I guess I want to start by saying that after all the horror movies I've watched, this movie really creeped me out. I know a little bit about the Vietnam war, and none of it's pretty. My dad served two terms over in Cambodia, and very rarely talks about it. When asked, you can tell that it's something he doesn't want to talk about and when he came home, he was never exactly the same. I know how much it scared him, and on top of the movie being already creepy, neither one helped at all. It also doesn't help, that through classes and media I already had my own opinions of the war and none of them are good. For some reason, if I think of WWII I think of yay we won and not horribly bad things. However, whenever I think of Vietnam, I think of horrible bloodshed deep in the woods - kind of right along the lines of what the movie showed us.
The first two things that really jumped out to me was the music and the visuals of the movie. I kept thinking that if I have a halloween party next year, i'm buying the soundtrack to this movie. The background music made the movie extra creepy. The Doors, Rollingstones, and other bands who had music in the movie all had great mood setting music. Minus the song "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" I can't remember one other upbeat song. Even when the background showed the lights that made it look like a carnaval, it wasn't lighthearted carnival music, it was creepy evil clown music. Also, throughout the entire movie I thought the visuals were really interesting. I'm not sure if it was the loud music, the bigger screen, or what but this movie made me feel like I was almost there. At different times I actually got really into the movie like it was really happening. Even though annoying at times, I think I liked the movie being played louder to really set the mood for the movie. I thought the sceens with the helicopters flying were visual appealing along with a lot of the other sceens. I'm not sure why, if it was the camera angle or whatnot, but I couldn't get my eyes off the screen.
One of the sceens I want to mention was where they brought in the playboy girls to put on a show for the soldiers. I couldn't help but notive their outfits - cowboy, indian, and a female version of uncle sam. I don't think it was ironic that these were the outfits they were wearing. Also, the whole sceen just seemed like the soldiers and lost control. Even during the fighting and shooting no one really went crazy but as soon as the girls started dancing they were screaming and jumping all over the place. It really did seem like this was not for entertainment purposes rather more for getting them hyped up about fighting. The girls were only on stage for a matter of minutes before the men started jumping each other and taking over the stage. It seemed that they had all their energy back and then some, to go out and fight. (I also like the big Playboy bunny stamped on the helicopter.)
The reading as well as class touched on the subject of "playing God". I'm not sure how I feel about this. I don't think anyone should be assigned with having to 'play God', but I guess soldiers basically have this job. They ultimately have the choice of who is going to live or not. One specific example of this that came to my mind is when they are going up the river and they stop the other boat that they really didn't have to stop. Not only did they not have to stop, but they really didn't have to shoot anyone on the boat. They didn't do anything wrong and because of the soldiers they ultimately lost their lives. So in this aspect, I guess they do get to play God.
Another sceen that really stuck out to me was when the animal (bull, ox... i'm not sure) and Kurtz were both being killed. I thought there were a few reasons that they made the film like this. One, would be that they didn't want to show the whole bloodshed sceen so much. Another would be though, how symbolic it was to kill him and the animal at the same time. From being in Cambodia for so long and living in the jungle, it's almost like Kurtz himself had become animalistic and losing a lot of his human instincts. Cutting off the heads of people and the other horrific things he did seem very savage and not humanly.
Theres many other things I could mention but I'll leave it here. I overall liked the movie but it really did creep me out and give me an even better idea what it was really like for the Vietnam war. The movie really opened my eyes to how horrific war can be and how mentally straining it can really be on a person.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Saturday, November 6, 2010
The Stepford Wives
I really liked this movie and thought it was interesting. From the start there were a few things that were apparent. One of them, being that the first woman neighbor they meet who comes over to offer food acts like a zombie (or robot). She is very soft spoken, well mannered, and was just there to do her job. She wouldn't even go over to the house when he offered. The worst thing was her apparent blank stare. The camera would zoom in on her face and you could tell that it seemed like there was nothing there behind her eyes. She was just like a robot. The second thing I noticed quickly was that this new town they moved to was clearly middle to upper class white suburban neighborhood. It seems that they all are very close knit and everyone seems to know what is going on.
I think that there were a lot of sterotypical housewives stuff throughout the movie. It seemed that most of the women were always working around the house doing something. When they were trying to gather the women for their group, all the women they were trying to recruit were home either cleaning, doing dishes, or doing laundry. They all dressed basically the same. Lots of makeup, and very nice flattering dresses to look good for their husbands. Their mannerisms were interesting too. They were very soft, well spoken and never questioned or argued with anyone. This seems all very sterotypical with the women in the house with their aprons on never questioning anyone or anything, just doing as they are supposed to do. Also being more broad, the women were just supposed to stay home clean and take care of the children and the men were the ones who got off free. They could basically do what they wanted, could come and go as they please, and were the ones who had the jobs.
It seemed that most of these roles were a trap and dehumanizing. The men had the life. They could come and go as they please, had their own mens club, had their jobs, and had the women do all the work for them. They basically would expect to come home to a clean house, with dinner on the table. The men completely benefitted from all of this. This was all free labor that was just expected to be done everyday. These roles were also very dehumanizing for the women. All the women did the same thing: cook, clean, and take care of the kids. They had no idividuality. They could not speak for themselves or doing anything that would 'upset' these roles for the women. Also, they have no personalities or attributes. They're just expected to act and talk a certain way and all the housewives act the same.
It's also interesting how the housewives have no time. I like how the article talks about by the time they get up, take care of the kids all day, cook, clean, etc. they get it all done just in time to go to bed to get up and do it again the next day. It's this never ending cycle that they can never get out of. There is always something to clean or cook. The days turn into weeks turn into years. Same thing over and over everyday. The housewives have nothing to look forward to. They seem to be stuck in time and not be able to move forward. Since they barely have enough time to get their housework done in the day, they definitely don't have time to start any sort of womens organizations or do anything else that they would want to do. Until they start doing something out, they are just going to stuck in time.
So directly about the movie, it was interesting how after about four months and a drawing later, all the women start to act like the sterotypical housewives. It's apparent in the movie that after you start to meet some of these characters a lot of the women are the same. They all have that vacant expression in their eyes and they seem just like zombies. One thing that I found really intersting was that near the end of the movie, she was hiding in her bedroom and they show the door right before she comes out. The door had the shadows of maybe the staircase on the door which made it look like she was in a prison cell. I thought this was ironic because she basically could be in prison. She's about to be turned into a robot zombie who is only going to do what her husband says and all the housewife stuff she was running away from.
I also couldn't help but notice all the similarites between two other movies: Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Rosemary's Baby. In Invasion of the Body Snatchers, both movies had characters who were running from a 'zombie' person who was going to be taking over their real body and transforming into the zombie body. Both movies had people taking care of the other bodies getting them ready for when the time came for them to take over. For Rosemary's Baby, I can't remember the name of this (if anyone does remember let me know please!) but it's basically the fear of something normal, an everyday thing. Just like the pregnancy in Rosemary's Baby, and now being a housewife, something that people do everyday can become something terrifying. Also, in both movies people who are close to them like both of their husbands are in on the whole thing and both women have no one to turn to. What happens when you have no one to turn to because everyone is in on it? That's scary.
Theres more I could go on about but the one last thing I wanted to mention was the movie making the movie out to be a negative image of a housewife. Is it really such a bad thing? I don't think I would mind staying home cooking all day; I love food. However, it is true that I would go insane doing the same thing day in and day out. It wouldn't go fun to have to watch everything you said and do as you are told. I don't think that it was as bad as they made it, and that some women actually injoyed doing all the housewife work. I'm sure there were women out there who totally hated it though and this is where the movie came in.
I think that there were a lot of sterotypical housewives stuff throughout the movie. It seemed that most of the women were always working around the house doing something. When they were trying to gather the women for their group, all the women they were trying to recruit were home either cleaning, doing dishes, or doing laundry. They all dressed basically the same. Lots of makeup, and very nice flattering dresses to look good for their husbands. Their mannerisms were interesting too. They were very soft, well spoken and never questioned or argued with anyone. This seems all very sterotypical with the women in the house with their aprons on never questioning anyone or anything, just doing as they are supposed to do. Also being more broad, the women were just supposed to stay home clean and take care of the children and the men were the ones who got off free. They could basically do what they wanted, could come and go as they please, and were the ones who had the jobs.
It seemed that most of these roles were a trap and dehumanizing. The men had the life. They could come and go as they please, had their own mens club, had their jobs, and had the women do all the work for them. They basically would expect to come home to a clean house, with dinner on the table. The men completely benefitted from all of this. This was all free labor that was just expected to be done everyday. These roles were also very dehumanizing for the women. All the women did the same thing: cook, clean, and take care of the kids. They had no idividuality. They could not speak for themselves or doing anything that would 'upset' these roles for the women. Also, they have no personalities or attributes. They're just expected to act and talk a certain way and all the housewives act the same.
It's also interesting how the housewives have no time. I like how the article talks about by the time they get up, take care of the kids all day, cook, clean, etc. they get it all done just in time to go to bed to get up and do it again the next day. It's this never ending cycle that they can never get out of. There is always something to clean or cook. The days turn into weeks turn into years. Same thing over and over everyday. The housewives have nothing to look forward to. They seem to be stuck in time and not be able to move forward. Since they barely have enough time to get their housework done in the day, they definitely don't have time to start any sort of womens organizations or do anything else that they would want to do. Until they start doing something out, they are just going to stuck in time.
So directly about the movie, it was interesting how after about four months and a drawing later, all the women start to act like the sterotypical housewives. It's apparent in the movie that after you start to meet some of these characters a lot of the women are the same. They all have that vacant expression in their eyes and they seem just like zombies. One thing that I found really intersting was that near the end of the movie, she was hiding in her bedroom and they show the door right before she comes out. The door had the shadows of maybe the staircase on the door which made it look like she was in a prison cell. I thought this was ironic because she basically could be in prison. She's about to be turned into a robot zombie who is only going to do what her husband says and all the housewife stuff she was running away from.
I also couldn't help but notice all the similarites between two other movies: Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Rosemary's Baby. In Invasion of the Body Snatchers, both movies had characters who were running from a 'zombie' person who was going to be taking over their real body and transforming into the zombie body. Both movies had people taking care of the other bodies getting them ready for when the time came for them to take over. For Rosemary's Baby, I can't remember the name of this (if anyone does remember let me know please!) but it's basically the fear of something normal, an everyday thing. Just like the pregnancy in Rosemary's Baby, and now being a housewife, something that people do everyday can become something terrifying. Also, in both movies people who are close to them like both of their husbands are in on the whole thing and both women have no one to turn to. What happens when you have no one to turn to because everyone is in on it? That's scary.
Theres more I could go on about but the one last thing I wanted to mention was the movie making the movie out to be a negative image of a housewife. Is it really such a bad thing? I don't think I would mind staying home cooking all day; I love food. However, it is true that I would go insane doing the same thing day in and day out. It wouldn't go fun to have to watch everything you said and do as you are told. I don't think that it was as bad as they made it, and that some women actually injoyed doing all the housewife work. I'm sure there were women out there who totally hated it though and this is where the movie came in.
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