Sofia Coppola

This post is based on three movies that I watched by Sofia Coppola: Marie Antoinette, The Bling Ring, and The Virgin Suicides.

Throughout all of these movies, I saw a lot of common themes and other elements that point to Coppola's personality and voice. The strongest theme that connected these movies the most was the music and soundtrack. Coppola uses music in her films to set the overall mood and tone of the film, and it is a strong element that is sometimes used instead of actual communication between the main characters. For example, in The Virgin Suicides, there was a scene where the main characters were in separate rooms and used different records to have a conversation with each other. Also, in Marie Antoinette, modern rock music was used a lot throughout different scenes, even though that wasn't the type of music played back then. This allowed for the scenes to be more upbeat and appeal to Antoinette's lively and youthful spirit.

There is also a similarity between the ages of the main characters throughout these films. For instance, in Marie Antoinette, Antoinette, along with the majority of the other main characters in that film, were all teenagers basically put into a somewhat tough situation and trying to figure out how to live life. This is similar in The Bling Ring and The Virgin Suicides as well. The main characters in both films are also in the teenage age range and are put in precarious situations as well. In The Bling Ring, the main characters are constantly being put into tense situations when they are robbing the celebrities' houses.

Coppola's movies also include a strong female character or characters. This is shown mostly in Marie Antoinette, which is a slightly different adaptation from other renditions of the topic. Usually, Marie Antoinette films focus mainly on Louis XVI and have Antoinette be the background or secondary character. Coppola's version of the film focused solely on Marie Antoinette's story and life, and how she felt with getting married at 15 to a prince and leaving everything she knew to be her life. The Bling Ring and The Virgin Suicides also feature strong female leads. The Virgin Suicides is basically centered on the story of 4 guy friends being completely fascinated with five mysterious sisters and the story behind their lives. The Bling Ring also features numerous scenes with women being the focal point. This points to Coppola having a strong voice that relates to feminism and doesn't use women as just an unequal counterpart to the male lead.

Finally, Coppola's films make the characters relatable to the viewers. In Marie Antoinette, we get to really see Antoinette as a 15 year old girl and we get to go through the journey in her life with her up until her death. The way the story is laid out makes it seem as if she is more than just a rich socialite who is married to Louis XVI; it shows us that her life has many similarities to normal teenage girls, too, such as her love of shopping, and the way she interacts with her puppy. The main characters in The Bling Ring are also relatable to its viewers, because we all wish to be rich and live extravagant lives, yet the only difference is that we don't go and rob celebrities' houses. Coppola also includes scenes where there are long silences that help make the movie seem more realistic, since in real life there isn't a soundtrack constantly playing in the background. These silences also let the viewers know that the characters do actually have inner thoughts and some substance to them.

Auteurship

Dead Man, Mystery Train, & Down by Law, directed by Jim Jarmusch

• All of these movies were based in the past
• They all sort of deal with trouble
• It's an intense story line
• Characters act tough or are put into tough situations
• The settings are generally dark and are in rougher parts of town
• The surroundings are pretty broken down and seem mostly abandoned
• We are watching their story develop and what's happening in their lives basically at the same time they are

Adaptation

The Goose Father

Order of Things to happen:

• Views of newspaper talking about goose-fathers, Gilho’s daily life, eating junk food because wife/kids were in America, but he was better off with money and planning his life/fortunes. Scene of him hugging dirty baseball mit. Next would be putting out ad for tenant, to help with his lonely feeling.
• Show meeting Wuseong and introduce goose at doorstep.
• Show balcony scene of confrontation between Gilho and goose. Gilho was checking on plants.
• Show scene with pancake and then develop into montage where they start more separate but get a lot friendlier and close with one another.
• Show night going out to drink and do stuff, close moment, show Gilho slapping Wuseong, Wuseong disappears for a day or so. Show empty apartment, then show him getting visas, calling in sick, etc.
• Passage of time, show him drinking with other guys, show him bringing other dude home.
• Show them coming back and Wuseong comes back and he’s sitting on the balcony with the goose.
• Drunk guy tries grabbing goose feathers, gets bit, Gilho has another confrontation with the goose, eventually lets goose go after Wuseong talks to him.
• Gilho wakes up, new moon, sees Wuseong standing on balcony with goose-corpse-mom scene.
• Show visual representation of Gilho coming to terms with loving Wuseong with goose wings enveloping the both of them in a hug for end. To show the end of Gilho’s internal struggle with feelings.
  
  

Visual Important things:

• Bright colors for when Wuseong and Gilho are around each other
• Desaturated for when they aren’t around each other
• Normal Actors (Not an Animated Feature)
• Importance of Goose-mom scene, heavy visuals on this scene to imply importance of it.
• Lots of focus shifting for scenes
• Sharp cuts for most scenes; Fuzzy/soft cuts for passages of time.
  
  

Visuals (Locations and Theme):

• Korean based still like original story
• More focused on the romance; less on weird goose corpse mom?
• Show even amounts of the backstory between Gilho and Wuseong since we’re learning about both of them.
• Definitely keep goose.
• Modern time (2016-17); It still keeps economic issues and also common theme of families staying apart and people staying, etc.

The Thin Man

Costume Designer

Clyde Wynant

He is a tall, thin man of about 55 years old with thinning white hair. He works in a workshop as a very successful inventor. When working, he should be dressed in overalls, possibly in a denim or khaki, with some casual work stains on it, like oil or paint, to give it a more worked-in look. When outside of his workshop, he should wear a nice, well-tailored business suit, covered by a nice long, dark trench coat, which would work in order to elongate his body for him to appear as thin as possible.

Tom

Works with Wynant and is about 35 years old. He is also dressed in similar overalls as Wynant, but his aren’t as distressed and worked in. When out of his overalls, he dresses in a simple street suit, nothing to over-the-top.

Dorothy Wynant

She is Clyde Wynant’s daughter. A young girl of about 21 years old, who is spirited and high-tempered like her father. She has a great natural beauty and distinction, which should be represented through her clothing. When meeting with her father, she should be dressed in a smart, simple street dress that is reflective of her personality, along with a simple fur coat over it. This style will be consistent throughout the movie.

Andrew Reade

He is a good-looking young boy fresh from college, who is also engaged to Dorothy. He should dress in a similar style as Dorothy, smart and simple, yet something that gives an impression of reliability and common sense. This could be shown through nicely pressed blue jeans, a simple white t-shirt, and a brown or denim jacket over it, which all would be complemented with freshly cleaned and tied sneakers.

Herbert Macaulay

He is Wynant’s lawyer, so he should dress professionally, perhaps in a nice business suit and a trench coat, casual enough to be out of the office, but professional enough to be in the courtroom.

Tanner

Wynant’s bookkeeper, he is a little man with a quick eye and an eager manner. He should dress in business-casual, which would include a nice, ironed, button up collared shirt with black slacks, along with polished, black shoes. When leaving the office, in order to show is personality, a nice hat and simple coat should do the trick.

Julia Wolf

As Wynant’s secretary and mistress, she is about 30 years old who lives in a fashionable penthouse apartment in a very new and modernistic style. She should dress very elaborately, even including her lounging pajamas. Her hair is too well waved, her nails are too red, and her eyebrows are too delicately arched. Yet, she should still look like a hard businesswoman underneath it all.

Joe Morelli

Considering the time period and being characterized as a tough looking gangster, he will be wearing a black, tight-fitted shirt, with loose, baggy jeans, that sag when he stands. A chain leading from his belt loop and his pocket help tie the look together. He will also be adorned with multiple tattoos, as well as a black hat and boots. When outside in the cold, he should top his outfit with a tough, leather jacket, with chains and a bandana in the pocket.

Nick Charles

He is a retired detective who worked on a case for Wynant. He is calm, cool, and collected, and his attire should reflect that. He is also pretty indifferent to everything besides when he is going to get his next drink. He should wear casual clothing, which include nice slacks, a simple shirt, and a casual jacket.

Nora Charles

She is Nick’s wife and a quirky, eclectic, and free-spirited woman. She is about 26 years old and is a tremendously vital person, who is interested in everything and everybody. Her style should be free and flowing, which a mix and match of patterns. Yet, she should still look very attractive and feminine. She also loves to wear hats when out and about.

Mimi Jorgensen

She is Wynant’s ex-wife and Dorothy and Gilbert’s mother. She is a slightly faded but still pretty woman, who is about 46 years old. She is utterly feminine, with bright, little ways of talking and moving. Her outfits should be feminine to reflect her personality, perhaps with tight-fitting dresses.

Gilbert Wynant

He is Dorothy’s younger brother and Mimi and Clyde’s son. He is a boy of about 17 or 18 years old with glasses and a slight build. He is a very intellectual boy, and is attire should reflect that. He should wear casual clothing, such as polo shirts and blue jeans.

John Guild
He is a burly Special Investigator in charge of the investigation. His outfits should represent is strong and forceful personality. This would be characterized by a black suit with black, polished shoes.

Influence: Stefan Zweig & Wes Anderson

This week’s post is based on the chapter Twenty-four Hours in the Life of a Woman written by Stefan Zweig, and the movie The Grand Budapest Hotel, directed by Wes Anderson.

It is clearly shown throughout Wes Anderson’s films that he gets a lot of his influence from Stefan Zweig’s writings. There are some very similar aspects found in both Zweig’s and Anderson’s storylines. Some of these include the location, characters, plot, and theme. There is also a strong common theme of nostalgia connecting both Zweig and Anderson.

In Twenty-four Hours in the Life of a Woman, it starts out with a group of people at a hotel, which is practically the central theme and hub of the story, similar to The Grand Budapest Hotel. It goes on to talk about a married woman with two children running off with a man who everyone thinks they just met. This incident turns the hotel upside down and puts some of the hotel guests against each other. This gives the story a somewhat melancholy feel, which is similar to some of the moods in Anderson’s films, especially The Grand Budapest Hotel. The storyline in The Grand Budapest Hotel centers on the famous hotel, with the blossoming friendship between the legendary concierge and a young, new bellhop. However, the melancholy comes from the two wars going and the multiple deaths that occur in the film. The nostalgia factor that also shows Zweig’s influence on Anderson is shown both in of their works as well. In Twenty-four Hours in the Life of a Woman, the main focus is on the reminiscing of the twenty-four hours in a woman’s life, one day that changed her life forever. This is similar to The Grand Budapest Hotel, since it focuses on an old man who reminisces on his life as a bellhop in that famous hotel. I feel like Anderson got most of his influence from the authentic nostalgia that Zweig writes about, because it shows up a lot in Anderson’s films. A final connection shown between Zweig and Anderson is the acute detail that is present throughout both storylines. The overall mood is also very intense and both have a very interesting style that makes the audience intrigued and apart of the story.

The Dew Breaker

This week’s post is based on the chapters The Book of the Dead & Seven from Edwidge Danticat’s The Dew Breaker.

What are the precise strategies that are used by its creator to convey the world to us and us to the world?

Both of these chapters are similar in the way they present their world to us. They both give long and distinct descriptions of what is going on in their world, which lets us, the reader, become a part of the story as well. It’s almost as if the creator, Edwidge Danticat, wants the reader to see what is going on through the eyes of the characters already living in the world. Because we are able to read the personal thoughts of the characters, we are able to feel what they feel, and in turn are placed deeper into their world. The way we are conveyed to the world is how the creator translates the Creole language into English so that we can understand it. It’s as if the creator wants his characters to feel comfortable with us so he allows them to speak the language they feel most comfortable with, yet he also wants us to feel comfortable in that world as well so he translates it for us.

In The Book of the Dead, we are immediately placed in a serious setting with the main character, Ka, talking to a police officer named Bo, and a hotel manager named Flavio Salinas about her missing family. There is no hesitation to introduce us to the world, because Ka instantly describes her surroundings in acute detail. She talks about the “striking pair of chartreuse eyes” and the “island Spanish lilt in his voice” of Manager Salinas, along with the “baby-faced, short, white Floridian with a potbelly” of Officer Bo.  She then goes on to describe the “gaudy” look of Manager Salinas’ office, which is decorated with “orange-and-green wallpaper” and a “giant gold leaf-bordered print of a Victorian cottage”. Ka’s detailed descriptions allows her world to be brought to life, and it lets the reader imagine themselves sitting right next to her in the same room. The beginning of this chapter sets the mood for the rest of the story to develop and conveys the overall tone of the world we are presented. Despite the fact that they were in what is known as The Sunshine State and their journey was supposed to good and have a much happier ending, the circumstances and overall feelings of the characters ultimately turned their happy world upside down, and the sensory descriptors perfectly conveyed this to us.

In Seven, it was a similar mood and feeling to the previous chapter, The Book of the Dead, which helped connect the two stories and tie both of their worlds together. However, unlike The Book of the Dead, we never really got to connect to the main characters on a deeper level because we never were told their names. This made their world slightly more distant and less interactive for us looking in. Although the detail of their names was never mentioned, the description of the surroundings still allowed for the creator to convey that world to the reader. Similar to the way The Book of the Dead was started out to be happy, Seven started out with a happy mood as well, with the long awaited reconnection of the married couple. However, as the story develops, and all the time spent away from each other is realized with the emotional disconnect, we start to feel the sadness and empathy develop, which is perfectly conveyed to us through the silence of their world.

Girl

Are there any female characters in the work that you identify with?

This short story, Girl written by Jamaica Kincaid, wasn’t a typical one. Rather than having multiple sentences with numerous periods separating similar ideas, this story is made up of multiple fragments separated by semi-colons each consisting of different ideas. The basis of the story was a list of what a girl should do to be appropriate and socially accepted in this world. The fragments may be different, however, they do come together in the end to make a unifying story with a bigger meaning. Another difference between this short story and other typical short stories is the way this story is told. You would normally think that the author of the story is also the narrator of the story. However, in “Girl”, the narrator is actually the author’s mother, telling the author how to act in life. Consequently, the “Girl” being talked about, and to, is the author, and this is the female character that I identify with rather than the narrator. The reason I identify with this female character is because my mother is always telling me things that I should do. To her, it was obviously good advice that she thought would make my life as a girl easier in this world. However, to me, and to Jamaica Kincaid, sometimes that “advice” can seem like mandated rules that you would have to follow in order to be seen as a lady in front of other people. There were moments in the story where you can see that Jamaica doesn’t fully agree with what her mother says, which is represented by italics. I identify with this as well, because although mothers have good intentions and think that what they say is for the best, children don’t always see it that way, and we think that we know ourselves better than our mothers do, especially when we are young. I bet when I get older, I will eventually see it the way the narrator does, and soon I will start to identify with that female character.