Born January 3^rd 1892 John Ronald Reuel Tolkien literary legacy began.  Around the age of seven, Tolkien is said to have written his first story.  The fictional wonder works of a mystical dragon was the beginning to many fantasy stories to be penned by Tolkien.  Although he lead a tragic life, one that included the loss of both parents by the age of seven, Tolkien proved his imagination would never become stagnant.  I chose to research the forefront of Lord of the Rings because all together it is a concept unknown to me.  I thought that if I went back to its roots, maybe I would learn a thing or two.  I must say I was successful.  Reading about one man’s passion for literature and the ability to create made me see the Lord of the Rings from a different point of view.  Tolkien wrote many great pieces in fictional or fantasy like literature.  I learned he was a poet, novelist and much enjoyed philosophy.  The web page I furled is dedicated to the fans of the series Lord of the Rings, but gives greater insight to how the phenomenon we know today began.  It is said on the web page “Although the greatest master of fantasy passed away, he left the door open for anyone to an enchanting world of his stories, the key to which is love, kindness and loyalty. These are the qualities that help Tolkien’s characters to win over Evil”(LOTR, 1).

 
From the text, I researched foreign production of American films.  I found a web page through Frontline, a program on PBS that conducts interviews on prominent people on their industry.  The interview I read was about the film industry according to Howard Stringer who is the C.E.O. of Sony.  He spoke about the rising cost in production, which inevitably leads American film producers to look elsewhere for filming locations to reduce cost.  Stringer also mentioned that filming overseas helps to broaden the audience of the film.  He specifically mentioned Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, stating “As we find that talent and develop it, I think you’ll see other kinds of movies reaching out to broader audiences in the way that “Crouching Tiger” did.”  Stringer also spoke in relations to filming overseas, that casting non-American actor will save on cost and reach a wider variety of people.  He believes that there is “great” talent to be found outside of the United States. 

 
 
“About J.R.R. Tolkien.” Lord of the Rings Fantasy World c. 2001-2002. 19 February 2006. http://www.lord-of-the-rings.org/author.html

 
“Interview Howard Stringer.” PBS Frontline. 1995-2005 WGBH Educational Foundation. 19 February 2006.  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/hollywood/interviews/stringer.html

Reflection on Reading and Viewing

 
In all honesty, this module was difficult for me.  I found the text interesting and did enjoy reading but the films were hard to watch.  I am not a fan of kung-foo or fantasy-like movies.  I am probably one of the only people on earth who do not like Lord of the Rings.  Both films shared the concept of good vs. evil and the pathway to each side, as well as special effects and fantasy.  Along with sharing similar concepts, both films shared many details described in the reading.  I was able to connect the detailed figure placement especially with Crouching Tiger through the fight scenes and I saw the importance of figure movement.  Each film had to focus on how the characters moved, especially since the storylines to the movies were fictional.  The audience had to be bought, meaning they are unable to see the characters in daily life so the way in which they moved on the screen had to feel real.  Even though I do not enjoy this type of movie there were many aspects to each film I found intriguing, such as the scenery, costumes, make-up and set design. 

 
My favorite thing about Lord of the Rings is the scenery.  I love how lush and green the sets are, the costumes are amazing, very well put together.  Even though the characters in Lord of the Rings are fiction, the costumes were designed in a way to make the characters appear to be real.  For example Liv Tyler’s character, her costume displayed every bit of grace, elegance and mysticism as her film role.  I think shooting the film in New Zealand was a great idea, I cannot think of another more perfect location.  The greenery was amazing in the forest scenes.  I found it obvious that the director had put much time and thought into the production of this film.  Every detail was well planned and each shot well executed.  Overall, Lord of the Rings was a visually stimulating and equally fascinating movie. 

 
Moving on to Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, again I enjoyed the film for what it was, becoming most intrigued with the special effects and the scenery.  I tried to put aside my realism and fall into the special effects of people flying through the air and floating on clouds.  I felt the casting was done well, all the characters fit the role they were chosen to play.  The costumes were correct to the era and so were the props, make-up and hairstyles.  I cannot say that I would have rented and watched this film on my own, but I do respect the creator’s vision.  I think that films such as Lord of the Rings and Crouching Tiger are creative, embellished story lines that are a good addition to the film market for those looking to escape reality for a short time.   

I think overall I am catching on the class.  I feel like I am taking more time to read directions to ensure that I am posting and finishing each assignment to its requirements. Each chapter I read I am connecting to the information and learning how to apply it to the assignements.

“The diegesis of a narrative is its entire created world”(Felluga, 1).  The film Waterworld does a wonderful job developing the diegisis of the movie.  Everything from the wardrobe, make-up to the languages used in the film is fictional and custom to the world in which the characters live.  I would be easy to say Waterworld is unrealistic and would never happen but the way that the film develops leaves room for possibility in a fictional manner. Meaning, yes it is unlikely that the whole world will be covered with water from glaciers melting but the plot in water world gave reasons for belief.  For instance when Costner’s character would bring items for trade that others had never seen before, this left open the door to possibility. On the other hand, Titanic was based on a “true” story but was embellished for moviegoers.  I found a website on furl that explains how to write and develop a novel.  In essence, that is what Cameron did with Titanic, he embellished.  “Good fiction doesn’t just happen, it is designed”(Ingermanson, 1).  Cameron brought out the best of every fact he researched in regards to the Titanic, much of the film was factual.  As far as the love story goes, he built interest that the audience would be unable to resist.  Jack and Rose were captivating, thus Cameron “designed” fictitious section of the movie.  I wonder if he had left the film strictly factual if it would have grossed as much money.  I think society thrives off of love stories, which are usually hand crafted and unrealistic.  Cameron’s genius in creating Titanic made sure that the industry took note of moviegoers interest in love affairs, especially the tragic ones. 

Felluga, Dino. “Terms Used by Narratology and Film Theory.” Introductory Guide to Critical

Theory. 28 November 2003. Purdue U. 3 February 2006. http://www.purdue.edu/guidetotheory/narratology/terms/.
Ingermanson, Randy. “Disturbing Your Universe.” The Snowflake Method for Writing a Novel.  3 February 2006. http://www.rsingermanson.com/html/the_snowflake.html

I chose to research the history of the Titanic and Ted Turner.  I found the film Titanic by James Cameron interesting and was fascinated by his attention to detail.  I searched the furl page for Titanic history and was lead to the web page listed above.  Here I found wonderful information in regards to the Titanic.  There is much to be learned on this web page.  There are picture of what the Titanic looked like and not to much surprise, the photos were identical, especially the famed staircase.  The web page even made reference to Cameron’s Titanic.  Remember the lady in the film Titanic who was a lingerie designer? She was actually on the real Titanic.  She is currently featured on the Titanic1.org web page painted picture as well, this is where Cameron’s film is mentioned. 

 
“Lady Duff-Gordon, who designed “naughty underwear and is a favorite of the Royals” described by Rose in Jim Cameron’s, “Titanic” (1998) is seen in a new light by Randy Bigham. He concentrates on her notoriety as a fashion designer which made her rich and famous. The painting depicting Lady Duff-Gordon with one of her pet Pekingese on her lap, was created by Philip de Laslo in 1913 titled “Sketch of a Lady” (1)

 
Through reading, I chose to do a little research on Ted Turner.  I chose him due to my increased curiosity about production purchasing.  I thought it was interesting how Turner was believed to have purchased MGM for “Gone With the Wind.”(Allen, 49).  I furled a web page devoted to the life and accomplishment of Ted Turner.  The name of the site is appropriately www.Tedturner.com here one will find everything from timelines to restaurants owned by Turner.  I learned that he is more accomplished than I had ever known.  He dabbles in a little bit of everything, purchasing sports teams, movie rights, restaurants and television networks.  “Whether in philanthropy, business, entertainment or sports, Ted Turner has had a remarkable and visionary career.” (2) 
 
I think that reading about basic facts and “big names” in the film business and learning to research on the internet has helped me to connect the book with the material.   For instance, I had heard the name Ted Turner but had no idea who he really was and how much power and influence he has over the film and television industries.  Overall, I am learning more and more through each lesson and film that I watch. 

 
1. “Titanic Commutator No. 170.” Titanic Historical Society, Inc. c 2001-2005.
February 2006. www.titanic1.org.
 
2.  “Ted Turner, Media Visionary, Philanthropist, Statesman.” 2005 c of Turner
Enterprises, Inc. 3 February 2006.  www.tedturner.com.

Reflections on the Reading and Viewing

Waterworld

Titanic

 
My little brother who is not so little anymore loves the movie Waterworld, until today I have never viewed the entire movie.  I rented it from blockbuster and watched it from beginning to end.  Being perfectly honest, I did not enjoy the movie until I made the attempt to remember back to 1995.  After I thought about the film circa 1995, I had a different view.  Ten years ago this film was probable rather advanced for its time.  I did not think the acting was all that great, the characters lacked zest which would have kept the audience awake.  I like Kevin Costner but he was more “dry” in this film than his others such as The Sixth Sense.  I thought the ending was well done, obviously more realistic.  I think this was probably my favorite part, the “happy ending;” The little girl and her mother found land and Costner love struck returned to his post at sea.  I am not quite sure why I liked the ending, one would think that Costner would stay and begin a new life but he choose otherwise, maybe that is why I liked the ending, it was different than what might have been expected. 

 
Moving onto Titanic the funny thing is I remember seeing this movie with my best friend, in high school.  I can say I genuinely like this movie even though it has a tragic ending for the love affair between Jack and Rose.  The special effects were much more advanced and I found them realistic.  However, the actual plot to the story was most likely unrealistic, a third class citizen finding his way to the upper class was probably not going to happen during the time frame of the movie.  All technicalities set aside, I was able to see the big budget film in Titanic more than Waterworld.  It seemed as though Titanic took more time to create and no detail was left undone.  The concept of creating one big “blockbuster” rather than man small grossing films was obvious.  Titanic had a ton of press surrounding its arrival to the big screen.  Cameron was all over the news with his “vision” of recreating the Titanic’s demise.  I remember watching a special on how the set was created, the actors were really swimming in water as the scenes of sinking were played out.  I find comparing Waterworld to Titanic like trying to say an apple is an orange.  These two films are completely different although they share the same basic concept, forbidden love and the ocean.  I found the comment on made in our text unfortunate but true, “Perhaps it was fortunate that Waterworld, another epic adventure-romance staged on the open seas, had beaten it to the post.  It go the flak and Titanic got the plaudits and the financial returns”(Allen, 50).

 
As far as the reading goes, I did enjoy this chapter more that the last, I liked reading about production cost.  I found it fascinating how much money certain films required to make.  After the cost, I thought it was interesting how many films made no profit.  I am making a general connection between what I read and what I see in films.