Moneyball Reflection

What was your favorite part of Moneyball? Why?

My favorite part of the film Moneyball is the Oakland Athletics’ 20th game after their 19-game winning streak, and they are off to a great start beating the Kansas City Royals 11 runs to none. Billy Beane, Oakland’s manager, who never watches their games as he is scared to jinx them, comes back to watch the Athletics play for the first time. When the Royals come up to bat, the Athletics’ confidence and cooperation starts wavering and slowly Kansas City started slowly catching up to Oakland. The second the score is tied 11 to 11, it is Oakland’s turn to bat and Art Howe, the head coach of the Athletics, makes a big decision. He motions for Scott Hatteberg, a defensive player to grab a bat and get on the field, and with a confused face he does as he is told. Hatteberg gets ready to bat and the stadium goes silent; the fans nervous and fellow players hesitant. As the Royals pitch the ball in slow motion Hatteberg hits the ball and it soars high into the air, landing in the crowd and earning the Athletics’ a home run and they win, a surprisingly high score of 12 to 11. This was my favorite part of the film because it seemed like Billy Beane really had jinxed the team, the music was sad and everything looked terrible for the Oakland As. But when Howe makes the decision to let Scott Hatteberg bat and he wins the game for the team, it shows how amazing this team is and how deserving they are of a now 20 game winning streak.

To what extent would you say that Beane was a courageous leader? What are some examples and how much did courage culminate in better results?

Billy Beane was definitely a courageous leader, to what extent is up for debate. The one thing that sets him apart from anyone else who was a part of the Oakland Athletics and their success is how he truly believed in his ideas and philosophies, and even when no one supported him he didn’t lose confidence in himself. It’s a good thing his confidence didn’t waver because his ideas were the reason why the Oakland Athletics had a huge comeback. His courage to let go of his best players such as Carlos Pena and other main players on the Athletics, although it looked like he had given up on the team, it really allowed for them to thrive. People criticized his decisions to change the team’s roster, but later complimented his courage. Billy Beane’s decisions changed the face of baseball forever, but if he had listened to the mean comments people constantly threw at him, nothing would ever have changed.

There are a number of times when the team’s manager, Art Howe, defies Billy’s requests for line-up changes. Each is trying to put the best possible team on the field, but they are using two different paradigms for making those decisions. How does Billy handle Art’s defiance and, given that Billy is Art’s boss, what do you think of Billy’s approach?

The two had completely different philosophies on what would make the Oakland Athletics successful in the Major League Baseball Association. Art Howe, the main coach of the Athletics, coached with a very traditional approach, playing the players with the most experience, while Billy Beane the team’s general manager was focused on a very new approach, not yet used in the sport of baseball. Billy used a philosophy from a book he read called Moneyball, and used statistics and math done by his assistant Peter Brand to pick players and help his team perform the best possible. Howe’s line-ups were as they always were, the all-star players who didn’t seem to care as much anymore. Billy used his statistics and did have a higher position but I felt Howe and Beane should have worked together rather than dispute the line ups, but personally I feel it is ultimately the head coach's job to pick and choose the lineups.

Satire vs Parody

The two films to be compared and contrasted here are the Princess Bride and Robin Hood: Men In Tights, both set in a Renaissance era, but each with their own style of plot and storyline.

The first film to be analyzed will be the Princess Bride, directed by Rob Reiner, but original novel written by William Goldman. I believe this film was the satire of the two films, because as stated in its very definition, it definitely attempted to “bring about societal change by making a serious point through humor and irony.” There are many possible morals to the story of the Princess Bride, but this is the one that resonates with me personally the most. The theme that to me is the most applicable to the movie, is the idea of the impossible. Constantly, Vizzini doubts the man in black’s strength but is completely in awe when he (inconceivably) manages to beat Inigo in a swordfight and Fezzik the giant in a weaponless wrestle, and even eventually beating him in a battle of wits. Later, Buttercup realizes the man in black who has ‘kidnapped’ her is actually her true love Westley, which is very much impossible as she received word not long ago that he was killed by the Dread Pirate Roberts. Westley and Buttercup survive a journey through the fire swamp, something considered impossible as no one else had lived to tell about it. Westley goes through intense torture ordered by Prince Humperdinck and dies but miraculously comes back to life. Nothing is impossible in the Princess Bride, and I believe this is the point that the writer was trying to make in order to make societal change.

The novel written by William Goldman was immediately classified as a satire when it was published, and the film was made similarly to how the book was written, with the author (the grandpa and his grandson) narrating the story and sometimes interrupting to comment their views on a scene. This is the first element of satire in this film as it is shown right from the start, adding a different aspect to the film. In addition to the added comments from the narrator, the grandfather while reading to his sick grandson purposefully skips the more mushy or boring parts for the sake of the boy’s attention to the story. For example in the final scene of the film Westley and Buttercup ride off into the sunset and look at each other and suddenly the screen cuts to the grandfather who stops reading and closes the book, because the boy before did not want to hear the ‘kissy’ parts of the story. Now, with a change of perspective the boy insists on hearing the rest of the book and the grandpa continues describing the kiss between the two lovers and reads the last words of the book with a smile. Another key factor of a satire is the use of humor, irony and exaggeration to prove a point; one of my favorite quotes from the movie is when Miracle Max is trying to revive the “mostly dead” Westley. Max tries to avoid the fact that Westley mutters “true love” under his breath and changes the subject to how good MLTs are (mutton, lettuce, tomato sandwich). The second he hears that if revived, Westley would humiliate his arch enemy, Prince Humperdinck, Max agrees to help. Once Inigo and Fezzik are given the miracle pill and run off, Max and his wife laugh about how their plan to stop Humperdinck’s wedding would take a “miracle.” Little comments like these make up the film’s satire genre.

The second film to be looked at is the film Robin Hood: Men in Tights, an obvious parody to Howard Pyle’s novel, Robin Hood. This film is most definitely the parody of the two as the film had little to no plot or moral to the story, and was not aiming to make any sort of societal change. The one thing that was mocked consistently throughout the film was religion. At this period in time Christianity ruled and other religions were seen as heresy, but the film does not stay true to this fact as the Jewish rabbi appears many times throughout the movie. The rabbi passes by the Merry Men in Tights while delivering sacred wine, and insists they can’t drink it as it is used for blessings. He realizes there are many things to be blessed in the forest: trees, rocks, grass, using this logic he allows the men to drink the wine he is delivering. Another object of mockery pertaining to religion was Maid Marian’s chastity belt and virginity. She even says at one point something along the lines of “I will not give myself away unless I am married, or the man confesses his endless love for me, or if he’s really cute.” Her “chastity belt” is an Everlast, with a lock on it. At the end of the movie Robin realizes the gift his late father left him contains the key to this belt, meaning the two were destined to be together from the start. In the end, Robin Hood and Maid Marian get married to support the tradition of marriage before sex, but by a Jewish rabbi, as a final act of making fun of the religious traditions of the Renaissance.

These two films although set in similar time periods had completely different objectives, as the Princess Bride aimed to make a serious point and Robin Hood Men in Tights aimed to entertain.

Vertigo Blog Response

Vertigo Blog Response

How does Hitchcock portray women in this film?

Vertigo was created in the late 1950’s, not particularly a great time for women’s rights and respect, so although this film does not portray women as strong and independent, I don’t blame Hitchcock for his choices, as his film might not have profited if he portrayed them as powerful because of the time in history. Midge, Scottie’s ex-fiancee and female friend is a painter and designer, and most definitely the more powerful female character in the film as she appears to be independent and educated; yet she still seems to rely on Scottie’s approval of her. In one part of the film she tries to be humorous by painting herself into a painting of Carlotta Valdes (the ghost possessing Madeleine), and when Scottie is not amused in any way by it she throws a fit calling herself stupid numerous times. This shows how even though Midge is an independent and healthy woman, she still seeks approval from men. Judy, or “Madeleine” was most definitely not a portrayal of a healthy independent woman. She was reliant on men, whether it was Ester or Scottie, and was portrayed as very weak, uneducated, and in general characterless. In the final scene of the film Scottie is bullying Judy and pushing her around for lying to him and instead of fighting back or defending herself she just resists him and tries not to make him even more angry, showing her feelings of powerlessness to him. Hitchcock in general portrays women in Vertigo as weak beings who need men to survive and depend on, which was the general belief at the time the film was made (1958).

Do you find this film suspenseful? If so, what techniques are used to create a feeling of suspense?

Yes, I found this film very suspenseful; you could tell there were many elements to this feeling of mystery. First of all the music was orchestrated very effectively, it was used to affect the mood and tone of the scene. In the lighter more fun scenes such as when Scottie and Madeleine are traveling through the countryside of California, the music agrees and is light and happy. But when there is a moment of suspense and mystery, the music transforms to slower and more intense sounds, building that climactic feeling. The lighting and sound effects of the film were also used to create a type of tension in the more dramatic scenes. When the scene needed to create suspense for the audience, the lighting darkened or brightened in order to convey different feelings to the viewer. For example, when Judy is having a flashback of the night when she fakes her death atop of a church in the California countryside, the lighting focuses on her and becomes more brown; creating a feeling of tension along with music. The lighting is also a key part in the final scene when Scottie exposes Judy; it is dark and stormy outside, and the darkness is used to portray the anxiousness of Scottie and even possibly foreshadow Judy’s death. Although the film Vertigo is fairly old in the cinema world, in general Hitchcock did a very good job of using the techniques available at the time to affect the audience’s thoughts and feelings.

How are we as viewers to feel about Scottie’s efforts to transform Judy into Madeleine?

As viewers, we see that Scottie is not hallucinating in his idea that Judy and Madeleine look identical, but his efforts are still a bit obsessive. Scottie has been looking for Madeleine in his everyday life and has been wrong before when he assumes a blonde in the distance must be her. He is constantly haunted with her image, so it is understandable for him to be very confused and allured by Judy when he finds a Madeleine lookalike on the streets of San Francisco but with dark hair. Scottie follows her to the Empire Hotel where she is currently living and because he is captivated by her, asks her out to dinner the following night. The two start to date more, and the longer they are dating the more obsessive Scottie becomes about Judy looking like Madeleine. It start when he offers to buy her clothes, but he will only buy the gray suit Madeleine used to wear. Judy knows why Scottie thinks of her as Madeleine, because it was her pretending to be Mrs. Elster, but she is confused as to why he can’t love her for her, not the part she was playing at the time. It gets to a point where Judy loves Scottie so much that she will do whatever he tells her to do: dye her hair, change her clothes, wear different shoes and do her hair the same way that Madeleine did. As a viewer it is kind of disturbing how Scottie needs Judy to appear like Madeleine in order for him to love her. Relationships are about loving who the other person is, not changing them and altering them to be who you want them to be. Scottie’s actions towards Judy were understandable but still wrong, he was just lucky that Judy loved him enough to comply with his orders.

Suppose that Judy did not fall out of the tower in that last scene. Scottie would have then faced the choice of staying with Judy or turning her in. What do you think the right choice would be?

At the time of the final scene atop of the church steeple Scottie was very distraught upon the realization of the fact that it was Judy all along playing Madeleine. She didn’t have any time to explain herself or her situation or how she wasn’t pretending to love him back. The rage Scottie felt towards Judy was strong at the time, so he probably would not have been making the most rational decisions. If Judy did not fall out of the tower, I think Scottie would not have turned her in but would not stay with her because of his anger. It would be difficult for Scottie to forget her, but he would have to stay away from her and probably really retire from police work in order to stop thinking of his love for Madeleine/Judy. This would probably be the right choice for the situation, though if Scottie gave Judy a chance to explain herself that they could end on good terms. I don’t believe there would be a possibility of them dating from that point on, simply because Scottie would never be able to stop thinking of Judy as Madeleine, and that can tear a relationship apart easily. As angry as Scottie was, he would not have turned her into the police, simply because he did love her at one point, and wouldn’t want a life in prison for her.

Forrest Gump Film Review

Forrest Gump Film Review

By Mallory Lewis

Release Date: June 5th, 1994

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Original Author: Winston Groom

Cast: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Sally Field, Gary Sinise

The following is a film review for the delightful 1994 multiple award winning movie Forrest Gump, starring Tom Hanks. This movie is the 24th highest grossing film in history, and deservedly so. Forrest Gump is a classic;, Tom Hanks’ fun portrayal of Forrest Gump even earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor.

The film is about a man named Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) who grows up in Greenbow, Alabama with his single mother (Sally Field). His life story is told through him talking to those sitting next to him on a bus bench, and as the story progresses those listening change frequently as well as their belief in his crazy life. When he was young, he befriended Jenny (Robin Wright), a girl who lived in his neighborhood and goes on to be his muse for his whole life. Forrest, though he has good intentions is seen as stupid by his peers and therefore is not taken seriously for much of his life. Once Forrest realizes his athletic ability he goes to University of Alabama to play football, becomes an All-American and even gets to meet the president for his impressive amount of touchdown runs. Soon after graduating, he is drafted into the army and is sent to fight the war in Vietnam, where he meets his best friend Bubba. As the two bond during the hard times in the war, they promise that if they make it back to the United States, they will become shrimp boat captains and start a shrimping company together. When his platoon got attacked, Forrest did his best to rescue as many people as possible, including his Lieutenant Dan, who was annoyed he was saved because he believed his destiny was to die on the battlefield. Unfortunately Bubba didn’t make it out of Vietnam, but Forrest still kept his promise and became a shrimp boat captain after becoming a national ping pong athlete and various other activities. Lieutenant Dan comes to join Forrest on his shrimping boat and although at first they have bad luck they eventually make millions and no longer have financial problems. After spending a night with his childhood friend Jenny, he wakes up in the morning when she is gone and on a whim decides to go for a run, and runs across the country many times becoming famous for three years. The scene returns to Forrest sitting on a bus bench and leaves to go meet up with Jenny after many years and finds out he has a son. Jenny, Forrest, and Forrest Junior live happily together for a while until Jenny dies of a terminal disease. Although Forrest had many adventures in life and did much more than the average American, the movie ends when he is sending his son off to school back in Greenbow, Alabama, 40 years after his mom did the same to him.

Forrest Gump is a movie that is romantic, comedic, and dramatic at the same time, simply put it was entertaining. Seeing a slow-minded man work his way through the biggest historical events in the second half of the 20th century was amusing, I can’t deny that. The protagonist’s character was very comedic and got himself into a lot of interesting situations, which made the movie entertaining and fun. The only potential flaw to this film is its lack of deeper meaning behind the comedy, which may have not been the goal of the director. It can be said that the deeper meaning has to do with Forrest’s unconditional love of his childhood friend Jenny, possibly something like “love conquers all distances and hard times.” But in my opinion what is most precious about Forrest Gump is not necessarily his ever present thoughts of Jenny, but how he is underestimated by all of his peers, but yet rises above this to do amazing things within his lifetime. To me, this was the goal of the director in this film, to show how someone can rise above their hard luck and prove their bullies wrong in any setting. That’s why the character of Forrest Gump is more than the boy with the low I.Q. who says comical things sometimes; he is someone who doesn’t let what others think of him define him.

My favorite scene and possibly the most pivotal one in the movie is towards the beginning when Forrest is walking with Jenny under the trees on a lonely country road in Greenbow Alabama. The braces on Forrest’s legs are making loud noises as a group of kids from school come from behind on their bikes taunting him. Jenny yells to Forrest “Run, Forrest! Run!” he does as told and runs as fast as he can but his leg braces aren’t allowing him to move as fast as he could. The loud boys behind him are chasing him on their bikes and gaining on him when suddenly Forrest’s leg braces break off and he finds himself sprinting like the wind without them. This is when he discovers his athletic talent and this scene is also a symbol for Forrest’s ability to overcome what his peers think of him. This exact scene is shown again when Forrest is in high school but this time running from the bullies earns him a spot on the University of Alabama football team when recruiters see his running ability. Running is an ever present symbol in this film, from when he runs from his bullies in Greenbow, when he runs to save his comrades in the Vietnam war, to when he runs across the country. Running means overcoming, running means proving those who doubted you wrong.

In conclusion, this film is delightful with many laughs and funny moments, I would definitely give it five stars and recommend it to anyone I meet.

Analysis of The Blind Side

Discuss whether you see Michael Oher as a victim or a hero. In the film the Blind Side, I see the protagonist, Michael Oher, as a victim rather than a hero. "Big Mike"had a difficult past; he lived in a poor part of Memphis, Tennessee where drugs, alcohol, and gang violence was prevalent in his everyday life. Raised in a disconnected family, he had many siblings andwas raised by his mom who struggled with drug addiction. Michael had a very rough childhood being in and out of foster homes and had no one to love him unconditionally until he found the Tuohys. He was discriminated upon by his peers because of his colour and lack of education, and if none of his teachers gave him a chance then this story could have ended very differently. Luckily the Tuohys, although living in southern United States in a wealthy neighbourhood and social circle, took him in and cared for him when most would simply overlook a large African American kid on the side of the road in the rain. Allin all, Michael Oher was more victim than hero in this film, simply because of his unfortunate circumstances.
Who do you think is the hero of this film? Mrs. Leigh-Anne Tuohy was the hero of the film the Blind Side. When she first saw Michael in need onthe side of the road in the rain, she immediately knew she had to help him while her husband and children overlooked him. She took him in, made him dinner and a place to stay, and although at first she might have thought it was temporary and Michael did too, Mrs. Tuohy grew to love him. She was at all of his football games, helping him out and always knew all the right things to say to Michael when he needed guidance. When her friends laughed and joked about her decisions to take in a needy black boy, she defended him and did not in any way regret her actions. Even her closest friends criticizing her couldn't make her change her mind. She stayed strong when Michael needed her and ran a family through all the drama, therefore Mrs. Tuohy the definite hero of the film. 
This film is based on true events. The Tuohys were criticized by people who thought that they must have been using Michael Oher for some other purpose. Were they? What was theirmotivation?When the Tuohys first took in Michael, they simply did it from the good of their hearts and did not seek any compensation from anyone for their good deed. Once they started to notice his athletic abilities, they helped him out in any way they could, meaning they watched all of his football games, trained him up and motivated him as much as they could. These actions, in my opinion, were the Tuohys being good Christians, not trying to use Michael in any way. Once the offers to play football in university started flowing in, the Tuohys probably subconsciously pushed him towards The University of Mississippi, because this was both of the Tuohy parents alma maters. To me, they didn't do this on purpose in any way or use Michael in any way because the first night when they took in Michael, there was no way they could predict he would be getting athletic scholarships for football in less than a year. 

A film is - or should be - more like music than like fiction. It should be a progression of moods and feelings. The theme, what's behind the emotion, the meaning, all that comes later.
- Stanley Kubrick