As someone who saw the movie adaptation of Forrest Gump first, I was very excited at the chance to read the novel version of it. The recent adaptations of some of my favorite books have been quite disappointing, and unconsciously I regarded it as a given that whenever a book is adapted into another material such as a movie, it would undoubtedly lack in quality compared to the original counterpart. So when I saw the Forrest Gump as a movie and immediately fell in love with it, I reasoned that I would love the book even more so.
However, when I opened the pages of the novel version of Forrest Gump, I was sorely disappointed. Forrest Gump the movie itself depicts Forrest, the protagonist, going through extraordinary events and meeting with the people and somehow, managing to influence the people around him. There are some far-fetched assertions made in the movie (like how the Elvis's choreography actually originated from Gump's dance) but they are done with taste, with style. Compared to that, the novel just thrusts the ridiculous events at you, demanding you to believe that somehow Gump managed to go into the outer space, live with the Cannibals, befriend a monkey, become a chess champion, and so much more. They compile themselves on top of each other without enough substance beneath it or a stream of plot tying it all together. It sounds like a collection of far fetched jokes running in the extreme.
Also the characters in the novel are very poorly developed, and Jenny, who becomes the main love interest of Forrest in both the novel and the movie, is only dealt with as an actual character in the movie where as in the novel, Jenny only appears to us as a flighty girl who had grown up with Forrest.
As I read through the novel, I was more and more disappointed. The novel was nowhere near as emotionally moving as the movie version. I guess it goes to show, you can never judge a book by its cover.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Where the Wild Things Are
Where the Wild Things Are
Minsoo Ha
We all dream of running away from our homes at least once in our childhood. We hide in closets, under the staircases, behind the doors. However, Max, the protagonist of the movie, takes running away from home into a whole new level: he runs into the place Where The Wild Things Are.
The book version of Where the Wild Things Are is a very short children’s book consisting of less than 50 pages, but Spike Jones made it into a full length feature film full of emotions and childhood memories. The tone of the movie sets a stark contrast with the book in many ways including the difference in length. The dark and serious tone of the movie and the quite hostile (and frankly terrifying) behaviors of the Wild Things clearly set it apart from other Children’s movies such as works of Pixar or Disney.
The irony is, the reason which makes Where the Wild Things Are more than just any other children's movies is the uncensored representation of young children's innocence, naivity, and untamed wildness. Instead of showing stars or comical bruises on the wounds, Spike Jones chose to show a completely unfiltered version through destructively large and violent Wild Things. They are the complete opposite from the helplessness or insignificance children feel, and the embodiment of their desire.
However, the emotional voulnerability is still there. The gaping hole desiring love and affection still grasps the hearts of the wild things as well as Max who ran away from his home.
So in the end, we see Max rowing through the seas to return home, wishing the Wild Things had a mother of their own as well.
Minsoo Ha
We all dream of running away from our homes at least once in our childhood. We hide in closets, under the staircases, behind the doors. However, Max, the protagonist of the movie, takes running away from home into a whole new level: he runs into the place Where The Wild Things Are.
The book version of Where the Wild Things Are is a very short children’s book consisting of less than 50 pages, but Spike Jones made it into a full length feature film full of emotions and childhood memories. The tone of the movie sets a stark contrast with the book in many ways including the difference in length. The dark and serious tone of the movie and the quite hostile (and frankly terrifying) behaviors of the Wild Things clearly set it apart from other Children’s movies such as works of Pixar or Disney.
The irony is, the reason which makes Where the Wild Things Are more than just any other children's movies is the uncensored representation of young children's innocence, naivity, and untamed wildness. Instead of showing stars or comical bruises on the wounds, Spike Jones chose to show a completely unfiltered version through destructively large and violent Wild Things. They are the complete opposite from the helplessness or insignificance children feel, and the embodiment of their desire.
However, the emotional voulnerability is still there. The gaping hole desiring love and affection still grasps the hearts of the wild things as well as Max who ran away from his home.
So in the end, we see Max rowing through the seas to return home, wishing the Wild Things had a mother of their own as well.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
After watching "Shawshank Redemption: the movie"
If I was to choose one thing that made the movie much better than the book, (other than the shorter title,) it would be this scene. The serene music played in the background while Andy, an innocent man wrongly accused with murder of his own wife and her lover with seemingly no hope of getting released ever in his life, relaxed in his seat with his feet on the table relishing the beautiful harmony of the women’s voices.
131 INT -- GUARD STATION/OUTER OFFICE -- DAY (1955) 131
Andy wrestles the phonograph player onto the guards' desk,
sweeping things onto the floor in his haste. He plugs the
machine in. A red light warms up. The platter starts spinning.
He slides the Mozart album from its sleeve, lays it on the
platter, and lowers the tone arm to his favorite cut. The
needle HISSES in the groove...and the MUSIC begins, lilting
and gorgeous. Andy sinks into Wiley's chair, overcome by its
beauty. It is "Deutino: Che soave zeffiretto," a duet sung by
Susanna and the Contessa.
[From the Shooting script of Shawshank Redemption]
For this one act of glory, Andy is later locked up in solitary confinement. When Red finds him, however, he discovers that Andy’s spirits had not been perturbed at all. Instead, he replies with this remarkable comment:
ANDY
(taps his heart, his head)
The music was here...and here.
That's the one thing they can't
confiscate, not ever. That's the
beauty of it. Haven't you ever felt
that way about music, Red?
When I was reading the novel version of the Shawshank Redemption, I wondered how on earth Andy was able to keep himself from becoming "institutionalized", and how he was able to hold on to his hope. Something was different about him, something that the warden noticed from the start. He never lost his appreciation for beauty in things around him, from rocks, books, and finally, to music.
Perhaps it’s because of the fact that we often find ourselves so tangled up in the problems that surrounds us, or the fact that we're always chased by the lack of time, but some of us have started to lose appreciation for the beautiful things in our everyday life. We only think of the practicality of the clothes we wear, the houses we live in, and the food we eat. The details that made it special, like the beauty or what they represent have lost meaning in the busy blur we call the modern life.
Andy wasn’t just speaking to Red alone. His message was directed towards us, to all of us who had forgotten about the beautiful things that surrounds us. Even in the darkest times, or rather, especially because we are in the darkest times, we should never give up the things that made our life worth living, such as beauty and hope.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Reading Journal: Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption
091163 Minsoo Ha
After reading until the end, my chest filled with a feeling of hope. I forgot for a while that Red was actually a convict, a cold blooded murderer who was guilty of murdering his wife and killing a bystander in the process. I could only feel sympathy and empathy for the young man who had been robbed of his youth and his freedom, and had been tormented by the enclosed society of prison and had become an “institutionalized man”. This is the magic of Stephen King’s narratives, I feel. It is so easy to project yourself onto the characters and find yourself among them as they undergo the flow of the story’s plot. You might find yourself
The great tale of Andy Dufresne, or rather, Peter Stevens and his escape from Shawshank is narrated by the convict Red. It is quite obvious that Red admires Andy, and his recollections are of quite questionable credibility due to the fact that most of his stories are second hand, but the readers can’t help but to trust the old man as he gives us a realistic tour around the Shawshank’s deepest depths and its not-so-public incidents such as the brutal actions of the Sisters, the selfish and greedy prison guards, and the struggles of an innocent man wrongfully convicted of a crime he did not commit.
Listening to the tales of the great Andy Dufresne made me wonder about how he was able to achieve such a quest. What was the driving force for an innocent man who had been convicted wrongly of murder of his own wife, sentenced to two life sentences in imprisonment, and be placed in the harshest environment that had existed during that age to remain sane? Although the escape itself is quite admirable, the fact that he was able keep the situation from overwhelming him is the most incredible feat that he had accomplished in my eyes. He had created a false identity through his friend; he had a fortune hidden away safely; he even managed to whittle away at 4 feet of concrete for freedom. But it was his relentless attempts for freedom, the glimmer of hope in his eyes that so many in Shawshank had lost that had allowed him a second chance at life as Peter Stevens.
I sometimes find it hard to maintain that glimmer of hope even though I’m in a far better position compared to the sickening environment of Shawshank. As Andy said, ‘it isn't just a piece of paper that makes a man, and it isn't just prison that breaks one, either.' Maybe it’s time to let myself out of the prison that I’ve created, the helpless depths of despair that I so often find myself in, and “hope”.
After reading until the end, my chest filled with a feeling of hope. I forgot for a while that Red was actually a convict, a cold blooded murderer who was guilty of murdering his wife and killing a bystander in the process. I could only feel sympathy and empathy for the young man who had been robbed of his youth and his freedom, and had been tormented by the enclosed society of prison and had become an “institutionalized man”. This is the magic of Stephen King’s narratives, I feel. It is so easy to project yourself onto the characters and find yourself among them as they undergo the flow of the story’s plot. You might find yourself
The great tale of Andy Dufresne, or rather, Peter Stevens and his escape from Shawshank is narrated by the convict Red. It is quite obvious that Red admires Andy, and his recollections are of quite questionable credibility due to the fact that most of his stories are second hand, but the readers can’t help but to trust the old man as he gives us a realistic tour around the Shawshank’s deepest depths and its not-so-public incidents such as the brutal actions of the Sisters, the selfish and greedy prison guards, and the struggles of an innocent man wrongfully convicted of a crime he did not commit.
Listening to the tales of the great Andy Dufresne made me wonder about how he was able to achieve such a quest. What was the driving force for an innocent man who had been convicted wrongly of murder of his own wife, sentenced to two life sentences in imprisonment, and be placed in the harshest environment that had existed during that age to remain sane? Although the escape itself is quite admirable, the fact that he was able keep the situation from overwhelming him is the most incredible feat that he had accomplished in my eyes. He had created a false identity through his friend; he had a fortune hidden away safely; he even managed to whittle away at 4 feet of concrete for freedom. But it was his relentless attempts for freedom, the glimmer of hope in his eyes that so many in Shawshank had lost that had allowed him a second chance at life as Peter Stevens.
I sometimes find it hard to maintain that glimmer of hope even though I’m in a far better position compared to the sickening environment of Shawshank. As Andy said, ‘it isn't just a piece of paper that makes a man, and it isn't just prison that breaks one, either.' Maybe it’s time to let myself out of the prison that I’ve created, the helpless depths of despair that I so often find myself in, and “hope”.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
The Hero's Journey - Nemo
Group:Won Woo, Minsu, Somin, Hyeongbin
Our Film: Finding Nemo
Why we chose it: It was an animation that everyone knew.
ACT I
1. Ordinary World:While Marlin is very protective, Nemo is excited to go to school.
2. Call to Adventure:To prove himself brave, Nemo ventures out to the “Butt” and gets captured by a scuba driver.
3. Refusal of the Call:Marlin is afraid to cross the “Great Barrier Reef”, into the open ocean.
4. Meeting the Mentor:Through Dory who overcome her short-term memory loss by humor, Marlin regains hope and believs in Nemo.
5. Crossing the Threshold:Marlin and Dory swim together into the open ocean.
ACT II
6. Tests, Allies, Enemies:Marlin and Dory meets the would-be vegetarian sharks Bruce, Anchor and Chum and escapes the mine field.
They encounter a surf-cultured sea turtle Crush and travel the “East Australian Current”.
A friendly pelican Nigel recognizes Marlin and take them to the dentist.
7. Approach to the Innermost Cave:Believing Nemo is dead, Marlin leaves Dory and swims away but Dory relight Marlin’s hope.
8. Ordeal:To save Dory from the jellyfish, Marlin almost dies from the sting but recover to meet Crush who tells Marlin how he can trust his son when knocked out of the current.
9. Reward:While Marlin believes Nemo is dead, Nemo drains out to the ocean and meets Dory, leading Nemo back to Marlin.
ACT III
10. The Road Back:To save Dory from the net, Marlin lets go of Nemo realizing that he must have confidence in his son.
11. Resurrection:Having once believed Nemo was dead, Marlin apologizes to Nemo for not having faith in him.
12. Return With the Elixir:Marlin and Nemo return to home and from the lessons of their adventures, live a happier life.
Points of contention (ifs/ands/buts):
It was surprising to see how a child animation had such a complicated hero’s journey.
Our Film: Finding Nemo
Why we chose it: It was an animation that everyone knew.
ACT I
1. Ordinary World:While Marlin is very protective, Nemo is excited to go to school.
2. Call to Adventure:To prove himself brave, Nemo ventures out to the “Butt” and gets captured by a scuba driver.
3. Refusal of the Call:Marlin is afraid to cross the “Great Barrier Reef”, into the open ocean.
4. Meeting the Mentor:Through Dory who overcome her short-term memory loss by humor, Marlin regains hope and believs in Nemo.
5. Crossing the Threshold:Marlin and Dory swim together into the open ocean.
ACT II
6. Tests, Allies, Enemies:Marlin and Dory meets the would-be vegetarian sharks Bruce, Anchor and Chum and escapes the mine field.
They encounter a surf-cultured sea turtle Crush and travel the “East Australian Current”.
A friendly pelican Nigel recognizes Marlin and take them to the dentist.
7. Approach to the Innermost Cave:Believing Nemo is dead, Marlin leaves Dory and swims away but Dory relight Marlin’s hope.
8. Ordeal:To save Dory from the jellyfish, Marlin almost dies from the sting but recover to meet Crush who tells Marlin how he can trust his son when knocked out of the current.
9. Reward:While Marlin believes Nemo is dead, Nemo drains out to the ocean and meets Dory, leading Nemo back to Marlin.
ACT III
10. The Road Back:To save Dory from the net, Marlin lets go of Nemo realizing that he must have confidence in his son.
11. Resurrection:Having once believed Nemo was dead, Marlin apologizes to Nemo for not having faith in him.
12. Return With the Elixir:Marlin and Nemo return to home and from the lessons of their adventures, live a happier life.
Points of contention (ifs/ands/buts):
It was surprising to see how a child animation had such a complicated hero’s journey.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)