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Journal #1- Influential Media
Going through life and seeing time go by you learn to not waste it. As I continue to grow older I learn to not take advantage of things there’s one shot at life so take it. The movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off directed by John Hughes teaches the value of taking an initiative in your life. The main character Ferris Bueller expands this value with living in the moment and not waiting for something to happen, his a “free spirit”. Ferris Bueller has an opening monologue that sets this value at the beginning of the movie he states, “If you don’t stop to look around once in a while you could miss it.” This line expresses how short life is and only the present is what matters. The present is the time for decisions and falling through with choices. As I’m older and I think back to this movie It gives me the confidence to be spontaneous and to leave my comfort zone. Ferris Bueller’s journey going into the city with a Ferrari and seeing a cubs game and ending up in a parade is the epitome of being spontaneous. His decision to skip school and to enjoy the beautiful day with friends is his way of enjoying life in the present. As I get older and lean farther and farther from childhood it’s important to remember how valuable life is and how taking it for granted won’t get you anywhere. That’s why the value of having a plan or thinking two steps ahead is important. The movie proves this point with Bueller setting up pre-recordings of his voice and personally talking to the principal so he is not in further trouble. This taught me the lesson of thinking wisely of my decisions, planning out what I should expect in order to achieve success. This 80’s coming of age movie not only expressed the value of taking a chance before everything changes in a blink of an eye but also how important it is to have a plan or a goal to get to where you want to be.
Journal #2- Fear
What makes The Shining so scary is the psychological factor it has. It plays on mental health following the obsession and the compulsion that the main character Jack Torrance is under. Jack Torrance falls into insanity when staying at a hotel to help cure his writer’s block. From the very beginning of the film, there’s a sense of danger as the family drives up to the hotel with an ominous and eerie sound to set the tone. The audience can tell that Jack is going insane as he dreamed about killing his wife and son creating suspicion to something is wrong. Along with how he enters the gold room and there seem to be people having a party even though the hotel is empty so who is Jack talking to when he goes to the bar. Following this scene, he becomes infatuated with putting his son and wife in their place leading to the need to kill. However, Jacks’ insanity is just one of the creepy things to happen in this film we also have Danny, Jack’s son who seems to be possed by his imaginary friend called “Tony”. “Tony” seems to be controlling Danny to where he writes “redrum” while holding a knife over his mother’s sleeping body and he continues to yell “redrum” which only means murder causing confusion for the audience as to what seems to be causing this. Danny continues to have horrific visions leading to the implication that he has the “shining”. He is psychic and sees the hotel’s tragic past with the river of blood that fills the hallway this scene is important because it shows how important the color red is in the film it is used to associate with rage, danger, and violence. The concluding of this film is what continues to give you the chills as Jack has gone full-blown psycho and out to kill his wife and son however they eventually manage to get away from him and leave the hotel behind them along with Jack as he freezes to death but what makes this so scary is they reflect back to a photo from 1921 with a group of party people and then there’s Jack standing along with them as if him dying there made him part of the hotel. He was reincarnated into another guest that had died there. Throughout the movie, there’s the questioning of what is causing Jack’s madness whether its because the hotel is haunted or because of the isolation that he feels causing cabin fever. The Shining does not entail the typical jump scares that a horror movie usually has necessarily but rather the creepy little things that made someone go so mad they wanted to kill the ones they loved.
Journal #3 Ideology
Breakfast at Tiffany’s is focused on a young eccentric woman named Holly Golightly who becomes interested in a young man who moves into her apartment building. However, as they get closer to one another Holly knows she must keep to her standards and continue to have a rich and older man that she knows will care for her needs. The value of money over love is what seems to be a significant factor in the choices Holly must make when taking into account of marriage or settling down. It’s a conflicting movie based on its patriarchal standards and its set of society roles. Holly is a young woman that uses her charm to get what she needs. She finds her income with having “conversation” with men basically interpreting she is a call girl. There’s also the issue that she is a criminal due to her biggest endorser who is a mobster as she sends him coded messages. This becomes a problem because she had no idea that what she was doing was incriminating but she was likely to fall for this due to her being a woman so she obviously must be naive and since there’s money involved she is willing to do it. Holly is a woman that has charm and uses that to her ability to hide her insecurities like the fact she is alone and unstable. When this movie came out she was idolized by many women whether it was due to her being chic or that she had a way with men. When looking at this movie today and in the society, we have now this is looked down upon because she hid in order to fit in and to survive. Then there’s the problem of the young man Paul who is told to be a writer however you will soon find out that his true money comes from an older married woman that he has sex with. This woman covers his needs she got him an apartment and continues to leave money for him. This does not seem to be a problem however Paul himself has the desire to save Holly and rescue her from her life as he has grown attached to her. This is problematic because it deals with the idea that a man must save the woman. Even though they are equal, he does the same kind of work she does but somehow she is the one to be saved. Then we have the racist factor of this movie that had no purpose to the actual plot it was just thrown in for comic relief. Mickey Rooney is a white actor playing a Japanese man who is Holly’s landlord. He has taped eyelids, buck teeth, and an accent to go with it. The purpose of this character was only to be a joke for the film however it only brought offense to Asian culture and created more judgment. Obviously during the time when this movie came out none of this seemed to be a big deal as this was the standard that women were dealt with they were not treated with the same respect of men. Whitewashing was also a typical tactic used in a film back in the day since it was not seen as offensive at the time because of the lack of representation in the film industry fewer minorities were considered to be cast over white people and it only became a problem later on due to people speaking out on the racist scenes. It was a different time so it wasn’t looked upon on its anti-feminist perspective or its stereotypical judgments.
Journal #4 Advertising Analysis
The rolling can of Chef Boyardee is one of the few commercials from my childhood that I deeply remember. It was so memorable because the commercial told a story. It starts off with a little girl picking up a can of Chef Boyardee and placing it in her mother’s shopping cart. However, she is denied her favorite meal as her mother says “not tonight” and her daughter is saddened as she says “but I love chef”. As the family walks away from the Chef Boyardee, the can roll’s off the shelf and follows them all the way home with what is assumed to be either Italian or French music following the journey. As the can makes it to the little girl’s home the mom asks “What do you want for dinner” to which the girl sees the can and is left smiling. The commercial then closes to the can itself showing the ravioli and saying the common phrase “boy this stuff is good”. This Ad targets an audience of children as it’s an easy meal to make for your kids and your kid will continue to want it. Having a child actor will make other kids relate to the little girl that maybe if she likes it they’ll like it. The Ad utilizes pathos as we see that the little girl is sad that she can’t have chef Boyardee for dinner especially when she says “but I love Chef Boyardee” the girl’s tone is sad she is leaving something she loves. The consumer is now relating to the Ad emotionally. Once the can starts rolling and is going through neighborhoods now the audience is intrigued and feels a bond for the can and the little girl. As a kid, they see the can as a friend to the little girl and is willing to make her happy by going on a journey and rolling in the streets to give her what she wants. As the ravioli can is rolling to the girl’s house and stops in front of a house the audience can notice that there are other cans that have been recycled of what is assumed to be other chef Boyardees that have been eaten. Proving to the audience of just how good the ravioli is you won’t want to stop eating it. The smiling chef as the girl looks back on the shelf of cans symbolizes the love she has for the ravioli and how it’s supposed to make the consumer happy while eating it. Same with when the girl looks down at the can and picks it up from her floor she is pleased to see it and is hopeful to have it for dinner. The fact that the can follows the girl proves to kids that are watching this commercial that maybe they can convince their parents to have it for dinner. The ravioli can goes against what the mother says so the audience must assume the girl was given the option to have it for dinner. Lastly, the melody behind the cans journey is for the audience’s amusement. It will also create an assimilation for people that see this commercial and relate the ravioli to the upbeat music reminding them of the item and brand.
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