Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

A tale of adventure, brotherhood, love, and loss; this western film is one that will be known as a classic for more than just it’s cast. With Paul Newman as Butch Cassidy and Robert Redford as Sundance, it’s easy to see the potential of the success of this production. Aside from that, the format of the editing is something that really sets it apart from most movies of the time in 1969.

Opening up with a silent short, displaying images of Butch Cassidy’s Hole in the Wall Gang from Wyoming, you can expect to see some train robbers, bank robbers, brotherly companionship, and gunfights. This non-diegetic element (the film within the film and the soundtrack) explains that this story is one loosely based off true, historical events. I say loosely because the movie is not categorized as a documentary of any sort, but rather it dramatized some true events.

There were also some interesting views on morality in this movie. Butch and Sundance were robbers in the developing western civilization of the United States, and while they didn’t intend to kill, they were still committing an “immoral” act, according to most; robbing. Their counter antagonists were constantly after them, pursuing an arrest. Since they were so slick and always got away, they were soon chased after with intent to be killed. (You see this in the last scenes of the film.)

The interesting contrast here is that, even though Butch and Sundance are the “bad guys” of the movie, the wrong-doers, they are the ones classified as the protagonists, the characters that we follow and relate with throughout the course of the movie. The officers in the States, and the officers in Bolivia are the good civilians, protecting their citizens from harm’s way, namely Butch and Sundance. These officers though, are the antagonists of the film, the ones who we want to see fail in their endeavors.

This is a theme that has become a staple to western films. The idea is a counterintuitive one that I find worthy of addressing; especially concerning a plot line so monumental to the genre. 

There are some more antagonists who were, more or less, true antagonists; “bad guys.” They were a group of cowboys who were hired to chase down Butch and Sundance when they attempted their usual robbery of the same Union Pacific Railroad train a second time. These antagonists were following behind in their own train, waiting for Butch and Sundance to strike again. When they finally get the opportunity to strike, they sure do and the chase is on. 

The unique thing about this chase: you never see the pursuers faces. They aren’t identifiable in this regard. It makes for a more mysterious looming sense that Butch and Sundance are lingering in a more unclear state than they were before.

New formatting techniques, rising Hollywood stars, and a contrast of traditional moral view points make for a movie that sets the bar for the soon-to-boom western film genre. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a classic that takes you back in time to the civilizing west. 

Works Cited

Barsam, Richard Meran., and Dave Monahan. Looking at Movies: An Introduction to Film. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2010. Print.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Twentieth Century-Fox Films, 1969. DVD.

Juno: the birth of a genre

Sixteen and pregnant; a classic drama portraying the irresponsibility of our youth. This is not the template story line you get from the movie Juno. Although the main character, Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page), is sixteen and pregnant, she does not handle the situation in a traditional fashion. Her wit and trivialization of the situation make this melodrama one that will make you want to console the awkward couple, Juno and Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera), despite their being poor decision-making teens. 

The downplay of this seemingly dramatic situation is mainly attributed to the slang that is used throughout and the casual relationship Juno shares with everyone, using phrases such as "silencio" and "honest to blog," which is something her best friend exclaimed when she told her she was pregnant. These phrases, along with other cinematic elements, are fairly new to this generation of the film industry. For that reason, this film has set a new expectation for a genre that will proceed it.

Juno's best friend, Leah, on the phone in her bedroom

The structure of the story line is a unique rising action plot. Typically, a rising action story will start with an exposition and continue with events that lead to a climax. From there, a conclusion is brought to the plot. What's different about the plot in Juno is, while basically a rising action plot, it also derives writing styles of an episodic plot. This is because of the structure of the three acts which are presented as fall, winter, and spring.

The story is written as if each act contains it's own rising action plot within. Fall is a time when things seem to pass before us. It's also when Juno and Bleeker fool around, a climax being her discovering that she's pregnant. Winter is a time of distress and dismay. The climax here is when Juno leaves a note on the doorstep saying, "Vanessa, if you're still in, I'm still in." I also view this as the climax of the overall plot line. Spring is a time of growth and rebirth. In this act, Juno has the baby and her and Bleeker rediscover their love for one another.

Juno's note to Vanessa

Other remarkable elements of the film are the set and color pallet designs. These elements are displayed in a manner that would not initially be perceived as professional film quality. While the dingy furniture quality in Juno's house does play a role in her family's appearance, it also attributes to the image of indie films. Everything looks as though it was purchased secondhand.

Juno with the family's living room set

Lastly, the soundtrack is an element that adds to the freshness of this production. The songs used in this film are all recorded by Ellen Page and Michael Cera, serenading one another with simple, yet endearing metaphors that would probably be inside jokes between their characters.

"You are always trying to keep it real.

I'm in love with how you feel.

I don't see what anyone could see

In anyone else

But you."  

The structure of the story line is interesting, something different from most rising action plots. With quirky humor, earthy color pallets, an appearance of low budget set design, and “unique" recording techniques used on the simple soundtrack recorded by some of the stars themselves, this movie was a monumental marking of the indie film genre. Putting these in perspective of longevity, I would not expect the movie to age well.

Works Cited

Barsam, Richard Meran., and Dave Monahan. Looking at Movies: An Introduction to Film. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2010. Print.

Juno. Dir. Jason Reitman. Prod. Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Russell Smith, and Mason Novick. By Diablo Cody. Perf. Ellen Page and Michael Cera. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2007.

A Positive Performance on AIDS

A Positive Performance on AIDS

Set in a non-traditional venue called the Firehouse Performing Arts Center in the Fairhaven Historical District, I saw a performance of Positive on Friday (2/7) night and was touched by the stories of our locals. This performance was written by the company of the production, under the guidance of Pam Kuntz, a director of the performance. Don’t arrive expecting to see a traditional play, because that’s not what the producers, Kuntz and Company, have planned for you.

Throughout the performance, secrets concerning HIV and AIDS conditions of the local actors and dancers are unraveled in a beautifully artistic way. Nearly everything that is portrayed on the stage is derived from personal experiences of the actors. Though, none of it is directly attributed to any specific individual by name. This makes for a heartfelt and sympathetic tone throughout the night.

The performance is structured not using one fluid story line, but rather a pattern of themes portrayed through contemporary dances set to appropriate lighting. These two things made the play most unique: the structure and the lighting. The creator, Pam Kuntz, along with many of the cast members, wrote out this performance including their personal struggles. The performance was patterned as follows: a short bit of dialogue between two characters, a dance scene displaying the partners, and then a reprise showing all of the patients waiting in a hospital-like scene to hear news about their conditions. This reprise was most powerful to me because of the lighting, which was designed by Mark Kuntz.

The lack of a proper set design and minimal props meant that the lighting and sound were crucial, and it was spot on. This is what gave you cues as to where the characters were or what they were doing. During the reprise in the hospital, the lighting shone onto the characters from below. It was interrogative, harsh, and stale, pale lighting. It cast a sickly glow onto the AIDS patients, pulling a strong sense of sympathy from the audience. 

The Firehouse allows for an up-close interaction with the performers

There was also a painting projected by light that was painted by Keith Haring which was utilized very well. During a scene change, the actors would line up on the floor preparing for the dance scene and to brighten them up, this painting, paired with a cold and eerie whooshing sound, would appear. It wouldn’t be projected all at once. It showed up from stage front to stage rear in synchronization with the whooshing sound. It was a minor detail I found to be a real display of skill by the lighting designer in partnership with the sound director, Angela Kiser.

Kiser picked out great sound samples for all of the scenes. The sound effects all magnified the drama of the action. The songs were very reminiscent of an era. There were clips from artists such as The Andrews Sisters and the Bee Gees, taking the audience from decade to decade with the same issues in the characters lives still present, no matter the time. The actors dancing fit right in to all of the song’s time in history. This was really powerful in changing the setting. The only downfall were some of the lengthy dance scenes that seemed to drag on a bit longer than necessary. The contemporary dancing was stunning to watch, but one only needs to see so much of a square dance scene before it has become too much. 

Firehouse Performing Arts Center

The writing, lighting, sound, and dancing were all so strong in this unique performance. Not to mention how quaint and warm the venue is with it’s fireplace and wooden flooring. It’s not your typical play. Go in with an open mind, excited to see something fresh and you won’t be disappointed. The performance runs from February 6-9 and 13-16 at 7:30pm at the Firehouse Performing Arts Center in the Fairhaven Historical District. Tickets can be purchased for $15, $12 for students and seniors, at Village Books, only a few blocks away. 

The Matrix

The Matrix

"Fate, as it seems, is not without a sense of irony." This holds true to the contrast between scenes in The Matrix as well. The Matrix is the location of a space where a computer program generates the world as we perceive it. Here, we see a setting that we are all familiar with. It is a safer place that has clean and white lighting. The space is not confined, rather it feels open, like a normal, modern society in the late 1990s. This is not what you'd expect if you had heard about The Matrix before. You might imagine a much more technology driven living environment on the surface. In a way, this is true, but the technology lies beneath the surface. It truly exists in the "real world" with which we are unfamiliar with.

Set about two hundred years ahead of time, the real world is a messy and disorganized conglomerate of monitors, computers, tunnels, and mysterious rusty pipes. The Nebakanezer, drifting through the real world, is the location of the operators of the The Matrix. The surfaces are grimy and the lighting is low; an almost sickly green color.  Outside of this non-traditional office space is a run down society. The skies are dark, the buildings are bleak, and the streets are trashy. This demonstrates a future that is doomed, which is what many people had believed would happen at the turn of the century.

Inside the Nebakanezer, where the Matrix operators dwell

You would expect to be familiar with the real world, but it's not what holds true. This setting is very different from what is portrayed in The Matrix software. As it turns out in the movie, The Matrix is a place in which you are comfortable, it is a place of familiarity and resonance of your own life as it appears to be. Though, it is also a place of blindness and ignorance; a lack of truth. On the other hand, there is the real world. A place that The Matrix spawns from. It is a place of reality and simplicity, some may even say deviance. At the beginning of the movie, Neo was proposed with a choice between revealing the truth or to continue living life as he always had. He chose to take the red pill that Morpheus had offered him and to discover the truth of life as it really is. Once Neo becomes aware of the use of The Matrix, he wants to go back to living life how he used to; unaware of the operations that went on behind the scenes. I believe that Neo's denial of The Matrix is a theme that suggests that knowing what reality truly is, while entertaining to address, is something that can be too overwhelming and too unbelievable to accept and live with.

Neo: Why do my eyes hurt?

Morpheus: You've never used them before.

This demonstrates the irony between what reality is and what we perceive reality to be. You want to be comfortable in your life, learn about it and thrive. Though the more that Neo learned about what was truly going on, the more uncomfortable he became, and the irony between the truth and the determination to obtain that truth grows and grows.

Works Cited

"Matrix." Matrix. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2014. <http://movieimage.tripod.com/matrix/>.

The Matrix. Prod. Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski. Dir. Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski. By Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski. Warner Bros. Pictures, 1999. DVD.

"Rooster Teeth · Inside the Nebuchadnezzar (This Is the Right Spelling)." Rooster Teeth. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2014. <http://roosterteeth.com/members/images/image.php?id=1865545>.