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Blog Post #6

The final piece that I would like to talk about in my blog posts is Abby by director William Girdler. This film is a timeless piece of art, beautifully filmed that exhibits an eerie mood, as well as tension existing throughout the entirety of the film. I enjoyed how the film related back to old African heritage, as Abby was possessed by an ancient African deity, Eshu. Through this possession by the African deity and the connection to her family’s past ancestry, Abby was forced to confront the beliefs between modern Western society and traditional African beliefs. These clash of ideals, traditions, and beliefs only I feel like exhibits an overall larger picture in the movie. That is how African Americans have come to a country where now their old heritage and traditions are almost being erased by the new society that they have been immersed in. Through this experience, Abby is able to reflect on the way both African and Western influences have shaped her into the person she is. An interesting clash that I saw in the film was between Abby and her family, with the skepticism and disbelief that her family has that she has been possessed. They refuse to believe that this is possible due to them being immersed in Western society, which shows the loss of beliefs and traditions that have occurred to Abby’s family. After I finished this film, it got me thinking about my own identity and the biases I have that come from my race and culture. I began to look at how my parents and I have lost a lot of our Persian culture and we are immersed in Western society. My kids will be even more immersed, as they will likely not be around the language as I am the first generation that has not been able to learn Farsi. In Persian culture, turmeric and eggs are often used to heal injuries, as I have seen when my grandmother comes running to my home when she hears I have a scratch on my leg. These are beliefs that will not be around much longer in my family, not saying for better or worse. Overall, Abby was a great way to close out this terrific class that I am so grateful to take. No other class in my UCLA experience has come to the interest I had in this course. This class has allowed me to find a new interest that I hope to have with me for years to come.

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Blog Post #5

The Girl with All the Gifts did not offer the jump scare horror that I was used to, but a more thoughtful sense of horror in terms of the wonder of what will happen to humanity. I thought this film was beautiful and well thought out, with complex characters such as Melanie. Melanie is one of the most unique characters that I have encountered in all of the films and stories that I have came across in the class, and it is absolutely insane to me that she was only 12 at the time this movie was shot. Melanie was able to display intelligence, empathy, and a hunger for knowledge that makes her distnict from the rest of the infected. She makes the auidence immediately find empathy in the infected as they are shown to be living beings as well. I also enjoyed witnessing the opposing views of how Dr. Caldwell and Miss Justineau wanted to treat the infected. Their opposing views were able to say a lot about their morals and built identity in both of the characters. I definitely saw both sides, as with Dr. Caldwell, I could understand where she was coming from, that she wanted to use the chuldren as simply tests subjects in order to find a cure. But Miss Justineau’s viewpoint also made sense to me, as she gave them compassiona nd understand. This made sense mostly because of the character of Melanie showing me that they are all not jusst monsters. I constantly struggled deciding on whether I empathized with the infected, or if I just simply saw them as zombies who should be eliminated from earth. Melanie of course did not help me with this as she was the protagonist of the movie, although she was infected. But there were signs throughout the movie that the infected were able to retain human elements to themselves. The kids who were separated and studied in the lab provided they weren’t simply just zombies. But then there were absolutely viscous attacks from the infected which made me believe that they were worst then zombies and were actually monsters. Usually with most horror movies from the class, I enjoyed looking deeper at themes and the layers behind the scenes. I am not saying I did not enjoy looking deeper with this movie, but with really drew me in with The Girl with All the Gifts is the interesting and amazing plot that was put together. I have always enjoyed dystopian societies such as Hunger Games and The Giver ever since I was a kid, thus The Girl with All the Gifts provided a different form of a dystopian movie that incorporated a level of horror.

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Blog Post #4

At the beginning of the class, I thought that modern horror movies were much superior, as I thoroughly enjoyed the likes of movies such as Get Out, US, and Candyman. But when I watched Night of the Living Dead, I realized that classic horror movies are great in their own right, and I should give them more of an open mind, as they provide so much as well. The old black-and-white view can feel nostalgic and is nice to see. The movie opened with the graveyard scene I found to really enjoy and be different. Adds a new different element to this movie that I had previously not seen before, it sets up the movie as a horror movie which gave me anticipation and excitement to see what would happen next. But my two favorite aspects of the movie are the addition of the black protagonist and savior in Duana Jones, and the use of zombies in horror. With Jones being cast as the black protagonist, it was revolutionary and defied many stereotypes as well as challenged previous notes of race. Him being depicted as strong, intelligent, and determined had me rooting for his success. He was one of my favorite protagonists in all the movies and stories we had watched throughout the course. I also really enjoyed seeing Ben clash with the white survivor, Harry Cooper. Their clash and Cooper questioning Ben’s leadership, although Ben was clearly the more intellectual and right leader, brought the clash of race into the movie which I thought was a great element. I could always count on horror movies to bring in multiple themes, which is what this certain element in the plot brought. Also, I did like how Ben died at the end of the movie, but not at the hands of the zombies. I definitely thought that this was a great way to end the movie and make Ben’s character complete. And then I really enjoyed the addition of zombies, as humans who turned into mindless creatures, who will stop at nothing in order to get human flesh. Brought my inner child out when I watched this movie, as I don’t really know why but there is something that connects zombies and childhood. I guess it is just that when we are children we get fascinated by things and what is more fascinating than zombies. Overall, Night of the Living Dead was a terrific movie that made me appreciate zombie horror movies as well as black-and-white horror.

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Blog Post #3

This class continued to show me terrific movies that I would have never watched otherwise. I have learned to love horror movies more and more, as I feel now that their plots are just so much deeper and meaningful than most other typical movies. Candyman is one of these movies that I absolutely loved and could not get enough of. What really fascinated me about the movie was how the Cabrini-Green neighborhood was practically haunted, a town that was filled with African Americans. Shows a connection to real life and how there is a legacy of racism that surrounds African American communities. The character William Burke, a laundry mat owner who constantly shares the horror story of the Candyman, which causes the horror that occurs in this town to continue on reoccurring, I found to be very interesting, as it shows how the people in the town are keeping the traditions alive, which thus only lead to their own horror. This aspect of the movie is the reason I love black horror movies so much. It is not always about the specific plot and action in the movie that makes it great, instead meaning and the multifaceted layers of depth in a movie cause me to think and want to rewatch to see if I missed an aspect of the movie is what I learned to value. Furthermore in the story, I enjoyed how they connected how Anthony McCoy’s quest for his success and artistic identity to his downfall and demise. Him attempting to try and explore the Candyman and the dark identity of his community led to him discovering that he was the baby that got saved and his own relation to Candyman. Also, the idea of how obsession over something is not a good thing is shown in the movie through Anthony as well. I love the idea of obsession as it can be practically related back to any individual. We all have our own obsessions, none of which are good. When obsessions go too far, they start to become dangerous and really ruin lives. I am sure we all know someone whose obsession has cost them relationships and their downfall, whether that is drug-related, or even to something so simple such as food or social media. Anthony’s madness is what led him to discover his connection to the Candyman legend, which shows the theme of madness and obsession that is prevalent and important throughout the movie.

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Blog Post #2

The movie US was one of my favorite videos I have watched in this course. I really enjoyed this modern take on a horror film. From the beginning, there was always this eerie vibe prevalent in the movie. The opening scene I thought was a great start to the movie as it sets an unknown of what had occurred and left me wanting to know more about the relationship of the doppelganger and when it will reappear. Opening the movie at an amusement park, I found it to be very fascinating. This is because an amusement park is usually thought of as a safe fun place for kids to hang out, especially on a boardwalk. I have one of my favorite childhood memories of going to Connie Island in New York, so there was also a personal element to it. Thus the fact that the doppelganger appeared at the boardwalk, I thought to be very ironic and a great touch to the movie. Then later in the movie, when Adelaide goes back to the same boardwalk where this all occurred, with her own family, it really shows how the trauma has stuck with her. Personally, I love working with kids and have talked to kids sharing about traumatic moments in their lives, and I really see how it is shaping them. Because of this, it gets me thinking about Adelaidise’s life and the significance it has on her currently. Later, when each member of the family is confronted by their own doppelganger, I really enjoyed how the trauma from earlier in Adealaide’s life has come back and affects not just her, but her whole family as well. But my favorite moment in the entire movie is when Adealidaide has to come to the truth about her own identity as the doppelganger. This element of the movie was an absolute masterpiece and contributes to the theme of the movie and entirely changes the way we think about the movie as well. I went from initially thinking of these doppelgangers as complete monsters. But instead, it was a complete turn and realizing that the doppelgangers are able to be socialized, and could be viewed as humans too. It got me thinking about how even we could be considered monsters, and it is all about perception. Overall, this addition to the movie is the reason it turned out to be one of my favorite movies of all time, and it is an absolute masterpiece from Jordan Peele.

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Blog Post #1

W. E. B Du Bois’s “The Comet,” perfectly portrayed society’s thoughts of a black man. This was done by showing the world in crisis, as almost everyone in the world had supposedly died except for a black man and white woman, and showing the interactions and thoughts between these two individuals, as well as the interactions between these two and the rest of society when they are found. At the beginning of the short story, Jim Davis, the black man, leaves where he sought refuge and finds death everywhere around him. After his initial shock at everyone being dead, what comes to his mind is, “If they found him here alone-with all this money and all these dead men-what would his life be worth?” As not a person of color myself, I find the thoughts of Jim to be shocking and terrible. My reaction while reading this statement was shock, as I could not believe that in the face of the world ending, he thinks about the repercussions of him being found with money around dead individuals. What a perfect portrayal of the life of a black man in the 1920s. Later in the story, when Jim finds another individual alive, a white woman, there is an initial shock between them. Then the author gives us a look into their minds and states, “They stared a moment in silence. She had not noticed before that he was a Negro. He had not thought of her as white.” What I thought when I read this line is how it proves how ridiculous stereotypes and color lines in the world are. At the end of the day, we are all just a single individual in this endless world. The universe is so fast and amazing that race should not dictate how we perceive people. When these two lay eyes on each other, thinking they are the only two people alive in the world, their thoughts just prove my point. And finally, one of the final parts of the story that startled me and left me disappointed is when Julia finds her dad. The dad’s initial reaction to finding Julia and finding him with a black man, after initially believing she had to be dead is hate. Du Bois states, “Suddenly he stiffened and his hand flew to his hip. "Why!" he snarled. "It's a-nigger-Julia! Has he--has he dared ... " This line is just another reminder of the life of a black man. Even in the face of the world ending, the hate stays.