The Significance of the Music in Vertigo

         There are many moments in the movie Vertigo where the music plays a huge role, whether it be in the mood of the scene or implying the characters interior motives. But I believe there are two instances in the movie that really stand out.

         The first is the scene by the water, next to the Golden Gate bridge. Here the character Madeline, who at this moment is believed to be possessed by a dead woman, jumps off the dock and into the San Francisco bay. Naturally the character Scottie runs to rescue her. At this moment the music gets very dark and very loud, with lots of violin and low baritone type instruments I believe. It is also terrifying, sets the mood perfectly.

        Second example of a mood set by the music I believe is the moment when the two lovers embrace once again after Scottie believes his true love has died, and to his excitement he has found this woman who looks just like her. The music here is very uplifting and positive. It starts when Scottie sees Judy now as the 'new' Madeline, then continues as they hold each other and you can feel their contentment with this new situation. With the upbeat but yet romantic sounds you feel as if finally, happiness for them!

       In the end happiness is not the case of course, but overall with it's twist on a classic love story it was a enjoyable film to watch.



Photo found here: http://flavorwire.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/vertigo-lg.jpg
       

Film Noir's Representation of Women

         Film noir is known for changing many things from the norm of society at the time. It had a much darker tone to it, with many accounts of criminal acts and a hint of romance in it. Before this all films were a bit wishy washy, gooey romantic, fairytale type of deal. But then again, society at the time was changing into a much darker age as well. In this post I will talk about the representation of women in film noir.

         From the 1900's up to the 1940's women were thought of as the weak character. The "Oh yes sir, golly me," sort of character. The main woman character would take off the man's shoes and cook him dinner, then ask about his day, completely disregarding herself. Film Noir changed that concept of the women.

         Take the movie 'Detour' for example, Vera was stubborn, strong-willed, 'I don't care what you think, this is what we're doing', type of gal. That had not been seen on screen until that day and age.  Not only was the woman now in charge in a lot of the cases but she had a very noticeably evil side to her.

         Again I'll use Vera as an example, she knew what Al had done and knew how to use it against him, and she did. The woman should not and would not cross the man before the 1940's film noir presence. But with the change in society, came a change in cinema and film would never be the same again. In the times to come, cinema in the 1940's that they called 'dark' or 'disturbed', would be laughed at by the folks in the 1960's and 70's when women's rights and power took center stage. Film tends to reflect society and society reflects films.  But that's a story for another time and post.



Photo found from the following: http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTQxMzA0ODk4OV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwOTkwMzQyMQ@@._V1_SY317_CR3,0,214,317_AL_.jpg

Freaks: Impact on Equality

        In the 1930's most did not think this movie would even be heard of again, let alone become a gateway to equality for people with deformities. Yes even today a lot of people are cruel in their thoughts and comments of people with birth defects/deformities, but as a society we have grown a whole lot in accepting these people as the equals. I believe that without this film the progression of our growth would be severely diminished, and yes many other movies and TV shows since then have also helped us along the way, but this was one of the first steps.

       Many movie critics argue in favor of this being a step to equality, by saying the amount of heart and emotion is portrayed by the actors really humanized the characters (not to say they aren't human of course). One critic even pointed out that these actors with the deformities choose to act in this movie, they were grown adults that made a conscious decision to act in this movie. This perspective was a argument against the people who believed the film was poking fun of the 'freaks' and thought it was extremely disrespectful, believing that the film should be thrown away and never to be heard of again.

       I truly believe this film was a well thought out, well-written movie (that for sure tugs at the heart strings) on the everyday challenges the 'freaks' had/have to deal with in this cruel world, and without this movie we without a doubt would be way behind in our human progression.

Buster Keaton in Sherlock Jr.

9/04/14

          Buster Keaton was a comedic genius of his time. He performed in a way nobody had ever seen before. You could very well say he was the creator of slapstick comedy. Maybe even the creator of the modern day stand-up comedian. The distance between him and his audience was unknown at the time. Keaton always had a plot of action in mind, he definitely put on a show. He redefined the field in a very eccentric manner. Adding a hint of a romantic aspect with glimpse of the ideas of the future, seeing as this time was very much about hope of the future, people were always very excited to grab a seat at his shows.

         Although Keaton's shows weren't based around his characters, they always had their spots in his shows. His characters displayed a lot of what I just mentioned, a mix of romantic heroism and a new outlook of the industrial age. As you may think, the two themes contradicted each other quite a lot. A lot of Keaton's shows were very strongly based on slapstick comedy. Falling on a loose floor board, tripping over once hidden piece of furniture. You could say that if not for Buster Keaton bringing this sort of comedy to the public in his time we would not have had movies like, Home Alone, Home Alone 2, (and 3, 4, and 5. Yes there was 5.), Dumb and dumber, etc etc. Some of those movies are a few of my favorite, while others are not. But nonetheless I think that Buster Keaton played a very important role in the evolution of comedy.

       
         Sarah Amend


Photo found on: http://acertaincinema.com/media-tags/buster-keaton/page/2/