventually. 

Textual Resources

"The whole movie is based on what moviemakers call "point of view." Almost every single important shot is seen either as E.T. would see it, or as Elliott would see it. And things are understood as they would understand them." - Roger Ebert. This review made by Roger Ebert is very interesting to the way the movie was filmed. It points out many of the camera angles which I found odd throughout the movie, but now it makes sense. The movie presents itself in a ignorant childlike way that makes it unique.

I really liked this image from the movie because E.T. tends to copy a lot of what Elliot does and learns from his actions and behaviors. Like the review made by Roger Ebert, the movie is from the kids point of view and they focus a lot on the small and important details throughout the movie.

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The movie Carrie was originally based on a book written by Steven King and then made into a film directed by Brian De Palma. The film stars a young girl in high school who is bullied for getting her menstrual cycle. She is not only bullied by her classmates, but also scolded by her mother. She goes on to discover she has telekinetic abilities. While she continues to be bullied an event happens at the prom that makes her realize her full potential of her powers and the movie ends in an unsuspecting way. The movie came out in 1976 and made over 25.8 million dollars, while it only cost them about 1.8 million dollars. The movie was considered a big success in the film industry as a supernatural horror film.

Carrie was significantly loved by horror movie critics all around. The movie became special in the film industry specifically with its ending. In an interview with Steven King, he mentions how although he wasn’t a part of the filming, Brian De Palma did an excellent job in producing the movie in all its glory leaving viewers with suspense and surprise. A popular movie critic, Roger Ebert, calls the horror film “a real one, in which the horror grows out of the characters themselves.” https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/carrie-1976

The way it is filmed gives the viewers strong feelings towards the characters of the film that continue to grow and grow as the movie goes on until essentially… they erupt. An important scene happens at the prom where we feel so emotionally attached to Carrie as she receives prom Queen and King with her date Tommy before everything goes wrong and she is humiliated. This photo shows that quite well.

Some of the big events that occurred in 1976 included the beginning of Steve Jobs' career with Apple and the unveiling of NASA’s first space shuttle, the Enterprise. The beginning of Apple was huge for not only Steve Jobs but also the world. It grew very quickly over the next few years and became one of the biggest companies in the world. The introduction of the space shuttle was a huge accomplishment for space exploration as President Richard Nixon said “it would revolutionize transportation into near space.” These events reflect the innovation of technology in the world at this time. Just as this movie sort of became a revolutionizing piece in the horror film industry.

While the movie still has an older feel to it regarding the music and storytelling aspects, it doesn’t necessarily follow the typical horror movie stereotypes. It has intimate scenes where we feel empathy towards Carrie and her PE teacher as well. However, the ending is where it takes a turn. It is sad in the sense that Carrie is constantly made fun of and even at home her mother continues to scold her. So it makes us as the viewers feel more inclined to empathize towards Carrie. For example, in this clip Carrie tries to tell her mom about her powers, but sadly she accuses her of being a witch or possessed by Satan. She even calls her "Witch. Got Satan's Power." and Carrie responds "It has nothing to do with Satan, Mama. It's me. Me. If I concentrate hard enough, I can move things." She definitely struggles a lot throughout the movie with her mother and having someone to understand her and this clip shows that pretty well.

The film was very successful in its adaptation from the Novel. It received two Academy award nominations for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, as well as becoming regarded as one of the best horror films to ever be made. The movie is often compared to the suspense of Jaws, another successful film for its production and ending. The culture defined in the movie shows elements of individualism vs. collectivism where Carrie is made to feel like she’s all alone in the world, while her classmates constantly make fun of her. There are also parts of emotional effectiveness vs. feeling neutral. This is shown through Carrie specifically where her powers act off of her feelings, but when she is in school she is shy and reserved. Lastly I noticed actions based on internal and external feelings. In the movie Carrie acts on internal feelings, but people like Christine (her bully) act off of external feelings and appearances. The movie fits into typical high school stereotypes like going to the prom and driving around their dates. However, I think these stereotypes are a bit different nowadays in terms of how people are asked out and going on dates. It also has lots of elements of God and blood tied through out the movie and her mother makes biblical references all throughout the movie, "I'm here on the Lord's work, Mrs. Snell; spreading the gospel of God's salvation through Christ's blood!"

I believe this movie fits into the unconventional category specifically in horror films. It doesn’t follow the typical storyline, nor does it end like most movies. Throughout the movie there are scenes where we think everything is happy and exciting but then they take a turn for the worst, just like the prom scene. It really does bring emotions to the viewer like disbelief, fear, and sadness. The movie is also very understandable to many people mainly because it appeals to the female audience and even those who feel rejected like Carrie. The movie attracts a wide audience which I believe attribute to its filming success.

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Week 3 Critical Quotations by Chloe Ziegler

 “Now Ms. Parker, don’t you believe what you read in all them newspapers. That’s the law talkin’ there. They want us to look big so they gonna look big when they catch us. And they ain’t gonna catch us.” - Clyde Barrow

I found this quote to be interesting because while the two are starting out their journey of being trouble makers, they don't feel like there's anything wrong and that they will never be caught. However, the police are right there behind them. It is true though that in the news and stuff, criminals are made out to be a big deal and once they are caught it makes the police look like real big heroes. I think Clyde also coerced Bonnie into these crimes quite easily because they were attracted to each other so he made it seem like it wasn't a big deal that they were in the newspaper.

I thought that this was a cool photo showing the people that Bonnie and Clyde became friends with along the way of their crimes. It seemed quite funny to me that so many of the people they ran into, they just told them who they were and that they were bank robbers. It is definitely not something that would happen in movies today but I thought that was interesting.

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Week 1 Blog Essay by Chloe Ziegler

The film that I watched was Matilda. I first watched this movie as a young girl with my dad a few years after it came out. I remember the inspirational/whimsical music that made it the film that it was. But, maybe the reason I liked it so much was because it was about a little girl my age with powers that seemed almost real enough to be true. 

This movie cost about 36 million dollars to make and after it came out it made only about 33 million. It didn’t fail, in fact it was a hit, but it made less money that it cost them to make. In the box office it was considered unsuccessful. However, in its opening weekend it made about 8 million dollars then alone. The director of the film, Danny DeVito, appealed to an audience of a younger age group with its humor and sarcastic comments. All while telling the story of a young girl. Perhaps the reason the movie didn’t become successful in its earnings was because of the audience it attracted. 

It wasn’t that it was poorly filmed, in fact Matilda’s powers are quite realistic in the eyes of children, but that the film was directed towards kids. It includes comical elements that both kids and adults can find funny, while being based on the book written by Roald Dahl. 

It stars a witty, young girl, Mara Wilson, who plays the main character Matilda. This movie was big in her career as a young actress, although it wasn’t as successful as it was predicted to be. The movie features special effects to portray the powers of the young girl who is able to move things with the power of her mind.

The movie portrays an American family who basically neglects their youngest daughter and because of this it might be seen as sad or offensive to some audience members. However, as the story unfolds, she becomes an elegant and smart girl with a bright future. The movie was also based off of a book written by Roald Dahl which eventually became much more successful years after it came out. A famous scene from the movie comes from Matilda’s first day at school when her teachers asks the class hypothetically what the answer is to “13 times 379” and she immediately responds “4,927.” 

The critical estimation of the movie has changed quite a bit in the past few years because of its new and reimagined film, Matilda the Musical. This film features a much more whimsical appearance with the use of songs and dances. It still appeals to a similar audience but has a different take on the classic story written by Dahl in 1988. Recent reviews of the Matilda movie directed by Danny DeVito have become more positive, attributing much of its originality to DeVito himself. His version features a classic tale, while the newer musical version takes on a more preppy, lively tale. 

The movie can be seen as both conventional and unconventional in the sense of the story line. In terms of a conventional movie, Matilda follows the theme of a young girl who is neglected for being smart, and then by the end she finds someone who fully embraces who she is and can finally use her powers for good. On the other hand, the unconventionality lies in the details like the nasty, mean principal who disciplines children with physical abuse. For example she throws a child over a fence with her braids, and even puts children in a small closet with spikes in it. The purpose of this is to bring a humorous element, but can be taken the wrong way if viewed by a specific audience.

The historical information about this film proves that it was quite unsuccessful in its total earnings. The movie was directed by a particularly well known actor, Danny DeVito. He is also featured in the film as the fraudulent father of Matilda. This is significant in the way he acts, and then contradicts himself as the narrator in the movie. Upon my first time watching this movie, I felt inspired by both the young girl and the teacher who eventually adopts her because they both were heartfelt characters. They brought joy to me unlike the parents of Matilda and the principal. The movie does a great job of helping the audience gain a sense of who each character is by their dramatic actions. 

After watching the movies many years later, I still feel the childlike happiness that it brought to me when I watched it for the first time. I think this is because of the way Matilda is a motivated and intelligent girl from a young age, and also because she overcomes the evil in her own world. The ending of it, while conventional, still brings relief to the viewers because she and her teacher no longer have to worry about the bad people in their lives.

Sources

https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.GBrP9L-oM4taFBAlnXe9hgHaHa?pid=ImgDet&rs=1

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0117008/?ref_=bo_se_r_1

https://www.the-numbers.com/custom-search?searchterm=matilda

https://youtu.be/hUGHWje7liM

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/movies157/images/b/b5/Matilda.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20200912090117