Michelle's Journal

Promt 17 and 18
I am skipping Promts 17 and 18 because I have written about Clinton's speech.

Final Thoughts on this Course
This was the best English class ever! There was so much I enjoyed about it and didn't dread, which is hard to say about any of my other classes. First of all Joel is an awesome teacher. He is laid back and doesn't make you feel like an idiot when you speak your opinion. He makes it so easy to hold a class discussion where everyone feels comfortable and wants to participate. A good teacher also needs to know what they are talking about while having enthusiasm for the subject. Joel seems to know so much about Hitchcock which really fascinates you and makes you interested in Hitchcock also. I also really enjoyed this theme of “Hitchcock’s films” for this course. I was excited every week to see a new movie with a twist. Hitchcock is very interesting compared to many other film makers and directors. I feel like I really learned a lot about film techniques, especially looking underneath the surface of the movies. I also feel like I know so much about Hitchcock as a film maker and feel honored that I had this opportunity. I mean I could have been learning about something boring as Japanese films and its underlining themes. Another aspect I liked about this class was our involvement in class and our discussions. Many, almost all of my other classes are full of 400 students where I have never once spoken to the teacher or even more than five fellow students. I feel that being able to communicate in a class really facilitates one's education. I wish there were more Gordon rule classes like this one but I guess I should he happy that I have been lucky with this one.

Free Write
I hate cold weather so bad that I am going to write about it since i'm here in class early. So it is April and how is it so cold today especially in Florida? We live in Florida for the reason of the great warm weather. I swear I am cold blooded because I get cold if it is not at least 80 degrees. I guess its due to the fact that I am used to warm weather and anything away from warm I cannot stand. I was born in California and lived in south Florida so I have been molded into warm weather naturally. I have only been in the snow once, when I went to Denver and Vail, last winter and I will never go back to any place that cold. Even though it was beautiful and was the traditional white Christmas, I could not stand waking up and layering myself with an abundance of clothes. I would much rather spend the day in the hot sun sweating than inside and freezing to death. I also think that the cold changes my mood drastically in the way that I am so miserable when it is cold outside. When the sun is shinning I love going outside and am so happy regardless of what I'm doing. Basically one of the things I hate the most in my life is spending it in cold weather.

Realistic?
Out of Hitchcock's later films, The Wrong Man, North by Northwest, and Psycho I would say that the least realistic one would be North by Northwest. Hitchcock did make an attempt to make The Wrong Man and Psycho more realistic though. In The Wrong Man, a man is accused of stealing money from a bank but he really didn't do it. He is taken to jail and questioned. This film is very realistic becasue it doesn't go beyond your imagination. Psycho, is also more realistic than North by Northwest, but it does have a little more fantasy to it than the Wrong Man. The parts I feel that are too fake is the double character of Mr. Bates and his crazy mother. There was a little uncertainty of how they would get by for ten years and how it has been going so smoothly before they are actually caught for the murder of Ms. Cane. I believe the plots and lessons from The Wrong Man and Psycho are also more realistic than North by Northwest. The plot in North by Northwest was so drawn out and especially the fact that Eve and Roger managed to climb down Mt. Everest alive, made it unbelievable. Psycho's plot was believable because handling money in an illegal way usually can lead to death. In The Wrong Man, it is also believable that a man would be mistakenly accused of commiting a crime he had nothing to do with. I feel that people take Hitchcock more seriously when he makes films in which the audiences can relate more too.

Hitchcock's Masterpiece
I believe that Vertigo was a masterpiece in the sense of how Hitchcock used the camera as an art of the dreams Scottie had and in the woods scene. The dream scenes were really different compared to his first movies. I also think the plot of Vertigo was a little more creative in it's happening. If I were a film analyst, I would feel that Vertigo would be a masterpiece because it has a lot more depth in it's making. Even though Psycho had a more simpler plot, I thought it was Hitchcock's masterpiece because I was never bored during the movie once. Hitchcock coordinates the scenes so well that there is never a dull moment but moments full of trying to figure out the mystery yourself. Psycho is also a bit more connected than Vertigo which makes it more appealing to viewers. In Vertigo there were holes that Hitchcock failed to cover and left the audience unsure of believing the plot of Vertigo. Vertigo had a better twist but took forever to get to where as Psycho had twists throughout it and didn't leave you waiting.

Lesson in Psycho
If I had to draw a lesson from the film Psycho, I would definitely say money and in general, greed, will lead to problems. In Psycho money eventually leads all the way to Marion's and the detective's death. Marion steals $40,000 to escape to her boyfriend who is in debt. On the way she is constantly running away from the cops and comes to stay at an old motel. Here she is killed and dumped into the river. A private detective is hired to find Marion because she has stolen money. He traces her to the motel and he to dies there. Both of these deaths was because money was involved. If Marion's boyfriend hadn't been in debt, she would not have stolen it and money would not be an issue in their lives. As Hitchcock always seems to have a theme in his movies that is supposed to portray the American culture, I think that in this film, Hitchcock brings out to the public that money and greed do rule peoples lives. Our culture puts strong emphasis on wealth and without money one finds it hard to lead a normal life. Hitchcock shows capitalism through this film and relates to it death. It is a simple message but it is a powerful one.

North by Northwest
Personally, I was extremely tired the day in which we had the discussion on North by Northwest. But it wasn't only me that made our conversation so forced. I believe a lot of people just didn't like the film because it was so unrealistic. And it is not because unrealistic films are bad, it's just that when we think of Hitchcock we feel his movies should have a lot of more depth to them and inside meanings. Out of all the films we have watched we have always found and discussed his secrets and why he put them into the film. But in this movie we were not at all intrigued with his work and feel he made it too simple compared to his others film. I sort of enjoyed the film because it was so unrealistic and it gave me a break from finding a complex "hidden meaning" even though i am sure Hitchcock did want to make a point with this movie.

Lesson from Vertigo
I think that the lesson from Vertigo is not present unless you look deeper into the plot and theme of the movie. Scottie falls in love with Madeline and loves everything about her, even though he knows she is supposedly married to his friend whom he is working for. When Madeline dies, for the first time, Scottie is tormented and cannot speak to anyone. Besides having lost his love he also believes it is his fault because he could not climb to save her, due to his vertigo. When he finally does recover he meets another girl Judy who reminds him of Madeline and takes it to the extreme of having Judy dress and look exactly like Madeline, when in fact Judy is Madeline and Scottie wont know until the end. The lesson that I believe is present is the fact that love can drive a person to insanity and is so powerful. First, Scottie goes crazy and goes to an institute and second, when he is out he redesigns Judy into Madeline and then says to Judy that he loves her because she resembles Madeline so much. Scottie believes that he cannot love again if he does not have Madeline.

Psycho Articles
Of the three articles that talk about Psycho, I found the one by Poague the most compelling. Titled Links in a Chain, this article approaches Psycho beyond the film's vision and sight which the other two articles did. Poague concentrated on the fact how money was circulated through the entire film. Capitalism gives you tunnel vision which is deeper than only a vision. He claims that money leads to death and there is a connection between capitalism, sexuality, and death. I like this article the best because I think it is true that money leads to problems and people do actually kill because of greed and money. The least compelling article that I found to be was Bellour's. This article only talks about the film through a viewer. The film is about spectator-ship and how the plot moves from beginning to end.

The Man Who Knew Too Much
The family in The Man Who Knew Too Much appears to be very "normal" to me. The parents both had jobs or still do and seem to be successful. Their child Hank seems well mannered and respects his parents. The parents relationship toward each other also seems very open and they don't hide secrets from one another. For example the husband told the wife what Bernad had whispered to him. The film seems to compliment the normality and support it. I think the reason they were able to get Hank back was because they all worked together, rather than fighting about different issues on the matter of kidnapping which would be common in most families.

Hitchcock really wanted to show our society something when he made the film Rear Window. A technique that has been present through most of Hitchcock's films is the way he uses the camera as the audiences eyes. In Rear Window the audience has a feeling of opening a window and looking out. Jeffery is a character that also showed a major theme of Hitchcock- voyeurism or that act of observing other people's lives through watching them secretly, like a peeping tom. In fact this movie portrays that we all are indeed peeping toms at some point in our lives. We go behind people's lives and also know that sometimes people go behind our own lives. In this class we talked about how the government also tries to control our lives and doesn't want any of us to have secrets. In Shadow of a Doubt, the government was shown as invading the privacy of Charlie's family. Therefore you could say that the government also plays a role of a peeping tom. Most times like in this movie and in Blue Velvet, people become peeping toms when they find something interesting about people that those people do not want anyone else to know about.

Free Write
For the past week, especially today, I have become very annoyed whenever I walk through Turlington. It seriously takes you three minutes to walk one-hundred meters. Why? Well because there are people approaching you at all angles either trying to make you sign something, handing you flyer's, or as today trying to have a full discussion with you. I didn't mind when people were promoting and would just hand me flyer's, but this week has been too much. There are like twenty people out there trying to tell you to vote by approaching you and trying to talk to you for more time than you have. Why would i vote for you now after you have annoyed me? If I was going to vote I would have voted already. By having someone come up to me and telling me to vote is not going to have an affect on me, whether I am going to vote or not. I know they are just trying to get people to vote because they want our school to improve, and approaching some people on the issue works. I am just way to busy to be stopped when I am in a rush.

This Course
It's hard to believe but I look forward to coming to this class, unlike my other classes. I also enjoy the screening sessions because we get to watch movies that are not boring and are unusual than other movies you would watch in a typical english class. All of my classes at UF have been lecture classes with so many students that there is no interaction at all. In this class we get to discuss issues with other students and actually talk to the teacher, Joel. Having a teacher like Joel is great also and his attitude makes you feel like learning in class than actually just going because you have to. The only thing I detested was reading the Film Studies book because I had no idea what it was talking about. For the second half I would change our discussions. Instead of talking about the books we are reading, I would much rather spend more time talking about the movies we watch. Hitchcock has so many hidden themes in his films which I am not aware of until we have discussed them during class.
My first reaction to the project was good because it is our only one. But then when Joel explained it I had trouble figuring it out. I still am not quite sure of the project but hopefully talking to my partners and classmates will help. My idea about what the project is about is that we have to pick an event in a film that captured us, and investigate the event into great detail.

1940 Hitchcock Themes
As we move out of Hitchcock's 1940's films into his films of the 1950's we also move out of certain themes Hitchcock portrayed in these movies. Some themes of his 1940's films go behind closed doors or into themes which people back then would think of not being appropriate for society. For example, there are minor details that represent the theme of homosexuality in the films of Strangers on a Train, Rope and Rebbecca. Hitchcock also shows themes of perversion related to homosexuality. Many other themes are also expressed through his films. Themes of political ideas are displayed in Notorious and Strangers on a Train. Women are also a big obsession for Hitchcock. Rich, strong, independent, and wearing glasses are some characteristics of the women. The theme I feel that is always portrayed and stands out in the films is the idea of the "perfect murder." Rebbecca, Shadows of a Doubt, Notorious, Rope, and Strangers on a Train all have deaths in them and death is what the plots are usually centered around. Today these themes would be considered as not so much of a secret but more common and normal to society. Many movies today are centered around murder and mystery which is considered ok. There are thrillers, dramas, and action movies that all have murders in them. Probably the theme that has changed the most throughout the years is the acceptance of homosexuality. Homosexuality today is shown a lot in comidec movies and even on t.v. shows like Will and Grace.

Free Write
I don't have a problem with homosexuality or anything but I was wondering why we always say there are homosexuals in the movies we watch even when there is no distinct homosexual act displayed? It seems that we just try to find one action that maybe could be homosexual if we look deep enough into it and then label the whole movie as being homosexual. For example, in Rebbecca, when the mean maid was showing the new wife Rebecca's things some people perceived that as maybe the maid was a lesbian. We also analyzed Rope and thought there was homosexuality in it as well. While watching these two movies, homosexuality never ran through my mind once. The Celluloid Closet is an example of how people will push movies into being gay by describing a very little gay detail in that movie and therefore labeling the whole movie homosexual.

Notorious and America's War
The movie Notorious relates with the war that America is facing today. In Notorious, Alex Sebastian is a German who is hiding uranium ore in wine bottles. The ore is to be used secretly and for the wrong reasons. Alex has scientists living in his house, in Brazil, who are to make nuclear weapons illegally. American agents therefore go undercover into Alex's home to figure this out and stop it. Today we are also dealing with the discovery of nuclear weapons in Iraq. Iraq is breaking the UN pact and causing major threats throughout the world. Once again Americans are dealing with a threat of danger in another part of the world.

State of the Union
The ideal American family, from the very beginning of history, is represented as the norm in our society. Our society has this image of the perfect family and therefore family values have always had high standings in our society. The father is at work, the mother is a nice housewife, and the kids are always doing homework and speaking politely with to their parents. Today the family has changed dramatically from what people had thought it should be like. I believe the family was not ever perfect in history. The bad parts were only hidden and kept in the home. Some of Hitchcock’s films portrayed these unacceptable families which shocked society. Hitchcock appeared to uncover the truths and show people that not everyone is living the perfect American family idea. People became shocked, even though they knew it was the truth, that someone would actually present this openly to society. Even today, presidents are always talking about how they want to hold family values and how they make that one of their issues to touch upon. But in reality, the government interferes much with families and do actually invade their privacy.

Blue Velvet and Shadow of a Doubt Connections
There are some connections between Blue Velvet and Shadow of a Doubt that I have found. First of all they both have a mystery within there plot and each start with a macguffin which puts the story into motion. In Blue Velvet Jeffery finds an ear in the middle of an empty field and wants to know why. He is soon drawn into a deep and scary mystery of Frank and a woman who sings Blue Velvet. In Shadow of a Doubt, Charles is a man who has come into his sister’s family out of nowhere and expects a place to stay. Upon his arrival his father-in-law tells him not to throw his hat on the bed because it brings bad things but Charles does it anyway. Charles has a niece also named Charles who at first adores Charles but soon finds herself trapped in his world. Both Jeffery and the niece Charles eventually go so deep into the mystery that their lives become threatened.
Another connection is the death of the Frank and Charles by the characters involved in their mysteries, Jeffery and niece Charles. Jeffery and niece Charles are also similar in the way that each doesn’t want to know the whole truth but keep getting involved deeper and deeper. They both also are romantically involved with someone who they have met during the process of figuring out the mystery.
Both of these films make me think twice about people. Normal people who seem they have no problems could actually be a mystery themselves. It is not evident who actually is who in everyday life and we all have to be careful of who we can trust.

Promt XIV
I think that the connections between Duras and Barthes are different from when we compared the previous authors with Barthe. The previous authors connected with Barthes through love and in the way in which the heart desires love. In many of Barthe's passages he describes love as a need and a want. Love makes you mad, jealous, miserable, and in some cases leads you to suicide. Duras incorporates Barthes ideas in a different perspective. Duras doesn't really talk about deep love but love rather as an infatuation. The French girl did not love the Chinese but rather loved his money. She also did not love her family but only worried about their unhappiness. Duras doesn't use Barthe's ideas on love but his ideas on madness and the way the body is the ultimate power of ones self.

Promt XIII
Duras incorporates the body often into her text. When the French girl begins to talk about any character she begins to talk about their body before mentioning anything else about them. A way that Duras expresses the body the most is when the French girl and her Chinese lover express their feelings toward each other when making love. The Chinese describes the white girl's body as thin and frail like a Chinese girl instead of a white woman's body. The French girl also quotes, "The body is thin, lacking in strength, in muscle, he may have been ill," when describing the body of her lover. Duras also describes emotions being trapped inside the body instead of inside the person. She refers to the death of the body and not the death of a character. Duras seems to believe one possesses a body and within the body is where the feelings of love, desire, madness, unhappiness, and death all live. This is different from the other writer's thoughts who we have also read. Goethe and Flaubert, for example both believed desire and love lived and came from the heart instead of the body.
To me the quote makes me believe that Duras and Barthes say that one's body is not a worthy possession of theirs but a holding place for one's madness and misery. Instead of the body as a strong figure that stands for one's identity it just stands to tell the person what he or she wants. The quote seems to say that the body is useless and is telling the heart what it desires instead of providing a representation of one's character. The body is playing the role of one's heart and controlling the person's desires.

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